Council approves rezoning for Phillips Square parcels from PDD to general commercial, office and protected natural areas

College Station City Council on May 22 approved a rezoning ordinance that removes roughly 9.5 acres from a Plan Development District and converts those tracts to general commercial, office and natural-areas-protected zoning.

Planning staff said the change aligns the property’s parcel-by-parcel zoning with the concept plan previously approved under the PDD and will allow future development that already is permitted by the PDD to move more quickly through site planning because it will use straight zoning standards. “Staff is recommending approval of this rezoning request from Plan Development District to General Commercial, Office, and Natural Areas Protected,” planning staff Gabriel Schrum told council, noting the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7–0.

Why it matters: the property sits at the terminus of Castle Rock Parkway and backs to a preserved natural area and floodplain. Schrum said the natural-area boundaries remain protected under the proposed zoning and that the multifamily portion shown in the original PDD concept plan is not part of this rezoning request and will remain in the PDD.

Public comments: residents from the adjacent Castle Rock neighborhood raised concerns at the council meeting about traffic, buffering, property-sale signage and whether rezoning would remove community input for future development. “If you approve this rezoning, it’s just gonna let them do it. They can do it now, but it’s just gonna be more efficient for them to get the project done,” Joe Schultz, an engineer representing landowner Wallace Phillips, told council. Schrum and the applicant reiterated that the permitted uses for the commercial and office areas are the same as under the existing PDD and that the change is intended to streamline the process, not to expand allowable uses.

Formal action: Council voted 7–0 to approve the rezoning ordinance amending Ordinance 24-4498 (map amendment language was in the published agenda); the applicant and staff said prior infrastructure improvements — roads, deceleration lanes and a pedestrian/bike path — were installed consistent with the earlier PDD approvals.

Background and next steps: Schrum said the PDD and its concept plan were originally adopted in 2010 and amended in early 2024 to remove building and parking layouts while retaining approved uses; city staff said the parcel was later platted consistent with the PDD standards. Any future site plan for the remaining multifamily area in the PDD will still require the PDD-specific process, staff said.

Council members asked staff for clarification about buffers, floodplain protections and the timeline differences between a straight-zoning review and a PDD concept amendment; staff agreed that straight zoning will remove a council-level concept-plan step and thereby shorten the approval timeline for buyers who prefer a more direct route to site plan review.