To: Mark Hafner, City Manager
From: Julie Smith, Community Development Director
Subject:
Title
PUBLIC HEARING: Consider an ordinance approving a Specific Use Permit (SUP) to allow the use of light manufacturing/warehousing, wholly enclosed in a building, for the Penguin Patch, in an approximately 36,000 square-foot space for Phase I and approximately 5,500 square-foot space for Phase II, on the property legally described as Abstract 457 Tract 14C03 of John Edmonds Survey, being 4.07-acres, approximately 270 feet southeast from the intersection of W. Bear Creek Parkway and Chisholm Trail, zoned Commercial (C), and addressed as 721 Chisholm Trail. Jennifer Randklev, Penguin Patch, Applicant. Michael L. Moore, Owner. (SUP-22-0024)
Background:
The Applicant’s business, the Penguin Patch, offers schoolchildren the opportunity to purchase gift items for friends and family. The business manufactures (assembles kits), warehouses, and packages these products that are later sent to the schools in the program. In business for 30 years, the Penguin Patch employs approximately 40 employees and another 30 during the peak holiday season. Special Education High School students also work on site.
The Applicant would like to move her expanding business to Keller on the east side of Chisholm Trail south of West Bear Creek Parkway. The property is designated Retail Commercial with the Tech/Flex overlay in the Future Land Use Plan (FLUP) and is zoned Commercial. In the Commercial zoning district, a Specific Use Permit is necessary for warehousing - a component of her business. Because of the warehousing associated with the business, the Applicant is requesting the requisite SUP.
Site Design:
The Applicant plans to construct an approximately 41,550 square-foot building to house offices, light manufacturing, and warehousing. The building will be the first built in the new Tech/Flex land use category of the FLUP and will architecturally set the standard. The FLUP describes the expectation for the Tech/Flex district:
“The physical development patterns shall include architectural standards that are reflective of Class A office space, unifying landscape elements, and environmental stewardship.”
The Applicant and her Architect have developed an impressive building to meet these standards. (See Staff Attachment A for the conceptual site plan and building elevations.)
The building faces the residential neighborhood to the west (High Chaparral Addition). There will be approximately 110 feet of landscaping, city trail, and parking between the front of the building (west side) and Chisholm Trail. The west side of the building will have large canopies over the front of the building and entrance as well as an outdoor break area; it presents a warm and welcoming entrance facing the neighborhood. The 36-foot-tall light manufacturing and warehousing component of the building is set back 164 feet from the west property line, so that it is masked by the Class A office façade, further from the neighborhood and closer to the railroad. Loading docks on the north side of the building will be screened from the street.
Citizen Input:
On June 30, 2022, the City mailed out 33 Letters of Notification for this Public Hearing to all property owners within three-hundred feet (300’) of the subject site. A public hearing notice sign was posted on the site.
As of today, staff has received six letters of opposition from property owners within 200’ of the subject property (all from the High Chaparral Subdivision). (One of the letters was inadvertently not signed, and the property owners have indicated they will submit a signed version before the City Council meeting. Staff went ahead and included it in the calculation for the 200’ buffer.) Two additional letters of opposition were submitted from property owners within the 300’ buffer, and two more letters of opposition came from property owners outside the notice area. The six letters of opposition within the 200-foot buffer represent 10.12% of the buffer area. Therefore, a super majority vote is not required. (See Staff Attachment B.)
Planning and Zoning Commission Recommendation:
On July 12, 2022, the Commission held a public hearing at which four people from the High Chaparral Subdivision immediately to the west of the proposed project spoke in opposition. Concerns ranged from noise to traffic to building aesthetics. The Commission pursued their concerns with the Applicant and staff and were satisfied those concerns had been addressed by the applicant and the design team for the project. They also noted the high quality of the building and the standard it would set for Tech/Flex development. The Commission looked at other uses permitted by right in this zoning district and found some of those could be more problematic for the neighborhood. The Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the SUP request to permit warehousing as part of the Penguin Patch’s business with no modifications.
Summary:
Section 8.02 (F)(2) of the UDC states that when considering SUP requests, the City Council shall consider the following factors:
1) The use is harmonious and compatible with surrounding existing uses or proposed uses;
2) The activities requested by the applicant are normally associated with the permitted uses in the base district;
3) The nature of the use is reasonable and appropriate in the immediate area;
4) Any negative impact on the surrounding area has been mitigated; and
5) That any additional conditions specified ensure that the intent of the district purposes are being upheld.
Alternatives:
The City Council has the following options when considering a Specific Use Permit:
§ Approve as submitted.
§ Approve with modified or additional condition(s).
§ Table the agenda item to a specific date with clarification of intent and purpose.
§ Deny.
Supporting Documents:
§ Aerial and Zoning Maps
§ Staff Attachment A - Application and Supporting Documents
§ Staff Attachment B - Letters of Opposition