The Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to recommend the city council approve a request to rezone 12.8 acres of vacant land along University Boulevard at Telfair Avenue to make room for a commercial development. The commissioners also conducted a public hearing over a company’s request to rezone 3.5 acres of land west of Dairy Ashford Road from business office to industrial space. Rezoning request gets recommendation A building proposal by Vista Equity Group would put a commercial center across the road from the existing University Commons shopping center. The developer of both projects is commercial real estate company Vista. Development plans include four building envelopes, or parcels of land designated strictly for building constructions, according to meeting documents. Buildings will be adjacent to the roads, and parking lots will be available among them, in the middle. The development will offer various dining and retail services, said Brent Mann, founding partner of Vista Equity Group. “It’ll provide another set of goods and services to the community,” he said. Currently, the only business confirmed to sign a lease, pending this plan’s approval, is Sprouts, a grocery store specializing in natural and organic food, Mann said. Sprouts will have an outdoor patio to sell fruits and produce, city planner Lauren Fehr said. However, the mention of selling produce outdoors prompted one commissioner to question whether this includes raw meats. “I looked [the definition of produce] up and it includes meat,” Commissioner Sue Sanchez said. “The last thing we want out there is rotten meat,” Commissioner Carl Stephens agreed. In response, the applicant agreed to change the language of the plans to exclude the sale of meat products outside. If this plan is approved by city council, Mann said he hopes construction will begin in January and finish in a year. Mann said layout plans and building designs are not finalized, but the commercial center will most likely have the capacity to house 20 businesses. The development will be a great addition to the city, said Kathy Huebner, chair of the Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission. “I think they’ve done a great job with what they’ve already done [with the existing University Commons shopping center], and I feel very good and confident about it,” Huebner said. “It’s well planned—what they’ve built so far—it looks great.” Public hearing over rezoning land near Dairy Ashford Road held No resident spoke at a public hearing over a company’s request to rezone 3.5 acres of land directly along the west side of Dairy Ashford Road from office space to restricted industrial space for limited industrial uses. Commissioners will vote whether to recommend this change for city council’s approval at a later meeting, Huebner said. The applicant, dietary supplement company Bluebonnet Nutraceuticals, wants to be able to use the space for research and development, production, warehouse, and light manufacturing uses, according to its application letter. Bluebonnet already has two facilities in that same area, where it researches, develops, manufactures, packages, and distributes dietary tablets, powders, and products. The land is surrounded on all sides by both industrial and office spaces, so the change would not disrupt the region’s uniformity, city planner Mayra Hernandez said. “There are no compatibility issues with this case and it is in character with the area,” Hernandez said. No residents spoke at the public hearing, and there was a favorable consensus among commissioners to rezone the land. “I know that Bluebonnet has been very supportive of charities and that type of thing out here, and it’s really rewarding to see one of our companies growing,” Commissioner Sue Sanchez said.