McKinney commission recommends zoning approval for 785-acre Billingsley development

Lucy Billingsley, partner at the Billingsley Company, said the zoning change was requested in light of the proposed US 380 bypass location.

“The bypass naturally creates a huge barrier in the area and calls for commercial zoning next to it,” she said.

A mix of single-family residential and commercial development is currently slated for development on the land. If approved, the new zoning would lower the acreage dedicated to single-family and increase the acreage dedicated to commercial. Development officials are also planning to develop multifamily and open space.

McKinney City Council is expected to vote on the zoning request at a May 6 meeting.

The details

McKinney Chief Planner Kaitlin Sheffield detailed new proposed uses for the land before commission members voted. The new zoning would split the land into several different “pods” with different planned uses.

Single-family residential homes would be built on the west and south sides of the proposed development, according to the staff presentation. Urban multi-family will be developed near the center with commercial planned on the north and east sides.

Single-family development will include a mix of townhomes and detached houses, according to the presentation.

The developers are also planning urban multifamily in the brownstone style in four different pods on the property, Sheffield said.

“It will look and feel like a townhome development but it is truly a multifamily use,” she said.

Billingsley said the development aims to develop less dense uses further away from the planned US 380 bypass. Billingsley Company officials have been working with city staff on the project for a couple of years now, she said.

“This has been a long and well-vetted process,” Billingsley said.

The framework

Development of the multifamily component will be timed based on certain criteria. Site plans for any multifamily development cannot be submitted until the following criteria are met:

• A minimum of 12 acres of commercial development in pods 4 and 5 have an approved certificate of occupancy
• Either the section of US 380 that bypasses the development is under construction or a minimum of 100 acres of single family development have recorded a final plat.

“As a whole, the proposed rezoning request provides a variety of residential unit products and types,” Sheffield said. “This would provide opportunity for ownership and rental properties and as such staff is supportive of the request and we recommend approval.”