AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET
DEPARTMENT: Department of Development Services
ACM: Jon Fortune
DATE: April 5, 2016
SUBJECT
Title
Hold a public hearing and consider adoption of an ordinance of the City of Denton, Texas, regarding an Alternative Environmentally Sensitive Area Plan to allow for commercial development to encroach into an existing Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). The approximately 39 acre property is generally located on southbound I-35E and approximately 2200 feet south of Lillian B Miller Parkway within a Regional Center Commercial Downtown (RCC-D) zoning district; and providing for a penalty in the maximum amount of $2,000.00 for violations thereof; providing a severability clause and an effective date. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval with conditions (4-3). (ADP16-0002, Buc-ee's Travel Center)
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BACKGROUND
The applicant is requesting an Alternative Environmentally Sensitive Area Plan to allow for a commercial development to encroach into an existing Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). The proposed commercial development would be anchored by a Buc-ee's Travel Center and include peripheral development sites along I-35E.
To facilitate internal vehicular circulation within the development and to permit access to the peripheral development sites, the applicant proposes a private road between the smaller commercial parcels along I-35E and the anchor site. As proposed, the alignment of this private road and public infrastructure would disturb approximately 13,134 square feet of an existing ESA Riparian Buffer and remove 24 trees with a canopy of 10,087 square feet within the disturbance area.
Section 35.17.8 of the Denton Development Code (DDC) prohibits development activities within ESA Riparian Buffers; however, an Alternative ESA Plan to permit development within an ESA can be approved if the proposal results in a high quality development meeting the intent of habitat preservation. In order to meet this standard ...
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