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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1820 - amending zoning ; framed area City of West University Place Harris County, Texas Ordinance No~ 1820 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS REGARDING FRAMED AREA; AND CONTAINING FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT. WHEREAS, the City Council and the Zoning & Planning Commission (tlZ&PC") of the City of West University Place, Texas C'CityU) have held a joint public hearing on a proposal to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City, as last re-formatted and re- . adopted by Ordinance No. 1672, adopted March 12, 2001 and as subsequently amended C'Zon;ng Ordinance"); WHEREAS, the Z&PC has made a final report to the City Council with respect to such proposal, which report is attached as Exhibit A and made a part of this ordinance; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the report of the Z&PC and now formally approves and adopts that report; and WHEREAS, all notices, hearings and procedures relating to amending the Zoning Ordinance, as may be required by law, the City Charter or the Zoning Ordinance, have been duly given, held and followed, and the City Council has jurisdiction to amend the Zoning Ordinance as provided herein; NOWJ THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE: Section 1. The City Council officially finds, determines, declares and adopts all of the matters set out in the preamble of this ordinance, and the Zoning Ordinance is hereby amended as recommended by the Z&PC, according to the attachment to the Z&PCJs final report in Exhibit A, which ;s attached and made a part of this ordinance for all purposes. Section 2. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only~ Section 3. If any word, phrasej 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, neither the remainder of this ordinance, nor the app lication of such word, phrase) clause, sentenceJ paragraph, section or other part of this ordinance to any other persons or circumstances, shall be affected thereby. Section 4. The City Council officially finds, determines and declares that a 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 Texas Open Meetings Actf as amended, and that each 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~ The City Council officially finds, determines and declares that sufficient notices of the joint public hearing were given, and the City Council ratifies, approves and confirms such notices, incruding the contents and the method in which they were given. Section 5. This ordinance shall become effective on the tenth day following its publication, as provided in the City Charter. ..~E:~~ ~;~ AND APPROVED on first reading on CounciJmembers Voting Aye: Council members Voting No: Councilmembers Absent: ~NSIDERED, PASSED AND APPROVED on second reading, AND SIGNED, on ~~, ~o~ Councilmembers Voting Aye: Councilmembers Voting No: Councilmembers Absent: Signed: ~ cretary (Seal) Recommended:.~ ,~ City Man ger Approved as to legal form: J City Attorney codes/updates to/54 0 adoptlng FRAMED AREA Exhibit A Zoning & Planning Commission City of West University Place, Texas 3800 University Boulevard West University Place, Texas 77005 November la, 2005 Honorable Mayor & Members of the City council . City of West University Place 3808 University Boulevard Houston, Texas 77005 Subject: Final report on a proposal to amend the zoning ordinance of the City of West University Place, Texas ("City") relating to FRAMED AREA To the Honorable Mayor & Members of City Council: The Zoning & Planning Commission of the City submits this, its final 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 the definition of "framed areaH in Article 2 of the Zoning Ordinance, add a new Schedule FA and make related amendments. The principal purposes are to: (1) count high interior spaces (like atria) as framed area on each floor level, rather than just on the bottom floor; (2) provide a detailed measurement method (for example, there would be an unbroken ~irnaginary planeH on each floor level that would determine the framed area); (3) clarify and tighten the existing wording; (4) conform the 2 1/2-story rule so that it is stated in terms of framed area. The proposal would not change the numerical percentages in Table 7-4b. The percentage would remain 80% in the single- family detached districts (or 100% in certain higher-density districts. Proceedings After Preliminary Report. Pursuant to public notices, the Zoning & Planning Commission and the City Council held a joint public hearing on October 24, 2005. The hearing provided an opportunity for parties in interest and citizens to be heard in relation to the proposal. At the hearing, City staff provided a slide show and additional input. At least two witnesses appeared and offered testimony or questions, and there was discussion with City Council members and staff. The Commission has considered all of this information and the . Comprehensive Plan. At its meeting held on the date of this report, the Commission considered minor changes to the proposal. The amendments are included in the version of the proposal that is attached to this report. Before final adoption, the Commission recommends the addition of drawings that illustrate Schedule FA. Recommendation. Based on the extensive review given this proposal, the Commission: (i) finds that the proposal, as amended, would be in the public interest and consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, (ii) finds that the proposalf as amended, reasonably addresses circumstances which have arisen since the last comprehensive revision of the zoning ordinance, (iii) makes its final recommendation favorable to the proposal, as amended, and (iv) recommends that the City Council adopt the proposal, as amended. The Vote. This report was authorized by the Commission at its meeting held on the date of this report. The vote was as follows; Commiss ioners Brow., , tlcrowJt2..) -rntlb1..1 fQ5sama.nofst4wD..r+- voted \'aye;" no "noes;" &e\off absent. Respectfully submitted: ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS By: Fo Proposed amendment of the "framed area" and related definitions ZPC final report, 11-10-05 (with minor amendments) Amend the definition of "framed area, " to read as follows: Framed area. Framed area reflects the size of a building~ in square footage. It is defined and illustrated in Sclledule FA. {Note.w move the existing definition to new Schedule FA . and amend it] Divide and amend the definition of tlheight, 17 as follows: Height. Height is Ineasured vertically from the standard base level of