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Commissioners table Frontier Gateway preliminary site plan to April 14 for open-space and frontage revisions
Summary
The commission pulled and then tabled the Frontier Gateway preliminary site plan after commissioners said the open-space layout and tollway frontage need reworking; applicant said added sidewalks and raised planting beds address concerns. Tabled to the April 14 meeting (6-0).
The Planning and Zoning Commission removed the Frontier Gateway preliminary site plan from the table and heard a detailed presentation on the project's revisions, but ultimately tabled the item to April 14 to allow the applicant to work with staff on open-space configuration and tollway-frontage design.
Staff described the revised layout (12 lots, phasing north side Lots 1–8 then Lots 9–12 on the south, and Lot 11 split into two two-story buildings) and said the plan meets the town's minimum open-space and zoning requirements at this stage. Several commissioners said they remain unconvinced the open-space areas are organized in a usable or walkable way and urged the applicant to reconfigure key public spaces so they function as a true "place." One commissioner said the current layout creates large swaths of parking that will discourage walking and fail to make the water feature and seating areas focal, rather than peripheral.
Applicant representative Sagar Calaprolu said the team added sidewalks, raised planting beds (4–5-foot planting beds around key seating areas), additional seating and a two-story building option to generate office or restaurant uses and to improve connectivity: "We have intentionally created some raised beds and which are going to be 4, 5 feet height... and chances of your headlights directly hitting the people who are sitting there is not there," he said.
Broker Rex Glendening advised commissioners that drainage easements and a large drainage channel (roughly 6.5 acres) constrain options along the tollway and the northern edge, making traditional frontage retail or certain mix of uses less feasible. Following discussion, Commissioner Hamilton moved to table the preliminary site plan to April 14 so the applicant can address the commission's feedback; the amended motion to set the April 14 date carried 6-0.
Next steps: the applicant will coordinate with staff on a revised open-space and frontage plan and return to the commission at the April 14 meeting.
