Commission recommends denial of 7.48‑acre retail PD at FM 1387 after concerns on drainage, signage and compatibility

A contentious public hearing on a proposed 7.48‑acre Planned Development at FM 1387 and Walnut Grove ended with the commission recommending denial after staff outlined outstanding concerns on drainage, traffic impact analysis, transition screening, and several requested variances.

Senior planner (speaker 8) told commissioners that staff’s primary concerns were a need for a revised traffic impact analysis, uncertainty and timing for TxDOT frontage improvements, drainage and downstream impacts, and a lack of agreed screening and landscaping to protect adjacent residential and institutional uses. The applicant/developer Bonnie Rubindran (speaker 19) presented a phased plan that puts a daycare and some retail in phase 1 and proposed mitigation including a 440‑foot deceleration lane, revised detention design reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps and a commitment to additional landscaping and a revised sign plan. She told the commission the team had met with TxDOT and expected right‑of‑way acquisition to occur in the future.

Neighbors raised concerns about drainage, safety and proximity to the high school; some supported reduced variances if the developer agreed to additional screening, a 10‑foot evergreen planting and sidewalks. The developer said she would accept a 10‑foot evergreen buffer, move a sign location and install sidewalks where feasible, and that staff review would continue on drainage design.

Despite several concessions, several commissioners said the application still required more work with staff; one commissioner described the list of variances as too extensive and recommended the applicant continue working with staff. The commission voted to recommend denial to city council (recorded as 6–1). The developer was offered the opportunity to return after addressing staff concerns.