Notes from January P&Z Meeting
The Helotes Planning & Zoning Commission met at City Hall at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Members absent were Jerry Cotton, Ron Hozza, and Steve Ritchie. Members attending were Gregg Michel, Chair, Alex Blue, Vice Chair, Mike McGlothing, Secretary, Richard Hawk, Bert Buys, Joe Edmond, and Sandra Ethridge. Also in attendance at the meeting were City Administrator Rick Schroder and Council members Cynthia Massey and David Legendre (who left around 7:40 p.m.).
Cynthia Massey spoke during the Citizens to be Heard portion of the meeting expressing her concerns over the color scheme of the proposed remodeling of the Dairy Queen, which was to be discussed at this meeting. She said that the orange metal roof bothers her. She does not think that corporate identity is a valid reason to ignore the City’s design guidelines which call for muted colors. The Dairy Queen is requesting approval to use five different colors on their building, and she thinks the colors are garish.
Except for the approval of the minutes of their last meeting, the only item on the agenda was discussion of and action on the approval of an exterior commercial remodeling plan for the Dairy Queen, including, but not limited to, the following: building design, exterior lighting, and signage.
Architect Patrick Roeder was present at the meeting representing the owners of the Helotes Dairy Queen and was available to answer questions.
Rick Schroder presented the proposed remodeling plan to the Commission. The plans have already been changed from the original plan that was submitted. They have added a stone wall/tower and stone wainscoting on the front of the building. The stone would be similar to what is being used on the new CVS and the rest of the new shopping center. The stucco would remain and would be painted. Red standing-seam metal awnings would be added over the windows. All lighting would be full cut-off. They removed the upward lighting that was on the original plan. The stone wall/tower on the front of the building behind the existing sign would be 21 feet tall.
All Dairy Queens nationwide are being remodeled. A few years ago, Warren Buffet bought the Dairy Queen chain, and he is changing their current fast food image to one of casual dining.
Roeder stated that they will repair/improve the current landscaping, but the design of the beds will remain the same. All signage will remain the same.
Some P&Z members objected to the colors as presented as being too many and too bright. Roeder suggested that the colors could be limited or eliminated altogether, but he felt that there was no point in doing a remodel if it doesn’t look substantially different afterwards.
Extending the wainscoting to three sides of the building and using the color panels only on the drive through were two ideas discussed. Alex Blue said that he objected to how shiny the colored panels were.
Many changes were discussed and Gregg Michel said that he thought that the Commission members would benefit from seeing an updated drawing showing all the changes being agreed upon. However, Roeder said that he would prefer to come to some conclusion tonight so they could get on with the remodeling.
After more discussion, Alex Blue made a motion that the signage and lighting as presented be approved. The building design as presented would be approved with the following changes: the wainscoting would be extended from the front to the sides of the building, the metal panels on the parapet walls would be removed from the plans and the walls would be painted stucco, and there would be an orange metal panel above the drive-through window, but there would be no colored metal panel beneath it. The motion was seconded by Joe Edmond; all were in favor.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m.