The Planning and Zoning Commission on Nov. 5 recommended approval of the Tribes Church site plan for property off FM 407, subject to multiple variances and additional landscaping and berm conditions.

Harrison, planning staff, reviewed the application and said the project defaults to the town's office-retail standards because the property will be used for a nonresidential purpose. The applicant requested variances for: a maximum front-yard setback (the building is placed farther back than the ordinance allows), facade articulation on a long unbroken wall, more than 10% of parking located in front of the building, an alternative to an 8-foot masonry wall on the east buffer (proposing a 5-foot pipe fence plus dense planting), and a request to allow a 3-foot earthen berm along FM 407 in lieu of 12 required canopy trees.

Staff's breakdown showed the sanctuary-based parking standard (1 parking space per 3 seats) would require 65 spaces but the site plan provides 91; 55 spaces would be in front of the building (about 60% of total). Harrison also reported tree impacts: the plan removes roughly 190 caliper inches of protected/specimen/majestic trees and, under town mitigation rules, would require additional replacement trees (six 4-inch, nineteen 6-inch, and six 10-inch caliper-inch tree replacements according to staff calculations).

Design Works architect Matthew Holtman and Tribes Church representative Craig Weideman told commissioners the building orientation and parking layout are driven by functional needs for sanctuary size, children's facilities and site safety, and they described iterative landscape revisions intended to produce a substantial vegetative buffer. Holtman said the applicant is sensitive to density of planting and wants trees and planting that are maintainable, while Weideman said the church's use is not analogous to a commercial office and that the layout reflects that functional difference.

After extended questions from commissioners about headlight glare and the southeast property line (which contains floodplain), a motion to approve staff recommendations passed 7-0 after an amendment that preserved the staff variances except the alternative to reduce canopy trees on FM 407: the commission required the canopy-tree planting along FM 407 and added conditions calling for a 3-foot berm on the north/front buffer and additional berming/visual screening near the southern hammerhead area and east-side buffering. The motion also included a condition that the applicant meet tree-mitigation requirements on-site or make the required payment into the town's reforestation fund if on-site planting is infeasible.

What changed from the initial plan: staff and commissioners discussed several landscape plan iterations; staff recommended allowing a pipe fence rather than masonry if the full vegetative buffer is provided and recommended a 3-foot berm in the north/front buffer in exchange for reduced required canopy trees along 407. Commissioners asked for the canopy tree minimum to be met on the 407 frontage and for clear, on-site tree mitigation or payment to the reforestation fund.

Vote: motion as amended carried 7-0. The matter will proceed to the town council for final action.