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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2007-10-03 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes October 3, 2007 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, September 5, 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: Chair: Jamie Ballard, Vice Chair Kirk Lippert, Brett Banfield, Michael Barker, Claude McEwen, Pauline Moore, Bill Provenzano, Ed Sebesta, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were City Council Member Andy Rivera, Planning and Zoning Chair Jim Gibson, Friendswood Chamber President Carol Jones, and Friendswood Independent School District representative Dr. Rebecca Hillenburg. Staff Members present were Karen Capps and Bo McDaniel. Also in attendance were Jason Murasko and Ying Dai from the University of Houston -Clear Lake. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:04 a.m. with a quorum present. CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION The Community and Economic Development Committee convened into Executive Session in Accordance with the Texas Government Code, pursuant to Section 551.087 — Deliberation regarding Economic Development Negotiations. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION 2. Roll Call. Roll Call was made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Ed Sebesta moved to approve the September 5, 2007 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Michael Barker and passed unanimously by the committee. 4. Presentation by Jason Murasko, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Houston — Clear Lake regarding Vision 2020 update. Dr. Jason Murasko, Assistant Professor of Economics of UHCL, and graduate student of finance, Ying Dai gave a presentation on their research in updating the data from Vision 2020. The update provided a comparison of 1998 to 2006 net assessed valuation of ad valorem taxes. The analysis provided a breakdown of residential and commercial values, the per acre value breakdown of residential and commercial development in the city, and forecasted general fund expenditures and relative tax impact. Dr. Murasko stated that ad valorem tax revenues represent 40 percent of the city's income. He stated that from 1998 to 2007, residential assessed value grew by 11 percent while commercial assessed property values grew at a rate of 2.5 percent. Karen Capps stated that she believes the lower growth in assessed values of commercial is partially due to Exxon's depleting oil reserves and that revenues have decreased substantially through the years. She said information would be researched on this point. Regarding taxing units, there was a 21.7 percent increase in residential units on the tax rolls and 17.8 percent increase of commercial and industrial tax units. Dr. Murasko emphasized that Friendswood is still heavily dependent on residential development. From the tax roll valuations and quantity of developed land in the categories of residential and commercial, it was calculated that the per -acre value of residential developed land was $265,867 while commercially developed land was valued at $562,852. Councilmember Rivera noted that this calculation did not include sales tax revenues the City receives which would make the commercial per -acre value even higher. Dr. Murasko forecasted net assessed property values and tax impact at buildout using the land scenarios also used in Vision 2020 of a 73/27, 80/20, and 84/16 residential/commercial land use split. The committee suggested that this presentation be provided to City Council and P&Z at the October 29 meeting prior to discussing the comprehensive land use plan update. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding the following Action Item reports; including, but not limited to: A. Comprehensive Land Plan update and future meetings Kirk Lippert reported on the September 19 meeting that was held with City Council and P&Z to discuss updating the comprehensive plan. Another joint meeting will be held on October 29 to discuss the proposed future land use map. B. Economic Development Strategic Plan Karen Capps provided samples of several other communities' economic development strategic plans to review. City Manager Bo McDaniel suggested the committee work on key points or strategies regarding economic development to include in the future comprehensive plan. The committee will discuss this at next month's meeting. C. Future projects for CEDC to consider Kirk Lippert suggested the finance subcommittee review the plan for Capital Improvement Projects for projects that will help spur economic development. The committee asked for this item to be placed on next month's agenda for further consideration. 6. Reports: A. Planning and Zoning — Jim Gibson reported on recent items that were on P&Z's agendas. Jim stated changes to the sign ordinance were made to allow more lines in changeable copy signs. Also City Council approved changes to a Specific Use Permit to allow conceptual drawings to be submitted to secure approval of zoning prior to engineering plans. Jim also reported the new downtown district zoning was passed by City Council on October 1. The new zoning district will replace the original business district zoning classification. B. Liaisons — Dr. Rebecca Hillenburg briefly reported on the pending school bond election. C. Marketing The new tradeshow banners were on display that will be taken to the International Council of Shopping Centers retail tradeshow in San Antonio on October 10 through 12. Karen Capps reported that Mayor Smith will attend the event this year along with Barbara Cutsinger, Marketing Manager of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, to help man the City of Friendswood booth. Karen Capps also reported on the Fifth Annual Broker/Developer Day that will be held on October 18. She said that approximately 28 persons have signed up for golf and about 30 to attend the event so far, and that responses are still coming in. D. City Staff City Manager, Bo McDaniel, provided copies of Wachovia Bank's book "Investing in the Changing Face of Real Estate." E. Project Status updates Karen Capps reported on the progress of Dr. Baden's project known as the Friendswood Medical Wellness Center, which should have their building permit in another week. A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for October 30. Ms. Capps also reported that another local business is completing a grant application which should be forthcoming. Ms. Capps reported that she has met or spoken with several interested developers for The Falls project. 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 a.m.