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Park 'N Fly-CS 931216 CITY OF COPPELL PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT CASE//: Park'N Fly Addition. Preliminary Plat P & Z HEARING DATE: December 16, 1993 C. C. HEARING DATE: January 11, 1994 LOCATION: Northeast comer of Royal Lane and Gateway Boulevard SIZE OF AREA: 16.07 acres CURRENT ZONING: LI, Light Industrial REQUEST: Approval of a preliminary plat to construct a 1,941 space parking lot with a van service building and a two-story brick building with guard tower. APPLICANT: Bill Thompson Park 'N Fly, Inc. (Owner) (Prospective Purchaser) 8333 Douglas Ave. Suite 207 Paran Place Suite 1510 2060 Mount Paran Road, N.W. Dallas, Tx. 75225 Atlanta, Ga. 30327 (404) 264-1000 HISTORY: There has been quite a bit of history on this parcel since this proposal was initially submitted in July, 1993. On July 15, the Planning Commission denied the plat because it did not meet our minimum platting requirements. There were questions regarding minimal landscaping guidelines, questions regarding the thoroughfare plan, there were drainage, water, and sewer issues that had not been resolved, among others. On August 6, a Mr. Frederick Clemente (President of Park 'n Fly) addressed a letter to the Mayor expressing disappointment in the Item 21 Planning Commission's action (the "slanderous" letter), and indicated that the company was putting this project on the back burner until a later date. The request has been resubmitted at this date for reconsideration. TRANSPORTATION: Royal Lane is designated as a P6D, six lane divided thoroughfare contained within a 100-110 foot right-of-way. Gateway Blvd. is a C4U, four-lane undivided road contained within 70 feet of right-of-way. SURROUNDING LAND USE & ZONING: North - postal facility; LI South - vacant; city of Irving East - vacant; LI West - vacant; LI COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: Suggests highway oriented commercial as most appropriate land use for this site. ANALYSIS: In July staff pointed out several concerns with this request including questions regarding whether the proposal was reflecting the highest and best use of the property based on the Comprehensive Plan suggestions; the fact that the Thoroughfare Plan had been revised in 1991 to upgrade roads around this site in anticipation of a high-rise hotel locating on the site (as suggested by the land owner); landscaping did not meet the minimum requirements of the Zoning Code; there was a question regarding the practical tax revenue which would be generated by the site if improved with the parking lot; aesthetic concerns were expressed based on the "gateway~ location into the City, the request to retain the non-conforming billboards, and absence of required brick pavers; technical elements regarding an initially planned asphalt parking lot, drainage concerns, lack of sidewalks, and extension of sewer/water lines. Staff elaborated on each of the items in some detail and came to the conclusion that the plat should be denied for all of the stated reasons, but specifically because the applicant did not abide by the zoning and subdivision codes relative to platting. Of major concern was the fact that the application did not follow mandated landscaping requirements which clearly spelled out that a minimum of 10% of a parking lot area must be landscaped. Although the plat before you today is a vast improvement over the July submittal, several of staff's earlier concerns remain--the billboard's are still retained, we still question whether this proposal fits the use definition of the Master Plan, there is no indication on the plat of the size of the request, a note needs to be included indicating that the fire lanes will be constructed of 6 inches of concrete, and there are a host of "nit-picky" corrections which need to be made to the submittal. In addition, this owner must contact the owner to his east (Catellus), and obtain permission to drain on to that property, parking lot surface elevations need to be provided, guidelines contained within the Streetscape standards need to be honored, and escrow will be required for the portion of the property adjacent to Gateway Blvd. Perhaps most damaging to this proposal, however, is the fact that the plat still does not conform to the landscaping standards stated above and in the first review of this project. Although the applicant is to be recognized for showing landscaping in the parking lot, it does not conform to the minimum standards that staff conveyed to the owner in the form of a revised plan prior to submittal of this request and, as submitted, contains only 4.5 percent vegetation. Based on the fact that the application does not meet our code requirements, staff must recommend that this plat be once again denied--it does not meet our required minimums. ALTERNATIVES: 1) Approve the Preliminary Plat 2) Deny the Preliminary Plat 3) Modify the Preliminary Plat A'I'TACHMENTS: 1) Preliminary Plat 2) Landscape Plan .stf