a site~ The height of a structure is the vertical distance to its highest point. , measured from the standard base lc"'J{cl. [Note: move the following to a new definition of ((standard base level. J] Standard base level. The standard base level is the average elevation of two points: the tops of the curb where the side lines oillie building fLsite, if extended, would intersect the curb (but if there is no curb at either point, or if there is no curb at all, the intersections of the extended side lines with the paved crown of the street are used instead of the tops of the curb). Exception: If sufficient data are available, tIle Building Official shall designate a substitute standard base level for a building site, which shall apply from and after the date of designation, as follows: (1) TIle substitute standard base level is the average elevation of eight points, all at ground level on the boundaries of the building site, as follows: (i) four of the points are the exact corners of the site, and (ii) each of the remaining four points is the exact midpoint of one of the boundaries of the site (e.g, side street line), but (iii) if the site is irregularly shaped, or if one or more of the points cannot be measured accurately, the Building Official s"hall designate the eight points, using as many corners as practicable and spacing the remaining points as equally as practicable along the boundaries of the site~ (2) The elevations of the eight points must be established by an acceptable topological survey su"bmitted to the Building OfficiaL (3) Topological surveys, to "be acceptable, must meet standards set by the Building Official (including the form of the drawing and certificate)~ but no such survey is acceptable if three or more of the pOilltS sllrveyed have been distllrbed by filling, demolition, COllstruction or similar activity within the five-year period preceding the date of the survey. Add definitions of "attic" and "interior height," as follows: Attic. Unfil1ished space immediately beneath a roof and above any story below. In this definition.. "llnfinished" means that the space has none of the following: (i) air conditioning or heatinQ for the snace.. (ii) wiriuQ: or cablin{l in excess of the minimum needed for maintenance of the stru.ctllre or mechanical equiument. or (iii) sheetrock.. panelinQ or similar wall or ceilin.g materials. Height, Interior. The vertical clearance between the main structural elements supporting a floor (e.g.~ floor loists) and the main overhead structural elements (e.g~~ roof rafters~ ceiling ioists). Where there is no floor'! the interior height is measured from the ground Of.. as aDDronriute.. from up imaginary plane used to measure framed area). Amend the definition of "Story, half," to read as follows: Story, Half In the case of a two-and-one-.half-story building~ a third-floor level with a framed area that does not exceed 50% of the framed area of either the first or second-floor level (whichever is smaller). "^J.. story hu'/ing an u"vcragc hcigllt of not morc tl1uU eight feet co'vcring a. floor area not Inore thaIl 50 percent of the floor area of the ctory' immediatel)' bcloT.v. Add a new Schedule FA 'as follows: (marked to show changes since joint public hearing) SCHEDULE FA (FRAMED AREA) A. General rule: Fralned area reflects the size of a building, in square footage~ Fralned area includes all floor and ground areas under a solid, fixed. roof, except the uncounted areas listed in this Schedule. Floor and ground areas are lTI.easured, on each level, according to the measurement method set out below~ .For each building, the measured areas for each level are totaled to produce the framed area of the building~ B. Measurement method: For each level of a building, the framed area is the area of an ilnagi.nary, JlorizontaJ, unbroken plane itntnediately atop the structure supporting the floor (or inlmediately atop the ground, where there is no floor). Each plane extends horizontally to the outer .main wall surfaces of the building, or to the outer perimeter of the structure above (whichever is outermost). For this purpose: 1. steps, landings, sunken areas, floor openings and similar features are not considered separate levels, so there is no plane on those levels; 2. each plane extends to the outer wall surfaces of bay windows, cantilevered space and similar space on the same floor, regardless of the height of the floor; 3. if there is a "split level" or Sllnilar irregular floor level~ the building official may designate either one level to define the imaginary plane for that floor, or separate planes for the separate levels; and 4. if area (all or part) within a one-story building has an interior he.ight exceeding 19 feet, the area is doubled to calculate fralned area (and if it has a interior height exceeding 31 feet, the area is tripled)~ c. Uncounted areas: The following areas are not counted as framed area: 1. attic area that cannot be reached through a fixed accessway; 2~ attic area where there is a interior height less than seven feet; 3~ ~those non-attic parts of an imaginary plane on a second or third-floor level, above which there is less than seven feet of interior hejght~; ~ 4. area beneath eaves, cornices, roof extensions, "greenhouse" or bay windows, cantilevered space and similar parts of buildings that project outward from the main wall of a building no lnore than 24 inches, if the area is on a lower floor level (or at ground level) and is otherwise completely open to the outdoors; 4: 5. unenclosed porch area of a principal building, if the &lQn~est side o..f.th.fLporch directly faces the front street line or side street line of the building site:). and ilie...ar.e~is ne.ither designed nor usable for motor vehic les; .s.. 6. the area of "crawl space" at ground level; & 7. unenclosed walkway or "breezeway" area if: (A) the area directly connects a principal. building to an accessory building containing garage space located behind the principal building; (B) the total cove.red width of the area does not exceed eight feet; and (C) no part of the roof is higher than 1.4 feet; ~ area of recessed entries (garage or home) or windows that is com pletely open to the outdoors on at least one side, if: (A) each area faces the front street line or side street line of the building site, (B) each area is not larger than 100 square feet, and (C) the total of all such uncounted recessed area is less than 200 square feet; and &. 9~ basement area if: (A) the floor is at least five feet lower than the standard base level of the site, and (B) the interior height does not exceed eight feet. 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