PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION APPROVES PDD
The Brenham Planning and Zoning Commission approved recommending to the Brenham Council the Planned Development District proposed by Stylecraft Builders. The item was tabled last week during a joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission after members stated they needed more time to get questions answered about the development.
Stylecraft Builders has asked that the property, located on the Highway 36 Loop between Dixie Road and the U.S. 290 cloverleaf, be annexed into the city as a Planned Development District (PDD). The city council and zoning commission were scheduled to discuss and possibly act on the request last Thursday to change zoning for the development from single-family residential to a PDD.
As a PDD, developers agree to make certain concessions, like more greenspace, in exchange for design flexibility. The PDD variance in the subdivision would include:
◾Minimum lot widths reduced from the required 60 feet to 55 feet.
◾Minimum lot depths are increased to 120 feet from the required 115 feet.
◾The applicants are requesting 7.5-foot side building setbacks (current requirement is 10 feet), a rear setback of 20 feet (current requirement is 25 feet) and a front setback of 20 feet (requirement is 25 feet).
◾Minimum lot size would be reduced to 6,600 square-feet. The current minimum is 7,000.
The zoning change recommendation will now go back before the City Council. The Council could not legally act on the zoning change until they received the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Cheaply made yes! Cheaply priced NO! I as a single mother working for the state, could never dream of buying one of those homes much less any other home in Brenham; the town where I grew up and I want my children to raise their children. I was fortunate enough to buy a house 20 odd years ago at a fairly reasonable price. Even if I sold my place, it includes small house with almost 3 acres, paid off the remainder of my loan and put the rest down as a down payment, I still could not afford a home in Brenham and don’t get me started on the TAXES!!
How about bringing the salaries up to what the national average is?
I’m not a big fan of their product, but they are building homes that people can afford. With property values in this town soaring, the average worker who wants to own a home is out of luck. So maybe we ought to address the ridiculous market values for land and homes in this area and the generally stagnant wages in this country rather than gripe that a company sees a market and is filling it, not to mention adding to the tax base of this city.
Until the housing market in Brenham is determined by Brenham salaries, and not what people from Houston are willing to pay, StyleCraft will thrive. Take away all StyleCraft homes and try to buy a house on a public servant’s salary, or as a first time home-buyer. The market from $150k-$250k is virtually non-existent… exactly where StyleCraft fits in.
Are they custom homes that belong on the north side of 290 West? Not even close. Do they fill an obvious niche? Definitely.
It’s simple supply/demand.
I’m all for progress but Stylecraft is the opposite of progress. We don’t need anymore cheap, crowded Stylecraft neighborhoods in Brenham. They build poor quality in a hurry because they want to make a quick buck. Say no to Stylecraft in Brenham.
Amen!! #Notostylecraft
I agree, a crowded neighborhood by the cloverleaf would make Brenham look trashy.
And the flyover they’re going to build when the cloverleaf is reworked will really add to the ‘small-town’ charm!
I just back in to Brenham, my home for two weeks a month. It is a shame to see a lack of leadership who fail to communicate effectively with their community. It is ashamed that taxpayers pay for a lame excuses for bad or proposed planning. If Brenham continues this path of of tit for tat transparency; the city will be incurring major growth failure issues.