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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&Z Minutes 2012-06-21 RegularMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING HELD THURSDAY, JUNE 219 2012 AT 7PM CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS 1. The regular meeting was called to order at 7pm with the following people in attendance: Vice Chairman Mark Tibbitts Commissioner David O'Farrell Commissioner Jim Gibson Commissioner Hassan Moghaddam Mona Miller, Planner Nick Haby, Planning Manager/PI0 Aubrey Harbin, Development Specialist Morad Kabiri, Asst. City Manager Councilman Jim Hill Steve Weathered, City Attorney Absent: Chairman Mark McLean, Commissioner Jim Nye 2. Communication from the public/committee liaisons (To comply with provisions of the Open Meetings Act, the Commission may not deliberate on subjects discussed under this agenda item. Hour ever, the Commission may direct such subjects be placed on a later regular Commission agenda for discussion and/or possible action) Evelyn Timmons, Friendswood, stated that a property on her street has been sold and she understands that the proposed use is a Personal Care Facility. She stated that after obtaining information about the process to allow Personal Care Facilities from Mona Miller and obtaining a copy of the notes from the DRC Meeting they attended, she is concerned about who is going to monitor how many people are cared for in the facility. She stated that if they have more than 3, they must obtain P&Z approval and add parking. She stated that if they do apply for site plan approval from P&Z, she is concerned about adding parking in the rear because the adjacent house sits farther back so the parking would be their front view. She also stated that this area is being considered for the SFR-E zoning category and it does not make sense to allow 10 people to live in this house among others that are zoned SFR-E. She stated that this property is not in a flood plain like the other application for a Personal Care Facility that was recently considered and denied by Council. 3. Consideration and possible action regarding the Property Maintenance Code Kabiri explained the background as to why the Property Maintenance Code is being discussed, He stated that a workshop was held as a result of a citizen complaint to address some aesthetics concerns along FM 518 to determine whether or not City Council wanted to consider adopting a property maintenance code. A short while after the workshop, staff discovered that the International Property Maintenance Code was adopted beginning in 1984 as part of the building codes and subsequent adoptions of the codes include the property maintenance code. He explained that staff has concerns with resources such as court services and legal services, subjectivity and funding to enforce the IPMC, He stated that the substandard structures ordinance is sufficient to address concerns with dilapidated buildings. Kabiri informed the Commission that currently the City employs 1 %2 code enforcement officers and operates under a $4,100 annual budget for code enforcement. Other cities have more staff and budgetary resources to work with. City Council is asking for input from other boards and commissions and he stated that staff s recommendation is to repeal the IPMC. Moghaddam asked if we get a lot of complaints for code enforcement. Kabiri said that we do get numerous complaints and that one of the biggest areas of complaints is from HOAs using the City resources to address their concerns in order to avoid legal costs and convenience. He stated that currently code enforcement addresses about 20-30 complaints per week without enforcing the IPMC. Kabiri stated that enforcing the IPMC would increase the number of calls, but there is also a concern with uniform enforcement; codes would have to be enforced equally on all properties. The number of citations would go up considerably, which would impact the municipal court clerks and staff. He stated that currently, code enforcement only issues a few citations every month. O'Farrell asked for a comparison of code enforcement officers per 10,000 people population from other cities. Kabiri stated that the City of Galveston has a population of 50,000 and employs 9 code enforcement officers and operates under an $80,000 budget; Friendswood's population is 37,000 and employs 1 %2 code enforcement officers and operates under a $4,100 budget. Continuation of Communication fr•ofn Public/Conitnittee Liaisons regarding IPMC.- Dr. Hilmar Zeissig, stated that he has 25 years of experience working with the adoption of international codes and training government officials around the world. He stated that he recommends that the City does adopt the codes. He explained that a lot of time goes into writing international codes and they are written by the best experts. He stated that the City could not write codes that are as complete and foolproof. He stated that the City does not have to make the whole code mandatory and can pick which sections to adopt. He stated that it is easier to amend codes already written. He stated that HOAs could adopt them as well and he strongly recommended that we should not throw the codes out. Tony Annan, CEDC, stated that we should consider suspension of the codes for a period of time, but does not agree with dismissing the codes because of financial or funding reasons. 