PRESENTER: Presenter
Applicant/Owner: Will Baker with Awe Be Ltd.
Body
SUBJECT: Title
PZ26-0214 Public hearing and recommendation to City Council, requested by Will Baker of Awe Be Ltd., of approximately 0.3 of an acre out of the Starlight Terrace Subdivision Unit 1, Block 2, Lot 9, from M-1 (Light Industrial District) to R-2A (Single-Family and Two-Family District), currently addressed at 1038 and 1042 Seidel Street.
Header
DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood and Community Planning
Body
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 1
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Case No: PZ26-0214
Applicant/Owner:
Will Baker
(830) 743-2256
Staff Contact:
Amanda Mushinski, AICP, CNU-A
(830) 221-4056 | amushinski@newbraunfels.gov
The subject property is approximately 1/3 of an acre located on the northwest side of Seidel Street, approximately 700 feet southwest of the intersection of Seidel Street and North Live Oak Avenue, and near the HEB Soccer Fields. It lies within the Starlight Terrace Subdivision, platted in 1972. Many of the lots on Seidel Street are between one-quarter acre and one-half acre in size and are developed with single-family and two-family (duplex) residences. It is bordered by M-1 and R-2A zoning with adjacent land uses consisting of both stick-built and manufactured homes.
ISSUE:
The submitted application indicates that the proposed zoning change is intended to allow the property to develop under the R-2A zoning district, which allows both single-family and two-family (duplex) residential uses. The M-1 Light Industrial District formerly allowed residential uses; however, the ordinance was amended in 2019 to remove residential uses from the industrial district to preserve M-1 for industrial development and to protect residential areas from the potential negative impacts associated with industrial activity. As a result, existing residential uses within M-1 zoning districts became legal nonconforming uses.
Post 2019, several property owners sought to rezone their properties from M-1 to a residential zoning district to ensure they could rebuild or redevelop if their homes were damaged or destroyed, as the previous standards limited the ability to replace legal nonconforming residential structures. In spring 2023, a subsequent ordinance amendment clarified that existing homes zoned M-1 would be allowed to develop, replace, rebuild, repair, and otherwise improve their properties without standard nonconforming limitations.
The subject proposed rezoning would remove the existing industrial zoning designation and formally align the property with the residential use and development pattern already established in the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, removing the M-1 zoning would protect the existing residential neighborhood from the potential encroachment of future industrial development.
Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA): Per adopted ordinance, if a TIA is required, it will be conducted at the future Subdivision Platting and/or Building Permit stage, as applicable.
Drainage: Per adopted ordinance, if a drainage study is required, it will be conducted with the future Public Infrastructure Construction Plan approval process and/or Building Permit stage, as applicable.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REFERENCE:
R-2A would be consistent with the following actions from Envision New Braunfels:
• Action 1.3: Encourage balanced and fiscally responsible land use patterns.
• Action 3.13: Cultivate an environment where a healthy mix of different housing products at a range of sizes, affordability, densities, amenities, and price points can be provided across the community as well as within individual developments.
• Action 3.1: Plan for healthy jobs/housing balance.
• Action 3.13: Cultivate an environment where a healthy mix of different housing products at a range of sizes, affordability, densities, amenities, and price points can be provided across the community as well as within individual developments.
Future Land Use Plan: The subject property is located within the New Braunfels Sub Area, near Recreation, Civic, Market, and Employment Centers.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☒Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
• Economic Mobility - Output: Increase the number of new affordable housing units produced each fiscal year.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The property owner’s request is in alignment with the following recommendations and strategies of the Land Use Fiscal Analysis:
• Align development policy to support fiscal health and affordability.
• Provide a mix of uses and building types, heights, and sizes in a more walkable context to produce more value and fiscal productivity.
• Align zoning with compatible future redevelopment potential (residential neighborhood).
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Approval. The Starlight Terrace Subdivision, Unit 1 was platted in 1972, many of the homes on Seidel Street were built in the 1970s. Due to the neighborhood's historic use, the surrounding area's residential use, and the lot sizes of this subdivision, R-2A is an appropriate and compatible zoning district.
Code of Ordinances Sec. 144-2.1 Changes and Zoning Amendments:
(b) Considerations for approving or denying a zoning change. In making a determination regarding a requested zoning change, the planning commission and the city council shall consider the following factors:
(1) Whether the uses permitted by the proposed change will be appropriate in the immediate area concerned, and their relationship to the general area and to the city as a whole;
(2) Whether the proposed change is in accord with any existing or proposed plans for providing public schools, streets, water supply, sanitary sewers, and other utilities to the area;
(3) How other areas designated for similar development will be, or are likely to be, affected if the proposed amendment is approved;
(4) Any other factors that will substantially affect the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare; and
(5) Whether the request is consistent with the comprehensive plan.
Mailed notification as required by state statute:
Public hearing notices were sent to 8 owners of property within 200 feet of the request. As of the date this agenda was posted, one response has been received in favor, and a supermajority vote of City Council would not be required to approve the applicant’s request.
Resource Links:
• Chapter 144, Sec. 3.3-11 (M-1) of the City’s Code of Ordinances: <https://library.municode.com/tx/new_braunfels/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH144ZO_ARTIIIZODI_S144-3.3ZODIREPRZOPRJU221987>
• Chapter 144, Sec. 3.4-3 (R-2A) of the City’s Code of Ordinances: <https://library.municode.com/tx/new_braunfels/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH144ZO_ARTIIIZODI_S144-3.4ZODIREPRZOSUJU221987>