Redevelopment of the Imperial Char House is the City Council’s top priority. As such, the City is partnering with Puma Development to bring forward a framework for redevelopment of this area. This meeting is to hold a public hearing followed by Consideration and Action on the Imperial Historic District General Development Plan (GDP) and Land Use Plan Amendment, and to provide a recommendation to the Mayor and City Council.

  

At this time, the historic Imperial Char House is the focus of Puma’s development plans, which is proposed to be adaptively reused as an office/ co-working building. Puma anticipates future plans for the remaining area to include multi-family, medium density (e.g., townhomes and urban homes), and single-family residential, retail, services, and other supporting uses.

  

This meeting is scheduled to hold a public hearing followed by Consideration & Action for a recommendation to the Mayor and City Council. This phase of the project has an accelerated timeline due to the need for Puma to close on purchasing the land. As such, it is critical for the Commission to provide their recommendation at this meeting so that the City Council can proceed with their scheduled public hearing and first reading of the ordinance at the February 21st meeting.

  

Land Use Plan Amendment 

The Land Use Plan – Chapter 6 of the Comprehensive Plan – identifies this area as part of the Imperial Regional Activity Center. It is envisioned to be a mixed-use, walkable area that draws people from around the region. Though the proposed redevelopment vision is consistent with the overall vision established for Activity Centers, modifications to the Areas of Change section of the Plan are recommended. The Areas of Change section of the Plan includes vision statements for each Regional Activity Center. The 2018 vision was based on the Imperial Market PD Final Development Plan, which did not come to fruition due to financing challenges. Draft revisions to the Land Use Plan provide more general descriptions of the vision for the area and increase the anticipated number of multi-family units. These changes will provide the City and Puma the flexibility needed to ensure the viability of the Char House reuse. The draft revisions to the Imperial RAC description is attached as part of this report.

  

PD - General Development Plan 

The property proposed for rezoning is currently zoned PD – Final Development (Imperial Market) and PD – General Development Plan (Imperial). This proposed Imperial Historic District GDP will replace the existing zoning approvals that are on the property. The proposed General Development Plan includes a list of proposed uses, general development standards, and a general site layout plan. The proposed GDP also addresses unique site elements such as the preservation of historic buildings and large existing trees found on the site.  The proposed GDP is consistent with the requirements established in the Development Code for GDPs.

  

Community Engagement 

The City has taken a different approach to community engagement with this project by bringing in the community early, a step we’re calling Step Zero (before land is even acquired). From town hall meetings and social media, to blog posts and earned media spots with major news outlets, the tactics executed through the engagement plans have ensured maximum exposure for this project. Some of those tactics include:

 

• A landing page on the city’s website (https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/2328/Imperial-Char-House-Preservation) with timeline, FAQs, an option to provide comments or questions and an option to sign up for updates every time there is movement on the project.
• A small meeting with resident leaders in the community to personally meet the developer
• A news release inviting people to two town hall meetings about the project
• A blog post inviting people to attend the two town hall meetings
• Digital invitations to townhalls sent via listserves, Facebook and Nextdoor
• Two town hall meetings (Dec. 8 and Dec. 15) which garnered 230 people to attend. A sentiment survey was disputed and responded to on-site during these events.

 

These tactics (earned media, in-person meeting surveys, social media conversations) resulted in an overall project sentiment of 59 percent positive, 5 percent negative, and 36 percent neutral from Dec. 1, 2022 through Feb. 8, 2023. The majority of the sentiment focused on the support of preserving the Char House and excitement about breathing life into that space. In addition, the city has received 73 feedback forms through the project website, where 60% are explicitly in support of the project with 2% negative and 38% neutral. Over half of the positive supporters live within the RAC and want to see the project they've waited for, come to fruition.

 

As of the date of this report, we have received 46 online public comment forms, which are attached. While we have received support for this project, especially from some of the surrounding communities, many of these public comment forms are in opposition to the proposal and some are responding to several instances of misinformation in the community. Staff recommends a recommendation of approval of the Imperial Historic District General Development Plan and Land Use Plan Amendment to the Mayor and City Council.