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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1879 Zoning Amendment Relating to Driveways and Parking City of West University Place Harris County, Texas Ordinance No. 1879 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS REGARDING DRIVEWAYS AND PARKING; AND CONTAINING FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT. WHEREAS, the City Council and the Zoning & Planning Commission ("Z&PC") of the City of West University Place, Texas ("City") have held a joint public hearing on a proposal to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City, as last re-formatted and re- adopted by Ordinance No. 1672, adopted March 12, 2001 and as subsequently amended ("Zoning Ordinance"); WHEREAS, the Z&PC has made a final report to the City Council with respect to such proposal, which report is attached as Exhibit A and made a part of this ordinance; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the report of the Z&PC and now formally approves and adopts that report; and WHEREAS, all notices, hearings and procedures relating to amending the Zoning Ordinance, as may be required by law, the City Charter or the Zoning Ordinance, have been duly given, held and followed, and the City Council has jurisdiction to amend the Zoning Ordinance as provided herein; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE: Section 1. The City Council officially finds, determines, declares and adopts all of the matters set out in the preamble of this ordinance, and the Zoning Ordinance is hereby amended as recommended by the Z&PC, according to the Z&PC's final report in Exhibit A, which is attached and made a part of this ordinance for all purposes. Section 2. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only. Section 3. If any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or other part of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall ever be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, neither the remainder of this ordinance, nor the application of such word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or other part of this ordinance to any other persons or circumstances, shall be affected thereby. Section 4. The City Council officially finds, determines and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of each meeting at which this ordinance was discussed, considered or acted upon was given in the manner required by the Texas Open Meetings Act, as amended, and that each such meeting has been open to the public as required by law at all times during such discussion, consideration and action. The City Council ratifies, approves and confirms such notices and the contents and posting thereof. The City Council officially finds, determines and declares that sufficient notices of the joint public hearing were given, and the City Council ratifies, approves and confirms such notices, including the contents and the method in which they were given. Section 5. This ordinance shall become effective on the tenth day following its publication, as provided in the City Charter. CONSIDERED, PASSED AND APPROVED on first reading on AUQust 11, 2008. Councilmembers Voting Aye: Councilmembers Voting No: Councilmembers Absent: Kelly, Fry, Guffey Talianchich Cohen a.:~DERED'1@~ED AND APPROVED on second reading, AND SIGNED, on X' , . ~ J., LA. ~ e ()}-/J/f'..-/ Councilmembers Voting Aye:. . t:~1 ~vJv /. l Councilmembers Voting No: f cJv.. ~ Co nc'lmembers Absent: N lrrJ..-.-- igned: J!I,/J/f ayor Approved as to legal form: ~~~~- City Attorney Exhibit A Zoning & Planning Commission City of West University Place, Texas 3800 University Boulevard West University Place, Texas 77005 April 10, 2008 Honorable Mayor & Members of the City Council City of West university Place 3808 University Boulevard Houston, Texas 77005 Subject: Final report on a proposal to amend the zoning ordinance of the City of West University Place, Texas ("City") relating to DRIVEWAYS AND PARKING To the Honorable Mayor & Members of City Council: The Zoning & Planning Commission of the City submits this, its final report, on the subject proposal, for the assistance of the Council as well as other interested persons. Scope of Proposal. The proposal would: (i) specify a nine- foot minimum driveway width (for single-family houses, this would be "mirror-to-mirror" width; the actual paved area could be narrower); (ii) allow pervious pavement beneath required driveways and parking spaces as an alternative to hard-surfaced pavement; (iii) require, in addition to garage parking spaces, an extra parking space between the garage and the public roadway (and not atop a sidewalk). The proposal mainly applies to single-family detached houses (SFD use). It includes details for measurement and locations, some cross-referencing and a special rule for some prior non-conforming driveways. The principal purposes are to facilitate and encourage off- street parking by making driveways easier to use and requiring extra parking spaces that would not block sidewalks. Such an extra space could also be used as a loading or unloading area. Proceedings After Preliminary Report. Pu.rsuant.. t.o publi€ notices, the Zoning & Planning Commission and the City Council held a joint public hearing on February 25, 2008. The hearing provided an opportunity for parties in interest and citizens to be heard in relation to the proposal. At the hearing, City staff explained the proposal, and several witnesses commented. The Commission has considered all of this information and the Comprehensive Plan. The Commission recommends the proposal with two amendments. One amendment reduces the originally-proposed minimum driveway width from 10'to 9' (for single-family houses, this would be "mirror-to-mirror" width; the actual paved area could be narrower). The other amendment would clarify that the proposed pavement specification (hard-surfaced or pervious) would apply to each required driveway and parking space. Recommendation. Based on the review given this proposal, the Commission: (i) finds that the proposal would be in the public interest and consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, (ii) finds that the proposal reasonably addresses circumstances which have arisen since the last comprehensive revision of the zoning ordinance, (iii) makes its final recommendation favorable to the proposal, and (iv) recommends that the City Council adopt the proposal, with the amendment discussed above, as shown in the attachment to this report. The Vote. This report was authorized by the Commission at its meeting held on the date of this report. The