Planning commission previews broad code update covering manufactured homes, food trucks, drones and contractors

City of Denton planning staff used the commission’s July 1 work session to present a comprehensive development code update that would codify prior director determinations and add or clarify several land uses, including manufactured housing, mobile food businesses, drone delivery staging, contractor‑services facilities and event venues.

Angie Manglerus, assistant planning director, said the package responds to state law changes and operational issues staff and the Development Code Review Committee (DCRC) identified while implementing the city’s Development Code. "This is gonna be considered a comprehensive development code update," she said, adding staff intends to bring the package to public hearing in August.

On single‑family design standards, assistant planner Matt Bodine described proposals to clarify facade‑diversity rules, expand the list of qualifying design features from seven to a larger list and require four features to demonstrate variety. He also proposed revising garage‑offset rules to discourage dominant front‑entry garages while imposing a 5‑foot maximum front offset if a garage projects ahead of a porch.

Ashley Exton, associate planner, summarized changes required by state law for manufactured homes and media production facilities. "The state is now requiring cities to allow the placement of a manufactured home by right in at least one residential zoning district," she said, and staff proposed using BRR as that district while keeping most other limits in place (including parking standards and design compliance).

Mia Hines, senior planner, reviewed proposed mobile‑food changes prompted by House Bill 2844, which preempts local health permits for mobile food vendors. Hines said the code would treat accessory mobile food businesses and mobile food courts as allowed uses in non‑residential districts but require a Certificate of Land Use that documents minimum lot area, spacing and parking. "We are proposing to add that such use shall be accessory to a primary business on the same lot and shall be only permitted within an approved mobile food court," she said.

Commissioners pressed staff on downtown and mixed‑use implications, whether existing courts would be grandfathered and how the city would balance public‑safety checks with the state preemption. Hines said existing operations would be allowed to remain and that the new certificate process is designed to codify current practice so staff can track where trucks are permitted.

Staff also proposed two drone categories: a primary drone delivery service for standalone staging hubs (requiring SUPs in some districts) and accessory staging incidental to retail or distribution uses. Proposed staging‑area controls include size limits, siting prohibitions (no staging in fire lanes, required parking or landscaping areas), opaque screening along residences and a minimum 300‑foot setback from sensitive uses such as schools. Staff emphasized that FAA and state rules regulate flight operations, so local rules focus on land‑use siting and screening.

Sean Jacobson presented a new contractor‑services use to capture businesses that store equipment and small fleets (landscapers, pool contractors, etc.) with parking scaled to fleet size and limits on visible outdoor storage; staff argued the new use would reduce ad hoc director determinations and speed permitting. Staff also proposed a distinct 'event venue' use to resolve ambiguities between indoor and outdoor recreation definitions and to set parking formulas and SUP thresholds for large sites.

Staff told commissioners they will provide a redline of code text and slide materials before the public hearing and expect to return the package to P&Z and City Council over the coming months.