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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&Z Minutes 2006-07-10 SpecialMinutes of a Special Meeting Of the Friendswood Planning and Zoning Commission July 10, 2006 A special meeting of the Friendswood Planning and Zoning Commission was held Monday, July 10, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. in the council chambers in city hall located at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, Texas. 3:00 P.M. JOINT WORK SESSION WITH CITY COUNCIL The following members were present: Kevin Holland Jim Gibson Sherry Weesner Diana Steelquist -Staff Planner Dan Johnson-Community Development Director John Olson-City Attorney Mona Miller -Development Coordinator Jim Hill -Council Liaison Mayor Smith called the meeting to order. Commissioner Holland asked that the order of the items be changed to allow item 3 to be addressed first. The following items were discussed: A.Discussion with the Planning & Zoning Commission regarding the following items: 1.Entryway, Downtown and Community Overlay Districts Staff Planner, Diana Steelquist, provided information regarding the ex1stmg and proposed overlay districts through a Powerpoint presentation. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the differences in the districts, the areas affected by the districts, the setback distance for screening, garage bay doors and landscape buffers. Commissioner Weesner explained that the COD change is a first step. She stated that this is intended to help the downtown prope1ty owners. She also informed Council that a subcommittee is working toward revising downtown zoning in order to alleviate other downtown issues. 3.Setback requirements for private swimming pools: Commissioner Holland explained that this change was originally proposed to address a hardship in a garden home development. Conunissioner Weesner clarified that fhe 5' setback requirement is not in-addition-to the easement and does not allow construction in the easement. She explained that the ordinance would require that you abide by whichever is the larger of the two (the easement or setback) with the minimum being 5' off of the property line. Mayor Smith expressed a concern for whether this was a safe distance. Director of Community Development, Dan Johnson answered that the 5' distance is consistent with other code requirements. He added that this would also allow enough space for utility repair to be done in the easement without damage to the pool. Page 1 of 6 07/10/06 P & Z 2.Non-conforming uses and structures Director of Conununity Development Dan Johnson stated that staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission have been working on this for about two years. He explained that the existing ordinance states " ... permit non-conforming uses to continue, but not to encourage their survival." This proposal is to remove the portion of the ordinance that states " ... not to encourage their survival." A discussion ensued regarding prohibiting rebuilding if the non-conforming structure is more than 50% damaged. John Olsen, City Attorney, stated that the 50% requirement is set by state government. 4.Special Exceptions for gas stations Commissioner Weesner explained that this change is primarily for gas stations in the Original Business District. 7:00 P.M.-DOCKETED JOINT PUBLIC HEARING The following members were present: Kevin Holland Jim Gibson Sherry Weesner Bob Bertrand David Brakebill Diana Steelquist-Staff Planner Dan Johnson -Community Development Director John Olson-City Attorney Mona Miller -Development Coordinator Jim Hill -Council Liaison Commissioner Holland called the Joint Public Hearing to order at 7: 13 p.m. 1.To receive public input, either oral or written rega rding the following: A.Zone classification change request for a tract of land conta ining 3 .2895 acres, being out of Lots 1 through 5 of the Forestwood Subdivision, situated in the Sarah McKissick Survey, property located off of Friendswood Link Road, Harris County, Texas, from Multi-Family Residential-Garden Home District (MFR-GHD) to Multi­ Family Residential-High Density (MFR-H). David Wyatt, 2501 Briarglen Drive, Pearland, explained that he works for the development company that would be building the proposed townhomes. He stated that they have met with many of the homeowners associations in the area in order to address their concerns. He added that they would extend the water line, build a detention pond on the property and have only one entrance to the property. Mr. Wyatt explained that they are marketing this new development to empty nesters; therefore, it would have very little impact on the school district. He stated that they are proposing a price range from the $ l 40s to $ l 60s and they