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Cit:y.ofCollege Station
POST OFFICE BOX'9960 1.101 TEXAS AVENUE
COLLEGESTATION,TEXAS77840- 2499
MEMD RAN DUM
TO: Members.....ofthe. .Planning an.d Z;,oning Commission
FROM: Cathytocke~l DATE: May 11,1984
RE: Historical Considerations Authorize.d by Ordinance
Asper the attaohed planning.aindZ.oning Commission minutes from
the meeting. of May 3, 1984, I was requested-to determine whether
If historicalsignificancre" was a consideration within the
jurisdiction of the Commission.
This is .asite~lanba$e<l tlJ?Qnaq~nditionalusepermitand th(i!
orc:Hnance .doeSllJivetl'l;e(';onnnissionmore flexibility inthe.review
procfassbyvirrt>l1e ,"Qf ..... S~ct.ionlQ.--,C. 2.3., which reads as fo llows :
TheCOllllnis$>,ton, . ..a~t7rlrecE!,twtofreport 21ng
re~onllIten(iationof .tll.e:~it~Flanr;teF,.ma~ permit..a
cont1i'tz.i.~,.nal,.t.lse sllbjieetto ..aJi)pr()J;)J;"i(ite.qonditions
ands;afiegtlarels , when, ,21f t:.erpLJblie notice and
hearing, the CommissioIlfinds:
(al. .....That ....t~he..Ilropose(juse meet:s a 1<1 the minimum
$ta:~tld;a~(js.. '.'est:ab:1..islied in. ......t.h.i.s ():r'di:flance for t.h.'is
t;,ype.qf use:
fi4>l ,That.tl'l.:epropo,s:e/d. .UESE9is' in. . <ha:rmonywiththe
l?\Xrpoise. andi:m:~el'lt .E)f. ..this .e>t"dinance .a1'ld . that the
J;)l.al'lf(')r:physiea1.de'~eJtoPlnent of 'the. d.i:strict as
~mb<9die(j.... ......ill.. ..the<. 'C'()m'pre-h:~ns ivePl.a:nferIDeve.lopment
oft.he 'eity: an:d
Cel Thatthepropos.edusewillrlot be
gei:r:imentaltqt.hehealthtwelfareand.$afety o.fthe
$UrrQul'l('Hng .neighborho.od or its ..occmpant.s, nor be
substantially. or .per:m.anent.lyinjllrious t.o
Aeighboringpropert.y.
Nevertheless,"hist9ri~alsignificancett has never been addressed
bythisordinaneeor bytheComprehensiV'eplan.
Acityta~et its. autll.ority~rom theoirdinal'lces it enaGts.Even
as nerewberethepowers arebroad3-.Y given, that authority cannot
exce~dt.he.intent.ofthe ordina.nee. Therefore, underourctlrrent
,ordinance we do not. have authority toragul a tesuchma tters.
CL:j Is
P&ZMinutes
,.Ii 5-f~84
page 3
staff would have no way of knowing. Mr. Hansen said that regarding this tree, a developer
can cut down any number of trees and replace them with the required number of landscaping
points, but Mr. Mayo replied that thIs discussion concerns an 18" tree. Ms. Tongco asked
if one parking space could be deleted from th.erequirements, to which Mr. MacGilvray pointed
out that could be done only by the.ZBA. MroBrochu said that this site .is located in a
heavily wooded area, and a1thbug~this tree Is pretty nice now, he is not convinced its
loss would 'be'detrimental in the. long term, but did suggest that it be replaced with Live
Oak trees.
Mr. MacGilvray made amotlontoapprovetheConditional Use;Permit with P.R.C. recommenda-
tionswithout the sta.ff addendum, but with the. stipulation that the replacement trees for
this 18" tree must. be LiveOaktr~es of,equ,alya 1 ue. Ms . Tongco seconded the motion. Mr..
Martyn spoke against this .mot1911,statrnghedo~s not thinkthis-'tree will die soon since
it has already: survived" 5 years in this island, and further,that it is worth much more
than 1 parking space. Mr,Hansensaid again that this site is in a heavily wooded area, so
/thls treels loss will notc.ause thei.mpact it would in another area with fewer trees.
. Votes wereca.st with the motloncarrying4"'1 (Martyn against) .
