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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01231947 ZPC Miutes5. REGULAR t,4EETIi1TG OF TTiE ZONIAIG ATJD PLAtJ1JING BOARD THURSDAY, JAT. u~.RY 23,1947 A regular. meeting of the;Zanir~g`& Planning Board was he16. on Thursday,- January 23,1947, at 7:30 Ply, at the City Hall at which meeting he following members were present, Hal 'E.Terry,Chairman O.C.King Chas.D.Mehr ,Roy Letbetter - ir~rs.l~l.L.~bering,~ecretary `Prior to the-opening of the meeting, the oath'of office was administer®d'to iblr.~t.Roy Le better and i,:r',Chas.HMehr, by ~~'r. James L.TMdlliams, City Secretary, as neither of these gentlemen were present at a previouy,meetng'at.~vhich the oath of office was administered to the otr:er members of the Commission. The meeting v~ras'ealled to order by 1~Ir.Terry,Chairman, who announced aquorum- - present and the transaction of business in order. h1rs. '"~.E.Eberling acted as secretary, irSr. Terry announced that this was the first meeting of the present Zoning 8c Planning Board, and thaa it was the purpose of the Board to uphold: the laws of the Community pertaining ,to Ordinance do. 111,.. known as the Zoning Ordinance, as ZRrrtten on -the statute books of` the Community, end to take cognizance of any violations'of such laws. ' 1 -.The fii;st order of business was the unfinished matter pertaining to certain violations~of the Zoning Ordinance `by the contracting firm of Bogle &~ Callaway, nc. in connection tivi ree' oases that firm had constructed on' o s , , and 9, Block, 2, Bssonnet Place,, such lots being located on Browning gn3"'~9"esT ree s; a specs is vio a ions being that the house located on'hot 7 was placed on the property line in violation of t}ie ordinance requiring that buildings be placed three feet from the property line; and one pertain lot not containing the required 5000 square feet in accordance with the zoning ordinance. Mr. Te"rry called upon the representative of Bogle & Callaway, Inc.' sir.-Seymour Lieberman announced that he was present in connection with 'this matter,- but that he was not the representative of Bogle &`Callaway, Inc.; that ,Bogle & Callaway, Inc, had contracted to build the said three houses for he and his law partner, i~~'. T7m;iJ.Ladin; that iFr. Ladin was out of the city,' `and .that ~he, r~r.Lieberman, was appearing before the. Board in their behalf. &ir. Lieberman reviewed the history of this case, stating that when the firm of Bogle Callaway was given the contract -to build-the houses, 'this firm contacted i~r.R.B.Allen, Cher. City Secretary of the City of ~dest LTnivers-sty Place, who showed them a map on Urhich the street of Browning, being the south boundary ' of `one of the, said lots, was given as 60 feet, r1fr:Lieberman then asked Ia~r.Bogle to take the story up from that point. i,1r.Bogle said'that they were unable to find a survetror to establish the lot lines and were unable to locate the corner " stakes of the lots, but `finally located a stake across Browning Street (south) and measured the lots from that point on `the basis of Brewnr.,g s reet being 60 feet wide. %ur,Bo~,le confirmed lw'Tr.Lieberman's statement that they had contacted 1~r. Allen, City Secretary, and they had looked at the map and the map showed the street to be 60 feet wide; 1a this point, ~;r. James L.`~illiams, present City Secretary,"stated that the cfficial map in the-"City Hall showed the street to be 50 feet wide; and advised Mr .Bogle that tre city took ne responsibility in locating lots, t;~r.Bogle stated that when ti.e last house was almost completed, .y_,~_, 6 -2- ~~iinutes of meeting held 1~23~47 continued. r Asir ~"r.A.Horne, who owns Lots 5 and- 6, Block; 2, adjoining the,.lots on .which Bogle & Callaway had bu~.lt the hauses,_had a survey made of his property and the survey showed that the garage of the house in question was approximately 7 feet, and the house itself ~pproxinately 1 foot, on the property belonging to ter. Horne. 1w1r.Bogle said that when he learned of tY~s discrepancy he called R'ir. Horne and: told hira just hove the error had occurred, and PrIrfiorne stated that probably something could-be worked out. He said that 'by-the following Tuesday, dlr. Horne had change3 entirely and didn't want-to talk about it. The house was then .about 80`a completed._ They then tore down,: the r garage, took up he foundation of the garage,: cut off the foundation of the house, to brine; the- house back to .the property: line; of: their let., .'Uir. Lieberman t:~en took up the story. He stated that he, P~r,Bogle, and 2~r.- Ladin, appeared bef"ore the Bening ~-Planning:Board and ;presented their problem to that.. Board.:, He said_that~the Board told them to go_ahead with their plans to complete the houses and that the Board would waive the restrictions, and would give them a final inspection; and. that Bogle & Callaway were instructed to finish the house. He: stated-:that the. house has been contracted for ;by a" GI, who wants to move in immediately; and that the houss is .finished with the excep ion of finishing the :floors and installing the lights.-P~r.Lieberman staged that I'JIr.Ladin had attempted to Make a deal with P~Ir. Horne for the purchase of additional land in order to clear the exceptions-and. that he wet unsuccessful. it this point !~r. .Terry asked.:-P.x. Lieberman if L,r. iIorne had .refused to sell tl~e land, :and lair. Lieberman ;replied that he had. hlr. Terry then asked i~r. James L.~`Iilliams, City engineer and_ secretary, if the house conformed, and p~r.~''+illiams,.stated;that the house .did not have the required 3 feetclearance., .and that .the `lot vaas undersize. lur. Lieberman then asked the Board to decide whether or not they should buy the property from ylr. Borne; and if the-Board decided .they...should:, then they would like ;to have three appraisers appointed who would .establish a fair:priee for 3 feet of-grgi.ud to .make the house conform, ~~r. Lieberman stated that they admitted the entire matter had been handled inefficiently. lviz-. Terry then asked to -.hear from ?Ir.%"!.A. ~ ITOrne,, or his representative. sir. James L.~bney announced that he was representing T,lr. Herne in this matter. He`stated. that... in their opinion there .should have. been no error made in thefirst place on the width cf-=browning street as aline of telephone poles clearly established the width of the street., He then presented a plat cf the survey which 1,;Sr.Horne had made, ;and said that,he understood that same action had bean taken by the .:previous ~orir_g'Board,,.and his client felt that there-should have been a public hearing, on .the waiving of such restrictions. He said he understood; that a :statement had been made by Bogle Ec -Callaway t~iat, t}iey had ,offered P~x.Y:orne X1000 far 3 feet of property and that l.:r.l'orne ..had >refused the offer. P~Zr.~bney_ said his.,client had-never heard of the ofJ'er and that if such an offer had been made fir. Horne, would accep it, and that I'r.Horne had so, stated he would accept such an -offer at a hearinE*, before the-~oni,ng 3o~rd in Decenber, at which meeting ;he had appeared,tc; protestthe waiving of the restrictions in his case. a 7 _3~ ~;_iriutes of meeting held ~23~4.7 continued, He furtYier said than when :ter. Horne 1-~_~ade the statement to Bagle ~; Callaway arld La:dim ~ Zieberman teat i f theFT would move `the garage maybe. somet}~ing could' be `vaorF-ed "o~.z±, that 'Ladin ~. Lieberman t?ndertook tc; .:buy 10 feet of :ground, am that P?r. Horne refused to sell-l0 feet, and that was the last ~~r.Horne heard of t}e matter, an~3 that no offer had been made to tilr.F?orne, until the night of December 16,'when°the statement was 'made that someone.acting for fir. Ladin had offered X1000 for 3 feet. fir. Abney said that °in his opinion, " the suggestion. by :r.Lieberman that, three appraisers come out. and snake an .appraisal, was a little late. He said that in }~~is opinion A~~rHorne could construct improvements that would impair the value'ef the house already--con- s,tructed, but that in ardor tc"maintain the restrictions, his. client was in the position of-having to sell `his land even though: he did not desire to do so. ?`~r.~ O.C. King, member af- the Board, asked ~.ir.