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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2007-02-07 RegularCommunity and Economic Development Committee Minutes February 7, 2007 The Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, February 7, 2007, at 8 a.m., in the second floor conference room of City Hall, 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, Texas, with the following members present: Vice Chair, Kirk Lippert, Jamie Ballard, Karin Massicott, Pauline Moore, Bill Provenzano, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Also present were City Council Liaison Laura Ewing, Friendswood Chamber President Carol Jones, Planning and Zoning Liaison Marcus Rives, Clear Creek ISD representative Michelle Arnold, and Griffin Integrated Marketing President Gwen Griffin. Also in attendance were Brett Nichols and Colleen O'Brien. Staff members present were Karen Capps, Bo McDaniel, and Nick Haby. Absent from the meeting were Jon Olansen, Ed Sebesta, Trish Hanks, Jim Reinhartsen, and Don Gartman. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:08 a.m., with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call was made. Vice Chairman Kirk Lippert reported that City Council appointed Claude McEwen as a new member of the CEDC. 3. Approval of Minutes. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to approve the January 3, 2007 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Pauline Moore and passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Elect Chair. Bill Provenzano made a motion to nominate Jamie Ballard as Chair of the Community and Economic Development Committee. The motion was seconded by Hilmar Zeissig and it passed unanimously in the committee. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding the following subcommittee reports; including, but not limited to: A. Strategic Planning Subcommittee Bill Provenzano reported on interviews he conducted with three businesses that recently developed and opened in Friendswood. It was suggested that Bill discuss the feedback from these businesses with the City's Acting Director of Community Development. B. Community Outreach Subcommittee Karin Massicott provided a copy of the final business retention survey form that will be used for the business retention visits. The goal is to visit two Friendswood businesses monthly. The survey will help collect general information on each business, gauge their views regarding the business climate in the city, and learn whether the business has expansion and/or relocation plans in the near future. C. Finance Committee Kirk Lippert reported that the stakeholder list he tried to obtain was outdated and the information would not be useful to the committee. Karen Capps stated that a meeting is scheduled with the Dean of the Business School of UHCL to discuss updating the data in Vision 2020. 6. Reports• A. Planning and Zoning — Hilmar Zeissig reported on attending the P&Z meeting on February 1, 2007. He stated the sign ordinance is under review regarding what is allowed on changeable copy signs. P&Z is still working on the Comprehensive Plan and the future Land Use Plan and expects it to be finished in May. Hilmar also reported on a senior housing apartment complex proposed in front of the Friendswood Lakes subdivision. It was discussed that there are approximately 18 acres currently zoned CSC located in front of Friendswood Lakes subdivision. The committee discussed their concerns regarding down -zoning of properties currently zoned commercial to a non-commercial or residential use. Approval of down -zoning properties in the city could result in more requests and approvals in the future. Karen Capps reminded the committee that Vision 2020 stated that as the city builds out, residential land in the city would be absorbed much faster than commercial land and ultimately, there would be pressure placed upon the City to rezone commercial land to meet residential market demand. Vision 2020 advised the City to maintain the 80 percent residential and 20 percent commercial tax base in order to achieve tax base diversification when build out approaches. B. Liaisons - City Council Liaison Laura Ewing reported on an upcoming Community Appearance Board meeting and a hotel feasibility study that will be considered by City Council at their next City Council meeting. Carol Jones reported that the next Chamber membership luncheon will be held on Thursday, February 8, which is the Mayor's State of the City Address, and the annual car show will be held on Saturday, April 21, from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. C. Marketing — Gwen Griffin reported on several stories that ran in various media outlets and also said the economic development PowerPoint was ready to submit to the City Manager for placement on the municipal channel. The 2007 strategic marketing plan was drafted and will be provided to the CEDC at next month's meeting. The first quarter 2007 e-newsletter is also being drafted. D. City Staff — Karen Capps reported that the representative from the Small Business Development Center in Pearland recently visited her and said that ten percent of their activity comes from Friendswood businesses they assist. Their assistance includes business start-up workshops, business plans and loan packaging. E. Project updates West Ranch — Karen Capps reported on a meeting that she and the City Manager recently met with Friendswood Development Company. FDC will begin installing infrastructure on the west side of FM 518 this year. FDC will start marketing at least one of the commercial sites later this year. A home improvement store could be a prospect for one of the retail sites. The Falls at Friendswood — At the time of the meeting, Karen could not confirm whether Eclipse Development Group had, indeed, purchased the Whitcomb tract, and would advise the members by email. CDC Properties — No report Panhandle Industrial District — No new information was available regarding the FM 2351/Beamer sewer line extension project. Downtown Revitalization — It was reported that several new projects are planned including Banfield's second expansion. Karen Capps reported that the new height limits allowed in a PUD will permit Banfield's downtown project to go forward. City Council will meet with P&Z regarding the new downtown district that would replace the original business district zone. 7. Adiournment. The meeting was adjourned at 10:08 a.m.