Plano’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved a preliminary replat Nov. 2 that would allow part of a 27-acre parcel once owned by Baptist Meadows Church to be divided into lots for a 50-home development. The project is north of Meadows Baptist Church and directly across the street from Plano East Senior High School.
The replat also redraws the church’s boundaries to reflect the changed use of the northern portion of the property, according to Community Impact. It follows the Plano City Council’s unanimous approval of the residential development on April 27. The outlet reported that residents and council members who supported the project cited its proximity to Plano East Senior High School.
Lot Sizes Still a Moving Target
Exactly how big the individual lots will be remains a bit murky. The most recent report says the homes are planned on lots ranging from 7,000 to 10,063 square feet, according to city documents, while an earlier account of the same development described 7,000-square-foot lots generally, with 9,000-square-foot lots at the ends of blocks. That earlier reporting also noted that the larger, block-end lots are planned to have a three-car garage.
The broader development, covering 14.1 acres along Los Rios Boulevard, was approved unanimously by Plano officials in April, the outlet’s earlier coverage noted. Plans call for a 20-foot-wide landscape edge along the property’s western boundary, fitted with an 8-foot metal fence and a tree planted every 30 feet — details that have carried through from the April reporting to the current stage of approvals.
Not the Only East Plano Housing Shift
At nearby Heritage Creekside, plans have also shifted toward housing. The developer told reporters that much of the remaining development phases were no longer economically viable as originally envisioned. In March, the Plano City Council approved changes 5-2, reducing proposed office space from 1.6 million square feet to 293,000 square feet while increasing planned single-family homes from 291 to 342 and multifamily units from 1,300 to 2,000, Community Impact reported.
A Separate Heritage Creekside Rezoning
In a separate decision on March 23, the Plano City Council approved an ordinance rezoning 4.1 acres at the southeast corner of Plano Parkway and Custer Road from light industrial to urban mixed-use, allowing a mix of uses including residential and entertainment, according to the Plano Star Courier. That was a different site and a different kind of change from Meadows Brook’s replat, which would divide part of the former church parcel into residential lots.
These are separate land-use changes: Meadows Brook is advancing through a replat for residential lots, while Heritage Creekside has had changes to its development plans. For Meadows Brook, the preliminary replat is a procedural milestone rather than a finish line; the project’s construction timeline, builder and final pricing have not been detailed in available city records.
