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Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - 03/11/2026 MINUTES PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION March 11, 2026 PRESENT: Jeremy Woodward • Chairman Blake Haney • vice-Chair Doug McCulloch ■ Member Alan Sizemore • Member Lisa Stephens-Musick • Member Brady Enlow • Member Michael Grassi • Member Jack Browne • Member Naomi Barron • Alternate No.2 Teresa Rose • SAFB Liaison Councilor Tom Taylor ■ Council Liaison Paul Menzies, Assistant City Manager • City Staff Fabian Medellin, Director of Development Services • City Staff Rita Miller, Assistant Director of Development Services • City Staff Kinley Hegglund, City Attorney • City Staff Christal Cates, Neighborhood Revitalization Coordinator Planner II • City Staff Robin Marshall, Admin Assistant • City Staff ABSENT: • Member Matt Marrs • Altemate No.1 Luz Lerma I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jeremy Woodward at 2:00 p.m. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chairman Woodward asked if there were any comments from the public for items not on the agenda. With no response, Chairman Woodward closed public comments. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Woodward called for a motion to adopt the February 11, 2026, minutes. Commissioner Alan Sizemore made a motion to approve the minutes as presented and Commissioner Jack Browne seconded the motion. Chairman Woodward opened comments to the public, and there were no additional comments. Chairman Woodward took the motion to vote, and the motion passed unanimously with a vote of 7-0 in favor. IV. CONSENT AGENDA P 26-11 —J.L. Powell Estates subdivision, Phase 1, Lot 2, Block 6U P 26-14 —Jeff Martin Addition, Lot 1, Block 1 Planning and Zoning 2 Mar 11, 2026 Chairman Woodward asked if anything needs to be brought down to the regular agenda, and Director Fabian Medellin stated there was not. Commissioner Jack Browne made the motion to approve the consent agenda and Commissioner Blake Haney seconded the motion. With no comments from the public or the Commission, a vote was taken, and the motion passed with a vote of 7-0. V. REGULAR AGENDA 1. C 26-04 1522 Weeks Street — Dance Studio This case it to consider taking action on a request for a conditional use, at 1522 Weeks Street, to allow for the commercial services use of a dance studio to exceed the 1,200-sf. maximum in a Limited Commercial (LC) zoning district. The applicants were Stephanie and Daniel Mendenwaldt Ms. Christal Cates presented the case, and she explained to the Commission that staff had met with the applicants in January to discuss use of an existing building. The structure was previously used as a daycare facility. The Mendenwaldt's wanted to move their existing dance studio, Dance Etc., to a larger facility so they could provide more classes. Dance studios are classified as a service under our code of ordinances. Staff reviewed the regulations applicable to the services in that zoning district, including the by-right allowed maximum square footage of 1,200 sq. ft. This structure is a little over 7,000 square feet, so staff advised the clients that they would need to apply for a conditional use permit. Dance Etc. was opened by Ms. Mendenwaldt's predecessor in 1995. Ms. Cates explained that the dance studio offers classes in a variety of styles, including hip- hop, lyrical, jazz and ballet, to mention a few. The youngest class starts at 12 months old, with Dance with Me classes. These classes are primarily held when school aged kids get out of school. Their hours of operation are from 3:30-7:30pm. Ms. Cates provided the board with some slides showing the location of the proposed dance studio, and the properties in the surrounding area. She stated that Weeks Street is a residential street that ends at Lake Park Drive, and in the opposite direction it leads you to Jacksboro Highway. An aerial map was shown, and it was pointed out that the property is surrounded by vacant, undeveloped land to the north and to the east. Wesley United Methodist Church is to the west of the proposed site, which actually gives more separation from those residential uses. To the south, the residential uses are buffered by the backyards that are adjacent to the street, just across the street from them. She noted that the nearest approximate residential use was about 170 feet away. The Commission was shown a site plan that the Mendenwaldt's provided. Ms. Cates stated that the footprint of the structure is not going to change. She pointed out the circular drive, which like the prior business at this site, will be used for drop off and pick-up for the dance studio. Additional pictures of the site were shown to the board, and she pointed out the buffers that she had spoken about. The property is in a limited commercial zoning district, and they are surrounded by Single Family-2 uses, and then more intense uses over to the east along Jacksboro Highway. Ms. Cates explained that limited use's intent is to have a lower intensity so you can minimize impacts on surrounding properties, those residential properties. She said the existing off-street parking, and the circular drive that accommodates the drop-off and pickup lanes are going to be utilized significantly, Planning and Zoning 3 Mar 11, 2026 and that will reduce potential impact on the surrounding roadways and the residential streets. Ms. Cates told the Commissioners that staff mailed out notices to the 16-property owners within the 200-foot notification area. We received three responses back, with two being in favor and one was opposed. The greatest concern was for traffic being backed up, because they noted that there was