Second QuikTrip to be located on Brown Street

During its March 6 meeting, the Waxahachie City Council unanimously approved a specific use permit to allow a second QuikTrip to be located on Brown Street, near U.S. Highway 287 Bypass and Indian Drive.

“We are excited about developing another QuikTrip in the great city of Waxahachie,” Corey Vaughan, real estate project manager with QuikTrip, said.

Located on 2.3 acres of land, the station will include a 5,312-square foot convenience store and eight gasoline pumps. QuikTrip will operate seven days a week with one to 10 employees on-site, according to the city staff report.

The recommended elevation will include atlas brick, stone and window glazing. QuikTrip has proposed planting eight crape myrtles on site, according to the city staff report.

QuikTrip was first established in 1958 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has more than 900 locations across the United States. The store sells a variety of fresh food, beverages and other products, along with gasoline sales.

The station proposed will not have diesel pumps for 18-wheeler trucks like the QuikTrip located at 5400 I-35E, with gas carriers being the only tractor-trailers to enter the new site. Vaughan said their gas carriers typically come between 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

While city staff recommended approval for the SUP, they had concerns with the proposed pole sign on site.

QuikTrip originally requested for a 90-foot pole sign with a setback of about 97 feet from the convenience store, about 78 feet from the eastern property line and 25 feet from the northern property line, according to the city staff report.

During the Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 28, the commission approved the SUP with a requirement for the pole sign to meet the current sign ordinance requirements. According to the ordinance (Sec. 5.08 – under regulations for specific types of signs, item 15), pole signs cannot exceed 75 feet in height and must have a minimum setback equal to its height from all property lines.

Since the P&Z meeting, QuikTrip adjusted its pole sign to about 70 feet in height with a setback of 53 feet from the convenience store and about 70 feet from the northern property line.

In their report, city staff stated they did not “believe a pole sign is appropriate, or needed, with the development.”

“Staff is not in support of the pole sign – that is information we have provided from day one to the applicant,” senior director of planning Jennifer Pruitt said.

One of the main reasons QuikTrip is requesting the pole sign is to gain visibility from cars traveling on U.S. Highway 287.

“Because the jug handle pushes (us) so far back, we would need to get as much visibility as possible to drive in the volumes to make it feasible for what QuikTrip does,” Vaughan said. “One of the other hardships is where the exit is compared to where the site is.”

Council member Chris Wright pointed out that Brown Street has “a large amount of traffic” itself.

“I don’t think you’ll have any problem getting customers, so the pole sign’s a real hard sell,” Wright said.

Council members asked if QuikTrip could use other options like a billboard on Highway 287 or a pole sign off-site, closer to 287.

Vaughan explained that they did explore those options. Originally, they requested for a flag lot, which would allow them to place the pole sign closer to 287, and the city said that would not be an option, Vaughan said. After looking into the billboard option, they found it was not “viable” at the time.

Asked if the pole sign was a deal breaker, Vaughan said “possibly,” but it was not a decision he would make.

“I really cannot believe what I’m hearing tonight with bringing a company like QT in for a second site that there seems to be some pushback,” Joe Rust, property owner, said. “I just can’t understand why we can’t do this with the sign.”

The city council’s approval of the SUP included the removal of the pole sign from the request.

Originally published March 13, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/second-quiktrip-to-be-located-on-brown-street/article_a1285f1e-c1ee-11ed-9281-fb145ac4a256.html