vote was as follows: Commissioners Brown, Yehle, Stafshede, McManus and Clark voted "aye;" no "noes;" Commissioners Duncan and Elkowitz absent. Respectfully submitted: ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS <~~ By: For the Commission Amendment relating to driveways and parking As amended 4-10-08 Amend table 7-5a as follows: I General Rule: Every building site, vehicular area and related structure must Table 7-5a: conform to the applicable regulations shown, by District, in this table. ("N/A" Parking, driveways, etc. means the rule does not apply.) Exceptions/Special Rules: (1) See special rules noted in table. (3) See Article 9 regarding Planned Development Districts. (3) See Note 7 regarding special exceptions. (4) See Article 10. Item Regulation .JiB WI ~ '. - 'lIB IU i' ! UI; R Jill "'~ . !Ill ]1 Off'street parking Number, Depends on land use, layout, etc. See this Table, Table 7-4a, and Article 10 spaces and location, size, (including maneuvering areas, design requirements, "same site" rule, yards, parking areas design street areas, loading spaces, etc,) Other regulations Grouping or Not allowed, except in a QMDS platted parking reserve serving two or more sharing. DUs. But see Note 2. apply; see, e.g. Article 10 Use of parking Parking spaces for non'SFD uses may only be used for motor vehicle parking. areas See Note 3. Maneuvering See Article 10. I areas Emergency Minimum 20 ft, via public or private street, to each principal building and each DU (or accessway width. to an adjacent open area accessible to firefighters and equipment). Other See Note 1. regulations also apply, e.g, fire code. Driveways and Minimum For SFD use: 9 ft. 1 private streets width. For non-SFD residential use: 10 feet, or 17 feet if two-way and serving thr e See Note 1. or more DU's. Other regulations Maximum For SFD use: (i) Driveway serving any single'bay garage: 12 feet. (ii) apply; see, e.g. Article 10. width (in front Driveway in a front yard serving rear garage or side'facing garage: 12 yard or street feet. Gill Driveway in side street area of a corner site serving a side- area) facing garage with three or more bays: 30 feet. Gv) Any other drivewa See Note 1. 20 feet. For other residential uses: 24 ft. (or 35 feet if connecting to a major thoroughfare) . For ~all other use~: 30 feet (or 35 feet if connecting to a major thoroughfare) . Maximum For non-SFD uses: 160 feet, driving distance to the nearest street area, length measured along centerline from farthest end point. A longer driveway is allowed if there is an approved turnaround or second means of egress, or if the driveway is platted as part of the common area in a QMDS. Route, location See Note 6. IN/A Spacing For non'SFD uses: There must be at least 40 feet between the "inside" apron edges (at their narrowest points) of driveways serving the same building site. Pavement Required type For SFD use: Hard'surfaced or pervious pavement required for each reqU~ed See Note 4. driveway and parking space. Twin "ribbons" of pavement are permitte . For all other uses: Reinforced concrete, with curbs and drains required for all vehicular areas. Exceptions: llLSee Table 7-3 (pervious pavement) and Note 4, below. (ii) See Artide 10 regarding "overhang.... Markings; wheel Required type For non-SFD uses: Parking spaces must be clearly marked on the pavement, stops. and wheel stops are required. See Note 12. Curb cuts Number For SFD use: Maximum one per subdivided lot abutting the street. For non'SFD use!;!: Maximum one per 50-ft. segment of street line. Other regulations See Note 5. apply; see, e.g. Article 10. Max. width per Four feet (for aprons) plus the maximum driveway width allowed. Each curb 50,ft. segment cut must be confined to the part of the street area that directly abuts the of street line building site(s) served. See Note 1. Visibility triangles Forbidden The following are forbidden on parts of a building site within a visibility See definitions structures, triangle: structures, plants or other things taller than 2.0 ft. or shorter than in Article 2 plants and 8.0 ft. This does not require removal oftrees in existence on July 1, 1992, if other things kept pruned. Note 1. Width measurement methods. Minimum driveway width refers to OOtft-unobstructed vehicular access path and. for non-SFD use, -pavement. Maximum driveway width refers to maximum width of pavement in a front yard or street area, excluding complying curb cut aprons. Maximum curb cut width refers to the width of the driveway plus aprons, measured at the edge ofthe roadway. [Remaining notes not amended] Amend the second page of Table 7-5a in the same manner as shown above, so that each change also applies to each POD. Amend the top two lines of the table in Section 10-100 (Off Street Parking) as follows; Use or type of space SFD use on a building site cOfl:taining 5,000 sq. ft. or more. Minimum number of parking spaces The number of garage parking spaces required by Article 7 plus one additional space located between the required garage space(s) and the public roadway. The additional space may be on the building site or in the adjacent street area (or partly in each), but may not encroach upon any part of a public sidewalk (existing or proposed) or the roadway.2.a per buildiag site. Sce, alse, Article 7. Amend subsection (g) of Section 12-103 as follows: (g) Driveways. If the PNC item is non-compliance with driveway regulations in an SF District, PNC status is lost if: (i) a new driveway is constructed, (ii) an existing driveway is either replaced or expanded, or (iii) space is added to the principal building so that its gross floor area is increased to 200 percent or more of its gross floor area on the 1987 effective date. This subsection does not apply to non-compliance with minimum dimensions for a driveway (or maneuvering area) on a site with SFD use only. AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION ~ HOUSTON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF HARRIS Personally appeared before the undersigned, a Notary Public within and for said County and State. Jill Chapa , Representative for Kevin Barry Publisher of the West University Examiner, a newspaper of general circulation in the I County of Harris, State of Texas. Who being duly sworn, states under oath that the report of Leqal Notices, a true copy of which is hereto annexed was published in said newspapers in its issue(s) of the (~ day of ~S~)khj~12f ,2008 day of , 2008 ~ C'k / ""_ i ~ , , ". .>-.... Publ iS~ Representative d before me this 5V-f-l ~Vl day of :5l o-f-. ,2008. 7 Notary Public My commission expires on 0/20 I Z t51 1 " Il'