Copperas Cove Planning & Zoning approves rezoning request for OSDCT

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

During a Monday meeting, the Copperas Cove Planning & Zoning Commission approved the rezoning of two properties, 201 and 203 Carpenter St., from R-3 (Multifamily Residential) to B-4 (General Retail District). 
The site, presently two vacant lots located on a side street one block off Robertson Avenue and opening into Cove Terrace Shopping Center, will eventually become the future home of Operation Stand Down Central Texas. 
Joann and Christopher Courtland purchased the property in August 2019, where they intend to build a 4,500 square foot warehouse and office building, according to the rezoning application. The facility will have parking and space available for two offices and a donation drop-off area. After the rezoning, there will need to be a minor re-plat to combine the existing two properties into one parcel. Once the re-plat is approved and recorded, building permits can be issued for construction.
Joann Courtland, founder and director of the nonprofit, declined to share any details at this time about the future warehouse and office space until after the rezoning request goes through city council sometime in January. 
The nonprofit which aids homeless veterans in the greater Fort Hood area, primarily through its two-times-per-year stand downs, has been located in Cove Terrace Shopping Center. 
The proposed new warehouse and offices will be nearly double the space where the nonprofit’s headquarters are now located. Part of the site serves as a storage area for donated clothing, shoes, outerwear and personal hygiene items. There is a washer and dryer on site for laundering donated items,
Courtland started the nonprofit in the garage of her Copperas Cove home, and received her inspiration from when the family was stationed in Huntsville, Ala. and she and her mother participated in Operation Stand Down Huntsville. 
Over the past two years, the semiannual Stand Down, previously held at the National Guard Armory in Killeen and then eventually the Killeen Community Center, has expanded to work with the Central Texas Homeless Coalition. Veterans and other homeless are provided a chance to shower, get a hot meal and a haircut, and given clothing and hygiene items. Service groups are also on hand at stand downs to help direct veterans for services to include health screenings and more.