Carrollton Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – August 1, 2019

The Carrollton Planning & Zoning Commission held a briefing session at 6:15 PM and a regular meeting at 7:00 PM on Thursday, August 1, 2019, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 1945 E. Jackson Road. The chair called the regular meeting to order at 7:12 PM; all nine commission members were present. Commissioners Kaiser and Taylor recused themselves for agenda item 2 and returned after the vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM. The posted agenda included a briefing item on House Bill 2439 and House Bill 3167, but the transcript begins at the regular meeting; no minutes for the August 1 meeting itself were provided in the source materials.

Consent Calendar

• The commission approved the minutes of the July 3, 2019 meeting, with the change discussed in the briefing. Motion by Commissioner Kaiser, second by Commissioner Taylor; passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

Item 2 – First United Methodist Church Planned Development (Z-2019-71)

• Bruce Breckenfeld, chairman of the church trustees and applicant representative, spoke in favor, stating there would be no new buildings or student increase and agreeing to staff stipulations.
• Recorded support cards were submitted by Courtney Segers, Daniel McGann, Jim Foreman, and Brian Rose; Cindy Palmer also spoke in favor.
• Sean Anderson spoke in opposition, requesting a traffic study due to congestion on Hebron Parkway near Hebron High School.
• Erica Cyril spoke in opposition, citing loss of green space, wildlife, speeding on Arbor Creek, and asked whether buildings or landscaping could be changed without public hearings.
• Danette Lewham spoke in opposition, describing pickup-line parking that blocked her alley and safety concerns on Arbor Creek.
• Brenda Vaughn spoke in opposition, noting cars parking on Arbor Creek, children crossing the greenbelt, and called for a traffic study.
• Subramaniam, a 20-year resident of 4212 Arbor Creek Drive, spoke in opposition in detail, arguing that the local road network could not handle more vehicles, that seven traffic lights in under a mile prevented signal synchronization, that 779 students translated to hundreds of cars, and that emergency access would be blocked.
• Mary Sarek recorded opposition without speaking.

Item 3 – Warehouse/Distribution Prohibition in Freeway District (PLZT2019-075)

• Walter Floyd of 2205 Hidden Creek, Fort Worth, spoke in opposition. He said he had invested over $15 million in warehouse buildings in Carrollton over 20 years, argued the market should determine highest and best use, criticized the nonconforming-use abandonment penalty, and urged grandfathering or incentives such as TIF districts.

Discussion Items

Item 2 – Z-2019-71: First United Methodist Church PD (34-acre tract, north side of Hebron Parkway)

• Staff planner Molly Coryell presented a request to rezone the property from Single-Family (SF-7/14) to a Planned Development and repeal Special Use Permit 272. The PD would allow a private pre-school/day care (129 students) and an elementary and secondary school (650 students), with a combined cap of 779 students, and would allow a public or private K-12 school without a separate technical site plan (TSP) as long as it followed the traffic circulation plan and student cap.
• The applicant said the existing church and Trivium Academy would continue operating with no new buildings or parking changes, and that the school would begin staggered start times in fall 2019. He requested two separate street addresses; staff advised that formal addresses can only be changed by plat, not by zoning, so the requested stipulation was withdrawn.
• Staff and Transportation Engineer Tom Hammonds responded to traffic concerns: student capacity would remain the same, signal timing is monitored regionally, the Josie/Hebron intersection project would help, and police would enforce illegal neighborhood drop-offs. Commissioners questioned the 45-minute stagger language and whether elementary and secondary start times should be split; traffic staff said the proposal was preferable to past operations.
• Motion by Commissioner Chadwick, seconded by Commissioner Romo, to close the public hearing and approve Z-2019-71 with staff stipulations. Passed 7-0, with Commissioners Kaiser and Taylor recused.

Item 3 – PLZT2019-075: CZO Text Amendment – Prohibition of Warehouse/Distribution in Freeway District

• Staff planner Loren Shapiro presented findings. The Freeway District along I-35 was created to attract high-quality office, retail, limited light industrial, hotel and restaurant uses. Recent amendments in 2013 and December 2018 already tightened uses and required a Special Use Permit for warehouse/distribution. Staff found that newer warehouses are typically 200,000–300,000 square feet with only 3–10% office space and that I-35 expansion had removed many older buildings, leaving only four existing buildings over 100,000 square feet.
• Staff noted that House Bill 2439, effective September 1, 2019, will prevent the city from regulating exterior building materials, and that the city council and redevelopment subcommittee directed consideration of prohibiting warehouse/distribution entirely in the Freeway District. Existing uses could remain under a certificate of occupancy; the record references a nonconformity abandonment period that staff described as six months and commissioners later called 270 days.
• Several commissioners expressed concern. Commissioner Christmas asked whether existing SUP controls were sufficient; Commissioner Denham objected to the absence of complete grandfathering for existing property owners and worried about mom-and-pop tenants; Commissioner Diamond asked whether the 270-day period could be extended; staff said the current text amendment only addresses Article 5 use of land, but the commission could recommend separate council action on nonconforming-use rules.
• Motion by Commissioner Abbott, seconded by Commissioner Kaiser, to close the public hearing and approve PLZT2019-075 with a recommendation to City Council to either completely grandfather existing uses or significantly extend the nonconforming-use period. Passed 7-2; Commissioners Christmas and Denham opposed.

Item 4 – PL SUP 2019-43: T-Mobile Communications Tower (1444 Keller Springs Road)

• Staff announced that proper notice had not been given because the county tax roll information used for mailing notices was outdated. Therefore no action was taken on this item.

Key Outcomes

• Approved July 3, 2019 minutes unanimously.
• Approved Z-2019-71 (First United Methodist Church planned development) 7-0.
• Approved a recommendation to City Council for PLZT2019-075 (prohibition of warehouse/distribution in the Freeway District) 7-2, with an accompanying recommendation to grandfather existing uses or significantly extend the nonconforming-use abandonment period.
• Took no action on the T-Mobile cell tower SUP (PL SUP 2019-43) due to defective public notice.