Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by the City of McKinney to Amend Appendix B (Urban Design Standards for the Regional Employment Center) of Chapter 146, Including Section B-1 (Map of Regional Employment Center Overlay Zones) and Section B-2 (Regional Employment Center - Overlay Urban Design Standards), of the Zoning Regulations
Summary
MEETING DATE: April 22, 2014
DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT: Brandon Opiela, Planning Manager
APPROVAL PROCESS: The recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission will be forwarded to the City Council for final action at the May 20, 2014 meeting.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the proposed amendments to Appendix B (Urban Design Standards for the Regional Employment Center) of Chapter 146 of the Code of Ordinances.
ITEM SUMMARY: Staff is proposing a series of amendments to Appendix B (Urban Design Standards for the Regional Employment Center) of the Zoning Ordinance, which corresponds with rezoning requests made within the "REC" - Regional Employment Center Overlay District since 2010. The "REC" - Regional Employment Center Overlay District (approximately 4,500 acres) was originally adopted by the City Council in 2001 and has not been significantly modified or amended since 2003.
The proposed amendments represent Staff's effort to modify existing regulations (which have led to frequent rezoning requests and often considered contrary to current market and development trends) to be more reflective of the development climate without modifying existing property rights. At the request of the City Council, Staff has analyzed all rezoning requests submitted since 2010 for properties within the REC and provided a chart showing each requested modification to the requirements of the REC.
Through this analysis, Staff identified a total of 15 requested modifications to the REC standards spanning 12 development projects. In the attached chart, these modifications have been ordered based on the frequency of the request and the recommendations of Staff, the Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the final action taken by the City Council for each request has also been provided. It should be noted that additional rezoning requests have been made for properties within the REC, but did not modify specific regulations found within the REC and, as such, have been excluded from the attached chart.
Staff has also provided an aerial exhibit of the properties included within the REC. Staff has shaded each of the parcels to illustrate developed (using a lighter color) and undeveloped (using a bolder color) properties as well as to clarify which properties are currently subject to the requirements of the REC. Properties shaded in blue indicate those that have been zoned on or after February 6, 2001 (the establishment of the REC) and are currently subject to the guidelines of the REC. Properties shaded in red indicate those that were zoned prior to the establishment of the REC and are not currently subject to the design guidelines and will only be subject to the standards of the REC if a future rezoning request is made.
The requested special ordinance provisions were originally discussed at the February 24, 2014 City Council work session. At this meeting, City Council requested that Staff meet with affected property owners to gather input concerning possible amendments to the REC regulations. Staff subsequently held a public input meeting on March 27, 2014 to discuss moving forward with possible amendments. Those in attendance offered broad support for Staff to amend the ordinances in a manner that would allow for greater development options without eliminating current entitlements.