HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1694 - zoning; front street lines
Ordinance No~ 1694
AN ORDINANCE CALLING A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON A PROPOSAL TO
AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY
PLACE, TEXAS REGARDING FRONT STREET LINES; PRESCRIBING
PROCEDURES AND NOTICES; CONTAINING FINDINGS AND OTHER
PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY. '
WHEREASf the Zoning and Planning Commission C'Z&PC") of the City of West
University Place, Texas C'CityU) has submitted a preliminary report on a proposal to amend the
comprehensive zoning ordinance of the City, as last reformatted and re-adopted by Ordinance
No~ 1672f adopted March 12, 2001 (UZoning Ordinance"); and
WHEREASf the Z&PC's report is attached to this ordinance as Exhibit A and made a part
of this ordinance by reference; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to call a joint public hearing on such proposal;
NOWf THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE:
Section 1_ The City Council hereby calls a joint public hearing before the City Council
and Z&PC on the proposal described in Exhibit A. The hearing shall be held in the Council
Chamber of the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas
77005 during the City Council meeting set to begin at 7:30 p.m. on September 24, 2001. The
hearing may be recessed and continued to the City Council meeting set to begin at 7:30 p.m. on
October 8, 2001 at the same place.
Section 2. The purpose for the hearing is to provide an opportunity for parties in interest
and citizens to be heard in relation to the proposal described in Exhibit A~
Section 3. The procedures for adoption of the proposal shall be as follows: (1) notice as
required by this ordinancef (2) hearing as called by this ordinance, (3) report by the Z&PC, and
(4) vote by the City Council on the question of adoption. The procedures for enforcing the
proposal shall be as set out in the existing Zoning Ordinance. The proposal described in Exhibit
A is hereby submitted and re-submitted to the Z&PC for its consideration.
Section 4. The City Secretary shall give notice of such hearing as prescribed by this
section. The notice shall be in substantially the form set out in Exhibit B, which is attached and
made a part of this ordinance by reference. The notice shall be published in the Village News
(or another newspaper of general circulation in the City) at least once on or before the 16th day
preceding the date of the hearing~ In additionf the notice shall be mailed to the persons on the
mailing list for a regular edition of the City Currents newsletter. The notices shall be deposited
in the United States mail on or before the ninth day preceding the date of the hearing, properly
addressed with postage prepaid. The notices may be included within the newsletter or may be
separate. The City Council specifically approves giving combined notice of two or more
hearings in a single notice document, as this would save money and also provide better
information about the full scope of possible amendments to all interested persons.
Section 5. The City staff is authorized to make all necessary arrangements for the
hearing and to assist the Zoning and Planning Commission and the City CounciL
Section 6. If any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or other part of this
ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall ever be held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this ordinance
and the application of such word, phrase, clause, sentencel paragraph, section or other part of
this ord inance to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. All
ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of the
conflict only.
Section 7. The City Cou ncil officially finds, determines and declares that sufficient
written notice of the date, hourf place and subject of each meeting at which this ordinance was
discussed, considered or acted upon was given in the manner required by the Open Meetings
Law, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, as amended, and that such meeting has been
open to the public as required by law at all times during such discussion, consideration and
action~ The City Council ratifiesj approves and confirms such notices and the contents and
posting thereof.
Section 8. Because the proposal to amend the Zoning Ordinance is vitally important and
should be considered at the earliest possible date, a state of emergency is declared requiring
that this ordinance be read and adopted finally at this meeting. Accordingly, this ordinance shall
be adopted finally on first reading and shall become effective immediately upon adoption and
signature.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED on ~~sjL..;? ~
AttesU ~~~
ity Secretary
, 2001 .
\ Mayor
Reviewed: ~
City Attorney
Recommended: ~~,
City nager
Exhibit A
Zoning & Planning Commission
City of West University Place, Texas
3800 University Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77005
August 8, 2001
Honorable Mayor &
Members of the City Council
City of West University Place
3808 University Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77005
Subject: Preliminary report on a proposal to amend the zoning
ordinance of the City of West University Place, Texas
("City") regarding front street lines
To the Honorable Mayor
& Members of City Council:
The Zoning & Planning Commission of the City submits this, its
preliminary report, on the subject proposal, for the assistance o-f the
Council as well as other interested persons~
Scope of Proposal. The proposal is to amend the definition of
"front street lineu to clarify the method for determining the front of
a corner site. This determination is important,' because the front
yard depth is usually deeper than the side yard depth.
