Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I call them to order. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Can we take a moment of silence for the assassination of uh

That's what you want to do. here. Thank you. I'd like to have a motion to approve the agenda. I move that we approve the agenda. I second. All in favor? I I did you call the meeting to order? Yes. Okay. Sorry.

Number two is the approval of the minutes August 19th, 2025. Have a motion. I'll make a motion we approve the minutes from August 19th, 2025. I will second. All in favor? I I I.

Item three, text amendment TX 25.09.01 01 conditional zoning and mixeduse update. Staff requests an update to article five and eight of the stallings developmental development ordinance to clarify where conditional zonings are allowed and which require mixed use districts to to incorporate a true mix of uses. Also a statement of consistency and reasonability.

Yes. Thank you. Um so like you said it's TX250901. It's a text amendment that addresses conditional zonings and mixed use districts. Um the purpose is to clarify where conditional zonings are applicable, which type of uses and which zoning and then require a mixture of uses and mixed use zoning. So mixed use one and two. Um so some background, the town's experienced a lot of growth in a shorter period of time and we've received uh more conditional zoning submittals than we've ever have before. And that's due to um us restricting development agreements and we also have made a lot of uses like residential multif family require them to go through conditional zonings and that's where the market's pushing developers and there's been a lot of other uses that developers have submitted. So, we've talked to our land use attorney and about the conditional zonings and the mixed use, and they've recommended that we go ahead and move forward with restricting conditional zonings. So, specifically, the amendment will amend the use table number one, and it'll restrict conditional zonings where it says CZ in the use table. So, if it does not say CZ in the table, you will not be allowed to submit for conditional zoning. Um we have a lot of categories that allow CZ. Um so for example um a lot of the residential multif family uses require conditional zonings. Conditional zonings would not they have to be approved by town council. They take four to six months minimum to go through the process with four meetings. So they're quite a lengthy process um and they take a lot of review by staff and council and planning board. Um, another thing is, uh, there are conditional zonings. You have to apply for a primary use. You can't use a

conditional zoning to add a secondary use. So, for example, I keep using multif family. That's because we keep getting conditional zonings for multif family. That has to be the primary use of your conditional zoning. You can't apply for conditional zoning for multif family and then your primary your main use is accessory. Um so for example, you can't just apply to just add a uh commercial component. Your main conditional zoning has to be for that primary use. Um and then number three, we also require that residential projects in mixeduse districts um we require mix mixture of uses now. So they have to incorporate retail, office, commercial um and residential. two of out of some of those components minimum. Um so these are the specific sections that we amended. So article 5.4 we amended the purpose of conditional zoning and we only added a text. We didn't take anything away. Um but the purpose we added that conditional zoning may be only apply may be applied sorry let me read this. Conditional zoning may only be applied when a specific use is identified with the symbol CZ in the table of uses and only when that use is the primary use of the proposed development. So they have to know what the use they want. They can add a mixture of uses as part of their conditional zoning, but their primary use has to be the allowed as CZ. So they can't just apply for a CZ for something that says CZ and not and and it not be the primary use. Does that is that clear?

Which is everything that you marked red on those attachments. Correct. Red is the new stuff, right? There's a lot of CZs already that were not changed. Right. Okay.

Um, additionally, I've we amended article 5.4-2 4-2 and I took away um the amended section and now it says I have to read this verbatim. So the following provision shall apply for conditional zone conditional zoning. So a conditional zoning shall only be available for those specific uses identified with the symbol CZ in table 8.1 of this ordinance. Conditional zoning shall not be permitted for any use that is not expressive expressly designated with a CZ in the table of uses. Request for conditional zoning may not request deviation from article 5.4. Um so what that means is you have to be CZ in the use table and then you can't deviate from article 5.4. So originally so article 5.4 is the rules for conditional zoning. You can't deviate from the rules of conditional zoning. You have to follow them. And when you apply, we have a lot of applicants requesting alleviation from the rules itself, um, which they can currently do under conditional zonings. Um, B, the use identified with CZ must constitute the primary use of the request. Although components may be permitted in the proposal, conditional zoning may not be s solely for an alternate alternate, primary use, accessory use, temporary use, or incidental to component of a development. So, if you're applying for this use, that has to be the use that you're doing mostly. And that's determined during site plan review, and that's going to come later. And then C, where conditional zoning requests involve residential projects in the mixeduse districts or town center districts, the town council may require as a condition of approval the inclusion of at least one non-residential use retailer office as part of the development to promote a balance mix use mix of uses consistent with adopted plan use land use plans. So, what that means,

