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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&Z Minutes 2022-02-10 RegularCITY OF FRIENDSWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 - 7:00 PM Minutes MINUTES OF A FRIENDSWOOD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS DRAFT STATE OF TEXAS CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS FEBRUARY 10, 2022 1.CALL TO ORDER MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION THAT WAS HELD ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022, AT 07:00 PM 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS CHAIRMAN JOSEPH MATRANGA VICE-CHAIRMAN RICHARD SASSON COMMISSIONER RICHARD CLARK COMMISSIONER TOM HINCKLEY COMMISSIONER CATHERINE KOERNER COMMISSIONER TRAVIS MANN CITY ATTORNEY KAREN HORNER DIRECTOR OF CDD/PLANNER AUBREY HARBIN DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR BECKY BENNETT COMMISSIONER MARCUS PERRY AND COUNCIL LIAISON HANKS WERE ABSENT FROM THE MEETING. 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. However, the Commission may direct such subjects be placed on a later regular Commission agenda for discussion and/or possible action) None. 3.Consent Agenda These items are considered routine or ministerial in nature and will be enacted with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of items unless a commissioner so requests in which case the item would be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately. **Vice-Chairman Richard Sasson moved to approve Consent Agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Tom Hinckley. The motion was approved unanimously. A.Consider approving the minutes for the Planning and Zoning Regular Meeting held Thursday, January 13, 2022. B.Consider approving the Replat of Reserve "C" of Crawford Business Park to subdivide one commercial reserve into two commercial reserves. 4.Action Items According to the Planning and Zoning Rules of Procedure (R2019-15), all action of the Commission shall be made by an affirmative vote of four (4) or more members of the Commission present at such Commission meetings. A.SITE PLAN: 1405 S FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE Consider approving a site plan for an additional parking area at Friendswood Animal Hospital located at 1405 S. Friendswood Drive. **Commissioner Travis Mann moved to approve a site plan for an additional parking area at Friendswood Animal Hospital located at 1405 S. Friendswood Drive. Seconded by Vice-Chairman Richard Sasson. Harbin said the site was adding a parking area to the rear and would be relocating the dumpster away from S. Friendswood Drive. Mann said he saw multiple benefits from the proposed plan. Sasson requested the applicant construct a sidewalk along FM 518 to connect to the existing sidewalks on each side. He said there is a current push for missing sidewalks to be installed. Koerner and Hinckley agreed. Sasson said he and the Chairman had visited the site and two trees look to be marked for removal but are not shown on the landscape plan. Harbin said staff can inspect the site and ensure the tree mitigation requirements are enforced. Commissioner Mann amended his motion to approve including the installation of a sidewalk along FM 518 and that staff investigate the marked trees. Seconded by Sasson. The motion was approved unanimously. B.ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS REGARDING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS (PUD) i Conduct a public hearing regarding proposed amendments to Appendix C, Zoning Ordinance, Section 7. J. PUD, Planned Unit Development, general purpose and description to add criteria to qualify for a PUD, decrease the percentage of allowable change in land use, add an expiration of two years, and add standards for revocation. Bennett said the Ordinance Subcommittee has completed their review of the Planned Unit Development ordinance, presented the draft to the full commission, and is now moving forward with a public hearing. She said the ordinance will provide a base zoning district, create criteria the PUD must meet, address detention areas as open space, decrease the allowable land use changes, and add an expiration date. No public comments. ii Consider making a recommendation to City Council regarding proposed amendments to Appendix C, Zoning Ordinance, Section 7. J. PUD, Planned Unit Development, general purpose and description to add criteria to qualify for a PUD, decrease the percentage of allowable change in land use, add an expiration of two years, and add standards for revocation. **Commissioner Tom Hinckley moved to approve a recommendation to City Council regarding proposed amendments to Appendix C, Zoning Ordinance, Section 7. J. PUD, Planned Unit Development, general purpose and description to add criteria to qualify for a PUD, decrease the percentage of allowable change in land use, add an expiration of two years, and add standards for revocation. Seconded by Commissioner Richard Clark. The motion was approved unanimously. Clark said he began on the Ordinance Subcommittee and knows the PUD requirements were benchmarked with other cities. Mann said a 10% deviation in land use seems reasonable. Matranga commented a developer would only be asking for an allotted change from their own plan, since they are the ones who created the PUD. C.SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE VARIANCE REQUEST AT 2601 W PARKWOOD AVE i Conduct a public hearing regarding a variance request from Appendix B, Subdivision Ordinance, Section VIII.C.1. for a habitable building to encroach 15 feet 8.25 inches into the required 50-foot pipeline setback on the property located at 2601 West Parkwood Avenue, 1.00 acre of land being a part of Abstract 184, Page 2 of the Mary Sloan Survey, Tract 18, Galveston County, Friendswood, Texas. Harbin explained the proposed Fire Station No. 2 would encroach on a 50-foot pipeline setback by 15-feet, 8 1/4-inches and they are seeking a variance. She said there is an 8-inch crude oil pipeline in a 30-foot easement adjacent to the property. She said the easement only allows one pipeline and is very specific in that the pipeline is no larger than 8-inches and must be buried at least 36-inches deep. Harbin further stated the subject tract is long and narrow, being 120-feet wide by 367-feet deep. No public comments. ii Consider approving a variance request from Appendix B, Subdivision Ordinance, Section VIII.C.1. for a habitable building to encroach 15 feet 8.25 inches into the required 50-foot pipeline setback on the property located at 2601 West Parkwood Avenue, 1.00 acre of land being a part of Abstract 184, Page 2 of the Mary Sloan