Good afternoon and welcome to the City of Denton Planning and Zoning Commission work
session.
We'll call us to order at 5.03 p.m. February 26, 2025.
The first item that we have on the work session agenda is any comments for the regular session
consent agenda.
I do not see any members of the public present to comment, so we'll move on.
The next item is our clarification of agenda items listed for this meeting.
So we have a lot of consent agenda items.
Any questions about the consent agenda?
No, okay.
There was one updated item within that consent agenda that was emailed to you, and then we
do have some items for individual consideration this evening.
Next one is FP25006.
Good evening, Commission.
This is a request for a final plot in the ETJ of the City of Denton.
It is a final plot that will create three residential lots.
It's located about 1,000 feet east of FM2164 on a private road, and about 5,450 feet north
of loop 288.
It does not meet our criteria for approval at this time, so we're recommending denial.
However, we have no objection to their first extension request to a date certain of March
19th.
Okay.
I'm not here to answer any questions.
Any questions on this item?
No?
Okay.
Thank you, Matt.
Next item, V24.
I think this is the first time I've seen a V before one of these items, 0137, Julie.
Yes, so this one's a little unique.
All right, I'm Julie Wyatt, principal planner, and I'm presenting tonight V24137 to you.
This is for an alternative development plan.
Just a quick summary, I could go over all the slides if you want to, or I could just
do a summary during work session.
So Commissioner Pruitt, you may remember, but under our 2002 Denton Development Code,
and that was the development code before the code that we have now, we had a process called
an alternative development plan.
And it allowed for a flexible process for P and Z to approve deviations from site development
standards, things like number of parking spaces, or where the parking was going to be installed,
maybe building orientation, landscaping.
If the applicant couldn't necessarily meet those requirements, they could request planning
and zoning commission approval of a site plan.
So that was an old process that we had.
We just have a few remaining in the city of Denton, but this is a request to modify an
approved alternative development plan that the applicant received in 2020.
So it's been going on for a while.
It's for the Agave Ranch project.
It is a single-family residential neighborhood that is currently under development on the
east side of FM 428.
So platting has been done, and really it's now they're installing the streets and going
to start building the houses soon.
The original alternative development plan had to do with a variety of things like architecture
on the structures and percentages of windows and doors and garage doors.
The specifically related to garage doors are the setbacks and then also the percentage
that a garage door could occupy in the front of a home.
So they did receive that alternative development plan approval in 2020.
They would like to tweak those provisions, and so that is the request.
So just ultimately the request is to allow the garages to be set back three feet from
the building frontage and then allow the two car garages to occupy 45 percent of the frontage
instead of 40, and then the three car garages 50 percent of the frontage instead of 40.
That's really the request.
We're going to have to get through this together.
It's going to be a little challenging to go through all of what was previously approved
and what's on the table now, but I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Any questions at this time?
Commissioner Riggs?
Yeah, so I was looking at it and one of the questions I had was, staff recommended a tweak
to it.
Can you kind of explain the tweak that you recommended?
Sure.
So I'll just skip ahead.
For the garage width, let me see which one would be best.
We'll look at this one.
So for the garage width, the original approval for the ADP allowed the two car garages to
occupy 45 percent of the frontage and three car garages to occupy 55 percent of the frontage,
but it limited the number of houses that could take advantage of that to 45 percent.
Given that that's kind of arbitrary, it's going to be kind of difficult maybe to apply
in terms of not only city staff, but also think about the sales staff for the builder
as well as buyers for those homes.
We felt like the better approach would be to just allow that small expansion of 45 percent
for any of the two car garages in Agave Ranch, but limit the three car garages to lots that
are 62 feet and wider.
So it would only be allowed on larger lots.
It seems to be a little more straightforward way to approach it instead of, well, the neighbor
got the 45 percent, but we hit 45 percent of the units with that one, so no more can
be done.
So we felt like it was probably just a fair way to approach it.
Did that make any sense?
No that did.
So does the number of lots that that could go on, is that kind of aligned with the 45
percent?
You know, I don't know.
I can look at it.
I would say it might be fewer than that.
Most of the lots in Agave Ranch are probably 50 feet wide.
They do have some larger lots that are 60 to 80 feet wide, but I could take a look at
that and see if we've got just a ballpark idea.
I think that's good enough.
Any other questions?
Okay.
Commissioner Dyer.
Okay, so I have a question.
Sure.
And I know I'm new, first night on the job, but when I'm hearing these differences in
the frontage, is it because they want to make the garages bigger or they kind of want to
shrink the living space on the house, like what's the actual reason for the differences?
I prepared a slide just for this question, so I'm excited.
All right.
So standard two-car garages are 16 feet wide.
So each car bay is eight feet wide.
So a three-car garage would then be 24 feet wide.
When we look at that 40% width regulation, it really is based upon a 50-foot-wide lot
with five-foot setbacks, which leaves you a 40-foot building pad.
And then that 16 feet is 40% of 40 feet.
Their product, the Builder Now, has a few models that are 39 feet wide.
So the garage door doesn't get bigger, but the house pad is slightly smaller.
And so it now ups that percentage of the area that the garage door, that that 16 feet would
accommodate.
So then if they're going from a 40-foot pad to a 39, now you've just got, I mean, it's
only a foot, but you've got a little bit extra in between the houses, as I said, on these
lots.
It'd be a larger setback on the side.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
My only question, we don't have to answer it now if you already have it in the presentation,
but I actually haven't seen one of these yet.
So this is brand new to me, well, 2020 was before I was here.
But the, we're somewhat familiar with the considerations that we make for zoning changes
versus for plats, and I'm not sure exactly what the list is for these alternative development
plans because they were in the 2002 code, which we don't see very often.
So it looks like we'll see it in the...
Yeah, there's a list of criteria that they needed to meet in order to, you know, get
staff's recommendation.
Ultimately, it's something you all would consider.
Okay.
Thank you.
All right.
And we have two public hearings tonight.
First one is PD 23-0006.
And I see Julie is up for this one as well.
Okay.
Let me find it.
Ah, there it is.
Okay.
All right.
So this is a plan development for the Family Justice Center.
So just a quick summary of this proposal.
The site is located in the north side of the city on the east side of Bonnie Bray, just
south of Riney Road north, kind of between Windsor and Riney.
It's that box in yellow.
They are proposing to rezone the property from R7 to really a PD with that same base
zoning of R7.
And the purpose of this is to create or develop a mixed-use community facility.
And it would have a range of services, including residential component, office component, counseling
component.
But it really is intended to be sort of comprehensive to serve families within Denton County.
The proposal is consistent with the with the vision statement within our comprehensive
plan, as well as the future land use map.
And so staff recommends approval of the request.
I've got the site plan here.
It's a little, little difficult to see.
But I'll be happy to answer any questions and that's it.
Any questions?
I think we'll.
Yeah.
One from Commissioner Riggs.
So they're kind of sharing access, though, right?
Is that kind of what I read?
Well, that yes, that is that is a good question.
So there are three access points.
They actually don't have an access point to Bonnie Bray.
Their access comes from the north and the south.
So there is an emergency access only to the north.
Some might remember that that that access driveway to the north is actually related
to the Reeves Elementary School that's under construction right now.
They have coordinated with Denton ISD and gotten the necessary permissions for that
access point.
So that would be emergency only access.
It's that elementary school's bus loop.
Their main access is going to come from the south.
And that is is this it's it's a public right of way to that park property.
But then that would connect on to to Bonnie Bray.
We also worked with them to make sure that there was adequate pedestrian connectivity
because there is an elementary school right next door.
It'd be really great to make sure that that there are those connections for students.
And so there is a pedestrian connection along that southern property boundary.
It's going to connect to a planned trail in the park, which will then connect on to Reeves
Elementary.
Anything else?
All right.
We'll see you at the public hearing.
And the last public hearing tonight is Z250001.
Welcome Erin.
OK.
This is Sequoia Park rezoning from Residential 3 to Residential 6.
So I also just have a summary slide I'll go over and then I'll have a longer presentation
with the main session unless you guys have any questions.
So this is a request to rezone approximately eight point nine three acres from Residential
3 to Residential 6.
This is generally located north of Mingo Road, east or west of Nottingham Drive, generally
at the corner there and west of the Denton Bible College for reference.
The subject site is undeveloped currently and has been undeveloped since at least the early
1900s.
That was as far back as we could pin it on the aerials.
And the purpose of this rezoning is to facilitate future residential development in accordance
with our six standards.
The proposal is consistent with the overall goals and policies of the comprehensive plan
and staff is recommending approval.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
Seeing none, we'll see you at the public hearing.
Thank you.
All right.
We do have a couple of work session reports this evening.
First one is PZ25056, receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the fiscal year
planning work plan.
Good evening Chair and Commission, I'm Keisha Siriano, Assistant Plaint Director.
