Richardson City Plan Commission Meetings June 20th & July 18th, 2023
I’ve been slacking on CPC coverage, so it’s time to get caught up. Here’s what happened at the June and July City Plan Commission meetings.
June 20, 2023
Five of the seven regular commissioners are present, Chairman Marsh, Vice-Chair Southard, Commissioner Roberts, Commissioner Costantino, and Commissioner Keller. One alternate, Byron Purdy, is also present and will participate. Commissioner Bohnsack and Commissioner Walraven are absent.
May minutes are approved unanimously.
The consent agenda, which includes a replat for a church and a replat for a hotel (utility easements mostly), is also approved unanimously.
Chairman Marsh recognizes Connie Ellwood for her service to the CPC as executive secretary over the last 6 ½ years. Minutes from CPC meetings have been exceptionally detailed. That’s not always the case in every governmental entity. I really appreciate the detail Connie provided in these minutes and I hope her successor follows suit. Meeting adjourned.
July 18, 2023
Four of the seven regular commissioners are present, Chairman Marsh, Vice-Chair Southard, Commissioner Costantino, and Commissioner Roberts. Both alternates, Gary Beach and Byron Purdy, are also present and will participate. Commissioner Walraven and Commissioner Bohnsack are absent.
June minutes are approved unanimously.
The only item on the agenda is a public hearing on ZF 23-06, a request to rezone two tracts of land totaling approx. 36 acres at Waterview and Frankford (SE of intersection) from office use to a transit-oriented mixed-use planned development. One of the tracts is owned by a private developer. The other is owned by UTD. Thus, representatives from the UTD and the private developer are both present. The UTD tract is already zoned for a mixed-use planned development, so this request is for matching rights for both tracts to be one big, planned development. This site is also the location of the DART Silver Line UTD station. Proposed uses include residential units, offices, retail, hotels, public buildings/event centers, museums, and theaters. Additionally, a special permit can be requested for a private event center or drive-throughs. Several improvements to roadways surrounding the development would be required if approved. Improvements to the water, stormwater, and sewer system would also be needed at the time of development.
The public hearing opens and the developer and UTD representative present their plans. This developer has also previously developed the Addison Circle and Frisco Square areas. The developer states that, while they do expect that a large population of residents would have a connection to UTD either as staff or students, they do not plan to finish out residential units to serve as student housing. These will be market rate apartments with no more than 15% (600) being larger than 2-bdr. Chairman Marsh points out that no minimum requirements are listed for nonresidential uses, and he wants to make sure that this doesn’t end up being only apartments. The applicants clarify that their intent is to have a true mixed-use development, but they need a residential anchor before other uses start to blossom. Staff clarifies that they don’t typically include minimum nonresidential use requirements anymore on transit-oriented planned developments to avoid retail spaces sitting vacant once the property is newly developed. Most of the discussion revolves around what could be, not necessarily what will be. The developer plans to have trail space to accommodate cyclists and joggers. The current office building will eventually be redeveloped to match the look and needs of the surrounding uses. The developer envisions a truly university and transit-oriented mixed-use development with retail, hotels, and potentially some R&D facilities. It just sounds like that will take some time to be fully realized. Expected full buildout is 2035.
The motion is made to recommend approval of the request with the added staff-recommended requirement of .8 parking spaces per bedroom, which is a higher ratio than the applicant requested. This motion passes unanimously, and the meeting adjourns.