Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Zoning Site Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission backs site plan for Bessie Coleman Plaza anchored by Sprouts
Summary
The Waxahachie Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a site plan for an 8½-acre retail center anchored by a 23,000-square-foot Sprouts Farmers Market at Bessie Coleman Boulevard and U.S. Highway 77, subject to conditions including landscaping, screening and traffic-study recommendations.
Waxahachie’s Planning and Zoning Commission on May 13 recommended approval of a site plan for the Plaza at Bessie Coleman, a proposed multi-tenant retail center anchored by a 23,000-square-foot Sprouts Farmers Market just south of 1650 U.S. Highway 77.
Zach, a city planner, told commissioners the roughly 8.5-acre tract (Property ID 223131) sits in a planned development commercial zoning district that requires site-plan review by the commission and city council before development. "What's unique about this district is that it does require site plan approval by the planning and zoning commission and city council before any development takes place," Zach said during his presentation.
The proposal calls for a Sprouts store with an attached multi-tenant building and two separate multi-tenant buildings totaling about 24,000 square feet. Staff highlighted several conditions: a six-foot masonry screening wall along the eastern property edge adjacent to single-family homes; a landscaping plan meeting minimum ordinance standards; lighting capped at 20-foot pole heights; and screening of roof-mounted mechanical equipment. Zach noted the Sprouts loading area is "a little over 260 feet" from the nearest single-family property line.
Traffic impacts will be addressed through a preliminary traffic impact analysis (TIA) currently under review by the city’s public works and engineering team. Zach said the TIA includes suggested improvements such as additional turn lanes, revised striping and possible roadway expansion. He also reported that TxDOT has told staff the intersection will not meet spacing requirements for an additional traffic signal at Bessie Coleman and Highway 77.
The city’s parks department requested that the developer reserve land and potentially construct a sidewalk to connect the site to a planned extension of the Mustang Creek Trail; the planner said the developer will extend required sidewalks along U.S. Highway 77 and Bessie Coleman and that the parks request is under discussion. Applicant representatives said they are negotiating with the city about floodplain acreage south of the site and the possibility of providing an eight-foot sidewalk if the city takes title to that land.
Applicant Ryan McIntosh of Trinity Partners told commissioners the developer is building the Sprouts shell and refrigeration systems as a quasi build-to-suit. McIntosh and a representative, Kevin McIntosh, said several prospective tenants are under discussion, including Hollywood Feed and fitness and dental users, but additional buildings and a large unified sign will return to the commission or council for separate approvals.
Commissioners moved to recommend approval of the site plan "subject to the conditions in the staff report" and authorized the mayor and city manager to execute documents. The motion passed with five votes in favor and one opposed (Terry). No members of the public spoke for or against the request at the hearing.
The commission’s recommendation now goes to the Waxahachie City Council for final action; several elements — including final TIA recommendations, any separate specific-use permit for a large unified sign, and future site plans for additional buildings — will be resolved in later reviews.
