Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

on the progress and priorities shaping our city. We value the partnership between the city and the business community as we all work toward a stronger Corpus Christi. A special thank you to our sponsors. Your generous support makes events like this possible and help us continue building opportunities for our community and local businesses. And of course, thank you to each of you here today, our members, partners, and friends. Your engagement and collaboration are what make our city strong. Together, we are shaping a more vibrant, connected, and prosperous Corpus Christi. And remember, united starts with you. Thank you again for being here. Could I get the chamber board of directors to the stage for a photo with the mayor, please? Chamber board of directors. [music]

[music]

or something. I don't know. That was

Okay. So, I have 5:30 on my clock, so I'm going to follow my clock. And um Miss Martinez, could you please call row? Yes, ma'am. Uh Madam Chair, Solless Arga, here. Uh Commissioner Miller here. Commissioner Moss here. Commissioner Hedrickk here. Commissioner Bud here. Commissioner Canu here. Commissioner Telman here. Commissioner Esparza here. And Commissioner Jackson here. We have a quorum present to conduct the meeting. Thank you. And could you read us the rules of public comment, please?

Citizens will be allowed to attend and make comment to attend and make public comments in person at the city planning commission meetings. The public is invited to speak on any agenda item on any other item that pertains to the planning commission. Comments are limited to three minutes. If you choose to speak during this period, you will not be allowed to speak again when the specified item is being considered in order of the agenda. Okay. Thank you, Miss Martinez. Uh, at this time, I'll go ahead and open up the public comment on anyone who would like to come and speak. Please state your name. Jason Lubby. Jason Lubby. Okay. Uh, I've had uh the zoning case. Uh okay. So, if you like to talk on the zoning case, which is item number six. Yes.

We're going to have um you you'll have an opportunity to speak. Okay. On that time, this is just open up public comment on anything that uh nothing in particular, just to talk. All right. I I do have one comment. We're talking about the schools. The people that I've talked to said they chose those neighborhoods because of those schools. They wanted their kids to go. Now they're closing the school. I don't have any children, but I heard you mention that. Yes, sir. Thank you. Any others? If not, then I'll go ahead and close the public comment and move on to the approval of absences for Commissioner Tykeleman. I move that we approve the absence of Commissioner Telman from December 10th. Second.

Second. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor? I. All those opposed? Motion passes. Moving on to the approval of minutes for December 10, 20, 2025. I'll move that we approve the minutes from the December 10th meeting. Second. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor? I. All those opposed? Motion passes. Moving on to a discussion and possible actions A and B. And at this time, we'll go ahead and um ask commissioners for any nominations for vice chair uh for the planning commission. Do we have any nominations?

I nominate Michael Munoz for the uh vice chair position. Second or I nominate Mike, too. So, good. [laughter] Sorry. Okay. So, I have a motion and a second for Commissioner Munoz to become vice chair. All those in favor? I. All those opposed. Motion passes. Congratulations. Too late. You're already sitting in the right chair. Okay. Um, moving on to the 2025 annual board report.

I think that's my cue. So, to the approval of the annual report is a ministerial requirement of every board and commission throughout the city. Uh hopefully you've had an opportunity to read through the handy two-sided page which just encompasses everything that occurred over this past calendar year. Very similar to approving minutes, but imagine minutes lasting an entire year. So, uh as part of that process, the commission needs to approve the annual report so it can be posted on the city secretar's website. And we'll be repeating this 12 months from now. Same process. Okay. Um, so I'll go ahead and um I don't have to open up the discussion on this, do I?

You can always ask for public I doubt there will be public comment, but you can ask for it and then it's a motion in a second standard. Okay. So, I'll go ahead and open up the public comment on uh item B if anyone would like to come and speak. If not, then I'll go ahead and clo close the public comment and uh entertain a motion or further discussion. Make a motion that we approve Make a motion that we approve the publication of the annual report as presented by our lovely chairwoman Cynthia Salazar Garza. I'll second. I have a motion and a second. Uh all those in favor? I. All those opposed? Motion passes. Thank you all. Y'all were very kind. Okay.

