Planning commission recommends council allow warehouse-office uses with conditions at Brookside site

The City of Temple Planning and Zoning Commission on April 21 voted unanimously to recommend that City Council amend Ordinance No. 2022-0059-O to allow "warehouse office" uses with a conditional use permit in the general retail segment for a mixed-use development at 7040 Brookside Boulevard.

Senior neighborhood planner Christina Strickland told commissioners the request would remove warehouse office from the list of prohibited uses in the general retail segment and would require a conditional use permit. "Staff does recommend approval of the requested amendment to ordinance number 2022-0059-O to remove warehouse office from the list of prohibited uses within the general retail segment and approve a conditional use permit to allow warehouse office within the general retail segment subject to those proposed conditions," Strickland said.

Why it matters: The change would allow a developer’s hybrid retail/flex-industrial concept on roughly 75.25 acres south of Airport Road and north of Prairie View, where the city’s future land use plan designates an employment mixed-use area. Commissioners and staff emphasized traffic and timing conditions intended to protect surrounding neighborhoods and roadway function.

What the plan includes and conditions - Developer Tom Staub of Vertic Development Group described the project as a prototype hybrid ‘‘business park’’ with five retail storefront buildings totaling about 18,000 square feet, and 35 warehouse-office buildings totaling about 109,000 square feet plus 10 screened yards. The site plan shows roughly 301 required parking spaces and landscaped islands; Strickland said the development provides about 9.9% landscaping versus the 5% UDC minimum. - Staff outlined several recommended conditions: require a binding site plan; provide shared-access easements to the north and seek TxDOT approval for future Airport Road access; require Leitner Lane to be upgraded to neighborhood collector standards (including a 700-foot deceleration lane on Airport Road); require retail storefronts to be built prior to or in conjunction with the warehouse-office buildings and with certificates of occupancy withheld from warehouse-office buildings until storefronts have COs; and require substantial compliance with the renderings provided.

Traffic, safety and operations - The applicant provided a traffic overview and a traffic impact analysis during review. Project engineer Luke Carraway said the package includes signalization of the Airport–Leitner intersection, protected turn lanes and a required deceleration lane. "From a public safety standpoint, this would be a great benefit to the community," Carraway said of signalization. - Carraway and staff said occasional larger trucks could visit the site but that daily 18-wheeler volumes like those typical of heavy industrial parks were not expected. Brookside Boulevard and Leitner Lane will be built or upgraded to collector standards per the thoroughfare plan, staff said.

Public comment and developer response - During public comment, resident Alan Lytle said he was concerned about drainage and flood impacts, water/sewer availability and locations for dumpsters. Strickland and the project engineer responded that water and wastewater are available along Airport Road and that the site plan had been reviewed with the director of solid waste to ensure dumpster access (65-foot straight approach) and with the city for drainage; Carraway said the subdivision channel was designed to convey 100-year fully developed flows and that staff had reviewed detention strategy. - Tom Staub said the applicant plans to build the retail portion in phase 1 and begin construction in fall with preleasing beginning the following year; he and his team said the full project was financially viable only as a complete buildout because of infrastructure costs.

Commission action and next steps - Commissioner Rhodes moved, Commissioner Kearney seconded and the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval to city council per staff recommendation. Recorded votes: Commissioner Morales—Aye; Commissioner Walker—Aye; Commissioner Juracek—Aye; Commissioner Rhodes—Aye; Commissioner Kearney—Aye; Chair Kira Krause—Aye. - Staff noted a super-majority vote will be required at council because one notice represented 290 properties within the 200-foot notification boundary; staff also offered an alternative recommendation (approve the retail portion only) given opposition and the super-majority requirement. The matter will proceed to City Council for consideration and any final council conditions.

The developer and staff also fielded detailed questions from commissioners about visibility and possible drive access from Leitner Lane and about coordinating TxDOT approvals; staff and the applicant said they would work with TxDOT and finalize access plans as required.