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HomeMy WebLinkAbout032210R CC Min0 The City ( A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Bob Kelly, Mayor Bob Fry, Councilmember George Boehme, Councilmember Steven Segal, Councilmember Chuck Guffey, Councilmember STAFF Michael Ross, City Manager Alan Petrov, City Attorney Thelma Lenz, City Secretary CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in a special workshop and regular session Monday, March 22, 2010, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas beginning at 5:15 p.m. SPECIAL WORKSHOP Agenda items were as follows: CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 5:17 p.m. Also in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Fry, Councilmembers Boehme, Guffey and Segal, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov. and Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor. 1. Plaques for the Recreation Center and Colonial Park Facilities Matters related to recognition plaques for the new Recreational Facilities. City Manager Ross and Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor presented Council drafts of two options for review and consideration. One draft included the Parks Advisory Committee and the other included the full parks board that was in place when the bonds passed. After discussing, Council agreed to go with the option that includes the parks board that was in place, the Parks Advisory Committee, and John Neighbors, Seniors Board Chair, who was also on the Parks Advisory Committee. Councilmember Segal asked staff to be sure to use the name of the Parks and Recreation Board as stated in the Charter, not the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve wording for the plaque with inclusion of the board/committee members outlined above. Councilmember Guffey seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal Noes: None Absent: None Regarding location of the plaque, Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve Option 2 for the placement of the bronze plaque on the West University Place Recreation Center. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. of West University Place Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal City Council Minutes, March 22, 2010 Noes: None Absent: None 2. Harris County Flood Control District Matters related to the Harris County Flood Control District and the HCFCD's requirements for flow restrictors at Poor Farm Ditch. Mayor Kelly said he asked that this item be placed on the agenda as the result of the letter Angela Grant with InstantnewsWestU sent to HCFCD requesting release of a report on the drainage improvements of the bridge at Bellaire Boulevard and the subsequent request by HCFCD to the Attorney General for an opinion as to whether they have to release the report to the press. Mayor Kelly said he had inquired to the City Manager if we should request a copy of the report, but he has come to the conclusion that the City does not have to do anything since a request for the report had already been made by InstantnewsWestU. He said if the report is released staff can analyze it to see if it addresses our issue about the restrictors at the bridge and then go from there. City Manager Ross said he has spoken with HCFCD and they anticipate the study being complete by the end of the week. Mayor Kelly asked staff to continue to work with HCFCD on the City's behalf. 3. Joint Public Hearing Procedures Matters related to procedures for public comments during and after joint public hearings with the Zoning and Planning Commission, Building and Standards Commission, and City Council, with specific discussion regarding the public hearings for the rezoning of 5800 Kirby Drive. At 5:43 p.m. Councilmember Segal moved to recess the open meeting and convene into closed executive session for discussion of this item pursuant to Section 551.071, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code (consultation with legal counsel to seek or receive legal advice or consultation regarding pending or contemplated litigation. Mayor Pro Tem Fry seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal Noes: None Absent: None At 6:20 p.m., Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to close the execution session and reconvene into open session. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal Noes: None Absent: None After Council discussion regarding procedures for joint public hearings, City Manager Ross reviewed the procedures with Council for confirmation. He said it his understanding that the policy will be that during future joint public hearings, both Council and the Zoning and Planning Commission will have the option to consider keeping their respective hearings open, which would allow for further comment until ultimately the consideration is made by Council for a vote. Council agreed. Councilmember Segal stated that the Zoning and Planning Commission can continue having its meetings on the same subject as long as they keep the public hearing open and finally close it when 2of6 City Council Minutes, March 22, 2010 they make the recommendation to Council, which will still be acting under the public hearing procedures and able to interact with the public. City Manager Ross stated that these proposed procedures would not require any change to our current ordinance. He said if Council would like for staff to have the ability to bring forth public hearings that would require a change to the ordinance. Mayor Pro Tern Fry said he would like to see that recommendation brought forth. Councilmember Boehme said we would have to have a public hearing anyway, so if we can save an applicant time by not having to come to council to call a public hearing and allowing staff the ability to do so, then we should do it. With no further discussion, Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to close the public hearing at 6:25 p.m. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal Noes: None Absent: None REGULAR MEETING (BEGINNING AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS) Agenda items were as follows: Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Also in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Fry, Councilmembers Boehme, Guffey, and Segal, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Peifer, Police Chief Walker, and Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor. Boy Scouts Benjamin Mottiuzzi, Troop 1190 and Christin Thomas, Lucian Li, and Braden Koogler, all of Troop 125, led the Pledge of Allegiance and Pledge to the Texas Flag. City Secretary Lenz confirmed that the Notice of the regular meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. 4. Kirby Drive Rezoning Public Hearing Matters related to calling a public hearing of the City Council to hear comments for or against rezoning of the property located at the southwest corner of Tangley Road and Kirby Drive from PDD TH-2 to commercial. Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Peifer presented. He said there are citizens that wish to speak on this issue again and so staff is asking Council to call another public hearing to hear the additional comments if it wishes to do so prior to voting on the consideration of rezoning. Councilmember Boehme moved to call an additional public hearing before the City Council to obtain additional public comments and input regarding the rezoning request of Tangley and Kirby Drive. Mayor Pro Tem Fry seconded the motion. Councilmember Segal said he would like to suggest that an additional public hearing be postponed to review new rules on prior nonconformity. He said in looking at some other properties and some vacant land, he thinks there might be a domino effect and feels that if we take action on this one 3 of 6 City Council Minutes, March 22, 2010 property now, we might find ourselves in a box. He said he thinks we should just wait and see until we have a better idea as to where we want to go with this issue. Councilmember Boehme said he has a hard time holding this property owner accountable for our bad rules. He said the rules do need amending, but they are the rules right now. Regarding a public hearing date, Mr. Peifer said it will be some time in May before the hearing will be held due to the required process of noticing the hearing, etc. Councilmember Guffey said he agrees with Councilmember Boehme and believes that it will take years to change the prior nonconforming rules and we should not hold up the applicant's progress for that long. Mayor Pro Tem Fry said lets have the public hearing so we can give the people a chance to talk. A vote was made to the motion by Councilmember Boehme and second by Mayor Pro Tern Fry. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey Noes: Segal Absent: None 5. Public Comments This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items. If the topic the speaker wishes to address is on the agenda, the speaker can either speak at this time or defer his/her comments until such time the item is discussed. Speakers are advised that comments cannot be received on matters which are the subject of a public hearing once the hearing has been closed. Speakers are required to address Council at the microphone and give their name and address before addressing their concerns. [Note: State law will not permit the City Council to fully discuss, debate, or consider items that are not on the agenda. Items that cannot be referred to the City Staff for action may be placed on the agenda of a future City Council meeting.] Linda George Smith, 6646 Community Drive, spoke on behalf of the residents on the end of Community up to about 6638 Community regarding Recreation Center fencing, traffic, noise. She said they requested a fence that would be as tall as possible and that it would be a white or neutral color that can be seen so that drivers would realize that it is a dead-end and that it also be made of material that would be Green and noise abating. Ms. Smith said now that it has come time to erect the fence, the residents have a concern regarding the walking trail, which looks like it is going to hit the stakes that mark the place where the old fence was and will come too close to the new fence. She said it was originally thought that there would be distance between the fence and the walking track and that there would be greenery and maybe trees at the corner, which could help with the abatement of the noise. She also said stakes have started appearing on the vacant dead-end lot on community and they had hoped that the lot would be a pocket park, but now