It was just me. I'm the only one that [laughter] Okay. So, since we've got a new line of uh chairs here because of our brand new uh two planning commissioners that came on board, congratulations. And congratulations coming on board. Thank you. Uh so, we switched a lot of the chairs here. So, I'm going to have to tell my right side over here to behave and make sure that everybody [laughter] everyone just stays focused on the agenda here. Okay. So, moving on to the consent public hearing discussion and possible actions for C and D. Mr. Deus.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh for the benefit of our commissioners, the consent agenda is a portion of the agenda in which we will read several items to be approved as a package. Uh in this case, item number six we're going to have read separately since it may require a little bit of extra discussion and especially the applicant being present. Uh he did have some comments he wanted to raise. So I'll be reading items 1 through 7 minus number six which we'll hear afterwards. So starting with tonight's consent agenda under plat with letter C, we have item two, a preliminary plat for Stripes Corpus Christi. Item number three, a replplat for Brooklyn edition. Item number four, a replat for Geneva Heights. Item number five, Waldron Estate Subdivision. Uh, the plats have all been reviewed by the technical review committee as well as city staff. Uh, we have found that they meet the requirements of the unified development code as well as Texas local government code. Staff recommends approval. Under letter D for zoning, item number seven, zoning case ZN9067, uh, BRG, BRBG, excuse me, Investments LLC. It's technically outside the city limits. So, how we handle these cases is, of course, we cannot zone in Noasis County. But as this case catches up to the annexation case that will be heard at the same time when this reaches city council for a brief 10-minute period, the property will be zoned farm rural. And technically this is a reszoning from farm rural to neighborhood commercial and that will happen in a kind of item one item two process at city council. So at this time the request is from what will become farm rural district to the CN1 neighborhood commercial district. Staff also recommends approval. That concludes tonight's consent agenda. If there are any questions I'd be happy to address them.

Thank you Mr. Deus. At [clears throat] this time, I'll ask the commissioners if we have any questions for staff on items two through seven with the exception of six. If not, then I'll go ahead and open up the public uh discussion. What was it? Um consent public hearing discussion and possible actions for items 2 through 7 with the exception of six. If anyone would like to come and speak on these items. If not, then I'll go ahead and close consent public hearing and entertain a motion or further discussion. I'll move that we approve items 2, three, four, five, and seven as presented by staff. Second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor? I.

All those opposed? Motion passes. Moving on to zoning item six. Okay, looks like it's coming up. Well, it's thinking about it. So, want to say happy new year to everyone. Good to see you back in 2026. Hope you had a good holiday season. Uh, that's just too stalen by a little time for the PowerPoint to open, but uh, thank you for your patience.

Who are you? [laughter] I ask myself that in the mirror every day. He's attempting. It's just it's stuck.

Always do control altdelete. Well, I have a hard copy, so I'll get started there. That'll buy us a little bit of time. So, on tonight's agenda, we have case ZN8771 for Jason Lubby. The request is from the RS6 residential 6 district to the CN1 neighborhood commercial district. Uh the property is located just south of Galahar Road and it is to the east of Air Street. Uh, it is CN1. CN1. Yes, sir. I'm sorry. CG1. CG1.

Thank you. Uh, CG1 is our general commercial district for again for the benefit of our our new commissioners. The RSS district is pretty much a standard residential district. R stands for residential. S stands for single family. Six stands for the minimum lot size being at least 6,000 square ft. CG1 is a general commercial district which uh most of the city you will see in pockets neighborhood commercial. I like to think of that as somewhere the gap between your Jify Lube to a Walgreens. General commercial are your HBS, your Walmarts, your more heavy commercial users or you will see them along major corridors like Everheart Airlines Staples uh which are going to serve large amounts of traffic and typically move uh large amounts of people. You can have some pockets of CG, uh, but you're going to find those a little bit in in older neighborhoods. Again, typically at street corners. So, you might have CG at Carol Lane or at Weber along uh Galahar intersection or at Mardle and they're just small pockets for maybe old convenience stores. Um, so that's where that general commercial comes from. Hopefully, uh, PowerPoint will play nice. So, moving along from RS6 to CG1 on the next slide, what we have is a comparison to surrounding property owners. So on the site that was originally zoned back in way back in 1951, uh the property to the east, to the south, and to the north are all zone residential. So this is pocketed within a residential neighborhood. The only portion of the property that is adjacent to commercial is to the west, which is along the air street corridor, uh which again is consistent with typical general commercial zoning. This all falls within the recently adopted Bayside area

