Planning commission recommends Kemp Ranch thoroughfare realignment despite neighborhood concerns

The Waxahachie Planning and Zoning Commission voted April 14 to recommend an amendment to the city thoroughfare plan that realigns two major arterials across the Kemp Ranch property and removes several smaller 80‑foot thoroughfares previously shown on the plan.

Staff planner Zach (planning staff) told the commission the amendment would realign an east‑west 120‑foot arterial and a north‑south 120‑foot arterial so their on‑site paths match the developer’s plan while maintaining the 120‑foot widths. He said most 80‑foot four‑lane thoroughfares shown on the existing plan were removed, except for a northwest segment that connects FM‑875 to future school sites and a specialty park.

The change, Zach said, aligns the thoroughfare exhibit with the approved plan development and does not alter the required width; staff recommended approval because the revised alignments are adequate to serve the property.

Kathy Casel, a resident at 405 Brookside Road, urged the commission to reject or change the amendment, saying the proposed alignment would “cut off” the end of Brookside Road, leave neighbors with a difficult crossing against heavy traffic, and risk redirecting drainage that feeds a nearby pond. “If my house floods, guess who I have to come after? Not them. I have to come after the city,” Casel said, adding that many neighbors had not been consulted and that the alignment shown was the first she had seen.

Planning staff and city engineers responded that a thoroughfare plan amendment sets alignment and widths at a conceptual level and that detailed traffic and drainage decisions are made during later design and construction reviews. Trenton (planning staff) said amendments do not replace project‑level review and reminded the audience that the amendment does not itself authorize construction. Trace Hilton, the city engineer, described the traffic impact analysis (TIA) process that will evaluate intersections and require installation of turn lanes, deceleration and acceleration lanes as warranted by traffic generation. “As those developments come in, they will be required to install turn lanes … in accordance with the rules of the traffic generation,” Hilton said.

Commissioners debated whether to impose conditions on the amendment to protect existing residential streets — for example, ensuring a right‑turn option rather than forcing left turns across multiple lanes — but staff advised that those operational measures are considered during PD amendments, TIAs and construction‑plan reviews rather than in the thoroughfare plan amendment itself. A commissioner unsuccessfully proposed a caveat to require neighborhood egress accommodations at this stage.

After the exchange, the commission moved to recommend approval of the thoroughfare plan amendment for the Kemp Ranch property; the motion passed by voice/hand vote.

The action now goes to City Council for final consideration, and staff said detailed TIAs and construction‑plan reviews will determine specific lane additions, signals and drainage adjustments before any road construction begins.