2 June 21, 2012 P&Z Meeting Tom Timmons, Friendswood, stated that the IPMC is too overreaching for a city like Friendswood. He stated that the City does not have a lot of commercial properties and that almost 99% of the enforcement is on homeowners. He stated that the cost is very expensive and the City should not do HOA duties. Timmons stated that Code Enforcement has been weak and complaint drive while the IPMC is very proactive and would be more difficult to enforce. He stated that he is concerned about the liability of the City for not enforcing the codes that have been adopted. Skip Evans, CEDC, stated that his concern is that most of the neighborhoods within the City have deed restrictions recorded at the County and he questioned how the conflict of the deed restrictions and the IPMC would be dealt with. Brett Banfield, CEDC, stated that a workshop is needed to discuss the issues. He stated that allowing a code enforcement officer to enter a home if they have reasonable cause is a lot of power to give someone. He also stated that enforcement of the codes would be an enormous cost to the City which we do not have. Banfield agreed that some of the codes could be used, and that a workshop would be useful for further discussion. Evelyn Timmons, Friendswood, stated that she agrees with the idea of a workshop for further discussion and she also agreed with keeping certain items from the code that the City really wants and can afford. She stated that her subdivision does not have HOA and it shows. She stated that she would prefer to enforce some of the code consistently across the city rather than not having a property maintenance code at all. Dr. Hilmar Zeissig, CEDC, stated that about 80% of the code is administrative and definitions which in itself could be helpful. He also stated that there is a lot of discretion in the codes. He stated that politically the City should not say that it cannot enforce codes because it does not have enough staff; it should adopt codes that the staff can enforce. Tony Annan, CEDC, stated that he does not want the repealing of these codes to disarm CEDC with the ability to facilitate a future development. He said that he does not want a developer to forego a development because of a violation. Resume Item 3 on the regular agenda: Gibson asked for clarification on the substandard structure ordinance. Kabiri explained the substandard structure ordinance as well as a high grass and weeds ordinance. Gibson asked if there are any other safety concerns that these two ordinances would not cover. Kabiri stated that the IPMC basically allows the city to enforce current codes on existing structures, whereas the building codes apply to new construction. Kabiri stated that some cities do require inspections for residential changes in occupancy. Frank Manigold, Building Official, stated that the City currently regulates commercial businesses via Tenant Occupancy inspections. He stated that the IPMC is intended to help the housing authority for cities with a population of more than 50,000 and for cleanup and regulation of tenement type homes and large apartment complexes; the codes regulate minimum living space and window size to ensure that buildings were not built too close together. He explained that Code Enforcement officers would be required to obtain 3 June 21, 2012 P&Z Meeting warrants for probable cause to investigate dirty pools, etc. which would also result in more attorney/legal time. Gibson stated that he agrees with CEDC that we should hold a workshop of the IPMC and substandard structures and high grass and weeds ordinances. O'Farrell asked if there is an ordinance to regulate low pressure gas tanks. Manigold stated that they are regulated by the Railroad Commission and Fire Marshal's office. Tibbitts stated that he understands the IPMC code to be very broad and it references a network of interlacing codes. He clarified with Manigold that this requires homeowners to maintain existing structures under currently adopted codes. Manigold stated that code enforcement took 102 pictures for City Council a couple of weeks ago and they could have written citations for each one for broken sidewalks, etc. Moghaddam stated that this is a complicated issue and will require manpower for enforcement. He stated that we should review the City's situation (manpower and budget) and determine which parts of the code are applicable. Motion to continue current practice until this is resolved and host a workshop to discuss IPMC further: Gibson Second: Moghaddam Vote: 4 to 0 (unanimous) Motion Carried Kabiri stated that this item will be on Council's agenda for July 2. Gibson stated that overall, the IPMC is overkill. 4. Consideration and possible action regarding future Planning and Zoning Commission meeting dates Miller stated that the next regular meeting will be Thursday, July 19, then August 2 and August 16. 5. The meeting was adjourned at 7:46pm. These minutes respectfully submitted by: 9/ e-a),T 9 Cfidlvl, Aubrey Harbin Development Specialist/P&Z Secretary 4 June 21, 2012 P&Z Meeting