Construction of large rental homes targeted to college students in Bryan without prior city approval will continue for at least another three months.
That’s after the Bryan city council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to delay action until next January on a proposal from the planning and zoning commission related to what is officially known as detached shared homes, but are more commonly known at stealth dorms and Aggie Shacks.
Speakers included P&Z members Kyle Incardona and John Bush, who spent nine months as members of a subcommittee that held numerous public meetings and collected data.
Other speakers included one of the developers of the detached shared homes, Justin Whitworth, who spoke for 85 percent of those building the large rental homes.
Mayor Andrew Nelson, who voted to postpone, noted council action over the summer that reduced the minimum requirement to establish restrictions under a neighborhood conservation district from 66 to 58 percent of property owners in a defined area.
The city of Bryan currently has 40 neighborhood conservation districts, covering more than 26 hundred homes. Since the minimum percentage was changed, there is at least one neighborhood actively seeking that designation.
Joining Nelson to postpone regulating new construction of large rental homes were Mike Southerland, Greg Owens, Reuben Marin, and Prentiss Madison.
Voting against postponing action were councilmen Ben Hardeman and Buppy Simank.
Click below for a summary of comments from Kyle Incardona, Justin Whitworth, Ben Hardeman, and Andrew Nelson.
101017 Bryan council public hearing on stealth dorms