The purpose of this agenda item is for the Commission to hold a public hearing, review and make a recommendation to City Council on a Land Use Plan Amendment for the Lake Pointe Regional Activity Center.  

This is one of the actions steps necessary to prepare Lake Pointe for redevelopment. The other actions necessary to prepare Lake Pointe for redevelopment include amending the Development Code to establish a new zoning district and rezoning approximately 69 acres to the new zoning district; and approving a Redevelopment Concept Plan for Lake Pointe Plaza. The Commission held two workshops to discuss the redevelopment of Lake Pointe on September 28 and October 26.  

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. 

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 than originally anticipated. It is necessary to increase the overall number of multi-family units to 1,100 in the Lake Pointe RAC to make the existing Fluor campus redevelopment financially feasible. This is 656 units more than the currently allotted 444 units and triggers 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 2018 Areas of Change section for Lake Pointe RAC. The full Land Use Plan is available at  www.sugarlandtx.gov/LandUsePlan.  

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. To date, staff has presented redevelopment and supporting data to over 1,000 attendees across 30+ community meetings and at city sponsored events. On October 18, 2023 staff and Planned Community Developers held a community meeting with HOAs in the Lake Pointe area. The meeting provided approximately 60 area residents the opportunity to hear about the proposed Lake Pointe Plaza project and the necessary action steps for preparing Lake Pointe for redevelopment.  

Public Hearing Notice  

The Notice of Public Hearing was published in a newspaper of general circulation and on the City of Sugar Land’s Internet Home Page. All property owners within 200’ of Lake Pointe Plaza were notified via mail. The public hearing notice included a link to an online form that can be submitted to provide comments in advance of the meeting. As of the date of this report, we have not received any public feedback regarding this item. 

Recommendation  

Staff recommends the Commission hold the public hearing and provide a recommendation to City Council. Staff supports a recommendation of approval to the Mayor and City Council.  

Next Steps  

Following this meeting, City Council will be holding their public hearing and first reading of the ordinance at their December 5, 2023 meeting.