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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06271972 ZPC Minutes• ~ :~ ,;~, . • • 7.ONING AND PLANNING CONAQSSION . JUNE 27, 1972 The Zrnxing aad planning Co~iasion of the City of West Universitq P1ace convened in regulax seasion at the Citq Sall, Tuesday, 3une 27, 1972 with the following membera.present: Chairman~ffinea, preaiding; Piembers Caldwell and Dahlin. The Chairmsa opened Che meeting and stated this meetiag constituted the xegular meeting for the moath of Julq inasmuch ae the xegular maeting date of the firet Tueaday of each month falls on July 4th, which is a national holidaye Citfzena of We~t Univereity appeared at the meeting to diacuss meane of cloaing streeta to restrict through traffic cn residential etreeta ou campletion of the "m~ni-f~eewaq" which will bring tra£fic onto Biasonaet at Edloe Street. Mr. Hiaea opeaed the discussion by iatroducing tha membera of the Zoning and Planning Cvmmis- aioa and making aa opening etatemeut advising those pzesant that the Commiasion !s in the psoceas of studying all periphesal property in tha city using the receat Caudill Rawlett and Scott report recently completed for the cityo Se said traffic ie a con9lderation in the report, but that Caudill Rowlett and Scott made no attempt to give a solutioa. He stated this problem is aimiliar to the Brompton area where traffic from the recentiq deve~oped apartment complex feeds into Bellaire Boulevsrd and into the citq and also related to probleme on Wr-.slapan whieh rasulted in the cloaiag of Academy Street by the City Commissioa. He ad~ised that the Coanaission atarted their review and study in the southwest co~ne~ of the city and was working around the outaide areas. He told the group the Cormmiasion would taks no official actioa at this meeting and that when action w~e taken a recoaQnendation would be made to the City • Commiesion who in turn would take proper aceir~n for remedies, as the Zoning and The follawing are statements from residents: ~ Plannirag Commission had no power to euact legislatian. He alao~stated that•the Zoniag and Planaing Commiasion is not the only ageney in~rolved ia a problem of this natu~ce - it would include the Fixe Depa~tment, Police Departmenta Street Depar4~ment, utilities~ etc. . Mr. Flovd Murvh9. 3515 Albans: In this area we are talking abaut, we have about 76,000 people in Greeaway Plasa. The "mini-€reeway" is neaYly completed. Tt~eir interest ia Co get as many people into the sYea as poseible. Peop2e are goiag to find the ahortest way bome. Theae atreete (Mercex, Sewanee, RuCge~s) do not have aide- walke sad the streets cannot take thia type of traffic. There ara "No Trucka Al1aw- ed"~~aigas•(Mercer). but Bekias trucics uae theee streets all the time. All of a audden we are goiag to be floaded with cars. Our situation ie a matter of concern prior to the time it bec~mee a holocauat. Once people become accustamed to a route they will tranel the aame track. The traffic will empty to Poor Farm Ditch and the people will have to go east or weet, os north or south onto our atreets. We have lote of children ia the area which we already have to protect from Bekins~trucks turning around and fast traffic and we cannot tolerate 1/8 of 76,000. ~1e would like to petition relief for a aituation that has became very detrimenta]. to our area. (During discuesion, Mr. Murphy also stat~d that the churahes in the area uee the r~aident'e drivewa~-e a,nd everywhere el.se an Su,~d$ys for parki.ng .and if they called the Police Department evexytime they blockad a drive~way that it would be done' conetantly.) . ~ Dr. Rufus Stanley,.3606 Albans: a live on the northwest corner of Albaas and Mercer. I agcee with Mra ~rphy and althou~ I wauld aot like to speak for Ntro Trautweia, W~ have discussed the advisabilitg of guggesting to you gentlemen to consider a barsier on or ab~ut our baelc property lines acroas Mercer. We are not fully cammitted to a cul-de-eac, but if a barrier could be erected in the mid part ef the block behind Albane.oa Bissonaet vn Mercer aad "dead end" signs, we felt thia might ba the beat solutioa to control any traffic prablem. I would be meet williag to do anythiag within reason to help with maintenance of such a barrier. We do fee~ there ie a real problem-and feel there is going to be a severe traffic problem. (Later coaversation - Dr. Stanley said they were selfish because of the children and he would like to reiter~r~~ the bax~ier at mid-block rather than ths Bisaonnet intersection.) Mra. Thomas E. Trautwein= 3520 Albans: In conversation with Mr. Whitt Johnson, he said the problem could probably be controlled with Oa~-Way stgeete. I think in doing so ~ we Would be prmris~ing them a thoroughfare and a haadier route to drive through. Mr. Johnson mantioned that it would be unfair to the etudente going to Lamar Bigh Schaol .to cut off their streets. Waslayan aad Bnffalo go through smd they would have no pro- ~ blem. Believe me. I knaw whea ita 3:15 because of the High School studeats speed- ing dawn my atreet sad running atop eigne.. Theq need to be on other streets. _.;~ ~.~~~~~. • ~_ :: . .~ Zoning and Planning C~ssioa, June 27,.1972, Page ltao • • Mr. Bob R. Johneon, 3514 Albans Road: I~vsat to emphasi~e we are looking at thie whole area. Theee streets were;primarily designed for accesa to through streets and not to tske care of through traffic. These are secondarq st~eetse I do not kaow what Caudill Rawlett and Scott has submitted in regard to these streets. but I would like to petition you to close or deny acceas from Greeisaay Plaza through these secondary atreets. Mrs.~Bob R. Johason. 3514 Alba:ea Road: We lived on Seminole before maving to WeBt IIaivereity Place. The traffic was i~nease. We dared not let our children out to plsy - oae child was lait on a bicycle, always havirig minor autompbile accidante. We thought when we mo~ved to West Univereity Place we were getting away from it. I would appreciate any consideratioa for mothers and their concem for their children. 6Je ara tallcing about a good comm~mity over all - this is the reaeon We do not ~aat it to~xva dawn becauae of traffic, etc. - Mre, Ha~r L. Britton. 3609 A~bane Roads: I think we ehould ~etain the flavor of West University Place - maintsin this ~ttracCive relatively highly controlled area. I thialc we have to look for what the ultimate situatioa is going to be. They do not obery the atop eigaa aa~a. The traffic has increased so m~ach ia tlae laat 2 or 3 years. We would like to main~aia the eavironment, M~a. Rufue S~ 3b06 Albans Road: The propertq behind ua ia for sale. So obvioualy he ~xpecte to get a great deal of money fo~ ito Wi~h the barricade at on~ alley, eo to spealc,'it will help our problem but give accesa to thie property on • Bisaonnet s~ that wha~ever goes in ~he~e we can live with it comfor~bly. Mrs. Trautwein: I kaaw nothing o~ atreet pla:miag, but in the newer aubdivieions liks Maplewood and Meyerlaad~ there is a maze of cul-de-~~cs. I am sure ~he garbage ~ea, fire~n. policemsn , etc. get into these areas. These newer ~rsae took ateps to etop through traffic fro~- going through the residential areas. Mzs.~W. Harold Sellers~ 3420 Albaas Road: We ha~e aa awful lo~ of de~ad ead atreets aad the Fire Department and Police Departman~ and garbe~a m~n deal with these. I think wa can work it out with these departmenta. Please don't think of it as a problan juet for Albaas. They ase going to be going a11 through the city. Aad I am petitioning yaa sa a mothear of chlidzea Co~help by any ~ to stop Che through tsaffic. ~.. - _I~_Cal~~ Our,podstioo in ~egard to Ca~adi.].1 Rvwlatt and Scott (held by this Ca~ai~eioa and the City officia].s) is.that their repost was inteaded ae a tool for the Zoaaing sad Plsading Co~ieeioa and Caudill~Rnwlett and Scott has ao ~urisdiction over what we would do.: We.are uadar no obligatioa to take Caudill Rowlett and. ~ Seott's advica. ~I thiak thoae who kao~w me probably kaow mq persanal feelinga. I cennot say aaything other than We recogu.i.ze thera is a problem. I li.ve on Belmant and we are beginning to get the seme thing from the other aide. I think there is no question you have a problem. The question is haw to coYrect it. Mr. Hiues: Mr. Trautwein meationed oa~~ ~w:ay :et~eets and barriers. Tisc~re ars other contsol devicee - no.ttiras, atght haad tugns, terminating eouth bound:..traffic aad vice'veroa. Weslayan is .ttie firet througli north-south s~rset eaet of Loop 610, • .next ie Buffalo Speedway, then Ktrby. W~.ar's:a fuaael for traffic off~the south- .we~t:Freeway. We are.~Iso going to bave to face up to aomething along Bellaire ~Boulevasd. There are aiagle-family residences which face on Biseoanet. Wa_hav~ to be cogaiaeat of these people - the.zights of the Fire Departmant and~Police Depa~ctment need 1~ be etudied. We have•to•find a solueion that hae balanca. Yark- .ing . for churches and .placse on Biseoaaet~ 'ie ~~.anothsr situation. We hava to offer ~ these people serviae ae, well as ths re~st~ of ~ the city. Mr. Bob Johaeau: The puoblem is a fundaaieatal_oae - whether we are going~to allaa ~-tba~secoadary etreete to carry t1:e trafgic or direct them to the one to carYy the traffic on the main arteries usi~g major ~veaues of moving traffic through. Whitt Johneon, CitS- MaaaAer: As I see it.our ;~rimary responsibility is two-fold. 1) to you people, aad 2) ta ecpeditiously m~ve the traffic out of the citq. I do