What happened?
Pearland City Council voted 4-2 to approve a request by developer Rockport Ventures to rezone 15 acres of land from office and professional district to planned development district to accommodate the multifamily development at its Dec. 15 meeting.
Council members Mona Chavarria and Rushi Patel voted against approving the rezoning request.
Earlier at the Dec. 15 meeting, City Council voted 5-1 to amend the motion to require the developer to increase the fence along the northern property line from 6 to 8 feet.
The details
The land, which sits north of Magnolia Parkway and west of Manvel Road, is currently zoned to permit business and professional office development.
The 315 multifamily unit development would include three buildings, two of which are three stories tall and surface parking. The development will also include:
- A clubhouse
- Pool with outdoor grills
- Dog park
- Pocket park
- An on-site sidewalk along the east side of the detention pond
The planning and zoning committee voted unanimously to recommend approving the zoning change request at its Dec. 1 meeting. Prior to that, the developer attended a joint workshop with City Council and the P&Z commission Aug. 25.
Those in favor
Pearland resident Kathy Tidelsky, who lives in the homeowners association section that borders the project, asked council to approve the request and said she was satisfied with the developer’s attempts to hear and address the concerns of neighboring communities at an HOA meeting.
“We have no objections,” Tidelsky said at the meeting. “This is a quality project that we need here in Pearland. It's put together and promoted by this company that really cares about the HOA, the individual homeowners. They care about Pearland. They joined the Pearland Chamber of Commerce because they want to stay here. They want to be a part of Pearland.”
Those opposed
Pearland resident Bill Baldy said he was concerned by the potential for high turnover in the staff managing the apartments.
“As apartments get older, they change management numerous times,” Baldy said at the meeting. “In my career in the fire department in Houston, we used to do surveys on apartments, and about every five years, you got a new apartment owner and you had managers, it seemed like, weekly.”
Pearland resident Anita Juarez, who said she lives behind the apartment complex on the north side of the proposed development, voiced her opposition to the development, citing concerns about crime and privacy.
“We love our privacy,” Juarez said. “That’s why we don’t live in the city.”
One more thing
Both Chavarria and Patel asked if the developer sought out feedback from homeowners outside of the HOAs. Rockport Ventures Managing Principal Travis Donnell said they had only attended the board meetings.
Patel said his vote would count on whether the developer connects with homeowners on the north side of the development.
Looking ahead
City Council will hear and vote on the second reading of the ordinance to rezone the land at its Jan. 12 meeting.
