[CALL TO ORDER]
[Planning and Zoning Commission Training Series]
[00:01:17]
DISTRICT AREA AS DEFINED IN OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, IF YOU WERE TO ASK MAIN STREET, THEY WOULD PROBABLY SAY THAT WHEN THEY SAY DOWNTOWN, THEY'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE SQUARE AND ITS IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS. HOWEVER, WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING AND LAND USE, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOWNTOWN, WE USUALLY MEAN THE MCKINNEY TOWN CENTER OR MTC ZONING DISTRICT. SUFFICE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE MANY HISTORIC AND DOWNTOWN AREAS AND VERY FEW OF THEM OVERLAP NEATLY. 1 TO 1. SO LET'S COVER A COUPLE OF THEM. THE FIRST BEING THE HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT AREA OR HSA. THIS IS THE LARGEST OF THE SO-CALLED HISTORIC AREAS. BOUNDED BY 75 TO THE WEST, UNIVERSITY TO THE NORTH, AIRPORT AND INDUSTRIAL ALL THE WAY AROUND. WHAT MATTERS HERE SPECIFICALLY IS THAT ANY NON SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT HAPPENS IN THE HSA WILL BE REQUIRED TO MEET OUR ARCHITECTURAL STANDARDS. IF YOU GO INTO THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, UDC, SECTION 206 F, YOU'LL FIND ALL SORTS OF STANDARDS MEANT TO PRESERVE A PARTICULAR HISTORIC CHARACTER, ONE INTERESTING ASPECT IS THAT FACADE PLANS ARE REQUIRED FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE HSA, I'LL GET INTO MORE ON FACADE PLANS LATER BECAUSE THEY'RE ALSO RELEVANT TO THE MTC, BUT YOU MIGHT ALSO KNOW THEM AS ELEVATIONS. THERE'S ALSO THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, AND I APOLOGIZE THAT THIS TEAL SHOWS UP SO POORLY ON THE SCREEN. BUT, IT'S ALSO KNOWN AS THE HISTORIC OVERLAY DISTRICT OR H OVERLAY, OR EVEN JUST H0, THIS IS NOT GOING TO INTERACT WITH PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION PARTICULARLY OFTEN THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY MATTERS HERE IS THAT IF ONE IS TO DO ANY SORT OF ALTERATION TO A FACADE, OR TO THE OUTSIDE OF A BUILDING, THEY WILL FIRST NEED A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS. HOWEVER, I DID WANT TO COVER IT. IT IS CALLED JUST SIMPLY THE HISTORIC DISTRICT. SO IT'S PRETTY EASY TO GET IT CONFLATED WITH SOME OF THE OTHERS. NOW FOR THE STAR OF THE SHOW, THE MTC, THE MCKINNEY TOWN CENTER DISTRICT. FIRST OFF, THIS IS AN ACTUAL ZONING DISTRICT. IT IS NOT AN OVERLAY, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE THINK IT IS AN OVERLAY. I PROMISE YOU, IT IS A FULLY BONA FIDE ZONING DISTRICT. WHEN WE'RE PLANNING IN THE MTC, WHAT MATTERS PRIMARILY ARE THAT IT HAS MANY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS. HOWEVER, MANY ALLOWANCES THAT ARE NOT FOUND ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY, YOU CAN FIND ALL THE CODE INFORMATION IN APPENDIX TWO B OF THE UDC. IT HAS ITS OWN USE TABLE SEPARATE FROM THE MAIN UDC USE TABLE. AND FINALLY IT HAS SUBZONES CALLED CHARACTER DISTRICTS. ALL OF WHICH HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS. BUT THE BIGGEST THING THAT SETS THE MTC APART FROM THE REST OF THE UDC AND FROM MANY CODES IN GENERAL, IS THAT IT'S WHAT WE CALL A FORM BASED CODE. SO A FORM BASED CODE IS A CODE THAT PRIORITIZES THE BUILT FORM OVER THE SEPARATION OF USES AS ITS PRIMARY ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE, THAT IS, TO SAY, THE IDEA IS WE WANT FORM TO LEAD TO FUNCTION.
