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 the redevelopment of this area. This meeting is scheduled for City Council to hold a public hearing and first reading of Ordinance No. 2295 for the General Development Plan and Land Use Plan Amendment.

  

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. 

  

The Planning & Zoning Commission held its public hearing on February 14th. Several members of the public were present in the audience and made comments during the public hearing portion of the meeting. The public comments centered around similar themes that were expressed during the January joint workshop meeting with the City Council and Commission. They focused on traffic, crime, impacts on property values, and concern that there is not enough detail known at this time for the Commission to be able to make a recommendation. 

  

Several speakers from The Hill and other neighborhoods supported the proposal stating that there is a need for different housing types and a belief that a mixed-use walkable development would positively contribute to the area.

   

After significant discussion with City staff and Puma, the P&Z Commission Chair made a motion to approve the General Development Plan and Land Use Plan Amendment. The Commission then voted, which resulted in a 4-4 tie, thus providing a recommendation of denial to the Mayor and City Council.

 

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. 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 proposed revisions to the Imperial RAC description are 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 listservs, Facebook and Nextdoor
• Two town hall meetings (Dec. 8 and Dec. 15) which garnered 230 people to attend. A sentiment survey was distributed and responded to on-site during these events.

 

These efforts have ensured involvement from all surrounding neighborhoods. The engagement and external communications have been comprehensive and ongoing. These successful efforts have included extensive media coverage that has included broadcast, print, and online stories; well-attended in-person meetings; active e-mail listserves; robust online content submissions; social media posts that achieved reach and engagement numbers exceeding normal results; a high volume of website traffic; and record-setting visits to the City’s online blog site.
  
As of the date of this report, we have received feedback from the community regarding this proposal. While we have received support for this project, especially from some of the surrounding communities, there are members of the community that are in opposition, with some responding to several instances of misinformation in the community.