Recap of DeSoto City Council Public Hearing On “Hampton Road Character Code”
The first item on last Tuesday’s meeting was to conduct a Public Hearing and consider Ordinance rezoning properties within the new “Hampton Road Character Code” zoning area. The properties within the “Hampton Road Character Code” zoning area will be rezoned from their current multiple zoning districts to the following five (5) new zoning districts: 1. Urban Center, 2. Urban General, 3. Neighborhood Services, 4. Urban Neighborhood and 5. Neighborhood Transition. The applicant is the City of DeSoto. (Case #Z-1514-24)
BACKGROUND:
As far back as 2005, the City of DeSoto embarked on the creation of a central core with the redevelopment of the Hampton Road Corridor to a pedestrian-friendly, multi-modal destination for citizens and visitors. The creation of a destination that requires an approach to zoning that focuses on place and character, such as what is built, size, height, relationship to neighboring properties, parking, and signage that impact how the corridor develops as a pedestrian-friendly, multi-modal destination.
To ensure these outcomes, a character-based code for land development regulations was needed and on April 5, 2022, the City Council approved the contract with Halff Associates for the creation of a character-based zoning area along the Hampton Road corridor.
As a part of the planning process for the Hampton Road Character Codes, Halff Associates conducted community input meetings to keep the residents informed and engaged in the process and to create the opportunity for residents to provide input into the development of the project.
Halff Associates conducted a public input and engagement meeting on November 6, 2023, conducted open house and open drop-in sessions on February 1, 2 and 3, 2024.
Halff Associates also assisted the City with the development of a Zoning Advisory Board (consisting of staff members, developers, Hampton Road property owners, a Planning & Zoning Commission member, and other stakeholders) in order to review the proposed amendments to DeSoto’s Land Development Regulations within Hampton Road.
On March 5, 2024, the City Council approved an Ordinance (by a vote of 4-3) amending the City’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and officially establishing a new Hampton Road Character Code section consisting of the following five (5) new zoning districts: 1. Urban Center (UC), 2. Urban General (UG), 3. Neighborhood Services (NS), 4. Urban Neighborhood (UN) and 5. Neighborhood Transition (NT).
It is important to note that area homes and businesses already existing will not be impacted or forced to change and it will only affect new development in those areas.
The Hampton Road Character Code zoning area is generally located along a one-mile section of Hampton Road (just north of Pleasant Run Road to just south of Belt Line Road) and along sections of Pleasant Run Road and Belt Line Road. The properties within this area consist of approximately 423 acres with 466 individual properties being considered for rezoning as summarized below.
Urban Center (UC) (purple)
The Urban Center (UC) district will consist of multi-unit residential and mixed-use commercial centers. The buildings will be three to five stories vertically integrated to support a mixture of uses. Land uses within this district are intended to have the highest intensities and densities along the corridor and may include a mixture of residential, commercial and office uses.
The Urban Center district will have activated pedestrian spaces and frontage zones to create a human-scale environment.
There are a total of ninety-nine properties that will be rezoned from their current zoning districts to Urban Center (UC) zoning district.
Urban General (UG) – Grayish Color