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Consider public testimony regarding, and an ordinance rezoning approximately 9.80 acres, southwest of the intersection of of S. Kenney Fort Blvd. and E. Palm Valley Blvd. from the PUD (Planned Unit Development) No. 91 zoning district to PUD (Planned Unit Development) No. 114 zoning district, to be known as Kalahari Commercial PUD. (First Reading)*
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This zoning application was filed by Vining & Associates, Inc., on behalf of the property owner City of Round Rock and developer Kalahari Resorts. Although this tract is located on the west side of S. Kenney Fort Blvd., it remained part of the larger Bison property, which was annexed in 2006 and provided with AG zoning. The current zoning (PUD #91) was adopted in 2012 with the vision of developing the area into a high density, urban-style mixed-use center. Permitted land uses include retail, office, hotels, multifamily, single-family attached dwelling units, manufacturing, and warehousing. The maximum height is 15 stories and all development was envisioned to be developed using Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) principles, entailing buildings constructed at the front lot lines, wide sidewalks, parking in the rear, and clustering of retail and service uses to minimize vehicle trips.
At the beginning of the PUD negotiation process with Kalahari, this tract was proposed to be included in the Kalahari PUD. As negotiations progressed, Kalahari representatives and city staff agreed this tract would be better suited to be regulated separately from the larger Kalahari PUD due to its location west of S. Kenney Fort Blvd. The proposal under consideration will rezone the property to Kalahari Commercial PUD, which will allow all uses in the C-1a (General Commercial - Limited) zoning district, with the addition of dormitory-style employee housing to accommodate full-time Kalahari Resort employees. Typical C-1a uses include retail sales and services, restaurants and bars, offices, hotels, and gas stations. All uses, including employee housing, will be required to abide by C-1a design and development standards, which limits height to five (5) stories. As it pertains to employee housing, the C-1a development standards represent an upgrade over the typical multifamily exterior wall finishes, while some of the more stringent architectural requirements in the multi-family districts will not apply.
Employee housing will not be required to provide on-site parking. This arrangement is typical for large-scale resort properties and is utilized by Kalahari at its resort in Wisconsin. Residents will have two options to reach the Kalahari property by foot: walk south to reach the Brushy Creek trail to safely cross under S. Kenney Fort Blvd., or walk north to the future intersection of Kalahari Blvd. and S. Kenney Fort Blvd., which will be signalized with crosswalks. All other uses will be required to provide parking in accordance with typical Code standards.
Planning & Zoning Commission Recommendation
The Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning at its meeting on March 7, 2018. A Kalahari representative clarified that employee housing would be for employees they might need to hire using the J-1 visa program, which typically brings foreign college students to the United States to work for and study the business of their sponsor for a period of a few months to up to a year at a time before returning home. One resident inquired about the maximum density for an employee housing structure, and the owner of an adjacent unzoned residential property expressed concerns regarding privacy should the property be developed as employee housing.