Council approves Altamira Planned Unit Development on Highway 90; ordinance 1061‑25 passes

The Navasota City Council on Jan. 13 approved Ordinance 1061‑25, rezoning a roughly 96.618‑acre tract on State Highway 90 and FM 3455 to the Altamira Planned Unit Development (PUD). The developer, Altamira (represented by Chandler Arden), described a mixed‑use plan with residential lots, commercial pad sites, and utility infrastructure that includes a third elevated water storage tank and water well number 8.

Lupe Diostado, the city’s development services director, summarized the petition and process, saying the property was voluntarily annexed in May 2023 and that a public improvement district had been approved by council on Dec. 9, 2024. Diostado said planning and zoning held a public hearing and unanimously recommended approval. The proposed development includes roughly 380 single‑family homes, commercial frontage along Highway 90, a collector right‑of‑way intended to provide a future connection toward State Highway 105, and shared‑use paths and sidewalks to improve walkability.

Developer presentation and design: Chandler Arden of Altamira presented the concept plan and said the design pushes residences away from Highway 90 with commercial and detention in front to create a buffer. Arden described a phased buildout and said the plan reserves space for a small water plant and the city’s third water tower in a high location on the site. “Altamira … means high view, and so that’s the reason that we’ve worked with the city on putting the water tower there,” Arden said.

Traffic and public improvements: Staff and the developer said traffic mitigation measures will be part of future engineering and permitting. The developer noted a future requirement for right‑ and left‑turn lanes and a right‑turn deceleration lane at the project entrances; staff indicated the developer will coordinate with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) during design and platting. The PUD includes an 80‑foot collector right‑of‑way and shared use paths, and the developer proposed a 10‑foot trail around the detention pond and about 6.203 acres of HOA‑owned open space, with standards requiring those areas be publicly accessible.

Council action: A motion to adopt Ordinance 1061‑25 passed by voice vote. The motion on the record was made by Council Member Stevens and seconded by Council Member Kessler; the council approved the ordinance with no recorded opposition.

Context and next steps: Diostado said the project will return for engineering, platting and future development agreements; a developer representative said phased construction will likely begin with about 40–44 lots in the first phase and that future phases will be market‑driven. Staff noted the project will require standard permitting, TxDOT coordination and later requests for development agreements tied to public improvements.