Commissioners voted 6-1 at the Oct. 18 meeting to push the request to Nov. 15. Commissioner Allan Samara voted no on the motion to table and indicated he would rather the commission deny the request.
Other commissioners said the development company, Stillwater Capital, should be given more time to amend its proposal.
The more than 2 million-square-foot proposed site is located near the Dallas North Tollway just south of Spring Creek Parkway and east of Parkwood Boulevard. It is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in Plano and the last large piece of unused land owned by the Haggard family, according to a city report. The family has owned land in Collin County since the mid-1800s.
The development would have a rustic farm theme and feature a restaurant with locally-sourced food, according to a presentation by Stillwater Capital. It would also include multiple outdoor event spaces, offices, high-end apartments, a hotel, space for various retail businesses, parking garages and a senior living community.
Officials from Stillwater Capital said they met with nearby residents to try and address issues raised at the Sept. 20 commission meeting, where the request was tabled until Oct. 18. Those concerns included the amount of multifamily apartments in the proposal, increased traffic and aesthetics of multiple parking garages.
Changes to the plan that were made following those meetings included limitations to where retirement and multifamily housing units could be placed, the addition of a large screening wall with landscaping to help conceal parking garages and a pedestrian crosswalk, and more specific language on where commercial properties will be built.
Clay Roby, Stillwater Capital managing director, said he felt the company had reached a consensus with residents opposed to the development.
“I was made aware over the weekend ... there were still significant conversations happening ... with residents who were frankly still in resistance to various aspects of our plan,” Roby said, adding that the company will continue to work through issues until the November meeting.
A group of residents attended both the Sept. 20 and Oct. 18 meetings to ask the commission to deny the proposal.
David Barch, a 30-year Plano resident, said during public comment that the plan does not benefit citizens who live around the development site.
“The [commission] seems to subscribe to the ‘more is better’ philosophy,” Barch said. “Quite often more is not better, it’s just more.”
Stillwater Capital is also developing The Link in Frisco, a $1 billion mixed-use development in partnership with the PGA.
The proposed development plan can be seen here.
