FRISCO, Texas — Frisco City Council and the city's Planning & Zoning Commission both approved the zoning permit for a new Universal Studios theme park, allowing the park's builders to begin construction.
The deal between Universal and the city will likely include economic incentives, Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney told the Dallas Business Journal in an interview following the announcement of the project.
The vote on a zoning permit for the park had been delayed twice before this.
The project has met some blowback from city residents fearing an increase in traffic from the project, which includes a theme park and a 300-room hotel on a 97-acre plot of land near Dallas North Tollway and Panther Creek Parkway.
At 9:57 p.m. on Tuesday, the city council voted to approve the permit. Four council members voted in favor, one voted against and one abstained.
"I’m embarrassed for you and I’m embarrassed for the city of Frisco on how this project that’s been shoved down our throats, completely shoved down our throats," said one resident at the meeting.
The city says Universal's proposed traffic count is 20% of what is predicted for the site. The city also says it's equivalent to having a Costco.
A traffic impact analysis, TIA, was conducted on the project. The report revealed that a Universal theme park would have four times fewer the amount of traffic compared to a mixed-use development. According to the traffic report, there is an estimated 7,600 projected daily trips with the Universal project as opposed to 28,000 projected daily trips for a mixed-used development at that location.
However, the amount of daily trips projected for a Saturday at the amusement park is 14,880, while a mixed-use development projects 12,648 daily trips.
"These are not NIMBYS, these are DRMYS, Don't Ruin My Backyard," said one representative with the Planning and Zoning Committee.
There is still construction scheduled to expand the Dallas North Tollway by 2025. That may ease some concerns.
The city estimates the project will have a $1.8 billion impact to the city. City sales and property taxes are estimated to be $30 million over the first 10 years of the theme parks. Hotel occupancy taxes are estimated to be $16.7 million over the first ten years.
The applicant, Universal, made a verbal commitment to the Cobb Hill community about erecting a wall that would ensure some security of the neighborhood. Cobb Hill is the nearest housing development to the proposed theme park along Dallas North Tollway and Panther Creek Parkway.
The park will be a kids-themed park with family-friendly immersive experiences and rides involving Universal movies, executives said when they announced the park.
“We wanted to come to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, because this is one of the largest in the country, and it’s one for the fastest growing,” Page Thompson, Universal’s President of New Ventures told WFAA at the time of the announcement.
“And within that, we picked Frisco because it’s just a very dynamic, exciting city," Thompson added. "You can see the growth all around you. And it has a really high family population and just seemed like the perfect place for us to go.”
The name for the park has yet to be announced.