Plano officials map zoning, design and permitting changes to comply with new state housing bills

Plano officials on Tuesday reviewed a package of zoning, subdivision and building-code options to bring the city into compliance with three recent Texas laws that take effect Sept. 1, including Senate Bill 840, which allows multifamily and mixed-use development by right in nonresidential zoning.

The changes, outlined by Christina Day, Director of Planning, would reframe where and how multifamily and small-lot single-family developments may be approved in Plano while seeking to preserve neighborhood compatibility, infrastructure capacity and the city’s economic development areas.

Day told the joint session of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission that the three bills under review were “Senate Bill 15, Senate Bill 840 and Senate Bill 2477,” and that they “are all effective on September 1.” She said SB 15 permits limited small-lot single-family development on parcels of five acres or more that are unplatted and that SB 840 “allows multifamily also mixed use development in all the non residential zoning districts in the city, by right.”

Why it matters: City staff said SB 840 would change the city’s land‑use pattern across a large area — roughly 30 percent of Plano’s land area in staff maps — and limit several regulatory tools planners and councils have used to manage density, height, setbacks and parking. Staff flagged increased legal exposure because the statutes expand who may sue and authorize recovery of attorney fees for successful plaintiffs.

What staff proposed

- Small-lot single-family (SB 15): staff recommended creating a use‑specific standard tied to the statute that would require open space scaled to lot count, update subdivision plat standards (including alley requirements for lots 50 feet wide or less) and add a plat notation that a property is being developed under the statute. Day said these parcels are limited in number but “may be impactful to those places that it does apply.”

- SB 840 multifamily/mixed use in nonresidential districts: staff presented a mixed approach rather than a single citywide density cap. Where possible they would regulate intensity using minimum heights, maximum heights and minimum unit sizes rather than a single citywide dwelling-units-per-acre value. Day explained density rules are now limited by the statute and noted the city’s highest existing densities already exceed the…