Planning commission recommends Hicks and Harmon site plan with requirement that exterior lighting be shielded

The City of Haslet Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve the Hicks and Harmon addition site plan, with the specific condition that all exterior lighting be shielded and not visible from the horizontal. The commission made the recommendation after a staff presentation and discussion of the project’s site layout and photometric plans.

A staff member told commissioners the proposal covers roughly 67 acres and would accommodate "almost 1000000 square foot" of building space, with surface and truck parking, retention ponds and a proposed T-intersection at Harmon Road and Blue Mound Road. During discussion, commissioners pressed the developer on access and lighting; the motion to recommend approval included the lighting condition to prevent glare and reduce light trespass into the surrounding area. "All exterior lighting must be shielded and not visible from the horizontal," a commissioner said when proposing the motion.

The developer and civil engineer described the photometric and landscape plans on the commission’s packet and confirmed that the fixtures called out in the plans are shown as shielded in the photometric sheets. The civil engineer, Raul Savala of Westwood Professional Services, answered technical questions about phasing and access and confirmed the plan shows shielding in the photometric notes. The commission’s recommendation is advisory; final approval will be decided by the City Council as part of its site-plan review process.

The commission’s action follows a public hearing on the site plan for which no members of the public registered to speak. Commissioners said their lighting condition was intended to avoid glare visible from nearby roadways and adjacent properties.