Grand Prairie City Council

Welcome to Ultraground. We decipher design preferences for you.

CC December 12, 2023

District: 2 | South Grand Prairie

• 300-Unit Mixed-use | 901 E Fish Creek Rd | Tabled

District: 4 | Southwest Grand Prairie

• 450-Unit Multifamily | 4610 S Great Southwest Pkwy | Tabled

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DISTRICT: 4

Great SW Parkway 4610 S Great Southwest Pkwy

Southwest Grand Prairie | 31.85 Acres | 450 Units | Tabled to 1/9/24

In Grand Prairie, getting Council approval means deciphering what they “like.”

The recent City Council debate over the concept plan for JPI’s 450-unit Great Southwest Parkway shines a light on some of the complexities of the approval process that are important to detail.

In particular, the relationship between concept plans and site plans puzzled some of the Council Members. Let’s clarify the implications as they relate to the “dirt rights,“ as the Mayor mentioned.

The key is that once a Planned Development (PD) zoning is in place like on this site, the City requires a PD master plan amendment and associated concept plan detailing the proposed development before considering approval of a site plan. The concept plan stage allows the City to provide input on the layout, orientation, and design elements.

However, their ability to deny a concept plan is limited if the use itself (in this case multifamily) is already permitted by the existing PD zoning. They can request changes, but outright denial risks legal retaliation since you as the developer possess the land use rights through the zoning.

As such, the site plan becomes harder for the City to deny as long as you have an approved concept plan and are not deviating from what they already accepted. This means in present and future cases, you hold the cards once you have PD zoning in place. The City must articulate particular and defensible planning reasons to reject your plans at any stage, or they undermine their legal standing if you sue based on depriving your land use rights.

Specific reasons discussed by the Council Members that could potentially justify the denial of the concept plan:

• Planning Director Rashad Jackson said that if there's something that's “detrimental to their design, detrimental to the surrounding area, where a drive is, where the building is located" they may have grounds for denying the particular concept plan on planning merits. However, they agreed the use itself (apartments) could not be prohibited.

• City Attorney Megan Mahan said if the presented concept plan is “absolutely not in line with the vision of Council," they could deny the concept plan. Mahan defined the “vision of the Council” as the “design and layout” that they prefer.

Council Member Jorja Clemson asked about the differences between these concept renderings and the final built photos of another more urban product shown as a reference. They preferred the “urban” mixed-use design style of the other product over the “modern farmhouse” design proposed here.

The two compared projects differ in use and site surroundings. However, the Council argued that there was a difference in quality between the finished renderings of the other project and the initial concept plans presented for this project. In Grand Prairie, they compare initial concept renderings to final-built photos.

The Mayor put his preferences more bluntly:

Mayor Jensen threw out his ability to table the project multiple times. His reasoning was based on his personal design preferences, but he gave few specific and actionable changes for the developer. Bryan Grant of JPI attempted to reason with him, asking him what he “likes.”

He chose one of the developer’s final built images, saying simply to make this project “more like that one.”

There was more negative sentiment towards new development outside of design. Council Member Mike Del Bosque questioned how long the developer will hold the property before “flipping it.” Bosque was concerned with what type of product the developer would “leave them with.”

If you don’t have the right to build by the PD zoning, Mayor Pro Tem Lopez said how hard it is to get a rezoning here.

Mayor Jensen tabled the project to January 9th, 2024. There was no Council acknowledgment of the 450 future tax-paying residents that will live here.

Developer: JPI Companies, Bryan Grant LinkedIn

Staff Report: ZON-23-10-0034

Project Plans: ZON-23-10-0034 Concept Plan

DISTRICT: 2

Prose Westcliff 901 E Fish Creek Rd

South Grand Prairie | 14.16 Acres | 300 Units | Tabled

Context:

• Proposed 10-building, 300-unit apartment complex.

• Located near highway and other existing/planned apartments.

• Currently designed as more affordable units ($1.72-$1.85/SF).

Feedback Details:

• Strong opposition to visual appearance as "blah" (Mayor Jensen) and "basic" (Council Member Jacquin Headen).

• Emphasized repeatedly that the Council is "tired" (Mayor Jensen) of unappealing apartment buildings.

• Invitation to meet one-on-one to discuss more “creative” (Council Member Jacquin Headen) options.

Takeaways:

• Affordability remains important but design aesthetics are a top priority.

• Vague design standards are difficult to pin down, with no prescriptive direction given.

• Expect significant pushback if perceived as visually unappealing.

• Be prepared to discuss specific details on building materials, architectural variety, colors, and landscaping.

• Want visually appealing renderings at the concept phase.

• If possible, meet with Council members one-on-one early for feedback.

• Seek inspiration from other developers’ projects approved in this area.

While these subjective standards make it unclear to know precisely what the Council prefers architecturally, the “quality” baseline seems to be increasing based on the strong negative response this project received.

Developer: Alliance Realty Partners, David Dierkes LinkedIn Email: [email protected]

Attorney: Michael Clark, ML Clark Consulting, LLC

Staff Report: ZON-23-10-0034

Project Plans: ZON-23-10-0034 Concept Plan

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