Commission approves three-story self-storage site plan with two variances and staff conditions

Robbie Highfield, senior planner for the City of Fate, presented staff’s recommendation on site-plan application SP24-014 for a 55,400-square-foot, three-story self-storage facility proposed south of the eastbound I-30 frontage road on the west side of Industrial Drive. Highfield said the project is a Type 3 site plan because it requests two variances from the Fate Unified Development Ordinance: a reduction in required parking from 50 spaces to 22 spaces, and a waiver of the ground-floor transparency (window) requirement, with the applicant proposing an enhanced opaque façade instead.

Highfield said the property is a recently replatted 3-acre industrial lot abutting Painter’s Solution to the north, Industrial Drive to the east, MedTech Construction to the south and American Bridal to the west. He said the site plan complies with the Future Land Use designation (Business and Innovation Center) and that staff’s fiscal analysis, updated with developer numbers, estimated an assessed value near $10,280,000, a year-one property-tax contribution of just over $20,000 and 40-year net revenue of $548,000 (3.1:1 revenue-to-cost ratio; 1.9:1 when roads are considered).

Highfield summarized staff conditions to be addressed before civil review or permits: provision of a remote 5-inch Knox locking FDC within 50 feet of a hydrant (not building-mounted); mark inside turn radius of the fire lane at 30 feet on the site plan; move the dumpster enclosure east to avoid flood-plain encroachment; replace a proposed plant species not on the approved plant list; add landscape island end caps at each parking-row terminus; and a clarification that approval of the site plan does not imply approval of grading, storm-water or sewer plans (those are reviewed separately).

Applicant representative Brian Baca of Advantage Construction said reducing parking to 22 spaces is not intended to shrink the paved area but to avoid providing up to 20 parking spaces the applicant does not expect to need; he said adding the extra spaces would push pavement beyond the current pavement outline and onto the opposite side of the project. Baca said the team can comply with staff recommendations.

Highfield said staff recommends approval of SP24-014 with the stated conditions and noted that seven property-notice letters were sent with no responses received. The public hearing drew no speakers; the commission voted to approve SP24-014 with staff recommendations.