Residents unite against zoning ordinance

Hector Garza, a Gwin Road resident, raises his concerns regarding the Rio Grande Enterprises, LLC rezoning request at 4708 N. Gwin Road. last Tuesday during the city council meeting in Edinburg. Six other Gwin road residents, all next-door neighbors, stand behind as they wait to raise their concerns. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
Sylvia Salas, a North Gwin Road resident, voices her concerns last Tuesday over the proposed rezoning request that will have a direct impact on her and her neighbors that were present at the meeting. Gwin Road residents raised concerns over insufficient infrastructure, such as public sidewalks in the Edinburg City Hall. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
State Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) speaks in opposition to the rezoning request of the property located on the east side of 4708 N. Gwin Road last Tuesday at the Edinburg City Hall. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
Place 1 Councilmember Daniel “Dan” Diaz (from left), Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr., Place 3 Councilmember Johnny Garcia and Place 2 Councilmember Jason De Leon vote to overturn the rezoning request last Tuesday after hearing the concerns of N. Gwin Road residents during the Edinburg city council meeting. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
The Planning and Zoning Department displays the image of the rezoning ordinance of Lot 16, Block 8, of the Santa Cruz Gardens Unit No. 3 subdivision at 4708 N. Gwin Road last Tuesday during the Edinburg City Council meeting. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER

The Edinburg City councilmembers listened to residents’ concerns during a public hearing Tuesday for a rezoning request of Lot 16, Block 8, of the Santa Cruz Gardens Unit No. 3 subdivision at 4708 N. Gwin Road.

Residents from Gwin Road gathered en masse to urge the city councilmembers to vote against the ordinance.

“There needs to be a plan for Gwin,” said State Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) during the public comment section of the meeting. “ … Currently, there is no sewer or drainage on Gwin, [the rezoning] would need 42 septic tanks. I don’t even know if that’s legal.”

Adjacent to 4708 N. Gwin Road are single-family residential, agriculture and vacant land. The city mailed a notice of the public hearing to 17 neighboring property owners on Sept. 1, according to Jaime Acevedo, director of planning and zoning.

Canales asked fellow Gwin Road residents to stand during the public comment to demonstrate the mass dissatisfaction within the community.

“We have about 27 [residents] of the 32 homes they represent,” he said. “ … We are not against growth, [but] with great roads, comes great responsibility.”

Gwin Road residents said they opposed the rezoning because they are against the proposed size of the new lots, and because their property’s infrastructure has not received a proper drainage system.

“These lots, to me, are extremely small,” said resident Jorge Martinez. “I don’t know what the requirements are going to be, but we need to know all that, because it’s going to really depreciate our property values.”

The applicant, RG Enterprise LLC, requested a rezoning for a single-family residential subdivision with lot sizes and setbacks that are smaller than current zoning allows, according to Acevedo.

The current zoning would allow 21 lots. If the zoning request was approved, it would permit 40.

“I’m under no illusion, and nobody in that crowd is under the illusion, that the area will not continue to grow, that we will get neighbors and nobody is against that,” said Canales. “What we are opposed to is 42 septic tanks that will be against the safety and health of that community.”

Planning and zoning staff approved to rezone the residential suburban district to residential primary district, based on land uses in the area and because there was no opposition from the 17 property owners notified, according to Acevedo.

“The infrastructure is not there, the water infrastructure is not there,” said resident Stephanie Hessel. “The person who is trying to develop it is not going to benefit by the lots being that small. We don’t have a sewer structure. … Please vote against this.”

Rio Delta Engineer Ivan Garcia spoke during the public hearing portion of the meeting and said he was unaware of the disapproval by the residents. He said he would be open to meeting with them to work out a resolution.

Place 3 councilmember Johnny Garcia said his main concern was safety. He said there were many improvements that Gwin Road needed before development could proceed.

“When residents show up and add concerns, it’s very hard to go against them,” said place 1 councilmember Daniel ‘Dan’ Diaz. “We’re here to represent the residents, and although we want growth, I always advocate for the developers and the engineers to talk to the neighbors first.”

Place 2 councilmember Jason De Leon, asked councilmembers if they would consider bringing the item to the next meeting, giving a chance for the developer and the residents to meet and come to an agreement.

Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. said, “this has to do with a lack of infrastructure, it’s an area that does not have the improvements,” and that a conversation between the developers and residents would not solve that problem.

In a unanimous vote, the motion for rezoning was denied by the city councilmembers. Garza said a discussion on how to improve Gwin Road will be brought up in a future meeting.

In other news, city councilmembers approved an ordinance for the 15th annual “Love Your Cha-Chas” 5K run or walk scheduled at 8 a.m Oct. 28 at the Richard Flores Stadium in Edinburg.