Council approves first readings to reclassify 344.6-acre Post Oak site as neighborhood residential

Fair Oaks Ranch City Council on Aug. 21 approved the first reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s comprehensive plan future land use map (FLUM) and the first reading of an ordinance to designate the same 344.6-acre site as neighborhood residential zoning for the Post Oak subdivision.

City planner Jessica Relucio told the council the FLUM amendment request would change the classification on the site north of Rolling Acres Trail and Ammon Road from rural residential (5-acre minimum lots) to neighborhood residential (1-acre minimum lots) and that the change would align the FLUM with an existing development agreement. “This public hearing is for a proposed amendment to the future land use map or also known as Flume amendment to designate a land use classification for a subdivision known as Post Oak,” Relucio said during the staff presentation.

The request reflects prior council decisions: staff said the council previously approved annexation of the property and amended the development agreement earlier in August to reflect 227 single-family residential units with 1-acre minimum lots (the development agreement previously showed different unit counts). The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval on Aug. 14.

During the two linked public hearings the city reported it received four public comment forms: one in favor and three opposed. Concerns raised in the written comments cited water availability and cost, traffic impacts on Ammon Road and Rolling Acres Trail, and asked where the proposed entrance should be placed. At the meeting resident Danny Pena asked whether Ammon Road would be widened; Mayor Maxton answered that a road bond passed last year will reconstruct Ammon Road to two 11-foot lanes with 2-foot shoulders (a 26-foot total lane width).

Developer representatives said the project will include detention to mitigate increased runoff. Ben Bunker of Bitterblue Development said the project proposes detention basins “so we would not be increasing” downstream flows, and the council heard staff and the developer will coordinate drainage design with the city’s Ammon Road reconstruction work.

Council members moved and seconded the FLUM amendment first reading and the zoning ordinance first reading; both motions passed with all members voting in favor. The city stated final readings are scheduled for the Sept. 4 meeting for the FLUM and zoning ordinances.

Why it matters: the reclassification allows smaller (1-acre) lots and a lower-density zoning than the current five-acre rural residential requirement, aligning the FLUM and zoning with a developer-backed plan and an amended development agreement that the council already amended earlier this month. That alignment will shape parcelization, access, and infrastructure requirements as Post Oak moves through final approvals and platting.

What’s next: staff said final readings of the ordinances are set for Sept. 4. Additional implementation steps — subdivision plats, site plans, infrastructure agreements, and coordination of drainage and roadway improvements — will follow the zoning and FLUM ordinances.

Votes and public comment: the council recorded no in-person speakers who signed up at the meeting on the Post Oak FLUM and rezoning public hearings; four written comment forms were included with the agenda packet (one supporting, three opposed). The council’s motions for first readings were approved on unanimous voice votes.