PRESENTER: Presenter
Christopher J. Looney, AICP, Director of the Neighborhood & Community Planning Department
Applicant: Sun Communities Operating Limited Partnership
Owner: Sun Silver Star LLC d/b/a Sun Retreats Texas Hill Country
Body
SUBJECT: Title
Public hearing and first reading of an ordinance, requested by Sun Communities Operating Limited Partnership, on behalf of Sun Silver Star LLC d/b/a Sun Retreats Texas Hill Country, to rezone approximately 11.44 acres out of the Yogi Bears Jellystone Park, Block 1, Lot 2, from C-3 (Commercial District) to C-3 SUP (Commercial District with a Special Use overlay to allow manufactured homes), currently addressed at 141 Rueckle Road.
Header
DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood and Community Planning
Body
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 1
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Case No: SUP26-256
Applicant: Sun Communities Operating Limited Partnership
Owner: Sun Silver Star LLC d/b/a Sun Retreats Texas Hill Country
Staff Contact: Mary Lovell, (830) 221-4051, mlovell@newbraunfels.gov
On September 28, 2026, the City Council held a public hearing and voted to postpone this requested rezoning ordinance to the October 26, 2026 City Council meeting (5-2). The postponement was intended to allow the applicant additional time to discuss their request with their neighbors and to explore potential additional conditions of approval.
The subject property is approximately 11.44 acres located along the east side of Rueckle Road approximately one-quarter of a mile south of Interstate Highway 35 within the commercial node of that intersection, noted as an Employment Center in the Comprehensive Plan. Surrounding and nearby zoning districts include:
• C-3 (Commercial District) abutting to the north and south;
• C-1B (General Business District) also abutting to the north;
• R-2 (Single-Family and Two-Family Residential District) abutting to the east as well as a large vacant R-2 tract further to the south along Morningside Drive; and
• Across Rueckle Road to the west lies a collection of tracts with a mix of APD (Agricultural Pre-development District), M-2A (Heavy Industrial District), MU-B (High Intensity Mixed Use District), and C-1B (General Business District), plus some C-3 (Commercial District) along the Interstate Highway.
Surrounding land uses within this myriad of zoning districts include residential, commercial, and undeveloped/vacant properties (see attached maps).
ISSUE:
The applicant is requesting a zoning change from C-3 (Commercial District) to C-3 SUP (Commercial District with a special use overlay to allow manufactured homes). The applicant indicates that their rezoning request is intended to allow a maximum of ten (10) manufactured homes. Their goal is to restore at least some of the manufactured homes that previously existed on the site but are no longer allowed under the current rules in the C-3 Zoning District. The previously existing manufactured homes/structures on the site were legally nonconforming or grandfathered to older zoning rules when such structures were allowed in C-3.
Nonconforming Use (Informally termed: Grandfathering)
Per the New Braunfels Zoning Ordinance (Sec. 144-2.3(d)(3)), and commonplace in municipal zoning ordinances across Texas, grandfathered uses and structures may continue, however if such use or structure ceases, is discontinued, or abandoned for more than 12 consecutive months, the grandfathering expires. Prior to a 2012 zoning ordinance update (Ord. 2012-49, approved by City Council on September 10, 2012), manufactured homes were an allowed use in the C-3 zoning district. With the adoption of this 2012 code amendment, manufactured homes were removed from the list of allowed uses in C-3, causing all manufactured homes on properties zoned C-3 in town, including those on the subject property at the time, to become legal nonconforming uses/structures. Manufactured homes are allowed in New Braunfels by right in the B-1, B-1A and B-1B zoning districts.
Aerial imagery depicts manufactured housing on the subject site as far back as 1985. Streetview images show that manufactured homes were in the subject location in 2008. Additional streetview images from between 2011 and 2022, show that the subject area was subsequently occupied by smaller cottage type prefabricated buildings noted in the City’s permitting system as “manufactured buildings”. The applicant confirmed that, in addition to the traditional RV park use, there were previously ten manufactured homes on the southwestern portion of the property. He further stated that these structures were removed in March of 2025 because they were older models that were deteriorating.
In December 2025, the applicant met with city staff at a Predevelopment Meeting to discuss the project and receive guidance on the building permitting process. Predevelopment Meetings are preliminary conversations about a project idea a property owner has and are offered as a courtesy to applicants to answer questions and to provide information on the various code requirements that would apply to a project. They are not intended to serve as official plan review as an official set of plans is not submitted at that time. During the December predevelopment meeting there was no discussion regarding the legal nonconforming status of the manufactured homes or that the previous units had been removed from the property.
In April and May of 2026, the owner began installing the units and simultaneously submitting applications for building permits. Three building permits were issued, however, during the review process of subsequent permit applications, it was discovered that there was a loss of the manufactured homes’ legal nonconforming status due to their removal for more than 12 months. On July 1, 2026, the Building Official revoked the previously issued permits and notified the applicant that the replacement of the manufactured homes was not allowed in C-3 zoning.
To retain the manufactured homes and proceed with permitting, the applicant is now seeking a rezoning to C-3 SUP (Commercial District with a special use overlay to allow manufactured homes).
• Approval of this rezoning request would legalize the ten manufactured homes recently placed on the property and allow their continued permitting and use.
• Denial of the request would require the removal of the manufactured homes.
Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA): Only a TIA worksheet is required, since the use would generate fewer than 99 peak hour trips.
