Preston council approves rights-of-way changes and multiple subdivision plats, places conditions on Denton Acres

The Preston City Council on [date not specified in record] voted unanimously to adopt two ordinances to alter the city’s major street plan and approved several subdivision items, including a development agreement and final plat for Saddle Crossing Subdivision Phase 4 and preliminary approval for Denton Acres with specific phasing and special-permit conditions.

Council members first introduced and approved Ordinance No. 2025-8 and Ordinance No. 2025-9, each described in summary by City Clerk Linda Aycock. The ordinances vacate specified portions of the city’s future rights-of-way and add other segments to the city’s major street plan. Both measures were moved and passed after council dispensed with multiple readings and ordered the ordinance summaries read once.

Staff and the council then turned to subdivision business. Planning staff said the development agreement draft for Saddle Crossing Phase 4 in the meeting packet had been superseded by a corrected draft and that execution of a new agreement would be required before the city signs the final plat. The city attorney, Lyle, told the council the final-plat approval should be contingent on executing the development agreement and acquiring a deed to the city for 0.1 acres of open space. Staff reported the initial bond for required improvements would be $147,000 with a 10% retainage ($14,700). The council approved the development agreement and the final plat vote unanimously.

The council also considered the Denton Acres preliminary plat, a 52.7-acre development proposing 108 residential lots (zoned A2/A3) and two parcels (lots 70 and 71) designated for townhouse/multifamily-style buildings. Sean, the planning staff member presenting the item, said the two lots would require a special-use permit because any parcel with more than eight dwelling units must follow the special-use process. Staff described planned open-space dedications totaling the required acreage (including 1.42 acres to be deeded to the city and other parcels to remain with the HOA), stormwater retention ponds on both east and west sides of the site, and a requirement that 144 consolidated irrigation water shares be secured for secondary water and held by the HOA.

Planning and Zoning recommended a phasing sequence intended to reduce early traffic impacts; council adopted a motion that approved the preliminary plat contingent on the special-use permit requirement for lots 70 and 71 and on the phased order noted by P&Z (the motion specified phases 7, 6 and 5 would be required first, then the developer could proceed at his discretion). The council recorded the approval by unanimous vote.

Developer Tony Crockett, present for the Denton Acres discussion, told the council the timeline for completing the 12-phase development depends on market absorption and that he would apply for a special-use permit if required. He described stormwater measures, including retention ponds designed to slow runoff, and said the development team would coordinate needed improvements and any required reimbursements for late-connector work to existing drains.

The council also approved the Silver Sage Commercial Subdivision final plat (approximately 5.07 acres in the general commercial zone) contingent on execution of a development agreement and required bonding. The city attorney indicated the engineers’ bond calculations totaled roughly $516,000 (engineers’ figure: base plus a percentage for the contractor), and staff said a temporary stormwater pond would be used until a permanent pond is installed in a later phase.

Council members raised questions across these land-use items about sewer capacity on Fourth North, whether certain water lines should be upsized, the adequacy of stormwater drainage and the city’s responsibility for accepting small open-space parcels. Staff answered that camera inspections and targeted repairs would be used for sewer deficiencies rather than wholesale replacement in some locations, that engineers had signed off on the designs, and that open-space deeds would be recorded as part of the final-plat process as required.

What happens next: the ordinances are in effect per their stated effective dates; final-plating steps and execution of development agreements are required before the city signs final plats. The Denton Acres approval remains contingent on the developer obtaining required special-use permits for the two townhouse parcels and on follow-up engineering and reimbursement arrangements to be resolved before final plat approval.