a problem when the daycare let out. She explained that staff did not feel like that will have an impact now, because the dance classes will be staggered, unlike drop off and pick up for a daycare. There were also noted concerns about outdoor performances and noise levels, which it was stated that there will be no performances held at the dance studio, those will be held off site. With the factors considered, staff is recommending approval of the use to allow for the commercial services use of a dance studio to exceed 1,200 sq. ft. maximum in a limited commercial zoning district with the following conditions: •The subject property must submit a site plan for review, subject to the standards of Section 7100, which complies with all other required site improvements and building codes. •The applicant must provide and maintain adequate parking for the development. •Any lighting installed should be directed away from the single-family residential dwellings and roadways. Commissioner Woodward asked if the applicant was present, and if they wished to say anything. Mr. and Mrs. Mendenwaldt came to the podium and explained that their business does happen inside the building. They stated that they feel that sound will not be of concern, as they have four rooms operating at one time so they can't overpower each other with sound. They reiterated that the classes will be staggered, so pick up and drop off will be staggered, also adding that they typically don't do anything on the weekends and very minimal use on Friday's right now. Their business will likely operate Monday through Thursday. They noted that they don't plan on using the playground equipment, as they want to keep all their students inside the classrooms that they are assigned to. So, the outside will not be utilized at this moment. Commissioner Woodward opened the comments up to the public. Mr. Dan Praggett, with the Wesley United Methodist Church, had concerns about making sure some deed restrictions would be upheld, which had to do with the property being used as a nightclub, and/or having alcohol sold or served there. Kinley Hegglund, City Attorney, stated that Wichita Falls (P&Z Commission included) does not enforce or take into account deed restrictions. He cited that the only city in the State of Texas that does enforce deed restrictions is Houston. He added, should the church feel that the dance studio was in violation of the deed restrictions, the church would need to take legal action and file a lawsuit. It would be a civil suit, not involved in the city of Wichita Falls. With no additional comments, Chairman Woodward moved to vote on the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 8-0. (Commissioner Brady Enlow had arrived at the beginning of this case being presented. He was not present for the vote for the minutes or the consent agenda, which is the difference in the number of those voting.) Planning and Zoning 4 Mar 11, 2026 2.Workshop - Workforce Housing Director Fabian Medellin provided a workshop to discuss Workforce Housing and potential zoning amendments. He spoke about the expected influx of workers in our area due to upcoming projects, and discussed the development projects within city limits, or within the region, that have been announced. Firstly, the data center at the business park, Skybox data center that will be in our business park, is projected to break ground in early summer. The other is the Google data center, the Oakly Union (the former power station), in Wilbarger, is currently moving dirt for access to the site. A couple of others are: • King's Branch data Center on Randy Drive that is anticipated in 2027. • Sheppard Air Force Base— Improvements • The Mark Calvano Data Center— on 287, City View/Wellington area. • Data Center on Airport Drive and 1-44. (Which will be coming to the P&Z in the form of a PUD.) • The city has been contacted about a couple of others in our ETJ regarding platting questions and potential water options. He noted the expected square footage for new buildings at some of these sites, noting that one site will be developing millions of square feet for their structures. So, looking ahead of these projects to start, we want to address items that go along with a project of this size and scale. Housing is one of them. Director Medellin informed the Commission that this influx of contractors will be in the area for a period of time. He noted that our City has an affordable market in terms of housing and cost of living, and we are known for being a top retirement city. This does have the ability to affect that, and reminded the board that staff mentioned manufactured homes and RV parks and their capacities and questioned if they can meet the need for housing for the expected new workers in our area. Director Medellin gave an example of Abilene and said they estimated 6,000 contractors that have come in due to one project. He provided maps, pictures and spreadsheets showing current manufactured home parks and RV parks. We have a total of sixteen parks (combined MH parks and RV parks) within city limits. However, four of those are either completely vacant or at some phase of construction or in the permitting phase. There's one on 9th Street and one on Burke Road, that at one time was a manufactured home park. They have the zoning designation, so they have the ability, and right, to redevelop it, however, there are no homes there. The third park is the Crossroads RV Park at the intersection of NW Freeway and Central Freeway. It was noted that they have constructed the first phase but haven't constructed the second phase. The fourth is a recently approved RV park on Jacksboro Highway and Rathgeber. Director Medellin informed