More than four years after Chevron sold 30 acres of land at the intersection of Fournace Place and South Rice Avenue in Bellaire, plans on the North Bellaire Special Development District are in motion.

The site is owned by SLS West Loop LP, which is planning to construct a mixed-use development with retail, entertainment and park space in the area. The proposed development, which was broken up into three sections to make oversight and potential alterations more manageable, received permit approval by the Bellaire City Council on March 21, though not without a last minute debate between council members.

When it came time to vote, permits for two of the planned development sections passed unanimously, while another permit passed with a split 5-2 vote. Mayor Andrew Friedberg was joined by council members Winfred Frazier, Ross Gordon, Nathan Wesley and Brian Witt in approving the permit, while council members Catherine Lewis and Jim Hotze voted against it.

The section of development to divide the council—also known as the “Rice Portion”—is the largest section at 9.6 acres, larger than the other two sections combined.

Lewis, in explaining her opposition, recounted concerns brought up at past council meetings, including increased traffic, light pollution and the overall size and scale of the project.

However, other council members said they thought those concerns had been addressed in past meetings, where a slew of amendments were made on what would or would not be allowed at the site. Language was amended to prohibit drive-thrus and to require opaque walls to block lighting from proposed parking garages, among other changes. The maximum height of a proposed three-story building was also lowered to two stories.

“I think we’ve done a lot to address the concerns of the city,” Witt said.

Ultimately the council granted all three planned development permits to SLS West Loop.

“I hope that my children will see, 20 years from now, fully developed, successful, mature development, and I think I won't be here to see that ... but I wish all your hard work on this to be successful,” Hotze said.

The council also approved the next phase of its water and wastewater line improvements project at the March 21 meeting.

The city originally budgeted the project for $3.5 million, but following the most recent bid by McKinney Construction Inc., the project cost will go up to $3,846,110. No construction timeline has been released.