DeSoto planning commission backs reduced Hampton Road rezoning, forwards recommendation to council

The City of DeSoto Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 28 voted 6–1 to recommend City Council approve a rezoning of properties along the Hampton Road corridor, forwarding case Z1514-24 for a final decision at the Feb. 18 council meeting.

Planning staff described the item as a request to rezone properties within a reduced, “reenvisioned” Hampton Road character-code boundary into five new districts — Urban Center, Urban General, Neighborhood Services, Urban Neighborhood and Neighborhood Transition — that would allow combinations of retail, offices and mixed housing along the corridor. “This is a request for the commission to conduct a public hearing and consider making a recommendation to the city council regarding the rezoning,” Planning Manager (presenter) said during the staff presentation.

The proposal narrows an earlier, larger rezoning area. Staff told commissioners the original boundary covered more than 400 properties; the reduced boundary before the commission includes about 221 parcels. Staff said the smaller area was created in response to earlier resident opposition and to limit the number of properties that would become nonconforming under the new rules; staff estimated 21 properties in the reduced boundary would become nonconforming.

Why it matters: The rezoning is intended to create concentrated mixed-use development along Hampton Road — with ground-floor restaurants and retail and apartments or townhomes above — and to…