Historic board recommends approval for Rockwall Community Playhouse redevelopment

The Rockwall City Historic Preservation Advisory Board recommended approval of a redevelopment plan for the Rockwall Community Playhouse that would demolish two medium-contributing buildings and construct a new performance center and practice hall.

Staff described application H2025-019 as a three-part request: (1) demolition of the existing community playhouse and an adjacent single-family residence, (2) construction of a roughly 9,700-square-foot performance center on North Clark Street with a separate ~2,000-square-foot practice hall at the rear, and (3) a zoning change from Single Family 7 to a Planned Development District to allow community theater as a permitted use. Staff said the applicant would clad the buildings in lap siding and that the new design reduced an earlier requested height of 45 feet to 35 feet.

Jonathan Brown, AIA of JHP Architecture, representing the applicant, told the board the design was revised after two neighborhood meetings and direct resident feedback. "We held two meetings over the last three months and got a lot of really good feedback," Brown said, noting the applicant withdrew an earlier submittal and returned with a design the neighborhood found more acceptable.

Staff flagged several requested variances and discretionary items: a 15-foot front yard setback request where 20 feet is typical; a 10-foot side yard adjacent to residential where the code calls for 20 feet; and a 35-foot maximum height request where Single Family 7 district limits are 32 feet. Parking for the performance center was cited as 51 spaces requested versus the 54 spaces staff said the ordinance would require for a 1-per-3-seat ratio. Staff also noted changes to facade materials (100% lap siding instead of brick/board-and-batten) and proposed fence materials (a six-foot cedar fence with landscape screening instead of masonry or wrought iron adjacent to residential).

Staff confirmed required demolition standards were discretionary for the board and that, if the board approved the zoning change recommendation, the action would be forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Staff said 37 notices were mailed to property owners and occupants within 200 feet of the subject property on November 4; no written comments were on file at the meeting.

A board member moved to approve the design, the demolitions and to recommend the rezoning as presented. The motion was seconded and the board voted by voice to forward a recommendation on the zoning portion to Planning & Zoning and City Council. The transcript does not record a numeric roll-call tally for this motion. The item will proceed to the next stages of review at the Planning and Zoning Commission and then City Council.