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Red: hot topic at council meeting
By Tasha Hayton, Staff Writer
Redevelopment and new developments were proposed Tuesday to the Coppell City Council for the northeast corner of Sandy Lake Road and MacArthur Boulevard in spite of deviations from zoning requirements including red signage.
The 2.9 acres of property owned by six different owners was joined together for the construction and zoning purposes in an attempt to revitalize the retail location. The Papa John’s and Town Oaks Cleaners would remain at their current locations on the corner.
CVS/Pharmacy would be built at the location as well as a bank.
The variance from code ordinances that circulated the most talk among council members was the red signage for CVS/Pharmacy. Council member Marsha Tunnell said city ordinances only allowed white, cream or a similar neutral color for signage.
A representative for CVS/Pharmacy said the company wanted to stick with its nationally unified red signage within Coppell. The other location in Coppell has white signs as it was a converted Eckerd. When the change was made, officials at CVS/Pharmacy wanted to make the change quickly and smoothly.
Although many of the other ordinances were not met, the location compensated in other ways, said Bennett Ratliff of The Ratliff Group.
The planned landscaping is not as wide as required by the city ordinances, but the development group plans to put in more shrubs and trees than require to create a vertical buffer around the property, Ratliff said.
The parking lot would also have a three to four foot drop that sloped upwards to the driveways to create a more subtle effect, he said.
In response to the failure to meet many of the codes, Ratliff said the development would be a significant improvement over the current building premises.
The landscaping would be an 85 percent increase over the current landscaping on the property, he said. In addition to the landscaping, the development would reduce the number of driveways off of the major thoroughfares to create a cleaner look, Ratliff said.
A representative for the circumstances surrounding the real estate agreements said the development discussion started four years ago with the various owners and current occupants of the site.
In spite of the variances, the development best dealt with the property constraints and the various owners, said Council Member Bill York.
The site is an entryway into the city and is currently an eyesore, he said.
“I am sick and tired of looking at it in its degraded state,” York said.
Council Member Marvin Franklin called the location an “historical eyesore” and said the citizens living in the area would be glad of a unified and presentable development at the location.
The council recessed into executive session to talk with the city attorney and discuss the red signage issue.
The applicants said they would reduce the size of the red signs but keep the color.
All but Tunnell approved the zoning request.
In other business
An interlocal agreement between Coppell and Irving was approved by the council. City Manager Jim Witt said the agreement would allow the two cities to join together on major issues including the North Lake case.
The agreement would require both cities to have a $87,500 commitment to future joined projects, Witt said.
Currently, there are no projects or joint ventures between the two cities, he said.
The council also approved the recommendation for a potential funeral home in conjunction with a municipal cemetery at the corner of Ruby Road and Freeport Parkway.
The approval does not bind the city with a cemetery development and all costs surrounding looking into the location would be assumed by the recommended funeral home.
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