Planning & Zoning recommends larger parking allocation for proposed H‑E‑B at First Ranch, ties mitigation to applicant

The Flower Mound Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Council approve a parking‑ratio deviation for a proposed H‑E‑B grocery at First Ranch, allowing the applicant to use a ratio of 1 parking space per 150 square feet instead of the town’s standard 1 per 250.

The recommendation, made during the commission’s regular meeting, would let the applicant build roughly 733 spaces under the requested ratio based on the conceptual plan presented to the commission; under the town’s standard the same building would require about 440 spaces (with a 20% allowance the town would permit up to 528). Commissioners tied their recommendation to mitigation measures the applicant proposed — primarily additional landscaping trees — and noted the full site plan and stormwater/green‑infrastructure design will come back for review.

Commissioners and staff said the proposed deviation is specific to this application and does not change town‑wide parking standards. Planning staff and the applicant described possible mitigation options required under the town ordinance for parking in excess of the allowable 20% deviation, including planting additional trees, increased stormwater treatment (bioswales or rain gardens), or alternate paving standards. The applicant’s conceptual landscape plan shows additional trees; staff said the tree count would be one tree per 10 spaces that exceed the town allowable 20% deviation, above required street yard and parking‑area trees.

Planning staff said the application is being reviewed as a miscellaneous permit specifically for the alternate parking ratio; a complete site plan application — including elevations, detailed landscape and stormwater plans, and engineering — will be required later. Staff noted the applicant may use shared‑parking or a recorded revocable parking agreement if adjacent parcels later develop in a way that changes parking demand.

Applicant representatives described a site‑level parking study of existing H‑E‑B stores in the Dallas–Fort Worth area and cited peak observations that, on busy days, some stores approached or reached full parking occupancy. Jonathan Kirby, the project engineer, said the chain’s parking‑study observations were “Using that as justification for the request.” Becca Wang, the H‑E‑B representative, told the commission, “We will try our hardest to make it a beautiful store because that’s what we do with all of our stores.”

Commissioners pressed the applicant on impervious area and heat‑island impacts from the extra pavement. Several members asked staff and the applicant to pursue green‑infrastructure elements — for example, bioswales and additional tree canopy — at the site‑plan stage. Staff said the town is working on an LDR update to encourage bioswales and other green‑infrastructure techniques and that those elements would be reviewed in detail with the forthcoming site plan.

Action: the commission voted to recommend approval of the miscellaneous application for an alternate parking ratio linked to this applicant and conditioned on the mitigation measures described in the packet; the recommendation will be forwarded to Town Council for final action.

What happens next: the applicant must submit a full site plan for technical review; staff said site‑plan review will address detailed landscaping, stormwater design, and any additional exceptions or conditions.