AZLE — The Azle City Council denied a zoning change request at its Jan. 21 meeting, giving peace of mind to some residents of Gipson Road.
A representative of Stone Creek Tx Investments LLC presented on the request to rezone parts of 512 and 516 Southeast Parkway from single family residential to a planned development district. The company had plans to build and operate a stone countertop fabrication business on 1.93 acres of land out of a 2.56-acre property approximately 260 feet south of Gipson Road. The city’s planning and zoning commission conducted a public hearing and made a recommendation for approval of the zoning change during a Jan. 2 meeting, sending it forward to council for final approval. City staff received two formal objections to the plans after contacting nearby residents.
Council members were largely against the idea, worried that the business would create unwanted noise and traffic for the area. The mayor and mayor pro tem also questioned the necessity of the business for that location, since Hernandez Granite & Marble Tile LLC is already located nearby. The city of Azle’s newly adopted 2045 Comprehensive Master Plan designates this area as "corridor commercial" so the zoning change request would have been in conformance with the new plan. Upon further consideration, council members suggested that a stone countertop fabrication facility of this kind would be a better fit for a property with industrial zoning. Current city regulations classify this type of business as commercial and not industrial, in part, because it would not use raw materials and instead would purchase pre-cut stone slabs. Its plan was to cut and customize these slabs further per customer specifications. A representative of the business said its primary customers would be home builders. Council members added that they would prefer to see more retail store type operations within the commercial corridor.
“There’s another manufacturer 600 feet, just three properties, away,” Azle Mayor Alan Brundrett said. “Plus, I feel like that's our commercial corridor, where we should have nice businesses. To me, this is more of an industrial operation that should be stuck in the back somewhere by IMS or something.”
Six council members voted to deny the business’s request, with Rouel Rothenberger voting alone to approve it. Now unable to go forward with construction plans, the business’s representative said they may instead sell the land.