A developer’s plan to build a retail center on a former unregulated dumpsite in west Denton moved closer to becoming reality Tuesday.

The City Council voted 5-1 to endorse a special designation for the southwest corner of Interstate 35 and University Drive to allow development under relaxed environmental cleanup rules. Automobile parts, sheet metal, and pieces of brick and concrete have been found beneath the soil, and tests show elevated levels of arsenic, lead and mercury.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Joe Mulroy voted against the designation, which still needs final approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

“I think the signal needs to be sent that we cannot reward poor stewardship of the land,” Mulroy said.

Other council members said the designation would benefit the city by placing some restrictions on the property. Council member Charlye Heggins was absent.

As a condition of the designation, Denton is requiring the developer to complete the state’s voluntary cleanup program and meet the next most stringent cleanup rules after those for groundwater. Company representatives have said they plan to spend about $4 million to dig up and replace contaminated soil, but that the designation still would save them a considerable amount of money in cleanup costs.

“It’s not like anybody’s getting off on a free ride,” Mayor Perry McNeill said. “They are going to have to clean it up and they can’t drill a [water] well.”

Dallas-based Standridge Companies wants to buy the 8.2-acre site from the longtime owner, Rayzor Investments, and develop it. Last month, the developer asked the council to endorse a municipal setting designation for the property.

State legislators approved the designation in 2003 to offer a cheaper and faster way to turn polluted land into developable real estate. The law is designed for properties where water below the soil is contaminated but not needed for drinking, cooking, bathing or irrigating crops. The approval process requires cities to enact deed restrictions to ensure no one taps into the polluted water.

Supporters say landowners should not be held to drinking water standards at sites where no one would ever drill a well and where other public water supplies are available.

Opponents say the designation rewards polluters, ignores possible health risks, and lacks checks and balances.

No members of the public spoke against the designation. But residents Ed and Carol Soph submitted written opposition, saying the city shouldn’t ease environmental protection standards.

Also Tuesday, the council:

* Rejected a request to allow Chi Alpha, a Christian student ministry at the University of North Texas, to use a home at the southeast corner of West Oak and Miller streets as a fraternity house. The request met with heavy opposition from neighbors, who said a fraternity house wouldn’t be compatible with the neighborhood and would increase noise and traffic.

* Approved, on the first of two readings, the annexation of 835 acres of the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Area east of Denton. City leaders say the annexation would help the city better manage and preserve the natural area, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns. Some nearby property owners oppose annexation, saying the city isn’t equipped to provide services to the land. A final vote is set for Dec. 11.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .