College Station City Council discusses Middle Housing, future development

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The city of College Station discussed a number of items of interest Thursday night.

First, the City Council proclaimed the period of spring, March 1 to June 15, and fall, Aug. 1 to Nov. 30, as Lights Out Nights. This is an effort to decrease light pollution during bird migrations. According to the proclamation, lights can disorientate birds, causing them to run into buildings and other urban threats.

Middle Housing

Middle Housing has dominated meetings for months as the city worked to expand housing options and create walkable communities. The council approved a new zoning district called Middle Housing which includes small, single-family homes, multiplexes and duplexes, small apartment complexes and in some cases, allows for Shared Housing. Shared Housing brought concerns from residents about the new zoning districts. Shared Housing currently allows homeowners living in a Middle Housing area to apply for shared housing, and have more than four unrelated people living together.

The discussion Thursday night surrounded removing Shared Housing from the allowable units in Middle Housing. Instead, the city says it will look at creating an overlay, so only certain areas would be allowed to include Shared Housing. City Council members shared concerns with certain areas like Brentwood Drive and Anderson Street allowing Shared Housing. Councilmember Linda Harvell said she fears this would make housing in the area more expensive.

council directed staff to move forward with the overlay plan. Changes Thursday also included parking, to ensure Shared Housing has enough parking availability behind properties.

The council also discussed creating a Housing Action Plan. This was initially brought up in July. The plan would help the city identify housing opportunities for low to moderate-income people.

The council approved the creation of a Housing Action Plan Steering Committee to provide community input and identify areas of housing opportunities for people of low or moderate-incomes.

Recreation or Convention Center

Another major topic of conversation surrounded a potential Recreation Center or Convention Center.

Council members discussed locations for a project like this in midtown or other areas, like near Post Oak Mall. Multiple residents spoke during this agenda item, including multiple local gym owners who shared their concerns about competition with a city recreation center.

The council directed city staff to get a consultant to look at the viability of both options. Questions remained from the council as to how the Lincoln Recreation Center fits into these conversations.

Commercial Parking

Two approvals after a number of meetings include the purchase of property for College Station Fire Department 7 and disallowing commercial trucks from parking on Ponderosa Drive.

KBTX has been following the Ponderosa Drive parking concerns after the city approved a no-parking rule for the roadway. This was due to businesses in the area sharing concerns about semi-truck and trailer parking along the roadway for years at a time. One business owner said they are happy with the no parking decision, but another said it puts his business in jeopardy. The city said this decision for a blanket no-parking enforcement is a part of the city’s process. But, this now gives the council the opportunity to revisit those processes and maybe mandate no-commercial parking citywide one day.

College Station Fire Station 7 was approved by voters in November 2022 in order to help service areas near the Castle Gate neighborhood, the Wellborn community and the Greens Prairie Reserve community. The property purchased is four acres located near Greens Prairie Road right across from Dalton Drive.

Councilmember Linda Harvell told the council businesses along the roadway are on the same page about their wishes for a commercial parking ban.

Tax Rate

The proposed tax rate for 2023-24 was also a topic of discussion. The City council approved a public hearing for the proposal for August 24 at City Hall. City staff presented the tax rate options in the past, but Thursday night’s proposal was one cent lower than previous proposals. The new rate is being proposed at $0.53 per $100 appraisal valuation. This is due to finalized appraisal numbers.