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Council approves Joel's Collision rezoning on Roosevelt with conditions despite neighborhood opposition
Summary
After hours of public comment, the City Council approved a zoning change for 3406 Roosevelt Ave to allow an auto body and paint operation, imposing conditions on hours, signage, lighting and fencing. Neighbors and preservation groups argued the permitted uses and smoke stacks threaten the Mission San Jose buffer.
The San Antonio City Council voted to approve a rezoning and conditional-use request for 3406 Roosevelt Avenue on Thursday, allowing an existing auto body operation to stay and modernize under conditions intended to reduce neighborhood and historic-area impacts. Councilmember Villagran moved to approve the request with the conditions read into the record; the motion passed on a council voice vote.
The owner, Joel Furdine, told the council he has invested about $1,500,000 in the Roosevelt location to modernize equipment, create a three‑hour firewall between paint and office areas and install new, code‑compliant exhaust stacks and paint booths. "We just want to improve the look and the appearance of the building ... and put new equipment and modernize the shop," Furdine said.
Neighborhood groups and preservation advocates urged denial. Jane Henry, speaking for the Mission San Jose Neighborhood Association, said the owner made additions without permits, installed visible smoke stacks and failed to comply with prior citations. "The smoke stacks he put up on that property are just nothing short of blasphemous right in front of Mission San Jose," Henry said, adding the changes harm the World Heritage site's viewshed.
Louis Vetter, president of the Conservation Society of San Antonio, told council the request would set a harmful precedent for development within the World Heritage buffer and urged the council to protect the missions' viewshed and character.
City staff said their recommendation included conditions intended to limit impacts: downward‑facing lighting, no temporary signage, hours of operation limited to Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., no external sound systems or live music, and installation of solid screen fencing along Woodhull Drive. Staff also confirmed that a zoning change does not waive other permitting or review requirements, including review by the Historic & Design Review Commission and permitting through Development Services.
Applicant representatives said the owner met with neighborhood groups and agreed to many of the conditions. Baltazar Serna, representing the applicant, said the property has operated as a body shop for decades and the owner sought rezoning to bring existing uses into compliance and invest in the site's appearance.
Opponents raised traffic, environmental and character concerns, noting potential tow‑truck and delivery traffic and arguing the site is proximate to the Mission San Jose tourism corridor. Supporters and the owner argued the use is longstanding in the corridor and that modernized equipment and operating conditions would mitigate impacts.
The council approved the item with the conditions read into the record; staff and the applicant must still complete required permitting and HDRC review. The vote outcome was announced by the chair at the meeting.
The council moved on to other items after the approval.
