Town of Flower Mound, Texas

During her employment with Gateway Planning, Jay Narayana was the lead planner that helped facilitate the development of a mixed use ordinance for the Town of Flower Mound. The Town of Flower Mound, a third ring suburban community in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex was struggling with large areas of the city identified for office campus development that was yet to materialize. During the Town’s Master Plan update process, “Mixed Use” was identified as an important option for these large portions of the Town. While mixed use was the desired goal of the community, there was little consensus as to its on-the-ground implications. In other words, the community needed a clear definition of mixed use and a regulatory mechanism that balanced community interests while allowing developer flexibility.

The Town appointed a steering committee of neighborhood representatives, significant property owners, developers, appointed, and elected officials to work through the contentious issues related to mixed use development. Working through several meetings, the committee developed 16 core principles that became the foundation for the rest of the process.

To help illustrate the application of the mixed use core principles on a specific property, a Community Design Workshop was held in October 2007. This design workshop resulted in an illustrative plan that in turn helped with the development of the mixed use ordinance by identifying development opportunities and constraints that required specific attention to mixed use projects.

Based on the illustrative master plan developed, a mixed use ordinance was tailored to accommodate a community process for new, mixed use projects in the Town. The mixed use ordinance used modified transect-based “character zones” together with highly prescribed public realm standards. Specifically, the code established standards for adjacency and transitions to adjoining neighborhoods and arterial roadways while preserving environmental features as assets to the development. This code was adopted unanimously by the Town Council in the October 2008.

This project was undertaken when Ms. Narayana was employed by Gateway Planning Group. Images courtesy of Gateway Planning Group., Inc.