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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02201973 ZPC Minutes :3,r;C:SSr;~ .:STING ZCNIiyG ti.Iai~ PLi:a~7Il~il~ CCI~~~:~SSIGId r.BBRul~B.Y 20, 1973 The ~orzing axed Fla:lning Commissioh. of the City of :Test University Flare cone- versed in recessed. session at the Com=m:.rity Building, Tuesday, I'ebrua.ry 2p, 1973, 7:3C p.m., faith the follo~rng members rresent: C~airTrian Flines, F~residing; I°iem- t:erS ~:. li• ~i:lrti:":C1CmeW, a.nd Ifs Allen eatilerby. v'ir• 11.G132 d i1GJi17.??clxld ;'Tr T'T• Teter. Li~sco?rb were abse;.t. :otion by a~x. ~~eatherby, :>e;condec ~:;y I"rr. Ba.rtliclesnew, that all letters received addressed to tI<e ~~~ning and Planning Ccmmzssinn concerning tl~e rezoning of Area 3C be incorporated into .arid made a. part of the ~:inutes for future consideration, and 'that an~r^vne CIES1.r1Tib tC rGa~ t@"1 c°j{'t;r t:e me°t].'_I~ '.Ytajr d0 SG. +Toting xiye: x111 iio`tizrg :30::cne T?^.e minutes of tale Gon? ~~ :'~xd rlannin.g Cc;Mmi scion, r ebI^liary 1?, 19 73, were presented and a.cticn deferred on same unta.l. the next regular meeting of the ~onit~ ai'~d Planning Commission, 'arch 6, 1973. .`offers was duly roads, seconded axed carried. to recess the recessed meeting until the conclusi on of the Public Bearing called fcr 7:!„ r.m, Motion way duly rndde, seconded and carried to open the x=ublic :fearing for con- sideration of rezoning Area 3C, hereinafter described:: Lots 1, 2, 3, 1~, ~, 6, Block 1 i°.'est University Flare 1st Addition, as originally platted, City of ?^;sst 'v'n:~versity Flare, Texas Lots 1, 2, 3, !t, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 9, 11, 12, 13, 11.~,1~, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Block 1 Bello Court Addition, as originally platted, City of ?°tirest University glace, Texas Lots 1, ?_, 3, !~, ~, ~, 7 , ~', ?, I0, 11, 12, 13, 11~, l~, 16, 17, 1R, 1.9, 20, Block 2 Belle Court Addition, as oribina1__ly platted, City of ~rlest University :'lace, Texas Lots 1, 2, 3, 11, ~, ~, 7, ", 9, 10, Block 3 Belle CcU.rt dditicn, as originally platted, City of nest University Place, Texas Lots 1, 2, 3, !~, K, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Block !~ Eelle Court Addition, as originally platted, City of ?°:'est university "lace, Texas 1 1 1 ~~ Tlie chairman ascertained from the secretary treat T3otice of Public hearing was published in the Southwestern Argus, January 31, 1973, by Affadavit of Publica- tion signed by R. u. Preston, Managing Director of the South~?estern Argus, which publication has been designated by the City Commission as the official newspaper for the City of Jest University Place for 1973. The secretary also ascertained that Nctice to Property Owners witriin 200 ft. of the properties under considera- ~Lior~ had been :nailed January 30, 1973. notion by i2r. cJeatherby, seconded by ;r. Bartr.olomew, that the CtuDILL ROvZETT SCOTT ~"raST UIUBR.:~iTy T'LACL 19;1 LAUD U5E ti;D CIrCu~~TIOTv rLlu~ be made an exhibit of this meeting and bound with the official minutes of the meeting. [`+ Voting Aye; All Doting No : None CV CO The Chairnari introduced each member of the Gering and Pla~.nin; Commission w1-1o wa.s ~ present ~*no identi°ieu. themselves and stated where the f li ved in tree city. le ~ also paned the two absent members and sta+ed T~.ere t'r~ey lived. The procEdure to be followed was outlined by tY:e Chairman. tiSr. Hines said he had been asked to announce that none of the members of the City Commission l:ad a.tter~ded the two previous Public hearings and were not present at this iiea.ring, because they felt that in tY:e event cf recommendations from the Lcning and °l~nning Ccm;nis:ion, the City Co:n~nission in turn called Public learings, it would be in tl.e best interests of the cit~r for r~.embers of ~i:he Oita- Ccmmission to Near the views when presented to them as a. body. The following is a_n introductory statement from the Chairrrdan of the Zoning and Plai7ring Ccmmission: t~In January, 1971,.., the City Commission of Vest University Place, Texas consisting of :ayor John N. T;eighbors, and Commissioners Der. E. ha.rris, r red E. riughes, Gharles Ii. Underwood, Jr., and Paul ?n . ti•?allin, Jr. appointed for a two year period the Zoning and Planning vo~nnissian cons~.~ting of L. B. Bricker, T. G. Caldwell, Roland Dahlin, and H. Allen "•Jeatherby, and L. Gene 1-ines. The Zoning and Planning Commission ~~as c:zG.r~;ed with the responsibility, in addition to its normal duties, of closely-exa~nin~.ng the current land uses and zoning in the city, with particular emphasis to be placed on those areas on tl-~e periphery of our city, and after such examination to mal~o~recoTnmendations to the City Commission related to our findings. In pursuit of these matters upon recomraendati.on from tiie Zoning and Planning Commission, the fir:ra of Cauuill ~cirlet~: Ccutt was erlgaed bar the City Conunission to conduct a. la.ad use si~rve,y, a:nd, rely zng their findings to other information, that is, the changes ir. areas surrounding '3est University Place, traffic flow t'rrou~;l: a..d around our citar, ~,erieral ~~atterns cf devele~;ment and change within the city, to tren prepare for the tJity Com;nissior: a report of their findings and recom:nendatior_s concernin_ti them. Tile primary purpose of the report was to provide the Zoning and Planning Co-:m~_ission with a tool to be used by tr~em to help arrive at tentative recomrnend~.tions for change, if any, concerning. our city. 1}aring the r~eriod in *~hich the report was beir.~, *~repa.red, the ~cr_ing and Planning C~~mm~ssion received ar. increasing ru:nber of requests to rezone lots in the periph- eral areas, and. it wa.s evid~~x?t tl~a.t nerliaps so°ne changes were perhaps desirable, but that such cl;anges could not and should not be done on a. niece-meal basis and that any action should be deferred. until a comprehensive analysis could be :Wade. 1 `rhe above mentioned report from Cav.dill Fo~~*lett :cott, entitled CITY Or ?~,~T i,'JIJ~,FtStTY PIr1C.E 1971 T..~~tiD uSE nrvD CIRCULA.TICN PLA'_`: ?;Tas acce*~ted by_ trie city approxima.tel;;* one ~ea.r ago and since that time has been availablE for review and use at tI.E City all and has been on sale for those who wish to purchase a. copy. '~7iti1 the aid of tt,e C.w study, the Coning a:~.d °lanning Com~~:ission his d~;voted a ;,Tear to studying lard use within t..e city *.ti*itll particular e*rmzasis on periph- eral areas. '.,e have not sought char,~ge as a goal, but wish to maintain the city as z~=e know it, to reinferee .ts a.ttributes and ~:orerully to redirect :trends which could result in future proble;~ areas a.n tr.e city, and it is our tentative c;elief that to meet this objective, some zoning; changes may be desirable. :oefore shu.ring with you these tentative tl:cughts, a brief review of tY~e sequence of events following tcnig~t~s meeting should be cf interest to you. After listening to each other, hopefully wits: patience, forebearing and understandings the LoniYlg and planning Commi ssi.on can tai;e twe basic courses of action, Heiler of w.~icil ~:-~_11 '::e done tonight. 1. ~otifur t~.e City Commission that after t~"e public z=paring no action will be taken tc r. eco:~ rend ,pursuing the :matters being disc~~ssed, cr 2. Zecomrnend to the City Commission ti~at a portion of, or all the items considered tonig~lt be considered by the Gity Commission. The City Coma ssior: oars, "fin the event the lattar situation prevails taSse two co~.rses of action, as I ur~derst,nd it; 1. review t~ze recomme.ldation and reject it, or ~. ~~ccept the recommendat2on and a.s required by statute concer^ing changes in zoning; call a public hearing for their review of the recomT^.endation. This public Tearing by the City Ccmmission is ?:el.d jointly with the Zoning a~;d ~~'].annin~ l+0`n~i17.SSion. ~.t its ccnclusion the Zonir_g and Planning Ccm~n.isGion care eit~er vote. to rescind' or modify their original reco:~mendatiorz or vote to a.ffir:n t.,eir ~revicus action. Depending on the action so taken by the Coning and Planrin~ Ccmriissicn, the City Commission can tien, or at a later date, vote to reject tine reco-~..~erda- tion or va;e to ?.ccept it and call for tc drafting of an ordiranc~; amending the existing ordinance to effect ti:e c'_.a1~ge or changes. .s OTti~, to t:a ~. sp cif u.(:.S of V©il Z.~}it• .,,E nave tentative recomme~lc« tiaras to mare for your hearing. ?,.'e .la.ve studied the entire city, e_.~p?lasizing the neri.-~1ery. O~,r concept is a cors~_deration of andreco~~~ner~c~ation for a total elan, but because of tiie anticipated wide s~,read and gratif;~Tin~ interest on t~:e Hart of t'r~e citizens, tale Zoning, and Planning Ccf~}-~.ission felt that a series of meetings should be veld primar. ~_1y because of the size of cur meeting dace and tr!e c:ifferent asrects of th e area. ?'~eing studie~~. icn.ieht's co,lsidera.ti.cn is a portion of those proper- ties benerally descr'.r;cd us being ~,c~znded or_ tl.e F?eGt by neon ~~ ar<^. Ditch, on the north by Mason ,reet, anc~ ~: li"ne e~:teruing fro~^ its intersection with .'+~:.afarE'~± ~;'s"t bctwe.n ,:,rlein and l:aSan t0 .ii.rby Drive, an t1C 25~ by lii.rby ~$ Lrive and on trio south by Bellaire Boulevard. Tyre specific area to be disc~issed tcright is bounded by Brcrnpton Road ors t.:e west, Casor. on tra r_crti, and a line extending from its in,ersection witr rti~aneforest east between ~~erle~.n and Cason to iilrbTr Lrive ^iz the east, a12d ve1183rt; C:'_ t18 SQllti. Z'}liS is approximately the east4l/3 portion of tre area fir:-t descriLod. «~arings for t e err=or areas were meld the last two nrecedin~ Tuesday r_igrrts, namely February 6 and 13, 1973. As stated in tr:e rublic notice and i`r Letters to property owners, we are setting forth for disc~~ssion the consideration of ctiier t.:a.n single family use for prop- ert~es in this zrea. Properties ti~tii ~.ellaise Bou.leva.rd frcr:ta~;e will be considered :'or ~.:_se ,as Bpecial beside=~tia~., ccnsistin~; of fa~a_l;;T or tow:~'oTases and Business ~o °; ~-a1 ff a~l'i.