Kyle City Council approves first reading of FM 150 rezone

KYLE — Kyle City Council discussed the potential rezoning of land off of FM 150 and IH-35 at length during the June 4 meeting and, ultimately, approved the item on the first out of two readings.

According to Jason Lutz, planning manager, this is a planned unit development zoning change to allow the property to be developed as a combination of commercial, office and multi-family residential land uses. In addition to the PUD request, there would be a development agreement and an economic development agreement (380).

Lutz said that the recently updated comprehensive plan labeled this area as an urban mixed-use area, which is why the commercial and residential are being proposed together.

Pictured is the map of the proposed development located off of IH-35 and FM 150. Parcel one and two will be a retail and services district, while parcel 3 is residential.
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF THE CITY OF KYLE[/caption]

The proposed site is on the east side of IH-35, located on both the west and east sides of FM-150, next to Dairy Queen and behind Starbucks. There is a plan for 29.9 acres of retail and services zoning, 15.4 acres of apartments residential 3 zoning, a maximum of 350 multi-family units, 24 townhome units, 15 residential flats and a minimum of 150,000 square feet of commercial/office uses. The latter of which will be developed in phases, beginning with 55,000 feet.

There will also be a paddle boarding water feature planned, with open space, a dog park, picnic areas and a rooftop pickleball court, along with 13.5 acres of floodplain/parkland. The Vybe Trail, which will ultimately be connected, and Vybe Spot will be maintained by the developer at its cost.

At the original meeting, the council made several requests, which staff have changed the plans to adapt to. The first of which was increasing the number of commercial areas being constructed in the first phase, so now it will be the first phase started. Next, at least 55,000 square feet of commercial or a parking garage must be completed prior to starting the multi-family residential builds.

“Will it be possible to surface park and forgo the parking garage based on the PUD design or will they be forced to do it, so it’s not a situation where they can say, ‘Well I’m going to skip the parking garage,’” asked Mayor Travis Mitchell. “We can just put ‘and’ [in the language] — that’ll solve it — instead of ‘or’ … It’s not without reason that we make that request. We’ve had development projects dangle garages and say that they’re going to do something, but really, they’re going to surface park it.”

Staff also added a section to the agreement to emphasize water and electric conservation upon council's request.

“[The] paddle boarding water feature, I think potentially, that was conceived before we started recognizing the new future of the whole region struggling with substantial droughts,” said Mitchell.

Council member Lauralee Harris noted that this project could take advantage of the drain off that would be in the area, due to an existing slope. There would be no swimming, but the water would not have to be potable and could use the natural elements to help fill it.

Todd Dailey of Capella Commercial Real Estate stated that when they originally presented the idea, they simply showed projects that they believed the city would be interested in, but the water features are not necessary if they are unwanted.

“We definitely want to work with the community. From the beginning, this project is for the community and we’re here; we’re listening to what they’re saying. So, we want them to know we care,” said the project manager, who emphasized that they can go back to the drawing board or change the type of water.

There was also a concern amongst council about the amount of traffic located in the area, so there will be a new traffic signal installed, turn lanes and deceleration lanes along FM 150 and IH-35, shared driveways in the development, sidewalks and other planned improvements to mitigate the traffic impacts.

“Unfortunately, it’s just the way our town is,” said council member Michael Tobias. “We’re just trying to find our best solutions. That’s what we’re doing up here … This little area is so small, but it just has so many difficult components that we have to figure out.”

For community members that are concerned with the number of apartments within the city, council member Bear Heiser noted that, similar to a citizen comment who advocated for more affordable housing, the way to make Kyle more accessible is through these multi-family units.

“A lot of people who’ve critiqued this development and said they hate apartments and it’s too many people … the outcome of denying density is denying affordability,” said Heiser.

Council voted unanimously to rezone the land, but it will return for a second approval, along with the entirety of the development agreement, at the June 18 meeting. The development agreement was not to be voted on at this meeting, as the contents will be shown to council at the next meeting.

To listen to the full discussion, visit .