Planning staff outlines zoning, sign and parking changes plus EV and stormwater priorities

Planning Department staff presented a package of planning priorities and potential LDR (land‑development regulation) amendments and asked the commission whether any items should be added to the town council’s strategic planning list.

The priorities presentation, delivered by Purnima (Planning Department staff), covered four completed LDR amendments in the past year and several topics under active review, including updates to fencing‑notice procedures, a two‑step sign ordinance update, outdoor‑lighting standards, model‑home definitions, electric‑vehicle (EV) monitoring and safety regulations for chargers in parking structures, and proposed incremental changes to landscape and parking standards that could include bioswales, bioretention and shared‑parking provisions.

Purnima said the department consolidated duplicate uses in the town’s use tables and updated definitions where state law changed. “We removed some of the duplicate uses,” she said, and gave the example of consolidating multiple dry‑cleaning categories. She described a new process to notify adjacent residential property owners when a new residential development is proposed next to older neighborhoods so neighbors can coordinate with developers about existing fences, trees or replacement plans.

Why it matters: the items on staff’s list change how new development interfaces with existing neighborhoods and address environmental and safety concerns. Some changes have already passed town council (for example, a recent sign ordinance revision and an amendment to the International Fire Code related to EV charging in garages); others would require future LDR amendments and technical coordination across departments.

Key details and staff plans

- Fencing and neighbor notice: Staff said they now send a notice to adjacent property owners when a residential development is proposed next to existing residential lots, so residents have an opportunity to discuss whether to retain or replace an existing fence. Staff cited the Pine Hill development as a recent example in which adjacent neighbors and the developer agreed to replace fencing.

- Sign ordinance: Staff described a two‑step approach. A quick amendment allowed middle schools to use electronic message boards and made several clarifications; a comprehensive amendment approved last July added illustrations and clarified how sign area is calculated for canopies, awnings and directional signs.

- Outdoor lighting: Staff said the ordinance now includes a 3,000 Kelvin limit for nonresidential parking‑area lighting.

- Model and early‑release homes: The department added distinct definitions and basic safety and parking requirements for model homes and early‑release homes and limited the number of model homes permitted in a subdivision.

- Electric vehicles and charging‑station regulation: Purnima said the town is monitoring EV ownership and infrastructure. “We have approximately, a little less than 2,800 electric vehicles registered in our town,” she said, and reported that Flower Mound ranks fourth among DFW municipalities with fewer than 100,000 registered vehicles. The town council on June 2 adopted an amendment to incorporate fire‑safety standards for EV charging stations in the International Fire Code for parking structures; staff said the amendment responds to an increase in parking structures in Lakeside and nearby areas.

- Landscape, bioswale and parking standards: Staff said planners are considering incremental changes to the landscape ordinance to allow or require bioretention, rain gardens and other stormwater treatment methods, and are beginning work to update parking standards to allow shared and time‑based parking. That project includes town‑conducted parking counts at different times and reference to industry manuals; staff said any comprehensive parking amendment may be proposed late this year or early next year.

- State legislative change on agenda posting: Staff reported a state bill from the most recent legislative session that changes the agenda‑posting requirement from “72 hours prior to the meeting” to “72 business hours.” Purnima said the effective date is Sept. 1 and staff will follow whatever approach town council adopts.

Questions and clarifications from commissioners

Commissioners asked how the fence‑notice would be administered; Purnima said the notice would be required with a zoning application in addition to existing property‑owner notifications and that prior approvals would be grandfathered. A commissioner asked whether “72 business hours” meant three business days; Purnima confirmed it does.

Staff next steps

Purnima asked the commission to suggest items to add to the list; staff will forward any additions to town council for strategic planning. Several topics described — parking standards, bioswale requirements and lighting — will require technical coordination with parks, arborists, stormwater, code enforcement and engineering and will be introduced incrementally rather than in a single large amendment.

Ending: Staff said it will follow up with more detailed parking and EV data to commissioners by email and bring draft amendments to future meetings for review.