A new housing subdivision proposed along Wesley Miller Lane by Taylor High School will test the flexibility of the city’s Envision Taylor comprehensive plan and council’s willingness to make exceptions for growth.
To proceed, the development will require a plan amendment to change both the Growth Sector and Future Land Use designations on approximately 55.9 acres. It will also require a zoning change and city annexation of 49.38 acres that currently sit within extraterritorial jurisdiction.
“Our objective is to develop a unique and high quality, low density rental product that would stand out from conventional multi-family,” said property owner Chris Bancroft of Texas Multifamily Capital at the June 22 city council meeting.
Bancroft said the development is planned as a rental community directed at the “missing middle” population of working families who want safe neighborhood housing but cannot afford to purchase a home.
“We’re not looking at the high end of the market, we’re not looking at the low end of the market, but a wide swath right down the middle,” he said.
While the development will test council’s resolve on adherence to the Envision Taylor plan, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommends council approves the amendments. In previous statements regarding Envision Taylor, Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis said one reason for creating the updated comprehensive plan was to come up with housing solutions.
“Housing growth needs to be balanced. Otherwise you can become a bedroom community. Housing needs to house people who would work in Taylor,” Yantis said in a 2022 interview. “Median household income is not keeping pace with the median home prices in the area. One of the big goals is to diversify housing production and create more types of housing products and address the affordability gap.”
Yantis had previously indicated the community doesn’t want more neighborhoods where every house is the same, and he says Bancroft’s developers have already been working with the city to create a plan for reintegrating different housing types into their subdivision.
“The types of neighborhoods found in Taylor define the characteristics of a small town community and we want to see those characteristics carried forward,” the assistant city manager said.
Bancroft’s property is identified in the City’s Growth Sectors Map as both Future Growth Sector (the ETJ portion) and Infill Neighborhood Sector. Bancroft has requested to change the designation to Controlled Growth Sector Tier II. Basically this changes the land from one where growth is not intended in the near future, due to lack of infrastructure availability, to an area where expansion of infrastructure can happen.
Bancroft is also requesting to change the Future Land Use and Zoning Designations from Neighborhood Infill and Area of Minimal Change to Neighborhood Greenfield. Greenfield Neighborhoods are new communities that contain a wide mix of residential uses and neighborhood services.
According to a city document, the current designations are at least partially inaccurate due to the property’s adjacency to existing infrastructure.
“Area of Minimal Change was placed on all properties outside of the city limits and within the ETJ of Taylor,” the document states. “It is not the city’s intention to extend services to the Area of Minimal Change. However, the applicant is located immediately adjacent to the city limits and other areas of development.”
While the comprehensive plan is a guide for growth, Yantis indicated it was not meant to obstruct opportunities.
“If other properties that previously did not have access to utility infrastructure gain access to it then the city will consider amending the comprehensive plan for those properties,” he said.
Bancroft’s subdivision would add to an area already under heavy construction. Castlewood Subdivision, across FM 973 from Taylor High School, has some homes near completion and is expanding its footprint with Castlewood South in the planning stages. Miller and Miller North subdivisions, two parcels bookending FM 973 along Carlos G Parker Blvd., are expected to have 700 multifamily units once developed.
“The FM 973 corridor has already seen significant increase in traffic in the last year and is expected to be one of the highest traffic corridors in the city in the next couple of decades. So effective traffic management is going to be critical in that corridor despite what happens with us,” Bancroft said.
The property owner said that his company was ready to pay their fair share for streets and other infrastructure upgrades and extensions needed for the subdivision. He also said the site would generate significant revenue for the city.
“Based on a fiscal impact analysis that we’re working on, the city could expect to see revenue north of $24,000 an acre upon completion including property and sales tax revenue,” Bancroft said.
City Council is expected to consider the ordinance for approval at the July 13 meeting, though the agenda has not been published yet.