have lowered the density to 36 units. Scott McCollum, 2001 S. Friendswood Drive, stated that he is an 18-year resident of Friendswood. He expressed his support for the project and explained that the lots have been vacant for a long time. Page 2 of 6 07/10/06 P & Z I I Donnie Battenfield, 1208 Silverleaf Drive, supported the request stating that it seems like the area could use a boost. He added that some buildings in the area are vacant and this project might help bring in viable businesses. Ram Aguilera, 2230 Leading Drive, suggested that the project would help to increase property values in the area. Elisabeth Wagner, 4427 Paradot, spoke in opposition of the request and expressed her concerns with traffic; especially the school traffic. She also was afraid that this property would become investment property for renters and increase crime. Lou Ellen Hatchett, 16811 Paint Rock Road, stated that she is very proud of living in Friendswood, and has enjoyed the quiet streets between the subdivisions. She believes that this development is affiliated with Friendswood Link Road being widened and opened to El Dorado. She is concerned about traffic cutting through the area. Bobbie Jones, 16722 Hibiscus Lane, explained that she has lived in Friendswood for thirty­ five years. She stated that this development would intrude on the privacy of the homeowners that this development backs up to. She reiterated the concern about traffic and home values in the area. She also commented that thirty-six units is too many and does not allow for a playground, or pool. James McClain, 16626 Oxnard Lane, restated concerns for traffic and privacy. He explained that there is a need for a traffic light to slow traffic down as they come across the bridge. Mr. McClain was also worried about drainage with this additional development. He disagreed with the earlier comments that this project would increase property values. He feels that it will lower values. Shary Luck, 4410 Lucian Lane, commented that she has been a Friendswood resident for ten years. She added to the previous comments regarding school traffic by stating that it is not a short term problem. She explained that school traffic runs from early in the morning until late in the evening. Marina and Walter Bahn, spoke in opposition of the project. Mrs. Bahn stated that they purchased their home about a year ago. Now, they are concerned that this project will invade their privacy, cause drainage problems and destroy the wildlife in the area. Roger Baust, 16726 Hibiscus, explained that he is a Friendswood resident of thirty-four years and a volunteer fire fighter. He expressed concern for the development only having one access and about drainage. B.Amending the Zoning Ordinance, Appendix C, removing Section 8, I., 2, f., 1-7 Preserving Trees -Historical Significance, by deleting tree survey requirements, tree mitigation and incentives and tree protection requirements. Staff Planner, Diana Steelquist, explained that a sub-committee worked on the tree preservation ordinance for years before it was passed in September 2005. She stated that the current proposal is to remove certain sections of that ordinance. She also added that it mostly affects commercial properties. Page 3 of 6 07/10/06 P & Z Arthur Hsu, 709 Pin Oak Drive, spoke in favor of amending the ordinance. He acknowledged how much work had gone into creating the ordinance to keep developers from clear-cutting properties. However, he stated that the landscape plan for a development should include the trees, thereby, making these sections of the tree ordinance unnecessary. Mike Sharp, 1200 Shooting Star, asked for a follow up from the last council meeting on how many trees have been protected and/or planted by these ordinance requirements in the last ten months. He stated that if the ordinance has not been effective, then it should be amended. He submitted photos of the upcoming West Ranch development that had been recently clear­ cut. He added that the ordinance did not protect the trees on this property. Fred Kreh, 209 Dawn, explained that he is a fifty-year resident of Friendswood. He read a statement regarding the micromanagement of ones life and not infringing on others. He added that it is not right to tell property owners what they can and cannot do on their own property. Judy Kimball, 802 W. Edgewood, spoke in opposition of amending the ordinance. She explained that she was one of the committee members who worked to write this ordinance. She stated that the committee was made up of many different types of people, including developers and builders. She read off a list of committee members and their occupations. Ms. Kimball stated that there is a lot of confusion about this ordinance, but that it does not have anything to do