Council approves zoning changes aimed at increasing housing affordability, asks for further study on fire access and on-street parking

The Eagle Pass City Council voted to advance a package of zoning changes intended to ease development costs and expand options for more affordable housing.

City planning staff presented changes across multiple residential zoning districts (Items 6–11) including: reduction of minimum lot sizes (example: R‑1 from 7,700 sq ft to 7,000 sq ft), decreased minimum lot widths and depths in several zones, reduced parking requirements for multi-family three-bedroom units (from 2.5 spaces to 2) and removal of a 5% rounding provision that previously created an additional required guest parking space. Staff also proposed modest increases in maximum impervious cover to accommodate smaller lots.

Council members expressed support for incremental steps to improve affordability but raised repeated concerns about fire-truck access and impacts on existing neighborhoods where new multifamily units might push on-street parking into residential areas. Planner Madera said the changes are intended as incremental options rather than mandates and that staff will pursue comprehensive studies (potential partnerships with UTSA urban planning or private consultants) to analyze traffic, street-width and emergency access implications.

Votes: most items in the package passed unanimously on first reading; one item recorded a 3–0 vote with one abstention because a councilmember stepped out of the room for part of the discussion.

What happens next: staff will continue technical analysis and return with refined proposals and any required adjustments before final readings; council asked for specific follow-up on on-street parking impacts and fire-department input.