The Garland City Council on Jan. 7 approved a special-use permit allowing a restaurant with a drive-through in a planned shopping-center development near 4802 North President George Bush Turnpike.

Planning staff told the council the site is roughly two acres in a planned development (PD 00-39) with a community-retail base designation and is consistent with the comprehensive plan’s community-center guidance. Planning staff said the proposal shows building placement, parking, landscape buffering and internal circulation, and noted concerns about connectivity that the plan addresses by stopping a pedestrian/vehicular connection short of nearby residential neighborhoods.

“The applicant is requesting indefinite time period for the SUP, although our SUP time period guideline recommends a range of 20 to 25 years,” planning staff said. The council approved a 25‑year special‑use permit in line with staff guidance and the planning commission’s recommendation.

The applicant, Ashley Colson, responded to a council question about ingress and egress, saying the site will share drive aisles with the adjacent Kiddie Academy to the west and will have a reciprocal access arrangement with the property to the east when that property develops. “Kiddie Academy is fully aware and agrees,” Colson said.

Councilmember Bass moved to approve the SUP for 25 years; the motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Moore and approved unanimously.

Why it matters: The SUP permits a drive-through at a site inside a planned retail node and includes a 25‑year time frame that establishes conditions for the use over multiple development cycles. Supporters said the plan is consistent with the comp plan and complementary to surrounding PDs; one nearby property owner submitted written opposition citing a perceived saturation of restaurants in the area.

Votes at the meeting record the motion as passed unanimously; numeric vote counts were not specified in the meeting record.