Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBOA - Decision 02/07/1972 4 S�XI®0� CITY OF, FRIEND :t 109 WilIowick Avenue _ FRIENDSWOOD,':TEXAS' 77546 - f r 482 3323 = September 27., -1971 r „ y Mrs Greg 'Hughes _ 206�E. Edgewood Friendswood, Texas 77546 _ Dear Madam: . - .Thi s" 1 etter-'i s' i n response to'your request to open 'a•Music Studio in the mobi 1 e 'home on ,the back -of_ - your.property. 'This _,property is, zoned Commercial ; therefore, 'your' request is a'pp ovi d►-by Planning & Ioning Commission. - :. Respectfully- L. B. Cline., .Ci ty. Administrator• ' LBC/mp «N: i�j P .,.�-;A, , .. ! '+�'' t ,;t[�> Y.t �n��156•`.A�'f'1'`�. � �S -L� _ . 1 z \[ ly1R4,Aq�x ,lGil Y ;1 tNi i`v ��i x't fr�� t i..,' r ��e n ?•rw ad,x e-Y2 ;T a 'r , ({ •�. p4 a "l:fh 'h>' ✓ 'kf .� f y r' g fi 'S< <1uu {v r'L s � Hji� 7 ,i d`t s a" ;si• } ,. _ c o5;" "• rti. �f Z, ��a t ayi�4 .d_ �3u�C � y '4.� 3 33 } Xf r F� � { '� } 4Yi`��3, ;1z '•t' t MR +.. t i w.,d�� >?1.fi}, _,i. ..,.,. t _,• Y r.� I { ,. � .,,iF F -j�� �. f1„ ,�-t%�. .. .. .. _ , iiJ w'�i�J{';{ �'ra ✓ . f .'_i. .w i. ..._.^,.+_ '�ao «^.. 11..d1, hir q�°flu '2UV C � o Edge4Pd the eN Friendswood,, ;,Texas f7��40 ..f r>>�v< y���r a a , Dear sir: this I-et'ter wri t te1i to noti,fY`yy ou that.,.you are.diofatinJ City, Ordinance #132 bdr � . Zoni ng--Ord canoe r `that'pevmlts Mobi'le- Homes 'to be located only in t+iobi,le,: ); : Home Parks in. tiho City;,Qf Fv'ienclsuIood. Since _Yo _r'.._ ?]C Home is not_ located-Th a-Mbbile Home Park, you are in, violation and :you must move your Mobi 1e Home, Corporation 11u 'ust¢ 6 _ _.,._... __. ._._ ..___.._. _ _• . _. g , 1971'..o.r_y.ou'��vil.l...:be e 'ted Corporation Court., to Y6urs "truly y.R• r: , {o B. ones, u ng f qc a City..of- Friendswood . p , y " i Serving The Bay Area P. ❑. BOX 9 713 -482-7446 FRIENDSW❑OD, TEXAS 77546 4B2-7701 -482-7158 August 4, 1971 Mr. L® B. Cline Director, Zoning Ordinances City Hall Friendswood, Texas Dear Mr. Cline: I am writing to request a parking permit for my parents' mobile home. We have parked it on the back of my property at 206 E. Edgewood. My parents are living with me and are not occupying their home. My father is currently on six-months' leave of absence from his company due to illness. Following his hospitalization for mental and physical exhaustion, the doctor recommended that they pull up stakes and come down here with me. They decided to do this and moved everything here from Ohio. Since this was a rather abrupt break for my father (he has been manager of a loan company for 23 years), it was easier for him to make this decision if he could bring his own home with •him and not feel so dependent upon me and my husband. We were under the impression that land which is commercially zoned did not come under zoning or restrictions affecting residental areas. Therefore, when my parents called and asked if they could just come on down, we told them of course. Now, we are told we will have to move their home. At this time, it would be most helpful if we could have a parking permit to store their home on our property, as their plans are unsettled and the moving expense is very great. There are three mobile homes in our neighborhood (Edgewood-Melody Lane), so I do not feel that storing one would be completely out of keeping with the neighborhood. I do hope you will honor my request and thank you for your consideration. Yours truly, V Nance Hughes Serving The Bay Area P. O. BOX 9 713 - 462-7446 FRIENDSW❑OD, TEXAS 77546 492-7701 -482-7158 Aug. 49 1971 Mr. L.B. Cline Director, Zoning Ordinances City Hall Friendswood, Texas Dear Mr. Cline: I hereby make application for a parking permit to store my parents' mobile home on my property at 206 Ee Edgewood. The home is not occupied, as my parents are living with me until they have time to decide their plans. Thank you. Yours truly, N�,.�.