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Staff recommends conditions for Interstate 20 rezoning and outside‑storage SUP, including chain‑link slat screening
Summary
Staff told the commission it recommends rezoning an 18‑acre Interstate 20 site to a planned development for light industrial uses and granting a specific‑use permit for outside storage of metal racking, with conditions: limit storage to the red‑marked area, keep storage east of the fire lane, set storage back about 210 feet from I‑20 and require permits and installation of slat screening within three months of council approval.
A staff presenter told the Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 13 that an existing office‑warehouse site at 200155 W. Interstate 20 seeks rezoning from PD‑55 (commercial) to a planned development for light industrial to allow light manufacturing and assembly, and that the DRC recommends approval.
Because some outside storage lies within an overlay district, the applicant also requested a specific‑use permit to store empty metal racking (about 35,000 square feet of storage area with racks 15–18 feet tall). Staff said the site constraints — including an Encore easement that places the existing chain‑link fence within the easement — prevent construction of a permanent solid masonry wall at the location and that the applicant proposes adding high‑density polyethylene slats to the chain‑link fence as a visual screen.
Staff recommended several conditions intended to reduce visual impacts: limit outside storage to the area shown in red on the plan, prohibit outside storage west of the fire lane, require the outside storage area to be set back approximately 210 feet from the I‑20 property line, obtain a building permit before installing slat inserts and install the slats within three months of city‑council approval of the SUP.
Commissioners asked whether the slats would hold up to Texas sun and noted that slat materials can become brittle; staff said the business maintenance code and property‑owner responsibility would govern remediation of dilapidated material and that the applicant should be asked about specific slat specifications. The presenter noted the motive for the slat solution is the existing easement and chain link fence condition that prevent a permanent masonry solution at that location.
The DRC recommendation and the proposed conditions are intended to permit the applicant to use the existing fence while minimizing visibility from the frontage road and the Walmart parking area nearby. Staff said the applicant must obtain permits and adhere to specified setbacks if the SUP is approved.
