Leander City Council and the Leander Planning and Zoning Commission met Jan. 9 to discuss changes to the city's Smart Code, which dictates how development can occur in the Transit-Oriented Development District.

Consultants Sandy Sorlien and Michael Watkins with Michael Watkins Architecture presented an updated version of the Smart Code—version 9.2—to the two boards at a special joint work session. Each member gave his or her own vision of how the area known as the TOD, which surrounds the Capital Metro train station near US 183, should be developed in the coming years.

"This is our unique area. This is also our future and our identity in the future," said councilwoman Kirsten Lynch. "I love the idea of vertical [construction] rather than horizontal. I know there will be neighborhoods on the outskirts, but I envision the community core being businesses."

Several board members said more focus should be placed on a smaller, dense urban core, possibly allowing for more flexibility for developers. The 2,300-acre area has a TIRZ, or Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which was put in place by City Council and Williamson County in 2006.

"The questions I hear coming from landowners are, what is the council's vision for the area and what do we expect to happen in the area of the TOD," Mayor Chris Fielder said. "The TIRZ is the outlying boundaries. The TOD is within that with a compact number of acres."

Within the TIRZ, 50 percent of the taxes collected by both the city of Leander and Williamson County on new value goes into a tax increment fund. Money in the fund can be allocated to fund reimbursements for infrastructure and major projects identified by the city, Leander Planning Director Tom Yantis said.

The consultants will consider feedback from City Council and the P&Z Commission, and in late February deliver new drafts of the Smart Code and the revised transect map, which targets intersections of future high population density, he said. Land stakeholders and residents are invited to attend.

"After February it will probably take three or four weeks to finish up the final drafts based on feedback," Yantis said. "We will start the public hearing process in late March or early April."