Abhiram Garapati, who owns the lot at 1701 Bagdad Road, requested the future land use designation for his lot be switched from local office/retail/commercial to regional office/retail/commercial.
Andreina Davila-Quintero, the city’s assistant director of development services, said the request was in the interest of rezoning the property so food trucks and other businesses could operate past 10 p.m. on a lot that backs up to people’s homes. She said Garapati also wanted to run a car rental service on the property.
What’s going on?
Garapati expressed his frustration with the current zoning restrictions imposed by the city on his property.
“It’s not fair [for us] to be curtailed or restricted in any way,” he said, noting he wanted to have maximum flexibility in how he uses the property.
Council member Kevin Harris said land owners must follow what the city outlines as permitted uses.
“The reason why you’re in a neighborhood business zoning is because you’re in a neighborhood, and we don’t want the intensity that comes with being general business,” he said.
Harris also said he was unaware that the applicant wished to operate a car rental service; he initially thought this was just in the interest of operating later hours.
“I’m a small-business owner,” Garapati responded. “Your rules suck. Your regulations suck. I’m going through hell as a businessman.”
What they’re saying
Multiple neighbors spoke at the meeting.
Resident Lauren Magnante said she and her husband bought their home on Hillary Cove, which is adjacent to the property, in 2023. The same year, Garapati bought his lot and started making changes, she said.
“Had we known this property was going to be converted ... into a commercial site, we never would have purchased this home,” she said. “Our lives have been impacted, and our neighborhood has been going through a lot.”
Other neighbors echoed her concerns and said the business is already operating past 10 p.m. regularly.
What else?
Council member Anne Duffy expressed her frustration with the applicant, stating that the way he had treated city staff was unacceptable.
“We support small business, but what we don’t support, sir, is anyone interfering, threatening people at their homes, interrupting their safe haven,” she said. “And you, sir, don’t live in Cedar Park. You live in Steiner Ranch, which is in Austin, so at the end of your day, you can go home while the rest of these businesses that you’ve allowed on this property continue on, and they pay you rent, and that’s fantastic, but that does not coincide with the vision that we have in our city.”
Garapati said it’s unfortunate that he is next to people’s homes, but he is still going to run a business.
“First of all, let me tell you, since we bought the property, it’s a commercial property. There will be commercial activity,” he said.
