At its Feb. 6 meeting, Leander City Council unanimously approved two measures related to the 29.04-acre parcel west of Toll 183A and approximately 0.4 miles south of the intersection with RM 2243. The first amended the city’s comprehensive plan to change the parcel from a blend of residential and mixed-use to exclusively activity center zoning, a designation that permits a variety of commercial development types, according to city documents.
The second item, to amend the city’s zoning ordinances so that the property fronting the road is exclusively general commercial and not a blend of commercial and mixed-use, advances to a second public hearing Feb. 20 before it can pass, according to the city.
Jarrett Sullivan, vice president of development at CWS Capital Partners LLC, represented the developer, Leander 30 LP, which owns the entire 29.04-acre parcel, at the meeting.
Behind the 5.6 acres of proposed commercial zoning are 17.3 acres zoned as multifamily and 6.1 acres zoned as single-family residential.
Current zoning allows 432 apartments and 18 single-family homes there, according to the city. Instead, the developer has proposed 320 apartment units and the conversion of single-family lots into a park.
To soften the property’s southern border with established single-family housing, Sullivan said the developer has agreed to create a 6.1-acre park while keeping an undeveloped strip with a trail along the southern border.
The overwhelming majority of citizens speaking at the Feb. 6 council meeting approved the two changes, as well as the developer for making concessions.
Council Member Marci Cannon lauded the developer for “giving up 18 single-family lots to create a park and moving commercial to where it obviously belongs.”
“This is an example of how to get things done,” Council Member Kathryn Pantalion-Parker said.
At its Jan. 9 meeting, Leander’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that council deny the requests. Sullivan said at the Feb. 6 meeting that team was at fault for not providing enough information to the commission before the vote.
