Commissioners voted 5-1 to recommend approval of the items at their Oct. 20 meeting, with Commissioner Sean Lingenfelter voting against both items due to remaining concerns about traffic, screening and fire access limitations.
Zooming in
The developer, Trammel Crow Company, is asking for a zoning change for 3.3 acres from agricultural to single-family residential, with a concept plan detailing two-story townhomes on 2.3 acres of the property.
The property, located at the southwest corner of Windhaven Parkway and Midway Road, will include 15 single-family attached townhome units with detached garages, according to city documents.
Additionally, the zoning change also included a specific use permit for a private street subdivision. Access to the property is planned to use a one-way slip road that will run parallel to Windhaven Parkway.
After the development was tabled by commissioners Aug. 18, the developer has made several changes, including:
- Requiring minimum setbacks and landscape buffers from the southern property line
- Adding screening from the alleyway
- Removing access to Red Wolf Lane from the proposed complex
- Reducing proposed townhome units from 16 to 15
All 12 responses received within 200 feet of the property site opposed the request, according to city documents.
What they’re saying
Plano residents in the Red Wolf Estates Neighbors Group, located directly south of the proposed site, wrote in a letter to the commission Aug. 14 that they opposed the zoning request due to concerns about safety, compatibility and neighborhood character.
“If approved, we believe that [the rezoning] will have a negative impact on our quality of life and would further erode our current residential environment,” the group said in the letter. “We have invested heavily, both financially and personally, in our properties, and this proposal undermines those investments.”
Christy Davidson, a resident of Red Wolf Estates, said despite not allowing access through the complex, Red Wolf Lane will likely become a “cut through” road, increasing traffic and safety concerns.
“We always knew the field behind us with the longhorn cattle would not stay,” Davidson said. “We knew it would probably be developed, but we naturally assumed it would be single-family homes like the ones that surround the property now. [We] never thought it would be an extension of Austin Ranch.”
Another perspective
Bianca Martinez, representative with the Midway Park Homeowners Association located near the property, said adding 15 townhome units will not affect the overall growth at Austin Ranch and the increased thoroughfare traffic on Windhaven.
“It’s almost in our best interest to lock this in with people that are willing to work with us,” Martinez said. “I would rather see a controlled set of townhomes that match the ones that are already built next door than have some urgency where everyone’s trying to build more multifamily."
Lucy Billingsley, partner with the Billingsley Company and developer of Austin Ranch, said they bought the property over 40 years ago and plan to maintain it long-term.
“We are multigenerational long-term players and have owned the development next door since we built it,” Billingsley said.
Looking ahead
The zoning change and concept plan will go before City Council members at their Nov. 10 meeting.