So the last couple of years, maybe a couple of you have been here when we've been giving
you updates on the two area plans, Southeast Denton and Design Downtown Denton.
Well we've started implementing both of those plans and Chair Pruitt challenged us last
year to hit the ground running and we've been.
So we're here tonight to give you some updates, not only on those plans, but what we've been
doing with the comp plan as well as some regulatory needs, historic preservation and neighborhood
engagement.
If you see a star on the slide, it's just to let you know that that item is also a City
Council strategic initiative.
And also want to let you know the city has a program called Invisio that we use to track
progress and all of our plans have been inputted and are now being tracked in that particular
program.
So if you go on our website, in between us giving you updates and you want to see what's
going on with a particular item, feel free to check out our dashboard.
So last summer, if you remember, Julie came in August and gave you an update for the comp
plan updates for that previous fiscal year and at that time she mentioned we were going
to have a road show and at this road show we were going to invite all the city departments
to come out and just have a conversation about what the comp plan is.
Why do we have it?
What does it do?
What's the purpose?
Go over a little bit their particular action items within their departments and then do
some follow ups.
So we did that back in November, right now in December we started meeting with each department
to go over their specific items, how they can use those items and policy recommendations
to put forth their projects and initiatives they want to do.
Also doing some checking, there's some things that we've realized some departments may be
lead and it really should be a different department so we're also checking those things, sitting
with them to see if the items that are proposed, is it still feasible?
The time frame, are those still feasible?
And so we've started in December, we're still working through each department, it's taking
a little bit just due to staff plates sometimes, it goes up and down but we're working and
so we'll continue to give updates on that as well.
And then we added to our work plan this year to do some quarter planning along I-35 so
staff has gone out and looked at their corridor, you know corridors are very important, they're
gateways to the city, you want your corridors to be welcoming and engaging and invite people
to stop in and check out dentists so we're working on that and checking our codes and
everything to see if they think they need to change or shift just based on how things
are looking right now.
So you challenged us, we had 30, I believe 30 actions Chair Pruitt for the Southeast
Dent plan for the first two years and you challenged us to get 15 done this year so
we're steadily working, we've hit the ground running.
So we started with establishing the overlay districts, we're working on residential and
the live work, residential staff has gone out in a windshield survey community, we really
want to make sure they preserve the character of the community so we're steadily working
on that and live work, remember Prairie Street used to be a black main street and they want
more of a live work feel in that area so we're also working on that.
So we put out a people economic development survey, we went to the MLK event, got some
surveys there, it's on the Discuss Denton, we also have a block party coming up in March
where we'll be having some visual preference surveys as well as pushing the live work survey
as well for the community and we're having a block party to hopefully encourage people
to come out and this thought it may be a fun way for them to socialize, engage with their
neighbors as well as give us the feedback that we need to prepare these items.
We've also in November helped partner with economic development and community services
to hold a small business boot camp, it was taken to Southeast Denton, we didn't get as
much participation from there as we wanted but we did get nice participation across the
city.
We're trying to do some more, the purpose of this people with economic development survey
is to really help us figure out what is it they need, what workshops they need, some
people may, maybe it's not, they're not ready to buy a home or not ready to start a business
but maybe it's more how do I manage my money so we have questions like that on that survey
to help inform some of these other items.
We also have a partnership right now, community services is doing that, we're in support of
with Stoke to provide mentoring at Project HOPE as well as some space for three months
for those that need small business assistance in space at actual Stoke so we're excited
about that and see how that goes and then I'm happy to report last summer we applied
for a grant for $75,000 to do a historic resource survey in Southeast Denton.
We saw a press release that we were awarded but we haven't had an official notification
so we're not sure.
That is a federal grant, everyone knows what's going on there so we'll keep you updated if
and when we receive that official notification and then lastly the plan asked for us to start
working on neighborhood empowerment zone just establish that initial program statement so
we've partnered with ED and community services as well and we've been talking to several
cities and so we'll keep you updated on their projects as well.
Design downtown Denton, so one of the first items was to adopt a new branding and advertising
strategy.
I'm not sure if you know the city is actually going through its own process, own branding
project should be wrapping up soon so we put this project on hold we do have funding set
aside for we put it on hold until the city's branding was done just to make sure everything
is cohesive and runs smoothly and then we have some regulatory changes that we're working
on.
You saw Julie's presentation those that you were here a couple weeks ago with the town
home development so that definitely touches this particular plan as well as working on
permitting and licensing to allow for balcony overhangs and sidewalk dining in the downtown
area as well as starting those initial stages for modifying the MN and MD districts and
downtown and you will probably have a presentation on that coming up soon and then lastly I just
want to mention both plans we have started trying to collaborate and communicate more
with CIP.
We've had at least two meetings the last meeting we had a couple weeks ago we did a deep deep
dive into both plans excuse me showing them those street cross sections just really want
them to be aware gave them a handout that when they receive a project within our two
plan areas that they're aware of what the plan recommends as far as the streets go.
Neighborhood engagement so we know this is something that is you all encourage city council
to encourage we all want more of this so we are on our work excuse me on our work plan
we really want to encourage and do more neighborhood engagement this year this is the base year
so we're just trying to establish what is that we have so we have a map here right already
on our website that shows some existing neighborhoods but we have no idea if those neighborhoods
are still operating so we want to deep dive and try to check in and see who those contacts
are also encourage later on in the year other groups to form and then at the block part
if you see that who was my neighbor that's a magnet and so you see you got your home
in the middle and then the ideal is to go around and get the contact information of
those around you and put on your refrigerator.
Just trying to do more outreach and more engagement and get our neighborhoods more engaged and
connected with each not only with each other but also learn more about the city and resources
and services that we have plan to do something electronically you see national they national
good neighbor day is September 28th so we're hoping to do something for that as well historic
preservation so the city does have a historic preservation plan and one of the recommendations
the plan is to broaden the tax exemption eligibility so we have a tax exemption program for properties
that are locally designated if they spend up to ten thousand dollars I believe over
two to three period they can submit and request for 50% tax break on their taxes and so we've
been working with our historic landmark commission to see if we want to expand expand that to
not only include the his those are designated but those are contributed so if you have a
historic district you have some properties in there that may not be designated but they
still contribute to the look and feel and character of the neighborhood so that meeting
it won't be next meeting it'll be a future meeting but we're working with them to figure
out on what options they would like to put forward so here's a couple of regulatory needs
I believe this is my last slide so we look at been looking at the tree preservation code
is doing assessment to see if there's any things we need to shift any areas of improvement
any things that's in there that's difficult to enforce we did have a meeting in January
with some landscape design professionals they gave us some great feedback so we're looking
at that information and then also looking to see like what design downtown didn't are
there any barriers within our tree code that's going to be a prohibit any infield development
coming in downtown we're also working teams been working collaboratively so there's another
team working on the landscape regulations I've been working together with the tree code
just make sure it's an alignment with that assessment as well as an alignment with the
city's water efficiency plan update and then if you all heard of a decision which may or
may not be a challenge depending on what happens with this legislative but look we're already
trying to be proactive with our notification requirements see what we may could do just
make sure we're on track with that and maintaining and updating the DDC whenever we have to do
a notification for that and then lastly like I just mentioned we are monitoring those legislators
changes and will definitely give you updates as needed moving forward any questions have
one there's more of a comment I'm excited to see the live work action in the southeast
and plan I would suggest that staff look at the provision that we have in the DDC I believe
it actually is opposite of the building code and banking requirements for what's designed
as the live work building type that may have just been an oversight when we had the 2019
code but be good to get that cleaned up so that we don't do all this work and then have
nobody use it because they can't yeah yes Commissioner Padron thank you Keisha a couple
questions with the southeast end engagement what types of engagement do you feel have
been more successful with engaging like our residents to get more involved or what types
of engagement methods have been applied to try to connect with our residents in the area
so the the southeast didn't team from what after a lot of engaging with them before I
came but from my understanding it was the the one-offs that just walking into restaurants
or shops or just catching people out in the park doing just conversations so we've we've
connected with southeast the neighborhood association we did at this week and we have
brought in this time with the as far as promoting the block party one thing we're going to try
this time is actually doing door hangers at each part we've done postcard we're gonna
try the door hanger and see how that works in addition to all the other flyers posters
large signs in the community so and hopefully we'll get a better idea of what works one
plan we have is on the day of is to really track and ask people how did you find out
about the event but yeah more grassroots speaking of that thank you I tried to look up more
