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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01101978 ZPC Minutesu °- REGULAR MEETING ' ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION JANUARY 10, 1978 The Zoning and Planning Commission of the City of West University Place convened in regular session on Tuesday, January 10, 1978, 7:30,p.m., with the following members present:. Chairman Norton, presiding; Members Casey, LaCook and Nuffer. Mr. Johnson was absent. The Chairman ascertained from the secretary that proper notice of meeting had been posted at the City Hall three days prior to the schedule meeting. Mr. Percy E. Gentlee, Trustee, St. Andrews' Presbyterian Church,. 5308 Buffalo Speed- ., way, appeared before the Commission and presented the following request: l.i'.`, C; "January 10, 1978 `"'~ Zoning Commission City of West University Place Re; Lot 2, Block 90, West University Second Addition, City of West University Place, Harris County, Texas. more commonly know as 3303 Bissonnet Gentlemen: On March 1, 1977 our church acquired. ownership of the captioned property. We now, herebym respectfully request that said property be re-zoned to permit our use of it for church: purposes. Cordially yours, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church /s/ Percy E. Gentle, Trustee" Mr. Gentle advised that.: this. is a large piece of property and that one-half of it is a heritable paradise, with trees, bushes and areas .for picnics and games. He state there is an existing single-family residence located on the. property at this time and in the future they plan to remodel it to make it usable for church school., youth meetings and other type groups. The remainder of the pro- perty will be.landscaped and: kept up for recreational and social activities of the membership. Mr, Gentle said it was. his understanding that constitutionally no action of the city was necessary, but that they wanted to be good neighbors and advise the city of their plans. In answer to a question he advised that... the property is 150 ft, z_200 ft, and. located on a map single family dwellings adjacent to or near the property. Motion by Mr. Casey, seconded by Mr. Nuffer, that the letter of request be accepted with the understanding and agreement from the church that the. use to which the pro- petty will be put is an integral part of the church's operation; that the property cannot be used for commercial purposes; that. the .property will still be subject to the present single.-family residential zoning if and when it is not used for church purposes; and that any remodeling, change of use, or parking must conform with all city ordinances. ~~ Voting Aye: All Voting No: None The Chairman as instructed to advise St. Andrews' Presbyterian Church of this action by letter. Mr. Gentle asked to whom questions of Sunday parking on Buffalo Speedway should be addressed and he was advised to contact City Traffic Engineer David Steitle. Mrs. G. G. Lawrence appeared before the Commission in connection with application for the construction of townhouses on Lot 2, So.partion of Lot 3 Block 41 West University Place 1st. Addition and was advised that the preliminary plans had been withdrawn by Gregg Watkins, architect,. when advised they did not meet Guidelines of the Zoning and Planning Commission for preliminary presentations .for the construction of townhouses. Mem- ber of the Commission discussed requirements briefly with Mrs. Lawrence who is co- owner with her husband of the property. The following letter from Mr. Whitt Johnson, City Manager, was presented to the Commission for consideration: "December 13, 1977 Mr. James Norton, Chairman Zoning and .Planning Commission City of West University Place 3312 University Boulevard Houston, Texas 77005 Dear Jim: Mr. Niles Ruckstuhl, 3915 Villanova, appeared before. the City Commission at its. regular meeting on December 12, 1977, to present plans for the proposed construc- tion of a new residence on property abutting Poor Farm Ditch south of Duke Street, being Lot 8B, Block 26, West University First Addition. Mr. Ruckstuhl advised that Mr. Alfered E. King, owner of the property was also in- terested in construction of a new residence on Lot 8A. There is no means of ingress or egress to these lots and it was proposed that the existing Virginia Street right-of-way be used for the proposed construction of Phase One of Independence Park. Mr. Ruckstuhl agreed that Independence Park is a worthwhile project and he and Mr. King have considered the alternative of dedicating right-of-way through the west portion of Mr. King's property which abuts Virginia Street. 1 A street of 27' width, with perhaps a cul-de-sac terminating at the most southern part of Mr. King's property should be considered. The question of the availability of utilities and easements should also be taken into consideration. Currently it is the intent of the City Commission to proceed with plans for the development of Independence Park. .The City Commission took official`, action to refer Mr. Ruckstuhl's,plan to the Zon- ing and Planning Commission for study and recommendation. One of the considera- tions to be determined is whether or not Mr. Ruckstuhl~s plan to construct a home could be accomplished as well as the development of the Independence Park project. For anyone to develop any of the property abutting Virginia Street depends largely on arrangements made for ingress and agress onto the property. Whether or not the Zoning and Planning Commission desires to look at only Mr. Ruckstuhl's plan or the future development of the .entire vacant property area ,~ abutting Poor Farm Ditch should be taken into consideration, i.e., would it be l,rj more desirable. to consider a master deve opment plan for the entire area? d `'~ The City Commission would like for you to study these matters at the earliest possible date. Q Mr. Ruckstuhl will appear before your Commission at your next most convenient. meeting date. Yours very truly /s/ Whitt. Johnson City Manager" After a discussion of the various .aspects involved in the request for a reeommenda- tion from the Zoning and Planning Commission, including private ingress and egress, legal issues concerning Virginia Street right-of-way, .proposed Independence Park, Phase I plans, the following action was taken: Motion by Mr. LaCook, seconded by Mr. Casey, that the Zoning and Planning Commis- sion recommend to the City Commission that city officials should not consider Mr. Ruckstuhl's plan to develop individual lots.- After the development of Inde- pendence Park,-the entire area adjacent to the park should be studied. Voting Aye: A1T Voting No: None Motion by Mr. Casey, seconded by Mr. Nuffer, that Rules of Procedure for the Zoning and .Planning Commission be adopted with the following amendments: ARTICLE V. DISPOSTION. SEction 1 should read: "A majority vote of a quorum shall constitue a decision, either for or against any application or motion before the Commission. The vote of each member present on each decision shall be recorded with. the decisions." ARTICLE XII. ADVISE. Section 1 should read: "No informal requests for advise, or moot c{uestions, will be considered by the. Commission. Any advise,. opinion or information given by a Commission members, or any offi- cial or employee of the City of West University Place, shall not be binding." Voting Aye: All Voting No: None Minutes of the regular meeting of the Zoning and Planning Commission on December 13, 1977 were approved as corrected. With no further business to come before the Commission, upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the meeting adjourned at 9:40 p,m. ATTEST: ,. .___ _ .-.~ ~ .~ ~~~cretary 1 1