Bel Air planning commission holds public hearing on proposed Urban Village Downtown (UVD) ordinance changes

Bel Air Planning and Zoning Commission members spent Monday’s public hearing reviewing proposed changes to the city code’s Urban Village Downtown (UVD) District, Chapter 24, Section 24‑5‑37. City staff outlined a package of edits that change residential nomenclature, add dimensional standards, and require mixed‑use planned developments for multi‑family housing. The commission did not vote; written comments are open through Wednesday, July 2, and the item is scheduled for a vote at the commission’s July 10 meeting.

The presentation was given by Modi, city staff, who summarized the principal edits. Modi said the draft replaces references to “single‑family dwellings” with “townhouse dwellings” and reduces the minimum number of continuous lots for townhouses from five to a minimum of three. “We changed the nomenclature here from single family dwellings to townhouse dwellings,” Modi told commissioners.

The draft also adds a 10‑foot minimum street‑facing yard for townhouses where previously no front yard had been specified, and an exception increasing the required street‑facing yard to 15 feet for properties fronting Bissonette Street, Bel Air Boulevard or South Rice Avenue unless the site is shallow (less than 150 feet in depth) or the yard equals at least 5% of site depth. Modi said the draft lowers a previously allowed maximum commercial/mixed‑use building height from 27 feet to 17 feet for small‑scale commercial and mixed‑use development within certain portions of the district.

Another key change moves all multifamily residential standards into the mixed‑use planned development (PD) subsection and makes multi‑family residential allowable only via approval as a planned development. Modi explained that multi‑family components “must be approved as a planned development, which is the only option for approval of multi family residential use in the district.” The draft sets a maximum residential density for mixed‑use projects at 30 units per acre and retains a 53‑foot maximum building height for permitted or PD‑approved larger mixed‑use projects.

The draft further clarifies design standards from Section 24‑5‑13(a), including a requirement that garage doors associated with residential development be oriented away from and not visible from any public street right‑of‑way. The proposal also adds standards allowing outdoor seating associated with restaurants to project into the required street‑facing yard provided the seating is at grade, does not obstruct visibility triangles or sidewalks, and is separated from the right‑of‑way by landscaping or a vertical barrier.

Commissioners asked staff clarifying questions during the hearing. The commission chair confirmed there would be no final vote tonight and reminded the public that written comments must be delivered to City Hall or emailed to zoning@belairtx.gov by Wednesday, July 2. The commission indicated the UVD amendments would return for a final vote at the July 10 meeting.