[00:05:08]
THIS IS A DEFINING FEATURE OF THE MTC AND WHAT IT PROVIDES US IS DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. THESE INCLUDE STANDARDS ON BUILDING MATERIAL, BUILDING MASSING, REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL READINESS IN CERTAIN PARTS, THE FORM THAT AUTOMOTIVE ELEMENTS HAVE TO TAKE AND PLENTY MORE.ZOOMING INTO THE MTC ITSELF, THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT CHARACTER DISTRICTS. FIRST, WE HAVE THE HISTORIC CORE. WE ARE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, THIS IS THE SQUARE AND ITS IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS. SURROUNDING IT IS THE DOWNTOWN CORE. AND THAT'S A LOT OF THE MOST OF THE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY TO THE WEST OF HIGHWAY FIVE, THE WESTERN FLANK IS THE DOWNTOWN EDGE. AND THAT'S WHERE THE COMMERCIAL USES START TO FADE INTO MORE RESIDENTIAL USES. GOING ACROSS THE HIGHWAY, WE HAVE THE TWO TRANSIT VILLAGE DISTRICTS, TRANSIT VILLAGE CORE AND TRANSIT VILLAGE EDGE. AS THEY THEN, TRANSITION INTO THE EAST MCKINNEY LEGACY NEIGHBORHOODS.
FINALLY, IF WE GO SOUTH ALONG HIGHWAY FIVE, WE HAVE THE TWO COTTON MILL DISTRICTS, COTTON MILL CORE AND EDGE, AND THEY FORM A LITTLE EXCLAVE OF MTC, FURTHER DOWN. ONE OTHER THING I WANT TO NOTE IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, THERE ARE THESE STREETS THAT ARE BLUE AND GREEN.
THOSE ARE OUR PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY STREETS. SO THESE ARE STREETS THAT ARE INTENDED TO FACILITATE PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION WITHIN THE MTC. BASICALLY, WE WANT THESE STREETS TO BE DEVELOPED IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM VERY HOSPITABLE TO PEDESTRIAN USE, VERY WALKABLE, AND WHY THIS PARTICULAR BIT MATTERS FROM A CODE PERSPECTIVE IS THAT CHARACTER DISTRICTS HAVE STANDARDS THAT CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE STREET DESIGNATION, SETBACK, FRONTAGE REQUIREMENTS, FACADE REQUIREMENTS. THEY MIGHT CHANGE DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU HAVE FRONTAGE ALONG A PRIORITY, A STREET OR A PRIORITY B STREET, OR WHAT WE CALL A SERVICE STREET, WHICH IS NEITHER OF THE ABOVE. SETBACKS AND BUILD TWO ZONES ARE AN INTERESTING FEATURE OF THE MTC, MOST CHARACTER DISTRICTS HAVE MINIMAL OR EVEN NO SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FOR A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, THEY DO HAVE WHAT WE CALL BUILD TWO ZONES OR BTS'S, THESE ARE KIND OF LIKE REVERSE SETBACKS, WHEREAS A SETBACK IS SAYING, YOUR BUILDING MUST BE THIS FAR FROM THE RIGHT OF WAY, THE BEATS, THE BUILD TWO ZONE IS THE REVERSE. IT SAYS YOU MUST BE THIS CLOSE TO THE RIGHT OF WAY.
AND THAT IS INTENDED TO, AGAIN, HELP WITH THAT WALKABILITY. WE WANT A SEAMLESS FACADE, AND TO INCREASE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY AND ATTRACTIVENESS. OVER HERE. THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE HISTORIC CORE BUILDING PLACEMENT STANDARDS. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE BUILD TWO ZONE AND SETBACKS ZERO SETBACKS. BUT IT IS ASKING YOU TO BE WITHIN 0 TO 5FT OF THE RIGHT OF WAY. IF YOU'RE ALONG THOSE PEDESTRIAN STREETS. NOW WE RETURN TO FLOOR PLANS AGAIN. YOU MIGHT KNOW THEM AS ELEVATIONS, BUT THEY BASICALLY ARE JUST SHOWING WHAT THE FACADE OF A SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT WILL LOOK LIKE. THEY ARE A REQUIRED EXHIBIT OF ALL SITE PLANS, THE MTC AND THE HSR AND THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE OCCASIONAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS THEM AS A REQUIREMENT. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF PARTS OF SOD PLAN, THIS IS FOR THE LUMBER YARD. COMING SOON TO DOWNTOWN MCKINNEY, THIS IS NOT THE WHOLE FACADE PLAN. IT'S MULTIPLE PAGES LONG BECAUSE IT HAS TO SHOW EACH FACING IT HAS CHARTS EXPLAINING THE, PERCENTAGE OF MATERIALS USED, BUT THIS IS A GENERALLY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHEN WE HAVE A FACADE PLAN, WE WANT TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE MATERIALS ARE, WE WANT TO SEE THE HEIGHT. DESIGN EXCEPTIONS ARE THE BIGGEST WAY IN WHICH YOU ALL ON PLANNING, PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION. EXCUSE ME. WILL BE INTERACTING WITH THE MTC, WE TALKED ABOUT DESIGN EXCEPTIONS IN THE PAST. IN A PREVIOUS TRAINING SESSION, BUT SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO NOTE ABOUT THE MTC AS THEY'RE A LOT MORE BROADLY APPLICABLE THAN
[00:10:03]