information about the block party online is there a specific location to direct people
to find the information it will be on the disgusted and we've been working with more
com they just and everything the printers either yesterday or today okay that's probably
why you haven't seen anything yet okay thank you
commissioner riggs let's have more of a comment too I think all this is great thank you yeah
it's exciting to see so thank you one other thing you mentioned the Akuna decision just
because that's somewhat new to us could you explain what that is and what the impacts
that that might have I know there's still some pending things but I'm just aware of
what's going on
so it boils down to let's see I've slept since I've read it last but it boils down
to whether
citywide notice is required before development code changes that aren't zoning code changes
or that aren't pardon me that aren't discrete zoning changes because the state statute as
you all know has that 200 foot radius requirement and so there's been for a while an open question
of like when you're doing something that affects the whole study what is the 200 foot radius
and the default has been to do newspaper notice and the Akuna decision which is not yet binding
on the city of Denton basically says no that's insufficient direct notice to everyone in
the city is required yeah do we know how much it costs to do direct mailing notice to everybody
in the city just ballpark
this number I came up with I believe was short-term rentals and that may not have even been completely
citywide but I think we should have had 16,000 on each round of notifications for short-term
rentals and that was believed to our residential districts looking to the experts and them
in so less than or slightly probably more than half the city received those and that
was 16,000 so okay yeah we'll see what happens there I I know some of the short-term rental
notification I think that was a good example of how to inform our residents sometimes because
of the postcard format and everything the the 200 and 500 foot notifications can can
scare more than inform so as we do go through that that process and see where that lands
yeah it's it's always hard to boil down a 400 page document into something that people
can understand what's actually changing but we just need to be sensitive to that so thank
you very much thank you okay and with that that concludes our work session for this afternoon
we will reconvene at 630 oh we do I'm sorry I my brain thought we had done to one more
work section report item 3b pz 25072 receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the
development process and comprehensive planning we can conclude it if you don't if you don't
wanna we don't have to do this today if you don't want to okay good evening chair members
of the Commission I'm Mia Hahn senior planner and this is the planning one-on-one boot camp
we're going to talk a little bit about the development process as well as the comprehensive
planning process what's what goes into the comprehensive plan and things of that nature
this is a bit of a little layout of the the various topics that we're planning on bringing
to you all over the next few months for some of you Commissioner Pruitt or Chair Pruitt
I know that this will be a refresher for some of you newer Commission chairs some of this
information might be new these further topics at later dates will get more into the details
of like zoning and PDs annexations SUPs this presentation today will basically cover where
those kind of exist within the development review process so where we're getting from
a feasibility stage all the way to certificate of occupancy and businesses opening and then
like I said the later presentations will go more into detail on those so if you have questions
about specific details it might be covering in later topics but I'm gonna try to give
you a broad overview of some stuff today so the Denton Development Code and overview the
purpose of the Denton Development Code is to promote the health safety and welfare of
the residents it's to implement the comprehensive plan preserve and protect the natural environment
improve the city appearance so we have landscape standards and things of that nature within
their screening standards improve mobility so there's a items for or requirements for
a bike biking bike parking as well as transportation services and things of that nature facilitate
adequate public infrastructure encourage appropriate use of land we have the table of allowed land
uses that takes you through what uses are committed within each zoning district and
then establish procedures within planning to get to from like I said the feasibility
stage to ultimate construction and businesses opening within that planning or within the
DDC we have several planning tools zoning platting is one platting I think this body
sees the most of we've had a lot of plats on the consent agenda tonight for approval
zoning also we have a few of those cases Aaron presented to you a zoning case development
standards those are range from environmental requirements parking tree preservation lighting
landscaping things of that nature criteria manuals are published with our utility departments
that let us know or let developers know specifically what specs engineering specs and things to
put to install when they're doing public utilities and then process the ensuring fair treatment
consistent with predictable timelines and outcomes really just ensuring that we have
a written process for people to follow for zoning and planning purposes the 2019 development
code is the code that we are currently adhering to it's our current development code it does
have nine sub chapters originally when we adopted this code it had four hundred and
eighty pages we're now up to about five hundred and sixty five so just to give you an idea
of the things that we add it's a it's a living sort of document that we we bring code amendments
to this body and they're passed by council in order for them to be put into the development
code and it does include seventeen zoning districts and the regulations and requirements
for those zoning districts so a broad overview of the development review or development process
we start applicants off with the feasibility stage which is essentially where they get
to talk to the city and learn is their project actually feasible will there be zoning changes
needed is the use permitted by right what is the process for actually getting from empty
ground all the way to construction step two is the application phase that's where once
we figured out what it's gonna take we actually start to review applications for entitlement
civil engineering plans final planning all that stuff is established that's usually the
long longer process I think it requires a lot of back and forth sometimes there's several
applications that are required within there where applicants and contractors will submit
to the city for review city staff will check that against or for compliance with other
codes and criteria manuals and then will will again work with them will provide comments
and work with them on revisions and things of that nature once all that is done and all
the plans and stuff are submitted and approved we move on to pre-construction where we get
development contracts we host pre-construction meetings and give a notice to proceed that's
essentially where the contractors and the people that will be building the things meet
with the people in the city that will be inspecting the things and talk about what that process
looks like as the for the for the building of things next we're in construction so this
is when construction is happening permanent is happening inspections are happening and
then final stage is project completion where we're closed out and then there's a typically
a 24 month maintenance period so who's involved in this process as I was mentioning earlier
the reviewers usually they're wrangled together by our development facilitators and that is
Michelle Lexi and Miranda they are wonderful individuals who sort of stand in the way or
standing between the the planning team the engineering team and the development community
and really field all of our emails filter all the things through all the questions and
requests for meetings and stuff like that through to help facilitate this whole process
there this whole thing that is the development review process so we have our facilitators
and then also included in that we have the engineering team the planning team the building
safety team public works inspections and depending on the project we pull in or depending on
the application review we pull in several subject matters like the fire department watershed
parks DME and our consultant engineers as well.
So stage one and feasibility I covered this a little bit with that broad overview so during
our stage one feasibility what we have and didn't that I love about us is the pre application
conference tool which is a it allows for people to submit anything from like a paper napkin
drawing all the way to like detailed site plan for free they submitted to the city we
put together a development assistant review team of planners engineers all those people
that you saw involved in that they we provide sort of preliminary comments we do let them
know that they should not substitute them to review the development code they to still
familiarize themselves with the code and criteria manuals throughout their review process but
we give them comments provide them with comments at this phase on their preliminary drawing
so this lets them know if we notice that you know they're proposing a a industrial warehouse
on something that zone rule residential where you're going to have to go through a zoning
process you're going to have to do a zoning compliance plan this is where we tell all
of them all of those applications and those requirements that would be needed.
Once we've gotten through that phase we have stage two which is where we actually they
actually apply with those major applications so in that example that I just used they would
apply at this stage for a zoning change most likely that would come before this body they
would apply for a zoning compliance plan that would not depending on where you are would
not necessarily come before this body that's typically administrative approved and then
following that most likely civil engineering plans to establish any public facilities.
Some of the other application types that we have are alternative environmentally sensitive
area plans those do typically have to be approved by this body traffic impact analysis again
depending on the type of development the volume of traffic that's being brought in by the
development variances drainage studies textile permits easements right of way abandonments
are all sort of supplementary things that we take into account we assess a project see
if those are needed and then they would support them or apply for them at this at this time.
So again a little broad overview of some of those applications annexations that is when
a property is within the city's ECJ or outside of the city's limits and they want to be brought
in to the city's limits they will apply for that this body does not see those applications
those go straight to council and it does require some public hearings comprehensive plan amendment
is another one that we don't see quite often but this is a case where we have usually it's
the future land use map that they want to amend within the comprehensive plan to maybe
meet some changing conditions some change conditions since we have initially established
that future land use map and they have usually there's a project that that is that's following
behind this they have a reason for wanting to amend the comprehensive plan and an idea
that doesn't directly align with something that is the comprehensive plan currently shows
this body does review that make a recommendation and then council has the final say on that.
