The gist
On Nov. 14, League City City Council voted 5-2 to approve the first reading of a planned unit development, or PUD, amendment that would decrease the minimum 120-foot lot width requirement to 110 feet for eight residential lots within the Pedregal subdivision.
A PUD is a community of single-family homes, condos or townhomes where every homeowner belongs to a homeowners' association.
The Pedregal Master Plan was approved with the existing lot configuration. However, during the design phase for Pedregal Section 2, it was discovered that eight lots would not meet the minimum lot width requirement of 120 feet, according to agenda documents.
The Pedregal Subdivision is 60% developed with 453 lots platted and another 25%, or 196 lots, under development. The eight affected lots account for 1.04% of the entire development.
Those opposed
On Oct. 10, League City City Council held the first public hearing of the amendment and failed to pass it, voting 4-4 at the time.
Council member Tom Crews, who voted against the amendment both times, said he did so out of concern that having smaller lot sizes and more houses would mean an increase in traffic, which he felt could jeopardize the safety of residents.
Council member Chad Tressler also voted against approving the amendment and voiced concerns that League City is not doing enough to protect the community from developers.
“This has become the way that many of these developers treat this city,” Tressler said. “They come in with an ask, they make an agreement, ... and then they go off and go, ‘Oops I’ve found a way to make some more; let me go ask for a change.’”
Those in favor
Council member Sean Saunders said he's in favor of the amendment because city staff had already approved a similar change in Section 1 of the subdivision. It would be "hypocritical" of council to deny this new amendment when city staff already made such an amendment elsewhere in the subdivision, Saunders said.
Next steps
City Council will have a second reading of the amendment and vote again on Nov. 28.
