Council approves Flexingate zoning change and one‑year special‑use permit for outside storage with conditions

The City Council approved a plan‑development zoning change and a specific‑use permit allowing outside storage for Flexingate at a site along West I‑20, subject to conditions and a one‑year compliance review.

Mallory Muse (speaker 20), representing Flexingate, described the company’s rapid expansion since locating in Grand Prairie — telling the council the site now employs roughly 1,400 staff, about 300 of whom are Grand Prairie residents. Muse said the outside storage racks would be consolidated to a location the company moved specifically to reduce neighborhood impacts, placed behind an existing 400,000‑square‑foot building and screened from view. “We are proposing to move the storage to the area in green… because it’s the furthest point away from the residents that we can get, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 feet away,” Muse said.

Planning staff described the requested plan development district allowing light industrial uses for the northern building and a special‑use permit for outside storage. The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval 7–0 with conditions including limiting the outside storage area to the red‑outlined area on the site plan, set‑backs from property lines, installation of polyethylene slats on existing chain‑link fencing (with building permits required), and a requirement that the slats be installed within three months of council approval. The commission also recommended a one‑year return to council to review SUP compliance.

A council member moved to approve items 28 and 29 with the one‑year SUP review and the motion carried. The approval includes the timeline for slat installation and a condition that council will re‑review the SUP in one year to confirm compliance.