Council approves McKinney East PD rezoning with screening and landscape concessions for neighbors

The City of McKinney on May 20 approved a planned-development rezoning request for about 10.663 acres at the northwest corner of Airport Drive and Old Mill Road to allow industrial uses and to modify development standards, after the developer agreed to additional screening, landscaping and gated access outside operating hours.

Planning staff told the council the applicant returned after an earlier tabling and had added conditions to address neighbors' concerns: a 10-foot screening wall with tall evergreen shrubs, a gated access requirement outside of operating hours, and a 30-foot landscape buffer along Old Mill Road. Staff recommended approval and said the revised planned development retains the I-1 uses previously proposed while incorporating the concessions.

Neighbors who spoke during the public hearing said drainage, traffic and buffering were their primary concerns. Lawrence Wood, who lives at 1290 Old Mill Road and said he has lived there since 1976, asked that the city address drainage and the condition of Airport Boulevard. Georgina Woods and Julie Cox thanked council for the concessions but emphasized the importance of attractive screening and continued attention to drainage and traffic impacts.

The applicant’s representative, Gersh Narayan of Shoal Creek Capital Partners, said the rezoning includes an enhanced screening proposal: a 10-foot wall supplemented with evergreen shrubs planted every three feet to create an opaque buffer. "It's essentially going to create an opaque wall so that you're not looking into the property," Narayan said.

Action: Councilmember motioned to close the public hearing and approve the rezoning; the motion passed (vote tallies not recorded in the transcript). Staff and the developer said they will work with neighbors on construction timing and drainage mitigation measures identified during the neighborhood meeting process.

Why it matters: The site sits near the Airport Drive corridor and Spur 399 alignment; council and staff said the area is transitioning and that the screening and landscape requirements are intended to reduce visual and noise impacts on an established neighborhood.

Follow-up: Staff indicated that engineering reviews and development permits will address drainage and access improvements. Neighbors and the developer discussed a planned detention pond and new road alignments as part of the larger area plan; the council’s approval includes the screening and buffer standards the applicant agreed to in the revised PD.