PRESENTER: Presenter
Jordan Matney, Deputy City Manager
Applicant: Killen, Griffin & Farrimond, PLLC
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SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider approval of the second and final reading of an ordinance, requested by Killen, Griffin & Farrimond, PLLC on behalf of Farmers Mutual Fire, Leslie Lammers and Tom Tumlinson, Melvin Nolte, Jr, Chad L. Nolte, Sandra J. Nolte, Comal Properties, LLC, and Qdream, LLC, to rezone approximately 2.112 acres out of City Blocks 2004, 2007, and 2014, from C-2 (General Business District), M-1 (Light Industrial District), and M-1 SUP (Light Industrial District with a Special Use Permit for STR) to MU-B SUP (High Intensity Mixed Use District with a Special Use Permit), currently addressed at 342, 352, & 353 East Bridge Street, 343 & 353 East Mill Street, 218, 232, 266, & 288 North Market Avenue, and 309 & 351 East San Antonio Street.
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DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood and Community Planning
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 5
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Case No: SUP26-028
Applicant: Killen, Griffin & Farrimond, PLLC
(210) 960-2750 | nuriddin@kgftx.com
Owners: Farmers Mutual Fire, Leslie Lammers and Tom Tumlinson, Melvin Nolte, Jr, Chad L. Nolte, Sandra J. Nolte, Comal Properties, LLC, and Qdream, LLC
(210) 960-2750 | nuriddin@kgftx.com
Staff Contact: Mary Lovell, AICP, CNU-A
(830) 221-4051 | mlovell@newbraunfels.gov
The City Council held a public hearing on April 27, 2026, and approved the first reading of the applicant’s requested rezoning ordinance (5-1-1).
The applicant is requesting to rezone approximately 2.112 acres comprised of multiple parcels generally located west of East San Antonio Street and in close proximity to the Comal River. The subject properties are situated less than one-quarter mile from Main Plaza, placing them within the walkable Downtown area and its surrounding amenities. Nearby land uses consist of residential, short-term rentals, and various other commercial and office uses.
In December 2024, nearby properties formerly owned by ADM Mill were rezoned to MU-B with a Special Use Permit (SUP) to facilitate the redevelopment of the former industrial site as a mixed-use project. The applicant plans to incorporate the subject properties into their overall redevelopment. Approval of this request would allow these parcels to be integrated into the larger mixed-use project, creating a more cohesive and unified redevelopment of the area.
ISSUE:
The applicant is requesting to rezone the property from C-2 (General Business District), M-1 (Light Industrial District), and M-1SUP (Light Industrial District with a Special Use Overlay to allow Short-Term Rental) to MU-B SUP (High-Intensity Mixed Use District with a Special Use Overlay). The requested rezoning is to allow a walkable mixed-use development to include a hotel, residential, restaurants, retail uses, offices, and a parking garage and/or surface-level parking.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REFERENCE:
The requested rezoning would be consistent with the following actions from Envision New Braunfels:
• Action 1.3: Encourage balanced and fiscally responsible land use patterns.
• Action 1.6: Incentivize infill development and redevelopment to take advantage of existing infrastructure.
• Action 1.15: Implement Downtown area improvements planned in the adopted 2010 Downtown Implementation Plan, and further envisioned in the South Castell Avenue Visioning Plan, including but not limited to a downtown hotel, increased downtown residential units, and expansion of the Civic/Convention Center.
• Action 2.5: Encourage diversification of commercial activity Downtown to build on and sustain existing historic resources and maximize structure utilization for economic expansion.
• Action 2.10: Identify and preserve non-protected architectural and cultural resources.
• Action 2.33: Encourage vertical growth and development of key areas to take advantage of infrastructure capacity, maintain the core, and to discourage sprawl.
• Action 3.4: Revitalize the core of New Braunfels to ensure balanced development.
• Action 3.21: Enhance local recreational venues.
• Action 3.22: Encourage venues within walking distance of neighborhoods and schools.
