Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovemberLieLA service tax The addition of one full-time position in the fire department, funding for the City's 75`'' anniversary celebration, and salary and pension adjustments, highlight West U's 1999 operating budget presented to the City Council by city manager Sherman Yehl. "While there will be a two cent increase in the tax levy related to debt service, for the fourth straight year there is no tax increase to fund day-to-day operations," Yehl said. Total expenditures for the City's General Fund which finance such functions as administration, building inspection, street maintenance, and police and fire protection will be $7.3 million in 1999, up from 6.9 million this year. Total expenditures for all funds, including Water and Sewer, Infrastructure Replacement, and Solid Waste, will exceed $16 million. The continued growth in assessed value, due in large part to the new construction boom in West U, has resulted in a lower than projected increase in tax rates for the infrastructure improvement program. The tax rate for 1999 is recommended to be set at $0.42 per $100 of assessed value. A homeowner in West U will pay $1,260 in City taxes on a $300,000 home, -ate to increase by an increase of $60 from 1998. Funds for several capital projects including completion of renovations to the municipal building, acquisition of new computer software and Y2K compliance, Whitt Johnson Park and Scout House improvements, and a new document management system are also funded in the recommended budget. In response to the recent changes in the City's fire insurance rating, the fire department has proposed adding a full- time fire marshal to the City's payroll. According to West U fire chief Terry Stevenson, West U residents collectively will be paying over $1.2 million in higher insurance premiums next year, with rates projected to go even higher in the next two years. "If the addition of a fire marshal and changes in our emergency dispatch system will reduce insurance rates and future increases, there is a clear cost- benefit to West U residents," said Stevenson. "Before the position is filled, however, we want to make sure there will be savings in rates," he continued. Yehl noted that property taxpayers will continue to subsidize solid waste operations by $100,000 in 1999. "While I believe we can make some efficiency improvements to our solid waste t ,ftf"ne needed that P _V t f 1 %cl F Y ,k ~ ate' z~a~ f ~ r i r .L 15, Thanks to a generous contribution from the West URotary Club, the Police Department has its own bicycle patrol. At a recent photo op, the Class of '98 got together with several dignitaries. From left to right: Council Member Cindy Neal, Police Chief Gary Brye, Officer Todd Zettlemoyer, State Senator Buster Brown, Officer Frank Pierce, Council Member Tony Davis, Officer John Guerra, Council Member Pat Starich, Sergeant Mike Peterson, and West URotary President Ralph Atkinson. vo cents operations, there may be a need for an increase in rates at the end of 1999," Yehl said. An increase for water and sewer fees will also be considered for late 1999. The City Council will consider an ordinance to adopt the proposed budget at their next meeting on November 91". Grocery store remains key to development In a series of "What if..." scenarios, West U residents looked to the future at the town meeting held October 18 to design a downtown with more shops and more green space anchored by the JMH grocery store located at the corner of Edloe and Rice Boulevard. The Vision 2020 meeting drew a sparse crowd of about 30 residents. Consulting planner Peter Brown led a presentation on how the area around the City center could be developed over the next 20 years. Slides were shown of pedestrian related streets in other cities with quaint shops and patio type restaurants. Attendees were then separated into four groups to design their own downtown with a combination of uses including commercial, residential, parks, office space and parking along Edloe between University and Rice. Residents believe that the grocery store needs to be maintained. However, the area needs more commercial diversity with a focus on specialty shops such as a coffee shop and an ice cream parlor, and the development of more green or open space for festivals and on page 4) Calendar of extents 8 Citizen Work Order 7 City Life 3 o Employee Spotlight 4 © Inside Council Chambers 2 ® Ordinance Spotlight 6 o Police Blotter 5 Senior Calender 7 Volume 25, No. 11 November 1998 Inside Council Chambers Page 2 540M ffx W&f a% Id, There seems to be some confusion, perhaps described by some as controversy, surrounding the temporary limitation placed on the issuance of building permits for townhome construction by City Council in September. The ordinance establishing the limitation basically accomplished three purposes: 1. called a joint public hearing before the Zoning & Planning Commission and Council for November 23, 1998; 2. required that no building permits could be issued for townhome projects UNLESS all existing rules and two newly proposed rules were satisfied; and 3. required that this restriction on the issuance of building permits for townhomes would expire after 135 days, in other words, that it is temporary, and will continue either until new regulations are passed on the subject, or until the specified time period elapses, whichever is sooner. One of the controversies seems to be whether or not this action is a "moratorium." Since a moratorium is a suspension of an ongoing process or activity, I would certainly call this action we have taken a moratorium. It is a limited moratorium, however, because it only suspends projects which do not comply with the proposed and existing regulations. Any townhome project which does comply can be permitted and built even during the temporary moratorium period. More important than what to call this temporary suspension of certain activity, however, is what we are hoping to accomplish with it. The laudable goals of the Zoning & Planning Commission are: *to better manage the density of townhomes (as was accomplished for single family homes with the "80% rule") by providing for additional pervious area esnecially in thn frnnt and side street M T VedB W ayor y: eresa . Fogler the street can mitigate crime in a yards; neighborhood because residents can to reduce the potential for street "patrol" the street from within their flooding in townhome areas by reducing homes.) large expanses of concrete, especially As is always the case when a in front and side yards, which drain municipality decides to revisit certain rapidly to the street; regulations, some people are in the midst to improve pedestrian safety along of the process when the change occurs. the public streets which are developed Because our measure is limited and with townhomes by reducing driveway designed to provide time for officials to widths, reducing the number of curb cuts make an informed decision, it is accepted (and therefore the number of driveway/ as a proper means to an end under the sidewalks intersections), and reducing law. In fact, two years ago, we the need for vehicles to back into the established a similar moratorium while street (because the higher density of the Commission and the Council heard townhomes necessarily means more comments about and debated the "80% vehicles per lot than is typical with single rule." At that time, it was builders of family homes); and oversized single family homes who were to improve the streetscape of our required to redesign their projects before City, making it both safer and more proceeding. We heard loud complaints aesthetically pleasing, by providing more from those who were in the midst of the room for trees, porches, and landscaping process then, but we emerged with an and by encouraging developers to build innovative regulation that has resulted in homes that are oriented toward the street lower density for single family homes in and their neighbors rather than homes our City and has not slowed building that are barricaded behind garage doors activity in the least. In the end, it was in and windowless walls. (Experts believe the best interest of all of our citizens for that homes which are oriented toward (continued on page 6) AWA by Council Member Tonv Davis On March 15, 1994, a task force of West University citizens assigned to examine capital improvements issued a report finding, among other things, that: Our sidewalks are a mixed bag because their cost is borne by the property owner rather than the city. As a result, some of our sidewalks are excellent, some are terrible, and some simply don't exist because the homeowners are unwilling to bear the cost. We believe that uneven and nonexistent sidewalks pose a substantial risk to the safety of our citizens and expose the city to costly litigation. The task force went on to responsibility for providing sidewalks throughout the city in order to enhance public safety, increase property values (and the tax base), and reduce the risk of expensive litigation." The report of the 1995 West U Bond Committee, submitted on September 25, 1995, also recommended "that all sidewalks be brought up to uniform standards by having the paving contractor replace any nonstandard sidewalks and create any nonexistent sidewalks, and the cost be paid by funds of this bond authorization." But the contractors performing the infrastructure improvements are in fact not replacing defective sidewalks. This ` i recommend that the city "assume (continued on page 3) I the City of West University Place, Texas I Mayor Teresa hogler (662.5801) City Council Members Tony Davis (662.5808), Cindy Neal (662.5847), Cindy Sparkman (662.5848), Patrick Starich (662.5889) City Currents welcomes your contributions. Forward material to 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, TX 77005, c/o e city manager by the 10th of the month preceding publication. L General in or•mation: 663,4441 - City Manager Sher nian Vehl, 662.5810; e-nrail: ssehl~ec.~dest-r~Ariver sits-pdace.`u,us Visit us on t y'ordd 'i~ie W b at <ww;v.c:' west-ias!versit, -plctce.ts ats> City Life Page 3 F . r Let it Snow! Join us for the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, complete with real snow! Santa Claus will be on hand for the fes- tivities to be held on Monday, Decem- ber 7- at 6:30PM. This year, the cer- emony will be held in front of the Com- munity Building, located at 6104 Auden. Second Saturday Concert This month's featured performers are Ken Gaines with Wayne Wilkerson and Rex Foster. Ken Gaines, one of the most talented and prolific of the emerging new breed of singer/songwriters in the U.S. today, is now joined by one of Houston's finest guitarists, Wayne Wilkerson. Rex Foster, who calls Comfort, Texas home, has shared the stage with the likes of Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson. The concert will be held at the West U Community Center at 6104 Auden on November 14th at 7:30PM. Tickets will be on sale at the door Adults $6; Se- nior Citizens $3; Children under 12 free with adults. Homemade refreshments available for purchase. For more information about the con- cert call 281.347.3235 or 281.495.2923. Newcomers Club is Cooking! The West U Newcomers Club will be publishing a community cookbook next year. If you have a recipe or recipes for the cookbook committee to consider, a recipe form may be printed from our website: www.west- university-place.tx.us (click on "Newcomers"). Forms are also available by calling Susan Mayer at 660.8841. Send your recipes to the address on the form or fax to Marie Steinhubl at 667.3742. Recipe submission deadline is November 15th. Reserve your copy'now! The sad r lit of animal abandonment by Sgt Missie Newman In my job as a police officer, I've had the opportunity to do many interesting things. Sometimes those things were funny, and sometimes they just give me that "warm fuzzy" feeling inside. Unfortunately, sometimes I go to a call where I just shake my head, and wonder about the human race in general. I recently made one of those head shaking calls. I was sent