� \fir-►-��s Nance Hughes I 206 E. Edgewood Friendswood, Texas Sept. 9. 1971 Planning Commission Friendswood City Hall Friendswood, Texas Dear Sirsa I hereby request permission to open a small place of business on my property at 206 E. Edgewood. We would like to open a music studio where my father could give music lessons and would prefer having a separate building for the studio (see enclosed plat) . Your attention to this matter is appreciated. Yours truly, Mrs. Greg Hughes NOTSSjjA7jArO:)r oad� I Q � Q 0 co Ca Q � o � �o: 5 a a o �__ se ors �. \ pctob r 26t 1971 i 1.1r. L. B. Cline City of Friend swood 109 Wi lloVri ck Texas Dear Mr. Clines Un the 9th day of August I contacted Mr. Jones about a mobj.e hopie movedi to kri-encisFa, it 206 Ed-e:.,ooc? Ave. the previous ;•:ee'Kena. Mr. Jones knee•., of no. such action as the re had been .no narkiitg Permit issued awl there were no proves s i_ons for such in this area of Friendsznood0 Rr. Jones said he would check on, this Mobile homod I called,, back the latter part of the ►week and Jones was not in the office so I talked to youo You told mo that Mr. Jones had issued a 30 day t e.m.porary -pa rlldmg permi t until the -ownc-,ra cot,.Ld secure a location for' this mobile h;;rie or disposo of it. Upon the is-size of this tenporary pe;,rmi t the mobile home was corrple:tely asseR bled. and anchored dou n. firo-end the 1:3th of•September I contacted Mr. Jones again „ and he told. ma the pe?ni t had expired and comniente°d that he really cti n't undersiana its ?ssue in the first places VR-,Gn 1 Contacted you aaaiYI on this matter you said that the owner-t were peti.ti.ollng for the rezoning', o1 this area so that 'the'Itio61-Le horse could be -used exclusively for .a music studio wath no one living in the building. At this ti_xr_e the ului_lfit:i_es were 'turred on and Icy early C^t01yor people were Uidng in the btl.i_:I_ding.,day and nigaxt. . j It lasts been the intent of the owners to establish a mobile i a home res:i.denco at this location fro,, the. day the b-o Tciirlg was b. out It onto t-he lot. The saner of this lot ha.s Worked in a r e,l.es i�:t.c office cF :in I+`ltiertdsYroed during the jxrt s i �a.r and knota s the regulations on mobile homes. The riobi © horse j was zroved into lc-Tun vmth no proz 1s•?ons na.de with tha ,C: t:y of n, iendsn ood, The riobile home was declared a corr7e:.rcia� bu7.1d iaag and then i mi ed lately occupied as a residence. -CITIZENS OF FRIEhDSWOOD: `. Is this your plan for the growth of Friendswood? . Please express your opinions - on the use and location of mobile homes in Friendswood. Call your city 'offi_ci.als . : . October 26, 19'111_, . ` City of i'`r3ends°.r�a�c3 109 willo=adek Fripndcswood.;. Toffs' . Dears Tfr Clime: . 'Oat the. 9�h dayoff'- Au, 1,contaefed;tt e. Jti��as-: boys% �, mobile hpmfl moved into ' endsw©od gt 2®h �,dge`ra�d the prevaovj§ iieekerid: Mr. Jones, 'Immi of ' such actin as there had been no'pai-kirig, permit issued and there war® no. prov.sions'for such in'this area of Fr erdMTood. 243�. . - Jones said he would oheck..on tYa3s, robilo home' .l called back the .latter part ® the-week and .Mr, Jones :gas .riot fin:' -the office so,l talked' to you, 'you' told me 'that kr.'.JonQs.' .,'had issued a 30 day tempos r parking permit until the. ot.rners could secure it lccati6n -for this mobile home oi, dispooe of it: Upon the issue of this temporary perra�.t the mobile hone eras ,comple toly assembled and anchored A�`©und.�" the. 13th of Sep teeber• I con�tad ted Jone6..a ga3.n ,--and he -told me the permit bad eared an awnented they. l® real! didri6t uhderstand'.its issue in .th® first 'place.:-;` ; When I eon�eted you.air bxP i s rn�tte °. you sa•e d ghat the owners were pe'titioning fdr..th©,tet,on1n cif. this area so tit-at the.Mob 3ca home' bs used' e�eluoitra3y fc�r' a Mu siuda.o with no one livjng.'