My name is David Clarke, and I am the owner of BG Coffee, a specialty coffee business that has operated at 2350 Hall Johnson Road in Grapevine for approximately 20 years. I respectfully request that the Commission and Council give this submission full consideration. I write not to oppose the broader goals of AM25-02, which I understand are primarily directed at the Professional Office District. I write specifically to request that the Commission and Council consider designating neighborhood-scale coffee shops and cafés as a permitted use by right in the CN Neighborhood Commercial District, or, alternatively, designate my business as a protected, continuing permitted use — with binding security that goes beyond the standard legal
non-conforming classification.

Twenty Years Serving This Neighborhood
BG Coffee has been part of the fabric of this Grapevine neighborhood for two decades. We are not a new entrant seeking to establish a novel use. Over 20 years, we have:

• Served thousands of local residents, families, and workers as a daily gathering place
• Operated as a specialty coffee business, including roasting and bakery operations — the very definition of neighborhood-scale retail food service
• Maintained consistent compliance with all applicable zoning, health, and business regulations
• Contributed to the character and vitality of the CN corridor at Hall Johnson Road

The business is not a high-traffic destination draw. It serves the surrounding neighborhood, which is precisely the purpose of the CN district.

The Personal and Financial Stakes
BG Coffee is not a secondary investment or a side venture. It represents the entirety of my personal retirement savings, invested over many years to build a sustainable neighborhood business. My family's financial future depends on the continued, unimpeded operation of this business. The prospect of my business being reclassified as legally non-conforming — even while permitted to continue under its current certificate of occupancy — introduces a level of legal and financial precarity that could be devastating.

Why Legal Non-Conforming Status Is Insufficient Protection
I understand that businesses already operating under a valid Certificate of Occupancy would be classified as legally non-conforming if AM25-02 is adopted as written. While I appreciate that this allows continued operation, non-conforming status carries serious long-term risks that are not adequately acknowledged in the FAQ materials accompanying this case:

• Lease vulnerability:
• Expansion and adaptation:
• Financing and insurability:
• Change of ownership, including family or employees

These are not theoretical concerns. They represent real risks to a 20-year business that has done nothing wrong and poses no threat to the residential character of the neighborhood it has always served.

A Neighborhood Coffee Shop Does Not Conflict with the Amendment's Intent
The stated purpose of AM25-02 is to restore the intended land use function of the Professional Office District and improve long-term compatibility between commercial and residential areas. I fully support that goal.
However, a neighborhood coffee shop is not the kind of use that creates incompatibility with residential areas. Consider:

• BG Coffee generates no noise, odor, or traffic volumes incompatible with residential proximity
• It operates during daytime hours consistent with neighborhood life
• It serves the immediate local population — not a regional or destination market
• The CN district's own stated purpose is to provide locations for uses that serve the needs of adjacent residential neighborhoods and supply necessities requiring frequent purchase with minimum consumer travel

A specialty coffee shop and café is precisely that kind of use. Removing it from the permitted- use list does not protect residential neighborhoods — it removes a service they depend on and value. I respectfully ask the Commission and Council to consider the following alternative in connection with Case AM25-02:

Retain Coffee Shops / Cafés as a Permitted Use by Right
Amend the proposed CN permitted use list to explicitly include coffee shops, cafés, and similar small-scale food and beverage establishments (under a defined square footage threshold, such as the existing 9,500 sq ft limit) as permitted uses by right. This would be consistent with the original intent of CN zoning and would protect existing and future neighborhood-serving businesses of this character.

I believe BG Coffee is exactly the kind of business the CN district was designed to support — small in scale, local in orientation, and genuinely valued by the people who live nearby.
I ask only that the Commission and Council weigh the real human cost of this amendment against its stated purpose and consider whether a business of this character, in continuous good standing for two decades, deserves a more durable form of protection than non-conforming status can provide.

David
Owner, BG Coffee