Commission approves Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD ag barn, arena and lot plat on Sandy Lake Road

The Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 16 approved a planned development (PD-322-a) and a companion minor plat to allow Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District to construct a new 14,000-square-foot educational ag barn, a 13,350-square-foot covered arena and outdoor learning stations on approximately 42 acres north of Sandy Lake Road near the Elm Fork.

Staff and the applicant told the commission the site has been used by the district since the 1970s as an agricultural science and outdoor learning center serving about 6,000 students annually. The site is largely in the floodplain; staff said the project will regrade a portion of the property and bring imported fill to raise the barn pad roughly out of the 100-year floodplain. "After the regrading, the pink shows what's gonna be out of the flood plain. So the building will be out of the flood plain," staff said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the development expands formal classroom and animal-care facilities and…