Town Center SC/PP-CS 970424MEMORANDUM
TO: Gary Sieb
FROM: Pert Virtanen
SUBJECT:
Town Center Shopping Center
DATE: April 24, 1997
After reviewing the Thompson & Knight letter to Pete Smith, I understand the request to be for
City Council (municipal authority responsible for approving plats) to determine whether a plat
is required under Subchapter A of Chapter 212 of the Local Government Code (Municipal
Regulation of Subdivisions and Property Development, Regulation of Subdivisions). Section
212.004 of that Subchapter says clearly that an owner of land within a municipality who divides
the tract into two or more parts to lay out lots must have a plat prepared, unless the division of
land is into parts greater than 5 acres. This plat must be filed and recorded with the Dallas
County Clerk. Mr. Sloan can read that as easily as anyone else, and is well qualified to advise
his client what the answer to the question is.
It was never our understanding that part of the property would be sold to Randall's prior to
construction and that Randall's would seek a separate building permit to construct the Tom
Thumb store. Ewing Properties led us to believe that Ewing would build the shopping center
in its entirety.
If the Tom Thumb store must be on fee simple ownership of land separate from the land under
the retail/restaurant portions of the building complex, my best suggestion is a replat subdividing
the tract as shown on the attached, and the provision of a landscape buffer between the north
retail/restaurant area and the adjacent pavement. The south retail/restaurant area would require
very little additional landscape buffer, largely because the pavement to the east of the structure
is concealed by a screen wall.