The amendment is designed to match the methods traditionally used
in the development of the City. See the attachment to this report for
the exact wording.
Preliminary Recommendation. Based on the limited review given
this matter so far, and subject to further review following public
hearing, the Commission: (i) finds that the proposed amendment, if
adopted, would be in the public interest, (ii) makes a preliminary
recommendation favorable to the amendment, and (iii) recommends that
the City Council call a joint public hearing to consider this matter.
The Commission invites all interested persons to participate in the
joint public hearing.
The Vote. The following members of the Commission approve this
preliminary report: All Commissioners voted "ayeU except Commissioners
Hi g 1.:: j; 6.!.tJ K~ 117 ( absent) .
~ ~0~ ~/HL?~~~
Respectfully submitted:
ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION
CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE,
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the conunisSIon
OF THE
TEXAS
By:
cOl08:\54ofrontstreet
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Amendment regarding
"front street line"
definition
7-10-01
Line, .front street. TIle COnunOl1 bOlll1dary of a building site and. a street area~ s~lbject ~o the
follo\ving: For corner sites (and any otller sites tOUCllil1g two or more street areas), tile [1"0111 street line is
determined by tIle bllilding official accordil1g to tile following criteria., listed ill order of preced.ellce:
ill A special designatio!l oillie front street lil1e made by the ZBA (see, e.!<. Article 8), or by Ul1
approved QMDS plat or PDD site plall (if any).
ill A clear judicatioll of tIle appropriate frOllt street Iil1e., based llp011:
ill subdivision plattil1g pattern,
.Gll traffic and access pattern,
(iii) property size ffild Sllape.,
GYL oriel1tation of existing and Ilistoric developll1ent~ '
ffi probable flltlu.e development, and
0dl cOlupatibiIity witll nearby sites and tlleir uses~
Exception: Tllis paragraph does 1l0t apply to "rotated comer bllildillg sites" ill tIle SF -1
District governed by the special rules set out in Table 7-2.
ill For sites wit11 SFR use (including llndeveloped property in an SFR district or ill tJle GR-l
or GR-2 District):
ill if one street line is sllbstantially sllorter tllall all others~ it is th.e frol1t street .lille~
.Gll otherwise, tile front street line is the line that is illOst compatible witll n,earby sites
al1d. tlleir uses~
(1l For sites without SFR llse borderil1g a luaior tllorougllfare:
ill the front street lille would ordil1arily be tIle COlnlnOll boulldary with t]1e l11a.jor
thoroughfare;
.Gll if all boundary streets are lnalor thorOllghfares, tIle frollt street lille is tIle CO.ll1111.0n
boundary witll the thorougllfare with tIle longest frolltage;
(iii) otherwise, tIle frollt street line is the lil1e tllat is most cOlupatible witllllearby sites
alld tlleir uses.
ill For other sites without SFR llse:
ill if one street line is sllbstantially IOllger tllan tIle otl1ers, it :is tIle frol1t street lille~
@ otherwise, tile [[011t street lille is tIle line that is IllDst COlllpatible witllllearby sites
and tl1eir uses.
(1) In a residelltial district, if tIle building site s.hares a comnlOll boulldary ~.vith_ t\~/o or ll10re
street areas, and except as pro'l:.rided belo~"v, tIle frol1t street lil1e is tile con1111011. bO~~11dary
'"'.vith the street ha~/inG the s110rtest frol1tage, but if all of the streets l1a\7e t11e S3111e frollt8.bC~
the front street line is the line indicated b)T any principal bllildinf; in existellce or ~lnd.er
COllStl~lCtiol1 as of t11e 1987 effecti've d3.te~ If there is no SllCl1 prillcipal blli.l din.g;, th.e fTOEt
street line is tIle line desiGnated by the first person to con.strllct a prillcipal b~~ildi:ng 011 tIle
site after the 1987 effecti~/e date~ .I.^A. front street line desigllated b)T tl1e ZB.L^.Io. p~lfS~lal1t to
.^.Io.rticle 16 sllall control Q"t/er any otller designatio11.
