Commission backs specific-use permit for self-storage project at 51 Indian Drive with added landscaping condition

The Waxahachie Planning and Zoning Commission on April 15 recommended approval of a specific-use permit for a self-storage facility at 51 Indian Drive, approving elevation option 2 and adding a condition that the developer provide additional landscaping as screening.

City staff described the 3.13-acre site and said the proposed facility would be about 97,800 square feet with a maximum height near 46 feet, 10.5 inches. The applicant stated the facility would be staffed by one employee and open daily from about 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The staff report noted the project meets parking and landscape requirements and proposed live landscaping to serve as a screening buffer instead of the six-foot masonry screening wall normally required where a nonresidential property abuts residential zoning or use. Staff recommended approval with the conditions listed in the staff report, including shielding of lighting fixtures to prevent glare.

Developer Brad Tidwell said his firm focuses on climate-controlled self storage and described this as their 20th project; he told the commission he has worked with city staff on the package and welcomed staff direction on landscaping. A commissioner asked that the applicant “landscape the heck out of” the elevations facing Brown Street and Indian Drive; the motion to recommend approval included a condition for additional landscaping.

After the public hearing closed with no speakers, the commission voted to recommend approval of ZDC-231-2024 for the self-storage facility, elevation option 2, subject to staff conditions and the added landscaping requirement. The recommendation will go to City Council for final action.