Denton City Council approves land use changes for approximately 55 acres along US 380

Denton City Council members approved an amendment to the city’s Future Land Use Map for roughly 55 acres along US 380 at an Oct. 14 meeting.

The vote passed 4-3 with council members Brian Beck, Brandon McGee and Suzi Rumohr opposing.

In a nutshell

The amendment changes about 33.5 acres—located south of US 380, between Geesling Road and North Trinity Road—from a rural designation to light industrial.

The amendment also changes about 21.8 acres—located north and south of US 380 beginning at North Trinity Road and extending approximately 0.4 miles—from low residential to community mixed use.

Over the last year and a half, city staff have received a variety of development inquiries regarding properties within and adjacent to the area that are inconsistent with the current zoning designations, Assistant Planner Erin Stanley said.

She said the new designations better match nearby land uses and prepare the corridor for Denton’s continued growth.

The amendment does not immediately change any property's zoning, but it provides guidance for future rezoning requests consistent with the updated land use map.

Diving deeper

Stanley gave a presentation explaining the zoning designations.

Primary uses for land with a light industrial designation include:

• Light manufacturing
• Warehousing and distribution
• Offices, retail and restaurants

For land with a community mixed use designation, commercial uses remain predominant with residential uses acting as complimentary.

Stanley said staff considered requesting the 21.8 acres also be changed to a light residential designation, but decided commercial mixed use was more appropriate because it will:

• Provide neighborhood services at a scale appropriate for US 380
• Buffer industrial uses and traffic
• Provide higher design standards near adjacent residential zoning

What they’re saying

Rumohr expressed concern about how this would impact traffic and potentially cause more accidents.

“It’s creating development along that corridor, so it’s congesting [the road] but also creating more of that potential for those deadly collisions,” Rumohr said.

Council member Jill Jester said she reached out to the city’s transportation services division and said after looking at the plans and hearing citizen concerns, staff recommended approval of the changes.

“Because of that, and the fact that we’re going to vet each and every project as it comes through, ... that’s why I’m voting in favor.”

One more thing

The updated land use map does not immediately change any property’s zoning, but it does provide guidance for future rezoning requests.