At an Aug. 6 public hearing, Plano Planning and Zoning commissioners unanimously approved changes to Plano’s zoning ordinances, subdivision rules and street design standards in response to state legislation geared at accelerating housing development.
The amendments will now head to Plano City Council Aug. 25 for a public hearing ahead of when the new legislation goes into effect Sept. 1.
Why it matters
Following the 89th Texas Legislative Session, which concluded June 2, numerous bills were signed into law that affect Plano zoning and planning regulations, including Senate Bill 840.
SB 840, authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, allows multifamily and mixed-use residential developments to be developed by-right in nonresidential zoning districts, including many areas Plano previously designated for retail, commercial or office use.
Plano officials, following discussions with commissioners and council members, drafted several amendments to comply with the new laws while attempting to preserve the city’s development standards.
Commissioners approved three main ordinances, with amendments including:
- Regulating residential density through height limits and minimum unit sizes
- Introducing updated building, site and landscape design standards
- Allowing single-family tier 2, such as townhomes, in select nonresidential zones
- Removing multifamily housing as an allowed use in the residential community design district
- Prohibiting residential balconies facing expressways and requiring landscape buffers near expressways
- Requiring developers to disclose, via signage and notices, that residential use is allowed due to state law, not city jurisdiction
Additionally, the city will also require developers to submit infrastructure analyses earlier in the development process, including preliminary drainage, utility, floodplain and traffic plans, according to city documents.
What commissioners are saying
Commissioner Michael Brounoff said Plano had to comply with the state legislation, but city officials also had to mitigate its anticipated effects.
“This is not the city’s fault, [and] it’s not the staff’s fault,” Bronouff said. “The proposed ordinances ... were drafted by teams of people in the planning department, reviewed over several layers of approval ... [and] they know what they’re doing.”
Commissioner Tosan Olley said while SB 840 may help create diversity of housing stock in Plano, he wants to ensure development is held to Plano’s standards.
“We either give residents and developers some clarity ... or we don’t,” Olley said. “[One of the city’s obligations] is to ensure that the sweat, tears, effort and currency that the city as a whole put into the comprehensive plan ... is honored as much as possible.”
The other side
Local developer William Pierce Cravens said the changes “feel very reactive,” and city officials should separate amendments made to be in compliance from discretionary changes.
“SB 840 will offer a lot of development opportunities, within specifically east Plano,” Cravens said. “It would open up many vacant and unusable properties to viable commercial developments, and I feel that the increased development standards that are baked into this proposal ... continue to add costs and make housing further unaffordable.”
Cravens added that he was disappointed that council approved higher park fees for new developments in Plano, which was partially introduced in response to the new legislation.
What’s next?
City Council will hold a final public hearing Aug. 25 on the proposed amendments ahead of the legislation going into effect in September.