~~; , f ~ ' i ~tituticns, medical clinics or and :'ro... ,s.~_o_. o -- .ce b• .~ °s ire^r~,c~a.y r,~ ~+ • ~ • • • ry i_ red a::;od uses, it ' s ,;:~o foEl~.i~~ C~' t:a„ 1`.?;1-?3 { orm Gonn.n6 and Tla:_~nlno ~omm~.SSi.on ~ brat so-n • mi. ~imum lank area for c.;,,relcpment of o_.,her than single family usage should be ,:>et, p~~r~ap> Lmaller tY.an tide ~*'~,~~~ cc~~aro fcet figure mentioned in ~ t.re ?Ze~.rirg of i~ ob~~ar;,~~ ~tiz for area. 3E, because of the shallop*or. depth of t.ie V Bellaire -ronerty i:~ ?C, f:~r projects in t?ie business and. rrcfessioral office V .. building cat^~ory, ar_d that` in tiro e;rent of trre to~r-ihcuse dEVelonment a minimum area. of development s'_iould a1_so be e:;trbl.r.r~~:i, an a.tt~v~7pt to ccrtrol the quality of development. ir.e Commission a=a.s stror_ly ir? favor of the mandatory separation of tilESe categories from a s~.rrle family L'se, by mens walls, fences, plaxiti7g areas. and/cr :~y on spaces. The Commission also felt tY:at in the event of potential develc?~ment c.f laxger than tyre existing prorerty depti^~ a.s -Matted, tYia.t 'aeon review, consideration might be given to tyre closing off of~ a. mi.,imum of a one block portion of `t.'erlein to enable more comprehensive development to take place. This wo•~ld obviousl;;r rn,:~u_i.re tyre "biccking-up'p of smaller l'lndivi dually o~~ed tracts. This aspect of a *~ossible <?evelc meat poi:its i:n tiro fact c;~:~.~reSvad by ir.:~aillin i:: t7re public ~earin~; of i,ebruar~; h, 1973, that zoning ordinarc~;s are per. missive' b;; ns•.ture, rot ob~~.~atcr~~ and drat tre radividur.l oropertyr o~rrers trould hold tiie lcey to such development potential. If they did pct z `vii to r~ecome a par. t ~.~ ~' such deve~ o^mvnt c.rey sitrmlZT ret2:.~ n otlmorsiiip. ~ A _r fro it~a Ye ti.e ~cnin = and T'lannin•~ ..omm~.ssycr~ would co*~- Properties with '~.~Er ~ _, o ~ . sider placing i. two potential use categories; Use by Right, consisting of single family 2nd toU,mrrc~ases with a •n:a~m~~r~ amount of 1=~,nd use ir~volvea in towr~irouse develo-~ment air3 Use by Review - a cstciora• rll~T+Tin hose uses descry ~er~ far Bellaire Bou1~-.vard prorerty, but only unori review aru after ~neetin~; certain crag:ria - being cor:ti;u.~us witYr Bellaire.; ~,~~.ile°Yard ~,°onerty, adhering to screen- ' tend a.llok,in= no ve:.icul4r ~traf- i nb 3:ii: set '~,acr restr~~ti~;rs tc. ',~: os~a~i;_sir~a, °it; _°rG'~1 Or ~~ ~.TF'r'e~l"'~ ::itrcc;t for "`rO L-'rtiES so deVEln?~ed. Thecae axe the basics - a perhaps "too long arr~_vng at tiie point" t~~pe of readir_g, :gut a statement"I, as ci~airnzan of the ~or_ing and Planning Commission have taken the Y~erogative to make. ~s you ma~• or ma~~ not know, tiaTo °nmbers Qf -~Lha current cum:scion ti•*er_e not involved in a:.~y of the discussion. in for~mzlatirg these state- meets cr in arriving at t.ris stage ir. trio whole matter. Gee of thorn is here tonight and he i s free ±.o sneak if he so ~*isiies. Tyre 1971-73 board spent many Yrours arriving at this +~oint-an€i most of tiie rroposal set fort~i represents a compromise of stands by all Five pECple ~_nvolved. I personally wish to thank I'Lr. L. B. Bricker and y~r. ?~. C. Caldwell.' past members of the Commission, for the many Hours they spent these past two drea.rs in helping formulate triese ideas and if trey are ^rESent tonight and wish tc spcalc would urge tne-n to do so. If any m~;mber o:P the current cemmissi.on wisies to enlarge carne trrese statements, I wo'u1d ask diem tc now speak. after a ;emotion for tie record of these TM!~l:~.tes is acted uz~on and the Catii has teen taken by all wY<~ Irish to s~ eak tonight, sTe ~;~ll hear from tr~o~a citizens. who Tn'iS:a tC. upeaci i^ favor O~ tii~ '?rQ'~!'Si t i~?1 a.s SOt fCrth 1'? tiB official ??Ut71iC :.once ." `lotion by i'r. ~~reatherb;, secondef' bar `_r. La,rtholomew, that the following motion be extracted from the minutes of the ~+Si:ii rah and Pla.x~;l~.ng Commis;- c~ of Jar~ua.ry 2, '- i3 and ~rYa.de a cart of tie~~^ -^-~, :sites: ;';,otion ~,~r ~x. L^.:1 n, seco^::ed r;r ~r. %aldwe?1, that the coning o.ld ~ c~,lz"li.~ tivmml.SUiO ;C'1'.~ ?. S~rieL Of T''.'~>11C ii@2rin~S t0 COn•- sider clans for each of t.e nerinc~ral areas identified on pate 33 C° tiLCi ui'UUlT.L ~C':+r. i : uGiT ~' yu~} U~TIV~,.~i:TT ~ ~~ ~~ ln~l Tu1dL i;CU :,iu.u vikCu?.~Ti'~iv PL%;d and furt;ler defined in the letter dated iL'L:.'i1tC'r 9, 1~7c'' "t0 ic.j`C1r cT„~" ~ ?:. i?eiglltorS, in OreDar2tJ_oXi Cf formal recc~± -.er~da.tiors to }:.;: ~rosen-ted to the City ComVnissio::. ire?ting ~':yt'° ill ~Cting iy0: i~Oner" Voting xye : X11 Voting rdo : .gone Chairman administered oath to all those in audience desiring to sneak. The follo:,ring statements were made by persons i'CR the rezoning: "wood evening, gentlemen of tiie Zoning Board, Ladies and Gecxtle~ner.. N:~r name is r:ar~ iiealST Butcher. I own, with my husbax,d, Richard, tiie property at 230 Bel- Boulevard on the east side of Brom~ton Road which is our ulace of resi- dence. I also ewn the property located at 33x1 rim?lerst wt. whicr. was mfr child- ..oo C. ome. I moved to 'v7est Bniversity rlarv in 1935 and left to live in Fious-ton in 1940, at the time of my marriage. Beveri y~:?rs ago I moved tack to ?°'ost University Blace to cur present ^d~'ress with my husband and our eight children. iwcw, I ~~a±lt to yell you without mincing ~;ords just exactly why we nurcYiased this particular house. It wa.s a bargain - - - friends, it wa.s dowr;ra_ght cheap.. Just prior to finding our house i~~re :gad l.ooke;d at homes on other streets in the area at a.:~gii prices. So we t~-ere amazed wiiert we found such a spacious home at so reasonable a mice. Cf co'.zrse wc~ knew what the reason for tree low price was - - it's locati;,r_ on such a busy thrro-a~gilfare made it ~~ndesirable a.s a residence. But we needed it and so ~*e bought i.t arld have enjoyed ever^,y~ti~ing about it except tYie constant swoos.ling of tie cars, ,buses end t?n?cks that pass 24 hrs. a day - - - and the piercing screa:;•ns of tine sirens of emergency vehicles and lee's not forget the emissions from. these vehicles. ~Ylei Ile Wi._":C s blowing ~°rom th~: south, if you '.lappen to be outside in the front ;-ard, you. really get about all of tyre eXhaust fumes j'QU. t4~nt tC 5i;iell. I ~7aS 2"'i3:Z~~'`' at file number Of people I ~+~et after ~1'e ~cve: irere zi.;o Knew m,y. house. Tre usual co:nmont Uri.: scrething like this: "Ch, I know your house. :.e looked a.t it when we were house hunting and just loved it, rout decided that we didn't want to live in the Boulevard." I understand that our hawse had beer on the marYcet on and off for at least two years before it sold. '~de never dot used to the constant variety of noises t:at cause us to cur. to tlit; window whenever we :rear s~.rens, screec?~ing brakes and t'rle cruncYiing sound of cru.°~plin~; -~~eta1 and breaking glass. Te've given first aid az;d co:~~fert to many Fmeck victims tY:e last of whi ci. was T ,~sday a week ago .before breakfast 1..0 ` i yeti `pie broug:~t two bleeding children and a frigitr_ed mother and another sha'cen driver into our kitchen, cleaned up the blood acid saw trat the injuries were very mirror so ;~~e entertained 't.~e c'riildren until the police camp and tiie mother was able tc take them. to tie doctor to '~? cliecricd. 2fter all of this, I must tell you that I was very nervous all c;ay, very uptight. rriends, that's no way to begin the day. ~1tYiough, :any of our days begin cr end in such a way. T~:re' ve been awakened at 3 a.m. and ; a..m. by Dne car accidents in whidY: the drivers lost control and crashed into one of our calm trees or flipped aver in the middle of the street. Life on Bellaire Boulevard is w life of stress, one teat is not conducive to peace. anu relaxation t}iat one. ordinarily expects to find at home. ~+ N Of course, if noise, exhaust fumes and an ugly view across the street at bill. ~ boards is considered desirable by some, then, then I suppose the;~* would be envi- U cue of our location. ~ It is a .;act that homes alerg the bculevard have rot appreciated a.s :mach a.s other homes ir. 4test university-. Two very nice h Dose ~ sold within t'rie last ? Yrrs. - -one about $20, 000 below °rarket and the .other smaller glace about w10,000 below tiThat it would have sold fcr if it were on a.y etYi~~r street ire the ^rea. Last 'Tuesday, .~?r. Vincent Fromen presented the ideas of a group of citizens, of which he was spo~esman, advocating tii2 tie land ir. ouestion be rezoned to allow the construction of to~an:ie?zs~s and/or recreational facilities. I woulcY like to ge en record as being o?~~~osed ~tc ..~; rezoning of the ;property on ~3ellaire Boulevard for to~~rihouse use Dilly because I consider said property to be unfii:- fcr huma.r. habitation. I would not lit>e to subject others. to a mode of life that I mjrself find disagreeable. Bccond, anyone who undertakes the building Df t.iese tawnhcus~s wouldn't do so just for the sake of doing it, but rattier to -:lake a profit. ;o~,r, let° s look at the facts: If tie home bu;;Ti.ng x ublic is ?zn wiling +=o nay fair market value to °,??rch~.se one or the existing 'r.omes on tF-_e Boulevard, wrrr T,-ould we pair f~l? market for a townhouse? ~,nd remember, pcople~ these townhouses would :nave to be extremely costl~T because of trae added expense of soundproofing, wrici would have to be included in_ the constriction if t:~iey were to sell at all„ I think it's within rea.so:: to assume that townhouses built properly would sell for over X75,000 aizd I U~o~.zld suspect t at ~1Q0,000 would be TM.ore like it. dow I ask yo?z tiii s *~Y'i~'? is willing to invest a.11 t'r~is Ti1or_ey on somethinb .that mig:~t be hard t;; s=11? Zich, I want to ask ;*o~~ something . :Fow m~Yiy of you would like to own a to?