Council denies developerrequest for 76-unit Denton Acres special-use permit

Preston City Council voted to deny a special-use permit application from developer Tony Crockett to build 76 townhome-style units across two 4-acre parcels after multiple council members said the proposal did not meet the city—ode standards for infrastructure and compatibility.

Planning staff told the council the application met the written code standards and that the planning and zoning commission had recommended approval, though the commission vote included two nays and one abstention. Council members pressing the case for denial cited engineering reports from Keller and Associates and a written warning from the public works director that piping and road infrastructure in the vicinity would likely require significant upgrades. "Keller and Associates wrote ... culinary water demands ... are likely to reach the city's maximum reliable water source capacity," Councilman Brent Dodge told the council, quoting the engineering analysis.

Dodge argued the project would "max out" the city's reliable water supply and that sewer and stormwater lines on 4th North are in poor condition and would need upsizing and repairs as a condition of approval. He also said the project conflicted with several elements of Preston's comprehensive plan including growth, infrastructure capacity and neighborhood compatibility. The developer, Tony Crockett, responded that his engineers had exchanged analyses with the city's engineers and that "my engineer says it will work." His team said they had provided water, sewer and traffic studies and believed conditions could be met.

After extended back-and-forth, a motion to deny the special-use permit was made by Councilman Brent Dodge and seconded; the council voted with three ayes and one abstention to deny the application. The mayor and staff clarified that the denial applies specifically to the 76-unit special-use request for Lots 70 and 71, and does not nullify the remainder of the preliminary plat approvals that remain in effect.

Next steps: Council directed staff to memorialize in the denial finding which special-use criteria were not met and to state, if applicable, actions the applicant could take to pursue a future application, though members expressed skepticism that simple fixes would be sufficient without major infrastructure investment.