The Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission on July 17 approved a zoning change to make the entirety of 804 Bullock Drive single-family residential (SF-7) and to remove a special use permit that allowed a paved parking area used by the neighboring restaurant. The action, requested by the property owner, will let the owner seek a building permit to construct a house on the vacant lot.

City planning staff presented the application and its history. "This lot is currently vacant, the lot size is not increasing," said Mary Frohn Boswell, planning staff, noting the original plat was recorded in 1961 and the house on the lot burned years ago. Boswell said the rear portion of the lot had an SUP approved in 1999 to allow additional parking for the adjacent Dickies barbecue restaurant and that the shared parking agreement is now "no longer valid." She told commissioners the owner, Mohammed Jafar, plans to demolish the paved parking and install a six-foot wooden fence along the property boundary.

The change will remove split zoning on the parcel, restoring a single zoning designation consistent with surrounding properties. Staff recommended approval with two conditions: that the wooden fence be approved in lieu of a masonry screening wall and that the existing paved parking area be demolished before a building permit is issued.

Neighbor Angelita Diaz, who lives at 816 Bullock Street, told the commission that nearby commercial properties had masonry screening walls and asked about consistency. "All the businesses there put up a brick fence. So they pretty much blocked our alleyway as it is right now," she said. Boswell and commissioners explained the brick wall requirement typically applies on the commercial property; the applicant is proposing a wood fence on his lot and staff supported the exception.

Commissioner Daubmeier moved to approve PD-198R SF-7 for North Lake Estates Lot 23A with the staff conditions; Vice Chair Sue Blankenship seconded. The roll-call vote recorded all ayes and the motion carried.

The applicant will need to obtain a building permit and any required building-review comments must be addressed during that process. Boswell noted no formal easement for the former drive was found in the public record and that the SUP that allowed the parking had expired when the shared-use arrangement ended.

The commission also acknowledged that the property’s current zoning history differs from the city’s future land-use illustration but said existing zoning controls land use until a legislative change is made. The action does not change the lot size or create new lots; it removes the commercial overlay and restores residential zoning for the entire parcel.

The commission approved the rezoning unanimously. The applicant may return with building plans and must comply with demolition and fence conditions before a permit is issued.