Commission defers Car Wash Crosstimbers plat after neighbors, church cite sight-line and safety concerns

The Planning Commission deferred the plat and related variance requests for the Car Wash Crosstimbers site (Item 110) on March 6 after residents and Saint Matthews United Methodist Church described safety issues at the site's driveway and nearby intersections.

Resident Adam Rodriguez described limited sight lines when exiting adjacent streets onto Crosstimbers and said the current layout increases U-turning and safety hazards. "The biggest problem is...everybody coming in and out has to u-turn at West Cross," Rodriguez told commissioners, urging the city to preserve setbacks for future redevelopment.

Reverend Lataya Simpson of Saint Matthews United Methodist Church, which operates a preschool adjacent to the site, told the commission the church's emergency exit uses Avens, which can be difficult to see around the car wash structure. "We are opposed to a 0 foot setback because it seems unreasonable to set a 0 foot setback for building construction," Simpson said, citing child-safety concerns for the preschool's 122 students.

Planning staff recommended deferral to allow the applicant to provide revised information that could remove one of the variance requests. Commissioners voted to defer the item; Commissioner Heinz moved the motion and Commissioner Vera Bland seconded.

Staff noted prior and ongoing street redesign work in the area and highlighted that the item includes requests to reduce right-of-way dedication and to encroach into the building line along Crosstimbers. The deferral will allow staff and the applicant to review safety and sight-line questions raised by residents and the church.