Leander city leaders are looking for new ways to advance their vision of an urban downtown destination district centered around the city's Capital Metro train station.

In 2005, the city created a 2,300-acre transit-oriented development district, or TOD around the train station. City leaders have invested half of the city's 2 percent sales tax in Capital Metro services with hopes of drawing dense, urbanlike development to the empty land that surrounds the station. Planners say they envision TOD visitors—who might arrive by train or attend the Austin Community College campus planned for the site—easily walking among clusters of businesses, offices and restaurants.

But during joint public forums in early 2014 and years prior, TOD stakeholders have argued the TOD concept and its governing Smart Code regulations are too complicated and restrictive for incoming developers. On May 6 real estate broker Joe McAllister told members of Leander City Council and the Leander Planning and Zoning Commission the TOD concept has restricted the city's growth.

"You all have done the best job that I've ever seen to discourage new businesses from your community," McAllister said. "This TOD is just bad news to the development community, and Smart Code complicates it more and confuses them."

The TOD Smart Code restricts, among other measures, large parking lots that are typical for big-box retailers. Broker Rick Castleberry said he has tried to explain the TOD to developers, but developers insist on a project that would allow big-box retailers to build first.

"[Developers] don't particularly laugh; they just look at me like I'm crazy," Castleberry said.

Leander director of development services Tom Yantis said some national chains are often unwilling to build a store that varies from their existing blueprints.

"They want to buy a lot [of land], build their building on it and surround the building with parking," he said.

In response to feedback, City Council and P&Z have discussed ways to rethink the TOD vision, including converting some land from Smart Code zoning to conventional zoning, updating the Smart Code rules and marketing the TOD vision to a new pool of potential developers.

"We're still trying to create that core around the train station to take advantage of the millions of dollars in investment that the city has made in transit," Yantis said. "If we hadn't made that investment in the transit, I think it would be easier to let go of the vision."

On June 26, P&Z members plan to recommend updates to the TOD's size and zoning uses as well as to the Smart Code regulations. City Council is expected to discuss the recommendations on July 3. Council could then vote on the final map on July 17, Yantis said.

Downsizing the TOD

Using input from the city and developers, consultants have proposed three new maps for the TOD that convert areas from Smart Code to conventional zoning.

One map being considered would reduce zones governed by the Smart Code by about 72 percent, from 2,300 acres to 640 acres—changing all land east of Toll 183A and most land north of San Gabriel Parkway to conventional zoning. Two other map options would each deduct an additional 90 acres from the remaining area governed by the Smart Code.

Updating the Smart Code

P&Z also plans to propose updates to the Smart Code to add flexibility to some architectural standards and to make the code's language easier for developers to interpret, Yantis said.

"We recognize that the current version of the Smart Code that we have adopted is [nine] years old," he said. "There have been a lot of improvements to that code over the last [nine] years that we've never adopted."

For example, the city may opt to ease restrictions on TOD building exteriors, Yantis said. The updated Smart Code could also allow some avenues such as Hero Way, which previously restricted street parking, to add side streets that allow space for more parking, Yantis said.

Marketing the TOD

In June, City Council is also set to review updated TOD marketing materials created by consulting firm M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates. City Council hired Gensler in December and joined consultants for a brainstorming session in January on marketing ideas. The marketers created the phrase Destination Leander for branding the TOD. After City Council's approval of the marketing materials, Gensler will work with the city to establish a new promotional website for the TOD and distribute brochures to developers and retailers.

City leaders still want to promote a walkable, urban concept even if the TOD's size is reduced, Yantis said.

"[The TOD is] going to be a partnership between the city, the property owner, the developer, probably Capital Metro [and] potentially Austin Community College," he said. "It's going to take us some time to put this type of deal together. But I think long-term the value that [the TOD] creates for the community and the place that it creates for the community is far superior."