HARLINGEN — The city commission’s new majority is allowing former Commissioner Robert Leftwich to waive a provision requiring developers install sidewalks as part of their projects.
Earlier this week, Leftwich, on behalf of CASA Engineering, requested a variance as he plans to build an apartment complex off North 21st Street near East Vinson Avenue.
During a meeting, commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of granting the variance, with Commissioner Michael Mezmar, who defeated Leftwich in last May’s election, casting the dissenting vote.
Last month, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 in favor of granting the variance, with board member J.V. Garcia, CASA Engineering’s co-owner, abstaining. The board granted the variance after staff recommended against waiving the requirement.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Xavier Cervantes, the city’s planning director, told commissioners the previous commission amended an ordinance in 2019 requiring developers install sidewalks as part of their projects.
“So, should we approve this, who pays for the sidewalks?” Mezmar asked Cervantes.
In response, Cervantes said the city would foot the bill.
“So you’re transferring the expense from a developer or developers — two individuals — to the taxpayers of Harlingen,” Mezmar said. “I don’t see the wisdom of giving a developer a sweetheart deal layup and having the citizens of Harlingen pay for that.”
$5,000 escrow account
During Cervantes’ presentation, Leftwich said the city was requiring him to put $5,000 in escrow to fund his development’s sidewalks.
“I’m going to develop it, I’m spending my money (and) you all are asking me to put $5,000 of sidewalk escrow money and then I’ve got to spend another $5,000 before I can go claim that money back,” Leftwich told commissioners. “That’s $10,000 of development that I could be applying to further escalate the completion of this project …. The fact is there’s no drainage there so I’m spending more money for detention ponds so I can meet a 50-year flood because the city has not invested in (drainage) there… so I’m paying more for some competency issues with the city.”
2019 ordinance requirement
Meanwhile, Commissioner Richard Uribe told Mezmar the previous commission granted variances allowing two developers to waive the provision requiring they install sidewalks as part of their projects.
“This commission has long done that and done away with that and not made the developers not put in sidewalks, especially when it was common sense that they didn’t have to put them in,” Uribe said.
In response, Mayor Chris Boswell told Uribe the previous commission allowed those two developers to complete their projects without installing sidewalks before amending an ordinance requiring developers install sidewalks in 2019.
“These developments Commissioner Uribe was talking about were built prior to 2019,” Boswell said. “The city commission in 2019 amended the ordinance to try to transfer the burden of building sidewalks in the future to the developers now.”
Boswell urged commissioners be consistent in enforcing the ordinance requiring developers install sidewalks.
“I think it’s good that we try to help developers reduce their costs but we’re not being consistent in the way we apply that and we’re making other developers spend a lot more money on things that they don’t think that they don’t need to do either,” he said.
