Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on a Request by Sphinx Development Corporation for the Waiver of Roadway Impact Fees in Accordance with the Neighborhood Empowerment Zone Program for the Multi-Family Development (380 Villas) Located at 1101 North Throckmorton Street
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the quality of Life in McKinney by promoting reinvestment activities and ordinance changes in Historic Downtown McKinney that balance preservation of historic character and current market needs.
MEETING DATE: May 2, 2023
DEPARTMENT: Development Services - Planning Department
CONTACT: Paula Jarrett Nasta, AIA, Planning Manager
Cassandra Bumgarner, Historic Preservation Planner
Jennifer Arnold, AICP, Director of Planning
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
• Staff recommends approval of the roadway impact fee waiver request, in the amount of $619,532.
ITEM SUMMARY:
• The applicant is requesting roadway impact fee waivers for the multi-family development (380 Villas) located at 1101 North Throckmorton Street, pursuant to the criteria and allowances of the city’s Neighborhood Empowerment Zone Program.
• Typically, NEZ Program impact fee waivers can be approved by Staff. However, when the roadway impact fees exceed $50,000 or when the project includes multi-family residential construction, the request requires City Council review and approval.
• The development will consist of 260 multi-family units and has an estimated construction value of the $38 million.
• If approved, the roadway impact fee waiver will result in foregone roadway impact fee revenues of $619,532.
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY:
• Pursuant to Section 98-85 (Neighborhood Empowerment Zone) of the city’s Code of Ordinances, projects within the NEZ boundary may be eligible to receive roadway impact fee waivers if the design and construction is found to be generally compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features of the surrounding neighborhood.
• Staff has reviewed the project against the design guidelines of the NEZ Program and is comfortable that the project is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Staff specifically notes the following:
• Massing: The building facades are situated to provide a massing pattern similar to other multi-story properties in the historic McKinney neighborhood. The façade undulates at regular intervals to provide for visual interest and forms that reflect the proportions of surrounding properties.
• Size: The project includes two- and three- story buildings which are complimentary to some of the building heights of the surrounding neighborhood.
• Scale: The dominant, low and long character of the buildings within the project reflects the proportions of building façades in the surrounding neighborhood. This character, along with the rhythm of building masses, helps to present a scale that serves as a balance between the small, low single-family homes in the neighborhood and the larger multistory commercial properties along the railroad, SH 5 and US 380.
• Architectural Features: This project is a multi-story, multi-building multi-family development. The developer has worked to include architectural features of the surrounding neighborhood into the design including:
o Gable and hip roofs
o Brick, Patterned Brick, Synthetic stone, and horizontal lap siding
o Balconies
o Dormers
o Windows and Doors composed in a rhythm compatible with those of the surrounding single family and multifamily developments.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
• The Neighborhood Empowerment Zone Program (NEZ) was established in 2009 and expanded in 2013 to provide a complimentary tool to support infill within the Town Center area of McKinney.
• Roadway impact fees and utility impact fees are imposed by the city on all new development in order to generate revenue for funding or recouping the capital costs of roadway and utility system improvements necessitated by the new development.
• Per Section 98-85 (Neighborhood Empowerment Zone) of the city’s Code of Ordinances, non-residential and residential projects within the Neighborhood Empowerment Zone may receive impact fee waivers based on specified criteria (excerpt below).
“Multi-family: Within the NEZ, new multi-family construction, being three or more dwelling units on a single lot and commencing on a lot of record, is eligible to receive roadway impact fee waivers only, provided that the design and completion of the new construction is generally compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features of the surrounding neighborhood. Prior to construction, an application shall be made to the HPO, who will present an eligibility determination for roadway impact fee waivers to the city council for approval or denial based on the proposed construction. The city council shall determine eligibility for impact fee waivers based, in part, on the “Guidelines for New Construction in the NEZ”. All impact fees shall be collected at the time of building permit issuance and remitted to the owner upon completion and final inspection of compliant construction.”
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
• To date, six (6) multi-family properties have been awarded roadway impact fee waivers pursuant to the NEZ Program, totaling $2,044,608 in foregone roadway impact fee revenues to the city.