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HomeMy WebLinkAbout010912 CC MinL The City of West University Place A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Bob Fry, Mayor Susan Sample, Mayor Pro Tern 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, January 9, 2012, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:30 p.m. Agenda items were as follows: Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Council and staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Sample, Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson and Yehle, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, ACM/Public Works Director Peifer, and Police Chief Walker Councilmember Heathcott led the Pledge. City Secretary Lenz confirmed that the Notice of the meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. 1. Public Comments Before hearing comments from the public, most of which were present to speak about proposed zoning for the Town Center, Mayor Fry provided a little history and comments regarding the Town Center zoning. He said: • The Town Center area (Town Center Retail District) has been an issue for a long time and people know that if anything happens in that area, property owners could not rebuild as the ordinance is currently written. He also said they could not get a variance because they would not be able to use economic hardship as a justification, which is the only justification for commercial projects. • This issue came to his attention during Hurricane Ike, which could have been a real catastrophe. He said had there been a disaster, we would have had a blighted area in the Town Center because the owners could not have rebuilt. He said the previous Council recognized that it was time to do something and formed an ad hoc committee to review the zoning requirements for that area and to make sense of the current ordinance. • Since the release of the proposal, a lot of misinformation was floating around and things were blown out of proportion, but then eventually it quieted down and Council thought it was because the committee had fully explained their intent and what they were trying to do. • The committee then took the proposal before the Zoning and Planning Commission (ZPC) and the ZPC voted to bring it before Council. He noted that the Council meeting, as well as the Zoning and Planning Commission, was highly publicized but no one showed up. He said there was not one comment in person, e-mail, or on the blogs. City Council Minutes, January 09, 2011 Council has always understood that the City's zoning ordinance was a confusing hodgepodge and needed to be cleaned up, so one of the priorities of this Council was to get some outside help to assist staff in constructing (commercial) zoning ordinances that will be easier to understand. He said the committee's work was to go through a consultant as part of the bigger process of rewriting the (commercial) zoning ordinances; but, because there was no opposition at the meetings and public hearings, Council decided to move forward with the committee's proposal and take care of a big part of what the consultant would do and the City could save some money. Due to the a-mails he began receiving on Friday from people who had very thoughtful concerns about Council going through the process to fast, he felt the item should be pulled from the agenda in order to better educate the public about the project. He said he still thinks it is a good proposal and still thinks there is a serious zoning problem in the area. Mayor Fry announced that he would first take comments from those that signed up to speak about the Town Center project and will then take all other comments. At this time, Mayor Fry re-opened the public hearing. Anne Burke, 2704 Sunset, spoke to say that she has been a resident for over 13 years and a real estate lawyer for over 25 years. She said she deals with buying and selling real estate all over the country and most of her work deals with zoning and retail zoning. She said, however, she is here as a resident and when she read the proposal she pretty much fell out of her chair. Ms. Burke said she can't believe what Council is giving the landowners and developers, which is lots of money, and it appears the City is getting very little in exchange. She suggested that if there is ever a catastrophe, Council should address the issue and get the zoning changed at that time. She said if this ordinance is passed, the developer will not wait for a catastrophe, but rather go in and redevelop as soon as possible to maximize the value of that land. Ms. Burke said when this is renegotiated Council should roll up its sleeves and get something out of the negotiations (i.e. open public green space, etc.). Herbert Graham (H.G.) Cull, Jr., 3815 Oberlin, spoke to say that he has lived in West U for about 40 years and what worries him about this proposal is that it has been stated in the newspaper that the parking structure would be funded with City funds. He also said that he is a member of the Bellaire Lodge, which meets at the West University Lodge, and they are worried about that location being taken away from them. Mr. Cull said he has also read that the buildings would be moved all the way up to the sidewalk, which means parking spaces would be lost. He said we have our own distinctive style and doesn't think those buildings are ugly. He also said he is concerned about things being forced on the people that are happy there. Mayor Fry interjected to say that Council will be pulling this item from the agenda, so there will be no vote on this issue tonight. Edwin Wood, 3759 Tangley, spoke to say that he is a psychiatrist who has been operating his office at 3642 University Boulevard, on top of the beauty parlor on the corner of Edloe and University, for the past 5 years. He said it has been a wonderful experience because it's a relatively quiet neighborhood, except during school hours when the traffic is almost indescribable. He