Council OKs request for permit to operate Splawn Ranch liquor store near new Mexican restaurant

Vela represents Mohammed in the application process for the conditional use permit and to obtain a liquor permit for the new store at 10640 S. Fort Hood St.

“There is a convenience store, as we all know, next to it,” Vela said. “They already sell beer and wine. There is a ... bar — a lounge, if you will — across the street that sells liquor, beer and wine. There is a Mexican restaurant in the same building that’s coming up, and they’re going to be going through the steps in applying for an alcohol permit for the restaurant in the near future. This is why we are asking for this zoning change, so Mr. Mohammed here can obtain his liquor store permit.”

Anca Deagu, who has become a regular speaker at City Council meetings, said during a public hearing that she supports the request.

“I am in favor of approving this,” she said. “I drive by that area a lot and for those who don’t know, at least half of that building has been vacant for years. Nothing (is) going on there. And where that Mexican restaurant is going to open soon, thank God. It’s been vacant ever since it opened. Anybody willing to open a business that’s in high demand, I think, should be allowed.”

Mayor Pro Tem Ken Wilkerson agreed.

“I do see the concerns here, and I read them,” he said. “And it made me think back on another project that we had come before us in a public hearing that was actually less than 200 meters from my house. I voted in favor of it because we get in this mindset that anything to do with alcohol... is going to make it just a crime-infested area and we don’t take time to really look at that and see if it actually applies.”

According to Planning and Zoning Commission documents, two residents opposed the request in writing.

Wilkerson said that council members must “make sure when we do approve these type of things that they are quality venues. This is just an example of that.”

Killeen Planning and Zoning commissioners in a 3-2 vote recommended approval during a meeting on Feb. 6. Council members approved the applicant’s request for a conditional use permit, 5-1, with Michael Boyd in opposition.