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Council approves time-limited specific-use permit for bail bond agency at 104 N. Jackson
Summary
Waxahachie City Council approved ZDC62025, a specific-use permit allowing an Ellis County bail bond agency to operate at 104 North Jackson Street with a five-year limit and new signage and lighting restrictions.
Waxahachie City Council on March 3 approved a specific-use permit allowing an Ellis County bail bond agency to operate at 104 North Jackson Street, tying the permit to the current owner and placing a five-year time limit and new signage and lighting conditions on the business.
Trenton, planning staff, told the council that staff recommended approval of ZDC62025 as a compatible use under the city’s future land-use plan and noted that notices to property owners produced no opposition and one letter of support. “Staff does recommend approval,” Trenton said.
The council’s discussion focused on downtown visibility, lighting and the number of bail-bond offices along major routes into the city. Richard Schimpaugh, the applicant and owner of the bond agency, told the council the current location near the courthouse “has been great for business” and added, “It’s just convenient being at the courthouse, honestly.” Schimpaugh also said he would accept a time-limited permit and suggested five years as a reasonable term: “I would consider 5 years as a limit on it.”
Council members expressed concern about the size, color and illumination of existing signage and about setting a precedent that would make future zoning enforcement harder. The council negotiated conditions that were added to the ordinance at the dais: a five-year expiration on the specific-use permit (SUP); removal of the sidewalk sign and a window sign; a limit to the existing primary building sign and the hanging awning sign only; no additional signage allowed; decorative façade lighting may remain; and the two uplight/floodlight fixtures will be reviewed for compliance with city lighting standards. The SUP will be tied to the current owner and the business name and will expire if the property is sold or the business is renamed.
The motion to approve ZDC62025, amended to include the signage, lighting and time-limit conditions, passed unanimously.
The action makes the bail-bond use permanent at this address for the named owner for the specified five-year period but does not change the city’s underlying commercial zoning. The council also directed that floodlight fixtures be evaluated for compliance and noted that any sale or name change would terminate the SUP.
