Missouri City Votes To Prevent Rezoning

The topic of rezoning can be a hot button issue for many people. The act of taking an already established property and reallocating it for a different purpose can seem confusing. This is true as sometimes property owners and businesses will utilize rezoning to reestablish how an area of land will be used to turn a profit. Oftentimes this happens when predominantly residential areas are rezoned for commercial use, and can be accomplished by creating multiple lots from a single section of land. For the residents of Missouri City, this nearly became a reality.

In Missouri City, Texas, a five-acre tract of land at Vicksburg Boulevard and Truesdale Drive had been zoned for single-family residential use since 2001. In 2018, Josephina Serrano and Ivy Kenneth Joy Miraflor purchased the land in order to expand their child care business, and to provide a tutoring center, multi-purpose room, and café for local residents.

During a December 17th meeting, Missouri City City Council Members voted against rezoning the land for commercial purposes. During the meeting, District B Council Member Jeffrey L. Boney, whose district encompasses the land at issue, heard conflicting accounts of the land’s history, including that the homeowners association should have purchased the land several years ago, but did not, and that Serrano and Miraflor had purchased the land as commercial when it was originally zoned by the city as residential.

Serrano and Miraflor told local news outlets they were disappointed with the city’s ruling as they had invested more than $500,000 into the property since it had been purchased. Serrano’s son, Cally Ross Serrano also expressed disappointment in the decision, as they attended all the necessary HOA meetings but, “every time a potential project came up, they protested.”

When Rezoning Issues Arise

When it comes to deciding where locate your business, or if you are considering expanding your business, it is important to understand how zoning laws impact your decision. Local zoning laws can limit the type of business you can do on certain plots of land and/or the improvements you can make to an existing business structure.

Zoning regulations impact building improvements such as the types and number of buildings allowed, the size and height, or buildings setbacks from the street, frontage of lots and lot area, and off-street parking. Other detailed restrictions may all be part of land use and zoning regulations.

Houston Real-Estate Attorneys

Whether you are buying a home or a commercial property, partnering with an attorney from the very beginning can save you from making very costly mistakes. The attorneys at Adair Myers Graves Stevenson can negotiate on your behalf and draft a contract that not only adheres to all Texas state real estate laws, but can also stand up to the test of litigation. We have more than 40 years of real estate legal experience. We’ve helped a diverse array of clients protect their interests through preemptive action, creative thinking, and strategic litigation.