Richardson City Plan Commission Meeting January 21st, 2025

OPENING

Only five commissioners are present tonight: Vice-Chair Southard, Commissioner Costantino, Commissioner Bohnsack, Alternate Byron Purdy, and Alternate Rebecca Poynter. Chair Marsh, Commissioner Keller, Commissioner Roberts, and Commissioner Beach are absent. Vice-Chair Southard will lead the meeting tonight.

Vice-Chair Southard states that the commission has not had a chance to review the previous meeting’s minutes. Therefore, he moves to continue consideration of these minutes until the next meeting. The CPC unanimously approves this motion.

PUBLIC HEARING – GALEN COLLEGE OF NURSING

Two public hearings are scheduled tonight. The first is on ZF 24-32. This is a special permit request by the Galen College of Nursing at 1301 W. PGB Highway to amend the existing special permit conditions to allow an increased maximum daily attendance from 300 to 450. Staff presents a background of the request. Staff states that this request would also expand their leased space from 40,000 sq. ft. to 67,000 sq. ft. No correspondence has been received regarding this request.

The applicant steps forward to present their request and answer questions. Vice-Chair Southard asks if most students commute. The applicant answers that all of their students commute from various cities in the DFW metroplex. Commissioner Purdy asks if they will ever consider changing their current hybrid education model (some in-person/some virtual). He also asks what makes them unique compared to other nursing school options such as Dallas College. The applicant answers that they have brought some of their instruction back to in-person due to dropping grades. Some instruction is still virtual. The applicant also answers that their pass rate makes them stand out compared to other nursing schools.

Vice-Chair Southard asks how long it takes to complete courses. The applicant answers that their options include one-year, two-year, and three-year programs. No speakers are present for this hearing.

Commissioner Poynter compliments the facility and expresses her support for this request. Commissioner Costantino also supports the request. Commissioner Purdy, as he seconds Commissioner Costantino’s motion to approve the request, remarks that we shouldn’t let all these opportunities go to the robots. (Well, at least they’re having fun. That’s what’s important, right?) The CPC unanimously recommends approval of the request. This item is tentatively scheduled for a Feb. 17^th Council hearing. This is always likely to change so please view the current zoning changes map here to verify: https://www.cor.net/departments/development-services/maps/current-zoning-change-requests .

PUBLIC HEARING – THE EVENT FACTORY

The second public hearing is on ZF 25-01. This is a special permit request for a special event center, The Event Factory, at 1101 E. Arapaho Rd. This is within the Employment Sub-District of the Collins/Arapaho TOD & Innovation District Form-Based Code. The Future Land Use Plan designates this area as Innovation/Industry according to the staff report. This deems entertainment/recreation as an appropriate secondary use. This use requires a special permit in this sub-district.

Staff presents a background of the request. The space will have a maximum occupancy of 99. Hours of operation will be M-Th 5 pm – 12 am, F-Sat 9 am – 1 am, and Sun 9 am – 12 am. The applicant steps forward to present their request. Vice-Chair Southard asks what their plan is for preventing guests from accessing other parts of the building since this is a multi-tenant building. The applicant answers that security personnel will prevent that from being an issue. Commissioner Poynter asks if they will serve alcohol. The applicant states that they will not serve alcohol. If a guest hires a vendor that serves alcohol, they would have to be licensed to do so. Commissioner Bohnsack asks about the other tenants in the building. Staff answers that the building is only 50% occupied. Other businesses include contractors, a hospice service office, and an English language school. The applicant also states that they will install an exterior door directly to their suite, so guests won’t have to walk through the building lobby.

No speakers are present for this request.

The CPC unanimously recommends approval of the request. This is also tentatively scheduled for a Feb. 17^th Council hearing. This is always subject to change so please verify the status on the map here: https://www.cor.net/departments/development-services/maps/current-zoning-change-requests .

Meeting adjourned.