Carrollton Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - May 6, 2021

The Carrollton Planning and Zoning Commission met on May 6, 2021, from 7:01 p.m. to 8:02 p.m. All nine commission members were present. The commission acted on the consent agenda and heard four public hearing cases before taking votes.

Consent Calendar

• The consent agenda (items 1 through 4) was approved 9-0, with staff stipulations applied to items 2 and 3.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ed Green, Building Inspection, stated that the city's glare ordinance exempts approved public and private school ball fields but requires lighting for outdoor recreational uses to be shielded to comply with limitations on neighboring properties. He cited a limit of 0.2 or 0.4 foot candles measured at the property line and said a site photometric plan would be reviewed at permitting to ensure no light spills onto the Merito golf course.
• Alan Overholt, 2216 Ridgewood, said he strongly supports DART and the Silver Line. He had brought seven questions, six of which were resolved with DART representatives before the meeting. He asked the commission to require a six-foot fence on the south side of the Silver Line platform adjacent to the BNSF tracks instead of the specified three-foot/36-inch fence, citing safety concerns with diesel locomotives and long freight trains.

Discussion Items

PLSUP 2021-07 - Your Local Car Sales and Consignment Advocate Used Auto Sales

• Staff coordinator Molly Coriel presented a proposed special use permit for a used auto and light truck sales business in an approximately 1,000-square-foot suite (Suite 606) at 1510 Randolph Street. Staff recommended approval with stipulations limiting the use to Suite 606, capping inventory at five vehicles, prohibiting street parking, requiring vehicles to be stored in the building overnight, restricting outdoor display to the designated red box, and prohibiting banners and similar signs. The applicant was not present, and no public speakers testified.
• Commissioner Windrow questioned whether five vehicles could fit inside the suite; staff said up to five vehicles could be stored indoors and no more than four outside. Staff offered to add a stipulation to amend the conceptual site plan if needed. Vice Chair Dunn confirmed the SUP would run with the property and remain tied to Suite 606. Commissioner Romo asked about online sales, and staff explained that zoning cannot regulate online versus other sales methods. Commissioner Carpenter asked about the square-footage limit, and staff said the ordinance can specify approximately 1,000 square feet and Suite 606.
• First Vice Chair Chadwick moved to hold the hearing open until the applicant could appear, but Vice Chair Dunn opposed that idea. A motion to close the public hearing and approve the case with staff stipulations passed 8-1, with Commissioner Diamond opposed.

PLSUP 2021-30 - Kelly Baseball Complex

• Planning staff member Mike McCauley presented a special use permit request for lighted athletic fields on an approximately 17.5-acre light-industrial site at 2000 Kelly Boulevard. The project includes an existing baseball field and a proposed new softball field, with synthetic turf, lighting, bleachers, parking, and related amenities. Staff recommended approval with revised stipulations addressing the taller existing field lighting and the existing parking lot.
• Applicant Jeff Perzi of CEI Engineering, representing Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD, said the work is part of a district-wide program to convert grass fields to synthetic turf and provide equivalent high school facilities. The baseball field would be resurfaced, and the new softball field would give the softball team its own place to play. In response to Vice Chair Dunn's question about a public comment concerning light spill onto the Merito golf course, Perzi said the new lighting is LED, the design includes a photometric plan, and light spillage would be minimal.
• The public comment from Ed Green, described above, addressed how the glare ordinance applies. A motion to close the public hearing and approve the case with revised staff stipulations passed 9-0.

PLSUP 2020-131 - Downtown Carrollton Silver Line Station

• Staff coordinator Lauren Shapiro presented a DART request to amend the existing Green Line Station special use permit to add the Silver Line station just north of the existing Green Line. The proposal includes a ground-level platform, 329 surface parking spaces, streetscape improvements with pavers and a hike-and-bike trail, removal of the southern railroad spur, retention of the northern spur, and stairs and elevators connecting the two rail lines. Staff recommended approval and proposed revising condition E to state that overflow parking shall be provided at the downtown station, replacing references to other station special use permits.
• DART representative Carl Crawley and architect Alan Dreet were present. Crawley supported the staff-recommended condition change. During discussion, pedestrian access from the north parking lot to the station was addressed: passengers would need to walk to Denton Drive to cross the rail spur safely, with a possible future trail connection.
• After Alan Overholt's public comment, the commission added an amendment for a six-foot fence on the south platform. A motion to close the public hearing and approve the case with the revised stipulation E and the additional six-foot fence requirement passed 9-0. The case was forwarded to city council for June 1, 2021.

PLZ 2021-31 - Dental Depot Medical Retail

• Staff presented a request to amend Plan Development 185 to revise the conceptual plans and development standards for a proposed dental office and a multi-tenant building on a roughly two-acre site located about 150 feet east of Parker Road and Josie Lane. The existing PD was approved about 12 years earlier. The proposed Dental Depot building is styled like a late-1800s train station with a clock tower and includes signature miniature train and water tower features; the multi-tenant building would be more modern and include a drive-through lane. The 40-foot landscape buffer along Parker Road and the 5-foot buffer on the south would remain.
• Staff recommended approval with revised additional development standards and removal of the PD's drive-through prohibition. A future technical site plan would address drive-through stacking, circulation, and safety. Vice Chair Dunn asked how traffic concerns would be handled, and staff said the technical site plan process would review stacking, pedestrian safety, and fire-lane encroachment before final approval.
• Applicant Nathan Toon of Dental Depot Real Estate said this would be the seventh Dental Depot in the DFW area and the 32nd overall. He noted there was no definitive tenant for the drive-through space, but a drive-through coffee user had shown interest in the area. No public speakers testified. A motion to close the public hearing and approve the case with revised staff stipulations passed 9-0. The case was forwarded to city council for June 1, 2021.

Staff Reports & Updates

• Staff reported that cases heard in March - Avenida Carrollton and the repeal of five SUPs - were approved by city council in April. Staff also said training would continue on a future shorter agenda.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved 9-0.
• PLSUP 2021-07 approved 8-1, with Commissioner Diamond opposed.
• PLSUP 2021-30 approved 9-0.
• PLSUP 2020-131 approved 9-0 with revised stipulation E and a six-foot fence requirement on the south platform; forwarded to city council on June 1, 2021.
• PLZ 2021-31 approved 9-0; forwarded to city council on June 1, 2021.
• New member Scott Windrow was welcomed to the commission.