Vistas of C 1stP-CS 960118 CITY OF COPPELL
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
CASE #: PD-149, VISTAS OF COPPELL
P & Z HEARING DATE: January 18, 1996
C.C. HEARING DATE: February 13, 1996
LOCATION: East side of Denton Tap Road; north of the Denton Creek
SIZE OF AREA: Total site area: 128.15 acres
Tract I area: 21.781 acres
Tract II area: 45.819 acres
Tract III area: 17.441 acres
Tract IV area: 26.558 acres
Tract V area: 16.555 acres
CURRENT ZONLNG: HC (Highway Commercial), MF-2 (Multi Family-2), LI (Light
Industrial), and C (Commercial)
REQUEST: PD-SF-7 (Planned Development-Single Family-7) and MF-2
(Multi Family-2)
APPLICANT: Owner: Engineer:
Vista Properties Caner & Burgess, Inc.
5950 Berkshire Lane, Ste. 400 7950 Elmbrook Dr., Ste. 250
Dallas, TX 75225 Dallas, TX 75247
(214) 360-1500 (214) 638-0145
HISTORY: The Ci~ of Coppell annexed portions of the Vista Ridge Business
Park in 1986 and 1990, including the property currently requested
for rezoning. In connection with the annexation proceedings, the
City held public hearings to establish the existing zoning and
reinforced those decisions by adopting a new Official Zoning Map
in 1991 as pan of Ordinance 91500, the current Zoning Ordinance.
Item # 6
TRANSPORTATION: Denton Tap Road is a proposed P6D, six-lane divided (120 foot
r.o.w.); currently, a two-lane roadway; the S.H. 121 B.~ass will
be built to freeway standards and currently contains one-way
access roads, each 33 feet in width, within 450 feet of r.o.w.
SURROUNDING LAND USE & ZONING:
North - vacant; City of Lewisville
South - vacant; Denton Creek
East vacant; Highway Commercial "HC"
West - vacant; Planned Development" PD-133 FP, HC, SF-12, SF-9"
COMPREHENSIYE PLAN: The 1987 Comprehensive Plan shows this property outside
the boundaries of the planning area.
DISCUSSION: Sixty-three of the 128.15 acres requested for rezoning are classified
currently in the MF-2 Multi-Family Residential district, permitting nearly
1400 apartment units. The market for apartments between Lewisville and
Valley Ranch has not proven to be strong enough to bring about recent
development of anything near that number of units. Therefore the
prospect of marketing or absorbing that kind of development on this
property in the near term may be unrealistic. The alternative of
converting 63.26 acres of multi-family zoning to single-family residential
zoning, 16.555 acres of highway commercial zoning to multi-family
residential zoning, and 21.781 acres of highway commercial zoning to
single-family residential zoning compels serious consideration.
While the existing multi-family zoning will have freeway exposure, its
access to the proposed freeway will be limited. The service road is one-
way eastbound, with the nearest exit ramp from the main lanes east of the
property and the nearest entrance ramp to the main lanes west of the
property. Denton Creek cuts offaccess from the south. Therefore, traffic
generated by development of the site will impact both Denton Tap Road
and MacArthur Boulevard where they intersect the Highway 121 sen:ice
roads. Even construction of an additional through street would inject
additional traffic on Denton Tap and MacArthur. The proposed 76%
reduction of the number of potential households on the 63.26-acre site
significantly reduces the impact on the traffic-handling capability of those
streets and intersections.
Transferring 16.555 acres of MF-2 zoning to the northeast comer of
Denton Tap and 121 will not adversely impact the traffic situation. To the
contrapj, the MF-2 will replace HC zoning which has the potential of
producing equal or greater traffic generation from retail, office and hotel
uses. Furthermore, Highland Drive is already in place there to provide
Item # 6
eastbound and westbound travel between Denton Tap and MacArthur.
This makes the proposed apartment site much more conducive to efficient
traffic movement than is the existing apartment site.
The Coppell Independent School District is negotiating to purchase Tract
IV, the 26.558-acre site on the south side of new I-Iighway 121 just east
of Denton Tap. If the school district acquires the land for a middle
school, there is no need to rezone it. The HC, C, and LI districts permit
educational facilities.
