Abilene council denies rezoning request after residents cite stop-work and code violations

The Abilene City Council voted to deny a rezoning request (KZ202649) for roughly 56 acres on Shirley Road after staff reported the owner continued activity despite stop-work orders and residents said the city should not approve development that had progressed without permits.

Planning manager Mason Teegarden told council the city had issued stop-work and zoning violation notices and that the owner continued to operate a lay-down yard and had expanded operations without permits. Teegarden said the owner had submitted zoning and conditional-use applications but had not complied with stop-work directives: "They are keeping work, they are ignoring our stop work orders," he said.

Several neighbors testified about erosion, stormwater impacts and long-term effects on their properties. Rusty Towle, who lives on the northwest corner near the site, urged council not to "reward their bad behavior by rezoning this." After public comment and discussion, council voted to deny the rezoning and asked staff to pursue enforcement of the stop-work orders and follow up with residents regarding road and stormwater concerns.