Friday, September 13, 2024
AZLE — Over a dozen residents of Dusk Avenue filled seats at a recent Azle Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to voice their concerns about a heavy machinery auction company’s proposal to move in next door.
The city notified residents within 200 feet of the subject property and held a public hearing Aug. 15 where anyone could come to state their opinion on the issue.
Doug Bryan spoke at the meeting to voice his desire to make 331 Southeast Parkway in Azle his new company headquarters. Bryan is the owner of Iowa-based Bryan Heavy Equipment Inc. The company has expanded into Fort Worth and hopes to make Azle its newest location.
Currently, the 13.101-acre property is zoned for heavy commercial use. Bryan came before the P&Z to propose rezoning the area to a planned development district which would allow him to build an auction site for trucks, trailers, construction and agricultural equipment.
Along with rezoning, Bryan requested a variance to delay the timing of the required tree study until the time of site plan and plating applications. He also requested to waive the eight-inch masonry screening wall requirement and have a tree preservation buffer serve as the screening instead.
Bryan spoke before commissioners and described his plans for the site which includes space to park at least 100 vehicles along with storage and a staging area for vehicles being auctioned. With its quarterly auctions, Bryan said his business will likely bring people to Azle who will stay, eat and patronize other businesses in the city. Bryan said his business will also create several new jobs for the community.
The property borders Dusk Avenue and Park Street to the north and Ash Creek Park to the south. The property is located in a flood zone and is currently heavily wooded.
Many of the concerns raised by residents from the neighboring areas had to do with the environment, health impacts, and the effect the business could have on local scenery on such an important Azle entryway. Residents also expressed fears it would create a traffic hazard on the nearby service road.
“I have walked the street on Dusk Avenue for 32 years,” resident Steven Mobley said. “This is where I grew up, five houses down from where I am today. The quiet street is where I rode my bike, played in the woods, learned to fish in the creek, built tree forts, and I grew up, as I'm sure many of you did as young children. Today's proposed rezoning would ultimately change this scene forever. The impact to my homestead would forever be altered. We can dive deep into the environmental impact of the changing of the waterway’s floodplain, the destruction of the animal population that we love so much, the lack of roadway from TxDOT, the sewer systems, but honestly, what hurts more than anything is to think out of looking out of my kitchen window to see a mass heavy equipment storage and auction facility. It’s gut-wrenching.”
With Curt Lampkin dissenting, four of the five present P&Z commissioners voted to not recommend Bryan’s request for rezoning to the Azle City Council. The council will have the final say on the decision and is expected to hear the matter at a Sept. 17 meeting.
Update:
After being denied by the Azle Planning and Zoning Commission at an Aug. 15 meeting, Doug Bryan of Bryan Heavy Equipment Inc. has retracted his request to rezone the property at 331 Southeast Parkway to a planned development district. Bryan had desired to make Azle his company’s new headquarters with the creation of a heavy equipment and transportation auction site just a stone’s throw from Main Street.
Update: After a public hearing where residents from abutting Dusk Avenue voiced their concerns, the P&Z voted 5-to-1 to not recommend Bryan’s proposal to the city council. He was scheduled to speak with the council, who would make any final decisions on the matter at a Sept. 17 meeting. Less than a week later, Bryan pulled his proposal instead. City Manager Tom Muir said that, as far as he knows, Bryan still plans to buy the property next to Ash Creek Park, but he does not yet know for what purpose. Located in a flood plain, Muir remarked it would be difficult to build much more than a parking lot as it currently stands.
