Richardson City Plan Commission Meeting May 16th, 2023
Five of the seven regular commissioners are present, Chairman Marsh, Vice-Chair Southard, Commissioner Costantino, Commissioner Keller, and Commissioner Roberts. Alternates Byron Purdy and Gary Beach are also present and will participate. Commissioner Walraven and Commissioner Bohnsack are absent.
Minutes of the previous meeting are approved unanimously.
The only item on the agenda is a public hearing on ZF 23-07, a request for a Special Permit for a massage establishment at 1551 E. Spring Valley. This zoning request sounds a lot like the ZF 23-05 request back in the March 21st CPC meeting. A previous massage establishment at this location was found to be operating illegally. The previous applicant’s Certificate of Occupancy was revoked by the city. The previous establishment’s owner convinced this current applicant, Ms. Li, to take over the lease but did not inform her of the city permitting/zoning process. The current applicant was left in a tough spot financially because she didn’t know how to pursue the process with the city. It wasn’t until someone else, in this case Rusty Chiu of Frisco, stepped in to help with translating and navigating the process with the city that the applicant was able begin the process. Rusty, translating for the applicant, explains how the applicant took over the lease of the previous establishment. She also became ill with Covid twice and was unable to pursue a certificate of occupancy because of health issues. She paid rent on the lease for 6 months. With the business unable to open, the applicant could no longer pay rent. The property manager is also present to support the approval of the special permit so that the business can open and rent payments can resume. Chairman Marsh asks the property manager if he was aware of the previous establishment’s illegal operations. The manager states that he was informed by the city and is fully in support of the decision to revoke their certificate of occupancy. He further states that the current applicant would be forgiven for past missed rent payments if she is able to start paying rent again. Vice-chair Southard expresses concern that the applicant was told the certificate of occupancy process is difficult. He asks how she came to that conclusion. Rusty, her translator, explains that he has experience working with applicants to navigate the process. His impression was that the ordinance requiring massage establishments to get a special permit was an obstacle that was intended to keep massage establishments from opening. The applicant confirms that the impression in the community is that the city is difficult to work with. Though there are no specific reasons given, that is the general impression, thus discouraging applicants from pursuing the process. Rusty expresses frustration at the $1500 fee in order to be granted a special permit. He states that this is a barrier that is impossible to overcome for most interested applicants. Rusty has worked with other cities and states that Richardson is the only one to add on this special fee to discourage applicants. Chairman Marsh asks about the written statement that cites a potential lawsuit for back rent. The property manager cannot entirely confirm whether a judgment will be pursued, but he is under the impression that the property owner may pursue some sort of settlement agreement for the missed payments. Chairman Marsh states that a pattern is emerging of illegally operated massage establishments. He also states that he is in favor of approving ethical applicants trying to make the situation better. The CPC votes unanimously to recommend approval, and the meeting adjourns. This should come before City Council in June.
(JN: Is there an opportunity to increase the inclusiveness of the zoning and permitting process so that all ethical applicants, regardless of race, culture, or language, have equitable opportunities to pursue business ownership in Richardson? Considering this is now the second time this year that an apparently ethical applicant is taking over for a formerly illegally operated massage establishment, I’d say this is something to at least consider. Illegal massage establishments give the community a bad reputation. I would hope that we can connect with the various business communities in Richardson to identify people who are able to assist applicants like Ms. Li in overcoming the obstacles in the zoning process. I think it’s apparent that requiring massage establishments to acquire a special permit is the right answer for Richardson. Now we need to identify patterns that are emerging and offer increased support and access to those stepping up to improve massage establishments across the city.)