Robinson council approves Windmill Preserve PDD modification with traffic‑study condition

The Robinson City Council on a recorded vote approved an amendment to the Windmill Preserve planned development district to reduce lot widths, add 76 lots and preserve floodplain open space, with a condition that the developer perform a traffic impact analysis (TIA) and carry out any required mitigation during platting and construction.

The ordinance modifies Planned Development District (PDD) ordinance 2019-002 for about 48.67 acres at 710 E. Stegall Drive (McLennan County Appraisal District Property ID 158319). The change creates 92 additional lots in the modified area, bringing the PDD to 168 proposed lots for the modified portion and to 212 total lots in the entire PDD after the amendment.

City planning and development director David Harrow told the council the proposal would change the development’s standards so that most of the modified area would be built to an SF‑3 standard of about 6,000 square feet per lot, configured as 50 feet by 120 feet rather than the 60 by 100 typical for SF‑3.

Harrow said staff’s primary technical concern was traffic on Stegall Drive: “With the new development, you will generate a total of 168 lots … You’ll generate 292 trips at 1.74 and PM peak hour trips,” and staff recommended requiring a TIA and any recommended mitigation be implemented during the plat and construction process. Harrow also noted the proposal preserves floodplain and open‑space areas and that staff viewed the other zoning changes as “minor in nature.”

Adrienne Donasucci, land development manager for WBW Development, said the applicant will keep lots out of the floodplain and maintain roughly 12 acres of FEMA‑mapped floodplain as open space, plus about 4 additional acres of open space throughout the site for a total she described as about 16 acres of open space. “We tend not to do that and pull all of our lots outside of the flood plain,” Donasucci said, adding that the open space would be maintained by a homeowners association and that the applicant has already engaged a traffic engineer and is prepared to scope and fund the TIA if the council requires it.

Council members discussed lot configuration, setbacks and the distance between homes; several members said the proposed product mix could help meet local demand for smaller, more affordable single‑family homes. One council member noted the city’s recent resident survey showing concerns about affordable housing availability and said the project “fits that niche.”

The planning and zoning commission had recommended denial on a 3–1 vote; because PDD modifications are treated like rezonings, council approval required a supermajority (six of seven members). Council moved to approve the ordinance with the TIA condition written into Exhibit B of the proposed ordinance text. The motion was seconded and passed; the vote was recorded as in favor and opposed without individual tallies recorded in the minutes.

The council’s action adds a condition that a traffic impact analysis addressing the 168 proposed lots be submitted with the preliminary plat. The ordinance directs that recommendations from the TIA — whether fees, construction, or a combination — be carried out by the developer as part of the preliminary plat, final plat and subdivision construction processes.

Next steps described by city staff and the applicant: the developer will submit the preliminary plat and the TIA, staff and the city’s third‑party traffic engineer will review the study, and recommended mitigations will be resolved as part of the platting and permitting process before construction begins.

Votes at a glance: the council approved the PDD modification with the TIA condition; the planning commission had recommended denial 3–1. The council’s minutes do not list individual yes/no vote names for the final council vote.