So this map and just these are images for the applications that we just talked about
before the ETJ properties excuse me properties within the the ETJ are shown here or ETJ one
are shown here in light blue properties within ETJ two are shown within the purple area so
for annexations it would be properties that are within those areas that want to come into
the core city of didn't limits and then this is the the future land use map of the comprehensive
plan that's usually the the the subject of a comprehensive plan amendment zoning compliance
plan is another application that they would go through during that process again this body
doesn't typically see them in the rare the rare occasion that you do it's because it's
come from the razor ranch area off of university and I 35 that area specifically has an overlay
that requires that applications be approved by the planning and zoning commission and certain
for certain areas so you'll see that one and usually it's a standard I provide you with
the site plan I give you the basic you know details of the site plan they include elevations
and landscape plan and essentially if it meets the requirements of the razor ranch overlay
we approve it another application type are civil engineering plans that doesn't come
before this body at all I don't think there's been a case where that's had to come before
this body but that is essentially the plans for public improvement so it includes drainage
sewer water traffic road if there's any roadway improvements and things of that nature that
needs to be included zoning amendments so those are the zoning changes those are the
z application types that you all see for zoning amendments those do come before this body
for recommendation and then final approval is made by the city council and usually those
are zoning straight zoning changes are wanting to go from one zoning district so we have
our zoning district shown here in the table of allowed uses one zoning district to another
basically another application type we have our plan developments we do have two different
types of plan developments we have standard plan developments that includes a basic a
site plan or a zoning compliance plan with landscape plans usually and a building footprint
or envelope sometimes building elevations I believe are included in there also and a
development is essentially oh and PD development standards is included in the standard plan
development and these are essentially districts or zonings within forward like specific for
a specific area so if a area is under a plan development most likely it does refer to the
code in some capacity or form but it usually has either additional restrictions or additional
flexibility within the PD that that the code doesn't allow for by right I mean the point
of a plan development is it's supposed to be a tool to allow for unique types of developments
within the within the city and one example that comes to mind is one that I worked on
I believe last year maybe over the past couple of years actually that had a mix of uses a
commercial and a residential component as well as identified a street layout it had
preliminary drainage or utilities in there including drainage water sewer and electrical
and the reason or one of the reasons that it came as a as a PD was because the community
surrounding residents wanted some additional protections put in place that otherwise would
have would have not had to be the case if it was just under a straight zoning district
another application type is a specific use permit this people apply for when the code
has a use that essentially we feel might be appropriate within that zoning district but
we may want to assess on a case by case basis that's what a specific use permit allows for
us to do and usually those do come with site plans and landscape plans and elevations also
they also come to this body for recommendation and City Council for final approval and then
here's an example I believe this this specific use permit was yeah related to building height
so we have in some areas where your building can't exceed a certain height based on what's
next to it or based on the zoning that's next to it and so this gave us the opportunity
to again assess the building and the use on the sort of case by case basis see how it
was oriented on the site and see if it was appropriate in fact for this site another
application that does come before this body is the environmental or alternate alternative
environmentally sensitive plan that becomes comes before this body for recommendation
and council for final decision essentially this application type allows for we have existing
environmentally sensitive areas it allows for it's a engineered solution to provide
for better treatment of the environmentally sensitive areas what it's what it's intended
to do so if a developer has a plan for development and it's supposed to happen over or on within
some environmentally sensitive area the alternative ESA plan is supposed to have a better solution
for allowing that development to sort of coexist within that area and then better treatment
for the environmentally sensitive areas that are there and this is a map showing that that
environmentally sensitive those environmentally sensitive areas across the city we do identify
across timber upland habitats water related habitats riparian buffers as well as flood
plain buffers with that okay so subdivision application types those were all all the application
types that I've gone over so far were more entitlement it's it's getting the property
into the city and then figuring out from a zoning perspective what land uses and developments
are allowed there one of the other application or types of I guess classes of applications
that we have is subdivisions that includes preliminary platting final platting replating
and vacating plats the preliminary plat is not a is no longer a tool that is required
it is an option for a lot of developments I believe it's required for is it ropes what's
one of those master plan community hunter it's hunter it's required for hunter so you
will see a preliminary plat before you required from from that development one of these days
but typically it's those are few apart between no one really uses that tool anymore final
plats you all see all the time this body has final approval of that of those we do have
minor plat application types that are administratively approved and those are typically if someone
is like drawing property lines with with very minor changes or something like that it's
one I believe it's one less than I should have noted it less than three lots and no
public utilities we have less than four lots of someone if someone is divide subdividing
an area or creating less than four plotted lots and they that that plat would not require
the extension of public utilities then it can be administratively approved otherwise
it does have to come before the playing is only Commission and this is just an example
of a plat you've seen them by now many times we have it typically includes the the face
of the plat the plat graphic of vicinity map showing where north is in a scale a legend
development notes are typically included in their meets and bounds description owner signature
and the title block and then the approval block is down here and for plots that that
come before this body there is a place for the chair to sign on these plots okay so those
are that's step one and two I guess yes I see questions I can stop at this point to
answer any okay since I'm a newbie I'm going to ask this question because you said something
that like piqued my interest so when you were talking about the plan developments for subdivisions
did I hear you correctly that our Commission they approve or deny we don't like recommend
in the City Council it moves on that's only if there's an issue and they have to appeal
it so for plan developments in this this application type it was it was the last one you just oh
for plats for subdivisions yes yes so that's for plat so okay developments are the zoning
piece of late like laying out the development for the land the plat is the official property
boundaries yes this body approves what can what those official property boundaries are
and for the most part is ministerial so it's if it meets the requirements of the code and
our checklist we we kind of have to approve it okay yeah just one the in in step two where
you talked about all the entitlements can you give us like a general average of understanding
what what the different timeline is for someone who needs entitlements versus for someone
who's doing a by right development project sure that's a good question so I think it
definitely depends on the entitlement because like a plan development has standard plan
development includes a complete detailed site plan and PD regulations that we have to review
and make sure that we're all okay with before we bring to this body those I would give a
lot of four to six months for for plan development and honestly I'm pulling these we when we
do the feasibility the pre-application conferences we usually give people a timeline so I'm giving
you the timeline that we usually give developers but it varies it depends on it depends on
how they submit it depends on how responsive developers are it depends on if we run into
issues with the neighborhood meeting it depends you know so it varies but I think for plan
developments it's probably about four to six months zoning amendments about three to four
months I think the the big hold up on that one is the fact that we have to give notices
for public hearings usually zoning amendments are straightforward if they you know are meeting
our criteria for approval planning is a we're easy it's easier for us to come to a recommendation
and therefore it's not a lot of the back and forth specific use permits are probably along
the same lines of plan developments four to six months let's see what else and then alternative
essays do you have I would think four to six months also yeah and I think that one PD the
you showed the example of 380 took over a year that one took a while and that is one
of those those outlier examples because of we really wanted to make sure we had the because
this one started off as a zone straight zoning case and we got a lot of feedback from the
community we really wanted to make sure that there was and the applicants wanted to make
sure that there was buying an agreement with the community before even coming before the
planning and zoning Commission again so that one took a second thank you on to number three
I think unless sorry Commissioner Riggs I have one question and maybe you'll get to
it or but kind of like Commissioner Dyer I'm new to got three meetings or so now but at
what point do we do we look at developer agreements DA's yeah okay yeah that I will get to that
that is usually in step before I want to you step three oh well okay development agreements
for so for like municipal utility districts and things like that we will establish those
well before I guess during the app during the feasibility phase for several projects
and then maybe during the application phase for other I think it depends on and Haley
you may have something to add here I think it depends on what the development agreement
is for so if your question was would PNC see those applications that would be no like Mia
mentioned sometimes most often for something like a municipal utility district we may enter
into a development agreement and those go straight to council once staff kind of negotiates
and gets a draft of it work with our city attorney's office make sure everything is
up to our legal standard and form and then those go to council for approval thank you
okay thank you all right ready for stage three stage three all right yeah okay pre-construction
so once we've gotten all the applications out of the way we've reviewed all the plans
we've given them the the go-ahead we've recommended approval they've gotten every approval from
the commission or the council whoever they need to get approval from and they're ready
to start construction there are a few things that they have to submit to the city development
contracts are one of them and exhibit a which gives us the estimated cost of construction
for them because I think we have some fees that are based on that cost that we collect
on our end during that point we get I thought you were referring to development contracts
commissioner rigs during that point is when we look at contracts for the development hold
harmless agreements for any public improvements that they install and then we also host a
pre-construction meeting is a meeting and that's a meeting with public works and the
subject matter experts on water lines and sewer lines and drainage and things like that
payment of fees and then initial inspections for erosion control great and once the great
grading is being done or for the grading to be done in tree protection fencing tree protection
tree preservation is a really big deal here and didn't so we take that a little we take
that very seriously and ensure that that that that stuff is laid out before we clear for
