Commission approves parking-ratio change for 1.25-acre retail parcel housing Bahama Bucks

The Forney Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve an ordinance amending development standards for a 1.25-acre retail parcel east of North FM 548 and north of North Gateway Boulevard that includes the Bahama Bucks location. Staff described the change as moving the parking ratio to one space per 250 square feet for any use on that parcel, rather than the restaurant standard of one per 100 square feet.

Staff explained the amendment is intended to broaden the kinds of businesses that could occupy the retail strip without triggering a parking shortage. "Bahama Bucks is considered a restaurant that does use our most intense ratio of parking, which is 1 per 100 square feet," staff said, and the proposed change would allow other service and drive-through uses to fit in the remaining bays. Applicant Tony Morris said the strip currently operates primarily as quick-stop and drive-through businesses and that he does not plan to allow future dine-in restaurants: "There won't be any future dine in in that retail strip." The commission approved the amendment by voice vote after a public hearing and a brief applicant Q&A.

The record shows staff notified adjacent property owners and received no written responses. Commissioners asked about parking counts during buildout; staff and the applicant discussed that the site has 23 spaces, Bahama Bucks would require 16 under the restaurant standard, and the unbuilt tenant area would require 11 spaces under standard retail ratios, a configuration that can create a four-space shortfall without the amendment. The ordinance change applies only to the specified 1.25-acre area and was recommended by staff to facilitate tenant flexibility while retaining oversight through the city's development review process.