First National Bank will be moving from Southlake Town Square to 2001 Shady Oaks Drive, west of the SH 114 frontage road.
Southlake City Council approved its site plans and the zoning change from an agricultural district at its June 4 meeting.
Mayor Laura Hill said this project has drawn a flurry of emails both supporting and opposing the development. But because the applicant and nearby residents have worked together to work out disagreements, there has been an overall approval.
Cindy Campbell, president and CEO of First National Bank, has met with many residents to address their concerns, she said at the
previous May City Council meeting.
The bank will move into a new three-story building of about 16,000 square feet. Plans include 56 parking spaces and a two-lane drive-thru with an ATM, according to city documents. It will be accessed from the frontage road. There is not a driveway access from Shady Oaks Drive.
The city required 58 parking spaces, but based on projections of traffic volume, staff believes 56 spaces will suffice, said Ken Baker, senior director of Southlake’s planning and development services.
The development will occupy 2.2 acres of land, which is part of a 7-acre tract owned by La Paloma LLC.
La Paloma will sell the 2.2 acres to First National Bank, company representative Mike Mills said in an email response. La Paloma will still own the remaining tract, which will remain zoned as an agricultural district.
City Council approved a first reading of the project in May but directed the bank to address concerns, including issues with tree preservation and parking spaces.
Southlake’s tree-preservation ordinance mandated First National Bank to maintain 40% of the site’s existing tree cover. But the bank had requested a variance and proposed to maintain 31%, to which council members objected.
Plans have been revised since that May meeting, and site plans include 41% tree coverage, according to city documents.
City officials also asked bank representatives to move parking spaces closer to SH 114, to which the bank acquiesced. Southlake officials also requested to see a concept plan for the rest of the 7-acre tract to ensure future developments would maintain the cohesion of the area.
Different conceptual plans were submitted, featuring more commercial office space, Baker said. But these are not for council approval. They were designed to provide an idea to council how future developments may fit on the site. Future proposals for developments would still require an official review process.
Council members approved the project with a 7-0 vote. Once construction begins, work trucks will only be allowed to access the site from SH 114 and not Shady Oaks, a residential street.
Hill commented on the previous disputes on the project, commending both the bank and objecting residents for collaborating together.
“I think for everyone involved this is going to work out to be something very special and, quite frankly, better than I would have ever hoped for with this lot,” she said.