Council tables proposed rezone and comprehensive-plan amendment for Spring Lake area after residents raise traffic, drainage and buffer concerns

The Paris City Council voted unanimously Aug. 25 to table three related land-use items from Paul Stoll of Plan Z Developments LLC that would have converted a roughly 5.97-acre parcel near North Collegiate Drive and Pine Mill Road from low-density residential to retail and changed zoning to commercial.

The matters — a proposed comprehensive plan amendment and two zoning-change petitions tied to the same property — drew multiple neighborhood residents who said the changes would increase traffic, light and noise, and aggravate existing drainage and erosion problems. After an extended public hearing and council discussion, members moved to table the items for further study and a possible workshop.

Staff described the application as a comprehensive plan amendment connected to separate rezoning petitions; planning staff told the council the Planning & Zoning Commission had voted 6–1 to recommend approval at its Aug. 4 hearing. Planning staff and the city engineer said utilities and access are available from the north, and that the developer would be required to provide buffers between commercial and adjacent single-family zoning.

Residents said the site borders Spring Lake Estates and Spring Lake Subdivision and described recent topsoil removal and tree clearing. Mary Hart, who said she lives at 3095 Briarwood Drive, told the council “it will increase traffic both car and foot traffic through the neighborhood” and raised concerns about drainage and light pollution. Resident Steve Ekstrom said a prior petition circulated among roughly 92 households opposed earlier proposals for back-of-property commercial development; he said the group had delivered the petition to city offices in an earlier cycle of development discussions.

Developer Paul Stoll said he is willing to work with neighbors and staff. “It is not our intention to diminish the value of those properties by $1 at all,” Stoll said, and described plans to regrade slopes, plant grass and trees and construct a 6-foot fence where needed. City engineering staff described an engineered slope requirement, said access from Spring Lake into any new commercial would not be allowed, and said the primary vehicular access would be from the Paris Town Crossing/Collegiate frontage near Ashley Furniture and Home Depot.

Councilmembers pressed for more information on buffers, engineered slopes, drainage plans and whether a full council workshop could include TxDOT and other parties to address ingress/egress on Collegiate. After discussion, the council voted to table: item 16 (comprehensive plan amendment) was tabled 5-0; item 17 (rezoning SF-2 to commercial) was tabled 5-0; and item 18 (PD to commercial) was tabled 5-0. A council motion to decline the application had been raised earlier but did not carry to final action; later clarification and a subsequent motion led to the tabling outcome.

Staff noted 31 written input forms on file opposing the application. Planning staff also said the applicant had submitted preliminary plats for adjacent lots (Paris Town Crossing Lot 6B / Spring Lake Estates Phase 6) that remain under review. The council directed staff to pursue additional information and suggested a workshop or roundtable meeting with residents, staff, the developer and, if needed, TxDOT before a future decision.