~4`lliams, `City Secretary, if Nir. Herne would° have sufficient square feet left for two' lots if he' should sell 3 feet of his lot,. and I~ir. "~lliams advised that he would. Per. Abney resumed with the statement that if t}e offer had been made, it had evidently beenwithdrawn as his client had heard nothing more about the matter. SFr. Lieberman-said-that the offer of`~1000 was made before the house was moved back, and-that it wasn't necessary that they buy 3"ft. of land from Yar. Horne"- he .,was. asking the Board to give them-what the other Zoning B©ard gave them, He said it was true that Choy have only a 47 ft. lot, ar_d the hc±use`is not 3 ft. from the,~roperty line, but that they had proceeded on the basis of the waiving of the ..restrictions. btr. Abney stated t}sat he and his client v~ould not be present-unless they were interested parties.. 'He stated that should I+~r.'Horne build a permanent structure within 3 ft. of his property line,:it~would be a serious violation, and he thought the-Board should order a settlement between the two parties in order to maintain restrotions''ntact Per. Lieberman said that any order like t~iat by the Board to send them'ta a private conference.would force them to buy the land. " Mr. Abney stated that if`they didn't treat }a1r. Ladn fairly Mr. Ladn could certainly come back"to the Board. P~Fr. Lieberman asked P,rir. Abney what price 'rFr. Horne would put on the' land, and ~Zr. Abney said that the price should start from w'1000. " ulr. Lieberman said that F:~lr, iiorne told F.?r. Ladn he would not negotiate for the sale of any. of the' property wratsoever; and P~Ir'?ogle remarked" hat I~lr,Horne had turned him down on his offer. :SFr. ?N,A.Horne was reco"griZed by the Chair, He said` that the other parties had, come to his office to buy. l0 feet of -land,. He stated that he located the fiots on the map for them. He told them that he didn't care to sell. 10 ft. at all, and fc~r them to'>go ahead and move the garage and that'he would consider »vhat could `be done abcutthe house. He said that he heard not},~ing more from them until some time later when Fir."Ladin called, and was not every pleasant over the telephone, and during the conversation Prir. Zadin`accused him of '.holding the lots for high priced commercial.development, ana said that he was a, resident of hest. University-Place, and inferred thaw I:?Ir.Harne »vo~zldn't be allowed to `use he 8 -4- D~inutes of meeting held 1~23~47 continued. .land for commercial development. ~+Ir. Horne said he told ~r.,Ladin he had no plans for the development.. of these lots, .and. that. it was his ,property and his ` business as to-what he :was holding ..the property for, T~ir. Horne stated that he then told Isir. Ladir to forget the whole .deal... He stated"that. the next thing he heard was a rumor that ccme to him that the house was; going ahead, and that h.e had appeared before the Zoning Board to protest the waiving of"the.~restric- ` tions~ Mr. Terry then asked if there was anything else either side wished to stay and whentherewas not, he stated thatthe Board had heard from both ides, '.and that if the rest of `the `Board. would concur,_he would make this motion:: That 15 days hence, 1'ebruaryl0, if we have not heard that an'agreement has been reached between them, we will.. render a decision, and in thg rn~eantme,:the matter tivill remain in status quo. ` Voting Aye All' Voting rToes None- , her. Lieberman said that he would like to ask the Board to give them water and .:sewer connections r,ght,away, pending any agreement, as they had contracted to sell this house, and the prospective owner would like to move in next week. ~~r. Sing asked rulr. 6~tlliams if a decision was reached by nooon of the following ` day could ~trir.Ladin & I~z-.~,ieberman get connections in time to' carry out their `- ccntract with the purchaser, and sir. ~'ailliams answered "Yes". The following new business was. presented to the Board: , 2 -Application for building permit by Dr.