the board that among all of those there is a total of 1,568 potential pad sites. He continued and said that some of the manufactured home parks were vacant, but with historical aerials we can estimate how many could fit within that park. For more recent parks, we have site plans that we can pull from to tabulate the number of pad sites. Using imagery, and driving to these sites, we estimate that we have about 772 unoccupied pad sites for RV's or manufactured homes. The parks differ in size (with the newer parks being larger and include amenities), But overall, the average size of a park is about 7 homes, or 7 pad sites per acre. Going back to Abilene, they recently approved a 1,000-pad site RV park that consists of 109 acres. (8-9 pad sites per acre.) Director Medellin told the Commission that Abilene is still working to accommodate those housing needs, and we are trying to accommodate those housing needs ahead of the influx that we anticipate that will be hitting us. One of the Commissioners asked about the size of Stargate, and Director Medellin said that is a moving number. Originally, they announced it would be about six million square Planning and Zoning 5 Mar 11, 2026 feet, but it was recently found online that not only are they expanding that, but they are also adding a second site. The parks can take up a lot of land. He noted that these are going to be intended for well-paid contractors (up to $100 an hour) that are going to be looking for housing. We want to try to accommodate them without disrupting our existing housing market, as well as our infrastructure (water and sewer capacities). So, we are looking for areas that are suitable for these temporary developments. (The contractors will be here for a few years and will then move on to the next project.) RV parks are allowed by right within our River Development District, which is part of our downtown area and along the Wichita River. They are conditionally allowed withing our Residential Mixed-Use District, as well as our Manufactured Home Residential District. Manufactured parks are limited to those Manufactured Home Districts, as well as being conditionally allowed in Residential Mixed Use. Staff wants to address the potential for impacts, ensuring the current and long-term development of the city is done as efficiently and safely, and as organized as it can be. Looking at some of the existing capacities of those parks, staff feels we are going to be in need of a temporary fix for these incoming contractors. He stated that staff want to propose an amendment that will allow for that and that will also address some concerns. One of those concerns is location. He continued, and spoke about areas that allow an RV park, and areas suitable, because of their size. He also spoke on water and sanitary needs, safety concerns, and utility needs, including fire and emergency concerns. He added that staff wants to ensure those impacts not only to that site, but the surrounding sites, are addressed and any potential hazards are mitigated. Lastly, staff want to ensure that long-term we aren't changing the opportunities of that land just for temporary use and allow the sites to go back to their prior state. While these parks can provide multiple amenities for these temporary contractors, the plan is for it to be a temporary use, and then to go back to the prior use. Director Medellin said he wanted to start a discussion with the board to get their thoughts. Commissioner Browne questioned the parcels being able to go back to prior uses. Director Medellin said staff want to make it so the parcels can go back to prior use or be able to transition to some new commercial use. County RV sites were asked about, and water use. While staff does not know of any specific plans, they know that likely there are prospective sites in the county. RV parks, by State standards, are a public water supplier and have to go through rigorous testing and monitoring of the water lines, and the water itself. Commissioner Michael Grassi asked if the data centers are allowed on site living, and Director Medellin said right now our ordinances wouldn't allow for temporary living on site, but for the Airport Drive PUD there is a component which will allow for that temporarily until the development stage is completed. RV parks and manufactured home parks were discussed a little more. With the money that will be spent on infrastructure and roads (that would be a temporary use for the parks) we want to be able to give opportunity not only for land development, but redevelopment afterwards. We would like to look at separating the standards for what is currently in the books. Commissioner Doug McCulloch spoke about the view of an investor, and the cost of the streets and infrastructure would not be attractive to an investor for a project that would be of temporary use. That is why staff is looking to make the standards a little more available to the investment crowd. Director Medellin talked about The Heart of the Falls overlay District. He said if you have a set of housing that is 50 years newer than other housing, and the infrastructure is 50 years newer than other housing, there is attractiveness there. Also discussed was the concern about a housing shortage, and if you did that there may be an overstock of housing. They continued talking about housing and the planning opportunity, as well as the possible difficulties. It was asked if Abilene has implemented a solution to their housing needs, and Director Medellin stated that everything he has seen has been reactive. Staff wants to be proactive. So, identifying areas throughout town, more than likely, areas just along the Planning and Zoning 6 Mar 11, 2026 