Plano commission backs rezoning for office campus with 280‑foot sculptural tower that could conceal an antenna

The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a rezoning and preliminary site plan for a proposed office campus that includes a public plaza and a 280‑foot sculptural tower that may enclose a commercial antenna.

John K, Senior Planner with the Planning Department, told the commission the request would rezone roughly 1.4 acres at the southeast corner of Legacy Drive and Parkwood Boulevard to permit a mixed office and plaza development. Staff recommended approval of the zoning case and the preliminary site plan subject to conditions, including additional engineering plan changes, a water‑and‑sewer demand analysis with mitigation, and a development agreement if required by council action.

The staff presentation described the tower as a sculptural element allowed up to 280 feet in height with any commercial antenna required to be fully enclosed inside the structure; associated ground equipment must be screened, buried or placed within the tower. The staff report also described modified landscaping and open‑space requirements for the plaza, a required set of pedestrian amenities, and a proposed pedestrian bridge connection across Parkwood Boulevard.

Applicant Bill Dahlstrom framed the project as a placemaking opportunity for the office campus, saying the tower and plaza were meant to “create a more vibrant, accessible employment center” and to promote pedestrian activity and connectivity. The applicant said the final tower materials and appearance were still being refined and that the project team would submit detailed design development and photometric plans later in the permitting process.

During questioning, commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on technical issues: whether the antenna would meet the city’s stealth and design requirements; how noise and lighting would be controlled; what photometric or glare studies would measure lighting at adjacent upper‑floor residential windows; and whether FAA approval would be required. Staff said the project must comply with the city’s existing noise and outdoor‑lighting ordinances and that photometric plans and other engineering analyses would be required with building permits or as stipulated in the ordinance. The staff report in the record also referenced the need for a favorable FAA determination before site plan approval.

Registered speaker Jef Grease, a nearby resident, raised four formal requests: clearer scale visualizations from typical dwelling viewpoints; photometric (glare) and noise studies measured at upper‑floor residential windows rather than only at ground level; explicit application of the city’s outdoor‑lighting code to the upper floors and to any illuminated sculptural elements; and stronger PD (planned development) text to require future substantial changes in illumination or form to return through a rezoning process. Grease told the commission the structure would sit substantially closer to the residential setback than the typical 535‑foot residential risk setback and asked for mitigation measures.

Commissioners also debated whether certain colored or logo‑like graphic treatments on the sculptural element would constitute signage. Staff said the Director of Planning and the building official had reviewed the concept and, as presented, deemed the structure not to be a sign; however the Director of Planning would determine whether later color or graphic changes would be “substantive” and require additional zoning action.

On a motion by Commissioner Bronski, seconded by M. Lane A. Felder, the commission recommended approval of the zoning case and preliminary site plan as recommended by staff. The motion was recorded in the meeting transcript as passing with the tally shown as “720” in the record (the transcript displays that shorthand for the roll‑call tally). The recommendation moves the project to City Council for final action; the staff report and ordinance stipulations require further engineering, water‑and‑sewer demand analysis, and a favorable FAA determination before final site plan approval.

Next steps: the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Plano City Council, and staff indicated photometric plans, engineering revisions and any FAA clearance must be resolved in subsequent permit or council processes.