Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I'd like to welcome everybody to the City of Allen Planning and Zoning Commission regular meeting Tuesday, July 21st, 2026. Call the meeting to order and announce that we do have a quorum present. If everyone will please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, All right, the first item on the agenda is a consent agenda, which is approved by a single majority vote. If there are any items on the consent agenda that somebody wishes to discuss separately, let me know. If not, may I please have a motion?

I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.

Commissioner Kotheria with a motion to approve the consent agenda. Do we have a second?

I second the motion.

Commissioner Walker with a second. All those in favor of approving the consent agenda, please raise your right hand. And the motion carries unanimously. Next item is to conduct a public hearing and consider a request to amend Plan Development Number 58 with a base zoning of shopping center regulating the development and use of Lot 1, Block A, Cornerstone-Allen addition, also known as BMK Pharmacy, additional land uses. Here to present for staff is Mr. Beckleff.

Thank you, Chair. So starting off with the request summary that was just read into the records, we're simply proposing additional land uses to be permitted at this property. Location, you can see indicated by the red star, the property is generally located on the northeast corner of Exchange and US 75. More precisely, here's the property outlined in red, and it's currently zoned PD58 with the Bessonia Shopping Center. Similarly, to the east and south, we have PD58 Shopping Center. Across 75 to the west, we have PD54 Corridor Commercial, and to the north, Community Facilities. So the request before you, again, is just adding uses, starting with the first one of drug pharmaceutical manufacturing. We've seen this before. It may look familiar. About a year and a half ago, we've had the exact same request come before you for the property to the south. And at the time, they had proposed a level two, and I remember there was some discussion regarding the safety aspect of things, and the applicant at the time reduced it to a level one. Similarly, we're already starting with the level one here. So it's the exact same request, word for word. as far as the drug and pharmaceutical manufacturer goes. Just to refresh your memories, it's just a facility engaged in the research, design, development, production, storage, sales of pharmaceutical products, and it may include a combination or all of these components of office, the lab, biosafety level one, retail sales, manufacturing, warehousing, or other similar uses. In addition to that, they are also proposing electronic manufacturing assembly to be an allowed use, manufacture light to which only 50% of the total floor area of the structure can be used for such use, and a medical clinic. Staff is recommending approval of the item, and the reason for that is just how the property itself developed throughout the years. Even though it has a base on your shopping center, if you look at the property, it doesn't look like your traditional shopping center. you drive by it, no one would say this is where I want to go buy clothes and get a, you know, a donut for breakfast. It very much developed like a little bit more on the industrial side. From what I remember at the time, Mark had compared it to cordial commercial, but it can also be compared to an industrial technology based on the way it developed. If we compare the types of uses that are allowed in an industrial, industrial technology based on it's somewhat comparable to what this property has developed as. Also, I do remember that some of the concerns came from noise, vibration, odor, or even the hazardous materials that could go in there, although this is level one, so it's the lowest risk of the biosafety that you can find. I can assure you that there are measures in place that would add additional scrutiny whenever the applicant does come to get a CO. And one of those would happen at the time of CO itself if they decide not to do any interior remodel. Fire and building are part of those reviews, so they would look at it pretty in-depth to make sure that all of the safety and health aspects are met in accordance to code. Again, we're recommending approval. I'm here for any questions. The applicant is also here in case you have any questions to them.

Thank you Thank you Any commissioners have questions of staff If not, I'll open a public hearing if anybody is here wishing to speak for or against this item Please step up to the podium Seeing no movement, I'll close the public hearing. Let's turn the item again back over to the commissioners.

Any questions or comments? I guess one quick comment is that I remember when the property to the south came up back in, I guess, March of 25. And we moved it. They were willing to bring it down to a level one biohazard. I think we had a discussion on it. And part of that was air handling and hazard waste. And I think it adequately satisfied all of our concerns. And so this is just to... allow the the property to the north to be equal to the one that we had already approved and just to kind of make that whole area um all of their all of the buildings that they have at the time i don't think they owned that building right um and so they're just taking both their buildings to be equal is that's correct yeah okay that's correct yeah so i i don't see any issues

i'd just like to thank staff for uh i called in earlier this week or maybe late last week about a couple questions so thank you for including those in your presentation so sure i appreciate that i just had one quick it looked like the draft document in the packet had level two still right yes was that amended to that that's it's supposed to be one i apologize for that the ordinance does reflect one perfect okay

Any other questions or comments? If not, may I please have a motion?

I make a motion to recommend approval of the request to amend the development regulations of plan development number 58 with a base zoning of shopping center.

Commissioner Stoker with a motion to recommend approval of this item. Do we have a second?

I second it.

Commissioner Catheria with a second. All those in favor of recommending approval of this item, please raise your right hand. and this motion carries unanimously next step for this project is city council on august the 11th with no further items on the agenda we are adjourned