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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1831 - public hearing for buildings in rear yards City of West University Place Harris County, Texas Ordinance No~ 1831 . AN ORDINANCE CALLING A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS REGARDING BUILDINGS IN REAR YARDS, ETC.; PRESCRIBING PROCEDURES AND NOTICES; CONTAINING FINDINGS AND OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. WHEREAS, the Zoning and Planning Commission ("Z&PC") of the City of West University Place, Texas ("City") 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. 1672, adopted March 12, 2001 J and as amended thereafter ("Zoning OrdinanceU); and WHEREAS, the Z&PC's preliminary report is attached to this ordinance as Exhibit A and made a part of this ordinance by reference; and WHEREASJ the City Council desires to call a joint public hearing on such proposal; NOW, 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. Unless rescheduled, the hearing shall be held in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West UniV~Y Place, Texas 77005 during the City Council meeting set to begin at 6:30 p~m~ on ~~4"/~ ~h . The hearing ma be recessed and continued to the City Council meeting set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on .;J-? .)oCh at the same place, unless rescheduled. The City Manger may reschedule either date and time, or both, to accommodate other pending matters, but the rescheduled date(s) and time(s) may not be later than 30 days past the later of the two dates set by this ordinance~ 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 ordinance, (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 City's official newspaper (or another newspaper of general circulation in the City) at least once on or before the 16th day preceding the date of the hearingt In addition, the notice shall be mailed to the persons on the mailing list for the City Currents newsletter. The notices shall be deposited in the United States mail on or before ninth day preceding the date of the hearing, properly addressed with postage prepaid. The notices may be included within the newsletter, or with utility bills 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, sentence, paragraph, section or other part of this ordinance 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 Council officially finds, determines and declares that sufficient written notice of the date, hour, 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 ratifies, 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, ADOPTED AND SIGNED on ~~~ 20tlb. ~esUSe ~ Signed:' ~ lty ecretary ~ Recom mended: Prepared: . Approved as to legal form: ~r?~~ City Attorney forms/OR D 54 0 call ing zoning hearjng 7-06 Exhibit A Zoning & Planning Commission City of West University Place, Texas 3800 University Boulevard West University Place, Texas 77005 July 13, 2006 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") relating to BUILDINGS IN REAR YARDS 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 of the Council as well as other interested persons. Scope of Proposal~ The proposal would amend Note 3 of table 7-6 to allow only detached accessory buildings to be located in rear yards or SF Bufferyards. The proposal would also require minimum separations between a building in a rear yard and other buildings outside the rear yard. The minimum separations would be 7% of the building site depth (measured from main wall to main wall) and 5% of the building site depth (measured between the closest parts of the buildings). Example: If the depth were 100 feet, the minimum separations would be seven and five feet, respectively. The proposal allows connection of buildings by nbreezeways,~ within specified limits. The principal purpose is building separation~ Today, some homes are built with a high, solid structure extending from the front yard to the rear, encompassing not only the main house but also garage areas. Requiring separation should: (i) help firefighters control house fires (particularly those originating in rear garages), (ii) provide better emergency access to areas behind houses, (iii) help prevent overcrowding, and (iv) allow more light and air to reach rear yards and adjacent properties~ 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 proposal, if adopted, would be in the public interest, (ii) makes a preliminary recommendation favorable to the proposal, (ii) 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 vote on approval of this report was as follows: Commissioners6V"o~ HOrouJ'~'Seloff,S\lJeiClfld Me-MMU.S voted "aye;" no "noes;" ~a..ntlAlbln absent. Respectfully submitted: ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS ~J5:~ By: For the Commission Amendment relating to buildings in rear yard (Table 7-6) 7-13-06 (preliminary report version, with proportional building separations) Amend Note 3 of Table 7~6 as follows: Note 3~ Buildings /I't Reclr Yard or SF Bllfferyard. A detached accessory building may be located in a rear yard or SF .Bufferyard if it meets all of the following criteria: (a) No part of it-the building may be closer than five feet to the rear property line (or to any SF District, if in a SF Bllfferyard). (b) The minimum horizontal separations between the building and all other buildings on the building site (other than those located completely within the rear yard or SF Bufferyard) are 7% of the buildin.g site depth (measured from .main wall to main wall) and 5% of the building site depth (measured between the closest .parts of the buildings). Exclmvle: If the depth is 100 feet~ the minimum separatio.ns are seven and five feet., respectively. t91- ffl Within ten feet of another building site in an SF District (whether on the side, rear or otherwise), it- the building may have 0.0 window, door or other opening a.bove the groulld floor (and facing the property line of the other building site), except for opaque translucent (but not transparent), non-operable openings or skylights~ te1-ll!lSpace in the any projecting .building may only be used for single-family (detached) use~ ~ (e) If there is a "breezeway" cormecting the building to allY other building., it must be unenclosed" with a walkway no higher than three feet and a roof no higher than 14 feeL J.^~ principal building may not project unless the ground floor of the projecting purt is at least 51 % garage space~ aaEl- ill [T]here is 110 more than 600 square feet of building space, other than garage space, in the part of the buildil1g in the rear yard or SF Buffervard projecting part. See garage restrictions in Article 10. Exhibit B NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS The Zoning & Planning Commission and the City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas (UCity") will hold joint public hearings in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005 during p;h City council meeting set to begin at 6:30 PM on ~/4 ~4 Each hearing may be recessed and continued to the City Co il meeting set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on ~6 , at the same place. The purpose for e hearings is to provide an opportunity for parties in . interest and citizens to be heard in relation to proposal(s) to amend the City's Zoning OrdinanceJ as follows: Buildings in Rear Yards, Etc. This proposal would allow only detached accessory buildings to be located in rear yards (or SF Bufferyards). The proposal would also require minimum separations between such a building and other buildings outside the yard area~ The minimum separations would be 7% of the building site depth (measured from main wall to main wall) and 5% of the building site depth (measured between the closest parts of the buildings) . Example: If the depth were 100 feet, the minimum separations would be seven and five feet, respectively. The proposal allows connection of buildings by ~breezewaysfH within specified limits. The proposal would amend Note 3 of Table 7-6. [Insert others] Additional details on the proposal(s) as well as the zoning Ordinance are all available for public inspection in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005. The proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance would apply generally within the City, and any person interested in such matters should attend the hearings. The proposal(s) may be adopted only after notice and hearing and would control over anything inconsistent in the current Zoning Ordinance. Is! Kay Holloway, City Secretary Date: