MUSTANG ISLAND, Texas — On Tuesday, a proposal came before Corpus Christi City Council for a development on Highway 361 on Mustang Island. The proposal includes a hotel that would include 98 rooms, and an RV park with 155 spaces.
However, residents on Mustang Island are not in favor of the RV park. Led by Carl Badalich, more than 180 residents signed a petition against the proposal. One component of the plan residents are against is an RV park lowering property value for the area.
“This is a bigger tax burden on the housing development. Port Aransas schools have asked for more funding, they have received the votes to get more funding,” Badalich said.
Armando Bass, another resident against the proposal, is worried about the natural beauty of the area.
“The main thing is retaining the beauty, the safety of island residents, and the property values. I think the island needs to be taken care of, so it can retain its natural beauty in this area,” Bass said.
Bass is also concerned with RVs creating safety issues if they need to evacuate the area because of a hurricane.
“Especially during evacuation, Highway 361 is a main corridor on and off the island. That’s going to create a traffic jam of people trying to get off the island, there are a lot of safety concerns there,” he said.
Al Raymond, Director of Development Services with the City of Corpus Christi, said the plot of land that this project would improve has been sitting unused for years.
“We annexed this in 2001, so if this guy wasn’t here, it would be 20 years, and we’re just sitting on it,” he said.
Raymond is aware of the complaints about the RV park, but said it would not be a ‘trailer park’ like he said some opponents have called it.
“[The developer] said basically says it’s a custom RV park, so it’s kind of high end.”
Raymond also hopes the development of this proposal will encourage more developers to work in the area.
“Coming in January, there will be another property just south of this one, on the same side of the road, that wants to change to zoning for an RV recreational park as well,” he said. “This development, whether it’s a hotel, RV park, or whatever, helps other developments. Development breeds development.”
Badalich said he would rather see the area turned into housing communities, like the plots of land surrounding them.
“Housing and condo development employ a lot of people, many different occupations; construction, real estate, lumber, engineering, city permits, to name a few,” Badalich said.
Bass is concerned with outside developers coming to the area, and taking money away from the people of Mustang Island.
“They’re not local companies or local individuals that have an interest in what’s best for the island,” he said.
City Council tabled the discussion on the proposal on Tuesday, citing more information needed to make a decision. The developer was asked to create a rendering of what the area will look like with his proposal, which Raymond said will take a few months to complete, and will likely not be ready before the first City Council meeting in 2021.
