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Commission approves 600‑lot Rancho Lago rezoning, requires sidewalks on both sides
Summary
The Midlothian Planning & Zoning Commission approved PD‑187 to rezone roughly 248 acres for 600 single‑family lots and a 54‑acre park dedication, but rejected the developer’s request to allow sidewalks on only one side of local streets, requiring sidewalks on both sides instead.
The Midlothian Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5–1 to approve an amendment to PD‑187 that will allow Bloomfield Homes to develop roughly 248 acres into 600 single‑family lots and dedicate 54 acres for a future community park.
Staff told the commission the plan divides the site into a West area (151 lots) and an East area (449 lots), yields a net density of about 2.72 dwelling units per acre after accounting for a floodplain and parkland, and includes a future community park with trails, a lake and an amenity center. Staff recommended approval but opposed the developer’s variance request to provide sidewalks on only one side of local and entry streets.
Landscape architect Patrick Potomian, representing the applicant, described lot sizes ranging from roughly 6,000 to 10,000 square feet, transitional quarter‑acre lots adjacent to existing one‑acre parcels, front‑entry garage orientation on about 65% of lots, masonry screening walls along FM‑1387, tubular steel fences at open‑space edges, and a series of phased amenities. He said the amenity center and certain sidewalks are scheduled to be complete by construction milestones tied to building permits (for example, the amenity center tied to the 200th building permit for the West area).
Developer Mike Collins said the West area will be developed first and estimated a five‑year period to sell those lots; he said the city is expected to construct Hayes Road with bond funding and that the developer expects to contribute monies otherwise used for private road construction toward park improvements under a development agreement.
Property owner Phil Weaver, who said he has owned the ranch for 30 years, spoke in favor of the sale and the future public park.
Commission debate centered on pedestrian connectivity, parking at the amenity center (10 spaces proposed), traffic on FM‑1387, and homeowner association boundaries. Commissioner McDonald moved to approve per staff recommendation while explicitly denying support for the sidewalk variance; the motion passed 5–1. The approval requires sidewalks on both sides in accordance with Subdivision Ordinance section 6.164 and preserves staff’s other recommended conditions.
The commission closed the public hearing and approved the rezoning; staff and the developer will draft the development agreement and park dedication ordinance that will set the precise timing and phasing of park and road improvements.
