Waco council revises zoning code to comply with new state laws, approves cottage-residential option

WACO, Texas — The Waco City Council on Aug. 5 approved multiple changes to the city’s zoning code to comply with recent state legislation and to add a new small-house housing type in the Riverway Overlay District.

At public hearings, council members approved an amendment to the Riverway Overlay District to add “cottage residential” (also referred to as cottage court) as an allowable housing type and to revise the development’s collector-street layout. City planning staff said the revision responds to engineering and cost concerns where a drainage channel and TxDOT-owned right-of-way bisect part of the site.

Director Peters described cottage residential as “a group of small, usually smaller than the typical single‑family home, detached, around a shared center courtyard or a common area or green space” and said the change is intended to “create a little more density, but keeping the same characteristics that you would have in that single family neighborhood.” Dan Nafe, executive vice president of Kahlo Companies, told the council the developer is “very excited about the project” and was available to answer questions.

Council members also approved several ordinance changes required by recent state legislation. Those included: - Revisions prompted by House Bill No. 24 (as referenced in staff comments) that change notice and vote-threshold procedures for zoning changes; staff said some triggers for a supermajority vote are being reduced and that the new notice requirements include website postings and additional on-site signage. - Amendments addressing home occupations (cited as complying with state changes) that maintain that a home occupation must be a secondary use and not visible from the street, remove the requirement that the business operator live in the dwelling, and adopt a definition of “substantial increase in traffic” tied to a 50% increase over estimated daily residential trips (staff referenced the Institute of Transportation Engineers estimate of about 10 daily trips per dwelling when explaining the traffic threshold). - Changes to dwelling‑unit occupancy rules required under the referred state law (Senate Bill No. 1567, as cited by staff) removing the city’s limit on the number of unrelated persons that can constitute a single‑family household; staff said the change affects jurisdictions meeting the law’s population and university‑enrollment thresholds and that the local ordinance previously capped unrelated persons at four.

Planning staff told the council the changes are largely ministerial and are intended to bring the City of Waco’s code into compliance with state law. Staff noted two of the ordinances take effect Sept. 1, the date identified for parts of the new state law to become effective.

Council discussion on the items was brief and public testimony was limited. After the hearings, the council moved to adopt the ordinance amendments. Plan Commission had recommended approval on the items referred to the commission.

Why it matters: The code changes alter how the city notifies neighbors of proposed rezoning, how vote thresholds are applied for zoning decisions, and how the city may regulate home-based businesses and occupancy limits. Those changes affect property owners, developers and households (including student and shared housing) and will shape the city’s approach to infill and small‑lot housing in coming years.

The council also approved other unrelated agenda items during the same meeting, including a separate planned‑unit development and a number of ordinances and resolutions on first or final readings, which were handled on the consent calendar.