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A public hearing for a proposed QuikTrip at the northwest corner of Midway and Alpha roads will be continued March 9.
The request by MasterPlan Consultants, representing the property owner, is not materially different from the request approved by the Farmers Branch Planning and Zoning Commission and denied by the Farmers Branch City Council in 2025, said Lead Planner Brett Mangum at the Feb. 9 meeting.
The public hearing specific use permit (SUP) for a gasoline service station and convenience store and a request to amend the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance is for 20 fueling pumps at the front of property and a 5,029-square-foot convenience store that could sell beer and wine, but not hard liquor, at the rear of the 1.48-acre lot at 13601 Midway Rd.
The former bank building at that location now houses a therapy center for children with special needs that has a short-term lease, which won’t be an issue with a property sale, said Dallas Cothrum, CEO of MasterPlan Consultants.
Cothrum countered Mangum’s statement that there was not material change by saying that the owner of the property had died and that his children wanted to settle his estate by selling the property. He also noted that the Farmers Branch City Council had changed council members since the last time the proposal came before the council. “You know the ‘P’ in planning stands for politics,” he said.
Cothrum said QuikTrip would withdraw the original request for a larger sign because they are confident the gas station and convenience store would be successful with what the city already allows.
At the meeting, Mangum said the planning department had received two letters of support and three letters in opposition to the requests. However, five people spoke at the public hearing, four in opposition: Joe Dingman of Farmers Branch; former Farmers Branch City Council Member Pat Haggerty of Addison; Kelly Jo Sands of Dallas ; who has children at Preston Hollow Presbyterian and Parish Episcopal School; and Steven Flens, property manager of the commercial property at 13605 Midway Rd.
Christopher Bowers of Suster Law Group who represents a property on the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, said he would like to see the commission stick with the comprehensive zone, and said the issue with the property is a land-use issue and not a probate issue. He asked the commission to consider a time limit for the SUP and require a 24-hour security guard if the SUP and zoning amendment were passed.
The commission passed a vote to continue the public hearing at the March 9 Planning and Zoning meeting as requested by the applicant.
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