Mac Haik Chevy Dealership PD-80 Rezoning Heads to Celina Council on 25-Acre Tollway Tract

CELINA, Texas. The Celina City Council held a public hearing on June 9, 2026 on a proposed amendment to Planned Development No. 80, which would set modified development standards for a Mac Haik Chevrolet dealership on roughly 25 acres at the northeast corner of Dallas Parkway and Frontier Parkway. The site sits inside the Dallas North Tollway Overlay District Suburban subzone.

Under Celina's zoning code, a new automobile dealership in the DNTO Suburban subzone is permitted only by Specific Use Permit or by an amended Planned Development. The applicant chose the PD amendment path. The Future Land Use Plan designates the surrounding area as Community Mixed-Use Center.

Two requested exceptions

City staff reported that Mac Haik substantially complied with Celina's design standards but asked for two specific exceptions. The first is on building color. Celina requires earthen-tone exterior colors and routes brand color to signage rather than building facades. Under the prior ordinance, accent color exceptions were granted only to Costco and Home Depot for limited accent stripes. Walmart, Lowe's, Sprouts, Academy Sports, Methodist Hospital, Collin College and Ewing Buick GMC all built within the existing color rules. Staff did not recommend relaxing the established precedent for an automotive dealership.

The second exception is on tree mitigation. Celina requires mitigation for protected trees of six inches in diameter or greater, regardless of species. The applicant asked the PD to redefine "protected tree" to include only species on the city's Approved Plant List. Staff estimated that change would reduce mitigation fees by approximately $400,000, because many of the native trees on the floodplain portion of the site are not on the Approved Plant List.

Why staff flagged the policy precedent

The staff report noted that similar tree-mitigation relief existed in an earlier version of PD-80, but a 2023 amendment to PD-80 removed it to align with modern standards. Staff wrote that tree mitigation relief is typically handled through a separate development agreement rather than by redefining zoning terms inside a PD. Staff outlined three options for council: approve the applicant's request as filed, deny the tree relief, or approve partial relief such as mitigation for half of the protected trees.

On the dealership itself, the staff report cited three policy considerations: that dealerships are not generally considered visually appealing, that passenger vehicles do not generate local sales tax (although boats, RVs and other vehicle types do), and that dealerships still provide employment, services, and community sponsorships.

What the site plan includes

The packet describes a heavy-masonry dealership building, signage that complies with city standards, and a 12-foot trail along the floodplain that connects to Celina's Trails Master Plan network. The staff narrative noted that compared with other allowed uses in that PD area, a dealership has comparatively low use-impact on adjacent residential properties.

Sources

Celina City Council Regular Meeting agenda and packet, June 9, 2026, item VIII.A (CivicClerk public portal). Staff report for Mac Haik PD-80 amendment, agenda packet pages 250 to 260.