to pick up a cat that had been captured by a resident. The resident said that the cat had been hanging out around his garage for about a week, and that he felt the cat had either gotten lost from home, or had been abandoned. This cat had been recently injured and had open cuts on its nose and neck. As I was putting the cat (it was caged by this time) in my car, a neighbor came up to me and said that the cat looked like one of two which had been dumped in the neighborhood about a week earlier. The neighbor told me that a woman driving a sport utility vehicle pulled up in front of her house, placed two cats on the ground, and drove off. The neighbor said the actions of this woman made her angry; to turn out two animals on the street was unthinkable. Unfortunately, the caring neighbor did not know what she should have done when she witnessed the abandonment. In this situation, taking note of the vehicle type, providing a description of the driver and jotting down the license number would have been helpful. The resident could have then called either the police department or animal control officer because dumping or abandoning animals is a criminal offense. If you have an animal you can no longer care for, find a shelter or another home for it. Abandonment is not only against the law, it is very dangerous for the animal and any people who may come in contact with it. If you see someone dumping an animal or a litter, or being cruel in any way, call the police or an animal control facility. If we do not stop to help, who will? (Sidewalks continued from page 2) surprised me when I first became aware of it and also surprised many citizens with whom I have discussed this subject. The city elected not to include sidewalks within the current infrastructure improvements in part because of two difficult issues that could not be resolved in time to allow the city to proceed forward with the more important and sorely needed infrastructure improvements that are being made. Now that the infrastructure improvements are well underway, the city will once again examine the issue of sidewalks, or rather, the issues that must be addressed to decide whether the city should step forward to build and maintain quality sidewalks. Those issues are as follows: Who Will Pay? Some believe it unfair that those who have purchased or built.newer homes, and in the process rand opening scheduled Belmont Tillage unveils its premier Assisted Living Community during a grand opening celebration on Saturday, November 14th from Noon to 6 PM. at 2929 West Holcombe. The flagship community features 155 units, including 46 designated for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The theme of the grand opening is A Celebration of Seniors, and will offer engaging and educational entertainment for the entire family. Door prizes will be given away and tours will be given. have paid for new sidewalks in front of those homes, should be forced to bear a share of the cost through taxes of putting new sidewalks in front of their neighbors' houses. The logic behind this view is hard to argue with. However, I have a relatively new sidewalk in front of my house. I would gladly pay additional taxes to have the city build sidewalks in front of my neighbors' houses. I believe that if the city does so the value of my property will increase. Liability. As noted above, the 1994 Task Force believed that the city could reduce its exposure to litigation by fixing our sidewalks. The contrary view is that by affirmatively assuming responsibility for this task, we actually increase our exposure. I doubt that there could ever be a clear "answer" to this debate. My personal view is that if the city fixes and maintains our sidewalks, our citizens and guests are less likely'to get hurt and will therefore be less likely to sue. When I moved to West U, I thought I was moving to a first-rate city. For the most part, I have not been disappointed. But I will be disappointed, and West U will not be a first-rate city, unless and until it provides and maintains quality sidewalks throughout the city. Page 4 r= flietorieally e5poaking Can you name that house EMPLOYEE IN West University Place Historical So- tered engineer, is an A&M graduate with ciety member and architectural historian a bachelor's degree in building construc- Bob Barnette will be the featured tion and a master's degree in engineer- speaker at the society's membership ing. This month's employee in the spotlight meeting on Tuesday, November 10 at Our meetings are open to visitors, so is the City's Plant Supervisor, Patrick 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held in please come whether or not you are a Walters. the chapel- of the West University Bap- member. Now is the time to find out Patrick holds a double A certification tist Church, 6218 Auden. what the West University Place Histori- water operator certification and Mr. Barnette's presentation, Name cal Society is all about, and to meet waste water certification the highest . That House - Architectural Styles of Board members. Newly-designed certification issued by the State of Texas the '20s and '30s in West University notecards of vintage West University in drinking water and waste water op- Place, will include slides of homes both Place scenes will be on sale. Refresh- eration. Following in his father's foot- within WUP and in other areas of Hous- ments will be served. For further infor- steps, Patrick began his career in the ton which typify architectural styles dur- mation, please call Program Officer waste water buiness shortly after high ing those decades. Barnette, a regis- Linda McCollum at 664.6300. school. During the course of his career, AtAomobiles provide anonymity for road rage Patrick worked for the City of Ridgewood for six ears and the City of y ty by Police Chief Gary Brye out of the way. Put your pride in the Lake Jackson for eight years. Prior to At some point while driving through back seat. Do not challenge them by joining the West U ranks in May 1996, the Houston area, you have probably speeding up or