said he would hate to see additional commercial property moved into the area and said if Council wants to have businesses and chaos, it only has to go about 7 or 8 blocks east to the Village. Mr. Wood said there is plenty to do in the Village, so he has a hard time imagining why the City would want some of that atmosphere into this relatively quiet, peaceful, and mostly productive situation. He said he can understand why developers would want to develop it, but as someone who has been operating Page 2 of 6 City Council Minutes, January 09, 2011 an office there for the past 5 years, he thinks the proposed zoning would distract from the value of the property. Abby Boyce, 4251 Emory, spoke to say that she and her friends think that West U is a small, quaint, safe neighborhood and thinks the idea of a big shopping center right in the middle of their school zone just doesn't seem right. She said on Saturday's her mom feels good about dropping her off in the Town Center area where she practices with her band, meets friends at Edloe or Little Matt's for lunch, do some shopping, or just hang out. She said her mom would never let her do any of that at a big shopping center. Ms. Boyce said bringing a big shopping center to this little town would bring in traffic and will bring in unknown visitors, which would make getting around after school dangerous for those that walk to their afterschool activities at the Town Center or walk home. She said children are taught that when they make a decision they have to weigh the pros and cons, so she did some research and found that 99.9 percent of the people she knows don't want a giant shopping center. She said she simply can't think of one good thing about a big shopping center on the City's little main street, but she can think of a lot bad things; therefore, she respectively disagree with any idea that there should be a shopping center or parking garage built on Edloe Street. Ms. Boyce presented Council with a petition (on file) signed by fifth graders and teachers who feel that building more shops and parking garages along Edloe is not best for them or the town. She said West University needs Edloe Street, not a Galleria. Audrey Mills, 3926 Case, spoke to say that she has lived in West U all of her life so she was pretty upset when she heard that they want to tear down Edloe Street to build a complex. She said she has had so many happy memories on the street everybody loves and doesn't understand why anyone would want to tear it down. She said a shopping mall would make it unsafe to hang out in the area and make the traffic worse around the school. She said it would be better if the committee would look for ways to preserve the Town Center. Janine Schueppert, 4040 Riley Street, spoke to say that she frequents the restaurants on Edloe almost every day and said she is really concerned about this proposed development as it would dramatically change the quality of life in West U. She said there would be traffic and congestion problems and the small town feel would be lost. Ms. Schueppert said she has read and analyzed the report and the result isn't exactly what they say. She said some people would lose square footage to their property with the current or proposed regulations and that two developers have big incentives, a 69.4 percent increase in square footage with a one parking space increase requirement for one of them. She said the other one has a 2600 square footage increase, a 205 percent increase, with no parking increase requirement. Ms. Schueppert said there would be almost a 50 percent increase in square footage and one parking space added, which is a terrible ratio. She said we already know the Town Center is at maximum capacity so why on earth would we even look to do something that crazy. She also added that there are already problems at the school with increased traffic congestion in the area and it doesn't need to be made worse. Steve McGough, 1700 block of Robinhood, spoke to say he agrees with the previous speakers regarding the traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces, safety, and that nonconforming status issues should be looked at on an as-needed-basis when issues occur. He also said if the City is even thinking about modifying the current ordinance, he urges council to put the issue to a public vote and said it would be a big mistake to add more shops and chaos to that area. Vernon Tyger, resident at 9633 Longmont and property owner at 2932 Wroxton, spoke to thank Council and others for being willing to talk about this issue and postponing the vote to allow more people to read the proposal and provide more comments. Page 3 of 6 City Council Minutes, January 09, 2011 Councilmember Johnson spoke to say that it has brought up again about the City subsidizing the parking garage. She said it was in the report, but it was never, ever, ever discussed by Council to do that and it was not something that was included in the ordinance. Mayor Pro Tern Sample thanked everyone for coming out and expressing their opinions. She said that is the only way Council can know what the community thinks. She said Council wants to hear what the public has to say whether it's good or bad. Councilmember Heathcott said a couple points came from the discussions that he had not caught before. He said one was the significant increase in the number of square footage, which in his mind Council was never trying to do and said he wants to see a limitation on the square footage during the re-write. He said the second thing is the parking needs to be more equal in terms in relation to the square feet of the building. He said he appreciates everyone's input in the process and thinks we will have an improved ordinance at the end of the day. Mayor Fry said the ordinance will be better and, even more important, it will be better understood. At this time, City Manager Ross requested that the Town Center ordinance be withdrawn from tonight's agenda. He said