AGENDA ITEMNO~ 6: 84-707:. Reconsidera.tion,of.the question of granting a Conditional Use
Permit fora church to be.locatedonRoc.kPra'lrie-Road apx,.lOOO feet east of SH6. Appli-
cation I sln the name of Gordon Kn ight,Pastor -Rock Prairie Bapt'i s t Church. Conditional
U.s.e Permi,t approved., site<>plan'tabled on,'.5~3~84J.
Mr. Martyn made a motion to take this itemotf the table; Mr. Hansen seconded the motion.
Motion carriedunanimous-ly (S-o}.
Mr. Callaway explained the- tn-formation whlch h.ad been provided', and reminded the Commission
that the Condlt lonal .UsePermlt..had been approved , but the site p lanhad been tab 1 ed ; then
referred to amemofrom1;heCity'ls< legal department addressing the question regarding the
posslble hi'sterl-ca'ls.igniflcanceof this exis-ting building. Mr. Callaway further explained
that the appli'can-thadrequested,just prlorto this meeting~ to delete the canopy trees
numbered 21, 22,.25 & 26 and all non-'canopy trees except- tho-se numbered '1 , 2 & 7' from the
approved site plan,;advisin.gthatthe applrcantdoes' not wish to remove the trees from the
slte, but to have them remo.ved frem the approved plan so he will not have toibe responsible
for replacing them should they not survive~ He added that the point total would still be
in excess of that required, therefore staff has, no problem with this request, and would
recQmmendapprev-al of this sIte plan as revised.
Mr. Hansen brlefly expl.alnedthat.the site plan had beent-abled at the last meeting because
of possi'blehlst0rlcal signifIcance of the existing church, stating that the! Commission had
requesteqlegaladvlce from's.taff. He then read the last paragraph' from the memo in the
packets- furnis-hedby the legal staff: JlAcLtytakesits authority from the ordinances it
enacts. Ev~n as-here where the, pow'ers are broadly given,thatauthori ty cannot exceed the
inten~ <Df.the .ordinance!t Therefore, under .ourcurrent ordinance we do not have authority
toregulates-uch"matters.n t1r.Hansen also'anneunced there wi llbe no public hearing at
this meeti'og fo'r this item, as the public hearing -had been held at -the previous meeting.
Mr, Ma,rtyn asked Ms,Locf<;e,Asslsta.nt Cl.tyAttorney fora legal definition of I'welfare"
and shean-swered>tha twh ile:1:hepurp0~e0f0u rZonlng Ord inancei s to promote hea 1 th, safety
C3nd genera.lw~lfC3re, th()seit~rm;are toovague'to.have particular meaning and therefore,
have no enfercement meaning..She further stated that 1.lhistoricalll has never; been addressed
In this0rdlnance.. Mr. MacGllvray sald that ,lnmanycities, historic districts are based
on "welfareH Quts-inceColl.egeStation does not h~vean historic district, it would not
be correct te br lng in a rullng from an outs ide ord inance to app 1 y to th is request. .He
went on to say that he had been contac ed by.a member of this churchls congregation, so
he had driven out to look atthls bui"ld ng, 'and had ascertained that the outside structure
P&Z Minutes
~. 5-lv;84
~ page 4
has already been substantlallyalterecl in that. it has aluminum siding and windows. He
said this member had expr.essed concerhregarding limitation or restriction of uses of the
s tructuresho,uld this plaque be awarded, and the answe.r to that quest ion .i5, Texas .law
does not limit nor restrict the use of abuilding if it is dec1aredan historical site.
Mr. Martyn said that perhaps an hLstorica-l.ordinance should be researched for future ques-
t ions and the Comm i sslon,agreed. E leanor'.Han0ver Nance, secretary of the Brazos Va 11 ey
Historical Commlssionaskedto be heard and the Commissioners agreed tolet'herspeak. She
then.came forward, handed out a written history of the Rock Prairie School/Church and read
a loud from the document. . (Copy of th is reportls attached to thesemtnutes)., Mr. Hansen
again pointed out that<thisCommission cannot make decisions based on possJ~l~hiistorical
significance, stating .thisslte plan meets a.11 other facets of the Clty.sordtnance, and
this body has no legal means te.actonhistorical structures.
Mr. MacGilvray made amotion to approve this site plan w'ith the deletion of the trees as
requested by the applicant,. Mr. M'artyn seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously
(5-0) .