it doesn't give a specific rule, but they may or may not approve or deny based on the mixture of uses in the in the mixed use or town center zoning category. So, I guess gives you an extra option. Um, and then we also amended article 8.3 and we uh took away the first sentence and we replaced it with conditional zoning districts are companion districts that may only be applied when a specific use is identified with the symbol CZ in the table of uses and only when that use is the primary use of the proposed development. So, it's a reoccurring text amendment that we had to continue adding. So that's the conditional zoning changes that require um you to follow the the new rules. Um then we in article 8.4-66 which is the mixed use category. So I'm moving on to mixed use. Um I added the section I so it goes all the way to G HI and then I is new. Number one is so minimum mix of uses. So one is all new developments incorporating residential uses in the mixeduse one or and two zoning C districts shall include a minimum of two distinct land uses from the categories of residential, retail, commercial or office identified as listed in the use table. So they have to pick two in the use table under mixed use one and two and they have a lot of allowed uses. So they have to it has to comply with mixed use essentially. And this is a this is for developments that are being built by right uh not conditional zonings. They're just kind of another option to allow development to move forward because we're restricting so many conditional zonings. And then number two, no single use shall be shall compro comprise more than 75% of the total gross flur area of the development. So what that means is if they're doing residential and commercial, if they're applying for a

conditional zoning for residential, it can't be more than 75% residential. It could be 6040, but it can't be 80 residential, 20 commercial. It has to be 75% residential. And that's to balance land use land uses. Would it have to be like built simultaneously? Because I know like sometimes we have like the trigger that they have to do, you know, this and then they promise to do this but they may or may not do the commercial part in the future, but this kind of avoid that happening. It doesn't avoid that happening. Um but um they they would be required to identify certain areas for um mixture of uses.

Okay. Um, I didn't run that specifically by if that's like something a requirement that we can add to the add to the um, language, but if planning board wants to make a recommendation that we add that language and bring that to council, we can. Would you anticipate that being like a loophole somebody would try to get through? I could see that. So, I think it might be good to address that. I just want to run that by legal before I amend it, but I could bring that if it if it's if it runs uh, a good if we test it through legal, I would bring that to council. if you want to make a recommendation when you you guys vote that that be brought as a con uh as a component of this. Okay.

Um and then the development administrator shall determine compliance at the time of site plan review. So I'll just be determining if it meets that 75% threshold or um at the time of site plan review, not during con like not during just a con conceptual plan. What this means is it gives us the allowance to use land use the the acreage or the square footage of the building. It's up to me. So because sometimes the land is small and they go vertical. So I wanted to give um some flexibility on the decision-m powers. Um and then I also amended the table of uses. I added a few lines. I didn't go crazy with the conditional zonings. We already have a lot of conditional zonings that are permitted in specific districts like uh multif family is permitted in all almost all zoning districts as a conditional zoning. Um but I wanted to add a few other ones just to kind of give some additional flexibility to the ordinance. Um so I wanted to add brewy breweries with or without beverage sales as a conditional zoning in the mixed use 2 and C74 zoning category. Those are both commercial categories um which don't currently allow them at all. Um, and then I also want to add department variety or general merchandise store. I wanted to add 20 add that this be for department variety or general merchandise store that are 25,000 square feet or under. And the reasoning is is that they're allowed in town center and mixed use and these could be any size. That doesn't we don't have a size requirement in the ordinance. Uh, but we also have line 202 which is shopping center which does allow larger developments. So, I just wanted to have a size limit for um that use. Um wanted to add garden re garden garden center or retail nursery as a conditional zoning and town center mixed use too. Um we have a um garden center really close to town center and that I could see that being town center one day. So, I wanted to make sure we allowed those uses. We didn't want to make certain uses inconsistent. Uh I wanted to add conditional zoning for

grocery store and town center mixed use one and mixed use two. We have a lot of grocery stores um that are zone mixed used to now and we also have um potential developments that have or that are allowed by right and mixed used to make that sure that we uh don't get oversaturated with grocery stores in the area. Um and we've been contacted a lot by other grocery store areas tenants in these districts that um haven't gone through the process yet. um wanted to add multi-tenant retail as a conditional zoning in the business center and industrial which are industrial districts with they could have multi-tenant retail. Um we just had one pass and then um line 202 shopping center. We wanted to make sure that was a conditional zoning and mixed use too so that council can see that. Additionally, we added data center which we've uh after doing some research, we wanted to make sure that use was allowed in our or in our zoning table and we wanted to make it a conditional zoning in C74 which is a commercial district and allowed in industrial. No changes were made in section 3. So staff recommends approval of this text amendment um because it limits the conditional zoning and mixed and makes mixed use mixed use in the use table. It ensures conditional zonings only apply where um only to the primary use of the property and um require mix a true mix of mixed use districts and mixes of uses and mixed use. Um it clarifies zoning procedures, reduces overly broad requests, ensures projects align with our land use goals. Um and then here's the use table. There was a lot of use. I went over the uses, but I marked them as red. the ch specific changes so you can see them. I didn't want to go over line by line yet, but if

you want me to go over any specific uses, let me know. So, that's that's my that's it. I saw the ones you had added. Are there any that you removed? I did not remove any conditional zonings. So, I just added um conditional zonings were making it really restrictive. You can only apply for that use if it for conditional zoning if it says CZ now. Right. Right. Currently, right now, if someone wanted to apply for conditional zoning on any use, they could. Oh, wow. Until we make until unless the council approves this text amendment. So, better control.

