Flower Mound Town Council nixed a proposal from Extra Space Storage to set up a self-storage facility at the corner of Flower Mound Road and Old Orchard Lane.
Council voted 3-2 at its meeting on Monday to approve the applicant’s request, which included multiple exceptions to the Town’s Code of Ordinances, but it failed because it needed at least four votes of approval since the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously denied the request at its Dec. 8 meeting.
According to Flower Mound Director of Development Services Lexin Murphy, the applicant was working with town staff to figure out some kinks in their original plan that P&Z denied.
That included adjusting the color of the building, changing some height-related and signage issues and adding some faux windows to make the building fit more with the Town’s target aesthetic.
Murphy said the applicant also shared interest in creating a building that welcomes people into town.
“We understand this is the entrance to the Town of Flower Mound,” said O’Neal Gray, the project’s developer. “When we were designing this project, we did a lot of things – like art murals and landscaping – while keeping that in mind.”
Gray was adamant about this location for a storage facility, believing it’s an area that is underserved.
“This is an underserved area,” he said. “My data just got updated… and there is a demand here that’s not being met, and from a business standpoint, it’s a great spot.”
More than a few handfuls of residents showed up to speak in support and opposition of the plan. Concerns included traffic, noise, property value effects and a lack of compatibility with the town’s standards.
Supporters believed it would be a useful facility that would also give the area some variety, a break from all the retail.
According to Mayor Pro-Tem Ann Martin, emails sent in were 74% in favor of the project, HOA interviews were 83% in favor and public comment at the council meeting was 63%.
“Faced with the alternatives, I think it is a pretty good operation,” she said. “And the developer has tried… this one has been one of the most amenable to the feedback given to them.”
Council member Brian Taylor agreed with Martin and voted to approve the request, believing it is a good option for land that has sat undeveloped for so long.
“Whatever goes there – it’s not going to be a park, it’s not going to be open space, it’s going to be something developed,” he said. “This is probably the best compromise that we can have because if there was something better, I think it would have happened by now. This land has sat vacant for a while, so I think this is a reasonable development.”
Despite the efforts from Gray his team, Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Adam Schiestel and council member Janvier Warner weren’t persuaded enough to vote in favor.
“Sometimes, we can look at these applications and say, ‘well, is there a circumstance where this can work if we fix certain aspects of it,'” said Schiestel. “I understand that may be the case for some of you, but sometimes it’s just the use – and this use is just not compatible at an entrance to the town, so I’m a ‘Nay.'”
“I’m on the fence because they did ‘Flower Mound’ it up and it does look like an office building,” said Warner. “They bent over backwards to satisfy the neighbors’ concerns, but it’s the residents that say they don’t want it in their backyard because I wouldn’t want it, either.”
Though she didn’t vote, Mayor Cheryl Moore said she was worried about the possibility of the what could possibly be put in the space if the storage facility wasn’t approved.
“I’m sorry,” added Martin after a vote to approve the request failed. “I’m sorry to the majority of you that wanted it, we tried.”
The land will remain undeveloped, even though master site plans had previously been submitted in 2012 and in 2022 before the most recent concept plan was submitted.
