Council approves Falcon Town Center plan and Dairy Queen drive-through with conditions after resident objections

The Corinth City Council on July 17 approved zoning and site-specific actions to allow a new retail center at the northeast corner of Park Ridge Drive and FM 2181 and a standalone Dairy Queen restaurant with a drive-through adjacent to the site. The council approved the Falcon Town Center planned development (Case ZAPD25-0005) and later granted a specific-use permit for the Dairy Queen drive-through after a public hearing and discussion of conditions.

City planner Matthew Lilly summarized the Falcon Town Center concept as a roughly 2-acre development that includes a 5,920-square-foot retail building and a 3,757-square-foot ‘‘canal' (service/tenant space), noting staff encouraged changes to save a large 36-inch oak and to add buffer landscaping and sidewalk adjustments. Staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval; P&Z voted 5-0 in favor for the Falcon Town Center.

For the Dairy Queen specific-use permit, Lilly said the site would be a 1,930-square-foot drive-through restaurant sharing access with Falcon Town Center and include a roughly 25-foot landscape buffer along the eastern property line and a wet retention pond along FM 2181. P&Z added conditions requiring an 8-foot board-on-board wood privacy fence and an evergreen vegetative screening up to about 12 feet to mitigate light and noise; P&Z recommended approval 4-1. Staff reported five letters of opposition to the Dairy Queen SUP.

Resident Daniel Lee, who said he lives at 3307 Acropolis Drive northeast of the project, spoke during the public hearing and urged the council to consider long-term effectiveness of the vegetative buffer. Lee said trees take years to mature, that headlights and light penetration through a wood fence could continue to reach backyards, and that stacked fences would present coordination problems with neighbors. He also raised concerns about idling vehicles at the drive-through, exhaust and noise from the call box.

Planning staff and the developer said the proposal includes parallel parking on the east side, tree preservation in the primary tree area, and pedestrian improvements including shifting sidewalk to create a minimum three-foot landscape strip with native plantings. Lilly also noted a recent city amendment now requires wet ponds adjacent to public right-of-way.

Council moved and approved the Falcon Town Center plan and the Dairy Queen SUP as presented, with the vegetative screen and fencing provisions included by ordinance. The council's approvals were unanimous as recorded in the meeting; staff said the developer agreed to the added screening and planting requirements that are incorporated into the SUP ordinance.