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Mainly clear. Low 71F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..
Mainly clear. Low 71F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
A sign is seen showing that property in the 6600 block of South Fort Hood Street is being rezoned in a planned unit development where about 400 homes are expected to be built.
A sign is seen showing that property in the 6600 block of South Fort Hood Street is being rezoned in a planned unit development where about 400 homes are expected to be built.
Killeen officials said they have found an appropriate agreement with a developer who wanted to circumvent the city’s architectural and design standards in construction of hundreds of homes along South Fort Hood Street.
“The applicant requested initially to have smaller setback requirements for about 386 lots in two zoning districts,” Ed Revell, the city’s executive director of development services, told City Council members on Tuesday. “What the developer has done is reduce the number of lots for which they are asking setback relief on, from 386 to 246 lots, and the number of zoning districts from two to one.”
On Aug. 23, council members told JOF Developers — owned by Gary Purser Jr. — they would not negotiate with that company or others in bypassing the new architectural and design standards adopted in May. They ultimately tabled making a decision on the developer’s request to reduce setback lines for the types of homes it planned to build in the planned unit development to give staff members, Killeen Engineering and Surveying and JOF Developers time to discuss their options.
“Really, it’s a response to what was said at that meeting — that the developer and staff have more conversations,” Revell said earlier this week. “The applicant has made sufficient effort to address all of the requirements that staff had. We believe that this is consistent with the comprehensive plan and, therefore, we recommend approval of the PUD amendment as presented by the applicant.”
In its request the City Council reviewed on Aug. 23, the developer wanted the front yard setback to be reduced from 25 feet to 20 feet, the side yard setback to be reduced from 7 feet to 5 feet and the rear setback to be reduced from 25 feet to 20 feet.
What followed in the weeks since that meeting was “a compromise” on reductions.
“They are ... not requesting to modify the front yard setback,” Revell said. “But they are still requesting to modify side yard from 7 to 5 feet and the rear yard from 25 feet to 20 feet. The developer has agreed to retain the landscaping requirements as well as add several architectural requirements.”
The new architectural requirements include repetition standard, garage standard, enhanced windows, architectural details, variable roof design and at least three of the following: recessed garage, vertical articulation, covered front porch, variable exterior finish materials or enhanced garage doors.
“I would like to thank the council for advising staff to work with us on this project,” said Michelle Lee of Killeen Engineering and Surveying on Tuesday. “And I would also like to thank the planning department for meeting with us. We did come to an agreement. We shrunk the size quite a bit for what we were asking for.”
The amendment applies to about 63 of 173 acres to allow for the lessened setback requirements for 246 lots.
“The revised request is to amend the building setbacks for (246) lots zoned (single-family residential district),” according to documents.
Although the new standards do not include different setback guidelines than those in the PUD requirements, the developer’s floor plans would have triggered clauses in the architectural and site design standards ordinance that would prevent the company from constructing homes to the builders’ specifications.
The Levy Crossing PUD was approved in July 2020 — nine months after the property was annexed into the city limits. Killeen’s new architectural and site design standards were approved on May 22 and went into effect on May 30. The developer would have been impacted because it wanted to include three-car garages in the construction of at least some of the homes.
“Staff finds that the amended request for lessened setback only applies to the ‘R-1’ zoning district which constitutes a reduced number of lots and includes an array of architectural standards that will be implemented immediately,” according to city documents. “Staff finds this request is consistent with the policies and principles discussed in the newly adopted comprehensive plan. Therefore, staff recommends approval of the PUD amendment request as presented by the applicant.”
According to the city’s new design standards, two restrictions apply to building garages. If the garage faces the street, it cannot account for more than half of the house. And garages cannot protrude farther than anything else on the house.
Staff recommended on Aug. 23 approving the developer’s request on the condition that it included the Planning and Zoning Commission’s determination that it apply the city’s new architectural and design standards. The Planning and Zoning Commission meeting was on July 18, when Leo Gukeisen made a motion to approve the request. The commissioner withdrew his motion when fellow Planning and Zoning Commissioner Louie Minor said the architectural and site design standards should be a condition of approval. Ultimately, Gukeisen made a motion with Minor’s recommendation, Minor seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.
The other commissioners are Kirk Latham, Councilman Ramon Alvarez, Luvina Sabree, Sandra O’Brien, Randy Ploeckelmann, Councilman Riakos Adams and Cyndi Rowe.
On Tuesday, Revell said the architectural standards the developer will use “apply immediately and there could have been a situation where it could have been a two-year delay. We believe this is a great offering from the developer.”
Mayor Debbie Nash-King praised the “compromise.”
“Mr. Revell, thank you and your staff for working with the applicant to come up with a solution,” she said. “What I like the most about it (is that) it stays within our comprehensive plan.”
The amendment request is on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall, 101 N. College St. The meeting is set for 5 p.m.
pbryant@kdhnews.com | 254-501-7460
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