Plan commission recommends rezoning for 89-unit Richardson townhome development on Shiloh Road

The Richardson City Plan Commission on Tuesday recommended approval of a plan development to rezone about 7 acres at 3600 Shiloh Road for 89 townhome units.

City planning staff said the site is currently zoned OM office with special conditions for an assisted-living center and has remained undeveloped since a 2017 special permit for a private school was never implemented. The applicant, Pulte Homes, asked to rezone the property to a plan development to allow attached single-family units and to deviate from several standard townhome requirements.

The project calls for 89 units on roughly 7 acres, with minimum lots of 1,300 square feet and minimum unit sizes of 1,700 square feet. The developer proposes three-story buildings up to 45 feet tall for some units where the base ordinance would limit townhomes to two stories and 40 feet within 50 feet of single-family neighborhoods. Staff said about 15 units fall inside the northern buffer and would require the height relief. The development plan shows each unit with an enclosed two‑car garage and 67 visitor parking spaces distributed across the site; staff said that equates to about 0.7 visitor spaces per unit in addition to garage parking.

The concept plan includes a 60-foot Shiloh Road setback composed of an existing 30-foot drainage easement and a 30-foot landscape buffer that will include an 8-foot sidewalk and street trees. The interior of the site would provide 27 percent open space, a 5,000-square-foot central gathering area with seating and lighting, and a 2,000-square-foot dog park in the northeast corner. The applicant also proposed new 6-foot masonry screening walls along the east and south property lines and will retain an existing 7-foot-9-inch screening wall along the north.

Pulte Homes representative Mike Goza described the builder's local experience and market approach and said the firm will work with Collin County to see if a small landlocked parcel in the northeast corner can be incorporated into the project as open green space. "We are committed to running that tract and see what the county's appetite is for it," Goza said. He told commissioners the company anticipates building units over time—estimating an absorption rate of about five to eight sales per month rather than delivering all units simultaneously.

Several commissioners and staff questioned parking distribution and walking distance from visitor spaces to some units. The project team said they would review the layout to try to better distribute parking before the application goes to city council; the applicant said planners removed two units earlier in the design process to increase open space and some parking. Scott Bradshaw, president of the Deerwood Court homeowners association immediately north of the site, said he was generally supportive but urged the developer to maintain the screening wall and avoid creating maintenance burdens for his HOA.

Planning staff said the application complies with the city's required public notice procedures and reported three written public comments in opposition tied to two neighboring properties. Staff recommended conditions that any approval be developed in substantial conformance with the submitted concept plan, development standards, and representative elevations.

Commissioner Beach moved to recommend approval with those conditions; Commissioner Quirk seconded. The plan commission voted unanimously to recommend approval to city council.

If the council follows the commission recommendation, the project will proceed to final engineering and subdivision review, during which drainage, utility capacity and other civil details will be examined and permitted according to city standards. Staff told commissioners civil engineering review would occur after zoning approval to address drainage and water-quality measures and confirm capacity.