What’s happening?
Walmart wants to build two single-pad launch towers along the west side of the building, according to a site plan. The towers will be used to load and launch drones from a kiosk inside Walmart. In addition, nine charging stations standing at 29 feet tall will be installed at the southwest corner of the property.
Lewisville City Council members voted to waive required screening for the drone systems during a Dec. 16 meeting. The city’s development code currently requires all ground-mounted equipment to be screened by a fence or some other screening wall of equal height.
Instead, the charging stations at the southwest corner of the property will be screened by an 8-foot-tall fence and eight trees, according to a staff memo. Walmart is expected to plant more trees along SH 121 to screen the single-pad launch towers.
The background
City officials are in the process of adding supplemental standards to Lewisville’s development code for unmanned drone systems, according to the staff memo. Council members discussed a proposed ordinance in June that would establish new development standards for drone systems.
The ordinance is being refined and should be presented to Lewisville’s Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council in the coming months, according to the staff memo. The alternative standards approved by council Dec. 16 would have been in line with the proposed ordinance.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the alternative standards at a Nov. 19 meeting.