^riitilc'?s::~ at the earner of ellaire and Fiirby across fro.. 3 service sta.tio~i;s? Is aiz;,-che ~iF=re ~*:lc~ oy~ris nropertyT on Esllaire who is willing tc build townhouses: .Is ai~rone '_iere k*lic is interested in buying prop- erty to construct townhouses? The home burrsrs do not want to live on FJella.ir. e Bcu1e yard even T,~lien they can ^ick up a spacious house fcr the same price or less t'::an they can buy a smaller home on a q~aie~`: street. The *+roperty does see? tc -.ake good rent property, ho4*ever.: I guess for chart periods of ti~+.e people don't seem to Mind it. There are <~t least six rent ?:Doses bet?yPPn i.rb~,- acid ,~. ffalo apeedway that I know cf. ~` If this property is not popular far residential use w.aat +Y:en can it be used far? ibis is a v,vey complex prorlem, one that does not seem to havea:.- clearly def~.ned blacr~ or ~tiite area. ? ut~ ra.t:.rr a tromp-:dc~^ dra`T area. t~Te feel t'_~at ~r~ are in a sort cf ~ra.cuum or li:~ba a.s far as ho*~r tre will Y/e affecteu. :~Te rnok~ that o~zr ?.ome is not wartil m:?c.l a residence and wort':. ^ven less on a square footage b<^~Siu C.C Cv"~:`.?'Ci?i ~i'^pCrty. ..':;:t in ti7~J })eSL i.ntere5t of t:le Ca'Pl:'?Llnity, it 1S my opinion tram t.%ae area fronting dire}}ctl~~ on Lella.~.r~; bo re2oned for strictly cal~.trolled bus3_ne~s ax7d ^rofessional ??.ve an'recrpati:.nal zzsA as submitte~? by ':r, ~'rc~~_': -~rLt. t~.; followinb add.ec: ~ECre^tie::al ~'aci?_.tie~: Mat woul~~ :_lc ~ ~.:e ~~ :, ..~, 'P'~ LrJ :-.T ~„~gE ~ ,~ ~~ ti7 {~ ~-~r -„~~.~.,,~t ~...~ ~ n_:° fl ~r ..._~_r ASE, tilllS .r'll]..ng our .;,.~. ~ J a .. .. _.~.. .~_~,1 _ _ ~" SUCii rev E<_L :'.?~ "~11r5t11i;S ?S ~-rated mt?"viE'. liOUG'_:w', baTaling alleys, and £'?GCif- '_Cc111~T c:~ ~ O?~T1_.x~ '?ariSS. I dcn't expect the land to ha ?iso<? fo.r a park, bi~.t I tilinx: in order to close any Ot`ptiClE'~ "'=',~;~ .,.~'.nR~ tilt'. uGf7_:it'_c,:: cf recre>ati cn, ltd S bt;St t0 27!('.ntl0': rely t'fG:la~1tS 7i: tre St1~J;j2t:t. I am 10(~ against iY?cluding ar.;;- part of Cercnda Court, Cason cr ~~'erle~.n in any rezoning, otYier than townhouses. I further recommend t.hai the developers on Bellaire be required to constx~zct a brick gall to s~;na ~`,.r Weir prop~:rties Prom file ~~.ck yards of the homes facing cn ti"lE '!farem~ntionC~ streets.y I further .recarn~~lerld that ,ection I Crdinsnce ?aa. R96 be amended to raise tre Eign;: Cf u:C:i 4?-a.~l.~. ~r0'Pi S]~ f£'~t t0 P?~ilt feE't t0 `;T1S:re ~:~aX7.`rT~)?ll T?riva.C~r c:'1C1 a ~~ ~r f ~++ * + ~•-• ') +' ~ ,~ iit}art~ flE;raveS Wrai Ch tend tG fa.ll c...~t ,w al1S O~ a tempOru~ ~, ria.,,~.1 e - - l::i.a u dw ~ ~ and ctrlerk*i se become delaridated after a few years be strictly t~roizibited It i.s my feeling teat in sa .ci.ng thy: ti:ings I <-i~zve m~nti..~ :u, „rc.,er use will 'oe made of file trc~kb?_ed asea.s and at tiiE s--^me time will ~revel,t tle encroa.c'.~~*~ent of commercial interest: on file res :dents of file inter~.or streets." AYr. Joe i'rarit, t~13C aol~*a~', owns lots at tYle earner of vellairE ;;cL.levard axl:i :irb~' !Jr'!.vc: l;: ::i'vatE?t'1 ~:;at ?'i2 n''rClr1.sid two lots abOUt lr yarns a.~;0 Witrt the int°~ntian of bu_lding a home. But after col ~i.ier~ ti.an of the service stations across the street (there were two at that time j, ~*ith libhts and traffic, re a~ld his wifo '~;eidec it was not a desirable >71ace tc build a home. I.E said he had not pried to loll tree property far an,-t'..ing o:~Y,:~=•r si:agla fa:nil' d?.*elling a.~ld that lle :gad s~ tole: real~Jr;, G*~:c ~,nk~ziro~? <~',c~~t it, '~,.:.~.t ~o~ felt there k*ere lots of oiler .lice thi~lgs *.~il.cl co~:.lc;~ b b`tzi~_'~ «t t:_is loc~~tion, and t'.~at somet?~~ing Sii011,=' rC U.~l~i; LJ G:~?Yige till; ?'~:~..~ 'i;. Si,.isf;.~la...':~ ~.:`.id14r t'.'7.3n .~0':iL~. .r;vL..aiiVl~d it, 1L1VJi.. .J_iu:dll.Jid i v.~•'. iui: :...~v.~.~v~aytx: ?-:mss. ciel,r;;~ ,~,»abol, 2'C6 ~ aybot, to i°"rs. ~ut.cil-~r: ave oz.z. visited ~~n trle to~ti..- ., ia~ASFS an Yi1 SSa:1'.:F't, 3f ,^.O, ':.U!7 1.S tl ;~.'. `.,,, '.:''ii;rG' "'rte .. ~ , -~ ~ S ~ ..~. ~~ y y^;~ ~- ;m5ar a iellaire t?'° .,. :~;.tvalEr: .~~ ..,. n let, b~:L t..e_:. cn~ _t° c ~~:^ot cc e wit'.. ~~'- .... f7.C. T:l;r8 ?r° :T^TO 'C'?^r' ~ ~iCS ~3a1(7 ^??1'.^,a: i~~, '~Er. I am pat ~~din5"t tCS,FY'lilatlSeS, bUt I Ctanrt SeE.' 'iCTt 7rijr '1'~ ~~rould '„Jt '(!~~CYi money I~ t'~~Tili'i(iuSBS. :~_axine l'arlcey, ?>23 ~,af~,;~Ctc, t~ :r. ~~ine~•: '.~TO~zld it be out Gf ;,rder to give ~ 1 a ~ ~`tt J(:a tt ~ t ~ 1 ~. aj'r l L , cg p ~ •. V ...~ . us ata ~dGa ~*I:.a,, w~zdi~_.~ ^d sir. a_:zes: I,t rt:port is a.va.ilable U.t tYle City hall and we have one here. ~~0, To Mr. Frank: Why don't you think townhouses cauld be built on Rirby and Bellaire? '1~ie~~ ,s~iAnet townhouses are on a busy street. Mr. Franks With three service stations across the street'2 ~~_ Mrs. Yatycey~ There is one service station, a shopping center, and Jack Roach Ford across the street from the Biasonnet townhouses. Mr. Franks I do not know the area. Mr. H. M. Jonas 3502 Cation, to Mrs. Butchers Do you think the traffic is as heavy on Be sire Bon evard from Kirby to Poor Farm Ditch, as it is from Poor ~ Farm Ditch to the railroad tracks? C~ ~ Mrs. Butcher:: I do not know. ~ Mr. Jones. Are you aware that there has been two very expensive homes built oo, _"~ 8~,i~Boulerard recent3~r't Mrs. Butcher.: Yes. From hearsay only, I understand they were built by eantrxcttors for their mimes, which as everyone knoxs a builder caxt construct much cheaper than you or I building a house. Mr. Bob Taylar 26tj6 Werlein, to Mr. Frank; I understand your lot on the corner 0 o re ou erar an by is t~+o small on which to build a house because the city of Houston took part of it when they paved ,Kirby. Mr. Frank: That is true, but I own two lots adjacent to each other, one 30 ft. w-i3~ one 5© ft. w3.das. I do not know the mit^~imu~ lot size. To Mrs. Butchers HavQ you considered the considerable amount of profit you wcsulcl race ve or your property for commercial use? Mrs. Butcher: Absolutely not. We intend to keep our house until our children ar~arger. We still bare Fire children at hvnme. But you do n©t just build a townhouse. They. are developed by blocks. You do not just bulldoze a house down - the price of removal would hays to be considered by and developer in making offers for existing houses. Mr. A S. Green, 2713 Werlein, to Mrs. Butcher. A.re you in the real estate business? Mrs. Butchers No. Mr. Green; Who gave you the price on the houses you. reported sold on Bellaire ©~~ and your prices on townhouses? Mrs. Butchers I checked with various people, those who bought Ec sold the housesi anTme `real estate 'people. Mr. Green to Mr. Frank: Have you been paying texas on this property? Mr. Frank: Y®s. Mr. GrQens .You have not had very much profit on this.. Why keep it for 20 years and not make money on it? .l i7 Mrs: That is none of your business. (Mr. areem eontinasd to harass Mr. Frank amd Mr. Hines turned off the mike amd rQeognized the ns~ct person.) ° Mrs. Vincent Fremen 2633 Pe~aberton, to Mrs. Hatcher: I could like to ask Mrs. tc er she has ha air rya estate experience, and also ask that questions be confined to the person's experienco? Mrs. Butcher:. I have had no real estate e~cperiesee. Rosalie :heeler, 2615 Werleins How Long have.. you ®wmed this propert~-'? Mrs. Butchers Seven years. Mrs. Shepley: Have the services offset the disadvantages? Mrs. Butcherz In soma grays, and wa intend to keep the houso and keep it up. Mrs. Harry J. Mamteris, 6208 Community, to Mrs. Butcher. 'What do you reol3jr wait? Mrs. Butchers The only reason I am against townhouses is because I dom~t think ~~i.l'~rss11, Someone might come in and take you to court if it is zoned far townhouses and the property doss not sell.- ° Mrs. Israel Ruskin and W@a~ls~ , to Mr. Hines: What about the parking s ua on. a par s ua on with the Teiephame Company im our area is bad. Mr. Himess At°ths present time there is a Farking Ordinance im effect that was mot ~n effect when the Telephone Ct~mpamy xas built. A~aything built now would have to conform to the Parking Ordinance in allowing sea many cars to so many sq. ft. of building. Mrs. 1'+ewis J. Herres 2930 Cason, to Mrs. Butcher and Mr. Franks Would you eons er se your property or residences if son-eons was interested in it? Mrs. Hatcher:. We could not get enough fcar our house to put into another house as urge. Mr. 'Frank; It is crpem for sale, and is a beautiful -place for a townhouse. Mrs. Paul Burk 3807 Ruskin: Is there aziy lax in West. Uni~tersity F~.ace to keep. cars from p mg on hs s sets? Mrs You need to cheek with the F~~.ice Departkt. Jean MurphYs 3936 Rice Boulevards Hcrw would our community service, sueh~as sewage, water, trat~e, sehoo3.s, etc . ~ be expanded for t~s e~ctra pecpls? Mr. Hines; Provsi©n would be made to take care of these services, pre-supp®sing am~es are made. Thefollowing statements were made by those parsons AGAINST resmnngs a'Mr. Hixaes and Memmbers of the Zoning and Planning Commissions My mama is Jars t?skouis, and I live at 27Q~ Cason. I am speaking tonight as a ~' e..