City of Leon Valley Zoning Commission SUP Case

City of Leon Valley Zoning Commission SUP Case #2019 -12 (5415 Bandera Road) Brandon Melland, Planning & Zoning Director January 14, 2020

Request • Applicant: Bobby Anderson, on Behalf of SA West Loop Investors. • This is a request for three Continuous Specific Use Permits and a Specific Use Permit. • The Continuous Specific Use Permits are for Assembly/Packaging, Manufacturing, and Entertainment Indoor

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Background • The property is the West Loop Business Center generally located at 5415 Bandera Road. • The property abuts the eastern boundary of the HEB Shopping. • The property was constructed for office and warehouse use. • It is 11 acres, consists of 7 separate buildings (170, 148 sf), with 50 separate lease spaces.

Summary • Specific Use Permits (SUP’s) are one zoning method to facilitate this analysis and monitor adverse impact; the most common potential adverse impacts being noise, parking, and traffic.

Summary • The City’s Permitted Use Table (PUT) specifies uses allowed by right in each zoning district. • The PUT also specifies “specific” uses that may be permitted in a zoning district with an SUP. • These “specific” uses require an SUP because they are understood to be generally compatible with other uses allowed by right in the zoning district; but not entirely.

Summary • Uses requiring SUP’s are understood to have certain attributes that may need special considerations. • Specific Use Permits are requested when a specific use is imminently planned for a specific building or tenant suite.

Summary • Typically, a site plan is required because certain site measures may need to be taken and documented as required, in order for the Specific Use Permit to be approved. • When the SUP is approved, the approval is commonly limited to a specific building or specific suite.

Summary • There are some situations however, when a property owner may desire to lease their property or tenant suite for certain uses that require an SUP - which are not imminently planned - and may want to avoid the uncertainty of zone change at the same time they are trying to sign a tenant to a lease. • This is a common scenario in multi-tenant facilities.

Summary • For this situation, the City’s Zoning Code developed the “Continuous” Specific Use Permit (SUP). Another name for it could be a “revolving” SUP. It is intended to provide approval for specific uses throughout an entire facility, not just one individual building or suite.

Summary • As this approval provides more flexibility, it also has the potential to provide some level of uncertainty; particularly on a large facility. • This is why additional levels of analysis are necessary, in calculating the extent to which these specific uses could proliferate.

Summary • In this case, the additional uses being requested for Continuous SUP approval are Assembly & Packaging, Manufacturing, and Entertainment Indoor use.

Analysis: • The purpose of a Specific Use Permit or Continuous Specific Use Permit, is generally to ensure that a use is compatible with surrounding uses. • In this case, Staff considers surrounding uses, noise, parking, and traffic impact to be the primary factors for consideration.

Analysis: • Staff has reviewed this request and does not have any concerns for the following reasons: 1. Surrounding Uses: Uses to the west consist of the HEB Shopping Center, the Sendero Assembly of God and Evers Road Christian Churches to the north, the West Loop Distribution Center to the east, and Mc. Coy’s and Intertech to the south. The subject property is also located within the Commercial and Industrial Overlay. Therefor, from a policy perspective, and based on surrounding uses, Staff believes that the requested uses are appropriate for the area.

Analysis: • Staff has reviewed this request and does not have any concerns for the following reasons: 2. Noise: Manufacturing Uses are typically considered to be higher noise producing uses than other less intensive commercial uses. However, the City Code already has noise provisions in place which govern noise production during daytime and nighttime hours.

Analysis: • Staff has reviewed this request and does not have any concerns for the following reasons: 3. Parking: Staff does not have any concerns about parking for the following reasons: a. The applicant has provided Staff with a parking plan which indicates current compliance with parking requirements. b. The City’s Zoning Code still affords Staff the opportunity to review parking at the time of request for Certificate of Occupancy (CO).

Analysis: • Staff has reviewed this request and does not have any concerns for the following reasons: 4. Parking: The applicants have submitted a partial traffic impact analysis, which has been forwarded to the City Engineer. The City Engineer does not have any concerns with the traffic impact currently being generated on the property; nor do they have any concerns with the potential impact of manufacturing or assembly and packaging uses.

Analysis: • Staff has reviewed this request and does not have any concerns for the following reasons: 4. Parking: The City Engineer does have some concerns however, with the potential traffic impacts of entertainment-indoor uses, mainly because such uses produce much higher peak trip -hour distribution than manufacturing type uses. The City Engineer does not believe however that this is reason enough to not approve the Continuous Specific Use Permit however, due to the fact that the City’s Zoning Code provides Staff and the City Engineer the ability to review traffic impact analysis at the time of Certificate of Occupancy (CO).

Recommendation: • Staff recommends this request be approved subject to the condition that Assembly and Packaging, Manufacturing, and Entertainment Indoor Uses be conducted entirely indoors.

City of Leon Valley Zoning Commission SUP Case #2019 -12 (5415 Bandera Road) Brandon Melland, Planning & Zoning Director January 14, 2020