development plan on the public notification side. So again, for the benefit of new commissioners, every zoning case by state law, we have to post an 8 by8 sign on the property and we have to ensure that notices are sent out by mail within 200 ft of a subject property. I like to call it the donut. So, we'll have the subject property. We draw a ring around it. Everyone within the doughnut ring receives a letter in the mail notifying them of the change of zoning. So, that being said, 34 notices were sent out. Zero were returned in favor and zero were returned in opposition. Now, as with every zoning case, the UDC lays out a rubric in which we judge whether or not a zoning request is valid. We compare that against the comprehensive plan, the area development plan and what we call the future land use map. That is again what I like to call the crystal ball looking to the future if an area should change with zoning like we will see corridors that may have some residential today. If you think of uh the Toys R Us corridor along airline had old residential homes that have slowly converted into businesses. You have corridors of old parts of Everheart near Town and Country Shopping Center. Same thing has occurred. You have a strip along Williams behind More Plaza. Exact same thing has occurred. Those future land use maps will say, "Okay, today you may be a house, but we foresee over the next 20 years you will become commercial." In this case, the property is forecasted to remain residential as it is completely surrounded except that one side to stay single family residential. [music] The proposed amendment wouldn't be conforming. So the request to go to CG1 would not be consistent with the future land use map which in turn is not consistent with the area development plan that puzzle piece of the city and the overall comprehensive plan. Therefore staff is recommending denial

of the resoning request. Um apologize for not having the visuals but if uh be happy to address any questions that uh don't require a map at this time. Commissioners, uh, do we have any questions for staff on item six? Um, Andrew, the 1CG, uh, property that's zoned CG, it's on the, um, I guess the back side of that property is budded to that that lot. That's in in question, right? Correct. So, it's CG on the air side at Biola. That is where the strip of CG2 begins, which stretches from Galahar all the way to uh, I guess that would be the freeway to 286. and everything else around that is RS6. Correct.

Okay. So, there's currently no commercial zoning commercially zoned properties on Viola.

There is no commercially zoned property. What I will kind of tell you the history of this project and why I can kind of see the why the request was made. So if you can remember for many years there was the airirst street project and that was to install roadside drainage and make those improvements to the ditches install sidewalks and improve the width of air [snorts] street. This site was used as the layown yard for earth moving vehicles back hose jersey barriers barrels all things that come in line with a road improvement project. Oh perfect thank you.

Let's go back to the aerial. So, uh, the site and that's why you can kind of see through the hatching, uh, some khiche type of substrate laid down, uh, because it was used as that lay down contract. But that was a finite set contract date and when the contract expired, those vehicles of course left. The site was restored to at least be usable, but on paper, it is technically still zone residential. Does Archer Drive have direct access to this property or is it It does not. It It fences off. Okay. Thank you.

The structure that's currently on the property looks to be like a an old metal building, right? Um was the historical use of that building um for non-conforming uses? At best, it would be non-conforming. We couldn't really find any records. Of course, our permitting data only goes back to 2016. So, I was relying on Google Earth to turn back the clock, and that building has been there for a number of years. I just could never tell what the use was actually originally. Got it. Thanks, Andrea. Um, back to Archer Drive. Did that street ever go and intersect to Viola at one point? Then it got closed, so it's always been that way.

It's always been a solid strip. Okay. Thank you. Has the applicant indicated um what they're wanting to put there or what type of business would go there to to justify a CG1 zoning?

I I would say it's been an evolving conversation. So, it it started off with with uh perhaps having industrial and then it went to potentially car repair, car sales. The we always try to offer as development service and you've heard me make a joke, we try to be development services, not stop development services. So, we want to find a path and facilitate to get the person, the applicant, the customer uh to a goal to do something like a special permit because that's usually where kind of this conversation goes to to allow use. We have to identify that specific use. So, if it could potentially be car sales, the downside is if you lock in that today, that is all the site can be marketed for. Or if it's going to be car repair, that's all it can be marketed for. What we typically do to avoid putting the cart before the horse is to come in with a buyer or to come in with a future developer and say this is exactly what I want to build here and then we customize their zoning around it. [clears throat]

