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HomeMy WebLinkAbout110711R CC Min®rf The City of West University Place ME! A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Bob Fry, Mayor Susan Sample, Mayor Pro Tent Ed Heathcott, Councilmember Joan Johnson, Councilmember Dick Yehle, 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 regular session on Monday, November 7, 2011, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:30 p.m. Agenda items were as follows: Call to Order: Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Council and staff in attendance were: Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson and Yehle, City Manager Ross, ACM/Public Works Director Peifer, City Secretary Lenz, City Planner Scarcella, and Police Chief Walker. Mayor Pro Tern Sample and City Attorney Petrov were absent. Pledge of Allegiance: A Boy Scout led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. Public Comments This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items. There were no public comments. While waiting for a quorum of the Zoning and Planning Commission, Mayor Fry suggested moving forward with the agenda and requested a motion to approve the Consent Agendas (see Item 3 for action). 2. Joint Public Hearing with Zoning and Planning Commission Matters related to a joint public hearing of the City Council and the Zoning and Planning Commission regarding the Town Center Retail District Zoning. At 6:35 p.m., Chair Steve Brown called to order the meeting of the Zoning and Planning Commission (ZPC). Other Commissioners present were: Connie Clark, DeDe DeStefano, and Bruce Frankel. City Planner Scarcella was also present. Commissioners Michael McEnany, Lauren Griffith, and Sam Parikh were absent. Commissioner Brown explained the process for the joint public hearing. He also announced that this topic would be on the Zoning and Planning Commission agenda on Thursday, November 10 in the City Hall Conference Room. At 6:40 p.m. Mayor Fry recessed the regular meeting and opened the City Council public hearing. City Planner Scarcella presented this item and said the proposal is based on recommendations of the Town Center Ad Hoc Committee report presented to City Council on January 24, 2011. She said the report contains recommendations for ordinance amendments that will encourage and enable the retail area of the town center to be reconstructed or redeveloped through private investment, while considering the needs of the surrounding residential properties. City Council Minutes, November 7, 2011 Ms. Scarcella said the key motivator for the recommended changes is the fact that all buildings in the proposed district currently have some form of Prior Non-Conforming (PNC) status that can only be maintained if no material improvements are made or through application for zoning relief. She said in the event of catastrophic loss, the buildings would lose PNC status, and current code allows only 50% of the existing floor space to be reconstructed, which could lead to an economically blighted area. Ms. Scarcella also explained that the proposed district overlay, with accompanying regulations, maintains the existing commercial designation and is applicable to the development of new principal buildings and their accessory structures. Ms. Scarcella stated that the proposal would amend the zoning ordinance by: • Establishing a definition and boundaries for the Town Center Retail District ("TCRD"). • North of University, South of Rice, East of Edloe and West of Poor Farm Ditch • Establishing the allowable uses in the TCRD. • Limited to retail, office (medical and business), and food service use • Establishing regulations for front, side and rear yard (setbacks), visual buffering, maximum height of all structures, minimum parking requirements, and exterior finishes of structures. • Encourages pedestrian access with parking and visual buffering along the rear height limits consistent with established maximums and other NR structures in area. • Requiring the first floor of all structures to be at grade level. • Does not allow elevated structures with parking below. • Allowing for an above-grade parking structure only for a unified development of two or more adjacent building sites and establishes minimum standards for height limits, noise, lighting and exterior finishing materials. • Establishes minimum standards for height, noise, lighting and exterior finishing materials. Ms. Scarcella said the most important thing the Ad Hoc Committee had done was talk to Town Center businesses about the possibilities of further development and said three recommendations came from those discussions: development compliant with current codes; individual site redevelopment; and consolidated redevelopment. She said more details are outlined in the Committee's report, which has been on the City's website since it was presented to City Council in January 2011. At this time, comments were heard from the public. Scott Luther, Southside Place resident at 3784 Darcus Street and part owner of the property that includes the Compass Bank building, Nationwide and other small businesses, spoke to say, though he has no immediate plans