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Planning panel recommends against 5‑story mixed‑use building along FM 544 after resident opposition
Summary
The Lewisville Planning and Zoning Commission on April 15 voted 4‑3 to recommend disapproval of a concept‑plan amendment that would allow a single five‑story mixed‑use building with 61 units and ground‑floor retail on about 3.459 acres south of Essex Boulevard and Parker Road (FM 544).
The Lewisville Planning and Zoning Commission on April 15 voted 4‑3 to recommend disapproval of a concept‑plan amendment that would replace a previously sketched multi‑building plan with a single five‑story mixed‑use building on about 3.459 acres south of Essex Boulevard and Parker Road (FM 544).
Planning Manager Michelle Berry told the commission the base zoning would remain the same but the applicant is seeking to amend the Castle Hills Plan Development concept plan to show one building with a roughly 16,000‑square‑foot footprint, five stories, ground‑floor retail and about 61 residential units above. She said the proposal includes a requirement that “the property owner shall be responsible for installation of a traffic signal on FM 544” based on a traffic impact analysis prepared by McAdams in August 2024.
Developer Eric Stanley said the property was replatted in 2023 and that his team has spent “in excess of a million and a half dollars in bringing water, sewer, and electric service to this site for development.” He supplied a line‑of‑sight study and said his firm used drone imagery to illustrate the view from upper floors toward nearby homes.
Several nearby residents spoke in opposition. Resident Justin Birchmeier said he had not received notice of the neighborhood meeting and told commissioners he bought his home last month; “I don’t know why I’m in the construction business. I’m in the multifamily business,” he added, describing the effect on his backyard privacy. Georgia Smiley said the same concept was denied by the commission and city council in August and argued, “A five‑story building is not appropriate for this area.”
Others raised issues about notice and outreach. Residents said they received no mailed notice to individual addresses on the south side of FM 544, and staff confirmed notices had been sent to property owners within the Realm subdistrict and to the gated subdivision’s HOA and that a 200‑foot buffer is used for Realm amendments. Staff and the applicant said they had held a neighborhood meeting in February attended primarily by residents north of FM 544.
Commission discussion touched repeatedly on notice and neighborhood outreach, traffic analyses and relative scale. Planning staff said the site is separated from existing homes across the railroad by roughly 330–350 feet building‑to‑building and that staff had concluded the proposed plan was supportable based on location, scale and prior studies; opponents said the plan would still be visually intrusive and inconsistent with adjacent single‑family yards.
The commission motion to recommend disapproval was made by Commissioner Francesca and seconded by Commissioner Ainsley; the motion carried 4‑3. The file will proceed to a second public hearing and final decision by the Lewisville City Council on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
