On July 3, Leander City Council heard the first reading for a redrawn map and updated special zoning regulations for the city's transit-oriented development, or TOD, district.
Since 2004, city leaders have aimed to draw development to the district, which is planned to be a walkable, urban downtown destination with restaurants and shops centered around the city's Capital Metro train station. City Council has said the proposed revisions to the map and zoning regulations are being made in response to TOD landowners and developers who want more flexibility.
The revised map would remove about 864 acres from the 2,300-acre TOD district, in which development follows special zoning regulations, or Smart Code. If City Council approves the changes, most of the rezoned property would fall under the city's conventional zoning rules, including sections west of US 183 and south of RM 2243.
In the TOD district's old downtown sector surrounding City Hall or the newly created conventional sectors, developers could choose to build according to the Smart Code or according to the city's standard zoning ordinances.