construction of buildings and projects going vertical and then we give a notice to proceed
which let's let's them begin construction stage four is construction so that's when
they are contractors are out there building our team is or city side is doing on site
inspection there's any follow-up questions or any change orders that happen I just got
a call today there was a rail that's too close to a fire lane for retaining wall and these
things happen on the field so it's it's once they get out there and they start construction
if there's any change orders they would they would submit them during this stage of construction
and then we final finalize it finalize the projects we do final walkthroughs final acceptance
of public infrastructure and then the contractors apply and we issue certificates of occupancy
for businesses to open up and that is pretty much the construction or the development review
process like I said the longest process is that stage to that application we tried our
best to let people know ahead of time what that's going to look like what that timeline
is going to look like so that they have that built into their budget and things but that
pretty much concludes the the development process are there any overall questions on
that end just just one I'm curious do we track the the number of by right projects that happen
versus the the number of projects that seek entitlements we could maybe get it well I'm
just curious it doesn't have to be a specific number I just don't know whether it's 50%
or 5% we could probably deduce it by pulling like building permit numbers versus zoning
cases maybe but I think even then you might get into a it might be a little weird because
some zoning cases include a bunch of different building permits right I don't know we could
see if we could get that that number for you it's nothing urgent maybe maybe when we do
our next yearly review I'd find that interesting so okay seeing nothing else Mia I have I have
a second part I'm sorry we're going to get into I just keep getting ahead of ourselves
I apologize this will be shorter this is just an overview of what comprehensive planning
is so the comprehensive plan sets policies and goals for the for the city it helps us
manage growth it helps us promote reinvest investment and reinvestment into the city
and in developments and improve the overall quality of life for the city of Denton it
is a guiding document a policy document it is not the didn't development code which has
the requirements and standards and things that we just discussed this document is really
a policy document and it's one one thing to be considered amongst a lot of things a lot
of goals and things within the city but it does try to be or it is it is as comprehensive
as you can think of it includes ten elements which are not showing here well it includes
mobility it includes land use it includes economic development it includes various various
elements various components of of planning everything that you I think everything that
you think of housing affordability there are quite a few things in there so we did update
the didn't twenty or plan didn't comprehensive plan in March of twenty twenty two we had
the didn't plan twenty thirty we now have the didn't plan twenty forty and we typically
I think update comprehensive plans every five to seven years to reflect changes in the current
and anticipated conditions address major local issues ensure compliance with you know changing
state legislation we have to keep updated with that and accommodate changes for unforeseen
circumstance like text that decides to randomly put a highway through your your city you got
to have to update your comp plan for that typical comp plan update fate our schedule
usually there's project initiation again feasibility where we try to assess what it's all going
to take phase two is usually phase two three and four is usually what we do a lot of engagement
and trying to assess where the community is what's happening what's going on in the community
as well as what their goals and desires are step or phase five is usually the we're getting
into adoption where we're talking to this body as well as council on the final document
and then phase six is adoption of the actual plan so within the comprehensive plan we have
implementation items their specific action items that we have established in the comprehensive
plan it identifies areas where we need to focus and sort of do some area planning it
also has elements of neighborhood planning population projections it also gives us planning
department some projects to coordinate with other departments on and local and regional
entities and then updates the plans and codes of the city or recommendations for updates
to plans and codes of the city as well as annexation and special study focus areas like
I mentioned earlier this is that element slide that I was looking for earlier so the plan
includes a framework of the comprehensive plan it includes items related to land use
it includes fiscal and economic vitality community character and urban design parks conservation
environment mobility items housing and neighborhoods community health safety services infrastructure
and utilities implementation and monitoring so it's a it's a it is what it is named it
is a very comprehensive document a comprehensive plan and policy goal for the for the city
and within the goal I just want to or within the comprehensive plan I wanted to give you
a sort of idea of the the actions that that come out of that I think within the Denton
2040 plan we have 272 actions and just two of them was to establish area plans which
also resulted in 53 actions for South East and then 23 specific actions for downtown
so it's it is our really our guiding document as far for the planning department that lets
us know the sort of things that we're supposed to be doing on a day-to-day and how we're
supposed to be supporting the various application types that we just talked about so within
the development review process the comprehensive plan like I said is one component that that
sort of informs what our our thought and how our vision should should flow and in response
to some of those applications we look at it when we are performing recommendations to
prepare for this body if you look at your backup for any zoning cases we do assess how
those requests adhere or align with the comprehensive plan so it is a a policy document in that
form and that is pretty much all I have for development review process and comprehensive
planning are there any questions seeing none thank you any more parts thank you very much
so with no objection and we'll bring our work session to a close and we will reconvene
at 630 in council chambers for our regular meeting it's good evening at 633 p.m. I will
call this regular meeting of the planning and zoning commission of Denton to order our
first order of business is the pledge of allegiance to the u.s. and Texas flags
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one
indivisible next item is PZ 25004 consider approving the minutes for both the capital
improvement advisory committee and the planning and zoning meeting on February 12th a commissioner
padrone move approval commissioner Riggs second and let's vote on the board
that passes 4-0 next we have our consent agenda commissioner padrone move approval the consent
agenda commissioner Riggs second any questions let's vote on the board then
that also passes 4-0 next item that brings us to our items for individual consideration
first item for a is FP 25006 welcome Matt
good evening chair and commission Matt Bodine assistant planner here to present a request
for approval of a final plot in the city of Denton's ETJ one this plot would create three
residential lots the tract in question is located approximately 1200 feet east of FM
2164 along the private road and about 5500 feet north of loop 288 at this time staff
cannot recommend approval because it does not meet our criteria however we have no objection
to their extension request to a date certain of March 19 2025 any questions or emotion
commissioner padrone move to approve the extension request to a date certain of March 19th commissioner
Riggs second and let's call for a vote on the board
second item for that passes 4-0 next item for individual consideration for BV 24-0137
take us through this fearless leader Julie why the March down history lane good evening
Julie Wyatt principal planner and I'm presenting V 24-0137 agave ranch alternative development
plan so before I get into this specific request I just wanted to take a brief moment to talk
about alternative development plans generally so as we talked about in the work session
these are a process that this was a process that we had in the 2002 didn't development
code it is not something we carried forward to our current code so it's not something
you're going to see very often it is very limited and it would just be related to projects
that predated our current code and what it did is it authorized the planning zoning commission
to approve an alternative design to allow for flexibility I just have just a sample
on screen things like building orientation or maybe the number of parking spaces or buffers
those are the kinds of things that were generally requested as part of an alternative development
plan it's not included in the current code because we have other options for flexibility
now so that's why we didn't take this forward and I did want to let you know ADP's did
not include an expiration date so those approvals remain in effect to today and would control
over any conflicting provisions within our current codes so now we're going to get to
the the substance of this request so the agave ranch project is was a single-family residential
development it was platted with 239 single-family detached lots and 18 common area lots it's
located in the northeast part of town just east of 428 Sherman Drive the property is
outlined in black it has gone through the plotting process so it's near its nearing
going vertical in development I think they're working on public infrastructure right now
there was an ADP that was approved in 2020 because this was developed under our 2002
didn't development code and it was really to accommodate two specific builders plans
and it was and specifically what we're talking about tonight is those front entry garages
there were some other elements related to the ADP those are remaining in place it's
really that front entry garage we're talking about under the 2002 didn't development code
we had two provisions related to garages one is they could not be extend forward to the
front building line and the other is that the garage door could not occupy more than
40 percent of the building frontage that approved modification allowed the garages to move forward
a little bit up to six feet from the building plane or or 11 feet from a from a recessed
front door also allowed an eight-foot setback and then it also allowed a little larger width
with 45 percent of the total building frontage for two car garages and then 55 percent for
three car garages it did add a limitation on both of those that only 45 percent of the
products in agave ranch could avail themselves of this of this alternative development plan
and as I mentioned all other provisions related to the zoning the ADP all of those are in
place tonight we're just talking about these two provisions so now we're going to talk
about the request so the proposal is to revise that ADP to just simplify the language and
require the front entry garages be set back a minimum of three feet from the front face
of the building this is actually more consistent with the current standards our current standards
require just a three-foot offset so whether it's forward or behind that building garages
need to be offset has to allow some visual interest for the front of the homes and so
this is just slightly different and that it would set the garages back three feet from
the front building plane we feel like this is clear language it is more consistent with
the current builder who is developing the agave range development it also sets the garages
back just a little bit so it could potentially reduce the perceived size of the garage so
you could see a site plan on your screen I've got the yellow that is where that that front
plane of the house and you could see this garage is set back in this instance it's set
back 12 feet and you could see how that would kind of a similar product would look in real
life the second item I want to talk about is the front entry garage percentage so we're
proposing to revise that ADP to keep that 45 percent maximum on the two car garages
but remove that maximum number of dwelling units just for clarity for ease of use in
terms of not only city staff reviewing that not not having to maintain a list of what
percentage we're at but also for those in in consumers so it's just clear and understandable
for to apply we're also their request also would reduce that maximum percentage for three
car garages from 55 percent to 50 percent but limit the three car garages just to those
