Richardson City Plan Commission Meeting March 19th, 2024
Five of the seven regular commissioners are present, Chairman Marsh, Vice-Chair Southard, Commissioner Costantino, Commissioner Keller, and Commissioner Bohnsack. Both alternates, Byron Purdy and Gary Beach, are also present and will participate. Commissioner Walraven and Commissioner Roberts are absent.
One correction is noted for the previous meeting’s minutes. The amended minutes are approved unanimously.
One public hearing is scheduled for ZF 24-02, a special permit request for a new religious private school at a church at 1301 Abrams Rd. with a maximum enrollment of 748 students. Here are some facts. 748 students multiplied by the TEA annual basic allotment of $6,160 equals over $4.6M. If 748 students are pulled from seats in public schools and placed in private schools, that is the impact. Council votes on this Monday, April 22nd.
Staff presents a background of the request and states that no correspondence has been received for this case. The applicant predicts approx. 400 people will be at the school on any given day. He expects the school to open for enrollment in Fall 2025. Vice-Chair Southard asks if the school will have intermural sports programs. The applicant confirms they will. Chairman Marsh asks about adding a maximum daily occupancy versus total enrollment. Commissioner Costantino disagrees and wants to keep the maximum enrollment. He reminds the commission that fire codes also govern occupancy. Staff clarifies that the maximum enrollment could remain in the request while adding a maximum attendance at any one time. The applicant is open to either method for the request. Chairman Marsh clarifies the materials used for fencing/screening. Vice-Chair Southard asks about security personnel. The applicant answers that they will have two private armed security guards.
No public speakers are present for the hearing. Chairman Marsh proposes adding a per-day attendance regulation and amending the fencing material to reflect solid metal fencing instead of steel fencing. The CPC unanimously recommends approval with the amendments noted by Chairman Marsh, limiting a maximum of 400 to attend at any given time.
Meeting adjourned.