Katy City Council voted 4-1 on Monday, Sept. 28, to add 3.43 acres to the Katy Court Planned Development District for commercial use, overriding neighborhood opposition and reversing a planning commission decision from earlier this year.

The tract near the southwest corner of Katy Hockley Cut Off Road and De Petris Drive had been zoned R-1 single-family residential. Its future land-use designation changed from suburban residential to neighborhood commercial, according to Community Impact.

City Planner Rachel Lazo told the council the property was originally part of the Katy Court PDD proposal. The planning and zoning commission removed it in April after residents objected to commercial development. Council then approved the broader PDD without the 3.43 acres.

Developer Parkside Capital came back with tighter restrictions. The revised plan bans gas stations and convenience stores, caps building height at 25 feet, requires a six-foot masonry screening wall or fence where commercial property meets residential lots, and adds a detention pond and landscape buffer between the commercial pad and the Heritage Park West subdivision, My Neighborhood News reported.

City planning staff supported the change partly because the tract's only access is Katy Hockley Cut Off Road, now a four-lane boulevard. Staff concluded a small residential development there would not integrate with Heritage Park West or Katy Court.

Council Member Paula Taylor said she had asked for the tract to be removed from the earlier proposal. She pointed to the city's growth, the land's commercial value, its size being too small for residential use, and Parkside Capital's added restrictions as reasons she voted yes this time. Taylor called the revised proposal "middle ground" at the Sept. 28 meeting, as Covering Katy reported.

Multiple residents spoke against the rezoning during public comment, citing traffic and construction concerns. Resident Karl Hanel told the council he felt it prioritized one property owner over thousands of nearby homeowners.

Council Member Michael Miehls cast the lone dissenting vote. He also serves as HOA president of a nearby neighborhood. He praised Parkside Capital's added restrictions. But most of his neighbors opposed the change. "Even though I think it's a good idea, I had to side with them because I have to represent the people," Miehls said.

Parkside Capital President Brett Walker said the company has not determined what businesses will occupy the site but will begin work on infrastructure design, detention drainage and conversations with prospective tenants. The staff report also identifies planned annexation of the tract into Katy West Municipal Utility District to finance public infrastructure.

At the same meeting, the council approved construction of a traffic signal at Katy Hockley Cut Off Road and Heritage Drive. City Engineer David Kasper said the signal will be operational by June 2027.