„in the bilildi.ng. At. ads time the''uttlities here' tus'ned on aril early October- time were 'li�ig, 3n. the lding,, Ay and nighic.. - lt•has been the intent of the homeresidence at c,Y s locata oxz from he 'day the, bui wr s. brou�-ta the lot.,..The;.owrier cif-this lot_has worked " . a rec,lgstAte of�'�.ce.in Mendswood-durim, the past year ' axed 'knows .the regal c�ens ° ',roob 2e•°homos. The io"pile home. was mowed into 'town�_-vejth.no,-provisibns made -frith the City of Friendserood. The_mobile home Tray,, declared a-cODMiere=l,:. building. ind`. then'i,&_edict tely oe�u�3®d as a resldoric©, Badauso of the actibw of the _Miners in 'v.iolatioill of. = e�dsti,g'ra tions �s ',pertaining,to ,bua .ding and �o as gassed and apprOvod b,�' the city council of • the .City of I'r3.endwoed. I.-am,ask-n;e. (1.} Removal of said-mobile home from this location to an appropriaa e. area toned' for mobile wrae r©sidenc'es. , or that it be tAken' omp]e€ ely out . of Frieiidarood. (2.,) This area bo razoned to the existing .` conditions beforQ the pets t itin gars approved foxy rezonirZe 43.) Mobile home .struotures not •bo permitted -for commoreial use �.n the City- of Friends�ood,, Tpyn-s. = By'the.action takes above_the �i-dshes -of the "Pie of Fridnd�iood crM be-. carried opt. Yours trulyl. John H. twalger . 51?� Misty bane Copies sent to s Mr.- L.. B. Cline Mrs.: �Cvy �'®ss er P f 420 Falling Leaf Lane Friendswood, Texas 77546 . 1 November 1971 The Honorable E. Stuart Mayor of Friendswood, Texas My dear Mayor Stuart , Five years ago I selected Friendswood as the decent place to settle and raise my family. I had known the quietness and. quaintness of this small town since 1955 and had envisioned returning many times. It is this sort of environment which I feel you and the other present and past city Fathers have historically been striving to attain. Most of the past work of our leaders has been outstanding in meeting this objective. Since returning I have become increasingly alarmed at the number of mobile homes which have been appearing on the scene. Upon casual observation I would estimate that our population of mobil homes has increased by about 500 per cent. Please realize that this is purely an estimate. I °m sure that those of you who have lived here in Friendswood longer than I could attest to the rapid rise in the number of mobile 'homes. Since I am definitely opposed to the nature of the existing un- planned and uncontrolled mobil -home ingression I would prefer to be honest .in my appraisal of the situation. Recently an unknown person (or persons) has resorted to distributing a copy of a '.letter (copy attached) supposedly delivered to Mr. Cline. Irregardless of whether this approach is the proper way of handling the situation I sincerely hope that others will take up the cause and jolt our city Fathers (of Which I realize you are only one) into action in this specific case and into establishing rigid control of rules pertaining to temporary dwellings and mobil homes. In my opinion the following factors relative to mobil homes gener- ally exist: r They tend to degrade the aesthetic value of the surrounding environment. ® They generally intend and fully attempt to. avoid paying their proportionate part of the, burden of. the community. There are cases where wheels or tires are left just touching the ground in order to avoid paying local taxes. By so doing, the mobil home owner can get by with just paying the annual liscense tag fee. ® In many cases the mobile home owner can ,"permanently" install the trailer by 81mply paying a very nominal annual fee (in Houston, ` 0 3=.00 per year) which re- lieves- them of all other financial responsibility to the community. ® The managers of mobile home parka,revert -,to such obvious technigiles as having a single water ,-source and sewer connection (commercially assigned