attempting to hold-your- Patrick worked in the waste water, come across someone who fits the mold own in your lane. Wear your seat belt. drinking water, and industrial water fa- of an aggressive driver. It will hold you in your seat and behind cilities of a chemical company for four What exactly do we know about the wheel in case you need to make an years. With 21 years experience in the aggressive drivers? If an aggressive abrupt evasive driving maneuver, and it water and waste water industry, Patrick driver ever confronts you, what should will protect you in a crash. Avoid eye is most certainly a valued employee of you do? The National Highway Traffic contact with the aggressive driver. West U. Safety Administration provides some Ignore gestures and refuse to return "Patrick is a self-starter, is very respon- important tips. them. Report aggressive drivers to the sible, and manages his employees very These high-risk drivers climb into the appropriate authorities by providing a well," states Ed Menville, Public Works anonymity of an automobile and will take vehicle description, license plate number, Director. out their frustrations on anybody at any location, and, if possible, direction of When asked what he likes most about time. For them, frustration levels are travel. If you have a mobile phone and working in West University, Patrick re- high, and level of concern for fellow can do it safely, contact the local police plied, "The people I work with. All the motorists is low. They run stop signs department immediately. If an West U City employees." and red lights, speed, tailgate, weave in aggressive driver is involved in a crash In his spare time, Patrick enjoys hunt- and out of traffic, pass on the right, make further down the road, stop a safe ing and fishing. Computers are a par- improper and unsafe lane changes, make distance from the crash scene, wait for ticular favorite of Patrick. But when he hand and facial gestures, scream, honk, the police to arrive, and report the driving speaks about spending time working on and flash their lights. They drive at behavior you witnessed. If you were his computers, he means building and re- speeds far in excess of the norm, pass the unfortunate person to be struck by pairing them. When he is not working on the shoulder or unpaved portions of an aggressive driver, you would want on the computers, he is using them to the roadway, and leer at and/or threaten someone who witnessed the cause of the enjoy computer games and war strat- (verbally or through gestures) motorists accident to come forward. egy games. who are thoughtless enough to be in Please remember to be careful out front of them. there Some eo le feel invincible while . p p If and when an aggressive driver driving an automobile. But believe the confronts you, what should you do? First officers at the West University Place and foremost make every attempt to get Police Department - no one is invincible. (rision 2020 continued from page 1) other special events. The development City Center concepts. Residents can also would seek to reduce pedestrian/ view design concepts for streetscapes, vehicular conflicts. pedestrian walkways, traffic calming, The next town meeting is scheduled and gateways now on display at the for Monday, November 16 and will focus Community Center, 6104 Auden. The t on revisions to the City's zoning display will be open through the end of r _ ordinance as well as a review of these the year. We invite you to review these materials a~ r 6 at the Community Center beginning this month and continuing through the begin- \E ~ I ning of 1999. I November 1995 , • C 0 e G • • • • • • • • • • 000000000 ®®®®®®®®®®®®®6 • ® • ,fl k~r Il ? F 1 3 L. - ~A 71 , Early this year the West U City Council initiated a process to update the City's comprehensive plan and to establish a vision for the future. Under the Texas Local Government Code, cities may adopt comprehen- sive plans for the long range devel- opment of the municipality. Such a plan may include provisions on land use, transportation, and public facili- ties and be used to coordinate and guide the establishment of develop- ment regulations. West U last up- dated its Comp Plan in 1987. The plan to be developed in early 1999 will address both short and long range issues affecting virtually all as- pects of life in the City. To assist in this effort the City retained the Goodman Corporation, Peter H. Brown Civic Design (both of Hous- ton) and EDAW of Denver. The City Council also appointed a 17 mem- ber steering committee to represent community interests in this process. Of mayor importance to this pro- cess are monthly town meetings. From the start, residents' input about the City and feedback on various rec- ommendations put forth by the con- sulting team have been invaluable. During the first town meeting in April goals and objectives for the comp plan were established. At the second meeting, held in May, the safety and security of our neighborhoods were discussed. Resi- dents voiced their opinions about the inadequacy of street lighting, the amount of cut-through traffic and unsafe drivers using our streets, and the impact of overnight and on-street parking. The role of physical im- provements which identify the bor- ders of the City in enhancing safety and security was also discussed. In June, the town meeting fo- cused on civic identity. Ideas for the design of various physical improve- ments, such as lighting, street signs, and community gateways were pre- sented and discussed. Three thematic concepts were proposed and resi- dents voted on the theme they felt best described the City, both in words and in the materials to be used in pro- posed improvements. Out of this meeting came the theme City Life, Neighborhood Val- ues. Residents preferred materials like red brick, Texas limestone, and greenery in creating physical im- provements. New logos for the City's corporate identity were also pre- sented and evaluated. Since that meeting, additional refinements of these concepts and designs have been made.