The City of Leon Valley City Council on Sept. 2 opened a substantive review of the city’s Planned Development District (PD) rules and asked staff to gather model PD language from peer cities for comparison.

Dr. Caldera, the city manager, framed PDs as a tool intended for “a unique project that doesn't have a very specific zone,” explaining the original purpose was to enable project-driven, mixed-use proposals that do not fit neatly in a single zoning district. Several council members said the current local PD language used vague terms and had been applied in ways that made it difficult for staff or the city to defend denials in court.

Councilor Marsh said the PD text used “fluffy words” and called for more concrete, defensible criteria that require developers to prove a PD is necessary and superior to standard zoning. Councilor Campos said the PD criteria had produced contested outcomes in recent projects and recommended staff provide examples from other cities.

Action taken: staff were asked to collect PD language and examples from similar jurisdictions and return with draft revisions for council review. The council discussed whether to eliminate the PD altogether or retool it so standard zoning remains the default and PDs are exceptions supported by explicit, objective evidence.

Why it matters: councilors said ambiguous PD language had affected how large projects — including recent developments discussed during the meeting — were reviewed and how residents were engaged early in the process. Several council members connected any PD rewrite to the forthcoming comprehensive master plan, which staff said would guide long-term zoning and land-use policy.

Ending: Staff will return with comparative PD language and recommended draft changes; council members indicated a preference to either tightly narrow PD criteria or remove the category and rely on clearer zoning paths.