At its Monday meeting, the Flower Mound Council approved a parking request made by a miscellaneous grocer applicant that was revealed as H-E-B at the Planning and Zoning on April 28.
It brings Flower Mound one step closer in the process of getting an H-E-B at Furst Ranch.
“I just don’t think you can get here soon enough,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Ann Martin. “Our residents have just been begging, especially for an H-E-B. I have gone to the Frisco store and I think the parking is spot on and, here, you’ll have every one of those spots filled up all the time.”
Becca Wang, a representative from H-E-B, said at the P&Z meeting that parking was the first step, and one of the most important, in getting the grocer.
For now, Wang said H-E-B will continue to work with Furst Ranch to come up with a timeline.
“No one likes this answer, but right now I don’t have a timeline,” she said. “We are very close to closing on the property and have had great communications with Furst Ranch, so it’s moving forward.”
The Town’s approval was quick and with little deliberation, showing that the council members are committed to getting Flower Mound an H-E-B.
“Let’s make sure parking isn’t the thing that derails the conversation,” said Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Adam Schiestel.
The request increased the amount of parking that would be allowed by the Town, bringing the maximum allowed spots from 1 spot per 250 square feet up to 1 spot per 150 square feet.
At the P&Z meeting, Jonathan Kerby, an engineer with Kimley Horn, presented a traffic study at the other locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that showed how busy the parking lots get on an average Sunday and one before a major holiday.
“On a normal Sunday in August, the parking lot was about 86 percent full,” he said. “On the day before a holiday, in this case December 23, the parking lot was 99 percent full or more with cars circulating trying to find a spot.”
In Plano, he said at one time there were 61 cars circulating the parking lot with just six spots open.
The proposed H-E-B at Furst Ranch is planned to be 110,000 square feet. According to the Town’s regulations, the maximum amount of spots allowed would be 440. The Town allows a 20% deviation, which would bring the maximum amount to 528.
Town Council approved a request that brought the maximum amount of spots up to 733, which is standard for locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
H-E-B said it plans to increase the amount of trees planted around the lot to make up for the increase in parking.
