McKinney’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the request which would rezone about 3.4 acres just north of Country Club Drive. McKinney City Council will have final say on the zoning request at an Aug. 5 meeting.
The gist
Commission members voted unanimously during a July 22 meeting. If the item is ultimately approved by city council, the land would be rezoned for a self-storage facility.
The property is currently zoned for multiple commercial uses including retail and office, city planning manager Caitlyn Strickland said. Self-storage is one of the few uses not allowed under the current zoning, she said.
Staff are not supportive of the rezone request because it does not comply with the city’s comprehensive plan, according to a city document. Staff are supportive of other commercial uses on the property however, Strickland said.
“Highway frontages are prime areas for our retail,” she said. “It’s prime areas for high-visible commercial uses.”
The details
The applicant is proposing a three-story building that includes 130,000 square feet of space, according to a presentation. Plans also include enhancements to the property’s landscaping like increasing the street buffer along South Central Expressway.
A minimum of 6 trees would be required along the building facade facing US 75 and one canopy tree will be required for every four parking spaces.
Staff are supportive of the modernized development and landscape standards, Strickland said.
“It does bring it into 2025 versus the older [planned development] that it’s part of, however we do have concerns about that self-storage use,” she said.
What the applicant is saying
Tyler Adams, founder of Greenlight Studio, spoke on behalf of the applicant during the meeting. He said the self-storage facility “made most sense” when asked if other uses were considered.
The property is separate from other uses in the area and features a considerable variance in topography, Adams said. The property owners had previously pursued an office development on the site, but the site falls about 30 feet to the south, he said.
The owners approached Greenlight Studio and asked if something could be developed and the first thought was self-storage, Adams said.
“One of the things that self-storage is good at is fixing real estate problems that occur just from whatever it might be: parking and topography and what not,” he said.
