By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City council members took no action on a south Del Rio bar owner’s request for a zoning change after hearing from another business owner and several neighbors who spoke against it.
The zoning change request was considered by the Del Rio City Council at its most recent meeting on Jan. 24 and included a public hearing on the request and discussion and possible action of an ordinance approving the request.
Mayor Al Arreola opened the public hearing on the request by Xavier Curiel, owner of La Cantina Bar and Restaurant, 1009 S. Main St., to change the zoning of his property from commercial first height to commercial second height.
In an informational packet provided to council members, City Planner Janice Pokrant noted Curiel had requested the zoning change “to exempt the property from off-street parking requirements for a restaurant/bar.”
Pokrant told the council a total of 55 notices of the zoning change request had been mailed to property owners in the immediate area, and she said 13 letters opposing the request and no letters supporting it had been returned. Pokrant said she had also received a petition from parents whose children attend the daycare center located next to the Curiel’s bar.
“The property owner would like to develop a restaurant/bar in the house on this property. Restaurants and bars are permitted within the current (zoning of the property). A change from commercial first height to commercial second height would waive the requirement for off-street parking and for a front-yard setback. The proposed use would require parking at the ratio of one parking space for every five people as designated by the occupant load for the business,” Pokrant wrote.
She noted Curiel had requested the same zoning change in January 2022. She said the city’s planning and zoning commission had recommended denial of the request, and the city council at that time had denied the request.
Curiel, in his application for the zoning change, wrote, “The entire commercial downtown does not require parking. This change would be in harmony with what the city is trying to do, make downtown a tourist attraction by reviving downtown.”
“It would not be any harm. In fact, it would be an asset to the growth of the city,” Curiel added.
During the Jan. 24 public hearing on the zoning change request, several citizens spoke against the request.
Maria Martinez, owner of the Learning Express Daycare, located on South Main and West Ney streets just south of the proposed bar property, handed out a set of photos to the council and said, “I’m here in opposition of the cantina opening next to our daycare . . . First of all, if you can see, if we allow this cantina to open next to our daycare, we’ve been there for almost 30 years now, more than 30 years, and we’ve ranged from 40 to 80 kids at times. We have 40-something families that we provide a service to.
“As you can see from the pictures, the owner of the cantina has been working at that building for a while now. They have set fires where they burn stuff. You have one of the pictures there . . . As far as I know, he hasn’t gotten permits for any of the jobs that he’s done. He’s built a fence without any permits. He’s put up the sign without any permits,” Martinez added.
She said parents of children attending her daycare are concerned that if the bar opens during the hours her business is open, “there’s going to be drunk people there; they can throw bottles, cans, drugs, syringes, who knows what can happen.”
She said the only thing dividing the daycare property from the bar next door is a chain link fence.
Martinez said her clients consider her daycare as their children’s second home.
“With a place selling liquor next door, no parent feels safe dropping off their children, knowing that men and women who are intoxicated may come near our playground,” she told the council.
Aaron Rodriguez, county treasurer, also addressed the council and said he was appearing before the council as the parent of a student who attends the daycare.
“What I presented to the city attorney and the city secretary are references to Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Chapter 11 . . . (and) this part of the law states that a general denial can be held, and I refer you to the sections that I’ve highlighted, under 11.4, Section 8, ‘The place or manner in which the applicant may conduct the applicant’s business warrants a denial if the application for a permit based on the general health, welfare, peace, morals and safety of the people and on the public sense of decency.’
“As you know, this is right next to a daycare. Section 12, ‘The applicant does not provide an adequate building available at the address for which the permit is sought before conducting any activity authorized by his permit.’
“As you all may have seen, it is not an adequate place to have what they want to conduct. If we move on to Section 11.431, and this actually applies to larger municipalities, over one million, but I figure it applies to our city as well, to our community. ‘Any point of the property line or premise is less than 300 feet from the nearest point of a property line of a residence, church, school, hospital, daycare facility, or social service facility as measured in a straight line.’
“If I may, council, this is right next to a daycare center. The only division is a chain link fence. I ask if you had children there, or grandchildren, would you feel this is acceptable?” Rodriguez said.
Arreola then closed the public hearing, and City Secretary Mari Acosta read the heading of the ordinance requesting the zoning change.
“Do I have a motion from the council?” Arreola asked.
When no motion was made, Councilman Jim DeReus said he had two questions for the city planner.
“One, this has come before us before, so it should be a simple yes or no. Has anything changed from the previous time when we disapproved this?” DeReus asked.
“There is nothing that we are presenting you today that has changed,” Pokrant replied.
“And then the second question really is about the work that has been done. Have any permit requests been pulled for the work that has been done?” DeReus asked.
“No, there have not been any permits pulled for the work that has been done,” Pokrant replied.
“Not having a motion, this dies,” Arreola said before moving on to the next agenda item.
After the meeting, Pokrant said Curiel’s cantina is currently not in operation and added Curiel may resubmit his request for the zoning change again in six months.
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