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STARBASE — The new city commission here approved a comprehensive zoning ordinance during a meeting on Monday morning, but not before property owners voiced their concerns regarding the matter.

Property owners filled the meeting room inside the SpaceX – HUB on the corner of Esperson Street and LBJ Boulevard before the 9 a.m. start time of the meeting.

Less than a month after voters approved the incorporation of the city of Starbase, hundreds of letters were sent out to property owners informing them of Monday’s meeting and warning that they could potentially lose their property rights as a result of the proposed zoning ordinance.

Individuals who received the letters own or reside on property in areas that the city says will be located in either the “Heavy Industrial District,” the “Open Space District,” or the “Mixed Use District.”

“The city of Starbase is holding a hearing that will determine whether you may lose the right to continue using your property for its current use, please read this notice carefully,” the letter reads in all caps and bolded letters.

Attendees were allowed to speak before the agenda item, most of whom expressed concern and confusion regarding the city’s plans.

Prior to hearing comments about the agenda item, Starbase City Attorney Andy Messer took some time to try to explain the zoning process.

“There were multiple comments we’re going to see that reference condemnation of property or eminent domain. That’s not what zoning is. That’s not what we’re doing today,” Messer told the crowd. “Condemnation is a separate process of the Texas Property Code where for public purposes the city seeks to condemn property and pay fair market value for that property. That’s not what this is. This is to put an initial zoning category on a piece of property for use of that property in the future.”

He said that he hoped to clear up any confusion about the city’s intentions, but it appeared to have little effect in quelling the concerns of those who’d received the letters.

Jesus Abete, Jr. of Brownsville spoke during the public hearing on behalf of his mother who owns property in an area in question. He said that his parents purchased the property with the intention of building a house.

While nothing has been built on the property since its purchase, Abete said that the zoning ordinance has caused his family to halt their plans while they try to learn what the future may hold for their plot of land.

He said that he was concerned with the language that the city attorney used when explaining what the city is trying to do.

“It was my mother’s main concern that she is going to lose the property because of eminent domain, or what it might be,” Abete said. “So that’s one of the things I was listening to the lawyer say, that today was about ordinances, not about that specific topic. When (Messer) said, ‘Today is not about that,’ I figured, OK, is it down the road that it’s going to happen or not?”

Abete questioned the intentions of the city commission and asked for more transparency when it comes to their meetings, particularly with regard to the meetings being held in the mornings when most people are at work.

“They’re all Starbase employees probably, I believe,” Abete said. “I’m not sure. I could be wrong, but I thought that we need some kind of representation from the originals that were here before. That’s why I mentioned that I feel like a Native American, because these people are coming in — Starbase is coming in, making their rules, and it’s a done deal, basically. I want to be able to make it transparent for everybody that has owned property here before.”

William Allen Bruns of Spicewood, Texas said that his family has owned property in the area for over 40 years. He said that his family made trips to the property on a weekly basis for hunting and fishing.

Like many in attendance, he grew concerned after receiving the letter about the zoning ordinance.

“In the letter they sent, they say that you are going to lose the right to use your property as it is in the current state,” Bruns said. “That’s being technical. I still take it as a threat. That being what it is, I have to show up here and say, ‘OK, what kind of threat are you going to give me?’”

During the public hearing, he asked the city to explain what their plans are with regard to the comprehensive zoning ordinance. After the meeting, he said that he felt that his questions were not answered, and his concerns were unchanged.

“I feel the same because they’re not telling me what they want to do,” Bruns said after the meeting. “Did you notice when I talked to them and I posed those questions, some people got answers to the questions and some people didn’t get answers to the questions. They did not answer any of my questions. It’s all intent.”

The zoning ordinance was passed unanimously following the public hearing.

When approached after the meeting, Mayor Bobby Penden, Commissioner Jordan Buss, and City Manager Kent Myers each said that they were unable to comment.

It’s unclear why public officials would be unable to comment on public business.

The post Property owners express concern, confusion over Starbase zoning ordinance appeared first on MyRGV.com.