Title
Ordinance - Public Hearing and First Reading on an Ordinance Approving a Zoning Change from C-2, Community Business District to PD, Planned Development District with C-2, Community Business District Uses and Eating Places with Drive-Through Service (Two Quick Service Restaurants) on Approximately 2.08 Acres Located at 1734 N. US 287; DEB 287, LLC, Owner; First Hartford Realty Corporation, Developer; and Bohler Engineering, Engineer (ZC#23-002)
Requested Action
To consider the subject zoning change request
Recommendation
The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on March 22, 2023 and voted 5 to 0 to recommend denial of the zoning change request.
Vote:
Ayes: 5 - Axen, Mainer, Bennett, Groll, and Shaw
Nays: 0
Absent: 2 - Goodwin and Thompson
The Department of Planning and Development Services recommends denial.
Description/History
Existing Use: Vacant
Existing Zoning: C-2, Community Business District, within the FR, Freeway Overlay District
Land Use Plan: Sub-Area 5
Surrounding Land Use & Zoning:
North - Vacant, C-2 Community Business District
South - Gas station and convenience store, C-2 Community Business District
East - Vacant, C-2 Community Business District
West - Public Right-of-way for U.S. Highway 287
Thoroughfare Plan Specification:
U.S. Highway 287 - Freeway
Synopsis
The applicant is requesting a zoning change from C-2, Community Business District to PD, Planned Development District with C-2, Community Business uses and Eating Places with Drive-Through Service on 2.08 acres on the U.S. Highway 287 Frontage Road. The rezoning request is to provide standards for two development-ready lots for Eating Places with Drive-Through Service (i.e., quick service restaurants). There are no proposed users for this property presently.
Staff Analysis
The subject property consists of approximately 2.08 acres of vacant land that is located on a commercial corridor along U.S. Highway 287. The proposed uses within the PD, Planned Development District are two quick service restaurants. Although there are no actual users at present, the applicant is requesting the zoning change to establish zoning entitlement on the property for quick service restaurants. The property is generally located at a commercial node behind the RaceTrac gas station at U.S. Highway 287 and East Debbie Lane.
Planned Development District Standards
The proposed PD, Planned Development District standards provides regulations for quick service restaurants, including specific definitions and regulations for the following:
• A definition of Quick Service Restaurant
• Screening and fencing
• Landscape, buffering and passive space
• Parking and escape lanes
• Sign standards
• Architectural standards
• Use regulations
• Site plan requirements
Site Plan
The applicant’s site plan (Exhibit B1) shows the layout for two conceptual restaurants. Without an intended user, the layouts do not represent the exact placement of buildings, parking lots, service lanes or landscaping --- and will be subject to change. Because the proposed lots are undersized, they cannot meet all the requirements for drive-through restaurants in Chapter 155 of the Mansfield Code of Ordinances (the “Code”) and several deviations will be necessary. These deviations include:
• Section 155.091 of the Code requires one parking space for every 75 square feet of restaurant use. The proposed development standards provide for parking at one parking space for every 100 square feet of restaurant use.
• Section 155.099(B)(36)(i) of the Code requires a bypass/exit lane to allow vehicles to leave a stacking lane next to a curb, landscaping or a property line. Tract 1 does not have a bypass/exit lane.
• Section 155.099(B)(36)(o) of the Code requires a landscape buffer with a minimum width of 20 feet along the side property lines of each lot. The proposed development standards provide for a buffer with a minimum width of 10 feet.
For access, the applicant proposes a driveway on the U.S. Highway 287 Frontage Road, with a further connection north to the existing driveway serving the Saltgrass restaurant via a common access easement. The new driveway must be approved by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Access is further provided from East Debbie Lane using an existing driveway on the developer’s property.
Building Elevations
Typically, building elevations are shown as Exhibit C. This PD, Planned Development District does not provide any elevations, as no specific users have been identified for the property. Section G of the proposed PD, Planned Development District standards states that any restaurants on the property follow the standard architectural requirements for the C-2, Community Business District in Section 155.056, “Community Design Standards,” of the Code.
Additionally, Section I of the PD, Planned Development District standards requires that a site plan for each restaurant be approved by the Director of Planning, with appeals of the Director’s decision to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.
Landscape Plan
The Landscape Plan is shown in Exhibit D. Section D of the proposed PD, Planned Development District standards does not specify landscaping regulations except for the reduction of the width of the side property lines to 10 feet as noted above, and a minimum of 15 percent passive space for new development. The other landscaping requirements are noted on the Landscape Plan. Additionally, the text of Section (D)(v) specifies that the passive space must include benches and three (3) other program elements. The Landscape Plan only shows outdoor dining serving as passive space.
Compliance with PD, Planned Development District standards and Exhibit D, and the reconciliation between the PD standards and the exhibits, will need to be reviewed with the site plan required by Section (I) of the PD, Planned Development District standards.
Signage
The proposed PD, Planned Development District standards defer the signage regulations to the C-2, Community Business District regulations in Section 155.090 of the Code.
Commercial uses are appropriate at this location, including automobile-oriented activities; however, a request for PD, Planned Development District as presently proposed to establish zoning entitlement for prospective future users without adequate design criteria does not meet the intent of this type of zoning designation, particularly in light of similar developments with elevated standards.
Additionally, the proposed site design and layout impairs future opportunities for infill and redevelopment. There has been a shift in site design to ensure that sites and buildings are designed and constructed in a manner that supports adaptive reuse and improves land use efficiency and the economic potency of land use.
Summary
A PD, Planned Development District “is intended to accommodate unified design of uses and facilities, and to permit flexibility and encourage a more creative, efficient and aesthetically desirable design and placement of buildings, open spaces, circulation patterns and parking facilities to best utilize special site features of topography, size or shape” as set forth in Section 155.066 of the Code. A PD, Planned Development District is not intended to be crafted in order to relax base standards for development.
The proposed PD, Planned Development District seeks zoning entitlement for two quick service restaurants using the standard C-2, Community Business District regulations or requested deviations from these regulations. While they create uniform design standards for commercial buildings, the proposed regulations do not enable nor encourage a more creative, desirable design, one of the key purposes of PD, Planned Development District.
Standard design is reinforced in Section (I)(3) of the proposed PD, Planned Development District standards, which requires a site plan to be approved by the Director of Planning if the site plan meets the minimum requirements of the C-2, Community Business District. Under a PD, Planned Development District, it is anticipated that a development proposal will yield elevated and iconic approaches to architectural and landscaping considerations (e.g., the 7-Eleven convenience store on East Broad Street and the new Chick-Fil-A on East Debbie Lane).
Prepared By
Art Wright, AICP, Principal Planner
817-276-4226