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Council approves rezoning for 222-unit senior housing project despite traffic concerns
Summary
The council approved a rezoning that allows a 222-unit, age-restricted multifamily development (Forest View Senior Housing) near US 380; applicant Glenn Lynch described unit counts, income targeting and a commercial component while a nearby resident requested a traffic survey be completed before approvals.
The McKinney City Council voted to rezone a tract north of U.S. Highway 380 to allow a mixed development that includes a 222-unit, age-restricted multifamily project, a separate R5 parcel deeded to adjacent single-family lots, and a PD parcel permitting mixed-use commercial development.
Lucas Raley, the city's director of planning, presented the request and explained staff support and a unanimous Planning & Zoning recommendation. Raley said the zoning action is an entitlement; site plan review and engineering analysis—where traffic impacts are examined in detail—will follow at the site-plan stage. "Entitlement is where we are now," Raley said, adding that specific traffic mitigation (turn lanes, access points) is addressed later in the process.
Applicant Glenn Lynch described the project as "Forest View Senior Housing," noting 222 residential units (one- and two-bedrooms), about 7,853 square feet of commercial space, and 281 parking spaces. Lynch said the project would be age-restricted to 55-and-up unless HUD financing requires a minimum age of 62 for some units. He said roughly 60% of units would target households at 60% of area median income (AMI), with a range from 30% to 80% AMI. Lynch also acknowledged roughly 3.5 acres of floodplain along a creek on the site and said the buildings were designed with two-story sections adjacent to single-family lots to reduce visual impacts.
Nearby resident Alvin Turner spoke in favor of affordable senior housing but asked the council to ensure a traffic survey for the Lake Forest Drive/US 380 intersection is completed and made public before approval. Turner said the intersection is already busy and noted concerns about ingress and egress for the development. In response, Raley said traffic impacts are evaluated at the site-plan phase when unit counts and uses are finalized and engineering solutions (turn lanes, access points) are required.
Councilman Franklin moved to close the public hearing and approve the rezoning; Mayor Pro Tem Felts seconded and the motion carried. The zoning change allows the applicant to proceed to the subsequent site-plan and engineering stages, where the council and staff said they will continue communication with nearby residents about access and traffic mitigation.
