The Richardson City Planning Commission recommended approval for a special permit to allow the company to operate a maintenance center in the Innovation District. The facility will be located at 1155 Kas Drive, according to city documents.
Richardson City Council will have final approval in a future meeting.
In a nutshell
Pending final approval, Zipline will establish a regional headquarters to support drone maintenance, business operations and customer supporter services, Peters said.
“This will not be a delivery hub; this will be where drones come for maintenance,” Senior City Planner Derica Peters said.
Zipline uses drones with an 8-foot wingspan, capable of carrying 8 pounds and traveling 70 miles per hour.
Along with drone maintenance, Zipline Project Manager Stefanie Cooke said the center will have a showroom and classroom. Additionally, a space will be dedicated for customer support and community engagement.
The conditions
The zoning ordinance requires the center to be at least 300 feet from residential properties, maintenance activities to be conducted inside and limits equipment and structure not to extend more than 10 feet above where the center is located.
The Zipline drone center meets all the requirements. Additionally, All ground mounted equipment will be behind a screening wall and located to the side or rear of the building.
The special permit will be tied to Zipline, meaning if the company relocates, another business will have to apply for a permit to operate a drone center.
The background
Council updated the city’s zoning ordinance during the Feb. 25 meeting to allow drone operations because staff had received several inquiries from drone delivery companies.
Because city ordinances didn’t include drones as a listed use, drone operations were prohibited, City Manager Don Magner said.
Zipline is the second company, the other being Amazon, to apply for a drone-related special permit.
