A joint meeting between the San Angelo City Council and the City’s Planning Commission is a rare event. It is sort of like a Bigfoot sighting. You have heard about such things, but you do not believe it is real.
City Council watchers will have the opportunity to see such a rarity Tuesday.
The reason for this special event is to discuss creating a Cultural Overlay Zoning District. The proposed area covers a large area south of the North Concho River across from downtown.
City Deviates From Usual Zone Change Process
The usual process for zone changes does not include joint meetings. Ordinarily, when a zone change is requested impacted property owners are directly notified of the proposed change. They are given an opportunity to object, and for the change to be submitted to the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission holds a public hearing. Then, the Planning Commission votes to either recommend approval or rejection of the change. Next the proposed change goes to the City Council for final approval or rejection.
The joint meeting process makes it easier and less costly for the city.
State law requires that all property owners that would be impacted by a proposed zoning change must be notified of the change.
Because of the large area being rezoned, the cost and time it would take to notify every property owner would have been significant. So the City chose an alternative process available to it: posting notification of the change, holding town hall meetings and holding a joint Planning Commission /City Council meeting.
It is also true that the City might have faced much more pubic opposition by using its normal process.
The meeting will be held Tuesday April 15, 2025 at 8:30 p.m. in the South Meeting Room (City Council Chambers) at the McNease Convention Center 501 Rio Concho Dr. San Angelo, Texas.
