McDonald's-CS 970821 CITY OF COPPELL
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
CASE NO.: S-1022R, McDONALD'S
P & Z HEARING DATE: August 21, 1997
C.C. HEARING DATE: September 9, 1997
LOCATION: Approx. 201 feet south of the Southwest comer of Sandy Lake and
Denton Tap Roads.
SIZE OF AREA: 0.987 acres; proposed 975 s.f. addition to a 4767 s.f. existing
building
CURRENT ZONING: C -S.U.P. (Commercial, Special Use Permi0
REQUEST: Amend the Site Plan to permit a 975-square-foot attached enclosed
play area on the north side of the existing restaurant.
APPLICANT: McDonald's Corporation Architect:
511 East Carpenter Fwy, Ste 375 David E. Larsen
Irving TX 75062 3011 Canton
(972) 869-1888 Dallas TX 75226
Fax (972) 869-5380 (214) 939-3908
Fax (214) 939-3907
HISTORY: A recorded plat of this property is dated December 3, 1987. City
Council rezoned the property from "R' Retail to "C" Commercial
and granted a Special Use Permit for a drive-through type
restaurant on July 18, 1989. The Planning and Zoning
Commission continued its hearing of the current application from
June 19, 1997, to August 21.
TRANSPORTATION: Denton Tap Road is a P6D six-lane divided major thoroughfare
within a 120'-wide right-of-way.
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SURROUNDING LAND USE & ZONING:
North Existing Exxon service station; "R" Retail
South - Existing KFC restaurant; "C" Commercial
East Existing Town Oaks Centre Shopping Center; "C" Commercial
West Undeveloped; "R' Retail
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Comprehensive Plan shows the property suitable for
neighborhood retail use.
DISCUSSION: This property contains a conforming use with non-conforming site
development standards. By current standards, the site development is
short by 8 parking spaces and by about 7000 square feet of landscaping.
The zoning ordinance is very clear that expansion of a dimensionally non-
conforming structure is permissible, but only when such enlargement or
addition observes all the current area regulations and development
standards of the ordinance.
Over the past 10 years, lack of adequate parking has been readily
apparent. On many occasions parking spills out into off-site driveways on
the south and west.
Current regulations require that the addition of 975 square feet of gross
restaurant building area be accompanied by the addition of 10 more
parking spaces. Since there is no room on the site for any additional
parking, the only avenue available to the applicant is to seek a special
exception from the Board of Adjustment for a 31% reduction in parking
(40 provided vs. 58 required). If the Planning and Zoning Commission
and City Council were inclined toward permitting building expansion
without additional parking, approval could be subject to the Board of
Adjustment granting a special exception.
The addition of 975 square feet of building, however, will increase the
landscaping shortfall, as well. Therefore, even with a special exception
to the parking requirements, it is difficult to see how new construction to
accommodate the enlargement can observe all the current landscaping
standards.
Finally, there is the issue of Coppell's visual image. The applicant has
revised the building elevations since June, resulting in a design which
disguises the standard McDonald's Playplace to some degree. Staff has
offered several additional suggestions to enhance the application such as
lowering the floor beneath the play apparatus to reduce the building
height, increasing the quantity of landscape material within the limited
space available, eliminating or significantly reducing the size of proposed
new signs, and rerouting the overhead electrical service for the building
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on existing poles behind the KFC facilities to eliminate at least 3 of the
5 on-site power poles. While the applicant reduced the size of the signs
on the north face of the Playplace from that submitted for DRC review,
in the opinion of the planning staff the proposed project's overall visual
appearance still falls short of the objectives of the C.I.V.I.C.
recommendations of February, 1997.
RECOMMENDATION TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION:
Planning staff recommends disapproval. The principal reason is the
reduction of landscaping resulting from the building expansion, further
aggravating a situation already substandard by current criteria. We
believe that Section 40 of the Zoning Ordinance, as recently amended,
makes it clear that building expansion is permissible only when the new
construction conforms with current development standards. On this
property, existing site constraints make it impossible for that to occur.
Another important consideration is the history of insufficient parking.
Staff believes that it would be more prudent to solve the existing parking
problem before embarking upon building expansion plans. A third
consideration is the desire of the community to maintain low-key,
traditional building standards in its retail districts.
ALTERNATIVES: 1) Recommend approval of the request
2) Recommend disapproval of the request
3) Recommend modification of the request
4) Take under advisement for reconsideration at a later date.
ATTACHMENTS: 1) Landscape/Site Plan
2) Floor Plan
3) Building Elevations
4) Departmental Comments
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