by the city) thus avoiding the individuals payment as exists CT/ pg. 2, letter to Mayor Stuart for a permanent home. This obviuosly creates an unjust burden the community resources and services .the cost of which must be borne by the homeowners . a The general appearance created by the mobil home and its immed- iate surroundings is distasteful. Their inherent mobile and transient nature results in temporary buildings , piles of trash (resulting from lack of storage space) , and a general untidiness. a Many times their location is an obvious eyesore and their location and appearance can only be '.considered degrading. Witness the trailers being placed just outside of Friendswood (on. FM, 2351 ) near Wedgewood. (Now please do not -take. up this point in re- taliation as I know it ' is outside of your jurisdiction. ) As , regards this subject I have had relatives visit from out-of- state who commented upon our permission to allow these types of eyesores. e . There always seems to be a degradation of property value in the area immediately surrounding mobile home parks. Further, there is generally a disproportionate and astounding -decrease in prop- erty values when a mobile home is permitted within an already established residential neighborhood. Why else would there be firm restrictions in newly developing subdivisions disallowing the use of mobil homes as even temporary residences. while per- manent home construction ensues ? ® The over crowded living conditions in many existing mobile home establishments is,, in my opinion, a disgrace to this country. © Many mobile -home owners are simply renting land and have truly little (if any) interest in improving the .community. They are simply attaching themselves as a temporary expedient -to our public utilities, schools, and environment. ' If we are going to continue to allow flagrant violations of our zoning laws and restrictions I wonder what will come next ? I can think of many- closely related distasteful things for our community. I wonder if it would be possible to. bring to the publics attention the following: . . ® How much tax is actually collected from each mobile home in Friendswood? ® , How are--tax rates actually determined for -mobile homes as compared to permanent single family dwellings? ® What sort ,-of "arrangements'! are made pertaining to water and sewage connections? . (As an example-I paid $200.00 for a hookup to city water service just recently. ) Why shouldn't the mobile home owner pay the same in' every case? In fact, it would be extremely interesting to see what the hookup pg. 3, letter to Mayor Stuart cost was for the 206 Edgewood Avenue property. Hopefully, others in this beautiful town are concerned and will make their positions known. -I thank you for reading this communication, Sincerely, '•t C. G. Gibson cc: City Council members November- 25, . 19.7.1 Board of Adjustments City Hall Friendswood, Texas Gentlemen: Under the. provisions provided_ for in Ordinance -` . N6.--13Z,; I -hereby 'aslc--for a--hearing- before the - Board of Adjustments, to appeal a decision made, 'by an Administrative. Offical concerning useage of 'a mobile home : at 206 B. Edgewood Ave, -It is my 'underst anding 'that '.a hearing will be , set within 60 days. Yours truly, Nance.. Hughes 206 E. 'Edgewood .eve:, .Friendswood,'.Texas cc.