Planning Commission backs Wansley Grocery rezoning with conditional limits

The Austin Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend rezoning 301 and 309 East Wansley Drive to a Neighborhood Commercial Mixed Use conditional overlay that would allow a neighborhood grocery and kitchen while prohibiting a service station.

Staff planner Sherry Sawaydes of the Austin Planning Department presented the case (C14-2026-0014), saying the one-acre site supports limited office and commercial uses that could serve adjacent residential developments and noting the staff recommendation for LRMU-C O M P with a prohibition on service-station use. "The staff recommends LRMU COMP, neighborhood commercial mixed use conditional overlay combining district zoning," she said and asked commissioners to direct questions to staff.

The applicant, Sewell Magnosje, told commissioners the owners are longtime locals and that the project would be "a true neighborhood grocer offering fresh fruits, produce, meats, along with full kitchen services, and everyday grocery items." He said the team had met neighbors, would forgo higher‑revenue options such as a fuel station or drive‑through, and planned to hire locally.

Neighbors urged the commission to limit or deny the rezoning. Eric Rowe, who lives a few houses from the proposed site, said the request was "not about one property changing use. It represents another step in the gradual conversion of [a] residential neighborhood into one with institutional and commercial use type uses" and warned of cumulative impacts on the single‑family character. Beth Rowe, likewise living nearby, said the neighborhood deserved preservation of single‑family residential homes and suggested the applicant seek commercially zoned locations instead.

Neighbors raised specific requests for curb installation, trash containment, tree planting, rodent control and limited hours; Kathy Kidd asked the commission to prohibit drive‑through windows and certain high‑turnover financial or pawn‑shop uses, and to require a closing time no later than 11 p.m. Magnosje said he was amenable to negotiating many of those points and that the developers planned to work with neighbors on details during site‑plan and design review.

Commissioner Bedrosian moved to support staff’s recommendation with amendments that listed permitted conditional uses (including consumer convenience services, limited food sales and restaurant uses) and explicitly prohibited drive‑in accessory uses tied to financial services, food sales, general retail convenience and restaurants. Bedrosian also asked staff to work with the applicant to codify neighborhood commitments, and he said the applicant indicated willingness to accept SNAP benefits. Commissioner Breton seconded the motion. The commission approved the recommendation as amended unanimously.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded through the city’s review process; staff said the conditional overlay can be further refined before any council action. The record from this hearing also noted that requirements such as neighborhood‑side streets, tree planting and trash management are often handled through private agreements or site‑plan conditions rather than through zoning alone, and neighbors were advised to pursue a private covenant if they wish to add legally enforceable restrictions.