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Commission clears Old Town restaurant site plan, trims petition for oversized monument sign
Summary
Commission approved a site plan for a proposed 7,200 sq. ft. restaurant at South Elm Street and Keller Parkway with a condition tightening a landscape buffer; commissioners also declined the applicant's requested increases in monument sign size and height, forwarding both items to council.
The commission on May 27 approved a site plan and several variances for a proposed roughly 7,200‑square‑foot restaurant planned at the southeast corner of Keller Parkway and South Elm Street in Old Towne Keller and separately reviewed a request for a monument sign at the same location.
Staff said the lot is constrained by Old Towne Main Street subdistrict standards and by ongoing South Elm Street reconstruction. The applicant sought four site variances: (1) allow parking between the building and Keller Parkway, (2) under‑park the site (29 spaces provided vs. 48 required), (3) permit a variable landscape buffer along Keller Parkway because of tight lot dimensions, and (4) permit no landscape buffer along the west property line where city Elm Street improvements will install public landscaping. Staff noted the applicant is pursuing shared‑parking arrangements with neighboring properties and submitted civil plans under review.
The commission approved the site plan unanimously after adding one condition: the previously proposed variable width buffer must include a minimum of 15 feet in width where private property is required to provide the buffer. Commissioners emphasized the applicant should secure written shared‑parking agreements before council consideration and coordinate with staff on final pedestrian and streetscape details tied to the South Elm Street project.
The applicant also requested three sign variances to allow a monument sign in the Old Towne Main Street district and to exceed the UDC’s 60‑square‑foot and 6‑foot‑height limits. After discussion commissioners expressed concern about scale and sight lines for an 8‑foot, ~90‑square‑foot sign and amended a motion to remove the requested size and height variances; that amendment passed. The commission therefore forwarded a recommendation that the monument sign itself be limited to the UDC maximum size and height; council will consider both the site plan and sign matter on June 17.
