Title
[POSTPONED] To receive public comment and consider an application to rezone an approximately 36.476 tract of land located at the southwest corner of S Heatherwilde Blvd and W Pecan Street (Travis County Property Id: 506149, 363069, 363072, 275719, and 277262) from Planned Unit District (PUD) to Urban (Level 4: CL4); to be known as the Pecan District Rezoning (REZ2026-00250).
Summary
LOCATION: The subject properties are all located at the southwest corner of South Heatherwilde Boulevard and West Pecan Street. The properties lie north of Old Austin Pflugerville Road, west of South Heatherwilde Boulevard and south of West Pecan Street.
BACKGROUND/REQUEST: The subject property is an approximately 36.476-acre tract, located at the southwest corner of South Heatherwilde Boulevard and West Pecan Street. The property is currently a part of the Pecan District Planned Unit District (PUD) (originally The Commons at Pecan and Heatherwilde PUD). Phase 1 of the PUD is constructed and includes a Multi-Family Complex at the northwest corner of South Heatherwilde Boulevard and Old Austin Pflugerville Road. The PUD is meant to create a walkable, mixed-use compact community that has a wide variety of housing options, commercial and recreation choices. The base zoning for The Commons at Heatherwilde and Pecan is Urban Center (Level 5: CL5) with modifications to create compatibility across the development.
The applicant is seeking to rezone the remainder of the PUD to the Urban (Level 4: CL4) zoning district. The CL4 zoning is defined as a “district is intended to create vibrant and walkable neighborhoods and employment centers in the Mixed-Use Commercial and Innovation Center areas as geographically identified on the Future Land Use Map. The scale of structures in the Urban District is greater than that found in the Neighborhood District and with density sufficient to support a range of housing types. Commercial and retail services play an increased role relative to the Neighborhood District but remain supportive of surrounding neighborhoods and employment centers.”
SURROUNDING ZONING AND LAND USE: The table below identifies the base zoning districts and existing uses for properties surrounding the subject parcel.
|
Adjacent |
Zoning District |
Use |
Comprehensive Plan |
|
North |
General Business 1 |
Various commercial uses |
Mixed-Use Commercial |
|
East |
General Business 1 |
Single-Family Detached |
Institutional |
|
South |
Single Family- Suburban |
Public School |
Institutional |
|
West |
Agricultural/ Development Reserve |
Retail Commercial |
Mixed-Use Neighborhood |
ZONING HISTORY: The property was annexed in 1994 in a city-initiated annexation. The area included in the request has been rezoned several times through its history. The area was originally a part of the Pacana Alternative Land Use Regular (ALUR) or Planned Unit District (PUD) as it known today, in 2009. The regulations were updated in 2015, and the development became The Commons at Heatherwilde and Pecan. The name of the development changed when the first development plans were submitted to the City and is now known as the Pecan District.
PROPOSED DISTRICT: The applicant is proposing to rezone the property from the Pecan District PUD to the Urban (Level 4: CL4) to create a mixed-use district under the standards zoning regulations for the CL4 zoning district, that provides more flexibility than the current zoning allows.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Aspire Pflugerville 2040 Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map (FLUM) identifies the area Mixed-Use Neighborhood. The comprehensive plan describes the proposed future land use as follows:
According to the Comprehensive Plan, the Mixed-Use Neighborhood land use category is intended to create a development pattern that incorporates different uses such as office, retail, commercial and residential in one area. Mixed-use development can be either vertical or horizontal. Vertical mixed-use describes a single structure with multiple uses within the structure where typically retail or office is located on the ground floor while residential or office utilizes the upper floors. Horizontal mixed-use describes multiple uses next to each other in a single development or in proximity. Uses can be located within a single structure, or in separate buildings adjacent to each other. The mixed-use neighborhood developments are intended to encourage users to not rely on vehicles and promote a pedestrian friendly experience. By mixing uses and having them in proximity, developments are more walkable than traditional suburban commercial development. These types of developments generally incorporate amenities like plazas, public seating, and pedestrian features. The Mixed-Use Neighborhood land use category identifies a variety of housing options including bungalow/cottage court, triplex/fourplex, duplex, and townhomes to be appropriate residential building types. It also finds mixed-use neighborhood scale as an appropriate building type for commercial land uses and single-family small lot, accessory dwelling units, mixed-use community scale, neighborhood office and commercial, and neighborhood shopping center are listed as conditional as a primary use.
