Planning commission approves O'Neil Painting site plan and minor plat on South Freeport Parkway

Coppell, Texas — The Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission on May 15 approved a site plan and a companion minor plat allowing construction of a one-story office-warehouse for O'Neil Painting and the creation of two lots on roughly 2.8 acres on the east side of South Freeport Parkway near West Sandy Lake Road.

In a staff presentation, Mary Perron Boswell, planning staff, said the proposal places the building toward the front of the site and preserves the back half in its natural state. "The site plan provided shows that the building is situated towards the front of the lot, leaving the rear in its natural state and preserving the trees found therein," Boswell said. The commission voted unanimously to approve both the site plan (Lot 1, Block A) and the minor plat (Lots 1 and 2, Block A), each with the conditions recommended by staff.

Why it matters: The approvals allow a commercial use to proceed adjacent to existing residential zoning to the north and east and include two variances to subdivision rules — one related to use of an existing median opening on Freeport Parkway and one to allow access to Lot 2 by an easement rather than direct adjacency to a dedicated street. Staff supported the variances because the development is expected to generate low traffic and building and permitting reviews will add technical conditions.

Key facts: The approved site plan authorizes a roughly 10,080-square-foot, one-story office-warehouse building oriented toward Freeport Parkway; staff presentations and the agenda noted the building will be about 22 feet tall. The site provides 24 parking spaces (the ordinance-required total is 21), a fire lane encircling the building, loading areas and a rear dumpster. Staff said about 49% of the site will be landscaped and the applicant will plant 22 overstory trees and pay approximately $74,750 in tree-mitigation fees.

Staff said roughly half the building will be office space and the rear half used for storage, with the applicant estimating about six office employees and three superintendents. Greg Franca of GPF Architects, the applicant's representative, told commissioners the business expects "roughly 8 to 5 operation" on standard weekdays.

Conditions and outstanding requirements: Approvals were conditioned on standard engineering and building-permit reviews. Specific conditions recorded by staff and accepted by the commission include: - Signage must comply with the city sign ordinance and no signage was proposed with the application. - Submission of lighting plans (wall packs) and demonstration of shielding to meet the glare and lighting ordinance at building permit review. - A required tree removal permit before any trees are removed and compliance with tree-mitigation requirements. - A 6-foot masonry screening wall along the north and east property lines abutting residential zoning; the screening wall must be in place before the building goes vertical. - Placement of gravel along the east side of the screening wall in the alley area to facilitate maintenance. - Updated plans to show the fire lane with distances and bearings.

Variances and plat details: The minor plat divides the roughly 2.808-acre parcel into Lot 1 (about 1.8 acres) and Lot 2 (about 1.0 acre). The applicant requested and staff recommended approval of two variances from the Subdivision Ordinance: (1) a variance to the requirement that nonresidential lots on divided thoroughfares have direct or indirect access to a median opening (engineers supported use of the existing driveway and no new median opening), and (2) a variance to the requirement that lots be adjacent to a dedicated street, with staff noting Lot 2 would be accessed by an easement through Lot 1 and could be combined with adjacent parcels in the future.

Commission action: Commissioner Guerra moved to approve the site plan (Lot 1, Block A) subject to staff conditions; Vice Chair Blankenship seconded. The vote was unanimous (ayes recorded for Commissioner Donmeyer, Commissioner Guerra, Vice Chair Blankenship, Chairman Evan Haas, Commissioner Mower and Commissioner Bishop). Commissioner Maurer moved to approve the minor plat (Lots 1 and 2, Block A) subject to staff conditions; Commissioner Bishop seconded; the commission again voted unanimously.

Context and next steps: Staff noted the approvals are site-plan and plat approvals only; detailed construction cannot begin until the applicant secures required building permits, final engineering approvals, the tree removal permit (if trees are to be removed), and any other permits or inspections the city requires. The masonry screening wall must be completed before the building is allowed to go vertical, and lighting, utilities and fire-lane bearings must be finalized in subsequent permit reviews.

The commission convened in pre-session at 6:00 p.m., moved into regular session at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 6:44 p.m.