with individual property owners. She explained that there are two different tree ordinances: 1) The Heritage Tree Ordinance, which is strictly voluntary and 2) the Tree Preservation Ordinance, which was written with developer's involvement. Mary Yogas, 614 W. Castle Harbour, stated that she has lived in Friendswood for over thirty years. She believes that the ordinance should be left as-is, if not made stronger. She explained that it is very important to keep the trees in place in order to maintain better air quality and even block damage from storms. Mrs. Yogas showed a 1992 forest cover map and a predicted 2010 forest cover map of the Houston area showing how drastically it is changing. Jim Yogas, 614 W. Castle Harbour, explained that after growing up on Galveston Island, he decided Friendswood was the type of place he would like to live. He stated that he served as an elected official for the Clear Creek Drainage District for years. He saw this as a duty to the community. He challenged the council to protect the trees and make the decision whether their decisions were going to be for people or money. Lorna Zeitler, 304 Friends Knoll, stated that she is a resident of over forty years. She reminded those in attendance that the tree ordinance was created because of the trees being stripped from the landscape. She gave examples of this practice with the Albertson's property on FM 2351 and FM 528; and Camp Manison. She asked the council not to sacrifice our heritage for the sake of development. Commissioner Holland asked that Items C., D. and E. be addressed as one item. He explained that the proposal is to do away with the Entryway and Downtown Overlay Districts and create the Community Overlay District. Page 4 of 6 07/10/06 P & Z I C.Amending the Zoning Ordinance, Appendix C, creating a Community Overlay District. D.Amending the Zoning Ordinance, Appendix C, removing Section 7, R -Entryway Overlay District. E.Amending the Zoning Ordinance, Appendix C, removing Section 7.5 -Downtown Overlay District. Mehran Jehidi, 101 S. Friendswood Drive, asked council members to support these changes. F.Amending the Zoning Ordinance, Section 8, J, 4 -Setback requirements for private swimming pools. Diana Steelquist, Staff Planner, explained that the ordinance currently requires a swimming pool, as an accessory structure, to maintain a 1 O' setback. However, that requirement has created a hardship in cluster and garden home developments with O' lot lines. She stated that this proposal is to reduce the required setback to 5'. Janis Lowe, 401 Forest Pines Ct, spoke in support of the ordinance amendment. G.Releasing rear utility easement located in the Friendswood Lakes Garden Home Subdivision, Lots 1-13, Block 1, Lots 1-13, Block 2 and Lots 19-27, Block 2. Janis Lowe, 401 Forest Pines Ct, spoke in favor of the amendment stating that the utility easement was not used after the final plat was filed. She explained that the utility companies have installed private utilities in the front of the properties. She added that all of the homeowners have agreed to and signed this request for release of the rear utility easement. 2.Close Joint Docketed Public Hearing. The Public Hearing was closed at 8:08 p.m. 3.Adjourn to second floor conference room for consideration and possible action on the following items: The Planning and Zoning Commission reconvened at 8:13 PM to consider the following items: Commissioner Brakebill suggested that Item B be considered first since the other items would require so much more discussion. A.Consideration and possible action regarding repealing the Entryway Overlay and Downtown Overlay Districts and creating the Community Overlay District. Motion: Gibson -to approve Second: Brakebill Page 5 of 6 07/10/06 P & Z Since all members were not available for the work session, Commissioner Weesner recapped their discussions and concerns. A lengthy discussion ensued. Amended Motion: Weesner-to approve the proposed ordinance amendments with the following changes: 1) limit Community Overlay District to apply to first 300' of property or frontage of one street designated on the site plan, 2) Any microwave/satellite dish over 24" inches must be screened, 3) Frontage, with regards to garage bays on corner lots, shall be determined by the commercial site plan 4) Eliminate the South portion of Blackhawk Boulevard from the Overlay district Second: Brakebill Voted For: Unanimous Motion Carried B.Consideration and possible action regarding amending the Zoning Ordinance with regards to setback requirements for private swimming pools. Motion: Gibson -to approve Second: Weesner Voted For: Unanimous 4.Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m. ·MkL� Development Coordinator Page 6 of 6 07/10/06 P & Z Motion Carried