Zoning changes for a retail/office development with a prairie theme off FM 2499 in Flower Mound were approved Monday night by the town council.
The council voted 5-0 in favor of a request to rezone land in the proposed Prairie Commons development from Single-Family District-10 to Planned Development District No. 142 with Retail District-2 and Office District uses with certain modifications, exceptions and waivers to the code of ordinances, and to consider adopting an ordinance providing for said amendment.
Plans for the 6.4-acre tract of land that will house 10 retail/office buildings, were approved with conditions by the town’s planning and zoning commission last week. It is situated east of FM 2499, west of Yucca Drive and north of Sagebrush Drive.
The project is just to the west of the Thorn Hill subdivision, and is part of SPA 1 in the town’s master plan. It calls for prairie grasses and native landscape elements in place of some shade trees in islands. Owner Bill Neiman would like it to be self-sustainable and require little, if any, water.
“Talk about a rural flavor. This is it!” resident Carol Kohankie told the council. “This is so imaginative. This is exciting. I understand the people across the street have some legitimate suggestions and concerns … but I say let’s go for this. This is awesome.”
A couple minor exceptions to code were requested, but the largest and most concerning issue planners and residents had with the project is the amount of traffic it could potentially funnel into Thorn Hill.
Plans called for three drives from the development onto Yucca Drive, with one of them being directly across from Stone Bridge Drive. As part of the P&Z approval, that drive was removed from the plans.
The project will head back before the P&Z as it moves along in the approval process.
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