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Plano planning commission accepts Module 1 of UDC rewrite, outlining new district structure and residential framework
Summary
The commission unanimously accepted Module 1 of a Unified Development Code rewrite that reorganizes zoning districts into four base categories, consolidates dozens of land-use terms, and introduces a residential framework separating building form from use; the commission will send the draft to council for review.
The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7–0 to accept Module 1 of the city’s Unified Development Code rewrite, a draft that reorganizes zoning districts, consolidates land-use definitions and proposes a new approach to regulating residential uses.
Erica Craycraft, assistant project manager and zoning lead with Friess and Nichols, told commissioners the rewrite will consolidate roughly 31 existing districts into four base categories—residential, mixed use, community design and special—and reduce the number of distinct land-use terms from about 200 to roughly 110 to make the code more flexible and easier to administer. Craycraft said the change responds in part to recent statutory limits discussed in the presentation (referenced in the transcript as "SB 8 40") and aims to focus the code on infill and redevelopment rather than greenfield provisions.
The draft also introduces subdistricts (for example, within an RDN district) to allow dimensional flexibility while keeping permitted uses aligned with the comprehensive plan. Presenters said planned overlays and the planned development tool will be addressed in a later module, and staff intends to maintain an equivalency or guidance list to help interpret consolidated uses so that applicants and staff have consistent references.
Jordan Rockerby, lead planner, presented the residential framework at the heart of the module. The framework separates building form—detached house, duplex, townhouse, apartment—from the land-use function—private residence, shared residence, residential facility, care home—so that a single building form can contain multiple residential uses. Rockerby said district development standards would continue to regulate building form while use definitions and use standards would regulate residential functions. He and Craycraft emphasized the code will not immediately assign every use to every district; that step will occur in subsequent modules and use charts.
Commissioners raised concerns about losing nuance when consolidating specialized uses (for example, whether dry-cleaning plants or similar industrial uses would be intuitively captured by a high-level "industrial light intensity" category). Craycraft and Rockerby said the draft anticipates maintaining guidance materials and use-equivalency lists to reduce interpretive uncertainty for staff and applicants.
Staff said Module 1 is the product of multiple rewrite advisory committee (RAC) meetings and ongoing public outreach; the draft and comment mechanism remain posted online. The commission accepted the draft as substantially complete so staff can continue with Module 2 (zoning provisions and procedures) and prepare for Council-level presentations (proposed dates referenced: Dec. 16 or Jan. 12). The motion to accept Module 1 passed unanimously, 7–0.
