The project, proposed by Dallas-based Billingsley Company, plans for a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, commercial space and urban multifamily units that would be located north of US 380. McKinney’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended zoning approval during an April 10 meeting.
What happened
Council member Patrick Cloutier made the motion to table the zoning request. Council members voted 5-1 to approve the motion. Mayor George Fuller voted against the motion, and council member Charlie Philips was not present for the vote.
Cloutier said he appreciated that staff presented the item but he needed “a bit more time” on some land use issues so he made the motion to table. The action came after presentations from city staff and Lucy Billingsley, partner at the Billingsley Company.
About the project
If approved, the new zoning will allow for development of multifamily residential, single-family residential and commercial space and open space on about 785 acres north of US 380. The land uses would be broken into several different pods, Planning Manager Caitlyn Strickland said.
Single-family residential homes are planned for the west and south sides of the proposed development, according to the staff presentation. Urban multifamily units will be developed near the center with commercial space planned on the north and east sides.
There are triggers for developing the multifamily component, Strickland said. Single-family development will include a mix of townhomes and detached houses, according to the presentation.
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.
Billingsley said the proposed location of the US 380 bypass was the “real motivator” for the new zoning request. The land is currently zoned for more than 720 acres of single-family residential development and 24 acres of commercial.
The Billingsley Company has developed multiple master-planned communities similar to the proposed Huntington Park. The company’s development portfolio includes Cypress Waters in Dallas and Grapevine Mills Crossing in Grapevine.
Billingsley said the development team first thinks through the parks, lakes and trails of any master-planned community in order to “define the public realm.”
“When we’re doing these master-planned communities, we know that the first thing we do is [we] have to define the public realm,” she said. “We’ve got to say ‘what is that environment to be like?’ Once the public realm is created, then you can come in with the buildings and the amenities.”
When the development team starts building, the first thing that’s done can impact everything else that’s left, Billingsley said.
“We have to do it right and enhance the rest of the development,” she said. “And that happens as we go all the way through.”