not thiak there will ever be that much tiaffic genarated. Our principal pur- posa is to look out for your aeeds aad secondly to mave traffic. I personally favor cul-de-eacs. I don't like barricades or barriers. Thare axe maay solutioas besidea just blocking streeta -~.n all fairnese to all other people - Police Depart~ent, Fire Departa~ent, garbage people~ etc. We do have a personal interest :~, . ~:_•_ . ~ :. ,. ,'' • '.Zoning aad~Planning Commieaion, • . •. June 27, 1972 - Page Three ~ ia youi_prob~ems aad will do everythiag poaeible to eolve ito Cost is another coasideration. It takee $2,000 to $1,~00 ~o put in barriexs and/or cul-de-saca and ttien.there is the mainCeuance of them. We have had a~equest foz attention at Biesoaaet and Wroxtoa. We are not going to dsive them into your homeso I don'~ thinlc you'are going to see this type of traffic for ~he neut two yeara. Mr. Hinea: From newspaper accouats, mid 1973 is the pro~acted date for the completion of the "mini-freeway". Air. Dahlin: I live on Suaset aad am qour n~ghbor and have a 3 1/2 yesr old daughter. We caanot op~rate in a vacuum and appr~ciate yo~ar coming and ea- plai.aing your ~tie~ws - aad appreciate hearing from qou either by letter or by personal appearance. We appreciate hearin~ your viewe. We canao~ legielate, but are coming to a point where we can make recommeadations to citq officials. Mr Boyca A. Foremen, 3503 Aibans Road: I~ seems there is a~emendoue amount of problema to the aolving of problema. What is the normal aequence? Mr. Hiaea eaplained that tlae Zoning and Planaing Coam~iseion recoammends to the City Co~.saion where action is taken by that bodyo Mr. Johnson e~plaiaed that tha next aormal atep would be the pasaing of aa ordinanc~ aad that thie couid ueually be a~camplished in about 60 days af~er fira~ receiving recommendatioas. The question w8s asked how citizena wonld knaw when ordinaa~ces on sub~ects were being discuse~i aad the disposition of same. • Mr. Johasoa advised that she Soutl~eat Argn~ ~ea the official paper of the city, aad that a11 Commission ~aes$ings weso cover~d by the flouaton Chroncile and ususlly the Houstoa Post, aad that aa Ageada wae po~ted on the bulletin board in ehe Citq Sall each Thursday preceding Commission meetinga which were each 2nd aad 4th Moadays of each month. ' Mr. Hines: We are doing our best to arrive at the best solution and make the beet recom~mendation ~o the City Coa~miesioa. We apprecia~e your coming. All the vieitore left the meetiug at thie ~ime. City Attorney ~ha~r].es Cockrell aad City Piaaager Whitt Johason appearad before the Zoaning an.d Plaaaing. Comtniesion at the requeat of the Citq Cammissioa to requeat recammen~dations for icegulatioas covering the fo].lawing: 1. Cireselar drivewaqa. 2. Yaving or hard surfacing front yards for purpose of storing or parkiag of au~omobiles, tsailer~, boata, etc. 3. Definition coaceraing what constitutes sa enclosed front porch. After a diecusaioa with the City Attorney and Ci~y Maaager, they left the meeting and the Coamniasion continued the discvssian of the abone items. The follawing/xecoma~eadations to the City Commiesian, at their reques~, fram • ~ the Zoaing aad Planning Commieeioa for amending certain aepecta of Zoning Ordi- asnce No. 111: l. CIRCULAit DRIVEWAYS: It is recommnended that circular driveways be allawed. 2. HARD-SURFACED_1+tATERTAL USEA FOR COVSRING FRONT YARDS: The Zoniag and. Plannin~ Conmoiasion does not feel ttiat re8tric- tions should be placed an the aurfacing o£ qarda. The Co~iesiou recaaQnende that an ordinance be drafted to ea- clude the parkiag of trucks, busee, boaes, trailers, motor hames, mobile homss, or cempers. e.~ccept behind the front building line. Automobiles ehae~ld ba allvwed to park at any time in the paved area or on a circular driveway. ~ :~ . ,` • • . Zoaing asnd Piaaniag Con~issian, June 27, 1972-Page Four • At thia time ~he Zaning and Plaaning Coaanission ia not ready to make a recommendation conceraing a definition og au enclosed fYOnt porch. In discusaian. we have made the . follcwing observations: W~ define an open porch as a roofed area open on at leaet two or more sides, With li~tle o~c ao structure betweea supporting members and baeically open fram floor ~o ceiliag. A ecreened porch which mae~s t~e above criteria would be cmneidered an open porch. ~ The additioa of lattica wogk, baffles ox luuve~ed bliade would not r~e ths porch fram the ~~opea'~ category. How~reg,whea the porch ia enclosed with perma- neat wells, windows, or g3.~ass ~alousiee to the exteat that it can be us~d as a year-rottnd habitable sp~ce, it ceaaea to be a porcti and becomes part of the reaideace. IIpon motion dnly made, a~coaded and carried, ~he mee~ing ad~ouzned. . ~ ~