Keller council OKs Roseberry mixed‑use plan with conditions after residents raise drainage, privacy and commercial concerns

Keller City Council on Tuesday approved a mixed‑use plan development and accompanying future‑land‑use change for a 9.2‑acre property at North Main Street and Johnson Road known as Roseberry, but added two conditions intended to preserve compatibility with nearby homes and the elementary school.

Council members voted to require that any commercial project on the site return to council as a special‑use permit and that subdivision entry signage be provided at both access points to the new neighborhood. Developers said the conditions will help ensure higher‑quality commercial development at the 377 corridor.

The Roseberry plan calls for 21 residential lots (20 new lots plus one existing home), two commercial lots fronting North Main Street and roughly 1.33 acres of open space. The developer, David Washington, said he reworked earlier, denser proposals after outreach and now plans to build single‑family lots averaging about 10,000 square feet. "Our average home size in Roseberry will be about 3,500 square feet and have an average sales price of approximately $850,000," Washington said. He said Drees Custom Homes is the intended builder.

Planning staff described requested departures from the Unified Development Code (UDC): higher lot coverage limits, reduced side setbacks and alternative garage configurations that allow so‑called J‑swing driveways on roughly half the lots; staff also flagged differences for buffer widths and fencing types along the school and industrial edges.

Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing raised multiple concerns, particularly the potential for commercial uses to be sited adjacent to Keller Harvell Elementary, long‑standing drainage and erosion problems, and a perception that recent rezonings in other parts of Keller have shifted development patterns. Resident Mackenzie Hellman, who lives nearby, urged council to preserve large lots and open space and to avoid approving changes that could lead to higher‑density multifamily development. Other neighbors described flooding and maintenance issues tied to adjacent properties.

Developer Washington and his team said they responded to those concerns in multiple revisions. The plan keeps the existing house at the top of a hill and places open space around it; the applicant said that approach preserves mature trees and reduces the need for deep retaining walls. The proposal also shows a wet‑detention basin and piping that the developer’s engineer described as intercepting uphill flows and routing them to the pond rather than into adjacent yards.

At the council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem (mover) and a seconding councilmember called for the two conditions discussed above before voting. The motion passed. The council did not adopt a limit tying the pace of residential permits to commercial construction, a proposal some council members and residents had urged. Staff said detailed site plans, landscape plans, drainage engineering and elevations will be required before building permits are issued.

The council’s approval also included direction that staff ensure the development’s trail and sidewalk connections meet the city’s long‑term trail plan and that landscape and screening walls be aligned with the council‑approved PD standards.

Council members and staff said they will continue to monitor drainage and code compliance at nearby properties cited by residents as troublesome. The project will return to the council in the future with the required detailed site plan, signage and construction documents.

Developers and staff said the commercial lots are intended to be build‑to‑suit and could be developed concurrently with the neighborhood if a tenant is identified; otherwise, the street and infrastructure will be constructed and sold or leased when market conditions support it.

The council’s action changes the property’s future‑land‑use designation from patio garden townhomes and retail commercial to high‑density single‑family (8,000–14,999 sq. ft. lots) and rezones the parcel to a planned development mixed‑use district with the conditions listed above.