Council reviews student housing PUD, two voluntary annexations and a rezoning request

Development Services Director Clint Peters briefed the council on several planning items the department will take through public hearings, including a final planned unit development for student housing at 602 James, two voluntary annexations and a rezoning request near Lake Waco.

Peters described the 602 James Avenue proposal as a final PUD submittal for a mid‑rise student housing project being developed by the Parallel Company on land acquired from 7th & James Baptist Church. The plan includes a wrapped parking garage, an interior courtyard with amenities, wide sidewalks and a 10‑foot pedestrian way. Based on the city's parking rules and unit counts, staff said the development must provide a minimum of 478 on‑site parking spaces and the developer has committed to provide that minimum; visitor and delivery parking will be provided in addition to the 478 spaces and must be off‑street.

"Based on our unit count...there was 478 parking spaces required. And then the developer is providing that number with 478 spaces at a minimum," Peters said. "We did add that as a condition of this approval, that it has that minimum 478 spaces on-site and that the visitor parking for deliveries and unloading will be off-street." (Clint Peters, Director of Development Services)

Council members asked about parking dynamics in the Baylor area, the overlay district requirements and how the city will monitor on‑street parking after construction; staff said Baylor University cooperated on circulation plans and that the project is not technically inside the overlay but meets its design standards.

Peters also summarized two voluntary annexations: Westlake (roughly 560 acres/67-acre development area within that boundary) planned with PUD zoning calling for about 1,200 single‑family units and more than 200 acres of open space, and Edgewood (about 213 acres) proposing single‑family development. He emphasized both annexations are voluntary requests and that annexation allows the city to extend sewer service to protect Lake Waco from septic systems.

Separately, Peters outlined a rezoning request — from R‑1B to C‑2 — for about 16 acres on Overflow Road across Highway 6 from Westlake. Staff said the commercial zoning request excludes property inside the 503 flowage easement and that utilities do not yet serve the site, so development would require extending water and sewer.

Peters closed by reporting progress on Development Services key performance indicators: commercial plan review first comments within 20 days hit 100% in September, residential plan review averages under two days, and next‑day inspections are currently about 95% (target 98%), improvements staff credited to reorganized processes and new systems.

No zoning decisions were made during the work session; these items were previewed for upcoming public hearings and council action later in the meeting sequence.