-2 CITY OF FRIENDSWO®D 109 Willowick Avenue FRIENDSW00D,' TEXAS 77546 462 - 3323 December 1 , 1971 i Mr. John Walser 110 Woodlawn .. Friendswood, Texas 77546 Dear Sir: I contacted Mrs. Nance Hughes Thursday Morning, November 25, 1971 regarding living in their Mobile Home. They stated they would not live in the Home but were going to appeal my decision to the Board of Adjustments. The Board will hear her case sometime in the next sixty (60) days. Thank you for your interest in the City Government. Respectfully, L. C ine Zoning Administrator LBC:mw ` r i I ,{ { CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD 109,Willowick Avenue FRIENDSWOOD,. TEXAS 77546 482 - 3323 Mrs . Nancy Hughes . P: 0.Box A 2 'Friend swood,Texas . Dear Madam:I do not have your request to meet with the Zoning board of adjustmentz but I must explain to you that any use of the Mobile Home other than a Music Studio is in violation of Ordinance # 132 and is subject to penalties as provided by the ordinance#132. We hope this clarifies the the situation as it now exists . Thanks. I yL oning Administrator 4 tl - ... - '� . - Q �: � � - - - �U :� . . .A - . : � - - -;: - -.;�� �� y�:. 7,:: @���� . �,� � emu=: _ . ���.i.. .iM�- ��� + ��' - � ,� :�- � � - _ ��� _ + S7: �. .� � }�.. T ''� � PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC HEARING. - FRIENDSWOOD. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT January 6, 1972 - 8:00 P.M. , NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD IN THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL FOR THE PURPOSE OF HEARING OPPOSITION TO A MOBILE HOME BEING USED AS'A RESIDENCE AT 206 EAST EDGEWOOD. THIS AREA IS ZONED C-1 , A BUSINESS DISTRICT. GEORGE W. RUMMEL, SECRETARY FRIENDSWOOD BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT INTEROFFICE MEMO I �- CASE OF THE MOBILE HOME Aug. 3, 1971 K. B. Jones wrote letter to Mr. Hughes, 206 E. Edgewood, notifying that he was in violation of Ord. #132. Aug. 4 Letter from Mrs.Nance Hughes requesting parking permit to "store" parents' mobile home . in her yard. Aug. 4 Letter from Mrs. Hughes (two same day) requesting parking permit. Aug. 5 K. B. Jones issued 30-day permit for storing privilege. Sept. 9 Letter from Mrs. Hughes to _the Planning Commission requesting permission to open small business on property - "would prefer a separate building for the studio." (drawing attached) . (No - mention of mobile home) Sept. 24 Letter from K. B. Jones notifying Mr. James B. Lowdermilk (father of Mrs. Hughes) that his temporary permit had expired and requesting payment for new parking permit. Sept. 27 Letter from L. B. Cline to Mrs. Hughes "in response to your request" giving permission "approved by Planning & Zoning Commission" for the mobile home, to be used as a music studio. Oct. 11 Semi-Annual Parking Permit issued to Mr. Laudermilk by Jones. Oct. 26 Letter to Mr. Cline from John Walser protesting placement and use of this mobile home. Undated Letter to Mayor and Council from Mr. Walser protesting. Nov. 25 Letter to Board of Adjustment from Mrs. Hughes requesting hearing to appeal decision by Administrative Official under Ord. #132 (Zoning Ordinance) . Dec. 9 Letter from Chairman, Board of Adjustment, asking for posting of notices for hearing. Dec. 12 Notice posted for hearing to be held on January 6. Jan. 6' Meeting postponed due to lack of quorum of Board. t ^l • y It is my understanding that consideration of permitting this. use of a mobile home was based on the fact that nothing- in the Zoning Ordinance prohibited such use. To my knowledge, .the Mobile Home Ordinance No. 129 was never considered in this instance in spite of the fact that Article XIX, page 14 of this ordinance . stated: "It shall be unlawful to occupy a mobile home as any type occupancy other than as a private dwelling, provided, however, a mobile home may be parked at a -constructing site for use as a field office for a period not exceeding the period of construction and not more than one mobile home ' may be used for demonstration and office at a mobile home sales park. On page 1 , Ord. No. 129, under definitions: "Mobile home means a portable vehicle constructed on a chassis and which has been designed so that it may be occupied and used without a permanent foundation. , For the purpose .of this Ordinance, a mobile home shall mean a single family dwelling unit suitable for year-round occupancy