HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1784 - zoning ; qualified trees
City of West University Place
Harris County, Texas
Ordinance No. 1784
AN ORDINANCE CALLING A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON A
PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS REGARDING QUALIFIED TREES;
PRESCRIBING PROCEDURES AND NOTICES; CONTAINING
FINDINGS AND OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT;
AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, the Zoning and Planning Commission (HZ&PCJJ) of the City of West
University PlaceJ Texas ("Cityl1) 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 ~ and as amended thereafter
((Zoning Ordinance''); 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
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to caB 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
Boulevard1 West University Place, Texas 77005 during the City Council meeting set to
begin at 6:30 p.m~ on March 28, 2005. The hearing may be recessed and continued to
the City Council meeting set to begin at 6:30 p~m. on April 11 , 2005 at the same placet
unless rescheduled~ The City Manger may reschedule the hearing or the recess date,
or both, to accommodate other pending matters, but the rescheduled date(s) may not
be later than 30 days past the 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 shafl 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 shaH 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 shalf 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 pubrished
in the City's official newspaper (or another newspaper of generaJ circulation in the City)
at least once on or before the 16th day preceding the date of the hearing. In addjtionl
the notice shalf 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 newsfetter~ or with utility biBs or may be separate.
The City Council specificaUy 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, claus81 sentence! paragraph, section or other
part of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstancer 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) phrase1 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 onJy.
Section 7. The City Council officially finds, determ i nes and decla res th at
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 Codel 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 Cou ncil ratifies ~
approves and confirms such notices and the contents and posting thereof~
Section 8. Because the proposal to amend the Zoning Ordinance is vitarly
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.
AccordinglYJ this ordinance shall be adopted finally on first reading and shall become
effective immediately upon adoption and signature.
.AI':
PASSED, APPROVED, ADOPTED AND SIGNED ora~ /~ I 20 6-'J
Attes ~Aigned:
codes\wup\54 0 CALUN G
ReVi:
City Attorney
Exhibit A
Zoning & Planning Commission
City of West University Place, Texas
3800 University Boulevard
West University Place, Texas 77005
January )3 , 2005
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 ("CityU) relating to qualified trees
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 is to amend Table 7-3 of
the Zoning Ordinance to require one qualified tree in the front
yard (or adjacent street area) for most houses. This confirms a
regulation that was in the original tree regulations, several
years ago. A copy of the proposal is attached.
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: Corrrrnissioners BrotDr) >>orowiiZ. PdS~()rn.OJl Ona Bel r:ff voted
"aye;" no "noes;" Rcf.E, J:t10.J;::tt.hn(5)--c.u..'(!ff.absent.
Respectfully submitted:
ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS
By:
~ig
~_.
For the Commission
Amendment relating to
qualified trees
11-04-04
Amend Table 7-3 (both pages) as follows:
Rear Yard Adjacent to Non~SF. The ZBA may lssue a special exception to reduce the requirement for open area in a rear yard in a SF District to not less
thnn 40% ~ if the rear yard abu ts a non. S P District.
Pervious Area in QMDS. Front yard minimum pervious area requirement in u QM OS is 40%.t or 30% for a front yard in a QM OS '~low-impact motor
courf. ~.
Landscaping Strips. Vegetated pervious areas required as foHows: (n) minimum five feet wide adjacent to each street area (or 3.5 ft. if locatcd in front of a
fence or wall nt least 3.5 feet high), and (b) minimum 18 inches wide to separate each paved vehicular area from a fence or subdivision or replnt boundary.
