Farmers Branch council denies special-use permit for proposed Kwik Trip at Midway and Alpha

The Farmers Branch City Council on Tuesday denied a special-use permit for a proposed Kwik Trip gasoline service station and convenience store on about 1.48 acres at 13601 Midway Road, and the applicant withdrew a separate request to allow beer and wine package sales at the site.

The proposal — for property within Plan Development District No. 64 — drew opposition from nearby property owners and private schools who cited traffic, public-safety and land-use concerns. Supporters and the applicant argued the store operator has strong security and retail controls and that the location would serve nearby multifamily residents.

Sarah Bergman, deputy director of planning, said the project requires a specific-use permit within PD-64. Bergman told the council the city’s future land-use map recommends high-density residential for the site, and she noted that “the proposal is not consistent with that designation.” She said notifications were mailed to property owners within 200 feet and that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval by a 5-to-2 vote.

Andrew Ruig, the applicant’s representative, said the SUP request is specifically for Kwik Trip and described the chain as “a well known quality operator.” He said the requested SUP is not a rezoning and that the underlying PD allows retail uses and an SUP process for this type of use.

Corey Vaughn, a Kwik Trip project manager, described company operations and training and said the chain uses extensive store monitoring and internal “secret shoppers.” Vaughn said the company is long-term in the Dallas–Fort Worth market and noted company systems for responsible sales and property maintenance.

Opponents included Steve Flens, who represents MW3 BP Associates LLC, the owner immediately north of the site. Flens said “no traffic study was completed prior to PNZ approval” and raised safety and environmental concerns tied to gasoline operations, invoking federal hazardous-materials law: “It also prohibits storage or disposal of hazardous materials defined by the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980.”

Kelly Jo Sands, a parent and board member at Preston Hollow Presby School, said the 2045 comprehensive plan designates the parcel for high-density residential and urged the council to deny the SUP because of proximity to schools and potential late-night activity.

Chris Bowers, representing Parish Episcopal School, told the council Parish operates a roughly 55-acre campus about 375 to 400 feet from the site and urged council members to follow applicable law and the comprehensive plan. Bowers noted the city’s zoning ordinance and the state-local-government requirement that zoning be adopted in accordance with a comprehensive plan, and he recommended limits if the SUP were granted.

Traffic analysis was a central point of debate. Kelly Parma of Lee Engineering summarized a traffic study the applicant had commissioned after the Planning and Zoning hearing: she said counts were collected in November and that roughly three-quarters of convenience-store trips are “pass-by” trips already traveling the corridor (about 75% in the morning and 76% in the evening, per Parma). Parma also told the council that, in practice, drivers frequently use nearby signalized intersections (for example via Sigma) rather than making difficult median crossings on Midway.

Council members debated land-use consistency, public-safety impacts, and whether the package of operational controls and security measures Kwik Trip described would mitigate the concerns raised by schools and adjacent property owners. Several council members said they had been contacted by residents and stakeholders on both sides of the issue and expressed unease about approving an SUP that would remain in place if the operator later vacated the site.

Councilman Roman moved to deny Ordinance No. 39-22 (the SUP); the motion carried and the council voted to deny the application. After the vote, the applicant asked that the companion request to amend the beer-and-wine overlay (Ordinance No. 39-23) be withdrawn; the council accepted that withdrawal and took no action on Ordinance 39-23.

The decision leaves the existing bank building on the site in place under current zoning. Supporters of the Kwik Trip proposal pointed to an applicant estimate of increased annual sales and property tax revenue (the applicant estimated “north of a hundred thousand dollars” annually to the city based on a comparable Farmers Branch location), while opponents said revenue should not outweigh school safety, traffic and neighborhood character concerns.

The council’s action follows a 5–2 Planning and Zoning recommendation for approval and caps a public hearing that included multiple community speakers, technical testimony from a traffic engineer, and direct presentations from the applicant’s representatives. The council did not take additional action following an executive session and concluded the meeting at 7:24 p.m.