- ~ . roprosontativo of 'the Resident's Committee. Yc~u have heard about the Resident's Committee from our previous spokesman Mr. garb Britton and Mr. 9incent Frcmen. At this time I would like tm bring ymu up to data on our activities during the past week. We have sent this card to lt,000 homes isi West University Place urging poc~plo to participate in our public hearing process. This card has reached 8 or 9 thousand registered voters. You will notice that four telephone numbers are listed at the bottmm of this card. I can safely say that these four telephmnes have been ringing a].nac>st constantly the past few daps. Hundreds of people have called to question the ~ Resident's Committee and to give their opinions regarding rezoning. CV ~ I would like to pass on to the Zoning and Planning Commissie~n what the .Resident's ~ Committee has heard from the citizens of West University Place: V _"~ Ax overwhe].miig majority of people we have talked with have simply wanted to state that West University Place as we know it now is a great place to live. ()ur small com:eunity is like an oasis in the vast urban sprawl which wo know as Houston grad Harris County.. This small, cohesive unit is like a sanctuary fr+~m the hectic patio of busy streets, from the commuter's daily ordeal, and from the monotonous look-alike hou~ixtg of Iioustaa's suburbs. The people of West Univer- sity Place have told the residents' Comaittee that this life ety~e is what we must work to preserve. With those thoughts foromest in our minds, the Residents' Committee has tried to formalize our organization. We have established an Advisory B¢~ard with er- ship from all areas of the City. This Advisory Board spans all age groups and is across section of the mix of people here in West University Place.. We are trying to represext all age and interest groups and convey cur feelings through the Zoning and Planning Commission to the City Commission, who will be ultimately resp-nsible for the decision. With the help of this Advisory Board, the Residents' Committee has developed a mere enact statement of our position regarding the properties in question on Bellaire Boulevard at~d regarding rezoning in .general. This statement of position a~.s~ lists members of the Advisory Beard and is available tonight for those who want to read it. Now I would like to elaborate on the Residents' Committee position. First and foremost, the Residents' Committee is unalterably opposedto commercial development along Bellaire Boulevard. We do, however, recognize the special problems faced by the property owners alo~ag Bellaire Boulevard. The high traf- fic and commercial ehara~cteristics cf the area have discouraged. the deve].e~p t of conventional housing. Vacant land here is a constant temptation to lamd speculators who will repeatedly petition the Zoning and Planning Commission for a rezoning. However, the Residents' Committee and. the many people we have talked with feel that to solve these problems it is not necessary or desirable to consider re- zoning all the way through t® Cason Btreet. With the exception of these vacant lots facing Bellaire Boulevard, the area under consideration is fully developed and well maintained. The Residents' Committee feels that by rezoning to this depth we would possibly bring Further into the City those very pr®blems we are ~~~-~2 trying to solve along Bellaire. Biasing Bellaire Boulevard as a natural barrier and then attempting to create artificial barriers will in effect leave no barrier tdlatsoever. Therefore, the Residents' Committee strongly urges the honing and Planning Commission to consider our wishes to perpetuate the single-family residential character of our neighborhood and ta-reinforce this character by rezoning only those lots facing Bellaire Boulevard for .townhouses and recreational use. From its beginning, the Residents' Committee. has honestly and straightforwardly tried to oat as a channel of communication betweexi the citizens of W®st ~T~i.~ver- city Piave and City c~fficiala. We baps that ire have been a positive and unifying farce thre~ugheut these public hearings, and that our ~obwill not end with this hearing tonight. We are facing a decisive period in our City's aevelopment. As outside pre:cures mount, the City will be called upon to make creative and far-reaching decisions in order to maintain the quality of life we now enjoy. We must mire clearly define our ebligatimns if any, to the City ®f 13ouston and set the priorities and .values by which to fudge the need for change d adaptation. The CAS Land Use .Study states the problem areas well, but it is only through an evi~luation e~f cemmuaity priorities that we can use the CRS Report as a planning foal. The Residents' Committee feels that it can serve a useful fur~etion in this evalua- ti~n pra~cess. If we have failed to make cur position clear to this Board or totany citizen we respectfully encourage inquiries an any point... At this time the Residents' Committee offers to the honing and ~'].anning Co~aission the signatures ®f more than 2,d0a citizens who 3ain us in our efforts to resist commercial development in West University Place. We are confident that yflu gentlemen will give these signed petitions the consideration they deserve." Motion by Mr. Weatherby, seconded by Mr. Bartholomew that the petiten be accepted and made a part of the minutes. Yoti~ng Aye: All Voting No Atone "My name is R. E. -Maley and I reside at 2ci2~ T~'erZein. jhTe have lived at our present address far 3!e years and hoped to remain here for the rest of our years but in the light of events am beginning to wander about our future. I attended the other public hearings on this matter and have yet to hear any logical or ].agitimate reason far tampering with our zoning. First of aI1 I do not believe that we need any outside planners or experts t® tell us what to do since it seems to ms that the citizens are dust as capable of determining what wee do ar do not need and one thing we do not need is a bank, office building, medical center and last but not least townhouses. While a majority of our citizens have expressed opposition to commercial development, it seems that some are willing to settle for townhouses and to me this is nothing more than a or~romise by intimidation and I for one do not intend t® be intimidated. The planning experts have stated that ttae property on Bellaire Boulevard fie na longer suitable for single family dwellings and to my thinking ~i7t~ this is a 1st cf hog-xaah, but if so: just why would townhouses be any;:::more desir- able since people live in townhouses the same as people live in single family residences. This idea is nothing more than a cQp-ont and the fact is this pr+~- perty could have bean developed years ago with single family residences but the owners simply held off on the premise that it would eventually be rezoned and they would reap a handsome profit and the dame holds tree for the speculators who have purchased in'recent years. Most all of this special interest group do not live in"West University and could care less about the welfare of our city` and its citizens. It seems to me that the prime concern of the Zoning and Planning Commission and the City Commission Should be for the general welfare of the city and not the ~" plight of a minor special interest group whose situation is of their own making. ~ I see no reason for getting overly exercised about: this vacant property,. if the ~ owners do not wish to develop it in accordance with the present zoning restric- ~ tions then let them continue to-hold it vacant as they gambled, so ~.et them be U losers as the majority of citizens sh®uld not be penalized for their bad judg- V Wit. While some mbjoet to living on'a busy street, many do not and I firmly believe if the property were offered at a fair market price for. residential development there would be many more takers than available property. At last weeks nbeeting Nr. Weatherby stated that at the public hearing on rezoning the property on Bissonnet for townhouses the majority of people in that area were unalterably opposed to rezoning and he personally had a petition xith approxi.a~ately 1,001) signatures opposing rezoning but in spite of this opposition the property was rezoned and one can only conclude by that turn of events there must have been Some pre-determination before the hearing that the property-Mould be rezoned. I am xondering if the same is true in regard to this propositions I am not saying that it is, but if there is any substance to this conjecture then it is very apparent that these public hearings are nothing more than an exercise in futility and an insult to our intelligence. Now, I would like to refer to the Notice regarding the rezoning of the property under Qonsideration tonight extending from Belmont to Kirby Drvey it reads a~s follows lots with Bellaire Boulevard frontage, in .the above bounded area, will be considered for rezoning as Special Residential with use for single family residential, townhouses, business and professional office buildings, financial insitutions, medical clinics, or related uses; lots with Werlein Street frontage, in the above bounded area, will be considered for rezoning to allox use by Right and use by Review. Use by Right would include single family residential and townhouses. Use by Review would include uses allowed for properties. along Bellaire Boulevard, contingent eaxi certain requirements. The .words Right and Review as .used here can have two connotations. First .of a7.1 it could meax that the property facing Bellaire be rezoned for comnereial purposes and property facing Werlein be rezoned for townhouses. Now there is no way the property facing Werlein would be rezoned for townhouses because it is completely developed with residences except for the two lots at the corner of Kirby Drive therefore it is not economically feasible for anyone to purchase all of this property at reasonable market prices and replace some 3~ homes with to~,mhouses. 1 ~8 The ®ther pr®babilitT under the definition of the word REVIEW would be to rezone for commercial purposes the entire area from Bellaire north to include all the property facing both sides of Werlein. if this were done then you. have commer- cial building right up to the residences on Cason St. You could th®r~ continue to rezone from there and keep on going thacugh the entire city. I have tal ked with a nu:aber of residents in our area during the past few weeks and it was very gratifying to hear the y~out;ger people way they moved to West University Place because they considered it an ideal residential commuuity sad fully protected by our zoning. It most certainly would be an injustice to all our citizens if any action were taken that ~eoparelized the living environment sad property values. I think it is an imposition for the eitizeatt to have to band together every few years and go through these hassles to protect their property rights and defend our zoning ordinance and surely the time has come to stop this harassx~eat and this can readily be done by the Zoning and Planning Commission recommending that any petitions for rezoning be denied as they are in violation of our zoning ordinance and the Gity Commissiog uphmld this recommendation and at the same' time advise the petitioners in the strongest terms possible that our zoning ordinance will be rigidly adhered to and not changed, altered or watered down. ixdany respect. Also it behooves all of our city officials to bear is mind that any further rezoning whether it be piece-meal or otherwise sax: onl' weaken mur zoning position and would eventually render it ineffective and useless. At the first Hearing on February 6th, Mr. Hines stated that the members of the City Commission decided not to attend these meetings as it may bias their think- ing. That decision is very disappointing and unfortunate and while I can under- stand why they would n®t attend as an pfficial Body since these mestix:gs are aon- ductscl by the Zoning and Planning Commission, I think it would have been very informative for them to attend_as individuals and observe the proceedings and see no reason why their presence should bias their 3udgment as both sides have had$qual opportunity to present their case. , And now a final reminder. This entire matter boils down to one basic fact, and that is 'we are either going to have zoning or xlo zoning.. If''we are.. to continue zonix:g, then it is essential for all concerned to support and abide by the zoning ordinance otherwrise we dust as well forget the whole thing and let our zoning ordinance go right down the drain. I for one am for zoning a.].l the way and am glad to have thisopportunity to stand up and be counted." Mr. George .Elwood, 2737 Cason: Stated that Mr. Maley had eacpreessd mast of his sentiments if not all of them; that West University is a community with zoning and character; that the periphery of West University is not changing and if one periphery is eliminated another periphery would be created; that .in his opinion speculators wanted to get their hands on the peripheral property and that the people keep having to come back because. of that pressure; that the rest of the city did not want sirens and emissions in their living rooms either; that if speculators wars a118wed to nibble away you would see Jack-in-the-Bo$ and peon signs on Buffalo Speedway. Iie also said he thought the Resdants~ Committee had done a magni~'icent and wondsrfult~ob, but that he did not believe that this was the time to enter into a compromise with those who are hying to take over. 1 ~~9~5 He further said: "If the Zoning and Planning Commission is trying to do an eb~ective fob, you should feel the strong feelings of the citizens of the s~ommunity. I hope that you reconmtend that these petitions be denied as th~ay stand and finally that if the City Commission attests to tear down the character of our cc~mnnaity, we will not only have a petition for a vote, but a recall petition. a Mr. John C~ruba, 6315 BuffalA Speedwa~*: stated that he was attorney and he was not speaking'on merits of whether we rezone or not, but on the legal merits;` ~ that he felt a change would not jeopardize the entire zoning nor that the Zoning and Planning Commission would make a recommendation that would jeopardize the ~ zoning. He further said that the situation, in his opinion, where court d®cided e-j against zoning it was..-a "spotazoning situation where isolated lots were involved („~ and not a coordinated plan, and in his opinion this,was why the Zoning and V Planning Commission had instituted as over-all plan; end that, in his opin~.or-, if zoning changed with an Over-all plan the structure of the Zoning Ordinance would not be jeopardized. Mr. H. W. Goetzmann 2617 Werlein Street made the f©llowing statement: ~I have ved at my present address, 2 17 Werlein St. since 194~t which is the inside part of the block facing Bellaire Boulevard is called the periphery. Now the inside part in which I reside we have lovely, well kept homes; horta~s people have lived 3n for the past 35 Years. and have taken great pride in keeping that part of West University Place a fine place to live in sad why so many families, especially with children, have decided to establish thgmeelves. I distinctly remember 1y46, which our former mayor, Mr. Lanmon, spoke of in our first meeting. At that time the zoning commission was about to give permission for the erection of a filling station on the corner of Bellaire Boulevard and Kirby Driver. They almost got by with it and if it hadn't been for the diligence and bitter protests made by the citizens of West University Place they would have. Can you imagine what would have happened to the property on Bellaire Boulevard and for that matter to all the property in West University Place if a filling station would have been erected on that corner like they have on the other three corners which are located in the Houston area. That would have been the beginning of a sequence of: commercial buildings all along - Bellaire Boulevard and by sequence Z mean such buildings housing liquor stores, night clubs, warehouses, ms+dical clinics, financial. institutions, office buildings anti'even banks. Just look what happened to the property facing Bellaire Boulevard ' on the east side of Kirby Drive as far down as .Main Street. Do we want our pe- ripheral area to.laok like that? I don't think we do and I don't think our zoning and planning commission members want it either. They have a stake in this too and I am sure they take great pride in seeing that nothing like this happens because they too live in West University Place and it could happen in their area. You say it can't happen because the commission is recommending townhouses only. You know full well the outside interests, by that I mean the people who own the peripheral property and do not live in West University P3.ace, have only one thing in mind and that is~how much can I make. on my investmentfrom a commercial stand- point. Theq are not interested in making West University Place abetter place to live. They don't want townhouses, they want commercial buildings. ~~ After the 1946 defeat the commercia~3. investors licked their wounds and didn't bather us until~l966 when they became active again.. They persuaded the zoning commission at that time to put us through the same agonizing procedure that we are now facing. Only this time they won and got their foot in the doer and received permission to build townhouses on Bissonnet. Had the 1966 zoning commission carried out its reponsibilities to the West Uni- versity Place citizens like the I91~6, zoning commiss3.oners did by simply telling the commercial investment artist that we have a zoning ordinance and their re- quests are denied. The 1972-73 Zoning commission can do the same thing and save us from gofng to all these meetings, wrarigli.r~;s' and create the uncertainty of what is going to happen to the owners of property whether they lived here for a long time or whether you as newcomers who bought your homes with the idea that ,you would have. an ideal community to live in or raise your family in. Another memory I have about 1916, the year West University Place Party was formeds is that xe were so heavy in debt that it eeemed almost insurmountable to overcome. We ceuldn~t sell bonds to carry out much needed improvements. No financial institution wanted to take the risk. After the-for~aton of the West University Place Party we were blessed with electing outstanding citizens to public office as xell as obtain the services of a city manager with exceptional ability to steer our ship in the right direction. We now have no outstanding bonded indebt- edness, have the finest police and fire department and have ..many imgroXents`of which we are all proud. The citizens of West University Place who have lived here for the. past 3~ years or recent newcomers should also receive credit for Paying taxes and makim,g improvements on their property to bring all this about. Now they want to move us out bar allowing these `commercial investment artist to take over f®r the erectimn of Townhouses or Commercial buildings. You know and I know you cannot build Townhouses profitably on land that they have pegged for commercial use. Lots that have a commercial value of ~-6.tX3 to $10.00 per square foot,,. Also, how in the world can they profitably tear down our homes and replace them with Townhouses. It dust doesn't make sense. If they cam do this profitably I recommend to the commission that they rescind the Zoning ordinance and throw it wide open so all areas can have townhouses or commercial buildings. I notice they use the term by right or review. When they speak of right I think the zoning commission can do the right thing by tel].iag these people the right.. thing for them to do is find another place outside of West University Place far their enterprises. When they speak of review, I cannot understand what they man bT review. They mean t® review the possibility that townhouses can replace houses that'. area already establ3.shed and have been on_both sides of Werlein Street f®r the past 25 or'35 years. There are no vacancies on Werlein Street with the `exception of two small lots facing Kirby Drive and Qne Sot is too small to even build townhouses.. So what is there to revd.et~t? I think we had better' rev3.ex the approximately,$16,000.00 that. our good governing fathers paid to Caudill Rowlett Scott to tell us that we needed commercial buildings or scattered town- houses on approximately 1~0 lots in the periphery. Finally I donut think the zoning commission members have made ~ their minds one way or another, so may I suggest to them to review their conscience and do the right thing by recommending to the city cwuncil the wishes of the 1,000 people who attended the meetings and many, many more who did not attend that the com- mercial investment artist have n® place in our c®mmunity." 17 Mr. C. P. Lanmon 6637 Buffalo S eedwa "This meeting tonight is the thud of a ser es be he d by the planning and zoning ec~mmission. Their annou~ed reason is so that they might listen.tm the citizens reacti®~as to the threat that their way of life is about to be disrupted - al.l. that they have worked for these many years is to be taken away from them. The security that they have known is to become a thing of the past. They will have to give up their neighbors and move. I would like to recou:tt to you some of the history of the people that will .be affected by the proposed change in our zoning ordinance. At least so~ae of those that I have had a personal acquaintance with for some 25 or 3© years. fr Cat ~' wife and I built a single family residence at 2634 Werlein Street in 1939. We moved from there in 1966 to 6637 Buffalo Speedway because our family doctor said V that Mr. Lanneon should not live in a two story house. We raised our family of V two children there. .They attended local schools and both graduated from univer- sities. f)ther p@ople on Werlein Street did the same thing. There were good neighbors. Their children went to school, graduated fr®m c®1leges and universities. Some of the youngters are pretty smart ton. Many of our neighbors have been active in civic affairs. Roy Ledbetter and R©y Maley to name twee served x:any years on .the zoning beard. fathers have served in other ways. They have earned the right to be considered. -"What have the investors who. seek to gain a lucrative return on their speculative investments d®ne for West tTaiver- sity Place? I am asking this Planning and Zoning Commission to:aight to recognize that an intolerable situation is being created. I am asking them to end these hearings and to d®ny all requests for change. I am asking them as our other Boards have done in the past, to show our old and our new residents that they will protect our. rights and to let us continue to live to the best of our ability with the assurance of that protection. Thank you a11.a Mr. Tom Ledbetter, speaking as representative of his mother and father,. Mr. and Mrs. Ro~Ledb~etter~. 2622 Werlein: He br3.efly reviewed the procedure for askiiag for a re. ere dum vo ~e~, , if an~hen, the City Coiarnission passed an .ordinance amending the zoning ordinance .and have the follewiag reasons ~rhy no zoning ordines-ce change should be allowed: 1. If rezoned all of periphery, then investors can go to court and place townhouses on vacant lots in any place in West University Place. 2. In®estors cannot buy vacant land at 3.E)0 or more a Square foot and build t®wnhouses. 3. Increased housing density dwellings, increases burden on school, sewage, water and fire and police protection. lt. If an investor gets zoning changed to townhouses and the resent lots do net fill. up with tewnhouses in two or three years investors will be back again aslsin for ®ffice buildings. ~~~ ~. Where do children that live in townhouses play's They have to p].ay.on other properties away from busy streets. 6. Any change in zoning weakens pasiti®n later on when investors attempt tm change fre~m townhouses to apartments to offices to banks. Investors argu® s~iat real difference exists between townhouses and apartments? 7. The townhouses on Bissonnet have already weakened protection of homes. 8 Who will this change effect? Everyone -the Bissonnet townhouses were allowed b years ago because the people were inactive. Everyrone should be ready to work so that they can defend any ordinance change. ~ ~ ~ ~ e ~ ~ ~ ~ a ~ ~ e ~ ~ Mr. Geo a Coffman 2733 Gason: Stated he was against rezoning and made`the o awing comments y pu one townhouse Mere one single family dwell.in,g 3s? Who is goixg to'sit,`,in review? If you let. them rune it you will be standing here defending it forever. He als+e stated the Zcaning and Planning Commission have said they would make a recommendation for the betterment of the co~a:unity and it was his understanding the commission had received about lOQ requests for rezoning since 19bb - 'that he felt.. they cov.ld not possibly deny the request s-f 2000 residents against 104 requests to rezone.' ~Ie also suggested that within the city there'is a very high percentage of professional people, and that they and all the people should be called on tc formulate a plan and have a public vote, and. that if they are truly sincere they will make it known to those professionals in the city. He further stated in his opinion land vela®s would not support the kind of property proposed and that the people who purchased the property on the"periphery had full knowledge it`was residential, and `that, it all comes down to a problem of defining progress -. is it commercial, or is it residential? Mr. Eddie Kriebel bl~.G8 Buffalo S eedwa : Spoke.' aga3.zist zoning so as to keep... est xiversity residentia ,and that some properties ~rauld always stay vacant as long as there was a;"little bait" to keep ownera holding out for commercial prices. ~~a#~~ ~~~~~~a~-~ Mr. Ronald Shou 3722 Rice Boulevard: Spoke briefly in defensive of the CRS epc~rt,, and state he was ag st com~aercial but for: townhouses; that a town- house is a-definite type of single family dwelling. Ae.alsofelt that a rigiel stance would not protect the zoning ordinanoe~ but rather a flexible one t® meet changing conditi~-~ts would meet a court test; that changes were not coming, they are her®a and to~mhouses are a pare cif it ~Ir. Jeff Beauch 263b Alban+a: Stated he came to the meeting to gather dots; at e s oppose o comn~erc al, but has not decided between single family via. townhouses;,.,.that his-property is bounded by Wroxt®ny ~lbans ~d Kirby and'.. recently the U S. Government was negotiatng,for vacant property in that area and that it occurred to him that if something is not put on vacant property a government (or municipality) might take it and put something on. it even leas desirable. ~3~~ Mr. Nick S~-ifter, 25311 Westchester: Stated he had rather see townhouses that any other type institution; that developers are predatory and if one doesn't protect himself they would not have a chance; that it might be better to rezone for townhouse8than leave open for developers; and that he hoped a solution cotial.d be found. Mrs. Jackie Patterson 3616 Amherst: Said the was a realtor and that the prop- erty wou support townhouses; that commercial property draws people who use cur services and go scseewhere else to live at night. C~2 ~ Mrs. Ann Harrison, 4133 Cason Stated they had fought to keep townhouses out of ~ their back yards and had not wanted to look at the garbage cans and mops from U them overlookira~ their property. They preferred the office buildings. V ~~~~~~ ~~~is-~~~~ Mr. Allen RiQe, 2727 Werlein, Mr. Wm. Bomar, 2611 Carolina Way, Mrs. B. N. Man- ning, 2736 ~®rlein,~Alrs. John Long, 6504 Belmont, variously advocated recreational facilities, a "green edges around the city, and against commercial and/®r t®wn- houses. Further discussion concerned various opinions as to legal or court decis3 with Mr. Grebe of the opinion standing still and not changing with changing conditions weakens the zoning position and Mr. Ledbetter maintaining any change weakens the position. On motion duly made, seconded and carried, the Public Hearing was closed. On motion duly made, seconded and carried, the meeting adjourned. Attached are copies of letters to the Zoning and Planning Commission concerning the consideration for rezoning in Area 3C made apart of these minutes by motion duly made, seconded and carried. x6719 Brompton Road Houston, Texas ?70106 February ~, 1973 Zonix-g and Planning Com~nissioz~ City of West University Place, Texas . 3$00 University Boulevard Houston, Texas 77005 Dear Sirs: Because I am unable to attend the public hearing, I wish to express my opinions in writing. Vf:T I ate the sale 4r~er cif the property at 671$ Bra~mptor~ Road.. The .legal. description appearing en my tax receipt is W.U.P. lst Blk. 1 N6~ Lt. ". Mr. Richard Butcher, next door neighber, has a copy of this letter with my authorization to speak for me in favors the re-zoning plan for land use other than single family residential dwelling. Sincerely yours, /s/ A11ine Jay delValle (Mrs.) Alli.ne Jar delValle" eFebruary 20th, 1973 Mr. E. Gene Hi.r~es, Zoning and Planning Cemmissioe City of West University Place, Texas. ' 17ear Mr. Hines: Lot 2 Block ~3, 3l~12 Bellaire Blyd. 100 x 200 3~t center of block Single st©ry frame house. I AM IN FAVOR OF REZQNING THE ABOVE l'AT. This cmuld include your cafe- gory of townhouses, business, professional office buildings, etc. I strongly appose any idea of building a wall along Bellaire Boulevard. Henry Hazlitt once noteds "It is just as necessary to the health mf a dynamic economy that dying industries b® allowed to die as that grow- ing industries be allowed to grow. I say it is dust as necessary t o allow Bellaire Boulevard to die as a residential area and allo~r it to grcaw commercially. I bought this place as a home in 1948 and have seen many changes occur in land use from then until now. When I moved here Bellaire Blvd. was for all practical purposes a fairly quiet residential street. But chang~smust come and businesses grew up across the street from z~. Mind yeu these businesses did not cause the Blvd. to go commercial because they were c-nly built after the traffic density became such that they were justified. I have watched Bellaire Blvd. develop into a bus3~n®ss thoroughfare with twenty five to thirty thousands of automobiles etc. passing in front of my house dail~.I can count the buses by the v3.brations in my home. The boulevard is used by all fire trucks, ambulances and police cars which certainly makes it undesirable as residential property. For many years I have observed the working of: Zoning and while the people are always told that it is goad because as land use changes that the ZE~NING can be changed to conform. These are the same people who, evea though it will n®t effect them, run to the meetings and howl the loudest for no change. These are the same merchants of doom when the hearings were held on Bssonnet for use as townhouses. Frankly, I believe, any honest person must admit that West University is far better off by allowing this construction. it V^ There is no practical person who can advo~tate:the use of Bellaire Blvd. frontage strictly for residential use and I~truly hope the Zoning Commission has the intestinal fortitude to make such changes as are necessary to have the land zoned mare closely to conform to it's prac- tical usage. Yours very truly, /s/ Justin G. Bradburn, Jr. Justin (~. Bradburn, Jr. 31112 Bellaire Blvd., 6bt-3108M ab009 Lake Street ~ Houst®n, Texas 77005 ~ February 15 , 1973 V U Zoning & Planning Commission City of West University Place 3800 University Boulevard Houston, Texas 77005 Gentlemet~s LET US KEEP THE CITY QF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE RFFSIDF.~~iTIAL. Mr. Fuex-and I are opposed to commercial buildings in our city. W® approve one or two story townhouses with certain stipulations. Note what is happening to the area off Kirby, north of Rice Boulevard. 'Let us continue to make improvements on a yearly budget basis, and not incur a large indebtedness. Our homes' security and dignity is of utmost importance, then whatever recreational facilities, etc. the budget paarmits. May West University Place continue to be know as fine residential area. . Cordially, /s/ Mrs. Anthony Fuex'~ "Houston, Texas Feb. 16, 1973 Mr. E. Gene Hines, Chairman of Residence Congn. Dear Sirs I would like to give my opinion regarding rezmning certain land in our city - W U. I oppmse office 'buildings and business of any kind taking the area proposed.. Townhouses could be an asset to the area. Thanking you very much, /s/ Mrs. F. L. McCabe 2801 Lafayette St. Houston, Texas 77005" fi«~ ~; Nest University Place, Texas, Feb. 16,.1973 West University Zoning & Planning Commission Mr. M. Qene Hines, chairman, 3748 Rice Blvd., Dear Mr. Hines and the Beards We attended the Feb. 6th and 13th public meetings of the Zoning and Pl.annisg Commission, and heard the pros and. cans ®f the requests made to rezone the areas from Bellaire Blvd. to Cason, and from the Pmor Farm Ditch to Brompten. Massy of those attending those meetings are apparently apposed t® re- zoning any of this area, as well as the area to be brought before the Board mn Feb. 217th, We are on the north side of Cason, at the corner of Cason and Vanderbilt, and are most certainly in the area which would be affected if rezoned. In 1968 we purchased the lot with an old house and garage at 3lCalt Cason, and in 1969 had the buildings removed, and built a new home on this' lot, feeling secure that the area was zoned for residential pure®ses, and that we need not be concerned about having commercial deveTmpment in the block next south of us If we were left to our ®wn devices, we would prefer tm maintain the astatus'quo'~ but we have cmncluded, after considering all factors, that some co~ramise sharuld be considered. To the best mf our knoxl- edge, Mrs. P. Bongio of 6712 Vanderbilt is the only. property owner ors Cason who favors rezoning for commercialkpurposes,"influenced, no doubt, by visions of selling her property at high prices. A bark at her property, which we think, has five or six houses {®r structures} will show that upkeep and repairs on her improvements are held to a bare minimum, reflecting very little. civic pride. .~s for dir. Russell, whc> has the northeast and northwest corners st Bellaire and Buffalo, he may call himself as ~investor~, but-would more correctly be called a ~speculathr,."' If, in fact, he now owns the northwest coraaer, he acquired it receastly, and by rio doing, shows that he is a "speculator." Hey has no interest in impraaving 'the City of West. University, twad seeks only to better himself. He knew how it was zoned when he dot it, and one must only assume that he had high hopes of making a substantial profit on this property, if he could get it rezoned. Accordingly, we want ttr go on recgrd to say that we think that the south half of the blocks between Cason and Bellaire, from the Poor. Farm Ditch to Kirby, might wisely be rezoned for townhouses (as was done an Bissonnet several years a$0) and that the north half of these blacks (which now have single family residences} remain zoned as at present, and we will gibe cur support to such rezoning of the lots facing on Bellaire Blvd. This is ixi liars with the rscommendations of the Caudill Rowlett Scott report. of 1971, as we understand it, ~• 1 V U i C Yeurs truly: /s/ Clarence M. Capp Clarence M. Kapp, 310lt Cason, , /e/ Emily 5. Kapp {Mrm.) Emily S. Kapp, 3104 Cason, CC t® Mrs. T. P. Binis" a3769 Plumb St. Houston, Texas 77005 Feb. 17th, 1973 Mr. F. Gene Hines, Chairman of Zonbg & Planning Cosa. 3748 Rice Blvd., Houst®n, Texas Rear Sirs The zoning regulations of West University Place are one of the reasons tie bought a home in this area twenty-two years ado. A number of times, since then, we have been tempted to move to a newer and more ".moderns area as so many of our friends and former neighbors have done, but the zcsning regulations are one of the reas- ons we have not left. Also, many of those who have xacved have expressed their regrets to us, and a number }save come back to WUP. In view of the fact that so many young people have moved to WUP for many of the same reasons we came and have remained, protests to changes in present regulations and farm of city government can not offhanded3y be dismissed as those of gold fashioned stick-in-the- mud fuddyduddes" who resent any proposed changes. Wa oppose any changes to the current zoning regulations in the City of Vest University Place. Yours very truly, /s/ Mrs. H. E. Vaughan /s/ Harold E. Vaughan Mr. and Mrs. Harold E. Vaughan acs Mayor Harris" "Febraary 11, 1973 Qentlemens, I own the property at 2635 Cason, ,legally described as Lots 11 & 12 in Block 4 - Be11e Court Addition. I want to register may vote agaiaest rezoning property in Belle Court Addition. To rezone said property will definitely reduce the value of my prop- erty. Als®I would certainly not want to be formed to live next door to business or apartments. One reason I bought my home i,n We+at Uni- versity was because they had zoning and I wanted this protection. x~ 4 I am 84 years eld and will not attend the meeting but will be repre- sented b' my Daughter. I am most concerned as my tots are not listed in the rezoning notice. /a/ Mrs. Violette Telschowe' e66l~8 Buffale Speedway Houston, Texas 77405 February 13, 1973 . Zoning and Planning Commissiop City of West University Place, Texa$ 3800 University Blvd. Houston, Texas 7700. aentlsmen: I strongly oppose any change in the city's zoning ordinance. Sincerelyr, /s/ T. H. Norman T. H. N®rman THNs aa" aFebruary I$, 1973 Zonis and Planning Cc>mmissioa City Hall 3800 University Blvd. City of West University Place Texas. 