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McKinney’s Planning and Zoning Commission are recommending approval of several amendments to the city’s Unified Development Code.
The amendments are suggested by staff in light of recent changes to state law that took effect Sept. 1. The changes limit the city’s ability to regulate multifamily development and single-family lot sizes.
McKinney City Council members are expected to consider the amendments for final action Sept. 16, according to a city document.
The setup
City Planning Manager Hayley Angel presented the proposed amendments during a Sept. 9 meeting before commission members voted. Changes were proposed in response to three bills passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this year.
“These were mostly wording changes,” Angel said. “There’s nothing too substantial that’s come out of them.”
The details
Multiple changes were proposed in order to comply with state law. In response to SB 840, staff are proposing to change the name of the city’s “MF-30” multifamily zoning district to “MF-36” to reflect new density requirements, according to a city document. Amendments are also being made to reflect new requirements for parking, building height and setback distance.
City staff are proposing additional standards for multifamily developments in nonresidential districts, such as:
In response to HB 24, staff are increasing the number of days required for a notification sign to be posted prior to a commission meeting and modifying requirements for zoning protest petitions.
Quote of note
“When it comes to responding to changes from state law, sometimes we just look for compliance so we want to make sure our code is in compliance with what's required by state law,” Angel said. “Other times we might have the ability to look at our regulations as a whole and say, ‘How do we adapt to this new regulatory environment?’”
