Council approves Solara annexation, planned-development zoning and development agreement with conditions

Van Alstyne — The City Council on June 9 approved a package of actions to move forward with a 176–177-acre residential development called Solara: a development agreement, voluntary annexation and planned-development zoning, each adopted after a presentation by staff and the developer and after public comment.

Alex, the staff planner, described the packet as an interrelated set of actions: voluntary annexation, rezoning to a planned development (PD) and a developer's agreement that contemplates a Public Improvement District (PID) and a tax increment contribution (TUR). The property is proposed for 453 single-family lots, with a minimum of 124 lots at a 70-foot frontage and a requirement that homes be 80% masonry (the city's current standard is 60%). The PD also includes requirements for screening, minimum street trees, privacy fencing and an 8.7-acre city park to be dedicated near FM 121.

John Arnold of Scorberg Company, the developer, outlined changes made during the review process: the developer reduced density from earlier plans, eliminated 40-foot lots, increased 70-foot lots and committed to enhanced architectural standards and public amenities, including a pool and amphitheater at a primary amenity center and a second amenity area near floodplain trails. Arnold also described infrastructure work the developer would build, including a concrete divided collector that must be built in the first phase, resurfacing and striping options for Hackberry Road, a proposed water-loop to improve pressure to Thompson Farms, and lift-station/force-main upgrades.

The development agreement contemplates a PID with authority to issue bonds up to $45 million for qualified improvements, and a TUR contribution that would use 46.5% of the city's property-tax increment (city share only) toward the project over a 35-year term; details of county participation in the TUR (for Hackberry Road) remain under discussion with Grayson County.

At the public hearing, resident Matt Sullivan, who lives at Hackberry Road and Willow Lane, urged the council to prioritize safety and questioned traffic-study assumptions. "If the study's assumptions are correct, there are important safety concerns involving the school zone and existing congestion," Sullivan said, citing the developer's estimate of roughly 4,253 trips per day at full buildout.

Council debate included whether denying annexation would leave the area to be developed with fewer city standards and higher density; staff and the developer said annexation allows the city to require higher construction standards and to capture ad valorem tax revenue. Council members and neighbors also focused on a short planned connector (Willow Lane) that would pass near three existing homes; council accepted a developer commitment on the record to revise Exhibit C to stop or reroute that connector and to add a 20-foot landscape buffer where survey overlaps were reported.

Council approved the development agreement (subject to the revised exhibit), the voluntary annexation petition, and the PD zoning ordinance in separate motions; each passed by recorded votes of 6-0.

What the approvals mean: The annexation and zoning allow the project to proceed under the PD standards and the development agreement sets the developer's obligations for infrastructure and amenities. County participation in TUR funding for Hackberry Road remains a negotiation that could affect funding and road construction materials. The council scheduled related public hearings for July 14 to consider formation of a PID and a tax-increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ/TUR) tied to the project.

The council recorded several implementation actions for staff: finalize revised Exhibit C, continue negotiations with Grayson County on road funding participation, and prepare PID/TIRZ hearings in July.