The San Antonio Zoning Commission on Tuesday continued consideration of a rezoning request for 3371 Roosevelt Avenue, the proposed "Roosevelt Arts and Event Center," after more than an hour of public testimony and questions from commissioners. The case was continued to the commission's Nov. 4 meeting by a motion that carried on a roll-call vote.

The proposal, presented by zoning planner Samantha Benavides and attorney Mitsuko Ramos for property owner Garcia Properties, Inc., would rezone the site from C2 (Commercial) to IDZ-2 (medium-intensity infill development) and add specific uses to allow an event center, occasional bingo events and live entertainment without a cover charge three or more days per week. Benavides told commissioners staff recommended approval of the zoning district and said the site sits in an existing commercial corridor and that a site plan would limit building expansion and ensure parking was provided.

Why it matters: Neighbors and two neighborhood associations said the requested uses are too intensive for a property next to single-family lots in the Mission San Jose area and could bring late-night noise, parking overflow and gambling activity. The applicant said the center would clear a blighted, vacant site, provide landscaping, security lighting and cameras, create about 40 jobs and represent a roughly $2.5 million investment.

The applicant, Mitsuko Ramos, said Garcia Event Centers plans to renovate the existing structure, repave and restripe the parking lot and operate a multi-room event center with a rooftop terrace. Ramos said the owner intends to coordinate with local schools and community groups and that most events would end by midnight. "We're not planning on actually leasing it out permanently to a bingo hall operator or run a 24/7 bingo hall," Ramos said, adding the bingo use would be for occasional events rather than as a primary, around-the-clock business.

Opponents, led by Jane Henry, president of the Mission San Jose Neighborhood Association, urged denial. Henry said her group met with the applicant several times over two years and repeatedly opposed adding bingo and outdoor music. "No one in our neighborhood wants bingo," Henry said. She also disputed the extent of neighborhood support the applicant cited and raised parking concerns, saying the lot has about 158 spaces while the applicant had told neighbors they expect events of 400–500 people.

Brady Alexander of the Hot Wells Mission Reach Neighborhood Association said the rezoning would set an unwanted precedent for the area and argued the site is not appropriate for an intensive entertainment use. Several residents and two recorded voicemails were split, with some callers in support of redevelopment and others aligned with neighborhood opposition.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on which uses could be limited, on whether the existing noise ordinance would be enforced and whether the IDZ designation was necessary. Staff told commissioners that state law and the city's UDC influence allowed certain by-right uses at some densities and that the noise ordinance and code enforcement are the mechanisms for addressing noise and nuisance complaints, not the zoning case itself. Staff also said the applicant had reduced an earlier, larger request from IDZ-3 to IDZ-2 and had removed a buildable area along the Roosevelt frontage after neighborhood feedback.

After extended discussion, District 3 Commissioner George Hinojosa moved to continue the case to Nov. 4 to allow further meetings between the applicant and neighborhood groups and to give parties time to clarify proposed uses and conditions; the motion passed on a roll-call vote.

The commission record shows the applicant and neighborhood association agreed to continue working together; the item will return to the Zoning Commission Nov. 4 for further consideration.