A few months ago, Marco Castaneda of Angel’s Car Wash approached the City of Navasota with the idea to begin using the lot he owns on Washington Avenue to begin selling vehicles.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, the floor was open for debate, which included about an hour of public comments from concerned citizen’s and council alike. The item was tabled on March 14th, to allow Mr. Castaneda and city staff to discuss concerns with the Overlay District, and the aesthetic look of a car lot in the “gateway” to historic downtown.
Comments began with citizen Melissa Walla, who lives near Angel’s, and raised issue with the effect it would have on the charm of town.
“A used car lot is not even close to being in the vision of Navasota’s Historic Washington Avenue Drive. Did the vision change from keeping Navasota beautiful and retaining its historic charm, to whatever business wants to establish can do so, without regard to effects on the aesthetic charm of this area? Approving this used car lot would be taking a step backwards in the progress of this community,” said Walla.
Of the 6 public comments made, most revolved around the same argument.
Mr. Castaneda mentioned starting with six cars, and eventually expanding should the need arise.
Proponents for the ordinance, such as councilman Bernie Gessner, says this would be a respectable lot, and add actually to the beauty of Washington Avenue.
“Things I heard from people talking, they just were talking of some stereotypical car lot, with the worst possible scenario. Yet, we have this ability with our zoning ordinance, and use permit type things, to dictate hours of operations, no lights, fence around it…we can control it. We can’t right now. He could keep doing what he is doing, and keep selling cars there without telling us…he is trying to do this the right way.”
After some more discussion, the proposal failed to allow Angel’s Car Wash on Washington Avenue to sell vehicles. The vote ended 2-2, with Mayor Bert Miller and Councilman Gessner voting in favor, and Councilmen Josh Fultz and Grant Holt against. Councilwoman Pattie Pederson was not in attendance.
If you have questions, contact the city. For the full video, you can visit the city website.
