Celina City Council members approved a zoning request for a 66-acre development at Oklahoma Drive and Glendenning Parkway with a 4-1 vote during a June 11 meeting.
Council member Wende Wigginton voted against the project but did not give a reason during the meeting.
Development plans include a request to move a portion of Oklahoma Drive from its current position so it can cut through the development and straight to Glendenning Parkway to handle the additional traffic.
In a way, the proposal is more focused on moving the road, referred to as a “road realignment,” than it is on the actual multifamily project, Development Services Director Dusty McAfee said.
The breakdown
The property was originally split between mixed-use and industrial zoning. Celina Planning and Zoning Commission members denied the project applicant’s request to allow mixed use on the entire property in 2022 due to traffic concerns, according to a meeting presentation.
The applicant continued to work with the city’s engineering staff and conducted a traffic impact analysis that showed Oklahoma Drive could not handle additional traffic with or without moving the road, McAfee said.
“Without the realignment, traffic conditions along Oklahoma Drive will worsen even if the subject property is not developed,” he said.The analysis used the city’s future development plans, which include turning Glendenning Parkway into a six-lane roadway with additional traffic signals, Assistant City Manager Kim Brawner said.
“The analysis is done on build-out conditions,” she said.
Plans to move Oklahoma Drive were approved by zoning commissioners in April and have been unofficially approved by Texas Department of Transportation officials, McAfee said.
About the project
Allowed uses in the mixed-use development include:
- 625 multifamily units
- A multistory, climate-controlled storage facility
- A gas station
- Commercial, office, retail and light industrial spaces
