HomeMy WebLinkAbout02072008 BSC Minutes
City of West University Place
A Neighborhood City
® Recycled Paper
Building & Standards Commission
Located in the Bill Watson Conference Room,
3800 University Blvd,
West University Place, Texas 77005
Meeting Minutes
February 7, 2008
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bryant Slimp, Dr. Peter Benjamin, J. Denis Powers, Dave Miller,
Muddy McDaniel and Frank Griffin
MEMBERS ABSENT: David Flame, Brian Hoogendam and Gerry Spedale
STAFF PRESENT: Building Official Sean Landis, City Planner Debbie Scarcella,
Permit Technician Josie Orosco, James L. Dougherty and
Urban Forester Craig Koehl
GUESTS PRESENT: Robert Riquelmy
[Call to Order] Bryant Slimp called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.
1. Notices, Rules, Etc. Bryant Slimp welcomed BSC members, visitors and staff members to the
meeting. Bryant Slimp stated Dave Miller would be the alternate voting member. Bryant Slimp
asked for an update regarding the construction on Bellaire Blvd. Debbie Scarcella stated it is
business as usual; she is unclear of the duration of the project. Bryant Slimp stated he brought a
picture of the demolished house on Marlowe.
2. Meeting Minutes. J. Denis Powers made a motion to approve the January 9, 2008 minutes as
amended. Dr. Peter Benjamin seconded the motion. AYES: Bryant Slimp, Dr. Peter Benjamin, J.
Denis Powers, Dave Miller and Muddy McDaniel. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. Meeting
minutes passed.
3. Urban Forest Code Amendments. Dave Miller stated in a previous City Council meeting, the
questions came up regarding why the existing tree ordinance needed to be revised. Dave Miller
stated if the City wanted to preserve worthwhile trees in the City of West University Place, BSC
needs to change the ordinance so there is an ordinance that will do that. The cost of planting trees
for 2", 4" and 6" trees were discussed. J. Denis Powers suggested City Council be given a
questionnaire asking who should control the decision to remove a tree; the homeowner, the City,
BSC or City Council. Dave Miller stated he would much rather have the BSC come to an
agreement then meet with City Council to present them the outline. Bryant Slimp stated what he
gathered from previous meetings with City Council, they do not want the City telling a
homeowner they can remove a tree in their back yard or they must plant a tree in their back yard.
City Council would rather have a homeowner plant a tree in the front yard that would add more
canopy coverage area. Dave Miller stated an issue that needs to be brought to City Council
attention is if they want to relax preserving trees in the way of the house, under the house or in
the back yard, and if they do not want to require that trees can be planted by the City through the
Tree Trust in the street areas, there City could actually see a decline in the number of trees.
James Dougherty stated it takes three votes from City Council to approve any proposed
3800 University Boulevard 9 West University Place, Texas 77005-2899 0 713066804441 0 www.westu.org
Building and Standards Commission Meeting Minutes
February 7, 2008
amendment changes to the tree ordinance. Muddy McDaniel stated BSC should try to focus more
on trees located in the front yard instead of the side and back yard. Dave Miller stated there
should be some mechanism to allow trees to be removed from lots where a new home is going to
be built that has large trees in the middle of the lot; except for corner lots, there are some
limitations on what can be done. Dave Miller stated he is not willing to give up on back yard
trees completely. They help absorb rainwater and prevent flooding. Craig Koehl stated the
proposed ordinance is a tree preservation ordinance. The trees in the three different areas, the
front, side and back yard, would have different values. Muddy McDaniel stated if there is a lot
that has ample canopy coverage area in the front yard, he does not have an issue with a
homeowner wanting to remove trees located in the backyard. Dave Miller stated one suggest
amendment changes is to give credit to homeowners for all the trees, Class I and Class H, higher
then a 70% tree evaluation score, the stems of the trees on their property or the street area
adjacent to the homeowner's property. The credit that is given would be determined by a
formula, which could vary by species. The formula being diameter x diameter x 3.14. There
could be a column inserted in the existing tree preservation ordinance would show the factors to
compute the formula. There were examples of tree canopy coverage areas drawn by Bryant
Slimp on the whiteboard and what the replacement requirements would be depending on the
trees removed. James Dougherty stated there is not any requirement in the existing or proposed
ordinance that requires trees to be planted in the back yard. There was discussion what the
percentage of canopy coverage area should be. Sean Landis stated that more and more homes in
the City of West University Place are being built at cost plus. Which means what it cost to build
the home plus a certain percentage of what the total cost ends up being. Craig Koehl stated the
higher the cost gets, the more a builder makes off the house. Dave Miller suggested they have a
meeting with Craig Koehl, Sean Landis, Debbie Scarcella, James Dougherty and himself that
showed the minimum planting requirements; how many trees; assuming BSC has accepted a
methodology, what is the threshold, and what the dollar amount is per square inch for
replacement trees if all replacement trees can not be planted. James Dougherty suggested the
minimum planting standards and canopy coverage be merged. Craig Koehl stated there are other
cities that required a certain number of open permeable areas in order to plant a tree; if there
were not space on the lot, then one would have to purchase credits in the tree trust. There was
discussion if there should be a cap on the cost of replacement trees relative to the cost of the
project being done. There was also discussion whether canopy from a tree on the neighbor's
property should be counted for the site where work is being performed. Bryant Slimp asked how
people who remove trees without a permit from the City should be addressed. If it is something
that also should be addressed in the proposed amendment changes. Debbie Scarcella stated it is
already addressed in the penalty section of the ordinance. Bryant Slimp suggested something be
put in the ordinance that deals with residents not being able to require neighbors to reduce the
urban canopy for a solar device. BSC agreed to go forward with the canopy coverage percentage.
Craig Koehl stated he would like to sit down to run more samples, but suggested the percent
should be higher then 50%. There was discussion whether a tallow tree should be classified as a
different class of tree.
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Building and Standards Commission Meeting Minutes
February 7, 2008
[Adjournment]
J. Denis Powers made a motion to adjourn. Muddy McDaniel seconded the motion. AYES:
Bryant Slimp, J. Denis Powers, Dave Miller, Muddy McDaniel and Frank Griffin. (Dr. Peter
Benjamin left before voting to adjourn). NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. Meeting adjourned
at 8:10 p.m.
PASSED THIS2AY OF , 2008
b•
Bryant S1 mp, Chairm n
[
ATTEST: v y^
`
Ms. Josie M. Orosco, Permit Technician
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