To: Mark Hafner, City Manager
From: Julie Smith, Community Development Director
Subject:
Title
PUBLIC HEARING: Consider a resolution replacing the City of Keller Land Use Element of the Keller Master Plan, adopted by Resolution No. 1051, dated August 31, 1998; bringing into conformance with state and federal laws and professional best practices; providing a conflicting ordinance clause; authorizing publication; and establishing an effective date.
Background:
The Future Land Use Plan (FLUP) represents the community’s vision of the future growth for the City of Keller. It is a visionary guidance document, not a regulatory zoning ordinance. As such, it attempts to envision what the community wants to achieve in 10, 20, even 30 years in terms of the fabric of its development - what type of development could go where and at what general density. The zoning ordinances, on the other hand, indicate what is “on the ground” today and specify the many details that determine how development can occur in each zoning district (setbacks, lot coverage, access, etc.). Because master plans and zoning ordinances have different goals, they don’t always align. However, efforts should be made so that zoning ordinances support the vision of the master plan. The FLUP, though not the sole determinant for zoning requests, does become a basis for reviewing zoning requests. This proposed resolution recognizes the need to adopt an updated FLUP that reflects the community’s long-term vision.
In 2018, the City Council initiated the update of the 1998 FLUP. The City Council hired a consultant and began the process:
2018:
March 12: Joint Council and Planning & Zoning Commission held to kick-off the process.
April: Five public meetings occurred with the community.
June-Sept: The FLUP Task Force held multiple meetings.
December : City Council Meeting tabled FLUP to January 15, 2019.
2019:
January: By a 5-2 vote, Planning and Zoning Commission recommends City Council approve the FLUP conditioned on removing multi-family from the Mixed-Use definition. City Council, after public hearing, tabled the FLUP proposal to address concerns related to Mixed-Use. (City Attorney informed Council they could not exclude multi-family/apartments.)
April-June: Multiple work sessions were held with Council and FLUP Task Force.
November: City Council denied proposed FLUP update by a vote of 5-2.
In 2021, the City Council directed staff to propose options/solutions to address the remaining outstanding issues related to the FLUP. At Council’s direction, staff proceeded:
January 19: Staff brought several draft definitions for various Land-Use Categories to Council in a work session for consideration and to receive direction.
February 2: The Council finalized the draft Land-Use Categories.
February 23: Staff held a Work Session to update the Planning and Zoning Commission on the ongoing FLUP effort.
February 24 and March 2nd: During work sessions, the City Council discussed potential land use designations/locations for the FLUP map and fine-tuning land use definitions.
March 4: An in-person public meeting was held at the Keller Pointe to discuss the proposed changes and receive additional input from the community.
March 6: A virtual Public Meeting was held to discuss the proposed changes and receive additional input from the community.
March 16: Staff provided a summary of the public input and then proposed changes based on that input to Council in a work session. Council provided their final direction to staff.
Primary Proposed Changes from 1998 FLUP to Proposed 2021 FLUP:
1. Update the Residential Land-Use Categories (See Exhibit A, Appendix C.)
2. Update the Mixed-Use Definition (See Exhibit A, Appendix C.)
3. Create a Tech/Flex Overlay Definition (See Exhibit A, Appendix C.)
4. Update the Parks and Open Space Definitions (See Exhibit A, Appendix C.)
5. Update the FLUP Map (See Exhibit A, Page 33.)
Citizen Input:
Since February, Staff has received numerous comments at the public meetings, via emails, and through the online survey (see Exhibit B):
• Opposition to High-Density, smaller lots, or reducing lot sizes (19)
• Opposed to the Patio home/Garden home/Townhome category (6)
• Would like to narrow the High-Density Range (4)
• Positive feedback to Parks and Open Space categories
• Mainly positive feedback to Tech/Flex category
• Mixed feedback on Mixed-Use category from residents
• Requests to change map both to higher and lower densities
• Requests to change specific commercial parcels
• Mixed feedback on FLUP
Planning and Zoning Commission Action:
At their March 23, 2021, meeting, the Commission recommended 7-0 the Council adopt the FLUP as proposed with a strong recommendation to designate the property east of Main Street, north of Wall-Price Keller Road, west of Whitley Road, and south of 801 Main and 800 Whitley as Mixed Use rather than the proposed split of Retail/Commercial and PGT.
Five of the seven Commissioners also recommended adding the Tech/Flex Overlay District to the parcel designated for Mixed-Use and located north of Ridge Point Parkway along North Main Street.
Public Notice
A replacement of the Future Land Use Plan requires a public hearing notice to be published in the local newspaper fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled City Council meeting date. The notice for the City Council public hearing was published in the April 1, 2021, edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Interim Requests:
Since the Commission’s recommendation, the following requests have been submitted by property owners for Council consideration:
• 1850 Pearson Crossing (just north of Landscape Systems on Keller Parkway) is requesting that this parcel be designated Retail/Commercial rather than LD-SF.
• 1000 and 1008 North Main Street (Harmonson Farm property) is requesting the front portion of the tract be Mixed-Use rather than the proposed Retail/Commercial along Main Street. If MU was not an option, they asked to change a section between RTC and MD-SF to PGT as a transition. The owners did appreciate the MD-SF designation (rather than LD-SF) for the remainder. Currently, it is designated as almost one-half Mixed-Use with the other half LD-SF and a small retail corner along Main.
• 950 North Main (Vijay Ranganathan hotel/office property) is requesting the entire tract to be RTC. When he purchased the property and under the 1998 FLUP, the front part of the property was designated as RTC and the back as MU. He has numerous submittals in to the City that meet the original designations (office in front and MU (hotel) in the back).
Alternatives:
The City Council has the following options when considering this item:
- Approve as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
- Approve with modifications or additional amendments.
- Table the agenda item to a specific date with clarification of intent and purpose.
- Deny.