On April 11, City Council unanimously voted against rezoning an 8.88-acre plot of land at the southwest corner of FM 270 and Abilene Street from residential to commercial. The applicant wanted the rezoning to create a Department of Public Safety building on the property.
Several residents spoke against this idea, citing increased traffic to the already-congested FM 270 and flooding problems as concerns.
An attorney hired by the applicant made arguments in favor of the rezoning, saying the parcel in question was original zoned commercial and fits into the city’s comprehensive plan as commercial land.
The attorney said the facility would add an extra 300 vehicles to FM 270 every day, but only during normal business hours Mondays through Fridays. A residential development on the property, however, would add 240 to 400 vehicles per day, he said.
After residents spoke against the project, Mayor Nick Long agreed the development would only add to the neighbors’ traffic problems.
“[FM] 270 in the morning is horrendous, and it’s possibly even worse in the afternoon,” Long said.
Adding a Department of Public Safety building in what is predominantly a neighborhood does not make sense, he said. The city desires its own Department of Public Safety facility, but it would make more sense close to the freeway, Long said.
Council Member Chad Tressler said he does not want to see any development on that parcel until FM 270 is widened from two to four lanes.
“Until that’s done, we don’t have the capacity to support this here,” he said.
Still, denying the rezoning would not prevent another developer from attempting to build residences on the property, which could make traffic and flooding even worse for neighbors than the proposed facility, Tressler said.
