Celina City Council postponed a decision on a proposed project that could add land for a potential school as well as additional park and outdoor space.

Council members tabled plans for a 641-acre planned development, called Rainwater Crossing, during their Aug. 8 meeting.

Tabling the vote rescheduled the project’s public hearing to council’s Aug. 21 meeting, giving the residents living near the land more time to understand or comment on the development before city officials make a final decision.

The details

The land proposed for Rainwater Crossing was first set aside for a different planned development in July 2016, according to meeting documents.


The original plans were not as extensive or beneficial to the city as the updated version, council members said. Celina Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved the new development at their June meeting.

“I feel like once [residents] see the proposed plan, [they’ll] see the proposed plan is better than the original plan, which has already been entitled,” Council Member Mindy Koehne said.

The new plans set aside 11 acres for a future Celina ISD school, something the previous agreement did not have, according to meeting documents.

Other notable additions include:
  • A minimum of 20 acres for commercial property
  • A maximum of 1,300 multifamily homes
  • 13 acres for parkland
  • A trail running throughout the development
  • Four amenity centers
“What [the applicant has] done to revise the plans actually benefits [residents] more than the original development plans do,” Council Member Wendie Wiggington said.


Diving deeper

Plans for Rainwater Crossing place the development within city limits by stretching around Celina’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, land and neighborhoods.

Some residents living in the ETJ attended the Aug. 8 meeting to request council table the item, stating they had only learned about it one day earlier.

“We were not notified even though our property borders [the development],” resident Janice Stalling said. “We had no idea.”


The dashed red lines represent land in the planned development while the dark yellow represents Celina city limits, according to city documents. (Courtesy city of Celina)
The dashed red lines represent land in the planned development, while the dark yellow represents Celina city limits, according to city documents. (Courtesy city of Celina)


Keep in mind

Under state law, city staff was required to notify residents living within 200 feet of the new development. As the ETJ is not within Celina city limits, the city was under no obligation to notify them about the project, said Dustin McAfee, the city’s executive director of development services.

“[Tabling it] gives [the applicant] two weeks to either meet with these folks and show them that new concept versus that old concept,” Council Member Jay Pierce said.


Stay tuned

Rainwater Crossing will be discussed again during council’s Aug. 21 meeting. Residents will also be able to access a livestream of the meeting on the city’s website.