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Council conditionally approves Restore the Grasslands preliminary plat; requires TxDOT access permit
Summary
Parker City Council conditionally approved the Restore the Grasslands LLC preliminary plat for access from FM 2551 on March 10, 2026, requiring resolution of engineering items and an access permit from TxDOT; the measure passed with one abstention amid concerns about process and floodplain mapping.
Parker City Council on Wednesday conditionally approved a preliminary plat for Restore the Grasslands LLC that would create a new access from FM 2551, contingent on resolving all items in the city's engineering letter dated Feb. 11, 2026, and on the applicant obtaining an access permit from the Texas Department of Transportation.
Kent, the city administrator, described the submission as a ministerial application that had been revised after earlier recommendations from the Planning & Zoning Commission and staff. Misty Ventura, the applicant's attorney, told council her team "addressed the comments that were provided by the city's professional team" and asked that her letter be included in the record.
Council and staff focused on traffic and permitting. Jason Stephen of LJ Engineering said the revised concept provides "one lane in and one lane out" with a northbound left-turn lane into the site in the version that TxDOT favored. The city engineer and staff recommended conditioning approval on TxDOT's issuance of a driveway/access permit and on the applicant resolving outstanding engineering items.
The property includes a FEMA effective floodplain shown on current maps; the county, not the city, will review the developer's flood study before FEMA will accept any change, the city engineer said. Councilmembers said the floodplain and other outstanding technical matters reinforced the need for the two conditions.
The motion, made by Councilmember Halbert and seconded by Councilmember Barrack, passed with three votes in favor and one abstention by Mayor Pro Tem Pilgrim. During debate Pilgrim criticized the developer's process, saying the developer had presented concepts to TxDOT not previously shared with the city. Ventura replied that there was "no intent to hide information" and that the team had been responding to TxDOT's iterative requests.
Next steps: the developer must satisfy the engineering letter items and secure a TxDOT access permit; a final plat with construction drawings will return to the city once those prerequisites are met.