wants to know what is going on with the lot. City Manager Ross said the intention of the 8-foot privacy wall is to follow the rear lot line of the Ruskin residents from West Point all the way down across Community Drive in order to put proper traffic control devices that will clearly show the wall and the red reflectors so that anyone would see that it's a dead-end street. He said the wall is a masonry product so it should have sound abatement qualities. Mr. Ross also informed Ms. Smith that we will be encompassing the City-owned lot into the 4of6 City Council Minutes, March 22, 2010 recreation center property. He said the specific use has not been determined at this point, but the possibility of Tri-Sports using it as a staging area for their operations at the ball fields has been mentioned. Ms. Smith asked how much closer to their houses will the noise be now that the City has taken in that lot. Mr. Ross said there shouldn't be any additional noise. (The following topic was on the agenda) Rick Gardner, 3618 Amherst Street, spoke in regards to his previous address to Council regarding the negative impact that Little Matt's restaurant has on his neighborhood. He said at that time, Council assured him that the City was working to resolve the problems with Mr. Reid, the owner of the property. Mr. Gardner said though Mr. Reid has fixed a light and arranged some tables the compressors are still running 24 hours a day and disturbing their sleep. He said his complaint is not with the patrons of Little Matt's, but with Mr. Reid, who thinks it is okay to degrade his neighborhood for his own personal profit. He said his gripe is also with the City for letting Mr. Reid get away with it. Mr. Gardner said he expects Council to do their job to protect his rights as a homeowner and suggested that a abatement wall be built across the back of Mr. Reid's establishment so that he can have his compressor and patio and his life on his side of the wall and, if the wall is properly built, it will reduce the problems on his side of the wall. Councilmember Boehme stated to Mr. Gardner that the City is in the same position as the last time when he was here. He said the City's hands are tied to the rules that are in place at this time. Regarding an abatement wall, Mr. Peifer stated that staff has been talking to Mr. Reid about this possibility. City Manager Ross asked staff to talk with Mr. Reid and request that all the noise producing elements be turned on all at once in order to get the decibel reading. For those that signed up to speak of the rezoning at 5800 rezoning, Mayor Kelly announced that the public hearing procedures for this item was discussed in Workshop, and it was determined that because the public hearing for this item was closed at the last meeting, there can't be any more public discussion on the issue. He said, however, there will be another public hearing on this matter in May and additional comments can be heard at that time. City Attorney Petrov said those that signed up to speak on this item would have to speak in general and not specifically about 5800 Kirby, or they can speak on whether or not they want us to have another public hearing. David Kyle, 2622 Tangley, spoke to say he wanted to remind Council that the City of West U is a city of homes first and a city of commercial entities secondarily. He said residents have invested in West U and asked Council to consider at all times under all circumstances their constituents and residents. Cherie Lindley, 2615 Tangley, spoke to ask Council to put themselves in all areas West U and not just the neighborhood each of them live in. She said she cares about the City as a whole and wants to keep it primarily a residential neighborhood, because that is what makes it so great. Linda George Smith, 6646 Community Drive, spoke again to say that she and the residents on Community or the Northern side of Ruskin were not included in any meetings regarding the Rec Center and so she would like to know when the decision was made to take in the lot at the end of Community, who made the decision, and why. 5 of 6 City Council Minutes, March 22, 2010 Mayor Kelly said staff will get that information to her. Councilmember Segal said this was discussed, and Council made the decisions relating to this item, at a public city council meeting. 6. Consent Agenda All Consent Agenda items listed are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council member requests in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. • City Council Minutes Approve City Council meeting minutes of March 8, 2010. • Parks & Recreation Curfew Hours and Rice Pocket Park Matters related to changes in the Code of Ordinances relating to Section 58:2, Park and Playground Hours and relating to Section 58:8, Rice Boulevard "Pocket Park". Councilmember Segal moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal Noes: None Absent: None 7. Reports by Council/Staff None 8. With no further business before the Council, Mayor Pro Tem Fry moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:14 p.m. Councilmember Gulley seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Noes: Absent: Meeting Adjourned. Prepared Kelly, Fry, Boehme, Guffey, Segal None None Thelma A. Lenz, City Secretary Date Approved: o-l 6 of 6