The purpose of this workshop is to review and discuss the action steps necessary to prepare Lake Pointe for redevelopment. The existing 52-acre Fluor campus (located along Creekbend Dr and Fluor Daniel Dr), which dates back to the 1980s, offers a significant prospect for redevelopment within this regional hub, while the remaining residential, retail, commercial, and hospitality areas, established more recently, are anticipated to remain largely unchanged in the foreseeable future. Planned Community Developers currently has the Fluor campus under contract with plans to develop it and several adjacent properties into an approximately 69-acre mixed-use area known as Lake Pointe Plaza.

The actions necessary to prepare Lake Pointe for redevelopment include: an amendment to the Land Use Plan; adoption of a Development Code update, establishing a new zoning district; rezoning 69 acres to the new zoning district; and approval of a Redevelopment Concept Plan for Lake Pointe Plaza. This workshop is a continuation of the Commission workshop held on September 28, where staff provided an overview of the upcoming process, reviewed the first part of the Development Code revisions and shared a brief overview the proposed Lake Pointe Plaza development.

Land Use Plan Amendment

In 2018 City Council adopted an update to the City’s Land Use Plan, Chapter 6 of the Comprehensive Plan, which guides the development and redevelopment of Sugar Land into the future. It does so by outlining policy direction and guidance for making land use decisions and reaching the City’s long-term vision. An essential element of the long-term vision is the creation of Regional Activity Centers and Neighborhood Activity Centers (RACs and NACs). The Areas of Change section of the Plan established a vision, including the mix of uses envisioned and a designated number of multi-family units, based on community preferences for each of the Regional Activity Centers. The Land Use Plan designated 444 multi-family units for the Lake Pointe RAC. 

Since the 2018 update to the Land Use Plan, market conditions have changed drastically. COVID-19 significantly impacted the office market and retail continues to evolve; the RAC will not have as much office as originally projected. As a result, residential uses of all types will comprise more of the Lake Pointe Regional Activity Center RAC than originally anticipated. To make the existing Fluor campus redevelopment financially feasible, an additional 700 multi-family units are needed. These additional units trigger a Land Use Plan amendment to designate a total of 1,100 multi-family units for the entire Lake Pointe RAC. The draft Land Use Plan amendment is attached for the Commission’s review, as is the existing Areas of Change section for Lake Pointe RAC. The full Land Use Plan is available at  www.sugarlandtx.gov/LandUsePlan. At a future meeting, the Commission will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to City Council on the Lake Use Plan amendment for the Lake Pointe Regional Activity Center.

Development Code Amendment and Rezoning of 69-Acre Redevelopment Area (Existing Fluor Campus)

Since the September 28 workshop, staff has continued to refine the Development Code amendment, including revising the name of the new zoning district. The district will be titled the Lake Pointe Redevelopment District, to clearly indicate that it is intended for the 69-acre proposed Lake Pointe Plaza alone, and no other areas of the City.

This workshop will focus on the remaining draft Development Code sections not reviewed during the September 28 P&Z workshop: Sections 2-117 and 2-123-125. A copy of the entire draft Code amendment is attached. Note that Sections 2-118-122 reflect the changes made since and as a result of the September 28 P&Z workshop.

The September 28 workshop focused on Sections 2-118 through 2-122. One member of the public spoke during the public comment period and the Commission held a discussion regarding these sections. Below is a summary of items the Commission recommended staff revisit:

• Consider using a floor-to-area ratio to regulate building height and mass.
• Reevaluate how Pedestrian Enhancement Zone light spacing is measured.
• Clarify fence regulations for types of housing.
• Clarify height in bulk regulations to be more consistent with the standard code.
• Confirm references to MU-N have been removed.
• Various grammatical revisions and graphical improvements for readability and to refine intent.

The new Lake Pointe Redevelopment District will be established by the Development Code amendment. For the district to be applied to the 69-acre proposed Lake Pointe Plaza area, City Council must approve a rezoning for the property.  At a future meeting, the Commission will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to City Council on the Development Code amendment and the rezoning for the 69-acre property to Lake Pointe Redevelopment District.

Redevelopment Concept Plan for Lake Pointe Plaza

The Redevelopment Concept Plan is a new process being created by the Development Code amendment for the Lake Pointe Redevelopment District. The Concept Plan provides the opportunity for the public, Commission, and Council to evaluate the location of proposed uses and their relationship to the surrounding area to ensure negative impacts are minimized. Because the Redevelopment Concept Plan is intended to allow flexibility as the project builds out over many years, it does not include the same level of detail as typically shown in Planned Developments (PD). This will enable the development to be responsive to the market as conditions change. Section 2-124 of the draft Development Code amendment establishes the requirements for the Redevelopment Concept Plan. A draft Redevelopment Concept Plan for Lake Pointe Plaza is attached for the Commission’s review. In the future, the Commission will hold a public hearing and provide a recommendation to Council on the Redevelopment Concept Plan for Lake Pointe Plaza.

Community Engagement

Over the past year, staff have utilized numerous opportunities to present the City Council’s top priority – redevelopment – to the community. Those opportunities included physical and digital partnerships through digital media, including social networks, local newspapers, and the city website. As of October 2023, staff has presented redevelopment and supporting data to over 1,000 attendees across 30+ community meetings and at City-sponsored events. Additionally, on October 18, 2023 staff and Planned Community Developers held a community meeting with HOAs in the Lake Pointe area. The meeting provided area residents the opportunity to hear about the proposed Lake Pointe Plaza project and the necessary action steps for preparing Lake Pointe for redevelopment.

Next Steps

Following this workshop, staff will refine the draft Development Code amendment based on input from the Planning & Zoning Commission. On November 14, the Commission will hold a public hearing and then make recommendations to City Council on the action steps above.