That question, do we do we have the ability to put a cap on the top of it? For instance, we can limit the the the building what what can and cannot go there meaning

as part of a special permit. Yes, you can say no more building than 5,000 square feet or 2,000 square feet. Uh but when you're have both eyes closed and you're trying to hit a target, it's harder to do that. That's why typically we ask for a buyer or developer to come in first and say this is my site plan. This is what I want to follow because then I can establish those caps with clear conscience that I am achieving their goal and I'm also ensuring that we're not putting any undue burden along the surrounding neighborhood. So on these these these homes these I think it'd be two homes two sites that are on that on the back side of that is there what would what would need to be done with those homes would there be the special barriers that you need to put up to be

Yes. So with just straight general commercial zoning, so hypothetically if you were to approve general commercial, it would require a 15t buffer yard, a 7 foot wall, depending on what type if there is a any type of commercial use that generates noise, then it requires a masonry wall, but it definitely will require a 15t buffer, which eats up a good amount of real estate. Yep, it is. Okay. Thank you,

Andrew. Can you go ahead and go over what CG1 consists of for the new company? Absolutely. So CG1 is is probably one of the most versatile zoning districts that we have. We do have a CG1 and CG2. Why do we have two? Originally, many many years ago, decades ago, uh if you've ever heard of the AKUS, which is the flight zones that surround the Naval Air Station, Cabinus Field, and Waldronfield, uh the CG-1 district was the very first precursor created to prevent housing and hotel uses from encroaching into areas around airports because, god forbid, a plane goes down, we want it to hit folks. So, uh, CG1 was designed to allow all your commercial uses that's allowed in CG2, which are your HBS, your Walmarts, mini storage, car dealerships, medical offices. Uh, if you can think of it, you can almost have it minus residential uses is the one caveat to CG1, but it is extremely versatile. And that the downside of that is you approve general commercial, you can have a bar the next day. And that's usually where council tends to get a little tense about opening a nightclub or bar in the middle of a neighborhood. We encounter that enough tension when it's on a commercial corridor. So I can't imagine you open the door in the middle of a neighborhood. There'll probably be some push back and questions at the council level. But nevertheless, that is why the difference between CG1 and CG2.

But if it was CG2, it could allow for apartment complexes, correct? Multif family uses in addition to the general commercial uses. Exactly. Yes, sir. Andrew, what are the limitations on on the bar? I see on the uh on the um limitations under bar, tavern, or pub, it's it's labeled as L. So

So only only because I just had to go through this with another case regarding TABC. Uh the TABC requirements is if I open a bar, tavern, nightclub, and my predominant source of income is alcohol, I have to be at least 300 feet from a school, church, nursing home, public hospital, daycarees. If I serve uh if my gross revenue of 26% of that is food, then I'm no longer classified a bar. I'm classified as a restaurant. And that buffer goes away. Okay.

Okay. Any other questions for staff? If not, then I'll go ahead and um open up the discussion for um item six. Ma'am, my family uh bought this property. My grandfather Can you please state your name, sir? I know you did. Yes, I'm sorry. Jason Lubie. Thank you.

Uh my father grandfather bought this property with Mr. Bailey in 1950. And it was the construction yard for the asphalt paving that went on for all of those subdivisions that you can see and all that surrounding area. And I don't know exactly what year, but when they were through paving, they sold the property to my father. And uh but at the time that they bought it, it was not in the city. It it was uh wasn't incorporated yet. And uh so we've been there for 75 years and we've used it just like it is. somewhere 19523 or four the metal building was built and uh we still use that metal building today and uh so we've operated it just like what you see. We we were car collectors for a while. Did did some Lincoln convertibles and some Corvettes and things like that. And uh we were kind of thinking about going back to doing that. And uh but there's never ever been a house on there. Never. Now in the years past the cities come by and said, "Well, you know, there's a problem here with the zoning." So my father would talk to him and they'd say, "Well, if you've been here since before the annexation, then you're okay." And uh that probably happened twice in 40 years. Uh recently about 10 years ago, a lady came by and said, "Well, from the post here at the fence where the on the on the lot where the the building is, that's his own commercial, but the yard is not. It's residential and uh so I mean this is this has been up and down