lot widths that are 62 feet wide and larger and we feel like this is is just clearer more
straightforward allows variation for building sizes and facades as we talked in the work
session that garage door width is pretty standard at 16 feet just allows for some variability
in the house size the width of the house giving that more diversity and design and it also
kind of removes that limitation once again for that clarity so there is specific criteria
for approval outlined in the 2002 Denton Development Code I won't read all this to you but we'll
just kind of talk through it briefly first preserve existing neighborhoods this request
is just specific to these this individual project it's not going to extend into other
neighborhoods and any visual impacts associated with it would be internal to this development
so it would be just contained within this development assure quality development that
fits in with the character of Denton apart from those deviations requesting all other
site design standards would apply for focus new development to activity centers to curb
strip development at urban straw sprawl once again this is just specific to this to this
development it's it's not going to extend out or increase the number of homes ensure
infrastructure is capable of comedy development this has gone through the platting process
so they've already demonstrated that the that the infrastructure is in place capacity
is there and they're going to be building the roads and sewers and water lines and ensure
that the developers alternative proposal results in a high quality development meeting the
intent of the standards so why do we have this why do we have these limitations on front
garages it's really to ensure that those garage doors don't overwhelm the front facade of
the residential homes think about maybe some homes you've seen where there have been really
large garages and it really is just to minimize that visual impact however some variations
can be appropriate to allow that diverse housing type also diversity in design and this is
really consistent with our comprehensive plan because our comprehensive plan encourages
diversity not only in housing types throughout the city but within communities to to have
dynamic places and diverse and diverse places with a variety of architectural styles and
and facades the proposed garage door is it'll provide additional design options for for
future residents and once again provide that diversity we are of course we want to make
sure that the visual impacts are addressed so that's where that setback comes in as well
as the as well as the reduced width of the of the three car garages and and the larger
lot size for the three car garages and then once again just removing that 45 cap just
to make sure it's real clear for for future buyers and and reviewers so with that staff
recommends approval of the request I'll be happy to answer any questions any questions
on this one okay so I just it kind of piggybacks on our questions in the work session so when
you push back the garage three feet are they taking away from the square footage of the
inside of the house number one number two will the square footage of the house still
fall within the city's guidelines the recommendations the requirements for this development and
then number three does that push back push the house back on the lot so you have you
know that final between the back of the house and the fence line does that affect that footage
there well I can answer so the city of Denton doesn't have a minimum lots or minimum single
family dwelling unit size so so we it it doesn't run afoul of any of those regulations in terms
of that setback this meets their their house designs so it is consistent with you know
what what they feel is is appropriate for the for their their buyers so I'm I'm I don't
know if it takes away from those individual homes but it is consistent with what they
intend to build out there and then in terms of the rear of the of the rear so we do have
a ten foot building line for rear lots in fact you could see it on this on this site
plan that's really consistent with with our residential districts throughout the city
and so any any property owner could build up to that ten foot building line I don't
know how many do but it is a possibility so did I answer the question okay good anything
else Commissioner Riggs so do I have to say the motion or can I just say make a motion
to approve as staff recommended and with the changes staff recommended Commissioner
for drone I second very well let's vote on the board and that passes for zero brings
us to our first public hearing item 5a PD 23 - 0 0 0 6 and I will open the public hearing
before we get carried away here how do we okay sorry all right here we go Julie Wyatt
principal planner and I am presenting PD 23 6 Family Justice Center all right so the request
before you is to rezone the property from our seven district to PD our seven district
to develop the site with a mixed use community facility to serve Denton County with a range
of services for persons and families experienced it experiencing domestic violence you could
see I want to talk about a couple maps on your screen first of all we'll talk about
the the large one so the property is located kind of on the north side of town on the east
side of Bonnie Bray just south of loop 288 and north of Windsor so it's it's in that
part of town there are a variety of uses surrounding it so we've got Denton High School across
Bonnie Bray we've got an elementary school under construction just to the northeast of
the south of the site there's a park just to the east and south of the property commercial
development along to loop 288 it's about a mile from the site and then we have a variety
of residential uses in the area we're ranging from single-family horizontal multifamily
to traditional multifamily town home so variety of residential uses there is Bonnie Bray is
a secondary arterial as well as Windsor is also a secondary arterial and then you've
got highway 77 to the north which is a primary arterial and then and then as I said the property
is zoned r7 and it's shown on your screen so we'll talk about the development plan that
they're proposing so as as you know a plan development is something where they can create
kind of that specialized zoning for the use especially if it's a unique use like the subject
like the property and the project it includes not only development standards but also a
development plan and these two things go hand-in-hand so as I mentioned the uses in work session
that the uses include residential it's a transitional housing there's a daycare administrative and
professional offices medical offices they have a pet kennel for residents on-site dining
so it's it's pretty comprehensive and what is included in the building and is designed
to the the building is designed to house all of these activities in this secure environment
and you could see kind of on your screen it has a kind of a wagon wheel look to it the
building is highlighted in yellow and it creates that that wheel with the with the the social
space the plaza area in the center there are there's a security gating on a portion of
the property and then as we talked about in in work session there are our three access
points emergency access to the north connects to that bus loop for the elementary school
and then two full access points to the south as well as you could see the the purple on
your screen those are pedestrian walkways throughout the site also connecting to the
to the park property to the east which will connect to a future trail and on to the elementary
school to allow safe route for school for for any children who might be using this facility
there's also a landscape plan associated with it right now the property is pretty flat there
aren't any trees on the site if you're familiar with bonnie bray you know there's some pretty
tall power lines running along the east side of bonnie bray so that kind of informed their
landscape plan especially along bonnie bray and that we've got some berms and some naturalized
prairie area along that we don't want any trees within that that utility line easement
so it'll just provide that naturalized area as a gate as a kind of a front door trees
throughout the parking area street trees along the park access road which is on the south
side they also have a dog yard and dogway station in the secure area for the residents
so with any project we look at the comprehensive plan first to see what it says in this instance
this proposal conforms to the vision and goals of the comprehensive plan to provide those
community programs to meet the the needs of underserved groups in denton also provide
needs for neighborhood and social services within the community it's also consistent
with our moderate density residential future land use designation which is what the property
is designated and it provides that community service to support residents in an appropriate
location since this is on an arterial it really is that appropriate location for this this
a little more intensive use that this institutional use bonnie bray being that arterial roadway
it provides that adequate access as well as supports that scale of development we also
analyze the use the design and location the proposed uses within this plan are intended
to support the organization's mission i did want to point out that this is a plan development
and so the plan development establishes the permitted use and development scale within
it's not tied to necessarily the user it's tied to the land so any user could come in
if this is approved and and and use these development standards for their for their
development but i did want to let you know that we have an amendment process within the
denton development code so any any substantial change to the mix of uses on the side or the
scale of development or changes to substantial changes to the site plan would require that
development to come back through the planning and zoning and city council approval processes
all over again so that's part of that pd process the design of the site balances that safety
with those with the aesthetics so that the as as a development it meets all of our development
standards for commercial or institutional buildings so that it will it will it will be
developed in in a manner in which we typically see for commercial and institutional buildings
and it is nearby that residential commercial and institutional growth and so that proximity
to schools and services and residential will be will provide those opportunities for residents
within within the project providing things like employment shopping as well as residential
opportunities if and when they move out of the facility and then there are upcoming improvements
to north bonnie bray street which will improve the experience for all users especially those
who are right now trying to get to denton high school on a daily basis so the improvements
to bonnie bray are coming public outreach was sent out we've received one letter in
support of the proposal it's just the property to the north and so based upon the criteria
for approval staff recommends approval of the request we have an anticipated council
date of march 25th if it moves forward from the planning and zoning commission i'll be
happy to answer any questions and the applicant is here and i do believe they have a presentation
as well any questions for staff okay thanks thank you i have a card from the applicant
representative amy bissett good evening commissioners chair pruett nice to see you all i'll introduce
myself while i open my slides amy bissett with 97 land company we are a local development
consultant with those of you who are new and haven't seen us here yet before we're on the
square next door to cartwrights and we're frequent flyers here so you'll see us on a
regular basis and i just i want to open by saying that our client tony johnson simpson
who is the executive director for denton county friends of the family is here and it's her
birthday so be nice to her please she and i are going to tag team this a little bit and
she's going to get up and speak as well i want to start with a little bit of um just
context for for this proposal um we've been working on this plan development since 2023
we've been through seven rounds of reviews with city staff and um the land has been donated
to the non-profit organization by the razor family and just recently within the last 30
days denton county um awarded a grant amount of eight million dollars to construct this
facility so um it's getting a lot of traction quickly and i'm honored to be here representing
it tonight and um appreciate your time i will not review the location map other than to
re-emphasize um the proximity to north lakes park as well as denton high school and the
elementary school that is under construction today that i'll talk a little bit more about
in a little bit um we are maintaining the base zoning district of r7 and um proposing
some plan development standards to layer on top of that to enhance um the the overall
campus um and and to basically set a higher standard for for the development it is uh