fringes of city limits that have this temporary opportunity. He noted that while some of these parks may be nicer ones, offering amenities and recreational areas for the contractors, most of them will look like a contractor's yard. We want to find sites that can allow for that, and that will mitigate those impacts to properties around them. But then set the property up for its next life, whatever that may be. Additional conversation was conducted about investors and the challenge to make this attractive to them as well, and what will make it a good investment for them. It was noted that housing costs are always a concern, and staff wants to protect that. The well-paid contractors are going to change our housing market, and that is why Director Medellin is proposing some temporary solutions to facilitate their needs, but also to be able to protect our citizens. To have a way to add the temporary capacity so that it has the least impact on the existing population. Commissioner McCulloch brought up that "man camps" are primarily established by oil companies, and not private investors. He questioned from an investment standpoint how it would be attractive to an investor and how the locations, being on the fringes of city limits, would be enticing to an investor. Commissioner Lisa Stephens-Musick asked if staff had any suggestions that they would like to modify slightly. Director Medellin responded that the roads would not be public roads, and staff is talking with our Public Works and our Fire Marshal. Asking them what would be adequate for them to meet the needs of a demand, plus to ensure basic safety, state guidelines, city codes, and building codes are being met. The other component is identifying where there are lots of open spaces, and the processes in how it would best be approved and who should have that authority. He stated he feels the Planning and Zoning Commission would, with the Conditional Use permit process, which would be a shorter process as compared to a rezone, by about a 60-day difference. He added that the ordinance does also have a temporary use section, but that delegates a lot of authority to the Director of Development Services. He feels that it would be better suited for the P&Z Board versus just a single individual. Director Medellin told the Commission that he would present and ordinance to them next month, then they will have another workshop, to get feedback from the board, and then go from there. He also added that staff will address the impacts if the development of the parks will be built within city limits, and also the impacts if they are built outside of city limits. Paul Menzies, Assistant City Manager, addressed the Commission and said that as a city, staff have travelled to other cities in the State that have these large hyper-scale data centers, that are millions of square feet and billions of dollars' worth of private investment. Staff did this to talk about lessons learned. To find what we could take from their experience and learn from the challenges they had. Staff met with some cities that the data center development seemed like a great idea a year ago, but they were completely unprepared for it financially, and unprepared for the impact on the community. He noted that these were much smaller communities than ours. He also said they saw these temporary RV parks all over the place. It's not an if, it is a when, because they are coming, whether we have regulations in place or not. He stated that there will be requests for them within the city limits and outside of the city limits. Mr. Menzies said this is one of the reasons staff wanted to have this conversation with the Commission today, because to get city services (water/sewer), you need to be within city limits, or you have to agree to be annexed into the city limits. He added that the State has changed its rules on how these RV parks in rural areas, outside of city limits, can operate. We are seeing that they are then going to the cities for water and sewer. When those requests from property owners outside of the city limits come to the city, how does the city accommodate them? Mr. Menzies said we want to accommodate them and want to sell them water. He added that we want a safe RV park for our contractors to live. They will be shopping in Wichita Falls, working here, supporting our economy. He stated that we want them to have a great place, as best as possible, to live. But, he added, at the same time if you want to do this outside the city limits and Planning and Zoning 7 Mar 11, 2026 you need city water or sewer, you will need to sign an agreement with the city on how much that water is going to cost them. He noted that some of the rents that these places are charging are $3,000 to $4,000 per pad site per month. That is the market rate across the state, as of six months ago. Along with that agreement, the hope is that they will also build it to this standard, the same standard that you are going to have inside the city limits. Once that site is vacated, it will be decommissioned in some form or fashion. Mr. Menzies added that the goal is to provide a safe place for the workers and then decommissioning it at the end would be beneficial. The greatest issue at hand is how do we accommodate what is going to be a temporary situation the best we can? Director Medellin added the contractors are going to be part of our community, and we want to facilitate their housing needs as best we can but not hurt our citizens here. VI. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business discussed. VII. ADJOURN Chairman Woodward adjour meeting at 3:01 pm. 9//7 Jere o wa - Chairman Date i Medellin, AICP—15irector oThevelopment Services Date