for 75 years. Nobody has ever really come up with anything. The uh appraisal district has it listed as commercial property. We paid taxes on it as commercial property. You can go to their website. It says, you know, it's commercial property. U there were no houses there when that land was built. So, we didn't encroach on anyone. They encroached on us. Uh, in Archer Street, there was at one time when Marvin Townsen was the city manager, they were going to run Archer Street through our property and uh and we came to a meeting like this and they decided not to do it. But, uh, so I I don't know. We're kind of in a quandry. If it if it's zoned residential, well, there's nobody going to loan any money to build anything on that property. That neighborhood is rough. I had one of Mr. Deus' men tell me, "Well, all the neighborhoods in Corpus Christie are rough." And I said, "Well, I don't think so." I said, "These they don't shoot guns all night and don't kill babies in the living rooms of houses." And, you know, and we My father was very good to the people in that neighborhood. got him college uh appointments and scholarships. The boy across the street went to the Coast Guard Academy uh because my father uh was worked to get him in there. So, uh I I just don't know what to do. If you have any suggestions of what do you do with the property like they just leave it vacant?

What is what are your intentions to want to do with the property? Well, we were going to uh bring some uh some collector cars in there and work on them in that building. So, it'd be like a mechanic place to work on vehicles. Yes. Yes, ma'am. Auto service. Well, we've been doing that. We've been doing that since my father bought it.

Mr. Lubby, do you intend to do this as a business or as a personal hobby? Well, a little bit of both, but uh I think what uh the city is thinking when they say business, they're thinking about putting a sign up and you know, showroom and whatever. Well, that's not that's not the case. We've had plenty of requests for people to store cars in there, but like I said, they told us that that was zoned residential, that the open lot was on residential and that the building and the lot to the I guess that's the west uh that it was on commercial. Well, now I find out the whole place is on residential. So, we've got bad information all these years. We've operated there without bothering anybody. Uh, and it's kind of shocking to me. I mean, I'm an old man now and I didn't need this my old age. Uh, but you know, if you're going to keep it residential, I need somebody to come up with a plan as to how I can try to recover the loss of the property because as it is, it's just going to be vacant property. I don't even know if I'm violating the law by storing my tools in that building. I think that and and I had the opportunity to speak with the assistant director of development services about this case prior to this meeting so that I could wrap my head around it because there is certain case law where if a a building or a especially if things were zoned after pre-existing structures were um were built and there was a blanket zoning there there there is some case

law that it's very expensive case law and I doubt that you'd want to go down that road. Uh but the the primary concern that the director and the primary concern that I know that I share with the director um is that this is still a neighborhood. It is a rough neighborhood. Um I owned uh 4606 had been in my family since the 50s as well. So we were neighbors. Yeah. And um and so I'm well aware of how bad it's gotten over there because I grew up a few blocks away. Um went to Calvary Baptist which is a couple hundred feet from this property.

Right. But um [clears throat] as far as whenever you have a come in with a request that's more general in nature, you know, like Andrew said, there are a lot of things that you know could possibly get built there. We've operated it just like it is right for all these years.

And the recommendation would be for you to come to us and say, "Hey, this is what I want to use the property for." and then create a special permit that would allow for that particular use. But if we just grant this as a, you know, as a, you know, very non-specific, uh, commercial use, you could go sell the property or you could leave it to your heirs and somebody could sell that property down the road and who knows what gets built there.

What's wrong with that? That's [sighs] an argument, you know. Um I always I always say and we're technically not supposed to have this kind of exchange, but um with the with the chairwoman's Well, because I was wanting to hear exactly what you had to say, but there are a lot of things that we're not supposed to answer as far as all the questions that you do have to ask. That is for development services to be able to uh we do have some of the things that we're able to discuss with you, but um

you know, you have to understand planning commissioner, we are responsible to making sure that we abide by all the UDC and these are codes that we have to follow on the city according to what they have for us to vote for new zoning plats, replats or whatever it is that we need to do to develop Corpus Christie in the in the uh uh you know in the way that it should for the for the growth. Right. Well, another thing that I don't understand is they built that building. I believe it was in the city limits when that building was built. How didn't they get a permit to build that building?

