Texas residents win land battle against developers who wanted to turn historic 19th-century farm into a mall

Residents of a small town outside Dallas have forced a developer to back out of plans to raze lush green farmland in their community and turn it into a shopping center.

The Haggards, one of Plano’s most notable families, own the 13.5-acre portion of the farm that they planned to convert into a Sprouts supermarket, retail space and about 33 townhomes.

The Fairview Farm Land Company, led by a member of the Haggard family, appealed to the City of Plano to rezone this land so that the new development could proceed.

But homeowners opposed the idea, sending hundreds of opposition messages to Plano officials, NBC Dallas Fort Worth reported.

All the pressure from locals seemed to force Fairview Farm Land Company’s hand and in a shock, it sent a request to the city asking it to withdraw the rezoning application.

“While we hoped that our proposed development would be seen as a positive addition, it is clear that this is not the case and we do not want to proceed with something that does not have the full support of the community. Thank you for your attention,” the company wrote via proxy.

The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to accept the request, leaving the proposed shopping center dead in the water.

“It’s such a residential area, we wanted to keep it that way,” said Sara Stettler, a resident who owns a home near the Haggard farm.

“We have plenty, lots and lots of empty malls available, so we didn’t feel like it needed to be built here,” she added.

Sara Stettler, pictured, opposed the new use of the land and preferred it remain residential

Christina Day, Plano’s planning director, said it’s not common for a developer — in this case, the Haggard family — to invest time and resources, get this far in the approval process and abruptly withdraw.

“It’s not unheard of, but it’s rare,” Day said.

“It doesn’t mean they can’t bring a new case forward at some point,” she added.

The 13.5-acre site is already zoned for single-family homes or townhomes, but not retail, meaning the Haggards could move forward with a revised residential-only proposal.

Over the years, the Haggard family has sold or developed portions of their vacant land.

The developers quit, stating that the project would not move forward without the full support of the community

In 2021, the City Council approved a massive new mixed-use development on 124 acres of Haggard farmland on the east side of the Dallas North Tollway.

Construction is well underway and the new area will include a hotel, restaurant, commercial buildings and residences, NBC Dallas Fort Worth reported at the time.

Day acknowledged that despite the 2021 approval, which also drew massive community opposition, the city has policies in place to prevent stores from popping up and overwhelming the area.

“We have a longstanding policy of restricting zoning and retail development in the city wherever possible, and that’s because we realize we have three times the amount of retail sales than the national average,” Day said.

Stettler urged her fellow residents to continue organizing, as future developments that will change the character of Plano cannot be ruled out.

“If something is not good for Plano, we have to make our voices heard, and in this regard it has worked, so we are very happy that they listened,” Stettler said.