Council approves Sprouts site plan for Plaza at Bessie Coleman with traffic mitigation requirement

The Waxahachie City Council on May 20 approved a site plan for the Plaza at Bessie Coleman (SP-222-2024) and adopted a development agreement amendment requiring roadway improvements intended to limit left turns from the new development onto U.S. Highway 77.

Council members said safety and traffic flow on Bessie Coleman Boulevard at U.S. 77 were central to their decision after residents and council members raised concerns that new retail, a grocery anchor and restaurants would increase turning conflicts at an already busy corridor.

City planner Trenton presented the site plan, saying the development is within Planned Development PD-42-C (Ordinance 1528) and meets the city’s architectural, parking, landscaping and screening requirements. The proposal shows a Sprouts grocery (7 a.m.–10 p.m.) as the anchor, plus three multi‑tenant retail buildings and several undeveloped lots that would require separate approvals when proposed.

Developer Kevin McIntosh said Sprouts has signed a lease and that the project is intended as a full shopping center rather than a single building. “We have to deliver at least 15,000 square feet of retail with Sprouts,” McIntosh said. “From a cost standpoint, yes, we would be willing to do [the pork‑chop and striping].”

Council members pressed staff and the developer about a traffic impact analysis (TIA) and TxDOT standards. City and public‑works staff said the submitted TIA recommends restriping Bessie Coleman to add a center turn lane and signal‑timing adjustments; it did not require a hooded right‑egress (a “pork‑chop”) at the Bessie Coleman/U.S. 77 intersection. Staff also noted TxDOT’s typical traffic‑signal spacing standard of about 1,200 feet, which limits the ability to add a new signal at that location.

Councilman Wright and others said they would not support approval without a concrete mitigation plan to prevent unsafe left turns from the new site onto 77. Council discussion settled on a development‑agreement amendment obligating the developer to construct a hooded right‑egress from Bessie Coleman to U.S. 77 and to provide striping along Bessie Coleman to include a turn lane prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Council also requested right‑turn signage. The council accepted language that would be finalized in the development agreement; councilmembers indicated the city would work with TxDOT on final configuration.

The council voted to approve SP-222-2024 subject to the staff conditions and later approved the development agreement with the amendment committing the developer to the hooded egress and striping. Council members and staff discussed a ballpark cost for a pork‑chop median (estimates mentioned during discussion ranged roughly $80,000–$150,000) and said the developer indicated willingness to cover the minimum improvements; any further oversizing or additional improvements could be negotiated in the development agreement.

The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval 5–1; staff recommended approval subject to conditions. With the council’s action, the site plan is approved and the amended development agreement will be finalized and recorded before final occupancy of the center.

Questions left for staff and the developer include final engineering details, TxDOT approvals for the hooded egress, and the precise allocation of costs in the recorded development agreement.