A zoning change that will allow for construction of an 80-unit townhome development was approved by Richardson City Council at tonight's meeting.

Led by Greenville Development Inc., the two- and three-story townhomes are proposed for a 9.4-acre lot at the southeast corner of Greenville Avenue and Centennial Boulevard. The southern portion of the lot was intended for single-family homes but never developed. The north portion was occupied by the owner of the property, the North Dallas Adventist Academy, which recently moved to a new location in Canyon Creek and is looking to sell the land.

In order to build townhomes at the site, the developer was required to seek a zoning change from single-family residential to planned development, according to Director of Development Services Michael Spicer.

The developer requested some variations from the city's normal requirements for this type of zoning, including changes to the standards for masonry walls, sidewalks, alleys and street frontage, or the land between the front of the building and the street.

Applicant Amna Paryani said she expects the development to house 160 residents composed mostly of young, married couples. The average sales price for the units is projected at approximately $375,000, she said.

Council Member Mabel Simpson and Mayor Paul Voelker voiced concern over what they considered to be a lack of parking spaces, particularly for guests.

In response, project architect Kelly Dockweiler said the minimum requirement by the city for the development is 40 spaces, yet the developers are providing 55.

"I’m struggling to understand the concept where we haven’t exceeded the requirement for parking," he said. "There’s parking on the site and a lot of it." 

The City Planning Commission voted to approve the request in a 6-to-1 vote. Leading up to today's City Council meeting, over 20 percent of nearby property owners had opposed the request, which would have triggered a supermajority vote from the council, or six of seven votes in favor of the request.

Paryani and a representative for owner John Muzyka said those concerns were related to traffic, drainage—the property backs up to a creek and is located in a flood plain—and privacy. A treeline was added to protect the privacy of nearby property owners, Paryani said.

Twenty-nine residents appeared at the meeting. Of those residents, 20 were in support of the zoning change, eight were opposed and one was neutral. Only a handful of those present gave comments.

Charles Kiser, member of the homeowners association for Rosehill Estates, a neighborhood adjacent to the property, said his group could not support the zoning change unless a traffic impact analysis was performed as well as a study into the effects of storm-related flooding.

Traffic forecasts were not substantial enough to warrant a traffic impact analysis, Spicer said the plan does include a traffic diverter lane on Greenville as well as two deceleration turn-lane entrances into the development.

Also opposed to the zoning change application in its current form was Brian Colao, whose backyard abuts the property.

"The application in its current form is reckless and irresponsible. ... We need a traffic study done, we need an engineer, we want to see exactly what they are building," he said.

Without approval of the zoning change, the developers said the owners would resort to accepting offers from a charter school to purchase the property.

"The school has made transition to Canyon Creek, and they are at a point now where they will sell the property to a charter school, which requires no zoning," Muzyka said. "[A] charter school keeps property off the tax roll and brings a lot more traffic."

Just before the meeting started, Spicer said he received withdrawal of two opposition letters, and the percentage of written opposition now falls below the 20 percent threshold that requires a supermajority vote. However, the property owner—who owns two lots facing Centennial Boulevard across from the proposed development—withdrew his opposition on the condition the developer agree to install translucent glass on the third floor of the two buildings that face his property.

After three hours of discussion and public comments, Council Member Scott Dunn motioned to approve the zoning change with the stipulation that third-story windows on the block facing Centennial Boulevard be composed of vision-obscuring translucent glass. The motion was approved unanimously.