MIDLAND, Texas — Betenbough Homes LLC is planning on bringing in over 1,300 new homes as part of their Mockingbird Ridge development project.
They had some hurdles to jump through. One of those hurdles was cleared on Monday when the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a recommendation to rezone certain zoning districts in the northeast corner of the intersection at Fairgrounds Rd. and Firewheel Rd.
“The request has was to rezone to plan development, which is a type of zoning district that allows the developer to modify some of the regulations in order to build out the product that the community really needs, while also providing for some amenities like park space,” said Elizabeth Triggs, planning and development officer for the City of Midland.
The land in question is around 300 acres in total, while most of it would be used for homes. Betenbough plans to develop other amenities alongside those homes.
“All things like trails, things like tree lined streets, parks, playgrounds...all those kinds of things are really important to making a quality neighborhood,” Triggs said.
All of this is part of a comprehensive plan called Tall City Tomorrow, a plan designed with long-term development in mind.
“Whenever we look at a new development, we look to make sure that it makes sense for the long term growth of the city by looking at the different policy recommendations in Tall City Tomorrow," Triggs said. "This development fits in line perfectly with what our comprehensive plan calls for this area should be primarily developed for new homes for our community.”
With Midland growing at the rate it is, Triggs believes that development like this is exactly what the Tall City needs.
“It’s just really important that we have this range of product to offer, especially as Midland is growing," Triggs said. "We know that Midland is growing well over four percent over the last several years and it will continue to grow, so we expect the demand to be there.”
After the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the recommendation, it will now go to Midland City Council to be approved.