Wylie City Council approved a zoning change for a North Highway 78 property and a modest increase to emergency medical service fees Tuesday, while also canceling the city’s May election after all candidates filed unopposed.

Wylie City Council began proceedings Tuesday, March 10, with a special-called session with the Wylie Economic Development Corporation at 5:15 p.m. Council members and EDC board members deliberated on the sale and acquisition of more than a dozen properties around the city, as well as dozens of projects.

Following its closed session, council considered two motions authorizing the Wylie EDC to enter into performance agreements: one with 2026-1c in an amount not to exceed $20,000 and another with 2024-12c in an amount not to exceed $350,000.

Both items were approved unanimously without discussion shortly before the start of the regular council meeting.

After convening its regular session, council heard comments on non-agenda items before unanimously approving its entire consent agenda. Among the approved items was an ordinance declaring unopposed candidates in the May 2, 2026, general city election the winners, effectively canceling the election.

The election would have included the mayor’s seat as well as council Places 5 and 6 on the ballot. Incumbent Mayor Matthew Porter, Place 5 Council Member Sid Hoover and Place 6 Council Member Gino Mulliqi will maintain their positions on council and will be sworn in May 12.

Other items on the consent agenda included authorizing a preliminary plat for Dominion of Pleasant Valley Phase 8, creating 102 single-family residential lots and six open space lots at the southwest corner of Sachse Road and Dominion Drive; accepting a $5,779 donation from the Catholic Foundation of the Estate of Rita and Truett Smith; approving the purchase of three vehicles for the Public Works Department; and other administrative items.

In other business, council considered a zoning change for a 2.02-acre property at 703 N. Highway 78 to allow for “compatible retail uses.”

Community Services Director Jasen Haskins told council the applicant, FWIRE LLC, requested the original planned development — which allowed for an event center and distillery — be changed to base commercial corridor zoning. The change would allow the property to be marketed without the restriction limiting it to those two uses.

Michael Thomas, representing FWIRE LLC, told council the company had no intention of using the property for its landscaping business. He added that the property has been on the market for more than a year and has drawn interest for dog daycare, personal fitness and other retail uses.

Mayor pro tem Mulliqi asked about the property’s future use, saying he wanted to ensure any development brought value to the city while respecting staff’s work on the original zoning. 

“The city invested a lot of time and effort in bringing that type of business to the city…,” Mulliqi said. “Our EDC invested a lot in it, too.”

After additional clarifying questions, council voted unanimously to approve the item.

Council then considered its final agenda item, an amendment to Wylie’s code of ordinances allowing a slight increase in EMS rates.

Wylie Fire Chief Brandon Blythe presented the item, outlining current rates and the proposed 2% increase across services, including specialty care transport, advanced life support (ALS) for emergency and non-emergency calls and basic life support.

Blythe said 69% of calls are ALS-emergency related and that the department currently collects $553 on average. The proposed increase would raise that amount by $11, to $564.

Mayor Porter said he does not like increasing fees on residents but noted the increases across services range from $3 to $15.

“I think most citizens would agree that we want to make sure that we can continue to cover the budget of the EMS division because that is one place, from my perspective — and I believe most people’s — that you don’t want to try to save, so to speak,” Porter said. “You want to have the best that we can provide because that’s somebody’s life.”

The item was approved unanimously.

The next regular city council meeting is Tuesday, March 24, at City Hall.

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By Andrew Norsworthy | [email protected]