• Action 3.3: Balance commercial centers with stable neighborhoods.
• Action 4.26: Enhance community sense of place by creating spaces and facilities that reflect the community (e.g. arts and culture, community gardens).
• Action 4.27: Preserve, expand and improve Comal River and Guadalupe River assets.
• Action 4.30: Grow outdoor recreation activities by facilitating water-based (e.g. paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking) and adventure-based programming.
• Action 7.27: Make unifying and transitional connections to and from Downtown through efforts like the South Castell Visioning Plan that encourages thoughtful mixed-use projects that blend in with the character and design of the community
• Action 7.43: Consider locating parking on underutilized parcels city-wide and within core attraction corridors through collaboration with private property owners, including but not limited to areas along Mill Street as well as areas behind buildings on Seguin Avenue.
• Action 7.44: Consider parking garages in high-demand areas including near Wurstfest, old City Hall Downtown and Schlitterbahn.
Future Land Use Plan: The subject property is located within the New Braunfels Subarea within an existing Outdoor Recreation Center and near an existing Tourist Center.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☒Economic Mobility ☒Enhanced Connectivity ☒Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☒Community Well-Being ☐N/A
• Economic Mobility: Incentivize mixed-use developments and redevelopments in targeted locations to create a built environment with integrated housing, commercial centers, and opportunities for improved connectivity.
• Enhanced Connectivity: Increase bikeway, trails, and sidewalk miles.
• Enhanced Connectivity: Increase walk and bike score.
• Community Identity: Allocate resources and recurring funding dedicated to community-wide beautification and streetscape enhancement.
• Community Identity: Adopt the Land Development Ordinance that implements goals of our residents identified in Envision New Braunfels, including but not limited to protecting historic structures, preserving and increasing green space and tree canopy, protecting natural resources, and safeguarding the character, integrity, and stability of neighborhoods.
• Community Well-Being: Look for opportunities to reconnect the community by mitigating highways, waterways and other transportation facilities that create barriers to community connectivity.
LAND USE FISCAL ANALYSIS REFERENCE:
The proposed rezoning request is in alignment with the following recommendations and strategies of the Land Use Fiscal Analysis:
• Provide a mix of uses and building types, heights, and sizes in a more walkable context to produce more value and fiscal productivity.
• Promote revised development standards that allow flexibility for small units on small lots, narrower streets, relaxed height limits, and reduced parking requirements.
• Prioritize infill projects that add people and buildings in areas with existing infrastructure. This will increase tax revenue without significant impacts on services and infrastructure costs and distribute cost burdens across more home/business owners.
DOWNTOWN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REFERENCE:
• Incentivize infill occupancy and infill development with pedestrian-oriented businesses.
• Increase the number of residents in downtown.
• Incentivize infill occupancy for vacant space along San Antonio Street.
• Identifies large industrial lots in downtown as a barrier to revitalization.
• Suggests the city focus on the riverfront and invest public funds in recreational trails along river and to surrounding parks to improve conditions, expand hike/bike system and improve existing conditions.
• Suggests a pedestrian bridge over the Comal River to further enhance the downtown and adjacent park experiences.
NEW BRAUNFELS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
• Planning and Infrastructure - Make thoughtful and strategic investments in capital planning processes as well as infrastructure development in areas including transportation, drainage, public spaces, and trails to create an attractive environment for business growth and development and talent acquisition.
• Enhancing Sense of Place - Strengthen quality of place by advancing investments that preserve New Braunfels’ character and improve downtown amenities, create unique outdoor spaces, and support catalytic projects for the community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The property is located within the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) #3. Redevelopment of the property will result in a portion of additional property tax values generated in the area directed into the TIRZ to be used to improve roadways, sidewalks, and many other improvements that will benefit the surrounding community.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
The MU-B district aligns with the Strategic Plan, Land Use Fiscal Analysis, Envision New Braunfels and other adopted plans by promoting mixed-use development, walkability, and reinvestment in and near downtown. The requested zoning will also remove some high intensity uses from what would normally be allowed in MU-B but that would not be compatible with the surrounding land uses. Staff recommends approval subject to the conditions and allowances outlined below:
1. Uses listed in Exhibit “A” shall not be allowed on the Property.
2. Definition of Permitted Uses: Golf course (miniature) shall include par 3 and putt-putt courses. Tennis courts shall include pickle ball courts.