Well, these are these are questions, sir, that right now we're not really able to answer you. We don't know what happened in the past of all the history without you with with what you're letting us know. We appreciate we appreciate all the things that you're saying to us as far as your family background on this property. But this is a decision that we have to get together here and discuss and find out what is the best thing for us to decide on as far as this property is concerned. I'm I'm trying to, you know, keep from losing losing money. Yes, sir. We understand. I certainly can't hate to lose the use of the property. We've had the city come by and and say you can't park any cars there. Okay.

I just want to I want to piggyback on what Commissioner Miller said. Um, I think the the recommendation or or the advice I would give to you is is to figure out exactly what you want to do. Come back to development services and work with them on work given a special permit because as as a blanket change from RS6 to CG1, I know you you probably don't have intentions to sell the property, but we don't as commissioners, we don't know what's going to happen with that property, and we can only go based off the information that we have. And the information that we have is it's RS6. Changing it to CG1 would open up the floodgates for a bar or a smoking tavern or a list of other things that you don't have intentions to do, but we don't know what's going to happen when you leave this when you leave this this room. So the the recommendation I would give you is is figure out what you want to do, work with the development services, and they come back. And

I appreciate what you're saying, and I will do that, but it's a hard pill to swallow after being there for 75 years. Yeah, I understand. I mean, I just it's kind of like a nightmare. Yes, sir. So, well, thank you. Thank you for your comment. Any others want to talk on uh item number six? Six? If not, then um I'll go ahead and close the consent [clears throat] public hearing and uh entertain a motion or further discussion. I move that we um go with staff's recommendation of denial. Second. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor? I I

All those opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. And this is we are just a recommending board. This is something that um you know, you can always come back and try to uh renegotiate or try to work out with uh the city development services to try to get exactly what it is that you would like on that property. This will go before council. Is that correct, Andrew? Yes. Yes, you read my mind. Yeah, it would happen. It would occur be before it reaches city council, which will more than likely be either late February, early March time frame. So, you'll have another chance to do this with city council and and they're the the final approving body. Yes, I I would like to do that. I uh I would like

Okay, sir. We you've already spoken. So, we've already go ahead and I I went along and closed the consent public hearing. So, if you'd like to speak again, you do have an opportunity for the city council. I will. and they can let you know the date that that is to be presented. Okay. Yes, ma'am. All right. Thank you. And this means it it's in limbo or it's residential.

That right now any any decision that we make here is inconsequential because it goes before city council uh for final approval. And the only difference is if we approved it here and city council approves it with a simple majority then it would pass. But because we have recommended denial, then it has to um to pass with a supermajority at city council. So Andrew will get with you, get you a date for the city council meeting. Okay?

And you can go down there and plead your case, the mayor and the and the eight council members. And uh and then if but if it does not pass at that point, our recommendation or my personal recommendation to you would be to go to Andrew and discuss exactly what you want to do there. Create a special permit and so that way you can notice your neighbors and say, "Hey, I'm just going to be turning wrenches on my Lincoln." And uh and they can say, "Okay, that's fine." And everybody understands exactly what's going to happen there. Well, it's been happening for 70 years. [laughter] So they shouldn't have any issue with it. So

that's what I was telling Mr. Deus. I said, "We're not going to change anything. We've been doing it all these years. You know, you're the one that's asking for change. We're not we didn't change." Yes, sir. We've been there since before it was even incorporated. All right. All right. Well, thank you. We appreciate it. And we'll we'll get you fixed up. Let me ask you, is there any loan programs available that if we had to uh stick with residential that we could uh take what we have off of there? And uh that would be a question. That would be a question for development services, sir. That would be a question for development services after this meeting. Uh Andrew and I will be happy to to chat with you about that. Yes, do that, please. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Uh moving on to uh director's report. Uh thank you, Madam Chair. The only item for tonight is to welcome our two new commissioners, Michael Esparosa and Jason Jackson. Welcome. Welcome aboard. And as I mentioned to them before the meeting, uh we will be scheduling our usual orientation that all the rest of you have gone through to kind of give you [laughter] give you the the crash course in zoning, platting, and everything else that comes in between. But thank you all for joining. Welcome aboard. All right, moving on to future agenda items. Any Andrew? No future.

Sorry, just making some notes. No future from from us. That's okay. If not, then meetings adjourned. Now I have to pay attention to