Plans for a 7-Eleven store on West Commerce go to the City Plan Commission Thursday.
The developers want to create a new subdistrict for the 35,000-square-foot property, between May and Sulphur streets, in order to exclude it from many of the district’s requirements for walkability and urban form.
The planned development district, created in 2005, envisioned West Commerce and Fort Worth Avenue as a dense, pedestrian friendly neighborhood. The kind of development pictured when it was written is happening now: Hundreds of high-end apartments have been built, and many more are under construction or planned.
The 7-Eleven developers are requesting to exclusion from these requirements for new construction on West Commerce:
Facades and entries must face the public right of way,
parking lots must be at the rear of buildings,
parking lots and off-street loading spaces must be screened by fences,
parallel parking in the roadway
and standards for wide sidewalks.
A group of neighbors is opposing the request, which they say obviously violates the development intentions for the neighborhood and would create a void in walkability on West Commerce.