** During the town meeting in July residents were asked about traffic problems in West U. Residents iden- tified speeding cars, failure to stop at STOP signs (including police cars), on-street parking, cut-through traffic, congestion, and inadequate police enforcement. Eighteen pages of comments were transcribed dur- ing the meeting. These comments formed the basis of the solutions de- veloped for the September meeting. The September meeting ad- dressed many of the traffic concerns identified earlier and offered prelimi- nary recommendations, including: ® Retiming the traffic lights on the City's major arterial streets; ® Restricting left turns to and from the arterial streets; o Blocking access to Mercer and Rutgers at Bissonnet to discour- age cut-through traffic; ® Creating a center median along Buffalo Speedway; Eliminating on-street parking on Buffalo Speedway; s Creating a system of speed lim- its which recognizes the use of each street; Creating a logical system of in- tersection controls throughout the City based on street hierar- chy; ® Using new traffic calming tech- niques to slow traffic and in- crease pedestrian safety. The October meeting took a look at City Center development and how different streetscapes could improve our downtown area. ® • • • • • ® • • • • ® • • • • • ® • • • • ® • • • • • • • • • ® • • • ® m Our ra al • • ® To maintain and enhance West University Place's ® traditional residential neighborhood character as a friendly, ® safe, economically stable, visually attractive, and unified ® community, including the encouragement of family . activities; the reduction of traffic congestion; improved pedestrian circulation; active, vital city center; attractive • boundaries and entrances; and a celebration of the unique • ® assets of the community. • • • @ e 0 • a 0 e 0 0 • ® 0 0 0 a 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New logo key to City's image elements It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Indeed, from the early petroglyphs to the Nike swoosh, people have used sym- bols to communicate. A logo must convey everything about an entity with one glance - from its mission and aspirations to its people and mar- keting approach. It must deliver a clear, well-defined message of uniqueness and individuality. A suc- cessful logo balances timeliness with timelessness, tradition with trend. Because a logo is used in so many applications, it must also possess a great deal of simplicity and versatil- ity. It must have the ability to be printed on paper, etched in rock, ap- plied to a vehicles or used within a website - yet still maintain its char- acter, legibility and functionality. Logo design has evolved over the decades from the hard-edged, geo- metric shapes of the 60's and 70's to the light, open, diversified logos of today. The proposed new logo for West University Place must speak to and of the people it represents while maintaining: 0 distinctiveness; * visibility; * usability; memorability; 0 universality; ♦ durability; and s timelessness. t =3 F m f h _ t L { I ~Lv r~ k A distinctive streetlight could be used at key intersections to separate West U from sur- rounding communities. The information kiosk could provide directions and meeting no- tices to residents. Gateways to set City off from surrounding areas One of the main goals for the comprehensive planning process is to develop a series of gateways both along the City's perimeter edges as well as internally. These gateways will set West University Place off from the surrounding communities of Bellaire, Southside Place, and Hous- ton. The gateways develop an iden- tity for West U and create a neigh- borhood ambiance that will maintain property values, improve the overall quality of life, and inspire a greater sense of community pride. It is proposed that a hierarchy of importance be created. Major Gate- ways would be developed at the street intersections of highest visibility and greatest outward impact. These would include Kirby Drive and Uni- versity, Kirby Drive and Holcombe, Buffalo Speedway and Bellaire, and Bissonnet and Weslayan. There would also be Minor, Neighborhood, Key Intersection, and Secondary Intersection Gateways. Regardless of the their place in the hierarchy, the gateways would be inspired by the character and flavor of the history of the City. The mate- rials - stone, brick, tile, and glass - are inspired by the character of the homes, the street markers, and the flavor of our neighborhoods. Another key addition to the streetscape program is an informa- tion kiosk system, which would be used both as a way finding device and neighborhood orientation device. Kiosks would be located at stra- tegic spots throughout the City, in- cluding parks and the City Center. otential Traffic Solutions MAKE RT-TURN-ONLY LANE OFF BISSONNET ONTO EDLOE NORTH TOWARD GREENWAY PREVENT THRU RE SECTI PLAZA TRAFFIC INTERSECTION RETIME IGNAL NARROW STREET ICONLy BADD C`~p7 JLWxo:.or: ® orrroaRBY ON ACADEMY C - c ae r (I - r ~ ~ IMPROVE MAJOR R lJ~ iartvcutY `jp'" y ARTERIALS !I II ] =7~L 1 WITH LEFT C w - =S - Tfl>a+. ~dL~I„! INTERSECTIONS - I=- TURNS FROM FROM Cttu~ C D~~ 11~ LYAIRMJ~ BUFFALO SPEEDWAY iORGfTOWM ON 3 ~imo romp (I ~ l~~y °,,.~LJ =ffln r 3 Dun ~o n-n city of F: I' ® LIMIT LEFT Wei TURNS . ~L.I nl ~ IFI N II 'r..ilA.A~~> CAJ Univer*y A ADD .'zi II SYNCHRONED MASK XM= S ••°°Y SIGNAL ON FDRBY .rirt ZMI!