the future land use is moderate residential julie reviewed that and how this proposal
is consistent with the future land use plan and we are proposing the plan development
with the purpose to be facilitating a mixed use campus for comprehensive services for
denton county friends of the family this does include both both residential and non-residential
uses and and i will walk you through the site plan in a little more detail than julie did
just so you can kind of see how it's going to function and lay out
i i want to point this out first this is another view of the campus um i want to note a couple
of things to note here um the buildings are designed um to be connected between each other
to to create a security uh sense of security for the residents and the central courtyard
is secured as well and will include a number of residential amenities so let me walk you
through the details of the site plan here quickly um everything that you see highlighted
in blue is a non-residential use we have um client services partner services training
child care kitchen and admin offices an event hall and a pet kennel as um julie pointed
out i do want to say something a little more about that um families that are in this situation
and needing to seek help often will be reluctant to do so because of having to leave pets behind
and so this is an important component of this development to have pet services available
and a very um an amenitized and large dog park for for that um specific um need in the
community i also want to point out here um everything outlined in red that you see is
a security fence so essentially what happens is that um everything behind the security
fence is is designed to be accessed by residents and staff only and then um and so the the
back side of the parking lot is secured and fenced off and those those fencing connections
connect to buildings to provide um fully secured site and then the the buildings that are closer
to bonnie bray are those that um non-residents would come in to receive services or um there
may be other types of meetings that are held there
here's another version of this that's done by phasing um you'll see phase one to the
bottom right is in blue and that is um residential services a small admin office and kitchen
and dining um phase two is on the north side and that is all residential um phase three
is the majority of the non-residential uses and then phase four is the um community recreation
center or event center i i also want to point out two things that i think julie covered to
an extent um on the north side the access point is emergency access only that was determined
in multiple meetings and collaboration with the isd to make sure that their bus lane was
free and clear and was not conflicting with any of our traffic and so we'll have a public
access easement for fire and emergency personnel to access the site from that location but
all other traffic will be directed to the park road that is um it is dedicated right
of way on the south side and the development will be dedicating right of way as well to
expand that park road fire access there is an emergency fire access that will be available
to get to the interior courtyard if necessary on the south side of the building it will
be gated and and have a knocks box lock on it as well
back up just a minute i missed one of these i want to talk about the permitted land uses
here um so the the planned development standards list out what land uses will be permitted
and which will not be permitted and of the land uses that will be permitted housing child
care admin offices dining hall recreation medical office kennel vet clinic laundry service
the only things that are not permitted there by right today are your kennel and your vet
clinic and these would be only for residential use and then the self-service laundry would
if it was a standalone use would require a specific use permit all other land uses are
prohibited within the within the pd standards and we do have a an extensive amenity plan
that includes a dog park pollinator gardens uh two playgrounds one for the child care
facility one for residential um area uh lawn and picnic area seating plaza splash pad and
which is the only piece that will be built in phase two everything else will be built
in phase one and a staff grilling area here's a rendering of an interior courtyard uh just
a couple of highlights on the pd standards there's a 52 foot maximum building height
this is um equates to three stories is essentially what we're proposing uh 25 minimum landscape
um 35 minimum tree canopy and we are proposing the alternative landscape um for bonnie bray
because we can't plant trees in that very large um transmission easement and then we
have an exemption to exterior lighting restrictions there's a provision in the code that that
with residential uses your parking lot lighting can't um can't illuminate the residences
and we have written that out of this code for additional security purposes we did attempt
neighborhood engagement we sent out invitations for four neighborhood meetings over the course
of a year but we did not receive any responses um we did meet in person with denton isd and
coordinated with them on the driveways traffic routes and civil plans and we've met with
the parks department to provide the trail connection um for the residents to be able
to access north lakes park directly um preliminary drainage plans i'm not going to go into any
detail on this or traffic study recommendations but if you have specific questions about it
then i will um i'll come back up for that but i'd like to have tony come up and speak
a little more broadly about the organization thank you
thank you commissioners my name is tony johnson simpson i've served as the executive director
of denton county friends of the family for 20 years um the agency has existed since uh
1980 we'll celebrate our 45th year in service this year we currently operate um a variety
of facilities in the community and what happens with the family justice center is it means
that all those locations will really come together under one location that provides
those people who are accessing our services the opportunity to come to one location receive
services but telling their story one time allows for partner um community agencies law
enforcement officers and different organizations to also be under the same collaborative campus
reduces uh as we said as i said reduces the number of times that a victim needs to tell
their story and really increases the uh access that they have um for those families that
are in need of our services so we talk about what is this what is the problem the problem
here in denton county of course we have our some uh traffic issues um we have a county
that's growing very much so this ease is that issue for those families that are accessing
our services um it allows for them to be able to have the the cope of location of other
organizations that can also be there do it prevents duplication of services because we
don't have to have families going around to different organizations for that and amy shared
with you a picture of the preview of the campus that's the artist rendering and it looks beautiful
we expect for it to look very similar to that as we uh move into it we've taken a lot of
uh i guess the artist running doesn't demonstrate some of the security precautions that we've
taken with the property as we think about that of course our the security and safety
of our families and of our staff and our volunteers is at the utmost importance to us and we will
take all those efforts and measures that are necessary to do so if you have any questions
for us we'd love to have them any questions commissioner padron yes hi thank you so much
for your presentation um for the transitional housing how many clients would you be able
to support we're really talking about um at any one time about 40 families is going to
max out and they could be there from different amounts of time some people may need to stay
for a month or three months and others may need to stay for longer periods of time but
we look at family households then we're talking about about 40 households at a time thank
you max yes any other questions uh i have one it may be more for amy you mentioned the
street trees along bonnie bray were not able to be planted because of the electricity easement
um i when i look at the site plan it looks like there's about 20 25 feet between the
property line and where that easement starts am i reading the the plan wrong or or is there
a larger distance required if you um look at the exhibit above everything that's in
yellow here is within an easement so even our first row of parking is within the easement
all the way out to the existing bonnie bray um we really explored a number of options
for how we could potentially accommodate that including with the widening of bonnie bray
would we might be able to add trees at that point in time but with with that not being
imminent or or known um there's just the provision for an alternative landscape plan home we just
simply can't plant those trees along the street and i want to say that that entire width is
about 75 feet um and then we've got the same issue on the the other side of the development
where that everything outside of the security fence is a water line easement as well okay
thank you i don't see any other questions uh this is you're completed you're finished
okay thank you this is a public hearing i don't have any cards uh registered to speak
on this item but uh you may certainly come down and speak fill out a card later if you
have any comments on this item seeing nobody making a mad rush i will close the public
hearing uh and open it up for discussion or questions uh from the commission or a motion
if if anybody's so inclined commissioner padrone i move approval commissioner riggs yeah i
move approval and i just want to make a stick or second that sorry i don't make move um
but i do want to make a statement when we're looking at pds you know i think it's always
important to think of what can go in there for some reason this this were to go you know
just not come to fruition so kind of what what rights are we granting with that and
i don't have any problem with the additional rights that are being asked for yeah that's
a good point to keep keep in mind right as we grant rights through zoning changes what
uh what could happen so i i i share your thoughts commissioner riggs and uh with that i'll call
for a vote on the board
that passes four zero uh that brings us to our second public hearing for the evening
item 5b z25-0001 welcome erin good evening
erin stanley assistant planner i'll be presenting z25-0001 sequoia park rezoning so this is
a request to rezone um approximately 8.93 acres from r3 to r6 district generally located
north of mingo road and west of nonningham drive um the property is undeveloped and has
been since the early 1900s and the purpose is to facilitate residential development consistent
with the r6 standards there has been previous action on this property so it was final plotted
um back in 1958 and we will get into that in the next slide so you can see the part
of the final plot on the left side of the screen um includes the subject property the
original final plot was for approximately 40 acres and included this part of the subject
property in 1980 um two replats were approved so shown in yellow and in red that were adjacent
to this subject tract these replats the yellow portion did replat um we did realign the single
family lots there to change access to the subject property originally access would have
been taken off of shawnee street um and today that is not possible due to those residences
residences there but the property still has sufficient access which today would just be
taken off of mingo road whenever they come in to develop the property is currently zoned
r3 district and they are proposing r6 and so with all rezoning requests staff reviews
the general criteria for approval as well as the specific rezoning criteria um with
this the subject property the proposed the purpose of the rezoning is consistent with
the r6 purpose statement the proposal is also generally consistent with the comprehensive
plan goals and policies and the future and land use map designation uh it will be required
to comply with all ddc standards when they do come forward for development that's not
something we evaluate really with just the rezoning and then it is not expected to generate
any significant adverse environmental infrastructure or fiscal impacts so to start with consistency
with the r6 purpose statement uh the proposed zoning will is intended to accommodate a variety
of housing types and share existing character is maintained uh and serve as a transition
between established single family neighborhoods and adjacent commercial uses mixed uses and
key corridors those are the goals of r6 um the allowed uses within r6 would be single
family as well as townhome duplex triplex and fourplex uses and with evaluating the
request staff looks at these uses and sees what um their requirements for development
would be so with the checked items here so these uses would all still be required the
