McKinney | Historic, Airport and Flood

McKinney Historic Overlay, TMN Overlay, Airport Zones and Floodplain Rules

Three sets of McKinney rules sit on top of the zoning district and can change a plan for more homes: the H Historic Overlay and the TMN Traditional McKinney Neighborhood Overlay, the height zones around McKinney National Airport, and the floodplain rules in Article 8 of the Unified Development Code (UDC). This page gives each set, with the section for every number. The McKinney overview gives the short version.

The H Historic Overlay

An overlay district adds rules to the base zoning district under it. Sec. 204Z says the H Historic Overlay exists "to protect, enhance, and perpetuate districts and landmarks of historical and cultural importance." It combines two older overlays, the Historic Preservation Overlay and the Historic Commercial District Overlay, and its boundary is shown on the Official Zoning Map. The overlay has a Commercial Area and a Residential Area, and some rules differ between them. Sec. 204B.2 says an overlay rule applies whether it is stricter or looser than the base district.

Sec. 204Z.5 requires a certificate of appropriateness (COA), a written approval that the work suits the historic area, "prior to the commencement of any work or issuance of any permit" for:

• "Construction of a new building or structure, including an accessory dwelling unit";
• rebuilding, altering, expanding or demolishing any building, and any exterior feature "visible from a public right-of-way," including materials, windows, doors, lights, signs, fences and sidewalks;
• a change of exterior paint color in the Commercial Area; and
• a demolition permit for any property in the overlay or any historic landmark.

Routine maintenance and in-kind repair need no COA, and neither does repainting in the same color. In the Residential Area, painting, sidewalks and paving, landscaping, and fences that are not screening devices are also exempt. Sec. 204Z adds a rule against "Demolition by Neglect": an owner may not let a landmark or overlay property fall into "a serious state of disrepair," such as rotting walls or roofs or broken windows.

The overlay changes other numbers too. A house in the H Overlay needs 2 parking spaces instead of 4, and a backyard cottage there needs 1 space only if the lot has fewer than 3 (Table 2-9). TR1.8 lots in the overlay keep a 20-foot front setback and a 35-foot height. State law keeps these rules in force for apartments: Local Government Code 218.003 says chapter 218 does not affect a city's "regulations related to historic preservation."

How a Certificate of Appropriateness Is Decided

Sec. 203E.6 sets the process. The application includes photos of the property and its neighbors, a letter of intent, elevation drawings, and samples of materials if the Historic Preservation Officer (HPO) asks. The HPO weighs whether the work meets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, the federal guidance for historic buildings, and the property's "preservation priority rating" in the City's historic resources survey. In the Residential Area the HPO also uses a checklist of design elements first approved by the City Council. Ordinance No. 2026-10-112 of October 5, 2026 lists the COA at "no fee," and lists "New applications after construction" at $100 on the next line.

• Commercial Area. The HPO has 10 business days after a complete application to act, or sends it to the Historic Preservation Advisory Board, which acts within 30 days. The HPO may approve, approve with conditions or deny. An appeal goes to the City Council within 10 days.
• Residential Area. The HPO may approve or approve with conditions, or sends the application to the Board within 30 days. "The HPO shall not have the authority to deny a COA application" there. Appeals to the Board, and from the Board to the City Council, are due within 21 days.
• Demolition in the Residential Area. The HPO may approve with a 90-day delay, and no demolition permit issues during the delay unless the Chief Building Official finds a threat to life and safety. If the HPO does not act within 90 days, a demolition permit may be granted.
• Hardship. Within 10 days of a denial, the applicant may ask the Board for relief. For a demolition the applicant must show, among other things, that the property "is incapable of earning a reasonable return" and cannot be adapted to another use that would earn one.

A COA "shall expire one year after its approval, if no building permits have been issued," a rule the March 3, 2026 amendments added. Under Sec. 108D, a violation in the Residential Area is a misdemeanor with "a fine not to exceed $200.00," and each day is a separate offense. In the Commercial Area the fine can reach the most state law allows.

The Historic Preservation Advisory Board has seven members appointed by the City Council for two-year terms, and four members make a quorum (Sec. 110B). It reviews COAs the HPO forwards, hears appeals of HPO decisions, and recommends design guidelines.

Designating a Landmark or District

Under Sec. 203C.4, a building, site, structure or object "that is at least 50 years old" may become a historic landmark if it meets one of six criteria, such as being tied to important people or events or showing a distinct building type. A district needs two or more qualifying properties in "a distinct section of the city." The Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council each hold a hearing and vote. The owner must receive a statement of the designation's effects, including tax benefits and repair programs, at least 15 days before the first Commission hearing.

Without the owner's consent, designation needs "a three-fourths vote of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council as permitted by the TLGC §211.0165." A property of a religious organization needs its consent, and an owner may withdraw consent at any time during the process.

The Historically Significant Area and the HNIZ

Article 9 of the UDC defines the Historically Significant Area as places the City designated before April 1, 2019: the MTC McKinney Town Center district, the H Historic Overlay, the TMN Overlay, the Main Street Program area and the Historic Neighborhood Improvement Zone (HNIZ) under Chapter 98 of the Code of Ordinances. In that area a backyard cottage must match the house's style and materials, and new buildings other than one to four homes need a façade plan, a drawing of the building's elevations and materials (Sec. 203E).

