Flannigan rounds up votes for Hymeadow redo

Council Member Jimmy Flannigan has evidently engineered what may be a minor miracle in the zoning world. On Aug. 10, City Council voted against a change in zoning that would allow for a liquor store to operate at what is now a vacant retail store at 12611 Hymeadow Drive. With Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Pio Renteria both out of town on city business, five members of Council voted in favor of the rezoning, but passage would have required six votes. After hearing pleas from neighborhood members not to add another liquor outlet to the neighborhood, four Council members voted against the change. At the time, Assistant City Attorney Mitzi Cotton told Council that one of the four who voted against the change would have to make a motion to reconsider. When none of them volunteered to do that, it appeared that the case would be dead for the next 18 months. However, Flannigan said Tuesday that the rules for passing a new resolution are different from the rules for reconsideration. He has rounded up three co-sponsors for a resolution to rescind that vote and direct staff to mail notices of a public hearing for the case to be reconsidered, probably in October. Flannigan noted that the applicant will pay for the cost of mailing the notices. The co-sponsors include Adler, Renteria and Council Member Delia Garza. Neighbors have already noticed and can be expected to make themselves heard once again. This is the first time for such a rescission of a zoning vote in this writer’s recollection and could set a precedent that will discomfort some.