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Ennis commission approves planned-development rezoning for 15.98-acre Golden Spike site over one dissent
Summary
The Ennis City Commission voted to rezone nearly 16 acres near Golden Spike Drive to a plan development allowing about 103 townhomes and an assisted-living campus after staff and the developer presented site and parking details; one commissioner dissented, citing precedent and lot-size concerns.
The Ennis City Commission on Tuesday approved an ordinance rezoning about 15.978 acres near Golden Spike Drive from single-family (R10) to a planned development, PD 24.0416, allowing roughly 103 townhome units and a five‑building assisted‑living component.
The public hearing and debate centered on lot-size variances, parking and neighborhood impact. Planning staff told commissioners that notices were mailed to 29 property owners; the city logged four support letters and seven protests representing 7.99 percent of the affected acreage, below the threshold for a super‑majority vote. "This is in Ward 1," staff member Mark Richardson said while outlining the proposed PD and the review history with Planning and Zoning.
Developer Reagan Martznick described the concept as a mixed product that would include rear‑loaded townhomes, central green space and five assisted‑living buildings. "This is a development we've been working on with the city for three or four years now," Martznick said, describing a layout intended to be more walkable than a conventional grid and to provide additional green space via HOA maintenance.
The developer asked the commission to allow certain variances: a minimum lot size reduction (requesting a 2,000‑square‑foot minimum for some lots versus the UDO 2,500‑square‑foot standard) and an increase in maximum lot coverage to 80 percent where the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) calls for 70 percent. Staff and the city attorney said the planned-development process permits a tailored mix of standards and that planning and zoning recommended approval 3–2 after reviewing the requested variances.
Several commissioners raised specific concerns about parking and precedent. One commissioner said smaller lots should be avoided to prevent setting exceptions the city would later have to repeat; another asked how the developer accounted for parking and said recent local developments showed driveways and streets often become crowded. Martznick replied the plan includes two‑car garages and driveway parking plus on‑street and designed bump‑out parking, and that the project provides roughly 467 parking spaces for the larger master plan area and multiple on‑street spaces for this phase.
After discussion and a motion to approve the ordinance, the commission adopted the rezoning by voice vote. Mayor Cameron Rayburn announced the motion carried "and the ayes have it," with a recorded dissenting vote from Commissioner Jones.
What happens next: The planned‑development district zoning now approved allows the developer to return with final plats and site plans consistent with the PD. Any future variances or modifications to the PD will come back to the commission for approval.
