The Georgetown City Council voted to approve a zoning‑map amendment to the planned unit development (PUD) covering about 68.5993 acres of Southwestern University property, advancing Phase I of the Southwestern 560 project, and directed staff to initiate a review and potential update of the city’s future mobility plan for the area.

Kelly (staff member) described the amendment as changing portions of the PUD’s base zoning to C3 (general commercial) and adjusting development standards to support a mixed‑use, pedestrian‑oriented special area identified in the city’s comprehensive plan. The proposal includes open space preservation (floodplain and sensitive areas), a design manual to control building form and streetscape, and a program of multiuse development intended to preserve open space and provide pedestrian connections.

Applicant representatives presented a program and vision for Phase I. Jim Adams (principal, McCann Adams Studio) described an initial phase that includes an estimated 110,000 square feet of office, 45,000 square feet of retail/restaurant, about 150 multifamily units, 110,000 square feet of hotel/conference space, and a roughly 38,000‑square‑foot music/cultural venue; the team said Phase I would deliver about 35 acres of publicly accessible open space (roughly 50% of the PUD area) and shared/surface parking to be infilled with mixed‑use buildings over time.

Council discussion focused on several technical items:
- Street trees and planting details: Council Member Butler raised concerns about reduced minimum tree‑planting offsets and root space (noting typical guidance that medium trees need about 4 feet from the base to nearby structures); Rachel Hagan (senior landscape planner and certified arborist) and Drew Carmen (applicant landscape architect) explained they are coordinating on soil volumes, root barriers, suspended pavement systems and species selection to support healthy trees in narrower planting strips and that the parties are developing detailed specifications for the PUD/design manual.
- Parking and plazas: The applicant requested two post‑PNZ changes: (1) increase allowable tandem parking for certain multifamily parking (up to 20% of required parking where spaces are assigned to a single resident and not visible from a street or open space) and (2) reduce the minimum plaza area in the PUD from 1.5 acres to roughly 1 acre to provide flexibility for a music/cultural venue program. The applicant representatives said both changes are intended to improve site efficiency and help secure programming for the plaza and venue.
- Utilities and conduit: Staff and engineering noted discussions about co‑locating electrical and telecom in conduit banks; staff said similar approaches have been used elsewhere though Georgetown standards and ownership details require further coordination.

The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval 6–0. Two written comments in opposition were on file and a few speakers from nearby neighborhoods and organizations provided comment at the meeting: Larry Olson (Old Town Neighborhood Association) said his association supports the PUD amendment after outreach and a compromise agreement with the university; Liz Weaver (Old Town Neighborhood Association government liaison) described the association’s initial concerns about building height and impervious cover and said the applicant revised the proposal and committed in a letter to neighborhood collaboration; she asked that the two post‑PNZ changes (tandem parking and smaller plaza) be considered with public input rather than added without prior Planning & Zoning notice.

Council voted to approve the PUD amendment as presented to Planning & Zoning and approved a council amendment directing staff to initiate a review and potential update of the future mobility plan for this area of town. Council discussed reserving additional review of the tandem‑parking and plaza‑size changes for second reading; no final decision on those post‑PNZ items was made at first reading. The motion passed and the item will return for a second reading as part of the usual ordinance process.

Staff and applicant agreed to continue coordination on tree‑planting details, traffic studies and right‑of‑way improvements as the project advances.