State housing law reshapes Plano apartment growth decisions

Heritage Creekside, the 156-acre mixed-use site near U.S. 75, the President George Bush Turnpike, Plano Parkway and Alma Drive, has become one of the clearest local tests of Texas’ new apartment law. Senate Bill 840 is changing how much say Plano has over where apartments go, how fast they move, and how much the city can reshape proposals before they advance.

The law was passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025, and took effect Sept. 1, 2025. It applies to cities with more than 150,000 residents in counties with more than 300,000 people, which puts Plano squarely in scope. Plano’s own land-use page says the city is responding to SB 840 and SB 15 as part of a broader wave of 2025 state housing laws, a shift that matters in a city of 299,262 people inside Collin County, which the U.S. Census Bureau estimated at 1,297,179 on July 1, 2025.

Plano was already preparing for the change before the law took effect. City leaders held a joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission work session on July 28, 2025, to review state land-use legislation, including SB 840. In August 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved ordinance changes to comply with the new state housing rules, and the city later approved zoning and subdivision changes tied to SB 840 and related bills.

That matters because Plano has long relied on detailed planning to guide growth, and its Comprehensive Plan 2021, adopted Nov. 8, 2021, was built around local control over redevelopment, infrastructure and neighborhood character. SB 840 narrows that control for eligible apartment and mixed-use projects, giving property owners more flexibility while limiting the city’s ability to slow or rework housing proposals in the same way it once could.

Heritage Creekside shows how that change can play out on the ground. Rosewood Property Company said it received zoning approval from Plano City Council on March 30, 2026, for a reimagined plan that puts more weight on residential and experiential retail uses than office space. Earlier, Plano Planning and Zoning commissioners approved amendments to the development standards on March 2, 2026, and City Council later approved changes on March 23, clearing the way for additional residential, retail and commercial uses. One later account said the updated plan could add as many as 2,342 homes.

For Plano residents, the question is no longer just whether apartments will come. It is where they will be built, how quickly they will move, and how much leverage the city still has to address traffic, school enrollment, parking and neighborhood compatibility as the next round of development decisions unfolds.