Council surprisingly rejects warehouse zoning

In what could only be described as a shockingly awkward moment, the pro-neighborhood forces on the City Council scored a rare victory last night when, by a 3-2 vote, the council rejected on second reading a proposed ordinance to rezone three acres of land on Lehman Road near Ranch Road 150 into a warehouse district.

The result was abetted in large part because two usually pro-developer council members, Shane Arabie and Becky Selbera, did not attend last night’s council session. Council member Damon Fogley split with his usual allies on the council and instead joined pro-neighborhood advocates Diane Hervol and Daphne Tenorio in rejecting the proposed ordinance.

The vote against was spurred in part by concerns from at least two of the three that the city should come up with a different way to zone sexually oriented businesses (SOBs), which are permitted in areas with the Warehouse District zoning.

"I voted ‘no’ because under the warehouse zoning Sexually Oriented Businesses are allowed," Hervol said. "I do not believe that type of business is going to be located there. However, once it is zoned, we have no control as to what goes there. I would like to see SOBs have their own zoning category."

Tenorio listed three reasons, including the SOB possibility, for actually leading the effort to reject the proposed ordinance.

"One of the factors was straight from the City of Kyle’s Comprehensive Plan," Tenorio said. "It actually states that warehouses should not be located in the Regional Node and adjacent to the midtown district. Both areas do not recommend warehouse. This recommended zoning area was in the non-recommended area. Furthermore, this recommendation did not pass unanimously at the Planning and Zoning meeting."

In fact, in written material presented to both the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the City Council, Planning Director Howard J. Koontz wrote that warehouse zoning was not "suitable" for this area for exactly the reasons Tenorio stated, although in his appearances before both the commission and the council he did not raise any objections to the idea. P&Z Commissioner Michelle Christie was the only person on the commission to vote against the zoning recommendation.

"Secondly my concern is the possibility of SOB, and other non-family businesses, being brought so close to neighborhoods and schools," Tenorio said. "Tobias Elementary School is right up the street. Fuentes Elementary School is down the street, and of course Lehman High School is a straight shot from the street. This doesn’t even include the handful of family oriented neighborhoods. The warehouse designation opens up the possibility to that type of SOB businesses to our children, families and neighborhoods.

"Finally," Tenorio said, "I am concerned with the flooding that continually happens in this area. I have been told the drainage issues will be taken care of when Lehman Road is updated. However, until then it doesn’t seem wise to pour so much money into a project that is likely to flood. That’s just my personal opinion."

(I have reached out to CM Fogley asking why he voted against the ordinance, but as of this writing have not received a reply.)

The vote obviously caught Mayor Todd Webster off-guard. He tried and actually succeeded in altering Tenorio’s original motion on the agenda item in an attempt to get the measure passed. Tenorio voiced another concern about the item and a companion piece that would allow for the construction of duplexes and not apartments on the remaining 13.5 acres of land in the parcel. The item listed "Charles D. Nash, Sr.," as the owner of the land, which is apparently not exactly correct because Nash died not that long ago. The ordinance, Tenorio claimed, should be changed to list the "Estate of Charles D. Nash Sr." as the owner with Nash’s son named as the estate’s executor. She wanted to make sure those changes were made to both agenda items, but then she wanted to oppose the warehouse proposal. The first agenda item sailed through on a 5-0 vote with the necessary amendment to change the owner listing. But when it came to the second one, Tenorio wanted to make a motion to deny as well as change the listing. The proper way to accomplish this would be to first make a motion to deny the request. If that succeeded, no additional action would be necessary. If it failed, then she could move amend the ordinance to change the ownership.

But the mayor, who obviously wanted the item passed, told Tenorio what she should do is to move for passage of the amended ordinance and then vote against it. That’s what happen and a roll call vote was ordered. The first name called was Hervol’s who said "nay." Then Fogley’s name was called and when he also said "nay," Webster gasped "What?" and briefly stopped the vote. Webster stared at Fogley but Fogley simply sat there stoically and didn’t say another word. Webster then ordered the roll call continued with the mayor and Mayor Pro Tem David Wilson casting the only "aye" votes.

In my relatively short (about one year) tenure covering the Kyle City Council, the vote marked the very first time that pro neighborhood voices prevailed over the pro-development majority on the council.

In another rather bizarre moment, immediately after the vote was taken, assistant City Manager James Earp rushed to the podium and told the council that the developer had said that if the warehouse ordinance wasn’t passed, he would construct an apartment complex instead of the less intrusive duplexes on the property. That presents another problem, however, because that property has now been rezoned from multi-family to residential two family. If the developer now plans to build an apartment complex there, (an idea that comes across as developmental "blackmail’) he may have to go through the entire rezoning application process all over again.

In other action last night, the council:

• Approved the appointments of Leata Bartlett, Elizabeth Corey, Esperanza Orosco and Dr. Anita Perez to the Library Board.
• Added a couple of more items to the surplus (i.e., junk) the city hopes to sell in an internet-based auction.
• Approved a request to hold a Kyle Fair & Music Festival this weekend at the Central Texas Speedway at which the featured attraction is scheduled to be a Journey tribute band.
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance to install three stop signs in the Waterleaf subdivision in an effort to curb speeding through the neighborhood.
• Was told by City Manager Scott Sellers to have their nominees for the Ethics Commission ready for the next council meeting on Oct. 20.
• Learned that the city is working with a company called Blood &Tissue Center of Central Texas for a blood drive. "We are going to bring a blood donation bus here to Kyle on the fifth of November," Sellers said. "It will park out in front of Old City Hall from 10 until 1. So any member of the community that would like to come and donate blood as part of that blood drive would be great. The city staff is going to show our support by signing up and donating."