~~.J,Tueker for the remodeling of "residence at-3311 Uriivsrsity Blvd: was presented, together with blue prints ;covering the propcseed remodeling. affidavit executed by Dr.Tu~ker dated January 20,1947, was read' by hlr.Chas.D,P~iehr, member-of the Board,wherein ~7r.Tucker affirmed that he intended to practise medicine--at said residence, .that he intended to comply with all zoning ordinances, and would not operate a clinic, As there were a number of citizens present, at the conclusion of-she rea.ding,.of this affidavit, FTr. Terry asked if anyone wished to be heard, `~ylr. Harvey T.Richards, 3402 University Blvd., ,announced that he was there as , spokesman for a group of interested citizens present, to protest the issuing" of .such a,permit to Dr.Tucker. He stated-that neighbors had called to his attention that' r.Tucker was. preparing to build a clinic at 3311 University Blvd,, .and .that upon investigation they found hat Ur. Tucker ':had made afalse' affidavit to secure -a permit fore the remodeling of said; building, and upon investigation by the City of west University Place,` llr.Tucker was stopped in his work on said building. That Dr',Tucker had stated to ome of the neighbors - that he was going to operate a clinic. .:That quite a ~.ot of valuable equipment, ' such as R-Flay, etc., had been moved-in which Ted them to believe that he intended to operate a clinic in violation of the exsting,Zonn~; Ordinance, That the City had crdered Dr.Tucker to swop work on three different occasions because of apparent discrepancies; ~znd that the citizens and neighbors of UrTucker _ felt that ~r.Tucker's new application fora permit was merely an attempt'to;get by the Zoning :,:Ordinance,. t 9 9 .5_ 2~Zinutes of meeting heldp Januar3r 23,1947 continued. ..Various other citizens wore heard, among them Being Sidney Clarabut, Mrs.R.E.Auer, 3316 University, George Blissard, 3.320 LTniversit~,T, lcy ,_. os y., nlversity, C.~.~'geber, 3321 University, and others ~~rho failed to give their names, and these. ci izens a regis ere s same objections to the issuing of a permit`to Dr.Tucker _T~,~r.Terry asked if-any other citizens wished to be heard and as there were note, . Mr. Terry called_ur~on Dr.Tucker, or his representative. N1r.Tom ~eatherly,Attorney advised that he was acting in the capacity as attorney for llr.Tuc~er. fie stated that there was a mis-understanding and friction between the citizens and Jr.Tucker, and that it-had come about by the fact that Dr.Tucker had ,just .:.recently moved to 'M1~est tJniversity,l'lace and was not familiar with the Loning Ordinance.. He further stated that ~)r:.Tucker had been. convinced that he:would' not build a clinic in hest University Place. He stated that Dr.Tucker intended to .use this property in accordance with regulations; and that-e}lthough he has a home on Tangley, he has made arrangements, or will make arrangements, to sell that property. He does note intend to use the property on University Boulevard as a clinic and at.no tide will he use it except as set .cut in the Zoning Ordinance.. T~~ir. Harve T,Richards was recognized.by the chair and stated. that theyp,(the citizens had heard this same story three times before and they were not con- winced of Dr.Tuckerfs sir_cerity in regard to tries. ,' ~~r. O;C. King, member cf the: Board.,.-asked-that Dr.Tucker, wha was also .present, defnea clinic.. 'Dr.Tucker said that it was. a place where more than one doctor operated. He .stated that he had no other doctors with him and thet he; only employed a practical ,nurse. Fie.,.said, in_answer to a previous charge, that he had emp oyed several attorneys in connection with this matter, t:~at he had never-employed but one attorney, ~;ir.'~featherly. He explained that he had originally intended to move the. building to some property which he owned on Edloe and had the trucks en the. lot to de the moving, and that the contractor. went to the City..Hall to get a permit fcr moving and vvas-told that he would. have to submit plans fora perma- nent building before he could move the old one.,- fie. said he t}lought he_had agreed tcmove .the building to 1';dloe fora .year and then build a fireproof build-; ing, but when the permit was refused. he went to' see. I~lr,Ralph Lee, N1a;;ror, who told him he would have to start construction on a-new buldnb within two months, and that he couldn't do that,- sc; he decided to'reconvert the ~;resentbuilding into a residence, leave it where. it eras, ;and he and his wife would maintain their residence there,.and he would conduct his practice there. He sand,: however, that he intended to build a permanentcffce on ~dloe as soon as ne could. T,~r. Harvey T,itichards stated that the nei7hbors hadseennegro patients drive uptto the place at 3311 University,in a taxi. Dr.Tucker replied that the cnly negro