same architectural design as any single family home would be um things like covered front
porches or stoops or recessed entries those would all be required for these other types
of residential uses these would also all see internal street networks providing that neighborhood
character design um and and network throughout the subdivision and r6 would also provide
a buffer from mingo as well as the multi-family to the south and the uh religious private
school use to the east um this would be an appropriate buffer from that more denser dense
use to the single family to the north and west so with the uh future land use map this
property is designated as low residential and this is intended to prime predominantly
be single family neighborhoods up to five units per acre and have a distinct subdivision
development style um while r6 does allow slightly denser than five units per acre staff did
look at their surrounding area and the properties to the directly to the north um do have a
slightly denser pattern already than r3 does um it's not quite as dense as what is proposed
for r6 but it is closer to that it doesn't meet that uh five units per acre density that
of low residential and see this is also a unique um location having two other future
land uses designations in proximity so the moderate residential designation just to the
south um is intended to be a transition area and between single family neighborhoods and
mixed use or commercial areas and the pink shaded color of mixed use community mixed use
is also intended to have those supporting uses for residential be a bit higher density
mixed housing types so these are important things to consider um in evaluating their
quest and rezonings do not have to comply a hundred percent with their lower their future
land use designation um as long as they still further overall goals of the comprehensive
plan this is looked at more holistically so some of those goals that we will get into
the first one um is to grow compactly with in coordination with transportation and infrastructure
so the subject property is located at the corner of mingo and noddingham and our comprehensive
plan designates both of these streets as arterial roadways so arterial roadways are intended
to serve as major routes into and throughout the city um making this more of a place that's
more appropriate for that higher density um mixed type uses and in the 2023 bond mingo
improvements were approved including what you see here to have a continuous left turn
lane as well as a 10 foot side path that would run along the southern boundary of this property
and then some distances i'd like to point out um this is in very close proximity to
texas women's university it's about a 1.2 mile walk along mingo to get to the center
of twu campus and it's about a third of a mile walk to get to sequoia park that's outlined
in the in the upper right hand map the property also already does have public water and sewer
that already runs along or through the property two other goals um these two touch on the
need for diverse housing stock in terms of type cost and location and the first goal
specifically calls out the uses that are allowed in r6 as potentially compatible with single
family neighborhoods staff did send out notifications and notification uh or the signs were posted
on the property um we have received four responses in opposition within the 200 foot buffer uh
totaling 8.72 percent and the applicant did have a neighborhood meeting um last week in
which five people attended and he is here to speak as well with that staff is recommending
approval of the zoning change as it complies with the criteria for approval and i will
be happy to answer any questions any questions just just one i think we had a um a written
comment uh from the public that talked about please know multifamily here is multifamily
a permitted use within r6 no okay it would not be permitted okay thank you i will open
the public hearing because i think i failed to do that earlier i have a card from uh miss
nancy sorrels oh i'm sorry is you said the applicant is here um does the applicant wish
to speak or not um it doesn't look like there are any questions at the time if uh if you'd
like to to come up after the the public has an opportunity i think that'd be fine um okay
nancy sorrels please come down state your name and address for the record and then you'll
have four minutes to speak hello commissioners i'm nancy sorrels i live at 3501 rose lawn
drive i'm actually the current owner of this property i've had it under contract a number
of times but no one can develop it due to the zoning that it's in now and due to some
of the issues with the property with houses built places where maybe they don't belong
etc so i'm very much for this change in zoning and i'm hopeful that we'll be able to get
this accomplished i also sent in responses um in support but apparently it didn't make
it through the mail so um i've sent those in as well thank you thank you any questions
okay this is a public hearing if anybody would like to speak i do have one uh card in opposition
to this item uh not wishing to speak so that will be entered into the record in addition
to the the four properties that you saw in the presentation but it is a public hearing
if anybody has any thoughts to offer or questions for staff or the applicant feel free to come
forward not seeing any i will close the public hearing um any questions for staff or comments
um i guess i have one erin um as i look at the the gis map i don't see any isa's mentioned
but there is a creek drainage creek that runs through it yes i'm trying to understand obviously
not you know we're talking about a straight zoning change but when i look at that it looks
to me like you would have to take two points of access off of mingo in order to serve the
entire property is that a a reasonable conjecture um the applicant has looked at some some conceptual
plans and in conceptual plans the area that is east of it's a drainage easement um this
kind of shown here it's a 30 foot wide drainage easement so it is not isa okay um but in conceptual
plans they are preserving everything east uh you are correct it would take some some engineering
to get across that necessarily um but it could be possible okay thank you
any questions from the commission or a motion i do have a question yes it's commissioner for
staff so uh looking at the permitted uses going from r3 to r6 looks like town homes duplexes
triplexes and fourplexes are permitted uses are those on the table is part of what the
development's going to look like or um i will let the applicant answer that if you would like
perfect primarily there's two reasons we're looking for a zone change the first one is
r3 versus r6 in typical lot width and lot depth as well as lot size is a lot of bigger of a lot
in r3 so what we're hoping with r6 is even if we do single family for example we can do a typical
50 by 110 lot which is what home developers are looking for in terms of duplex triplex fourplex
that's not what we would do we would either go single family or town homes by a deed restriction
as well we can only do single family so that's single family sales so even if we did town homes
we couldn't necessarily do a bill to rent unless someone wanted to go in and buy every single
individual home which we can't stop them but they would have to be a for sale product
so if i understand right you're saying like a duplex or triplex would be
we could do like a twin home okay but we wouldn't yeah we wouldn't we wouldn't do something like that
okay and that that's because of the deed restrictions on the property currently not
because of the zoning correct correct yeah um also there's not really a big demand here for that
so we're looking more of individual for sale product for the for consumer okay uh commissioner
dyer so when you're talking about the rezoning would allow you to do smaller lots about how many
home sites can you fit on this property today based on current zoning based on if this got approved
oh and the smaller lots about 36 to 38 would be probably the most as erin pointed out there is a
drainage easement on top of that there's tree preservation that would have to be considered
buffers we were also working currently with traffic uh here they would like us to dedicate
about a 35 foot easement in the front for that future mingo expansion so there's a lot of things
adversely affecting this that would would shrink our yield down significantly okay thank you
any other questions okay thank you thank you
discussion or emotion
i don't necessarily have an issue if this is essentially the only way that the
property is going to be developed if others have tried and can't can't make it work
i don't necessarily have an issue with that it still remains single family so kind of my thoughts
okay commissioner dire but there's no guarantee i mean there's no guarantee that it would remain
single family because they could put town homes essentially they could put any of those up there
but in the end you know as the current property owner states she's attempted multiple times to
sell this and this sounds like it's probably the only way that the deal is going to get done
can i ask a question to staff just for clarification for the nearby residents
i think we we kind of jumped over the terminology of of what the zoning allows versus what the deed
restriction allows can you explain the difference between those and also what the process if you're
aware would be to change or remove the deed restriction because it doesn't come before us
is my understanding no it would not um staff does not regulate those deed restrictions that's more
private agreements with with the property owner and it would just be up to anyone another resident
to enforce that essentially and just report i guess um the process of changing those i would
you they would need to consult like a land use eternity attorney so not not us not this body
okay thank you commissioner padron
i just wanted to say that i agree with commissioner riggs um on uh just the context of the of the
property um the limitations with being able to move forward with it and then finding a way to
move forward with this proposal yeah i'll just say that i um i'm happy to see uh however many
homes that it would be go here instead of uh you know three miles away outside the loop creating
more traffic for the rest of our residents as they as they get to stores and that sort of thing
i'll entertain a motion if anybody has one commissioner padron move approval
commissioner riggs second and i will call for a vote on the board
and that passes four to zero thank you
that is our last public hearing brings us to item six a the planning and zoning commission project
matrix hayley that's good evening um just in terms of updates since our last meeting um city council
did meet last week and the coal ranch master plan community amendments that you all had considered
uh were approved i believe that was the only action that they took that directly related to
anything this body has been working on um and i don't believe we had any significant changes
to your matrix but i'm happy to add anything that you all might be interested in
i don't think this is something specifically um to be reported on uh but uh as we were doing our work
session uh earlier today we we saw that that the planning and zoning commission doesn't see uh
applications for um um admission into the city why can i not think of this word right now
annexation thank you uh uh and so we don't see those but sometimes we see zoning requests
after that um it might help us just to get some preview in the future if uh the council actions
would include any annexations in addition to to final action that they took on items we've
already seen certainly we can do that okay um and in the spirit of that i will say if you're
interested the last council meeting there were three uh projects that were requesting resolutions
in support of low income housing tax credits i anticipate if those are awarded at least one
of those will come before this body for a specific use permit request okay good to know uh
that brings us to our final item concluding items anyone have anything
excited for denton oh actually i do have something so so last friday i had the opportunity of going
to focus north texas uh actually you know accompanied staff to that that was really
really eye-opening and i would encourage anyone who gets a chance to go next year
very good uh and and i have oh commissioner dire thank you all for being so welcoming um to me on
my very first meeting thank you for being here with us we uh we look forward to learning together
so thank you um i do have one and i'm looking up the date to make sure that i don't misstate it
um it is not this saturday but next saturday uh afternoon is the winter warmer
um have some some staff and others that are very involved in supporting this fundraiser for
our students here in town so look that up and please attend and and uh it's a great time so
with that with no objection i will uh
adjourn our meeting of the planning and zoning commission at 7 31 p.m thank you