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Agenda No. 7.

CITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM

City Council Meeting:

September 2, 2025

Department:

Planning & Community Development

Subject:

PLAPP20250187 - Conduct a public hearing and consider an appeal to a decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission for a waiver in relation to wall signage for the Home Depot on Lot 10 Block 1 of the Schertz Station Subdivision, approximately 18.709 acres of land, located at 18541 Ripss-Kreusler Road, Schertz, Texas, 78154, more specifically known as Guadalupe County Parcel Identification Number 68313 (B.James/L.Wood/S.Haas)

BACKGROUND

The Schertz City Council recently passed updates to Article 11 - Signs and Advertising Devices on June 17, 2025 as Ord. 25-S-024. In these updates, is Section 21.11.15 Waivers. This section allows applicants the opportunity to request waivers from the sign standards in extenuating circumstances. These requests are then decided upon by the Schertz Planning and Zoning Commission.

The applicant intends to construct a 136,466-square-foot Home Depot on Lot 10 Block 1 of the Schertz Station subdivision, a large mixed-use subdivision consisting of multifamily housing and restaurant / retail sites on the corner of Cibolo Valley Drive and IH-35. The waiver request is in relation to the new wall sign requirements. Wall signs under the new Article 11 updates have an allowable square footage of signage available per facade. This can be either 1 sign for the full square footage or multiple signs that add up to the maximum allowable square footage for signage. The amount of square footage is determined based off of roadway classification and the address of the site.

The address for the Home Depot is 18541 Ripps-Kreusler, which has a roadway classification as "All Others" and would give the applicant 100 square feet of available signage. Additionally, because the applicant is constructing a building over 100,000 square feet, the applicant is allowed an additional 100 square feet, for a total of 200 square feet of allowable signage. The applicant requested a waiver from that requirement and would like the allowable signage area to be increased to 580 square feet for the front facade facing Station Road to the north towards IH-35. Staff had recommended approval of the waiver request to the Planning and Zoning Commission with the condition that the maximum allowable wall signage for the front-facing facade be increased to 350 square feet as the new Article 11 provides, and not to 580 square feet as the applicant had requested.

Wall Sign Home Depot Sign Request

UDC Code

Applicant's Requests

Staff's Recommendation

Roadway Classification: 100 sq. ft.
100,000 sq. ft. building: additional 100 sq. ft.
Total = 200 sq. ft.

580 sq. ft.

Increased Roadway Classification: 250 sq. ft.
100,000 sq. ft. building: additional 100 sq. ft.
Total = 350 sq. ft.

The Planning and Zoning Commission held a meeting on July 2, 2025 and considered the waiver request. It should be noted that only 6 members of the commission were present. The Commission made two motions on the item.

The first was to approve the waiver request with Staff's conditions. That motion resulted in a 3-3 tie. The motion failed.

The "nay" votes held the opinion that the applicant's request was appropriate due to the location of the site and the size of the building. One commissioner expressed concern over a smaller sign looking awkward on a large building, and another commissioner was concerned that the building sat far enough away from the IH 35 frontage road that visibility of the business would be an issue.

A second motion was made to approve the applicants request of 580 sq. ft. That motion resulted in a 3-3 tie. The motion failed.

The "nay" votes on this motion held the opinion that the city had just recently amended the sign code to allow bigger signs, and that applicants should adhere to the new code. The commissioners also felt that Staff's condition was an adequate concession and a good middle ground solution.

It should be noted that a representative from Home Depot was not present at the waiver request hearing. Instead, a representative from the engineering firm developing the site was there. The applicant has submitted a narrative (attached) related to the appeal. In summary, the applicant feels that the new sign code is not appropriate for large commercial buildings and that buildings in proximity have greater signage allowances in proportion to their building size.

On August 15, 2025, three (3) public hearing notices were mailed to the surrounding properties within a 200-foot notification boundary of the subject property. At the time of the staff report, zero (0) response in favor, zero (0) responses neutral, and zero (0) responses in opposition were received. A public hearing notice will be published in the "San Antonio Express" prior to the City Council meeting. Additionally, one (1) sign was placed on the subject property.