Exception: Strips are not required along alleys or where they must be crosscd by sidewalks or driveways. Strips along street areas must have livct evergreen
shrubs (maximum spacing is 3.5 ft.) and live qualified trccs under Chapter 22 of the Code of Ordinances (maximum spacing is 20 ft.). The building official
may approve different spacing for shrubs or trccSt upon n showing that (i) the spacing is allowed by standard urban forestry criteria for the pnrcicular species
and location and Oi) the spacing will com ply with Chapter 22. The ZBA may issue a special exception to allow a landscaping strip to be located in whole or
in part wi th in a street area, if th e ZB A finds that the particu lar landscapi n g wilt in a] l pro bab il ity ~ be a llowcd to rc m a in intact for a t least 50 years and that it
can be maintained and will function as wen as a strip locatcd completely on private properly.
Pervious Pavement. In a QM D S, the area of the holes or gaps (if actually pervious) counts toward pervious area requirements (but no more than 30% out of
any area with pervious pavement may count).
Table 7-3:
Open & Pervious Areas
llem
Measuremel1t
Open area
Fron t yard~
minim urn
percentage.
Rear yard,
minimum
percen tage.
Entire building site~
minimum
percen tage.
Pervious area
Front yard)
minimum
percentage
Entire bu Hd ing s itc1
minimum
percentage.
Land sca ping strips
Qualified trees
Pervious pavement
Parkin g areas t
in tcrior
N Ole 1,
NOle 2.
Nole 3,
Nole 4.
Genera I R ZI Ie: .Every bu ilding site ill ust ha vc the minim urn open and perviou s areas shown~ by
District, in (his table. C~N/A ~~ means the rufe does not apply.) Exceptions/Special Rules,' (r) See
POD Schedules for planned development districts. (2) See special rules noted in table. (3) See
the P roj cc tions S c hedu Ie for detu ils about c alcu lu ting 0 pen and pervious areas.
SF-I SF-2 SF-3 TH GR-J GR-2 C
60%. N/A 40% N/A
60%. See Note'. N/A N/A N/A
40% 25% 25% 15%
50% 50% See 50% N/A
Note 2. See Note 2.
24% 15% ]5% 15%
Rcquircdt except for SFD uses on building sHes with 5,000 sq. ft. or more. See Note 3.
Eh\..lWp l {'\.I L For SF D uses on bu Hding sites with 5 ~OOO sq. ft. or m ore~ there must be at lell.st one
Qualified tree in the front yard or in th e ad i Been t street a rea. For all other uses, cae h quali fled tree
required by this ordinance or Chapter 22 of the Code of Ordinance must be located within a
contiguous and reasonably compact pervious area containing at least 25 sq. ft. However~
additional or better pcrvious area may be required to comply with Chapter 22.
In a Q M D S on]y t perviou s pa vem en t is allowed to be used for an veh ieu Jar 3 reas, and part of it
mny count as pervious area. See Note 4.
Each parki ng arc a contain ing 21 or more parki ng spaces must contai n in terior perv lOus areas in
"jstandl1 or "peninsula't configurations aggregating in area at lenst two square feet for each parking
SP ace.
Exhibit B
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
The Zoning & Planning Commission and the City Council of the City of West University
Place, Texas C~City") will hold joint public hearings in the Council Chamber of the
Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevardl Houston, Texas 77005 during the City
Council meeting set to begin at 6:30 PM on March 28, 2005. Each hearing may be
recessed and continued to the City Council meeting set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on April
11, 2005, 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 proposed amendments to the
City's Zoning Ordinance, as follows:
[INSERT DESCRIPTION OF ALL PROPOSED AMENDMENTS WITH HEARINGS SET FOR
THIS MEETING]
Qualified Trees. Thjs amendment would require at least one qualified tree rn the front yard or
adjacent street area of many sites with single-family detached (SFD) use.
Additional details on the proposed amendments as well as the Zoning Ordinance are all
available for public inspection in the Municipal Buildingl 3800 University Boulevard,
Houston, Texas 77005. The proposed amendments would be generally applicable
within the City, and any person interested in such matters should attend the hearings.
No amendment may be adopted until after notice and hearing, and any amendment
adopted would control over any inconsistent provision in the current Zoning Ordinance.
/s/ Kay Holloway, City Secretary
Date: