Planning staff preview Encore Tire electrical substation, recommend approval with variances

City of Grand Prairie planning staff presented a site plan (STP 2411-0045) for an Encore Tire electrical substation located inside the Poly America campus and recommended approval at the commission's Jan. 13 staff briefing. No formal action was taken at the briefing; public hearing and final action will occur at the regular meeting.

The proposal places equipment pads and vehicle access within a gated, fenced portion of the Poly America property near the Marshall Road/Great Southwest area. Staff said the site includes steep slopes adjacent to a creek and will require grading and slope containment measures. No habitable structures are proposed; the plan preserves a small pad for potential future expansion.

Because the leased parcel has no public street frontage and lies within a secured industrial campus, the applicant requested two variances: relief from the minimum landscape buffer that would normally apply along street frontages, and permission to use gravel as the base material for equipment pads rather than full paving. Staff noted the applicant prefers gravel to avoid conflicts with overhead electrical lines and said a similar gravel exception was approved previously for an Encore substation on Beltline around 2018–2019. The applicant will provide concrete for vehicle maneuvering areas and asphalt connections to existing pavement, while the equipment pad areas would remain gravel.

Staff also said the site will include an 8-foot masonry screening wall where appropriate; the ordinance minimum is 6 feet. The applicant told staff expected equipment heights would be roughly 50 to 65 feet, though staff characterized those as equipment heights rather than building heights. Because the property is accessed only through Poly America's gated entries, staff emphasized there is no public street frontage to accommodate standard perimeter landscaping.

Planning staff recommended approval of the site plan with the requested variances. The applicant plans to attend the public hearing to answer commission and public questions. The record showed no formal motions or votes during the briefing.

If the commission or members of the public raise concerns at the regular meeting, staff indicated the applicant will respond and that final determinations, including any modifications to recommended conditions, will be made in the public hearing process.