The remainder of this discussion will center on the 333 housing units
proposed for Tracts I, II and m, totaling 85 acres, and currently zoned
MF-2 and HC. The reduction in density lessens the need for a through
street, similar to Highland Drive, between Denton Tap and MacArthur.
However, without a street crossing the drainageway separating Tract II
from Tract III, accessibility to the proposed homesites and school site is
meager at best. The only acceptable alternative is the full provision of a
trail as proposed on the City's hike-and-bike trail plan. A trail will
provide a principal means for adolescents to get to and from school and
a secondary means for adults to get around the neighborhood. Most
importantly it will bridge a natural barrier and provide access from the
majority of the proposed homes to the 5.9-acre park site intended to serve
them.
The City has discouraged concentration of patio-style homes in large areas
by removal of the SF-0 District from the zoning ordinance and by relying
on the PD District instead. A PD permits 35% of the property to have
lots less than 7000 square feet in area. Due to the size of this request,
35 % of the total land devoted to single-family housing has the potential
to produce large concentrations of patio homes. The plans submitted
show 39.2 acres in 5000-square-foot lots, in two areas of 113 and 81 lots
each, because the request includes the school site as part of the PD.
Without rezoning the school site, only 29aA acres will be available for
5000-square-foot lots. Even that would enable a significant concentration
of 150 or more housing units.
Finally, between the Highway 121 By-Pass and the lots of Magnolia Park,
on the west side of Denton Tap, the City required a 50-foot-wide buffer.
The purpose was to provide protection to the adjoining residential
properties from the noise and pollution of a freeway designed to carry
12,000 cars per hour. A similar buffer along the north side of this PD
would be consistent with that requirement, add to the livability within the
backyards of the proposed adjacent homesites and provide a sound barrier
between the proposed freeway pavement surface and upper-story sleeping
quarters.
Item # 6
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends for each tract:
Tract I Conditional approval of a 21.781-acre PD with plan
revised to show 5000-square-foot lots on no more
than 7.62 acres of property.
Tract II Conditional approval of a 45.819-acre PD with plan
revised to show 5000-square-foot lots on no more
than 16.04 acres of property.
Tract III Conditional approval of a 16.81-acre PD with plan
revised to show 5000-square-foot lots on no more
than 5.88 acres of property.
Tract IV Disapproval of rezoning or reclassification to the
SF-7 district (no PD).
Tract V Approval of the MF-2 classificafon as requested,
provided that the MF-2 district is removed in its
entirety from the south side of Highway 121
B~2~ass.
Recommended conditions of approval for Tracts I, II and III are:
1. Provision of a bermed 50'-wide, heavily landscaped buffer
along the full length of the property's frontage on Highway
121, with a 6'-high mason~ wall along the top ora 5'-high
berm.
2. Provision in Tract II of a 5.9-acre park site and a 1.37-acre
park site as proposed.
3. Provision of a street bridging the drainageway between
Tract II and Tract rn; or, in lieu thereof, provision of a
hike-and-bike trail along the full length of Denton Creek
between Denton Tap Road and MacArthur Boulevard.
4. Provisions to prohibit fencing of side yards adjacent to
proposed streets.
5. Compliance with Engineering comments.
ALTERNATIVES: 1) Approve the request
2) Disapprove the request
3) Modify the request
Item # 6
ATrACHMENTS: 1) Planned Development Zoning Exhibit
2) Planned Development Site Plan Phase 1
3) Planned Development Site Plan Phase 2
4) Planned Development Site Plan Phase 3
5) Zoning Exhibit for Phase 4
6) Zoning Exhibit for Tract 5
7) Preliminary Landscape and Irrigation
Sheet 1. Cover Sheet
Sheet 2. Landscape Concept Graphics
Sheet 3. Landscape Concept Graphics
Sheet 4. Detailed landscape Plans Tract 3
Sheet 5. Detailed Landscape Plans Tract 3
Sheet 6. Detailed Landscape Plans Tract 2
Sheet 7. Detailed Landscape Plans Tract 2
Sheet 8. Detailed landscape Plans Tract 1
Sheet 9. Irrigation Details
8) Engineering Comments
Item # 6