other than maybe a coat of paint. He is very much in favor of the redevelopment and thinks it would be good for the community long-term. Gregg Thompson, resident of the 3700 block of Plumb and property owner at 3636 Rice (old JMH building) spoke to say that as a resident and adjacent property owner to the Town Center, he thinks the redevelopment concept is ideal for that stretch of Edloe and he is in favor of it. Albert Kelso, resident at 3621 Amherst and member of the Town Center Ad Hoc Committee, spoke to suggest that the Zoning and Planning Commission and the City Council move forward and approve one of the Committee's recommendations. Page 2 of 4 City Council Minutes, November 7, 2011 At 7:00 p.m., Councilmember Heathcott left the meeting to attend the City of Bellaire's Council meeting where he was scheduled to speak. Ray Schutter, resident at 6637 Buffalo Speedway and owner of West U Travel at 3622 University, spoke to say he supports the proposal. Mr. Schutter said the problem in the commercial area is parking and asked if there has been any consideration given to paving over Poor Farm Ditch to provide parking. Chair Brown responded that it would be too costly and City Manager Ross added that it would be challenging from a drainage perspective. Tim Hansen, 3131 Robinhood, spoke to ask why the committee didn't consider a mix-use zone for potential residential development. Chair Brown said there had been substantial discussion about that, but there were a lot of problems; so, the ZPC and the Ad Hoc Committee agreed that it would be a mistake to allow for mix use. Bruce Frankel, ZPC Member and Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee, added that heavy residential would also create too much light and noise. Councilmember Yehle spoke to thank and praise both the ZPC and the Ad Hoc Committee for their work on the proposal and the report. He said in his time of studying this, the zoning changes, if adopted, will give owners incentive to rebuild their properties if ever necessary. He said it is not a mandate for a uniform faQade and said he sees it as a positive for property owners, and residents, and the City. He said the proposal is very forward-looking and will generate tax revenue and solve a lot of problems such as the lack of a consistent sidewalk along Edloe. With no more public comments, Commissioner Frankel moved that all statements, exhibits and documents be made part of the official record of this hearing and that this hearing be continued at the next meeting of the Zoning and Planning Commission on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 6:15 p.m. Commissioner Frankel seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Commissioners Brown, Frankel, DeStefano, Clark Noes: None Absent: Griffith, McEnany, Parikh Commissioner Frankel moved to adjourn the ZPC public hearing at 7:10 p.m. Commissioner DeStefano seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Commissioners Brown, Frankel, DeStefano, Clark Noes: None Absent: Griffith, McEnany, Parikh At 7:11 p.m., Councilmember Yehle moved that this public hearing be continued through future meetings of the City Council. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: Heathcott, Sample Mayor Fry said this is part of a bigger plan to look at all the City's commercial zoning areas and he thanked the ZPC and the Ad Hoc Committee for such a professional report. 3. 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 Page 3 of 4 City Council Minutes, November 7, 2011 member requests in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. A. City Council Minutes Approve City Council Minutes of October 24, 2011. B. Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors Matters related to a resolution of the City Council of the City of West University Place casting its ballot for the election of Ed Heathcott to the Board of Directors of the Harris County Appraisal District. C. Interlocal Agreement with City of Houston Matters related to an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Houston for use of its Public Safety Radio System. Councilmember Yehle moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Johnson, Heathcott*, Yehle Noes: None Absent: Sample *As noted elsewhere in the Minutes, Heathcott was present at the beginning of the meeting and the Consent Agenda was taken first out of order, so he was present at this vote. 4. Reports by Council/Staff Councilmember Yehle announced that the November 8th election polling place for Precinct 87 is at West University Elementary this year due to renovations taking place at the Scout House. Mayor Fry announced that reporter Ken Fountain will no longer be covering West U. He thanked Ken for his fair reporting and wished him well. Mayor Fry also announced the City's recognition as one of the top workplaces of 2011. 5. Adiourn With no other business before Council, Councilmember Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 p.m. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Noes: Absent: Meeting Adjourned. Prepare By: - i r Ant Thelma A. Lenz, Fry, Johnson, Yehle None Sample, Heathcott ~~~5 ttkOVFQS~l r s `V t~-~"4 ct / j Date Approved Page 4 of 4