Yeah, we might have a few sneak through. We have I'm talking to a few developments right now, but um this will go potentially go to council in um October. Yeah. a list of uses. The first column, some of them are in dark color. Oh, that's just to differentiate um lines. Go over to the first column. First column. Yeah. Do you see the Oh, yeah. They're just kind of lumped because those are not alphabetical. So, we wanted to make sure they were called out

as adult uses. And those adult uses are like are a but they're not alphabetical in the use table. So we clump they lump them together. And that's same with office uses and residential uses. They're lumped together. Okay. Because they're not in alphabetical order. Okay. Okay. Only the main title is in alphabetical order for those. But those were the iffy ones. No, we could try to make a better look. Make it look better. I don't know.

We can look at it because we can we can change the look. We just can't change the intent. Yeah, I can. Okay, cool. Any other questions? Nope. No questions. Uh, have a

Let me just read this language to the board and see what you think of this. consider adding language preventing developers from avoiding the 75% requirement by delaying the non-residential components of a mixeduse project. Does that sound like a good recommendation or how could we work? So, how I bring I'm just going to provide a suggestion just because I've been talking to developers non-stop um about this. Um, you could require a certain percentage of commercial be built. Yeah. Prior to prior to the rest of the development being built. Okay.

And I can come up with that if you want to direct staff to come up with that language. Yeah, that's what I'm bring to come up with language like for staff to Yes, we can do that. Build those first. Yeah. Build. It could be build simultaneously and first Yeah. Like if you've got five or say you got six shops you're going to put up front and you have something behind there a neighborhood behind there that you build shops first three or four of the shops before you built the started on the neighborhood or whatever right let's say 50% generate some income whatever this is something that comes to mind I don't know if I'm going to bring this to council something like 50% of the commercial has to receive co prior to the more than 50% of the residential being built

you you know, something like that because that's what I've been discussing with developers right now. They're pushing back a lot, but I think there's something we can I can reasonably come up with. Well, then we're not stuck with it like the hospital did, right? Um, yeah, the hospital has a lot of mixeduse components that I don't not sure what the future plans in the beginning there. They were going to have all this all this commercial stuff along the road. Was that through the county or through us for that? US. That was us. Doesn't look like they're going to do it. They are allowed they have a long development agreement for the next 20 years. So um they were they given I mean built into that was there a time point that certain parts of the commercial had to be done that was not incorporated.

They don't. So maybe so I'll create language and add that but I want to run it by legal. So if you want to make the motion to direct staff to draft that language. Yeah. And then uh if you want to approve or deny you know it's up to you. Yeah. So, as a separate motion or you could do it all together motion. Okay. I have one more question. Um I'm like racking my brain here trying to think of an instance where and and maybe you see a lot more of this than I do. So maybe you'd be able to come up with one where you would apply for something that would eventually be seen by council because it's conditional zoning

that now we would take out of that additional step or out of those additional meetings. Um, so we wouldn't take away any steps if they have the CZ in there. Um, and we wouldn't allow them to apply if it if it doesn't permit CZ. Um, I did I pretty much for the second amendment just added barriers for original application, right? That's all I did. Okay. So, they still come here. They still go to the council if they can if if they're permitted to go through that CZ process. that's in that. Yeah. Yeah. It just tightens the guard rails a little. Yeah, it does.

We're kind of encouraging people to find a byite like something that they can do and not have to go through the se like I would hope. I still have to look at more ordinance sections,

but um this one was recommended by um a land use attorney. Well, I will make a motion that we approve text amendment TX25.09.01 and also with a uh addition to direct staff to explore language that would prevent developers from avoiding uh doing the residential projects first and delaying the non-residential. till after. So either simultaneously or a you know as the as staff sees appropriate.

Second. Second. All in favor? I I I passes and then statement and a statement. Oh, and a statement uh that we find that this is uh reasonable and consistent with the comprehensive land use plan. have a motion. I'm move that we find that it is consistent. Second. All in favor? I I Okay. And that

Okay. I just wanted to add something here. You know, um at the last board of adjustment meeting Okay. I was really excited about the fact that um our board members here that were present were asking a lot of questions. There's a lot of communication back and forth between the applicant and the staff and the board. And during the towards the end when the when the the board was discussing their differences, there was a lot of communication and it's a lot different than it used to be years ago. So, I just wanted to to say something there. It was a very very good meeting. Good. Yes,

we're a good board. Okay. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? I make a motion. I second. All All not in favor? All in favor? I