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Council approves 70-acre PUD off Windcrest, with conditions on sidewalks, water conservation and STRs
Summary
The City Council approved a planned unit development (PUD) allowing roughly 337 single‑family lots between Windcrest and Piker Road after staff and the developer negotiated site changes and conditions addressing sidewalks, drainage and short‑term rental rules.
The Fredericksburg City Council voted to approve a planned unit development request to convert about 70 acres between Windcrest and Piker Road from R-5 (patio home residential) to a PUD that will yield roughly 337 lots. The PUD gives the city and the developer additional flexibility on lot sizes and layout while spelling out infrastructure and design commitments.
The developer, represented by land development manager Devin Kleinfelder of D.R. Horton, presented a conceptual layout that includes two distinct lot types, internal connector sidewalks, trail links to Smokehouse Road and full street improvements on the developer’s side of Piker and Windcrest. City staff described multiple rounds of design changes negotiated before the item reached council.
The council approval follows review and a unanimous positive recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission. Staff said the PUD document removes a piece of leftover zoning language pertaining to short‑term rentals; the final draft will not allow STRs where the city’s code would otherwise prohibit them unless explicitly permitted through later processes.
Staff and the developer agreed phasing and access commitments: Phase 1 will provide access from Piker Road and Post Oak; the council recommended that in Phase 2 the developer construct Windcrest all the way to Smokehouse Road to improve access. City staff also asked that the applicant consider low‑impact development and drought‑tolerant landscaping, and the developer indicated willingness to include drought‑tolerant plant lists and front‑yard trees and to turn common open spaces over to a homeowners association for maintenance.
Council members asked whether overarching city ordinances — for example water‑conservation or a planned UDC update — would still apply to the PUD; staff confirmed city‑wide ordinances would remain in force and that the PUD can include additional landscaping or low‑impact requirements if council directs.
What happens next: staff said the developer will submit a preliminary plat and, when activating specific uses, may need conditional use permits under the PUD rules. The council’s motion to approve incorporated the Planning & Zoning conditions and additional direction on low‑impact landscaping. The motion carried.