Survey, Tract 18, Galveston County, Friendswood, Texas. Commissioner Koerner stated she sees the need for a fire station in that location and feels the remaining 35-feet is enough buffer for that type of pipeline. City Engineer Jil Arias said his staff had spoken to the fire department about whether or not the nearby pipeline was a concern. Arias stated fuel transportation is a highly regulated industry and this pipeline does not contain high pressure gas but instead, crude oil. Arias stated the city could look at other locations for the fire station but it would impact the city's insurance class rating and fire department response times. Friendswood Volunteer Fire Chief Kozlowski stated there are 2.6 million miles of pipeline in the United States and it is the safest way to transport materials. Chief Koz said he worked for 20 years on the ship channel and finds pipelines to be a safe means of transport, says the lines are well marked, and the industry has good overwatch from several entities. Koerner said, with her knowledge of fluid mechanics in the aerospace industry, she does not have concerns about a crude oil pipeline. Sasson said he also has experience in the pipeline industry but was curious as to why the setback is 50-feet. Fire Marshal Brian Mansfield said a citizens committee was formed in the 1990s and focused mainly on residential structures being near high pressure lines. Chief Koz added there had been an incident in the 1980s when a commercial lawn mower hit an aboveground pipeline. His opinion is that the incident was fresh in the committee's minds and that 50-feet was most likely arbitrary. He said the depth of the pipeline is much more important than the setback. Chief Koz said he searched for federal regulations and could not find where a specific setback was mentioned. Sasson asked the city representatives if they would support a change to the ordinance to decrease the required setback from pipelines. City Engineer Arias answered that the variance process is in place for individual situations. Mann said he would like to see projects treated equally. Hinckley said he supported the variance request but would be interested in looking into possible ordinance changes. Clark said he saw that the pipeline company, Genesis, provided a letter of no objection to the setback encroachment. Clark asked what other cities require. Harbin answered that each city is different in that some have no requirements, the City of Houston requires 15-feet, etc. **Commissioner Catherine Koerner moved to approve a variance request from Appendix B, Subdivision Ordinance, Section VIII.C.1. for a habitable building to encroach 15 feet 8.25 inches into the required 50-foot pipeline setback on the property located at 2601 West Parkwood Avenue. Seconded by Vice-Chairman Richard Sasson. The motion was approved unanimously. 5.Discussion Items A.Discuss proposed amendments to Appendix C, Zoning Ordinance "Section 2. Establishment of Districts" and "Section 6. Non-Conforming Uses, Structures and Lots," "Section 7. Schedule of District Regulations," "Section 8. Supplementary District Regulations," and "Section 20. Definitions" to remove the Multi-Family Residential (MFR) reference from the Garden Home District (GHD) zoning district and establish architectural requirements for garden home developments. Bennett said the Ordinance Subcommittee had been working on updates to the Garden Home District, which was originally created in 1992. She said the current ordinance classifies the GHD as a multi-family residential zoning district and the definition states dwelling units should be attached. Bennett explained only multi-family districts were eligible to rezone to GHD in the 1990s but that has since been changed. She also said garden homes are not structurally attached as duplexes would be. Bennett explained the intent of a garden home is to have less house and less yard. She said since the yards are smaller, garden homes utilize a zero lot line on one side of the property which creates a U-shaped patio or garden area on the opposite side. Bennett said the proposed changes include removing all references to multi-family, updating the definition, and adding design criteria for long term maintenance and access. Matranga suggested specifying in the design criteria that roof overhangs are applicable to the zero lot line side of the property. Matranga also suggested allowing opaque, glass block windows on the zero lot line side to allow light in. B.Receive an update from the Planning Subcommittee regarding the plan to update the remainder of the Comprehensive Plan. Harbin said the Planning Subcommittee has created a list of the sections to update and identified what information is needed to complete those updates. She said information such as census data and other city department master plans will be necessary. Harbin said a governance plan for how and when to update the plan in the future is another key piece. Mann said the section updates will be less aggressive than the Future Land Use Map because much will depend upon the timeliness of other city departments and their own master plans. Harbin added that public outreach will not be as visual as with the map, either. She said the update will go through the normal public hearing process with possibly an additional hearing. 6.Consideration and possible action regarding future Planning and Zoning Commission meeting dates A.Consider setting the next Planning and Zoning Commission regular meetings for (i) Thursday, February 24, 2022 and (ii) Thursday, March 10, 2022. 7.Communications A.Receive liaison updates, commercial and residential project updates, and City Council actions and ordinance updates. Commissioner Koerner thanked City Engineering Project Coordinator Bria Whitmire for her progress in utilizing the Sidewalk Fund monies. Sasson echoed Koerner's sentiment. Sasson said he attended the Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting where the board approved a variance to allow three bay doors to face FM 528. Hinckley said the Ordinance Subcommittee met before the regular meeting and began discussing updates to the Sign Ordinance. He said the subcommittee will bring recommendations to the full commission in the coming months. Harbin stated the January DRC report had been sent out. She announced the Community Care Homes ordinance updates have been finalized by city council. Harbin said the downtown improvement projects were well underway with the new traffic lights being installed plus the brick paver ribbons. She said TxDOT has also agreed to install new street signs chosen by FDEDC on the traffic lights. 8.ADJOURNMENT This meeting was adjourned at 08:26 PM.