and which has provision for electrical and water connections and which provides for waste disposal in compliance with the Plumbing Code requirements for dwellings. Such vehicle shall be eligible for registration and, licensing by the State of Texas for operation on the public streets and highways. i CONCLUSION: In view of the above it appears that this was, from the beginning, simply a matter of being in violation of Ord. No. 129; and should never have been considered under Ord. No. 132; Certainly there seems to be no reason to pursue the question under#132 since, even though they were given permissions to use the trailer in this location for a music studio, they would still be prohibited from doing so under #129. Now the only question is WHAT IS THE PROPER PROCEDURE AT THIS POINT? Bobbie Henry January 27, 1972 cc: Mayor & Council i City Attorney L. B; Cline Board of Adjustment MEMORANDUM February 1 , 1972 TO: Members of Friendswood Zoning Board of Adjustment FROM: George W. Rummel , Secretary On Wednesday, January 26, I stopped by the Friendswood City Hall to sign minutes of the last meeting of our Board. Bobbie Henry got into a conversation with me about the mobile home case we have been wrestling with at 206 E. Edgewood. She decided to put her ideas on paper and .a copy is attached. I learned that the full Planning and Zoning Commission was meeting on Thursday, January 27. I decided to go to their meeting and get their reaction to Bobbie's conclusions. Ody Jerden and Hellmut Erving happened to be there and Mr. Erving sat in on the conversation with Planning and Zoning. They (Planning and Zoning) agreed that a permit should never have been issued to use this mobile home as a music studio as Ordinance #129 specifically prohibits any other occupancy than as a private dwelling. The permit was granted on the basis that Ordinance #13g had no restrictions for use of a mobile home as a place of business. We discussed Mrs. Hughes ' attorney's contention that the mobile home was a "building" and therefore exempt from Ordinance #129. It was their contention that this was a "play on words" and not acceptable. Also, we discussed the secondary usage as a residence. They felt that Mr. Markowitz, Mrs. Hughes' attorney, and Mrs. Hughes should decide which usage they wanted to make of the building, business or residence. dt � n Page 2 If they want to use it as a business, the permit issued by Mr. Cline is in error. The Planning and Zoning Commission is the Mobile Home Review , Board, see page 7, paragraph VIII of Ordinance #129. Therefore, the Board of Adjustment has no jurisdiction and we should refer the case back to them. If they want to use it as a residence the Board of Adjustment must grant a special exception as use of a mobile home as a residence in a C-1 District is not permitted. It was the opinion of our Attorney, Mr. Erving that if either or both Boards decided against Mrs. Hughes and she wanted to take the case to court we had a very good case. ec"', eorge W. Rum el , Secretar i i NOTICE PUBLIC HEARING - FRIENDSWOOD ZONING BOARD OF-ADJUSTMENT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1972, 8:00 P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD IN THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL ON THE ABOVE DATE TO FURTHER CONSIDER THE USE OF A MOBILE HOME AT 206 EAST EDGEWOOD AS A PLACE OF BUSINESS AND RESIDENCE. GEORGE W. RUMMEL, SECRETAR BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT i N 0 T I C E PUBLIC HEARING - FRIENDSWOOD ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1972, 8:00 P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD IN THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL ON THE ABOVE DATE TO FURTHER CONSIDER THE USE OF i �A MOBILE HOME AT 206 .EAST EDGEWOOD AS A PLACE OF BUSINESS AND RESIDENCE i GEORGE W. RUMMEL, SECRETARY BOARD .OF ADJUSTMENT f