patient he had was a negro on whose wrist he had performed a bone, operation, and that the negro was attempting to locate him to find out if he could remove the cast. r~tr. Terry asked if anyon© wished to make any other statements to the Board: and there were none.. 10 -6- - 1~4inutes of meeting held, January .?3,1947 continued. I%r. Terry then stated treat Secticns 6 and 15 of the Zoning Ordinance, :provided.. for a certain square,fcot area in main buildings and certain type of construe- lion, for buildin£;s,erected in ,First Single Fafnily Ihveling District, which applied to the property in question, and that Dr.Tueker's plans apparently • conformed in that respect; and that fir. Tucker had r.~ade ' an af'fidavit` that the building would be used for the specific purpose applying under Section 4; and that there wa.s a specific provision in the law for penalties for violation of the Ordinance. lIowener, in .view of the fact that home owners who have been in crest University Place for a long time, have not only registered aprotes`t tonight, bu.t have previously registered protests; end due to `the fact that-such protests have not beenby dust one er twe individuals, but protests from many of `the neibhbers in that locality; and due to the fact that to the aoard and to the citizens present, there appears to be a little ambiguity in the meaning of tY~at particular exception und,r Section 4 of Ordinance go. 11, I make a riotion that • ' we deny `?r.Tucker's application fore a baildin~, or remodeling,- permit, and if he so desires refer it to the Board of Appeals. ~o ing on this motion as follows: doting Aye All Votin 1Toes .,.None. ~7r.Tr.r~ ?'`eatherly was recognized by the chair, arid.. stated that lie would like to knov~r on ~4rhat ~r,rcunds the Board refused the application. I~ir. O.C.King, mb~r~bf• they Board said that the Board' did not feel that it had an .adequate definition of a clinic; and to the Board, .the plans as subm ted by I)r.Tucker seemed tc show ghat appears to us to be a clinic; Until the Board has a clearer definition cf a-clinic, and definite evidence that the building is not going to be constructed for a clinic, '~.~'decision stands. The Urair recognized a lady from the floor, who have her r_ame as ~y.rs.l~lice, and who stated that she is the Sister of Ur.Tucker; and tl-~at Dr.Tueker lived. at 331.1 Tuniversity Boulevard and took iiis mewls with her prior to iris marriage; but tl;at af-Ler his ^iarriage he f eund that he did not have enoug3~~ room at that address, and purchased his other residence.' rvirs. Nice asked that`this_information be place3 of record, Pd°r. Terr;~~ thark_ed Pairs, 1Vice for here interest. 3 - ''~lr.Terry announced that the newspapers 1-:ad> stated that the Zonn€; & Planting Board would consider a matter relating to the zoning as corimeroial property, certain lots located en the west side of Kirby.)rive. r1r.Terry stated tha±, the Board had not received any applicaton'or petition err this respect and 'therefore could note act er. the matter. 4 - ~,ppl_ication in person by R,I3ubert'of Galena Park, requesting permssion'to place anew; Portable skatir~~; rink on Edloe and Rice Boulevard, TvTr.I3ubert was advised that Section 5, Paragraph 15, prohibited granting tl-~is request, therefore request eras denied by the Board. ;11 _,_ '~"inutes of ;meeting held January, 23,1947. continued. L~IV'FIT,'IS~~EB' BUSIA.ESS tc be taken up at the nP~t meetingz Application of B'aul ".Billingsley fcr permit to construct twee Four-~~ay Bruck Apartments on the southeast corner-of Bissonnet &nd iviercer Streets. Letters from~?}~~lin C.L'ronir_. ?623 tjmherst St., dated Jan.23,1947, and from` _ ~~r. and 1"rs. Roderick J.G~atts, 6134 Lake Street, protesting lifing ` of res- trictons on west side of Kirby: give. Lary ~"~.~~.itchell - a hold-over from the previous Board - i~~itchell's letter dated •une 7,1946,. regardin construction of a corunercial'building on~ the corner of Kirby Brive and-Rice Bculevard,(northwest corner} and reply by J.L.~'illams,_ City Secretary, and Secretarytc the Zoning Board, June 21,1946. Check status of this. There being: no further business to came before the Board, upon motion duly made, seconded,. and: carried, the meeting was adjourned. CFd nR ,_ AI SECRL'Tl'~RY