Flower Mound council members denied a rezoning request for a self-storage facility in the eastern part of town.
Council voted to approve the request by a 3-2 vote, with council members Adam Schiestel and Janvier Werner voting against, during the Feb. 2 meeting. Despite a majority in favor, the item required four council members to vote for approval because of a previous unanimous recommendation of denial from the town’s planning and zoning commission.
The overview
The proposed indoor storage facility would have been located on an undeveloped tract of land at the northwest corner of the intersection of Flower Mound Road and Old Orchard Lane. According to town documents, the building was set to total 117,474 square feet.
As part of the rezoning request, the applicant requested several exceptions, including for a 60-foot setback from the nearby neighborhood, said Lexin Murphy, Flower Mound’s director of development services.
The project’s developer, O’Neal Gray, said the proposed management company for the site was Extra Space Storage. He added that Flower Mound is currently underserved by existing storage facilities.
“There’s a demand here that’s not being met,” Gray said.
What they’re saying
Gary Noll, a resident of the nearby Orchard Flower neighborhood, said he was fine with the proposed storage facility because it would replace previously proposed retail buildings on the property.
“We have a lot of retail [nearby],” Noll said. “We don’t need more retail on that corner.”
Residents opposed to the project cited compatibility concerns and the proximity to nearby neighborhoods. Paula Soulen, specifically cited the proposed facility’s size in her comments opposing the development.
“That setback is half of what it should be because that building is too big for that property,” Soulen said.
Council member Adam Schiestel, who voted to deny the rezoning request said he was not in favor of sticking another warehouse-type building in a gateway area of Flower Mound, such as a warehouse at the town’s southern entrance near Gerault Road.
“We get lots of feedback saying people are not real happy about that, and I have committed to not doing that again,” Schiestel said.
Council member Brian Taylor, who voted to approve the proposed storage facility, said the aesthetics would help differentiate the building from other warehouse-type buildings.
“This is the best compromise that we can have,” Taylor said, highlighting that the property has been undeveloped for several years. “If there was something different, and truly better, I believe it would have happened by now.”
