Title
Consider an ordinance amending the PUD (Planned Unit Development) No. 61 (Simon North) zoning district to amend the height requirement to allow six stories for a hotel for approximately 6.60 acres on the northwest corner of Bass Pro Drive and North Mays Street. (Second Reading)
Body
PUD 61 includes about 55 acres and contains several existing retail developments including the Bass Pro Shop, La-Z-Boy and Cavender’s. PUD 61, approved on May 26, 2005, currently allows for a variety of commercial uses, including hotel, conference center, retail, restaurants, office, and theaters to be developed using the C-1 (General Commercial) zoning district standards. These standards include a five-story building height limit for properties which do not have frontage on Interstate Highway 35. The requested PUD amendment would allow for an increase in height to six stories from the five stories currently allowed for the entitled hotel use. In addition, it establishes parking standards for the hotel/conference center, which also has restaurant and retail space, to allow for a sharing of spaces, predicated on the concept that hotel guests will make up the majority of those who are attending events at the conference center and using the restaurants and retail spaces. The applicant has provided staff information that reflects this is how their other Embassy Suites function.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on December 6, 2017, where four residents of the adjacent Teravista community, who live across N. Mays Street from the site, expressed concerns regarding the development affecting their privacy and safety. Concerns were raised relative to the use of the property for overnight accommodations. Specifically, the transient nature of the hotel use is a safety concern, and the proposed height of the hotel is a privacy concern. A homeowner also stated that the lighting necessary for the project is a concern as the recently installed roadway lighting for Mays Street is considered obtrusive. The Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the PUD amendment after a series of questions and answers provided by staff. Staff also requested that the applicant provide a perspective that reflects the interface between the hotel and the nearby residences, and this item will be provided in the staff presentation to the City Council.
On January 26, 2017, the City Council established an economic development program and approved an agreement with Stonemill Hospitality LLC for the construction of an Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center under Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code and authorized an agreement.