Bryan City Council approves planned‑development rezoning for 20‑acre multifamily near Copperfield

Bryan City Council voted to approve a rezoning that will allow a planned‑development multifamily project on roughly 20.398 acres at the Boonville Road/FM 158 and Copperfield Drive intersection.

The decision followed nearly three hours of public comment in which neighbors warned of school overcrowding and traffic impacts and developers presented third‑party traffic and school‑impact analyses. Casey Oldham of Oldham Goodwin, speaking for the landowner Adam Development, said multifamily and minor commercial uses were part of the site’s original master plan and argued retail is not economically viable at the parcel. Mark Stephenson of Slate Real Estate Partners told the council Slate’s proposed unit mix is weighted toward one‑bedroom units and that mitigation agreements — including perimeter landscape buffers and limited curb cuts — were negotiated with adjacent Concordia property owners.

Opponents pressed the council on specifics. “We are crammed,” parent Jennifer Ross said of Sam Houston Elementary and asked the council to “keep their education ahead of big‑city developers.” Several speakers cited Blueprint 2040 and petition counts — residents said more than 700 signatures and hundreds of emailed comments opposed the rezoning. Jim Morrell and others urged additional independent evaluation of Hudson Creek and stormwater impacts.

Staff summarized the Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation (5–2 in favor) and said the city had accepted preliminary FEMA floodplain/drainage and traffic reports submitted by the applicant. Traffic consultant Preston Jacks of Kimley‑Horn told the council updated counts show the project’s peak‑hour effect at the Boonville/Copperfield intersection would add roughly 1–1.2 seconds of average delay and that the intersection’s level of service in the AM would change from C to D by 2027 with or without the project.

During deliberations councilmembers debated whether the Planned Development language would provide enforceable, long‑term standards (lighting, fencing, height transitions, landscape buffers) and whether by‑right townhomes would create greater school impacts than the proposed apartments. The council approved the motion to adopt the rezoning and PD language; the transcript records the motion passing but does not include a roll‑call tally in the public record excerpt.

The council left the public hearing record open for staff to receive additional evidence from the developer before final site‑plan approvals. The applicant said any specific site plan, circulation details and final mitigation measures will be reviewed and approved during the site‑plan stage and that the PD standards would “run with the land.”