(2) III :1 non residenti~l district, if the bllildil1G site SIl3.reS a con1ll1on bOU11dar)t \~ve-ef
more streets, one of'C~vllicll is a major tllorougllfare, tIle frOll! street lille is tile C0111meH-
.eo~lndar)r ".vith the major thorouGhfare. If all bO~lnd3.ry streets are 111~ior tllorou.g11fares., tIle
front street lille is tIle camInOll boundary ,\J/it11 tIle tllorougllfare l1ayil1g tIle IOllgest
front3.;;e, but if all of tIle thoro:lgllfares ha"{/e eq~lal frolltage, tIle front ~treet li11e is 1~=l~
desi~n::tted by tIle first perSOll to COllstrllct a principal bu.ildillg 011 tIle site. If 11011e g.i:tll@.
boundary stIe.ets is a major thoro'..lghfnre, the front street line is the common boundary with
tIle street ha'l/lllG t11e shOliest frontage, but if all of the streets l1a'l/e eq~lal fronta n-e tlle front
t ~ I r ~ g' b ,
S feet IS t 1e rue 111 lcated by all)' principal bllildil1g ill existel1.ce or llllder C011str~4B-t+el-H1.s-H.r
the 1987 effecti"ve date; if there is 110 suell principal b~lildillg, tIle frol1t street is t11e 1m-€;
desig;nated by the first perSOll to co.nstruct a principal bl~ljldil1~ 011 tIle ~ite after th.e 1987
effecti ~/e date.
Exhibit B
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
The Zoning & Planning Commission and the City Council of the City of West University Ptacet
Texas C~CityU) will hold joint public hearings in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Buildingt
3800 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005 during the City Council meeting set to begin
at 7:30 p~m. on September 24, 2001. The hearings may be recessed and continued to the City
Council meeting set to begin at 7:30 p.m~ on October 8, 2001 at the same place~ The purpose
for the hearings is to provide an opportunity for parties in interest and citizens to be heard in
relation to proposals to amend the City's Zoning Ordinance, as follows:
(1) Building Site Definitions: The proposal is to amend two definitions in Article II
(Ubuilding site'J and usubdivided lof')~ The amendment of ubuilding siteJJ would reconcile
two different provisions of the ordinance to clarify, not change. The amendment of
usubdivided lot" would allow some old unplatted lots to be joined under one owner and
later re-divided into separate building sites~ Note~~ Currently, only platted lots can be re-
divided after they are joined~ This amendment would treat the old unplatted lots the
same.
(2) Front Street Line Definition (Corner Sites): The proposal is to amend the definition of
"front street line" in Article l'~ It would authorize the building official to determine the Ufrollt
street line" for a corner site} according to listed criteria. The criteria would include: (i)
designations by a board or commission, (ii) platting, access, size~ shapef historic
development, and compatibility with surroundingst (iii) use of the property and length of
street frontage, and (iv) presence of a major thoroughfare. Note: The location of the
front street line determines the orientations and depths of required yards (front, side and
rear) .
(3) Predominant Front Yard Depth (SF-1 District). The proposal is to Amend Table 7-2 to
require deeper front yards (sometimes called "setbacks") for some sites in the S F-1
District. Note.~ SF-1 includes most of the old West University Place First Addition, south
of University Boulevard~ Deeper front yards would be required along those blocks where
a upredominant front yard depthU is indicated by the dimensions of most of the lots along
the block. Example: If half or more of the lots along a block are deep (150 feet)t the
upredominant front yard depth'} would be 30 feet. The 3D-foot front yard depth would then
apply to all lots along the block, including those smaller lots that would otherwise have 20
or 25-foot-deep front yards~
Additional details on the proposals as well as the Zoning Ordinance are all available for public
inspection in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005a The
proposed amendments would be generally applicable within the City, and any person interested
in such matters should attend the hearings. The proposals may be adopted only after notice
and hearing, and they would control over any inconsistent provision in the current Zoning.
Date: Is/Kay Holloway~ City Secretary