Ordinance No. 2026-09-111, adopted September 15, 2026, added a cost break for the HNIZ. The fee paid in place of giving land for parks is based on the land's value per acre from the Collin Central Appraisal District, but "if the average fair market value per acre of the land which is being subdivided is more than $300,000 per acre, the fees ... shall be calculated based on a valuation of $300,000 per acre." The cap covers new infill single-family, duplex and multi-family homes entirely inside the HNIZ. The plats, permits and fees page shows how the park fees work.

The TMN Traditional McKinney Neighborhood Overlay

Sec. 204BB says the TMN Overlay is meant "to allow modifications to the standards of the underlying base zoning district to help facilitate redevelopment." For single-family lots and houses, Table 2-23 states the limits as a share of the base district's numbers.

Source: McKinney UDC Sec. 204BB, Table 2-23: TMN Dimensional Standards, as adopted March 3, 2026.

By VanPlex arithmetic, an R6 lot in the TMN may be 4,800 square feet, 45 feet wide and 81 feet deep, with a 16-foot front setback and an 8-foot rear setback. On lots zoned under the old BN Neighborhood Business or BG General Business districts, the Planning and Zoning Commission may grant a design exception that cuts the residential adjacency setback to the district's standard setback, except for apartment or mixed-use buildings taller than 35 feet.

McKinney National Airport

The airport sits in the AP Airport district. Sec. 204W says the district's rules apply only to the extent they fit Chapter 118, "Airport Height, Hazard, and Land Use Regulations," and "the provisions and requirements of Chapter 118 of the McKinney Code shall control" in a conflict. Chapter 118, read here in the Supplement 37 archive on municode, sets zones beneath imaginary surfaces around Runway 17/35. The zones are drawn on the McKinney National Airport Zoning Map prepared by Cook Consultants, Inc. and dated January 16, 1978, which is not printed in the code and is open for inspection at City offices.

Source: McKinney Code of Ordinances, Secs. 118-2 to 118-4, Supplement 37 archive. Heights are measured from mean sea level, and the airport elevation is 582 feet.

Sec. 118-5 bars any use that creates radio interference with aircraft, makes airport lights hard to pick out, causes glare for pilots or impairs visibility. Sec. 118-7 requires a permit for a structure or tree in the zones, but not for one under 75 feet tall in the horizontal and conical zones, or in the approach and transition zones more than 4,200 feet from each runway end, unless the terrain would push it above the zone limit. The airport zoning board is the Planning and Zoning Commission. For a site plan near the airport, Sec. 203E.1 lets the Director of Planning ask for the site elevation, the building's height above sea level, and its coordinates.

The airport also limits the 2025 state laws. Local Government Code 211.052(b) takes land within "3,000 feet of an airport or military base" out of SB 15, and Section 218.101(c) does the same for SB 840 apartments on commercial land. Measure the distance before you count on either law.

Floodplain Rules in Article 8

McKinney's floodplain rules are in Sec. 805 of Article 8, Stormwater Management. The March 2026 ordinances did not restate Article 8, so VanPlex read it in the City's February 2026 copy of the UDC on Legistar, the City's agenda records system, where the record of amendments shows Article 8 last amended on September 19, 2023. Sec. 805A defines floodplain areas as "all areas inundated by the fully developed 100-year flood and special flood hazard areas" on the FEMA flood insurance rate maps "for the county dated June 7, 2017, and subsequent amendments." Article 9 defines the base flood as the flood with "a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year," based on existing watershed conditions, and the design flood as the same flood "based upon fully developed watershed conditions," meaning after the land that drains to the creek is built out.

• Where you may build. "No new construction is allowed in floodplain areas, but construction is allowed in those areas that can be reclaimed from the floodplain" (Sec. 805C). Reclaiming means raising land out of the floodplain with engineered fill, with no rise in flood levels upstream or downstream and stable channel speeds. In a stream draining 200 acres or more, lost flood storage must be replaced in the same reach.
• Floor height. New homes in reclaimed areas, and substantial improvements of existing homes, need "the lowest floor, including basements or fully enclosed areas, elevated to at least two feet above either the base flood or the fully developed 100-year flood elevation, whichever elevation is greater." A raised pad must be at least 1 foot above that level.
• The 50 percent test. Improvements whose total cost, "either at one time or over a period of time," reaches 50 percent of the market value at the time of the first improvement count as a substantial improvement.
• Stilts. "New residential structures on stilts or behind ring levees serving individual lots shall not be permitted."
• Equipment. Mechanical, electrical and utility equipment must sit above the fully developed 100-year flood elevation.

The plat carries these rules. Under Article 3, as restated March 3, 2026, a flood study approved by the Director of Engineering comes before any permit near a flood prone area, land left in the 100-year floodplain is dedicated as an easement, and every lot in or next to a flood prone area shows its minimum finished floor elevation on the plat. Before a building permit, a surveyor or engineer certifies that the lot meets that elevation, and where land was raised out of the floodplain, FEMA must first issue a letter of map revision or amendment (Sec. 805D).

SB 15 leaves these rules in place. Section 211.053 says the small lot law does not affect requirements "directly related to ... flooding" on an individual lot, and Section 211.055(a-1) lets a city keep setbacks tied to waterways and erosion. One cross-reference in Sec. 805B.11 points to "§6.5, Floodplain Regulations," a section number the UDC does not use.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the McKinney overview, insurance and flood in Texas, and the SB 840 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)