3. A Parking Demand Study, per Sec. 144-5.1-3 (d), shall be submitted and approved prior to building permit issuance to determine the number of parking spaces required.
4. Parking structures shall include active uses (such as retail, food service, lobbies, civic entries, live/work units, residential entries, café seating, pedestrian furniture, public art), enhanced landscaping, or liner buildings along any frontage facing public streets, pedestrian ways, or civic spaces.
5. Surface Parking Lot(s) landscaping shall provide native shade trees within 50 feet of all parking spaces and shall meet or exceed all parking lot landscape code requirements.
6. Building Setbacks:
a. Minimum Front, Side, and Rear Building Setback: 0 ft.
b. Build to Line: The first floor of buildings shall be built to the property line along San Antonio Street and shall include one or more public entrances along San Antonio Street.
c. Buildings facing all other public rights-of-way must be built to the property line, unless a public space, such as a sidewalk, outdoor seating area, linear park, or other pedestrian-oriented area is located between the right-of-way and building, in which case the building may be set back from the property line to accommodate such use.
7. Compatibility Setbacks - Where the MU-B District abuts a one-, two-, three- or four-family use or zoning district:
a. Building setbacks - The building setback from the one-, two-, three- or four-family property line shall be at least 20 feet. If the MU-B abuts a one-, two-, three-, or four-family use or zoning district, but there is no dwelling unit within 50 feet of the property line, the building may be setback 10 feet from the property line.
b. Building Height - To achieve a stairstep approach to reach the maximum building height:
i. The allowed building height shall be 48 feet for any building or portion of a building within 35 feet from the one-, two-, three-, or four-family property line.
ii. The allowed building height shall be 85 feet for any building or portion of a building between 35 and 70 feet from the one-, two-, three-, or four-family property line.
iii. The allowed building height for any building or portion of a building that is greater than 70 feet from the one-, two-, three-, or four-family property line shall be 120 feet.
iv. Enhanced Landscape Buffer - within the 20-foot setback area, trees shall be planted/preserved in accordance with Section 144-5.3-1(7)(5), provided, however, trees shall be a minimum of 3 inches in diameter at planting. Additionally, four, five-gallon or three-foot tall shrubs shall be planted for every 50 linear feet (or portion thereof).
8. Residential Buffer Wall: The residential buffer wall requirement as described in Section 144-5.3-2 (h) shall not apply.
9. Loading docks, trash receptacles, recycling compactors, mechanical and electrical equipment, and any other equipment that generates odor, smoke, or noise, shall not be constructed or located within 20 feet of any abutting one-, two-, three- or four-family use.
10. Residential Screening:
Landscaping or fencing shall screen loading docks, trash receptacles, recycling compactors, and mechanical and electrical equipment to limit or prevent their visibility from any one-, two-, three- or four-family use.
11. Multi-Family Lot Coverage: The multi-family lot coverage standard per Section 144-3.4-11 (b)(2)(x) shall not apply.
12. Development of the site shall be in compliance with the above-listed development standards. Any significant alterations to the approved development standards will require an amendment to the SUP with a recommendation from the Planning Commission and consideration by the City Council.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on March 3, 2026 and recommended approval of the applicant’s request (6-2-1).
Mailed notification as required by state statute:
Public hearing notices were sent to owners of 27 properties within 200 feet of the request. Seven responses have been received in favor and one response in opposition. Pursuant to state statute, a simple majority vote of City Council will be required to approve the applicant’s request.
Resource Links:
• Chapter 144, Sec. 3.3-8 (C-2) 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. 3.3-11 (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. 3.4-11 (MU-B) 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>
• 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>