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Cedar Park council approves rezoning, adds conditions to limit heavy distribution on 9.17-acre Scottsdale site
Summary
Council approved a future land-use amendment and rezoning to light industrial with a conditional overlay for about 9.17 acres near the 183A toll road after the applicant and neighbors negotiated added screening, an 8-foot masonry wall, loading restrictions and an 80% cap on warehousing/distribution space.
The Cedar Park City Council approved two ordinances on second reading to amend the future land use plan and rezone roughly 9.17 acres northeast of 183A Toll Road and Scottsdale Drive to light industrial with a conditional overlay. The council voted unanimously to adopt both measures after the applicant and neighborhood representatives agreed to additional conditions.
City planner Andreeina Davila told the council the rezoning ordinance was amended since first reading to “concentrate the landscape plan, to really focus on the additional screening and buffering along the east and south property lines,” including “the inclusion of an 8 foot tall masonry wall” and a restriction that “no loading docks would be allowed on the south building elevation.” Davila said the overlay also requires building conforming to the conceptual architectural character and caps warehousing and distribution at 80% of the total development square footage.
The change followed negotiations among the developer, the Scottsdale Crossing homeowners association and nearby property owners. Drew Rafael, agent for the applicant, said the revisions were intended to address aesthetics and compatibility: “We’ve come to a really great compromise that’s made this … a nice balance of compatibility and achieving the strategic and economic goals of the city.” Rafael said the 80% cap still allows flexibility for research-and-development and light manufacturing uses while limiting large-scale distribution.
Councilmembers repeatedly praised the collaborative process. One councilmember said the proposal showed how “dialogue oftentimes leads to agreements and solutions,” and several members noted written support from the HOA and from James Avery representatives who had been engaged during revisions.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial at its March hearing; because of that recommendation the rezoning required a supermajority of council. The council recorded a unanimous approval on second reading for both the future land use amendment and the rezoning.
What the ordinances do: the future land use map was amended from regional office/retail to industrial manufacturing for the parcel; the rezoning establishes light industrial with a conditional overlay that (per staff and applicant materials) limits building height to 45 feet, restricts certain commercial and heavy industrial uses, establishes additional loading setbacks and lighting controls, requires enhanced landscaping and an 8-foot masonry screening wall where the property abuts residences, bans loading docks on the south elevation, and caps warehousing/distribution at 80% of the project's square footage.
Council and staff said next steps include finalizing site-plan details and enforcing the private agreements that will memorialize some design commitments.
The council took the votes at the May meeting; staff said the design and development will now move to site-plan review under the approved conditions.