77005 re ..Proposed rezoning ordinance Dear Sirs My wife and I purchased a home and live in West University Place because it is a°zoned, residential community with abeve average city services. Since we will both be unable to make the scheduled February 20, 1973 meeting, w~ would like to'express in the farm of a letter our opposition to the proposed changes in the city~s Zone Ordinance to permit a use for purposes in addition to, or other than, single-family residential use, which was described in your notice dated 1-30-73. In listening to arguments an bath sides in earlier meetings, we ses little to be gained by changing the zoning ordinance by the reaidex~ts of West University Place and a great deal to be gained by a handful::. of investors. If more taxes ar+e needed, we would rather pay higher taxes than see these areas zoned commercial. Sincerel~r yours, /s/ Lunette J. Calvert, M. I~. /si Jon E. Calvert, M. D. Lynnette J. Calvert, M. D. Jon C Calvert,`M. D. 6723. Annapolis West University Place, Texas 77tx35'~ i. J ~0 'February 19, 1973 REs Rez®ning of Peripheral. areas of West University Place Zoning and Planning Commission City of West University Place City Mall Rouston, Texas Dear Sirs. ~' I am a resident and land owner in West University Place, living ~ at 3123 Sunset and wish to express my opposition to the planned ~ rezoning of the peripheral areas in West University Place. V V The purpose of my letter is actually twofold. I attended the public hearing on February 13, 1973 and was disturbed because of the animos- ity sh~rm toward the planning. and zoning commission by many of thos® there. flee of the reasons why gee elected to purchase our home in West University Place was the strong civic pride evidenced by the dedication and hard work of its citizens who devote much time and hard work on boards, committees and commissions such as yours. I realize that emotions run high in meetings such as are being held at this time but do not feel that this is any excuse for overlooking the fact that the gentlemen on the planning and zoning cemm3.ssion are public spirited, civic minded residents of West University Place wha are going to make a decision based upon what they feel is t0 the. best interest of the whole community. I have not had the opportunity to study the land use plan as I am sure you have, but plan to do so in the very near future. My views therefore, are those of a resident of West University Place, who has lived in West University Place far approximately five years and who has recently made the d®cision,to purchase my second home in West University Place with plans to remodel the home and raise my chin in West University Place, as to zoning changes.. in general. One ~f the main reasons I chose West University Place was its str®ng zoning ordinances which are zealously enforced both by the city government and by its citizens. I do not feel that many of the opponents to the zoning would argue that for the owners of the strip along Bellaire Boulevard, the most economical use of their land would be for businesses. I do not feelf however, that this is the true test which should be considered by the commission. The commission should consider the effect rezoning will have on ether property ixi West University Place, and in particular, should take into c~ansideration the adverse effect of any zoning change on people who are making long term committments to purchase West Uni- versity Place property for residential use, and the burden which might be placed on our city's police, and fire departments, water and sewerage ser~rices, and schools in the area. ~1 I car~na~t agree with the spokesman who expressed the belief that both the commission and the city counsel had already made up their mind concerning what action mould be takes. I also am confident that both the commission and the city counsel will take whatever action they feel will be to the best interest of the people of 'West Univer- sity Place, and I for one a~,preciate the fine fob that both have done in the past in what are sometimes thankless lobe. Yours truly, /s/ F. E. Billings By F. E. Billings FEBtpsa aFebruary 19~ 1g73 City Zoning ,aid Planning Corr~nf:ssion, City mf Nest University Place, 3800 University Blvd., Houston, Texas .77005 Gentlemens As 1©r~time residents (25-year) of our community, we-the undersigned respectfully petition your group to report unfavorably to the City caf West University Place on proposals currently before your commission to rezone segments of our community along Bellaire Blvd. Zt is our firm belief that the interests of the huge majority, of the residents of our city will best be served by retaining the essentially single-residence character of the City of West University Place. Certainly rezoning for commercial development answers to economic Head of our community. end the myriad of similar establishments as proposed within the periphery of our town place us in a unique position. We have no need to blight the already serene character of our community. Whatever services we seek are already close at hand in the adjacent areas 0f surrounding Houston and Southside Place. We cannot urge too strongly that you recommend to the city that the C.R.S. proposals be rejected.' .Sincerely, /s/ Carl M. less Carl M. Here /s/ Sadye At. Hess Sadye 13. Hesse kTo Mayer Don E. Harris sn d m~smbers of the Dity Council Greetings: The single-family 'residential area of West University Place is uniquelT situated. Onr community is within a few minutes drive of amulti-million dollar medical center, fine restaurants, cafeterias and supermarkets. adequate banking facilities of prgven worth are at hand, vies Univer- u C! n ~~ sity State Bank, South Main Bank, A~dical Center Bank, Fannin Bank and Mercantile Bank. Da tee need banks backed up to the fringe of our houses. .... NO! To the north of our residential city looms a new business complex, Greentvay Plaza -- it is' our understanding that the chief need of this new business center is to find homes for its employees -- not to encircle azadimpinge on the rights and quiet lives of our homes frith more businesses. A mix-up and increase in demands on the City government by fringe commercial needs and facilities could diminish the fine services tie have enjoyed and burden City Hail to the breaking point. We have enjoyed living in West University Place for three decades. ~" have tritnessed i.n the past few years great improvements in the appear- ance and care cf homes and gardens in most of the area, and we are ~ very desirous mf keeping things as they are. During our first years ~ of li in West Univerait Place son birds and lams 'thrived -- we Cj can evan remember when we could open the windows wide to admit a south breeze and could hear the bob whites call from the "so-called vacant lands south ®P Bellaire Boulevard.. Fortunately, at the present time tee have air conditioning but it seems unspeakable to 1i.ae even the fringe of our community with multi-family apartments and businesses with the subsequent clutter of garbage frequent moves and extra traf- fic. In our garden if a blight appears on a camellia it may start on the edge of the leaves -- if this blight is not dealt<:.with it persists and the plant dies. This blight to the fringes of our city falls into the same category -- it will creep to the heart of this splendid, unique area to change its tone, its character and its liveability. We are unequivc~cably committed to a city within a city of happy, contented homes and not to any of the so-called improvements suggested by the Zoning Oommission. signed: Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Denny 2740 Werlein. St. Houston, Texas 7700~a "F®bruary 20, 1973 Zoning and Planning Commission City of West University Piace~ Texas 380(3 University Blvd. Gentlemen. I stn writing regarding the proposed re-zoning as described in your letter of 1-2lt-73. I attended the Public Hearing on Feb. 13, 193 but had to Leave about 9:30 p.m. before the meeting was opened f®r discussion by those opposed to re-zoning. I am opposed to re-zoning because the proposed changes would change the character of my neighbonc~~d from residential to business, increase traffic and parking problems, raise the noise level. Many of us signed a petition against re-zoning. Many more people signed this petition than the number of those wha want re-zoning, ~V~' as expressed in person or by letter. Those people who are in favor have: only one interest in this Change -- it would benefit them financially. To my knoxiedge none of them lime 3.n West University, and their sole purpose in buying property here xas far financial investment. ~`he vacant lets alca~g Bellaire Blvd. beer testimony to the desire of people to h®ld property to the end of time in order to reap an excess profit. ~latiy old houses have been remod®led, some torn down or rem3ved and nex tines built, in West University,- sh~ri.ng that the land prices are out o£ line. If the owners had nflt tried>tb hold up the public, these vacant lots could have been sold many times. The comments made at the Hearing have raised doubts in my mind about why the Gity Commissioners and Mayor were not present. The statemer~lts made by the Chairman of the Hearing certainly were not convincing to' me -- namely, that the City Commissioners wanted the Zoning Commissioners to report to-them what the public said, and the admission by the Chair- man that the'Zonng Commissioners were not bound to report the xiahee of the majority to the City Commissioners.:' To me~'`3.f the Zoning Commission reports in favor of re-zoning in the face of all the ob~eetions by property owners,. this can only indicate there is something seriously wrong with our system of government. The reading of letters from certain supposed property awness, who tl~® Secretary of the meeting said had no return addresses on the envelopes which brought their letters, was not fair'to those pea~le who attended the hearing and were required to state their name and residence address and take an oath"that they were to tell the whole ;'truth and nothing but ,the trot it , To me, the number of people against re-zoning so far out-number these for its if a recommendation to re-eons were given to the City Commis- sioners against the wishes of the majority, I would suggest that our government does not need the services of those who serve special interests above the members of their community. Yours very truly, /s/ Robert B. Owen 6blt7 Rutgers 77045' hairm~ Attests° ,~ ~'~~...~~i~„ - Secretary