Subject:
Discuss potential amendments to the US Highway 377 North Overlay District to create a comprehensive development approach to the North Main Street Corridor.
Background:
The US Highway 377 North Overlay District (the District) was developed in 2009 with the help of a consultant and adopted in 2010 after public input. The goal for the District is as follows:
The purpose of the U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District is to implement additional development regulations within the U.S. Highway 377 North Corridor Plan. The regulations and standards of this overlay district are reflective of the high visibility and traffic volumes of the corridor. They are intended to create unique site design, building architecture, and streetscape that enhance the overall image of the corridor while remaining compatible with adjacent developed and planned residential neighborhoods. [Emphasis added.]
During recent work sessions with City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, staff explained that though the District had rarely come into play over the years, recent development pressures begged a review of - and potentially amendments to - this District. This is particularly true for the area between Keller Parkway and Johnson Road that is currently part of the Old Town Keller Zoning District despite being north of Keller Parkway. After further discussions, both the Council and the Commission agreed that how the Main Street Corridor developed in the future was important to the community and deserved thoughtful reconsideration. Staff suggests amending the US Highway 377 North Overlay District to the North Main Street Corridor Overlay and rezoning the base district between Keller Parkway and Johnson Road from OTK to Retail.
Though Keller Parkway offers a natural division between the built (and pedestrian-oriented) environment of OTK with the car-centric nature of North Main Street, both the Council and the Commission expressed a desire for North Main Street to also develop to higher development standards friendly to pedestrians rather than adopting the straight Retail Zoning District and its related, general standards. Center Stage - a pedestrian-oriented planned development - anchors the north end of the corridor while Duff’s Jewelers helps anchor the south end and form a connection to the Old Town Keller District. The completion of Just for Grins will provide a third excellent example of the type of development desired for the corridor. By gleaning certain attributes of these three developments and developing standards based on those attributes, a vision of the corridor as one that “create[s] unique site design, building architecture, and streetscape that enhance[s] the overall image” might still be realized.
Potential Goal for the North Main Street Corridor Overlay:
Building off the language in the current 377 Overlay District (“create unique site design, building architecture, and streetscape that enhance the overall image of the corridor”), the Commission and Council may want to consider something like the following:
The Main Street Corridor, with its busy traffic north of Keller Parkway, provides an excellent opportunity to reflect Keller’s vision to those who have the pleasure to live, work, and own businesses in Keller as well as those who travel through Keller. To mirror the community’s high standards and focus on family-friendly venues, the North Main Street Corridor Overlay standards create unique site design, building architecture, and streetscape elements to attract uses and businesses that enhance the overall image of the Corridor while creating a connection with Old Town Keller across Keller Parkway.
Proposed Amended Boundaries for the North Main Street Corridor Overlay:
Staff has reviewed the US Highway 377 North Overlay District and identified the following challenges in terms of development along the North Main Street Corridor: the current boundaries do not go south of Johnson Road and they extend west past the railroad tracks to Katy Road. Staff recommends extending the boundaries south to Keller Parkway and north to the city limits while also using the railroad tracks as the western boundary. (See Attachment A for existing boundaries.)
The current eastern boundary is farther east than the staff-proposed boundary. Staff suggests that the general development requirements apply to approximately the first 400 feet immediately east from Main Street. Four hundred feet deep is about as deep as retail can be sited from the road and still have enough exposure to attract attention. It matches the retail depth of the Greenway Park Development (office/retail uses in front of the single-family PD just north of Harmonson Farms) as well. By shrinking the depth of this proposed District, it also provides flexibility to develop more intense uses (i.e. a bottling company) behind the retail uses and out of site of the traffic. Yet, such uses could still take advantage of access to Main Street and provide healthy tax base contributions. The proposed North Main Street Corridor Overlay boundaries may be viewed via the link below that will also allow you to zoom in and out, look at zoning, trail connections, etc. (Let us know if you have any trouble accessing this map.)
<https://keller.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/interactivelegend/index.html?appid=252d08733fe34e6ab562183fc1c94038>
Proposed Development Criteria:
Staff looks forward to hearing the Commission’s thoughts and ideas related to development criteria. Staff has attached a concept of what an enhanced streetscape could look like. A basic sketch of how the landscape buffer (with sidewalk), buildings, parking and additional buffer is also included with proposed depths for each. Staff will present a PowerPoint with images of the different OTK elements (benches, light standards, etc.) and how those might continue north into the North Main Street Corridor Overlay. Also we will show how buildings may be situated close to the street with parking behind. We will use Just for Grins and the Hampton Inn and Suites for context and scale as well as smaller components such as a brewery, food truck court, and pickleball courts.
Next Steps:
Due to scheduling conflicts on February 8th, the City Council will need to reschedule the joint work session. This gives the Commission, should it want to, an opportunity to revisit this topic at its next meeting before discussing with Council. Assuming that after the joint work session the consensus is to pursue amending the Overlay (as well as the base zoning district for Keller Parkway to Johnson Road from OTK to Retail), staff recommends garnering public input and feedback on the proposal. That feedback could then be shared with both the Commission and Council for final changes before formal consideration.
Supporting Documents:
Attachment A: Existing Boundaries of the US Highway 377 North Overlay District
Attachment B: Proposed Enhanced Streetscape
Attachment C: Scaled Overlay Design Proposal
Attachment D (total of 5 images): Elevation images of Center Stage, Duffs Jewelry, and Just for Grins