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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2016-01-16 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes January 6, 2016 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, January 6, 016 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: Chair Pauline Moore, Vice Chair Marcus Perry, Brett Banfield, Skip Evans, Gary Kay, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were Planning and Zoning Commissioner Craig Lovell, Director of Economic Development of Galveston County - Bix Rathburn, and Carol Marcantel — President of the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce. Staff member present were Karen Capps and Aubrey Harbin. Absent from the meeting were Mark Conrad, Jeremy Magnuson, and Bill Provenzano. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Chair Pauline Moore at 8:34 a.m. 2. Roll call was made. There was a quorum. 3. Approval of Minutes. Dr. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to approve the December 2, 2015 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Gary Kay and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action regarding: a. Economic Development Policy Action Items — Economic Development Metrics The committee discussed data collection for economic development performance metrics and how to communicate them to City Council and residents. Historical sales tax revenue to the city, sales tax revenue by NAICS industry, commercial and residential building reports, incentives report, and prospect inquiries were discussed and reviewed. The goal is to provide a quarterly report to City Council. b. Proposed ordinance regarding requiring a specific use permit for single -use large retail establishments The proposed ordinance was discussed, particularly architectural controls already in place by the city and how such an ordinance would affect property owners and future tax base diversification. It was noted that there are at least six large land tracts along FM 528 that could potentially be impacted by the proposed ordinance and FM 528 is more likely to be the location where a large retailer would locate. Discussion continued about the need to diversify the tax base. It was discussed that past citizen surveys agreed and confirmed that tax base diversification must be a community priority. Also discussed was the cost impact to residents once Friendswood's population reaches 50,000. Current population is about 40,000 residents. The cost estimate is about $1 million to the city in extra operations and maintenance of streets, traffic lights, health district, etc. Motion made by Dr.Hilmar Zeissig, seconded by Marcus Perry, passed unanimously by CEDC 1. After due consideration, the CEDC does not support an ordinance specific to large retail establishments. Such an ordinance sends an anti -business message to all businesses considering development in the city, has a negative impact on revenue growth, a negative impact on land owners of large commercial tracts, is contrary to the Economic Development Policy adopted by City Council in 2015, contrary to the FM 528 Strategy where most of the large land tracts are located, and can have a detrimental impact in achieving the desired 80% residential, 20% commercial tax base goal. 2. The CEDC requests the opportunity to discuss and address this with both P&Z and City Council when it becomes a discussion item on their meeting agenda. 3. Skip Evans and Gary Kay will attend P&Z's meeting on January 21, 2016. 5. Reports: Planning and Zoning P&Z Commissioner, Craig Lovell, reported that P&Z will meet on January 21 and will also have a joint public hearing on January 11 regarding rezoning a property on FM 2351 for a pawn shop. P&Z is reviewing current architectural controls in comparison to the proposed large retail establishment ordinance. Committee Members Brett Banfield reported that the Friends of Downtown Friendswood Association has recommended that City Council support a sales tax election that provides 1/8 cent for downtown improvements and 3/8 of a cent towards street maintenance. Friendswood Chamber Carol Marcantel reported that the Chamber Annual Gala will be held on January 16 at Space Center Houston. Galveston County Bix Rathburn gave a report on prospect activity. He also reported that a transportation summit will be held in the second quarter of this year. 6. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:18 a.m.