A 47-acre parcel on the border between the cities of Kyle and San Marcos set to become the site of a truck stop appears to be on its way to a denial of a zoning change request.

PGI Investment, which owns the 47 acres on the southwest corner of I-35 and Yarrington Road, requested a zoning change from agricultural to warehouse, setting the stage for a possible truck stop. But the Kyle Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 to deny the request and will be taken up by Kyle City Council at an upcoming meeting.

Residents near the potential truck stop site, many of them living in the Blanco Vista subdivision in San Marcos, spoke during a public hearing on the item to protest a truck stop being developed there. They said a truck stop would pose safety hazards, such as increased traffic accidents, air pollution and human trafficking, in an area less than a mile away from Blanco Vista Elementary School, a Hays CISD school.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, truck stops are among the most common locations for investigations in connection with sex trafficking or prostitution.

PGI Investment would be unable to request a zoning change at the property, located at 24800 I-35, Kyle, for another year if council agrees with the P&Z Commission’s recommendation against the zoning change.

Terrence Irion, an attorney representing the development company, wrote in a letter to the city of Kyle that the development could provide a boost in tax revenue to the city.

“As has often been said by Kyle officials in recent years, business growth is key to stabilizing the tax base and taking the burden of paying for growth off the shoulders of homeowners in the community,” Irion wrote.

Irion wrote that an “aging” trailer park located on the premises would be removed to make way for future development.

He said at the Jan. 26 P&Z Commission meeting that while PGI Investment’s “primary goal was to build a truck stop,” the company is amenable to other developments. He also said that if the developer were to build a truck stop it would take up 27 acres of the property. The rest of the property could house such developments as small business offices and a furniture showroom, among other possibilities, he said.

“Given the fact that they’ve been at this for a number of years, they’re open to possibilities,” Irion said.

Amy Burgess, a seventh grade science teacher at Hays CISD, said the possibility the truck stop could attract human trafficking was her primary concern.

“[Human trafficking] is something we cannot afford to add to,” Burgess said. “It will be happening in our backyard. It will be people you know, kids you know, teeneagers you know.”

Katherine Loayza, who represents residents in the Aztec Village mobile home community on the 47 acres, said the request "does not promote the general welfare of the community."

“We find it increasingly frustrating that we have to continue to fight a proposed use that no one in the community will benefit from and that we will directly suffer from the most,” Loayza said.

She and Kyle resident Lila Knight both said the proposed development would not be a suitable zoning for that area, according to the city’s comprehensive plan.

According to a staff report prepared for the meeting the request did not meet the intended use for that area in the comprehensive plan. Also further hampering the request is the lack of city of Kyle wastewater service to that area, the report states.

San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero said in a letter to Mayor Todd Webster that the city opposed the proposed truck stop.

“The city does not support the proposed change and does not believe a truck stop at that location is the highest and best use for the property,” Guerrero said. “We also did not find it to be conducive to a positive partnership and regional relationship.”

The item is set for Kyle City Council review on Feb. 2, city spokesperson Kim Hilsenbeck said.