With pressure from developers mounting as the demand for housing increases, Plano is turning its attention to smaller plots of commercially-zoned land to provide additional housing.

A housing study conducted by the city's Planning Department last year found that less than 1 percent of undeveloped land in Plano is zoned residential, leading to the amendment of unused commercial land zoning allowing for apartments and townhomes.

"We [changed] the zoning ordinance to allow for certain residential types [such as] patio apartments and single-family attached homes, which provide us with a denser type of single residential [housing]," Plano Director of Planning Christina Day said. "We have limited sources land-wise. The land is out there [for housing] but it doesn't have the zoning."

Plano's comprehensive plan provides guidance for developing the commercially zoned land, but lately the issue of infill development is being addressed on a site-by-site basis. By mapping out unused parcels, Day and her department are able to prepare for the next proposal from the next developer.

"The challenge for Plano is that for so many years, land was one of our greatest resources. We had [a lot] available that allowed us to have abundant opportunities for growth," Day said. "Now it's a little more of a challenge because the undeveloped land is in short supply."

Build it and they will come

In a 6-1 vote at a regular meeting Feb. 9, City Council approved a zoning request made by Winstead, P.C., a law firm representing developer Alliance Residential Co., to rezone 6.3-acres at Plano Parkway and Preston Road, formerly a Lexus car dealership. Representatives presented their plans for the vacant lot, which included a 460-unit, five-story multifamily complex.

Residents opposed to the measure cited traffic congestion along the Preston Road corridor to the President George Bush Turnpike as well as the number of existing apartment buildings in the area and concerns about water supply.

Council members that night also voted unanimously in favor of a similar zoning request that allowed for the development of a 180-unit, single-family townhome community at the intersection of Independence and Plano parkways. The empty L-shaped lot was zoned commercial and has been vacant for roughly three decades.

Residents from neighboring communities voiced similar objections, stating the new Villas of Middleton would exacerbate existing traffic conditions. The council voted in favor of the request with certain privacy fencing, green space and strategic entrance point requirements put in place.

New developments like these will be ideal for working professionals and families moving to the area, said Brian Klein, managing director of Ion Design Group, a design company working with Megatel Homes on the Villas of Middleton project.

"[Plano] has had some very good news as far as its employment centers go and the number of jobs that are coming to town. A lot of those people are going to be looking for new housing," Klein said. "This is an opportunity to provide some new housing in somewhat of a different format than the traditional, suburban single-family [housing]. It's also a suitable use for an unusually shaped infill parcel."

A balancing act

A 2001 tri-city retail study conducted with the cities of Carrollton and Richardson revealed that Plano already had much more retail space per capita than the national average. With Plano overzoned for retail, infill development is an opportunity for the city to grow in the right direction, Mayor Harry LaRosiliere said.

Infill residential developments are a component in the city's long-term plan, but the reason why those tracts are there is because no one found an appropriate use for them, LaRosiliere added, hence their "orphaned" status.

"I see this as a tremendous opportunity. We're in a fortunate situation where people want to come to Plano," he said. "As the mature city [in Collin County], we have to be strategic and decide [how best] to attract the young, vibrant workforce that's coming along with these companies as our existing demographics mature."

Infill housing was a topic of discussion at a City Council retreat in November. The city's overall goal is to increase its population by roughly 10 percent over the next 10 to 15 years. That means using these properties in a manner that allows the city to be denser and more vertical, LaRosiliere said.

But the timeline for when these orphaned parcels are built out depends on strength of the economy, Day said. In the meantime, the Planning Department takes resident concerns into consideration, but also takes into account the overall impact these developments will have on the city as a whole. The experience is something both she and LaRosiliere said has proven to be a balancing act.

"We're experiencing a renaissance that most cities don't see," LaRosiliere said. "We've had periods there where things slowed down a bit, but it didn't fall. Now we have an influx of businesses bringing in new people; we know we're not going to capture all of them, but we certainly want a share of the new folks coming, and they want to be here."