THEY ARE ELSEWHERE IN THE UDC, AND THEY CAN ALLOW A DEVIATION FROM ANY BUILDING FORM AND SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARD, BUILDING DESIGN STANDARD OR OPEN SPACE STANDARD. THESE MUST BE APPROVED BY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, WITH THE ONE EXCEPTION BEING BUILDING HEIGHT DEVIATIONS, WHICH CAN ONLY BE APPROVED BY COUNCIL THAT. HOWEVER, THERE ARE MANY SMALLER SCALE DEVIATIONS THAT CAN BE APPROVED BY THE PLANNING DIRECTOR AS MINOR MODIFICATIONS.YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THOSE IN MTC. TABLE 5.1. SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? WHAT WE'LL GET A MPC SITE PLAN IN FRONT OF YOU ALL. WELL, WE'LL GO THROUGH THE STEPS FIRST. THEY'LL SUBMIT IT, STAFF WILL REVIEW IT AND BY STAFF IT'S USUALLY GOING TO BE ME AS THE DOWNTOWN PLANNER, EITHER THEY'LL REQUEST A DESIGN EXCEPTION RIGHT AWAY IF THEY KNOW THEY NEED IT, OR WE MIGHT FLAG IT AS HEY, THIS NEEDS A DESIGN EXCEPTION. IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT AS PART OF THE PLAN, HOWEVER, IF NO DESIGN EXCEPTION IS REQUESTED, IT COULD BE STRAIGHT STAFF APPROVAL. MINISTERIAL HOWEVER, IF A DESIGN EXCEPTION IS REQUESTED IT. WE HAVE ONE OF TWO OPTIONS. IF ANY OF THE DESIGN EXCEPTIONS ARE FOR BUILDING HEIGHT. THE WHOLE THING GOES STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL. SO WE WOULD SCHEDULE A COUNCIL HEARING WITH NOTIFICATION. IF IT DOES NOT INCLUDE BUILDING HEIGHT THEN WE WILL SCHEDULE IT FOR PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION. IT'LL BE PRESENTED AND YOU ALL WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPROVE OR DENY. IF IT'S APPROVED, THEN THAT'S THAT. IT'S APPROVED, IF IT'S DENIED, THOUGH, THE APPLICANT DOES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE RIGHT TO REQUEST AN APPEAL, WHICH THEY WILL THEN BRING TO A COUNCIL HEARING. SO THAT SAID, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MTC GENERAL PROCESS DESIGN EXCEPTIONS. I STAND FOR ANY. THANK YOU CAMERON. OTHER QUESTIONS CAMERON. WHAT WAS THE DID YOU SAY HSA, MTC AND HSA? YES, THE HSA IS THERE. WE GO. THE HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT AREA IN GENERAL. YEAH, IT'S QUITE BIG, THE MTC IS WITHIN IT, BUT IT DOES HAVE ITS OWN SETS OF STANDARDS THAT DON'T OVERLAP FOR THE MOST PART WITH A COUPLE OF SMALL EXCEPTIONS. WE DON'T USE THE HSA STANDARDS IN THE MTC. WE JUST USE THE MTC STANDARDS BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE SOME CONFLICTS AND SO THE MTC, BEING MORE SPECIFIC IS GOING TO, IN THIS CASE, TAKE PRECEDENCE. ANYONE ELSE? I HAVE A QUESTION. IT'S NOT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE MTC, BUT I WAS LOOKING IN THE UNIFORM DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR LIKE, LOT COVERAGE OR FA REQUIREMENTS FOR THE VARIOUS, ZONINGS. WHERE, WHERE COULD I NOT LOOKED MULTIPLE PLACES. I COULDN'T FIND IT. JENNIFER, DO YOU KNOW, CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE THAT IS? SO WE ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE FA'S ANYMORE. THAT'S A IT'S SORT OF AN OLDER CONCEPT. SOME DEVELOPMENT CODES STILL HAVE IT, BUT WITH THE UDC THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 22, THERE WAS A DELIBERATE DECISION TO MOVE AWAY FROM THOSE WITH THE RATIONALE THAT OTHER REQUIREMENTS ON THAT SITE ARE GOING TO CONSTRAIN THAT FA PARKING LIVING LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS, BUILDING HEIGHTS AND ALL OF THAT. SO WE FIGURED WE'RE WE'RE KIND OF GETTING AT IT AT A DIFFERENT ANGLE. GOTCHA. THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I THOUGHT I FIGURED OUT. BUT I WASN'T SURE IF I WAS MISSING IT. SORRY AND NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO CALCULATE FA ANYWAYS. IT'S ALWAYS SO DIFFICULT WHEN WE'RE WHEN WE WERE DEALING WITH FOLKS. SO, WE FIND THAT THIS NEW METHOD SORT OF MAKES IT A LITTLE EASIER TO INTERPRET. IN APPRAISER THING? THAT IS AN APPRAISER THING. YEAH. ANYONE ELSE THAT IS AN APPRAISER THING. GIVEN THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THAT DOWNTOWN MCKINNEY IS, IT'S GOOD TO SEE THE STAFF BEING CREATIVE AND FINDING WAYS TO MAKE THINGS WORK, BECAUSE THE AREA IS UNIQUE AND IT HAS DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT THINGS ABOUT IT THAT NO OTHER PART OF MCKINNEY HAS. SO PLEASE KNOW THAT IS APPRECIATED. I DO HAVE A QUESTION, SO YEAH, KIND OF ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT BILL WAS SAYING. THIS IS A UNIQUE AREA THAT REQUIRES SPECIALIZED CODES AND ZONING. SO, SO WAS THIS ADOPTED FROM OTHER PLACES DESIGNED BY BY YOUR STAFF OR, IT WAS ADOPTED IN 2013 AFTER A SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT PERIOD.
