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Billingsley 121-CS 970905COPPELL, TEXAS 75019 Coppell. Texas 75019 972-462-0022 September 5, 1997 Mr. J. Gregory Boyd Jones & Boyd, Inc. Suite 3010 17300 Dallas Parkway Dallas TX 75248 Dear Mr. Boyd: re: JBI PROJECT NO. EJ 407 The Engineering Department has reviewed the Conceptual Site Plan for the project. At this stage its comments will be limited to vehicular access and movement. To accommodate a retail center of this magnitude, Engineering believes that a main driveway leading directly to the central parking area from Royal Lane is essential. The primary purpose is to accommodate that part of the northbound traffic on S.H. 121 which in the future will exit under the proposed West Sandy Lake Road fly-over, or just north of it, and approach the site southbound on North Royal Lane. This will require a significant site plan revision. Also, Engineering doubts that the access shown from West Sandy Lake Road is feasible in the long term, because of the proposed bridge and its approaches. If access from Sandy Lake Road is feasible at all, a more probable location would be between Outlot 1 and Outlot 2. We suggest that, in this regard, you review your plans with TxDOT. The Planning Department has looked at the plans as well, and offers several observations. The first few have to do with landscaping. Coppell's landscaping regulations require a minimum number of parking lot planting islands, which then may be counted toward meeting landscaping area requirements. The minimum number for 1264 parking spaces is 152 planting islands. You may replace parking spaces with the required ratio of planting islands, thereby reducing the total number of parking spaces, or you may enlarge the parking area to accommodate the 1264 parking spaces with 152 planting islands. In either case, the maximum number of parking spaces between any two planting islands is 15, while the minimum is 5. Since the plan is conceptual, we have not attempted to measure landscaping areas. At a glance, it appears that with the drainage channel landscaping along Royal Lane and the wide landscape strip on the west side of the retail store parking lot you should have enough landscaping to meet non-vehicular requirements. Mr. J. Gregory Boyd September 5, 1997 Page 2 While not shown as yet, the outlots will have landscaping requirements as well. Because 4 of them front S.H. 121, we want you to be aware of an additional factor. Since adoption of the current comprehensive plan for the City, we have not had occasion to review a project adjacent to a freeway, but with each one which comes forward we will recommend a minimum landscape setback of 50 feet. This is consistent both with the comprehensive plan and with the more recent report of the Committee to Improve the Visual Image of Coppell. The next observation has to do with screening. If you elect to place the service side of your buildings adjacent to a major thoroughfare, as shown, you are required to build an earth-tone brick wall at least 6' high to screen the back side of the building. The last observation concerns platting. There is a dashed line, like those dividing the outlots, shown separating the retail store parking from the Junior/Shops A parking. It is not 100% clear what this indicates. If it means any intention to have separate ownership, you could have a site plan problem. In that case please call me. These comments are not intended to be all-inclusive. We hope that they will help you achieve a plan which meets both the needs of the client, while at the same time satisfying the requirements of the City. If you would like to discuss them, we can do that by telephone at (972) 304-3676. Or, if you would like to have another meeting with Engineering and Planning, I would be willing to set that up for you. Finally, following up on the major concern we have with the building orientation, I am attaching a sketch which shows an alternative layout. It provides the same number of ouflots, a more easterly entrance from Sandy Lake Road, and 2 main entrances to the parking from Royal Lane. The building could be flipped east-west. It makes us no difference. Staff would be far more likely to support this arrangement than the one you submitted to us. Sincerely, Pert Virtanen Assistant Director of Planning and Community Services Attachment cc: Ken Griffin OUTLOT 7 OUTLOT 8" OUTLOT 4 ~ OUTLOT 4~' OUTLOT 6 OUTLOT 1 OUTLOT 3