Council approves comprehensive-plan amendment for Barksdale Phase 3; zoning change approved after debate

The Leander City Council held a public hearing on June 17 over the Barksdale Phase 3 annexation and land-use change, and voted to approve a comprehensive-plan amendment and the developer's requested zoning.

Project and requests The proposal covers roughly 52.9 acres at the northwest corner of Journey Parkway and County Road 175. The applicant sought a comprehensive-plan amendment to change land use from 'neighborhood center' to 'neighborhood residential', and a rezoning from interim SFR-1B (single-family rural) to a mix of SFS-2A (single-family suburban), SFU-2A (single-family urban) and SFC-2A (single-family compact) across three parcels. The applicant told council the request would produce a modest increase in lot count over an all-70-foot-lot scenario (roughly 28 additional lots compared with an all-70 plan presented in prior proceedings) and that the plan had been modified after two neighborhood outreach meetings in March.

Neighborhood concerns and planning history Several residents who live near the site and parents of students at nearby schools urged council to retain the neighborhood-center designation and avoid higher-density residential or additional commercial uses at the intersection. Speakers said the corner has heavy pedestrian traffic and multiple schools nearby (Aiken Elementary, Stiles Middle and Parkside Elementary were cited), that Journey Parkway already experiences queuing and congestion during pick-up and drop-off, and that the local drainage pattern and creek corridors make certain commercial or higher-intensity uses inappropriate.

Developer and planning commission position Kimley-Horn's representative said outreach meetings produced similar feedback and that surrounding parcels are largely residential; he said existing commercial demand around Ronald Reagan Boulevard already serves nearby customers and that small-scale commercial or day-care uses could be located closer to that corridor. Planning and Zoning Commission considered the case on May 22: commissioners recommended approval of the comprehensive-plan amendment and took no action on the zoning application at that meeting.

Council action - Comprehensive-plan amendment (CPA-25-0017): Council approved the amendment to reclassify the property to neighborhood residential; the motion passed 5-2 on first reading. - Zoning map amendment (Z-25-0166): Council then considered and approved the requested rezoning to the mixed single-family districts. The record shows some confusion on the floor as the roll call was taken; council members ultimately adopted the zoning change following the public hearing. The vote was recorded on the meeting record during the regular session (see votes-of-record summary for exact tallies).

Why this matters: The vote converts a portion of a long-discussed neighborhood center into residential uses, a change staff and the applicant said better matches the pattern of adjacent development. Opponents said the decision reduces future options for neighborhood-serving retail and could increase peak-hour traffic and drainage challenges at a school-heavy intersection.

Next steps Because this was a first-reading public hearing for the annexation and a first-reading action on the comprehensive-plan amendment, the transactions will return for final readings and any related ordinance adoption on the council's next regularly scheduled meeting as required by city procedure (staff noted the annexation first-reading occurred as part of this meeting and final action is set for the subsequent meeting).