The applicant is currently pursuing a Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment to change the future land use to Mixed-Use Commercial. The proposed land use is described as:
According to the Comprehensive Plan, the Mixed-Use Commercial land use category is intended to include a range of residential and commercial uses including courtyard/garden apartments, urban apartment, mixed-use community scale, mixed-use regional scale. Developments in this land use category include high intensity mixed-use activity that is vertically integrated, that has compact block lengths and is pedestrian scale. Design should create a highly walkable urban form. Connections to surrounding residential should be thoughtfully integrated to provide safe and convenient connections to commercial provided within the land use category. Regional Office & Commercial and Regional Shopping Center are listed as conditional primary uses.
In addition to the Aspire Pflugerville 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the City has also adopted Mobility, Wastewater, and Water Master Plans all serve as an extension to the City’s comprehensive plan. In 2025, the City updated the Transportation Master Plan, as well as the Water and Wastewater Master Plans. In those documents, land use assumptions are made for parcels throughout the city, similar to the Future Land Use Map that was adopted with the 2040 Plan. The Master Plans are intended to guide the City of Pflugerville for short-term and long-term improvements to infrastructure within the public transit and utility systems. In these plans, this property is called out Mixed-Use Neighborhood. More specific to transportation, West Pecan Street and South Heatherwilde Boulevard are called out as arterial level streets. Arterials are high-capacity roads that are meant to move large volumes of traffic through the community.
Furthermore, the Aspire Pflugerville 2040 Comprehensive Plan established neighborhood districts and this property is located within the Western Gilleland District. The Western Gilleland District encompasses an area of the city south of Pflugerville Parkway, north of Wells Branch Parkway, and west of Heatherwilde Boulevard to the western city limits. This district encompasses an area that was largely annexed into the city already built out. Among the aspirational goals of the district are to “evaluate opportunities for redevelopment of more dense and intense uses in the Pecan Street Corridor” and to “support intense, dense mixed-use development at Heatherwilde Boulevard and Pecan Street, creating a walkable hub of activity near surrounding neighborhoods.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
The lots are located at the intersection of two arterial level roads and are in an area that can support intense mixed-use development. The current zoning for the properties is intended to create a walkable compact development that provides pedestrian friendly transportation and human scale mixed-use development. The applicant is requesting the rezoning to CL4 to allow for more flexibility of uses in the development and the ability to respond to market demands better than current zoning permits.
While the Aspire Pflugerville 2040 Comprehensive Plan does identify goals that support the diversity of housing types and calls for mixed-use within this area of the city, the current future land use does not support the request to rezone to Urban (Level 4: CL4).
Per UDC 3.7.2, the proposed rezoning request must be consistent with the future land use element of the Comprehensive Plan or must be accompanied with a request for an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. This rezoning request was submitted along with a Comprehensive Plan Amendment.
Staff recommends approval of this rezoning request to Urban (Level 4: CL4) zoning district with the following condition:
• The Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA2026-00278) to amend the future land use map from Mixed-Use Neighborhood to Mixed-Use Commercial is approved by City Council.
Without the approval to amend the Comprehensive Plan from Mixed-Use Neighborhood to Mixed-Use Commercial, the proposed zoning district (CL4) cannot be supported by city staff as the future land use would not support the intensity of the proposed district.
NOTIFICATION:
Notification was published in the Pflag, notification letters were mailed to property owners within 500 feet of the property, and five (5) signs were posted on the property. At time of staff report, no inquiries were received.
Drafter
Kristin Gummelt, AICP
Planner II
ATTACHMENTS:
Location Map
Zoning Map
The Commons at Heatherwilde and Pecan PUD
Development Regulations/Allowed Uses for Urban (Level 4: CL4)