The Murphy City Council has rejected a site plan for 32 townhomes on 3.2 acres at the southeast corner of North Murphy Road and Betsy Lane.
The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 7-0 in December to approve the application by ND Associates, but council denied the plan at the Tuesday, Jan. 6, meeting.
\u201cI\u2019m tired of all this crowding,\u201d Mayor Scott Bradley said after viewing the site plan. \u201cMy recommendation is for staff to take a look at the development on the other side of Betsy [Murphy Meadows]. I think that\u2019s the standard we should be looking at.\u201d
Reagan Rothenberger, director of community and economic development, said the property was zoned for single-family attached residential use under a planned development overlay approved 6-0 in November 2021. The original zoning was for neighborhood services, meaning retail.
Council discussed the proposal and took no vote before adjourning to executive session. After reconvening into open session, Councilmember Laura Deel made a motion to deny the application, which passed 6-1.
Councilmember Ken Oltmann voted against the denial after explaining why it was rezoned five years ago.
\u201cWhat I didn\u2019t want was two-story retail, which was what was allowed by rights there,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t like this density either, Mayor, I\u2019m just saying I\u2019m playing all the cards out.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m surprised and I\u2019m in shock,\u201d developer Syed Hussain said after the meeting.
The residential site plan for Pecan Meadows calls for eight buildings, accessed by public streets with a cul-de-sac at the eastern end of the property. The development would include entrances from both North Murphy Road and Betsy Lane, along with a previously approved hooded left-turn lane on westbound Betsy Lane. Existing sidewalks along both roadways would remain.
Rothenberger said the site plan substantially conformed to the concept plan approved by council in November 2021 with the primary change being the rearrangement of parking to address driveway access concerns identified during engineering review.
\u201cStaff is supportive of the new layout,\u201d Rothenberger said
Hussain told council the zoning had already been approved and his application was just for the site plan for high-end luxury townhomes. \u201cThese are not cheap, these are not cookie-cutter, this is a unique product that is not high density,\u201d he said.
Realtor Mary Pat Elledge said Murphy began a building explosion in the mid to late 1990\u2019s that lasted through 2018, when most of the bigger name home builders ran out of larger residential lands to build on.
\u201cThis left smaller areas of land for developers with innovative ideas for future growth to come in to build,\u201d Elledge said.<\/p>\n