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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2013-12-04 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes December 4, 2013 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, December 4, 2013, at 8:30 a.m., in the second floor conference room of City Hall, 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, Texas, with the following members present: Mark Conrad, Skip Evans, Jeremy Magnuson, Marcus Perry, and Bill Provenzano. Liaisons present were Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Marcantel, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Executive Director of Special Initiatives Dan Seal, Planning and Zoning Commissioner Jim Gibson, and Galveston County Economic Alliance President Don Gartman. Absent from the meeting were Tony Annan, Brett Banfield, Pauline Moore, and Hilmar Zeissig. Staff member present was Karen Capps. Also present was Jeff Newpher of the Friendswood Journal. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Acting Chair Skip Evans with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call was made. 3. Approval of Minutes. A motion was made by Jeremy Magnuson to approve the November 13, 2013 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Bill Provenzano and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action, but not limited to the Community and Economic Development Committee's strategic plan, goals, and action items. The committee discussed the recent rezoning request by Beazer Homes to rezone 123 acres of the Whitcomb property to residential and City Council's decision to not approve it. The committee asked that City staff request that an economic impact study be prepared by the developer early during the process, preferably at the DRC/pre-development meeting for any future proposed rezoning/downzoning from commercial use to residential. 5. Reports: Planning and Zoning Jim Gibson reported that P&Z had a joint work session with City Council to discuss the Permitted Use Table. There will be another follow up work session in January 2014. Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Dan Seal reported that a small group of Galveston County officials will meet with Senator Ted Cruz this week. Some of the topics that will be discussed is the Biggert-Waters rewrite of FEMA maps, storm surge suppression and the Ike Dike, NASA, and the availability and need for water by many cities in the area. Dan also invited the committee to attend BAHEP's Holiday Party on December 11. Galveston County Economic Alliance Don Gartman reported that the rumor is that Buccee's in Texas City will open in the second quarter of 2014. Also, Cinemark has plans to go nearby the site by the outlet mall. New SBDC Director, Bill Clement, will give a presentation to the CEDC in February. City Staff Karen Capps reported on the increase of sales tax collections for the month of November. A report on several prospects was also given. She also reported that there would be a city tour with Marcus Perry and Carl Gustafson in December. 6. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 a.m.