Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on a Specific Use Permit Request for Auto, Motorcycle, Truck, or Boat, Rental or Sales (Huffines Kia McKinney), Located at the Southwest Corner of North Central Expressway and West White Avenue, and Accompanying Ordinance
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Direction for Strategic and Economic Growth
(1C: Provide a strong city economy by facilitating a balance between industrial, commercial, residential and open space)
MEETING DATE: December 17, 2024
DEPARTMENT: Development Services - Planning Department
CONTACT: Jennifer Arnold, AICP, Director of Planning
Caitlyn Strickland, AICP, Planning Manager
Stewart Starry, Planner I
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION: Staff recommends approval of the proposed specific use permit request with the following special ordinance provision:
1. The property shall generally develop in accordance with the attached specific use permit exhibit, and all applicable development requirements of the city.
APPLICATION SUBMITTAL DATE:
August 13, 2024 (Original Application)
November 21, 2024 (Revised Submittal)
December 3, 2024 (Revised Submittal)
ITEM SUMMARY: The applicant requests approval of a specific use permit to allow for the expansion of an existing Auto, Motorcycle, Truck, or Boat, Rental or Sales use (Huffines Kia McKinney) on the subject property located at the southwest corner of North Central Expressway and West White Avenue.
The current facility is approximately 16,869 square feet in size and includes 724 parking, display, inventory and storage spaces for automobiles. As proposed, the expansion will increase the existing building’s footprint to 26,701 square feet and add 356 additional spaces. The added spaces would be allocated as follows: 107 for auto repair parking, 106 for customer and employee parking, and 143 for vehicle display.
The governing zoning district (“C” - Planned Center District) requires that a specific use permit be granted for an Auto, Motorcycle, Truck, or Boat, Rental or Sales use to be operated on the subject property. As part of the specific use permit request, the applicant has submitted a site layout exhibit detailing the building and parking locations, as well as the internal site circulation.
EXISTING ZONING AND LAND USES:
|
Location |
Zoning District (Permitted Land Uses) |
Existing Land Use |
|
Subject Property |
“C” - Planned Center District |
Auto, Motorcycle, Truck, or Boat, Rental or Sales |
|
North |
“C” - Planned Center District |
Auto, Motorcycle, Truck, or Boat, Rental or Sales |
|
South |
“C” - Planned Center District |
Hotel |
|
East |
“C” - Planned Center District and “RG-18” - General Residence District |
Commercial Uses and Multi-Family |
|
West |
“PD” - Planned Development District (Residential Uses) |
Multi-Family |
SPECIFIC USE PERMITS: When acting on a request for a specific use permit, the following factors should be considered:
• Whether the request complies with all site specifications adopted by the City, including the base zoning district and/or the PD entitlements;
• Whether the site, buildings, and use meet the criteria specified for the use in Section 205C, Use Definitions and Use-Specific Standards, of the UDC;
• Whether the proposed use will be detrimental to the adjacent properties or to the City as a whole;
• Whether the proposed uses are compatible in terms of scale (building massing, form, orientation, and location), intensity, and operating characteristics with uses and structures on adjacent properties and properties in the vicinity of the proposed application; and
• Whether potential impacts associated with such use are adequately mitigated through enhanced site or building design, including but not limited to additional landscaping, buffers, or screening, to minimize adverse impacts on surrounding uses and the City.
Staff has evaluated the request based on the above-mentioned parameters and feels that the site is appropriate for the proposed use and is compatible with existing land uses of the adjacent properties. The Huffines Kia site is located at the southwest corner of North Central Expressway and West White Avenue and is part of a larger block zoned for high-intensity commercial uses such as Hotels, Vehicle Repair, Auto, Motorcycle, Truck or Boat, Rental or Sale and restaurants.
Additionally, the applicant has requested two design exceptions in conjunction with the approval of the Specific Use Permit (SUP):
Street Buffer Reduction:
The applicant seeks to reduce the required landscape buffer width from 30’ to 10’ along the street frontage of U.S. Highway 75.
While the requested landscape buffer along U.S. Highway 75 is a significant reduction from the typically-required 30’, the proposed 10’ street buffer would create a consistent landscape buffer with the existing portion of the Huffines Kia development. When the original Huffines Kia was developed, they were permitted to have a 10’ landscape buffer due to right-of-way dedication requirements in 2005. Pursuant to Section 206A(6), a design exception to allow for the reduction of the street buffer may be approved if the reduction creates a unified design along the street frontage.
Given that the proposed reduction will allow for a consistent and visually pleasing landscape buffer along the right-of-way, staff has no opposition to the requested reduction.
Screening Device Material:
The applicant has also requested to not provide the required screening device material for the overnight storage of vehicles for the SUP expansion area and only provide tubular steel fencing around the overnight vehicle parking. To mitigate for the visual impact, the applicant proposes to provide additional landscaping along the frontage of U.S. Highway 75. The applicant proposes to provide the required landscaping as well as additional ornamental trees and shrubs to help with the visual impact of the overnight vehicle storage. While the reduction of screening is not something staff typically is supportive of, the landscaping proposed will be consistent with the existing Huffines Kia screening from 2005 and aims to mitigate for the visual impact of the overnight vehicle storage, the new display parking, and the employee parking that is being proposed within the expansion. As such, staff has no objections to the request.
Given that the site meets the Specific Use Permit review criteria, staff feels that the applicant as sufficiently mitigated for the impacts of the requested design exceptions and recommends approval of the proposed Specific Use Permit.
SITE LAYOUT: The attached exhibit provides a general layout of the proposed building as well as the associated parking and internal site circulation. The site circulation, parking, and sanitation requirements are in general conformance with the Zoning Ordinance.
ACCESS/CIRCULATION:
|
Adjacent Streets: |
US Highway 75, Major Regional Highway W. White Avenue, 100’ Right-of-Way, Minor Arterial |
OPPOSITION TO OR SUPPORT OF REQUEST: Staff has received no letters of support to this request and no letters of opposition. This does not include emails or letters that may have been sent directly to members of the Council or Commission. Staff has not received any citizen comments through the online citizen portal.
BOARD OR COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: On December 10, 2024, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0-0 to recommend approval of the proposed specific use.