>= 0 !OD t0W N ~.TA.; FiEai ~0 R.Cg1iQ ~H a C r~ 1o7.iSt BUILD MEDIAN NO ON-STREET ONE WAY SOUTH OF ALONG PARKING ON UNIVERSITY ON BUFFALO BUFFALO MERCER&SEWANNEE SPEEDWAY SPEEDWAY FT.11FA =.R UUCARD fl Lan= BIcVd. B. lane to move pedestrians To walk: per- chance to avoid con- flicts with broken con- crete, uneven sidewalks and vehicular traffic. Is it possible? West U walkers, joggers, and runners avoid our sidewalks - and usually with good reason. Tree roots have made them uneven, and in many areas side- walks do not exist at all. So residents have that will connect City C d r moved onto the streets and into another type of danger, rais- ing the need to find a balance be- tween pedestrains and cars. A major objective of the Vision 2020 Plan is to encourage pedestrian and bicycle circulation and minimize conflicts between motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. In addition the plan should facilitate access to the Village and commercial areas north and south of West U, as well as improve the walkabilty of the City Center area. One solution proposed by our consulting planners is the develop- ment of a hike and bike system throughout West U - a designated High Occupancy Pedestrian Lane parks, City enter, an the Village. The concept is simple. Dedicate seven foot lane from existing street right-of-way, cover it with a special surface, and separate it from the existing street surface with a curb or other divider. Pedestrians, bikers, and strollers would have a relatively safe place to traverse the City, stroll to the Village or meet friends at a soccer game. Children could safely walk to school and the ballfields. No cars needed. While some residents have ex- pressed concern over the develop- ment of a designated pedestrain/bi- cycle system, recent studies have shown that these trails generally do not reduce property values, increase crime or reduce the quality of life. TGC has contacted local officials responsible for nine different systems and reported that such systems either had a positive impact or no impact at all on residential property values or crime rates. Not too late to mark those calendars Even if you have not attended any Town Meetings on our Vision 2020 Plan, there are still plenty of oppor- tunities to get involved. At least four more meetings are scheduled, and prior to adoption there will be a formal public hearing process. Two remaining town meetings will focus on specific topics - zon- ing and public facilities. Two other meetings will be held to review the entire comprehensive plan document in draft form. Here is the remaining schedule: November 16 -Zoning and Devel- opment Guidelines ® January 18 -Public Facilities and Public Spaces February 15 -Draft Plan Review A March 15 -Draft Plan Review II All meetings are held in the West U Community Center, 6104 Auden. The meetings begin at 7:00 PM. How- ever, schedule is subject to change. Check City Currents for the latest schedule or look for us on the web at <www.ci. west-university- place.tx.us>. LAY ut';ntelo: A nU---iY---hborhood A atheds-%ig dace One of the objectives of the com- prehensive plan is to address our City Center area (the area around West U Elementary school). As we look to the future we need to see how we can: Improve the character, appear- ance, and function of the the City Center by providing stronger connec- tions, physical and social, between its elements; ♦ Improve the walkability of the area, eliminating the vehicular/pe- destrian/parking conflicts; ♦ Provide adequate parking that does not detract from the visual char- acter; and ® Provide opportunities and incen- tives for new mixed-use develpment targeted at West U residents. Please take a few moments to complete this survey and return it before November 16. Which of the following services and activities would you like to see in N~ I your City Center (circle all that apply)? I I A. Small grocery store J. Restaurants I B. Branch bank K. Small theater I I C. Dry cleaners L. Gallery D. Specialty stores M. Farmers market I E. Sidewalk cafes N. Occasional art shows F. Ice cream parlor O. Occasional concerts I G. Flower shop P. Other I H. Bakery I I I. Coffee shop I How would you change City Center as it exists now? I I I I I I I I I Return to: City Manager, 3800 University Boulevard, I West University Place, TX 77005-2802 Police Blotter Page 5 September, 1998 C 1A i L -71 a U P Burglary of a Building gone before the resident had finished calling the police. The vehicle's vent 3000 Wroxton - September 5. A resi- dent advised that his custom frame Tommasini Diamante ten-speed style bike was missing from its hanging rack in his garage. As there are no serial numbers on these bikes, it could not be entered into the statewide computer. The Resident informed local pawn shops of the stolen bike and one reported seeing it used by a courier service. The courier service notified the - detectives that they purchased the bike at a garage sale on the other side of Houston. The bike was returned to the owner. Case closed. 2700 Bissonnet -September 15. An office employee reported that someone had broken the exterior glass door and entered the office. The filling cabinets were opened and ransacked. The only item noticed missing was a small Lennox china clock. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 3400 Bellaire - September 29. A contractor reported that several items had been taken from the construction site of townhomes. Missing were a cabinet, pallet of shingles, 5 sheets of fire wall insulation, a faucet fixture, a hot tub motor, and a broken window. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 5300 Kirby - September 2. A busi- ness employee reported that the passen- ger window to the company van had been shattered and the stereo pried out. No prints were recovered. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 3500 Amherst - September 13. A resident advised that someone had at- tempted to pry the lock off of the door of his vehicle, but was not able to gain entry. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 3800 Riley - September 16. A resi- dent reported that a noise woke him. Looking outside he saw a person peer- ing into his vehicle. A vehicle was parked on the street opposite his vehicle, later described by a witness as an or- ange compact car. The suspect was window had been pried open and entry made. The only missing items were a brass horseshoe and a baseball bat. No s u s - pects or witnesses; case pending. 2700 Fenwood - September {I 20. A resident advised that his vehicle's door was damaged and window broken. A tire tool was left on the seat and his cellular phone was taken. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 5800 Annapolis - September 21. A resident witnessed an older model Monte Carlo, with two hispanic males, stop next to a pick up truck after circling the block a few times. One suspect got out of the vehicle, grabbed a tool box from the bed of the truck which he dropped and a power saw fell out. He picked up the saw, got back in the vehicle which then drove away. The owner of the truck was found nearby and verified his saw was miss- ing. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 6700 Westchester - September 26. A resident reported that someone had activated his car alarm, removed the new wheels from his vehicle and left it sitting on bricks. A neighbor heard a car alarm at about 3:OOAM but couldn't determine the location. Fingerprints were lifted from the lug nuts left behind and logged into evidence. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 2800 Sunset -September 30. A visi- tor to the area reported a loud crash out- side. It was found that the window of her vehicle had been shattered and her cellular phone taken. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 3000 Albans - September 30. A driver flagged down an officer and re- ported a vehicle with a broken window. The owner was contacted and it was determined that only a cellular telephone was missing, leaving several other items in the vehicle. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. Criminal Mischief 5900 Fordham - September 11. A resident advised that someone had loos- ened a hubcap on one wheel of her ve- Chiefs Corner y by 9'o16cP Ch-f ii-y Srye- It's important to control the speed of your vehicle. Do you know how far a vehicle travels at 25 MPH? By doing some quick math calculations, the answer is 36.66 feet per second. If you live on a 75 by 150 foot lot, a car traveling this fast will pass completely by the front of your house in two seconds. That's not much time to react, especially if a child playing in the front yard runs into the street in front of an automobile. In rseponse to citizen concerns, we have changed our focus of traffic enforcement to the inner neighborhood streets. We have developed a citizen radar program to monitor speeds. The most recent addition to the police department is the STALKER. You may not know its name, but you may have seen it. It's the new radar trailer that displays how fast vehicles are traveling. We are using this as an educational tool.' If you drive by it, check your speed. If you are driving too fast, please slow down. We cannot have a police car on every street every minute of the day, but if we spot your speeding, you will be ticketed. The more we can do to educate the public on traffic safety, the better off we all are. Drive safely! Gary M Brye hicle and punctured the two tires on the passenger side. No suspects or wit- nesses; case pending. Forgery/Credit Card Abuse 2600 Arbuckle - September 1. A resident advised that he had received a call and letter from his credit card com- pany about an investigation of fraud on his account. Someone had used a check that debits his credit card account di- rectly. Checks which had been mailed from the credit card company had never arrived at the residence. This case is (Blotter - continued on page 6) Page 6 (Blotter - continued from p. S) away. No suspects or additional wit- retary than left. An envelope in the staff d' mailbox was missin The visitor was still under investigation. 6400 Wakeforest - September 4. A resident reported that she had received a call from a credit card company re- garding a past due balance. The ac- count was opened under her maiden name and an out of state address and phone number were used. When she advised the credit reporting agency, she found that a department store credit card was also issued under her maiden name. This case is still under investigation. 2600 Arbuckle - September 21. A resident advised that in May his credit card was used by an unknown person. He reported the incident at this time so he can close the account. This case is still under investigation. 2900 Quenby - September 30. A resident reported that while reviewing his bank statement he found a check cashed out of sequence. He discovered several missing checks from the center of his checkbook left in his vehicle. The vehicle was left unattended in numer- ous places. A stop payment was placed on the remainder of the checks. This case is still under investigation. Fraud 6300 Vanderbilt - September 16. A resident reported that a White male, about 5'6" and in his 30's, came to her home claiming to have done work for her in July for which he had never been paid. The suspect produced a work or- der and convinced the resident to write a check for the amount listed. There were insufficient funds at the bank when the suspect attempted to cash the check and the teller contacted the resident and the police department. The suspect called the resident and said that he would meet the police at her house, but he did not show up. The work order was treated for fingerprints and logged into evidence. This case is still under inves- tigation. Other 2700 Talbot -September 15. A resi- dent advised that as she unloaded gro- ceries from her vehicle a dark green Range Rover stopped in front of her house. The White male driver, approxi- mately 20 to 30 years old, stepped out and raised his shirt, exposing himself. He then got back in his vehicle and drove nesses, case pen ing. g* suspected. A key ring, usually kept in Robbery the envelope, was found outside the build- ing. The envelope contained a small 3300 Georgetown - September 5. A resident stated that after parking his vehicle inside his garage he was con- fronted by a Black male holding a gun. The suspect, who was approximately 5'8", 160 pounds and was wearing a brown button down shirt, brown pants and brown baseball-type hat, demanded the resident's watch and set of keys. He left the scene on foot travelling south on Westchester. A search of the area was conducted. This case is still under investigation. Theft 5300 Mercer - September 1. A woman reported that on August 22, while attending a wedding at St. George's Orthodox Church, someone entered the Bridal Room and took money from her purse. The bride and bridesmaids also had cash stolen from their purses. The church will attempt to lock the perimeter women's doors in the future. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 4004 Bellaire - September 12. A man shopping at a local business had his purse taken from the cart when he turned his back to get an item off a shelf Neither he nor store employees could find anyone in the store carrying the purse. No suspects or witensses; case pendin . 410h3ellaire - September 16. A company owner reported that a new computer hard drive tower was miss- ing from one of the offices. There was no evidence of forced entry. As there had been problems and some missing items in the past, it was believed the cleaning crew may have been respon- sible although that allegation was denied. The cleaning crew was fired and the door locks replaced. The computer was entered into the statewide database as stolen. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. 3400 Bissonnet - September 16. A church employee advised that a woman had entered the office and walked around. When he stopped the suspect, a White female, 5'5",100 pounds, brown eyes with graying hair, she claimed to have receive bus tokens from the sec- amout of cash and additional keys. No suspects or witness; case pending. 2600 Centenary - September 22 - A resident reported two potted palm trees missing from her front porch. No sus- pects or witnesses; case pending. 3400 Amherst - September 23. A resident advised that several pieces of jewelry were missing from a locked chest in her bedroom. It is believed that the housekeeper may be responsible. No suspects or witnesses; case pending. (Mayor's Column continued from page 2) Council and the Commission to go through the process of carefully examining the possibilities as expeditiously as possible, and then to move forward with a revised set of standards. Turning to the impact of the current limited moratorium, I am aware of four townhome projects at varying stages of planning that could be slowed by this process. Two are located along Bellaire Boulevard and two are located along Wroxton. None of them had completed all of the requirements necessary for the requisite approval of the Zoning & Planning Commission, none ofthem had received a building permit, and some of them still require a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment on some aspect of their plans. In some cases, the developers have not even consummated the purchase of the property they are proposing to develop. Although I believe we could have done a better job of informing these developers that we were going to enact a moratorium, none of them were anywhere close to breaking ground on their projects. Council and the Commission do fully understand that the investments and efforts of these developers are vital to our City. I believe they deserve speedy action on these pending issues. I also believe the residents of our City equally deserve prudent and sound action. We will do our best to satisfy both as we examine these pressing matters affecting townhome development this Fall. Page 7 ff 7- - November 3, Tuesday The jungles of Mexico and Guatemalen pyramids are just a couple of things highlighted in the IMAX movie MYSTERY F THE MAYA. We'll need to collect your money when you make reserva- tions. 11:00 am -1:00. $3.50. November 6, Friday A SPECIAL EXHIBIT will be high- lighted at the MFA Senior Program. Katherin Howe will discuss "A Grand Design: The Art of The Victoria and Albert Museam." 9:30 - noon. $4.00/ $10.00. November 6, Friday Do you know about METRO'S 70 PLUS LIFETIME PASS? A Metro ID card that costs $2.00 will allow you to travel indefinitely or get you discounted fares if you're over 62. Come with us to get your picture ID. 2:00-3:30 pm $2.00 November 26, Thursday - December 1, Tuesday Do you have any last minute CHRISTMAS SHOPPING to do? Maybe you'd simply like to people watch and have lunch at THE GAL- LERIA. Well, we'll get you over there in the mini-bus. 10:00 am -12:30 pm. Free. ® December 7, Monday Last year we were only able to tour only half of THE HERITAGE HOUSES all decorated for the holi- days. This trip we will see the rest of them. The museum is also inter- esting and well worth the visit. 1:00- 3:30 pm. $4.00. Please call 713.662.5895 for more information or to make reservations to attend any of these events. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - k ` ; 1 a f j h~' ~Jar t 7 I t `.jj No matter how haz d we try to keep track of all the things we are responsible for doing, occasionally there is work that drops through the cracks. We need to know about it. Tell us if there is work that needs to be done on your street, in your neighborhood, or any- where around West U. Tell us about the problem and where it is. Help us do a better job and we'll all try to make West U a better community! Location: Description of work or problem: How long has condition existed? Who should we contact for additional information? Phone number: Best time to call: The Last Page Page 8 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday _y Building and Standards Newcomer's Club f Commission @ 6:30 Co fee, 10:30 AM - p PM in the Public Works NOON, Community Lunchroom Center 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Council Workshop Zoning and Planning 6:45 PM Commission @7:00 Community Ctr. P.M. in the Public Works Lunchroom Council Meeting 7:30 PM Commu- 8 ity Ctr. 9 10 11 12 13 14 Town Hall Meeting Zoning Board of 7:00 - 9:00 PM, Adjustment @6:30 Community Center, P.M. in the Public 104 Auden Works Conference Room 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Council Workshop - Solid Waste Pickup 6:45 PM C C i r today tr. ommun ty Council Meeting 7:30 PM Commu- = 22 ity Ctr. 23 24 25 I -1i" 26 27 28 e 4 bT t 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 City of West University Place y 3800 University Boulevard Vest University Place, Texas 77005 BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 600 Houston, TX