Title
Conduct a public hearing and consider the request for a Specific Use Permit and associated Detailed Site Plan for open storage on an approximate 10.66-acre property located at 4721 Simonton Road; and take appropriate action.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The City of Farmers Branch has received a request from Kevan Toby, ESI, for a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for open (i.e., outdoor) storage at 4721 Simonton Road. The subject property is an approximate 10.66-acre property zoned Light Industrial (LI) and developed as a warehouse-distribution center comprising 210,219 square feet of building area and 56,000 square feet of outdoor storage. FreshPoint, a wholesale produce distributor, occupies the site.
The open storage is legally, non-conforming due to several existing conditions including, exceeding 15% of the building area without approval of an SUP, being partially located in front of the building setback, and not being screened from public view.
The applicant intends to demolish 26,000 square feet of the existing building to expand the storage area, construct a masonry screening wall along Simonton Road and add more plant material to supplement existing landscaping. Expanding the open storage area as proposed would increase the amount of outdoor storage area to 82,000 square feet and reduce the building to 184,219 square feet. Consequently, the amount of outdoor storage as a percentage of the building area would increase from 27% to 45%. LI zoning requires approval of an SUP for open storage exceeding 15% of the total gross square footage of the building located on the same lot (Section 4.5 B.8, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance). Other than the portion to be demolished, no other changes to the existing building are proposed.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the Specific Use Permit request.
ACTIONS:
1. Motion to recommend approval of the Specific Use Permit.
2. Motion to recommend approval of the Specific Use Permit with the following modification...
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