What to watch: The Midland Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, August 3, to consider a rezoning request for a proposed 20-acre housing development at Arlington Road and Deauville Boulevard, along with ten plat requests across the city, including a final plat for the Solomon Estates neighborhood at North A Street and Mockingbird Lane.

Key points:

  • 20-acre housing development: Commissioners will consider a request to rezone a 20-acre tract at the southwest corner of Arlington Road and Deauville Boulevard from a multiple-family dwelling district to a planned development (PD) district for a housing development (location shown in image above).

PD districts let the city create customized rules for a specific project instead of applying the standard zoning rules. While PDs can serve a purpose, they aren’t always necessary. Midland’s Tall City Tomorrow comprehensive plan warns that the “abundant use of PDs has created inconsistent design patterns and left many developers unsure of the city’s expectations.”

  • Solomon Estates moves forward: Commissioners will consider the next legal step for the Solomon Estates subdivision at North A Street and Mockingbird Lane by reviewing a final plat that legally divides the land into buildable lots, along with restrictive covenants, which are the private deed restrictions that will govern the neighborhood.

The subdivision’s rezoning drew protest from neighboring property owners before the City Council approved it in June after the developer agreed to make the Alysheba Lane access an exit-only gate for residents, leaving Mockingbird Lane as the primary entrance.

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  • Solomon Lane rezone: Commissioners will also review a request to rezone a tract at the southwest corner of Solomon Lane and Acorn Lane from an agricultural estate district to a single-family dwelling district.
  • Subdivision requests: Commissioners will consider four additional final plats and five preliminary plats. Property owners commonly request replats when they want to develop land, adjust property boundaries, combine or split lots, or otherwise change the legal configuration of a property.

One of the final plats involves a 24-acre tract in Midland’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), an area outside the city limits where Midland still has limited authority over subdivision plats. State law does not require cities to maintain an ETJ, and property owners may petition to remove their land from the ETJ.