GOAL

Provide a mechanism by which a property owner can appeal a Planning and Zoning waiver request decision.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

Ensure that business and property owners have adequate signage while balancing the goals, policies, and vision for the community of Schertz.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED ACTION

The criteria for sign waivers is found in UDC Section 21.11.15. Staff has used these criteria for the following analysis.

21.11.15.B has the the following considerations:
1. The nature of the proposed use of the land involved.
The Schertz Station Subdivision is a large subdivision currently zoned Planned Development District (PDD). The subdivision as a whole consists of multifamily-style housing and several retail / restaurant sites. The site for this specific waiver is a large proposed home improvement center that is set back approximately 800 feet from IH35. Given the nature of the shopping center-style land use as a whole and the particular location of the home improvement center, Staff feels that additional signage area for the front of the building is appropriate. However, Staff has determined that the applicant's request of 580 sq. ft. of signage is too large and not appropriate. Staff has proposed a compromise of 350 sq. ft.

2. The location of the property in relation to roadway classification.
Several public roadways provide access to the subdivision. That being said, Schertz Station functions effectively as a regional destination center on the corner of IH-35 and Cibolo Valley Drive. Article 11 determines roadway classification based on addressing and Staff has determined that this requirement is not appropriate for this particular site. It would be more appropriate to classify Home Depot as adjacent to IH35.

3. The existing uses of land in the vicinity.
The land uses in the vicinity consist of the remainder of the Schertz Station subdivision which, as mentioned above, consists of multifamily-style housing and several retail / restaurant sites. Additionally, the EVO site is adjacent to the property.

21.11.15.C has the following considerations:
1. That the granting of the waiver will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, or injurious to other property in the area
The granting of this waiver would not be detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare. Home Depot acts as an anchor tenant and would help drive commercial activity for the surrounding properties.

2. Strict interpretation of the provisions of the section would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other nearby properties with the same land use that would comply with the same provisions.
The neighboring EVO sight has a similar location and setback approximately 1000 feet from the frontage of IH35. As part of their Planned Development District zone change request (Ord.18-S-37), they were allowed to have a 478 sq. ft. front wall sign. Staff has determined that the Home Depot has a similar situation and thus a waiver would be in-line with what other properties have been allowed to do.

Staff does not support the request to increase allowable wall signage space to 580 square feet. Under the new code updates passed on June 17, 2025, properties located on interstates are allowed a maximum signage space of 250 square feet, and buildings that are over 100,000 square feet in size are allotted an additional 100 square feet. If applied to only the front-facing facade, this would provide Home Depot a maximum of 350 square feet of wall signage space, and Staff has determined this amount to be more appropriate and more in-line with the intent of the UDC. The other facades in which signage is permitted would remain capped at 200 sq. ft. of signage area, as stipulated in the UDC.

Staff had recommended approval of the waiver request to the Planning and Zoning Commission with the condition that the maximum allowable wall signage for the front-facing facade be increased to 350 square feet as the new Article 11 provides, and not to 580 square feet as the applicant had requested. Staff's recommendation to City Council is to approve the appeal with staff's original conditions.

Staff understands that as new ordinances are applied, it provides an opportunity to evaluate the implications of those new regulations. These real-world examples provide insight into how the regulations impact new projects. Additionally, the criteria or basis for approval of waivers/exceptions can be evaluated. For example, as has been pointed out to staff, commercial developments rely on signage to attract business. These commercial projects bring value to the community, in the form of property and sales tax revenue as well as providing services to residents and businesses and if the developer indicates that the signage is necessary in order for the commercial project to be viable or more successful, this should be sufficient to allow more signage. Additionally, it has been pointed out that other developments in the past were allowed more signage and as such the City should never in the future restrict signage to less than what other businesses were allowed.

If in evaluating this case Council does not find anything unique to justify the increased signage, but still feel it is appropriate, staff suggests amending the ordinance to allow the additional signage by right going forward. In this way, there is clarity as to how much signage will be allowed and it does not delay development by relying on waivers.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff is recommending approval of the appeal with staff's original conditions to allow 350 square feet of wall signage.

Attachments

Home Depot Appeal

City Council Presentation Slides