Drainage: Per adopted ordinance, if a drainage study is required, it will be conducted with any future Public Infrastructure Construction Plan approval process and/or Building Permit stage, as applicable.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REFERENCE:
The following are key Actions within the Comprehensive Plan that relate to the subject request:
• Action 1.6: Incentivize infill development and redevelopment to take advantage of existing infrastructure. (This action supports reuse of previously developed sites, which can include the reintroduction of manufactured housing where it was previously located and allowed.)
• Action 1.8: Concentrate future investment in industrial and employment centers along high‑capacity transportation networks such as IH‑35. (Manufactured homes introduce a low‑intensity residential use that conflicts with the commercial/employment‑focused nature of this node, however would create a mixed-use opportunity which is a broader goal for appropriate locations within the community.)
• Action 1.11: Update policies and codes to achieve development patterns that implement the goals of this plan. (The plan emphasizes preserving commercial corridors for economic activity and the location’s development pattern has transitioned with increased commercial over time.)
• Action 3.3: Balance commercial centers with stable neighborhoods. (This action supports keeping commercial areas from negatively impacting residential, while still supporting mixed-use.)
• Action 3.13: Cultivate an environment for a healthy mix of different housing products at a range of sizes, affordability, densities, amenities and price points across the community. (This action supports flexibility in offering diverse housing types, sizes, and affordability levels.)
• Action 3.15: Incentivize home development that is affordable and close to schools, jobs, and transportation. (This action reinforces the value of housing proximity to employment and services, which could align with housing located in or near commercial nodes.)
• Action 3.16: Review and revise regulations that inadvertently inhibit creative housing options or workforce housing alternatives. (This action supports regulatory flexibility for nontraditional or more attainable housing formats.)
• Action 3.17: Allow for neighborhood‑scale commercial within walking distance of homes. (This action proposes an integrated pattern of residential and commercial uses in close proximity, where appropriate.)
• Action 3.30: Encourage and incentivize workforce/affordable housing. (This action supports housing attainable to workers and lower‑income households, aligning with traditionally low‑cost housing types such as manufactured homes.)
• Action 3.31: Adopt policies and ordinances supportive of workforce housing. (This action further promotes regulatory support for attainable housing production.)
Future Land Use Plan: The subject property is located within the Walnut Springs Subarea, near Existing Education and Civic Centers, and within an Existing Employment Center. It also lies very near a Transitional Mixed-Use Corridor: Interstate Highway 35.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
• Economic Mobility - Output: Increase the number of new affordable housing units produced each fiscal year.
• Economic Mobility - Objective: Incentivize mixed-use developments and redevelopments in targeted locations to create a built environment with integrated housing, commercial centers, and opportunities for improved connectivity.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The proposed request, if approved, supports Land Use Fiscal Analysis goals by prioritizing infill development that adds people and buildings in areas with existing infrastructure, increasing tax revenue without significant additional impacts on services or infrastructure costs and distributing service delivery cost burdens across more homes and business owners.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Several actions, policies, objectives and goals within the Comprehensive Plan, Strategic Plan, and Land Use Fiscal Analysis support workforce housing, infill development, redevelopment, walkable mixed-use, and variety of residential types. These supportive policies are balanced against several actions that prioritize commercial corridor/node preservation and protecting residential uses from commercial impacts. Guidance in the Comprehensive Plan leans toward preservation of commercial uses in C-3 corridors due to the intensity of uses that are allowed in this zoning district; but the Comprehensive plan equally encourages mixed-use where appropriate. Often, C-3 uses are some of the most intense which can negatively impact residential. However, the character of the subject site being that of a campground/RV Park, is a lower intensity commercial use lending itself to residential mixed opportunities.
If City Council were inclined to approve the applicant’s requested rezoning, staff recommends the following conditions to help mitigate any negative impacts. Per City Council direction, these include a few additional or modified conditions from the initial first reading, and have been agreed to by the applicant.
1. No more than ten manufactured homes may be placed in the southwest portion of the property as shown in the attached Exhibit "B" (attached in the draft ordinance).
2. A wrought-iron fence is required along any street frontage adjacent to any manufactured home.
3. A minimum of one 1.5‑inch caliper ornamental tree and four five‑gallon or three‑foot‑tall shrubs shall be installed for every 40 feet (or fraction thereof) of street frontage adjacent to any manufactured home, using only trees and shrubs from the approved plant list in the City’s Zoning Ordinance.
4. Storage sheds serving each manufactured home must match the color and finishes of the associated home.
5. All manufactured homes must adhere to the development standards set forth in Appendix B of the City’s Code of Ordinances, Manufactured Home Communities, as well as all other applicable city codes and ordinances.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on September 1, 2026, and recommended approval of a maximum of three manufactured homes on the site (5-4-0).
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 owners of 19 properties within 200 feet of the request. As of the date this memo was prepared, three responses were returned in favor (58%)* and three responses were received in opposition (4%) from the notification area. A supermajority vote of City Council is not required to approve the applicant’s request. *Please note two of the abutting properties in favor, identified as number 5 on the attached map, are owned by the subject property owner.
Resource Links:
• Chapter 144, Sec. 3.3-9 (C-3) of the City’s Code of Ordinances: <https://library.municode.com/tx/new_braunfels/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH144ZO_ARTIIIZODI>
• Chapter 144, Sec. 3.6 (SUP) of the City’s Code of Ordinances: <https://library.municode.com/tx/new_braunfels/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH144ZO_ARTIIIZODI_S144-3.6SPUSPE>
• Appendix B, Manufactured Home Communities: <https://library.municode.com/tx/new_braunfels/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXBMOHOCO>