Mission city council approves more housing expansion, infill

Mission’s city council has given its approval to several preliminary plans for new home construction in the city. Meanwhile it also approved three rezoning requests that will infill property along Shary Road.

During its regular meeting Monday, the council gave its approval for a preliminary plat for development of 17 lots on 12.5 acres of land in the Taurus Estates subdivision located  on the southwest corner of Los Ebanos Road and 4 Mile North Road on previously agricultural land, according to documents provided by the city’s Planning and Zoning Department. The developer, Baz Bar, LLC, plans for eight residential or commercial projects on the portion of the property facing 4 Mile Road. Planning Department Director Jaime Acevedo said a final decision has not been made by the developer whether the lots will be developed as commercial or residential. Acevedo said the remaining nine lots facing Los Ebanos Road will be single family homes.

The council also gave approval for Baz Bar on its preliminary plat to develop 10 acres in the Yarely Estates Subdivision, located on the northwest corner of Minnesota Road at 5 Mile North Road. The developer plans to develop three commercial lots with six others set for single family homes, Acevedo said.

The council approved a final plat for the development of 6.6 acres in the west addition to the Sharyland Subdivision. The developer, Diana L. Izaguirre, plans to construct 24 single family homes a quarter mile north of Mile 3 Road between Trosper and Los Ebanos Roads in rural Mission, according to documents contained in the packet prepared for council members by the Planning Department.

The council also approved zoning change requests that would infill open spaces along Shary Road in an area that has seen rapid commercial growth in recent years.

Acevedo said the rezoning requests pertain to properties that have homes set back deep in the lots with open land abutting Shary Road.

“We may see more of these requests in the future because there are a lot of homes on Shary Road that are built to the rear of the lot,” Acevedo told the council.

The council approved the rezoning of about a quarter acre of land located just south of East 9th Street along the west side of Shary Road from residential to general commercial. Acevedo said there was no opposition to the plan from neighboring residents during a Sept. 27 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Acevedo said the property owners, Jorge and Elioda Rodriguez, plan to construct three office suites of approximately 800 square feet each.  Acevedo said any development would require construction of a buffer to divide the commercial from residential property although the type of buffering material was not specified, Acevedo said.

The council also approved zoning changes on two more nearby parcels on Shary Road totaling about two acres, both owned by City Council Woman Norie Garza, who recused herself from the remaining council member’s unanimous vote. Garza said she plans to construct an office building to accommodate law and real estate offices. She said the design will blend with the adjoining residences. She said planning is in the preliminary stages and construction would not begin until sometime in 2018.

In other business Monday the council gave approval to Mission Police Chief Robert Dominguez to spend $13,000 from the department’s federal drug forfeiture account to purchase 13 automatic external defibrillators that will be carried by patrol officers to use to attempt to resuscitate heart attack victims. Dominguez said officers are often the first responders to arrive on scene and purchase of the defibrillators will help save more lives. He said each officer who will be using the devices will receive certification training.

The council also approved a $10,000 annual fee to a company that allows residents to pay their utility bills on line. Utilities Department office manager, Hector Guzman, told the council that though 8,000 residents have registered to pay their bills on line about 5,000 routinely utilize the service.

The council approved awarding a $160,000 contract to Five Star Galaxy Construction LLC to reconstruct Wescan Lane in the Snowbird Estates subdivision. The company was the low bidder of eight companies that sought the contract. The highest bid, from Go Underground LLC, was just less than $240,000.

And the council approved the settlement agreement obtained by Austin attorney Lloyd Gosselink with the Texas Gas Service Company. The city joined most others in the Valley in a lawsuit against the company when it announced it was seeking approval to raise gas prices in the Rio Grande Valley Service Area. The company had sought to increase its annual revenue by $5.17 million within the service area in order to recoup the cost of infrastructure improvements representing an overall 15.26 percent rate increase. The law firm was able negotiate a settlement agreement which reduced the gas service company’s rate increase request to $4.54 million.