staff will plan to include the proposed ordinance with the over-all commercial ordinance re-write scheduled to occur later this year. Mayor Fry closed the Public Hearing on the committee's report on zoning at 7:03 p.m. City Attorney Petrov noted that when this issue comes back before council as part of the comprehensive re-write of the commercial ordinance, the City will again have public notices, public meetings, and public comments for public participation. At this time, Council heard comments from the public on issues other than the Town Center. Larry Kelly, 3319 Georgetown, spoke about street congestion. He said there were two vehicles parked on his street and the distance between the two was 8 feet, which is the dimension of our fire trucks. Mr. Kelly said his brother is a fireman who said minutes saves lives, so he concerned about the delay in the event a fire truck has to go around the block to get where they have to be. He also said he doesn't see as well as he use to so he is concerned about kids darting out from behind the cars in front of him. Mr. Kelly said this issue really needs to addressed and suggested having parking on one side of the street one day and on the other side the next day, and so on. He said something needs to be done because it's dangerous. City Manager Ross responded that this issue is one of City Council's goals and will be part of the community survey to gauge the public. John Palmer, 3835 Riley Street, spoke regarding the flooding issues. He said today his street experienced flooding and some homes had water up to the garages. He said this is a serious problem and he knows that Council and the city manager is working diligently to get the required approval from the City Houston to get that land for the retention needed, but this galvanizes the need to push this ahead as fast as possible. Mr. Palmer said if it requires assistance or support from the citizens to speak to the City Houston Council, he's sure we can get folks to participate, because we need to do what it takes to mitigate ponding on City streets. Cathy Hamill, 3833 Southwestern (and owner of properties at 3827 and 3831 Southwestern) said she wants to emphasize how strongly her family feels about asking the City to move ahead as Page 4 of 6 City Council Minutes, January 09, 2011 quickly as possible with any additional flood relief. She said all three of her residences had water in the garages and the only reason they didn't have water in the homes themselves is because they happen to built on foundations of pier and beam. Ms. Hamill said, while she very much appreciates all of the hard work by the Council over the years and the renovation of the drainage system along College, the removal of that restrictor can't happen quickly enough. Larry Kelly, 3319 Georgetown, spoke again to talk about leaf blowers. He said he has been told by his ENT doctor that noise from leaf blowers can make you lose your hearing, so he would suggest for the people that work in the yards, the City make a rule that they wear hearing protection and, if possible, face masks due to the pollution from the leaves, dust, and gas they have to endure 8 hours a day every day. City Manager Ross and Mayor Fry stated that this issue is another one of Council's goals for review. Nancy Gilbertson, 3901 Rice Boulevard, spoke to say we live in a really good place and City Manager Ross does a good job of running the City considering the complacency in the community. She said her challenge is to the City Council to help Mr. Ross do his job. She asked Council how they plan to find out what the residents want. She said she will send each member of Council an e- mail asking them how they are going to find out what the residents want so they can tell Mr. Ross, so she can get off of his case. Annette Glod, 3818 Southwestern, spoke to say that the right to be safe in one's home is probably one of the most important right's a homeowner has, but she came home today and found flooding inside her house and garage. She asked this Council to make being safe in one's home and free from flooding a priority. She said she thinks it is more important than any other issue at this time. 2. Town Center Ordinance Matters related to the consideration of an amendment to the zoning ordinance and zoning district map by changing the zoning district designation and creating a new zoning district designation for the tract of land located north of University Boulevard, east of Edloe Street, south of Rice Boulevard and west of Poor Farm Ditch. At the request of the City Manager, this item was withdrawn from the agenda. 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 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 December 12, 2011. Councilmember Johnson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mayor Pro Tern Sample seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Page 5 of 6 City Council Minutes, January 09, 2011 4. Reports by Council/Staff City Manager Ross announced that the City will have an open house and tour of the new public safety facility immediately following the January 23, 2012 Council meeting and all of the public are invited. He also announced that that the Houston/Chevron marathon will be held on Sunday so there will be the usual road closures and festivities along University Boulevard. On the rainfall event, Mr. Ross reported that the City had over 5 inches of rain during a two hour period, which resulted in widespread street ponding in the City and the entire Houston region. He reminded everyone that solving the College Street drainage is this Council's number one priority and that there isn't a week that goes by that staff is not pushing to resolve this issue with the City of Houston. 5. Adjourn With no other business before Council, Councilmember Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 p.m. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Meeting Adjourned. z, City Secretary Dat Approved °aN Page 6 of 6