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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2007-01-03 RegularCommunity and Economic Development Committee Minutes January 3, 2007 The Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, January 3, 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, Ed Sebesta, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Also present were Friendswood Chamber President Carol Jones, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership representative Janet Stoney, Jackie Hutto of Griffin Integrated Marketing, and resident Brett Nichols. Staff members present were Karen Capps, Bo McDaniel, and Nick Haby. Absent from the meeting were Deirdre Brown, Jon Olansen, Bill Provenzano, Jim Gibson, Laura Ewing, Trish Hanks, Don Gartman, and Michelle Arnold. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:06 a.m., with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call was made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Ed Sebesta made a motion to approve the December 4 and December 6, 2006 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Jamie Ballard, and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action regarding Vision 2020 update. Karen Capps reported that Dean Cummings of UHCL was unable to attend the meeting. Karen will follow up to set up a meeting with Dean Cummings regarding when the students will begin to update the data pertaining to Vision 2020. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding: A. Griffin Marketing's revision to the "Why Now" presentation to address CEDC's comments regarding updating the presentation to be compatible with the City's Cable Access channel. Griffin Marketing provided an updated slide presentation to the "Why Economic Development Now" PowerPoint. Five slides were reviewed that included key messages regarding diversifying the economy, preserving green space, directing growth, providing shopping and dining opportunities, and providing funding for schools. It was discussed that a short explanation for each title needs to be added to each slide. The committee would like for the slides to be placed on the municipal PEG channel. Bo McDaniel will check with City Council before putting the slides on the channel. B. Public -private partnerships, e.g. nature tourism. The discussion on public -private partnerships was tabled. C. Status updates on: 1. West Ranch Karen Capps provided status reports on projects. She said that West Ranch will begin work on infrastructure for West Boulevard on the west side of FM 518 this year. Although there is some prospect interest for the commercial part of West Ranch, Friendswood Development wants the infrastructure in place first. 2. The Falls at Friendswood The developer, Eclipse Development Group from Irvine, CA, should close on the property on February 6. There will be a five-year rollback on taxes on the property once the agriculture exemption goes away. Eclipse Development has opened a Texas -based office in The Woodlands and will be in town next week to meet with City Staff, the Galloway School, and the Bay Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Karen also discussed the proposal from a hotel operator and developer regarding a hotel -conference center. The proposal is to share the cost for the hotel feasibility study that is needed on a 50-50 basis with the City. There are retailers interested in the property and the residential component is being planned for the project. 3. CDC Properties Karen Capps reported that CDC is working on a master development plan that is being spurred by the 40-60,000 square foot medical clinic prospect she has been working with over the past two years. At CDC's request, Karen sent demographic information and the ROAN report to CDC. CDC hopes to bring in a master development plan to the City before summer. The medical clinic would like to open by 2008. 4. Panhandle Industrial District Karen reported that City Council will have a work session to discuss the priorities for CIP water and sewer projects which include the panhandle sewer project — Phase I for FM 2351 to Beamer Road will be part of that discussion. Bo McDaniel mentioned the possibility of advancing sewer to developers on a pro rata share. 5. Downtown Revitalization Karen reported that P&Z requested feedback from City Council on the proposed downtown zoning measures. CEDC members said they would like to be more involved about this subject when there is further discussion by P&Z and City Council. Karen reported that she is working with the architect who represents Buzbee's development plans for downtown. The developer would like to move forward but the proposed development does not meet our current code regarding building heights, mixed uses, lot coverage, and setbacks. 6. Reports: A. Kirk Lippert reported on attending the December 21, 2006 P&Z meeting where rezoning 24.62 acres in Friendswood Lakes was considered for rezoning to commercial. He reported that P&Z had a negative recommendation for the rezoning. Kirk reported that last year and at the request of P&Z, the CEDC reviewed 13 undeveloped parcels regarding their future potential as commercial and/or residential use. The parcel under consideration for rezoning was one of the 13 parcels reviewed and determined to have potential commercial use due to its location. The CEDC would like to know the status of updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the understanding behind their negative recommendation regarding this rezoning. Bo McDaniel said he will follow up. B. There were no reports from committee liaisons. C. Jackie Hutto provided a marketing report. She said the fourth quarter e-newsletter was finalized and emailed by the City at the end of the year. Several news articles of interest were discussed. Griffin Marketing is working with the Houston Chronicle on several stories on new development projects. D. There were no other reports from City Staff. E. Karin Massicott handed out a draft of a business retention survey. The survey will be finalized this month so that visits can commence. Kirk Lippert is still working on obtaining the list of stakeholders in Friendswood. There was no report by the Strategic Planning Subcommittee. Karen Massicott reminded CEDC members of several dates of events. The Mayor's State of the City address will be held February 8 at the Friendswood Community Church. The Friendswood Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet will be held on January 20 at 6 p.m., at the San Luis Resort in Galveston. 7. Adl'ournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:56 a.m.