Cell tower, gym and a new highway sign on Texarkana P&Z agenda tonight

Texarkana, Texas planning commissioners will take up nine items Monday night, including a 105-foot cell tower next to a CHRISTUS emergency room, a new sports training gym off Christus Drive and a 20-foot multi-tenant sign on New Boston Road.

The Planning and Zoning Commission meets at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 220 Texas Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.

Two items carried over from the commission’s July 6 meeting, when both were tabled without discussion.

Cell tower proposed near CHRISTUS ER

Kirk Patton and other owners are asking for a specific use permit to put a self-support telecommunications tower on about 1.02 acres in the 4300 block of Gibson Lane. Gregory Ferris is listed as the agent.

The tower would stand 105 feet. The tract sits just east of the roundabout at Gibson Lane and Pavilion Parkway, across from the CHRISTUS emergency room at 4250 Gibson Lane. The land is currently zoned Agriculture and is vacant.

Surrounding property is zoned Planned Development-General Retail to the north, east and west. The city’s Future Land Use Map designates the tract as “Regional Commercial.”

Staff recommend approval. The case is S-835.

Sports facility planned on Christus Drive

Two related items would clear the way for a 4,500-square-foot gym in the 5500 block of Christus Drive, next to Pleasant Grove ISD property.

Owner Alan Schimming is asking to rezone Lot 15A, Block 2 of Cowhorn Plaza from Planned Development-Office to Planned Development-General Retail. A companion item would approve the site plan under an amendment to PD-16-2. Kayla Wood of MTG Engineers and Surveyors is the agent on both.

Renderings filed with the city identify the project as The Resolution Sports and Performance Facility. The plans show a black metal building measuring 60 by 75 feet with 12-foot side walls, an outdoor turf area and a turf access gate.

The site plan calls for 22 parking spaces, one of them handicapped, with the driveway off Christus Drive and an exit to the alley. A 4-by-8-foot monument sign would be allowed. Electronic message boards would not.

Adjacent property is zoned Single Family-2 to the north, east and west. Staff recommend approval of both items with stipulations.

The cases are Z-26-23 and the amendment to PD-16-2.

Multi-tenant sign at New Boston Road development

Curt Green is seeking a specific use permit for an off-premise multi-tenant sign at 3701 New Boston Road, near the Sowell Lane interchange.

Drawings from Willow Creek Signs of Fort Worth show a double-sided LED cabinet standing 20 feet tall and 11 feet wide, with five tenant panels and a stucco finish. Documents filed with the city describe it as a directory sign for businesses reached through a shared entrance off New Boston Road.

Existing tenants in the development include Caliber Collision, WoodSpring Suites, The Storage Center and an Exxon and Wendy’s. Three tracts in the development remain available.

Staff recommend approval with two stipulations, including that no additional pole signs be allowed. The case is S-838.

Tabled Nolthenius Street items return

Commissioners will take a second look at a rezoning request and a specific use permit for a vacant lot at 1724 Nolthenius Street. Both were tabled July 6.

Owner Willie Washington and agent Cerwin Coleman want to rezone the lot from Multiple Family-1 to Single Family-3 and place a HUD code manufactured home on it. The property backs up to railroad tracks near Brown Street.

Staff recommend approval of both requests. The permit would carry six stipulations, including that the home be a 2021 model or newer, that it be tied down and skirted, and that the permit expire in three years if the home is not placed.

The cases are Z-26-22 and S-834.

Permanent cosmetics permit on Summerhill

Jessica Davis and agent Tammy Wroten are asking for a specific use permit to allow permanent cosmetics at 6500 Summerhill Road, in the office complex north of Red Springs Cemetery.

City code treats permanent cosmetics as a tattoo use, which requires a specific use permit in an Office district. Staff recommend approval with six stipulations. Those include state licensing for anyone performing the procedures, a ban on tobacco and drug paraphernalia sales, and no painted advertising on the windows or building.

The case is S-837.

Two plats up for approval

Commissioners will also consider two subdivision plats.

The first is a reapproval request for the Replat of Healthcare Express Subdivision at 4302 Galleria Oaks Drive, which splits one lot into two. The commission approved the plat in January, but it was not recorded within the required 121 days, so the owners are asking again.

The second is the plat for Ironhard Addition at 907 New Boston Road, a 0.718-acre replat that would create two lots. Utility and city departments reported no objections during review, though staff noted the owners must provide a tax certificate from the Bowie Central Appraisal District before the plat can be recorded.

Staff recommend approval of both.

What happens next

The Planning and Zoning Commission is an advisory body. The zoning cases and specific use permits on Monday’s agenda are scheduled for a City Council briefing Aug. 10, with a public hearing and council vote set for Sept. 14.

Residents who want to weigh in on a zoning case can speak at the meeting or file a letter with the planning department. Under state law, if owners of 20 percent or more of the land within 200 feet of a proposed change file a written protest, approval requires a three-fourths vote of the City Council.

The commission will also consider minutes from its July 6 meeting.