Two-minute impact
The goal of the meeting was for commissioners and council members to get additional insight on the town’s guidelines regarding mixed-use and multifamily developments, Town Manager Mario Canizares said.
There are currently six developments with multifamily components being discussed by town staff, he said.
“These are things that are on our horizon,” Canizares said.
The breakdown
Council members have typically restricted multifamily developments to areas including the US 380 and Dallas North Tollway corridors, Mayor David Bristol said.
The town’s comprehensive plan allows for 7,000 multifamily units—a maximum that could be reached soon, council member Amy Bartley said.
One problem is bringing in requested developments and destinations similar to Plano’s Legacy West without creating high-density areas, Bartley said.
“We're trying to balance those two things,” she said.
From a town official’s perspective, a recent shining example for developments with multifamily components is the Pradera Development located along the Dallas North Tollway, council member Charles Cotten said.
“I thought that would become our new standard,” he said.
Most of the town’s multifamily policies are not rigid rules, Canizares said. Some changes, such as minimum height and density requirements, structured parking, and the number of bedrooms, could be helpful, Bartley said.
Officials can approve changes to multifamily policies in the future but have not announced any plans as of May 2.
What they’re saying
Bristol said members of Keller Williams Realty had applauded when he told them Prosper officials would strive to limit multifamily housing.
“There was a healthy respect for what we're doing, but I also realized there's a need for this kind of housing in our community,” Bristol said.
