Melissa is a long-time resident of our community and lives in the College Hills area with her family. Melissa’s husband, Todd McIlhaney, is a local architect and, together, they own a successful design-build firm specializing in custom residential and select commercial projects.

Melissa currently serves as the Chair of the City of College Station’s Planning and Zoning Commission. She initially sought appointment as a mechanism to actively work to protect our neighborhoods.

During Melissa’s tenure on the Commission, College Station has made significant strides in modifying its zoning structure to provide protection for not only our older neighborhoods via the Residential Occupancy Overlay (ROO), but by also creating the zoning designation Middle Housing (MH) and the High Occupancy Overlay (HOO) which provide for more densely populated residential housing.

Most recently, the Housing Action Plan was adopted into the City’s Comprehensive Plan. This exciting addition lays the groundwork for solutions to our looming housing crisis becoming true focal point for staff and community.