The Lufkin City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a preliminary zoning change on Spence Street from light manufacturing to “residential small,” overriding the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation to deny the request and clearing the way for up to five new single-family homes next to existing industrial parcels.
Developer D’Andria Banks is seeking the change on a vacant Spence Street property, with lot widths narrowed from 50 feet to 40 feet to allow one additional lot. Banks said she plans to remodel the existing home and build five more single-family houses. The P&Z Commission had recommended denial because the city’s future land-use plan calls for transportation and warehousing uses in that area. Lufkin city planner Alaina Helton told the council that “while there is some residential in the area, the predominant development added in zoning is industrial. Industrial uses can create a lot of nuisances that create noise.”
Overriding the commission’s denial required at least six of seven council votes, and the council voted unanimously to do so. A second council vote will be needed to make the zoning change final. Nearby parcels remain zoned for industrial use, which the staff memo warned could still bring noise or other impacts close to the new homes.
Sources: KTRE | Lufkin City Council