November 6, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

Cottonwood, the proposed development that includes Costco, will be considered by the Flower Mound Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday.

The project has garnered interest from the public, not just because of the popular retailer, but also because of the added road congestion that is expected to come into an area already teeming with regional, retail, and school traffic. The land is east of FM 2499 and south of Justin Road. It is next to Marcus High School’s athletic fields on Dixon Lane.

The commission heard details about the project in an August work session. Since then, there have been some changes to the project that may clear the way for it to be approved before the end of the year.

The 86-acre planned development includes fast food restaurants, Crunch Fitness, Costco and its gas station, office showroom, and light manufacturing. It will require a master plan amendment and zoning change.

Under the current master plan, half of the property is designated as commercial and industrial and the other half is office. The developer, Cottonwood Development Partners, would like the keep the commercial and industrial section as-is but change the designation of office to mostly retail.

The land is currently zoned for agricultural uses.

There are no homes adjacent to the property, but the development’s impact on the surrounding area will be taken into consideration.

A 400-page traffic impact analysis submitted in August showed there would need to be several improvements to roads and intersections near Cottonwood if it were to move forward.

Whyburn Drive, a north-south road that is planned to run along the east side of the development, was originally designed with 60 feet of right of way. Now, it’ll be 70 feet.

There was some back-and-forth at the planning and zoning commission work session about installing a traffic signal versus a roundabout because of right-of-way issues and Mayor Pro Tem Adam Schiestel said he would like to tie approval of the project to the guarantee there would be a roundabout.

A roundabout has a higher of level of service and the plan was updated to include that feature, according to the application’s letter of intent.

On the north side, the intersection of Whyburn Drive and Justin Road should be signalized, the report said. That is subject to TXDOT approval since Justin Road is FM 407, a state road.

Inside the property, the developer initially wanted to remove 31 specimen trees — ones that are of a certain size and species — but reworked plans after pushback from the Environmental Conservation Commission, particularly about four trees near the fuel center.

The concept plan has changed slightly so that a pecan tree with a diameter at breast height of 45 inches will still stand, along with a 21.5-inch post oak and 32.5-inch pecan tree.

“Building locations have shifted, parking lots have been revised, and some retaining walls have been added in an effort to save trees through the design process,” the letter of intent said.

The developer is asking to remove 27 specimen trees.

In the development package, there are five exceptions requested.

They are asking for a “meritorious architectural feature” to allow the red band that stretches across the outside of Costco.

Costco also requires more parking spots than what is required by the town: one spot for every 250 square feet, or 672 spaces. The town allows a 20 percent deviation from that number, but the developer is asking for 898 spots, about 25 percent over.

On the north side of the property, the developer is asking to minimize driveway spacing to “accommodate the unique operational characteristics of a high-volume quick-service restaurant.” The development package shows concepts for a Chick-fil-A and some have expressed concern about making an exception for a certain brand, particularly one that is not contributing more to the tax base, only moving locations from a few blocks east.

If the planning and zoning commission votes on the project Monday, it will be a recommendation for town council, who will have the final say.