[00:15:02]
I WILL BE HONEST, I'M NOT SURE THE SOURCES THEY USED AND TOOK INSPIRATION FROM JENNIFER MIGHT HAVE A BIT MORE BACKGROUND ON THAT. I'M NOW THE OLDEST PERSON IN MY DEPARTMENT. I DO HAVE SOME HISTORY ON IT. SO, IT WAS CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR MCKINNEY. WE DID HAVE AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT THAT WE WORKED WITH ON THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT FORM BASED CODES IS YOU HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THEM A LOT. THEY REALLY WORK BEST WHEN YOU HAVE A CLEAR ILLUSTRATIVE PLAN OR VISION FOR AN AREA, WHICH IS WHAT DOWNTOWN HAD. SO THE ADOPTION OF THIS CODE IN 2013 CAME AFTER ALMOST TWO YEARS OF PUBLIC OUTREACH TO CREATE THE VISION FOR DOWNTOWN. AND THEN THAT VISION WAS SORT OF PICKED UP AND PUT INTO THIS REGULATORY CODE. SO IT IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN MCKINNEY IN 2013, WHEN IT WAS ADOPTED, IT COVERED ABOUT 212 ACRES, IT WAS THE FIRST CITY INITIATED REZONING OF PROPERTY IN MCKINNEY'S. I SAY THAT AS AN ABSOLUTE, PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY CITY INITIATED REZONINGS IN THE CITY, WHICH IS WHERE THE CITY CAME AND SAID, WE'RE REZONING YOUR PROPERTY FOR YOU, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, AND I DON'T RECALL THAT WE HAD ANY OPPOSITION BECAUSE THERE HAD BEEN SUCH BUY IN THROUGH THAT OUTREACH PROCESS IN THE TWO YEARS PRIOR. SO, IT IS VERY COMMON IN DOWNTOWNS WHERE FORM MATTERS MORE THAN FUNCTION IN A LOT OF WAYS. AND SO THAT IS WHY WE PURSUED IT BACK IN 2013. AND WE'RE WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE HAVE IT. WE THINK IT ADDS A LOT OF VALUE AND FLEXIBILITY FOR OUR OUR REDEVELOPMENT HERE. THAT'S GREAT. THANKS. THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD ONE THING THAT JENNIFER TOUCHED ON, HOW IT WAS CREATED AND REZONED INTO IN GENERAL, WE, WE DON'T REALLY ACCEPT REZONING INTO THE MTC, INITIATED BY A PROPERTY OWNER. IT'S GENERALLY ONLY GOING TO BE CITY INITIATED. IT'S A GOOD POINT OR A GOOD POINT. JENNIFER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT AS WELL. WE ARE, THERE'S NO ACTION TO TAKE ON THIS ITEM. IT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY, CAMERON. THANK YOU. THIS IS THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION WORK SESSION. IF YOU'RE IN THE AUDIENCE AND WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS PLANNING AND ZONING ON AN ITEM, NOT ON THE AGENDA, PLEASE COME TO THE PODIUM. ALL RIGHT. SEEING THE MEMBERS. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT, WE DO NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN.[ADJOURN]
MOVE TO ADJOURN MOTION. MR. LEBEAU. TO ADJOURN. GINA. THANK YOU. SECOND, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES. I. I THAT MOTION CARRIES, IT'S 549. THE WORK SESSION IS ADJOURNED. WE'LL START THE REGULAR PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING AT 6 P.M.THANK
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.