A proposed mixed-use development in Plano will include restaurants, retail, and single- and multifamily residential.[/caption]
At its Sept. 26 regular meeting, Plano City Council approved a rezoning request for a 34-acre tract of vacant land at the southeast corner of Rasor Boulevard and Preston Road to make way for a mixed-use development consisting of restaurants and retail as well as single- and multifamily housing.
The request passed with a 3-2 vote with council members Tom Harrison and Ron Kelley dissenting. Council members Angela Miner and David Downs as well as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ben Harris were absent from the meeting.
The land, owned by Westcott LLC, was originally zoned for general office space use, but the city’s future land-use plan labels it as ideal zoning for neighborhoods given the similar developments and nearby corporate offices.
The mixed-use development will consist of 88 single-family detached homes expected to range in price from the $400,000s to $599,000, with several of the homes facing the White Rock Creek and its tributary located on-site. The development is zoned for Frisco ISD schools.
The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission approved the rezoning request Sept. 7 in a 5-2 vote. The zoning requires that the single-family housing acreage be more than the multifamily development area, said Christina Day, planning director for the city of Plano. A maximum of 500 multifamily units will be built on the site, according to city documentation.
A minimum of 10 acres of open space will also be incorporated into the development’s concept plan to include 3 acres of park-like open space.
Business owners and residents expressed both support and opposition for the plan. Debate among the public and City Council consisted mainly of whether a mixed-use development would generate more traffic than two, five-story office buildings---which was allowed under the prior zoning---as traffic along Preston near the Frisco city border already poses congestion challenges.
“Realistically, on the lowest end you would have 3,500 cars sitting in that parking lot coming in every morning at rush hour and leaving every evening at rush hour, which is about six times more than the automobiles you would have [with] apartments and houses,” Council Member Rick Grady said. “Those are the facts.”
Kelley said Preston will continue to have a capacity issue no matter what type of development is added along the corridor but did not vote in approval of the rezoning.
“I think the issue for me is land use; we have to look at that,” he said. “There’s too much multifamily in that corridor.”
A proposed mixed-use development in Plano will include restaurants, retail, and single- and multifamily residential.[/caption]
At its Sept. 26 regular meeting, Plano City Council approved a rezoning request for a 34-acre tract of vacant land at the southeast corner of Rasor Boulevard and Preston Road to make way for a mixed-use development consisting of restaurants and retail as well as single- and multifamily housing.
The request passed with a 3-2 vote with council members Tom Harrison and Ron Kelley dissenting. Council members Angela Miner and David Downs as well as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ben Harris were absent from the meeting.
The land, owned by Westcott LLC, was originally zoned for general office space use, but the city’s future land-use plan labels it as ideal zoning for neighborhoods given the similar developments and nearby corporate offices.
The mixed-use development will consist of 88 single-family detached homes expected to range in price from the $400,000s to $599,000, with several of the homes facing the White Rock Creek and its tributary located on-site. The development is zoned for Frisco ISD schools.
The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission approved the rezoning request Sept. 7 in a 5-2 vote. The zoning requires that the single-family housing acreage be more than the multifamily development area, said Christina Day, planning director for the city of Plano. A maximum of 500 multifamily units will be built on the site, according to city documentation.
A minimum of 10 acres of open space will also be incorporated into the development’s concept plan to include 3 acres of park-like open space.
Business owners and residents expressed both support and opposition for the plan. Debate among the public and City Council consisted mainly of whether a mixed-use development would generate more traffic than two, five-story office buildings---which was allowed under the prior zoning---as traffic along Preston near the Frisco city border already poses congestion challenges.
“Realistically, on the lowest end you would have 3,500 cars sitting in that parking lot coming in every morning at rush hour and leaving every evening at rush hour, which is about six times more than the automobiles you would have [with] apartments and houses,” Council Member Rick Grady said. “Those are the facts.”
Kelley said Preston will continue to have a capacity issue no matter what type of development is added along the corridor but did not vote in approval of the rezoning.
“I think the issue for me is land use; we have to look at that,” he said. “There’s too much multifamily in that corridor.”
