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Council OKs first-reading site plan amendments for Dakota's redevelopment with driveway variances, reforestation conditions
Summary
On first reading the council approved a revised generalized SP-2 site plan for the Dakota's Steakhouse site at 1901 W. Kirkwood Blvd., granting driveway and stacking variances and adding conditions on tree-caliper minimums and a reforestation payment cap.
The City Council gave first-reading approval on May 20 to an amended SP-2 generalized site plan for the Dakota's Steakhouse and event center at 1901 W. Kirkwood Boulevard, allowing the restaurant event center and associated specialty retail with revised building orientation and two driveway variances.
Planning staff described two alternate site plans presented by the applicant. Staff said the revised plans reduced required parking for the restaurant and event center by applying a seating-based calculation rather than a floor-area calculation, and that alternate plan 1 (the plan the council approved) includes added parking and seven retail buildings. Staff noted tree-preservation improvements in the alternates compared with the originally approved plan.
The council also approved two variances related to driveways: a reduced stacking depth of roughly 52 feet where the ordinance requires 75 feet for the 114 frontage driveway, and driveway spacing that is slightly under the standard center-line distance from intersections and adjacent driveways. Mayor and council questioned parking and design details; the applicant, Tim McEnany, said TxDOT provided an access point on the frontage road and described placing the restaurant at the corner as preferable. McEnany said of the TxDOT access, "TxDOT put that in. So that was a gift." He also discussed a phased build approach and parking agreements for employee parking.
Council imposed several conditions when approving alternate plan 1 on first reading: a maximum payment of $150,000 into the city's reforestation fund (to be used if additional on-site mitigation is not feasible), a minimum caliper of 4 inches for required canopy trees, and elimination of 28 parking spaces along the Kirkwood frontage that had been shown on earlier renderings. The council approved the requested driveway variances and the alternate plan on a 6-0 vote.
Why it matters: The approvals allow the property owner to reorient the buildings and proceed with a phased development plan while addressing the city's tree-conservation objectives and adjusting parking calculations to reflect seating and function of the restaurant and event space.
What to watch next: The applicant must secure final site-plan approvals for retail buildings in any later phase and move forward with permitting. The reforestation fund payment and tree-caliper requirements will be conditions tracked by the planning department.
