Legacy Pointe plan amendment to permit 'heavy retail' advances to special call meeting amid public concerns about self-storage

Planning staff introduced a proposed modification to the Legacy Pointe plan development at the May 27 work session to allow heavy retail in a limited portion of the site and to adjust design and development standards to accommodate such users, including permitting parking between the street and building facade. Staff said the change would create a more graded transition from a large movie-theater-style parking lot to a more pedestrian-oriented suburban form.

Staff said they will recommend approval at the special-call meeting that followed the work session, subject to conditions. Glenn McGee, representing the applicant South Star, said the applicant agreed with staff’s conditions. However, a public speaker, Scott Drum of A Plus Storage, told the commission his company had donated land for an entry roadway in 2018 and that the planning commission had previously indicated reluctance to approve additional self-storage in the area; Drum urged the city to remove self-storage from the Legacy Pointe plan, saying his firm had invested approximately $12 million nearby and that allowing more storage within three quarters of a mile would be unfair to his investment.

Staff and the developer noted that the proposed change confines heavy retail to a specific parcel and adjusts standards to support a different building-to-parking relationship; commissioners asked staff to proceed to the special-call meeting for a formal recommendation. No vote occurred at the work session; the special-call meeting was scheduled to consider the plan-development modification.