McKinney planning staff outlines how new state zoning laws limit local rules, sets rapid code-amendment timeline

Haley Angel, the city’s planning manager, told a joint meeting of the McKinney City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission on Aug. 19 that three bills enacted in the 89th Texas Legislature will significantly restrict local zoning controls for multifamily and small-lot single-family development and change how zoning protest petitions are measured.

Angel said the primary law, Senate Bill 840, requires municipalities to allow multifamily and mixed-use residential development in any district where office, commercial, retail, warehouse and similar uses are permitted. “The crux of the bill is that it says that as a municipality, we must allow multifamily and mixed use land uses where office, commercial, retail, warehouse, and similar uses are allowed,” Angel said.

The changes matter because they limit McKinney’s ability to set several common development standards. Angel listed the bill’s specific thresholds: a minimum density of 36 dwelling units per acre, a baseline building height of 45 feet in affected areas, a maximum setback requirement of 25 feet in applicable cases, and a parking standard limited to one space per dwelling unit. She said the bill restricts — but does not entirely eliminate — the…