AGENDA. ITEM NO, 7: 84-212: Flnal Plat-Resubdivision of Lot 23 Block 16Sou,thwood Valley
Sect ion: 3.
Mr. Mayo explai'ned the purpose of thls. replatisto subdivid.e the property into 2 lots.
He p0intedout that there Jsone.prejectex.lsting, and .another whichhassi'tejplan approval 0
He s ta ted that staff recornmendsapprova Lofthls pI at as shown. Mr · Martyr 111~,~ea mot ion
to approve the plat w.lthMr.MacGilvray se'~onding. Motion ,carried unanimouslYi! (5-0).
AGENDA ,TE'M NO.8: Otherf3usl ness,
Mr. Hans.en di scu.ssed the ProJect Review. Committee meet lngs , stating that for the. next approx-
i.rnately- 6months-, .therewill.be 2 commJssioners in attendance;<oneexperienced and one new
carnm i" 5S- loner. All cornm Is-stoners agreed' that 1 O"a.m ..on Wednesday mornings best su i ted
them at this time~ Secretary.w.as directed to prepare a schedule.
Mr, Hansen thens-uggestedthe staff plan' a ..workshop for the commi ssloners as the one held
las,t year was of great benefit to him.
He th,enspoke af. exls-tJng cemmlttees, stating that he and. Mr. Brochu were on the Sign Ordl-
nanceCOJ11n1t"ttee"and Mr..'Martyn, .Hr. Ka.iser and former c0mmisslorierGerald Miller were on the
East 6ypQssLand Use StudyComml ttee.. Mr . Martyn po i rited out therei s another commi ttee
which has never met called the L~nd Use StudyCommltteeofthe Wellborn Road area, and that
he.andRoy Ke 11 ywere on thecomml ttee, Mr 9'Mayo sugges ted that thl s'committeerema i n
inactive fer tne time belngas staff is unable to spend the time nec~s5ary for this type
of study now~' Cemm i S5 loners ag reed.; .
Mr! Hans-en then suggesteda.nother teur for the commissioners, and Mr,Mayoagreed, stating
that he would'try to.getonesetupw,Lthin the next two weeks.
Mr. Martyn thensald ~hattheapprovalo'f.thepossible h.istoricchurchexpansion wa's a
very hapgdecJ s lon for.hlm,.tom&ke ,-l)tlt he had'.~el t bound by 1 aw to vote as he had . Ms.
Tongc0stateqtherel s.a./grQup act i.v.eln the communi ty now"wh i ch. i sstudy i ngposs i b 1 e
hJstorlcs-Jt~s, Mr.M~cqJl"ray.pointed.out thatl11(:)!)t preservationi,sts are. realistic,
know-i'ng a bul.lding.whi.ch lsleft unused deterforates more rapidly than one which is used,
and a 1 S0. that the interior ofa bu lld lng'canbechanged without affecting its status ,as
t!: p&Z Minutes
'5-'3~84
page 6
Mr. Miller made a motion to approve this Conditional Use Permit with the P.R.C. conditions,
including theaddLtionof a note to the site plan ,regarding the 5 gallon shrubs. Mr.
Martyn seconded. Motion c'arried unanimously\ (6-0).
AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: 84-707: A.public hearing on the question of granting a Conditional
Use Permit fO,r a church to be located on Rock Prairie Road appx. lOOO feet east of SH6.
App 1 i c'at ion ls> In'the.name of Gordon Knight, Pas tor, . Rock P ralr i e Bapt is tChurch.
Mr. Callawayexplalnedthat this request is for an expansion to an existing church, he
explained areausesi,statingthat the existing church was used prior to and since annexa-
t ion, and the.useperml tis for theexpans ion. He stated the rev iseds i te plan meets the
P.R.C. condltions,'andstaff recommends approval with P.R.C. report conditions. Mr. Mayo
added that aJlconditionson that report have been satisfie.don the revised plan, or are
in the process.ofbeing satisfied. Mr. Miller stated that he had been the representative
at the P.R.C. revlew,and that, he and staff had mentioned at thelTl~e~ingthatthere are
many trees on th~ sit~ which maY,F1ot live, and wanted the appl icant~obepwpre that any
that die l11ustbereplacedwfththe same number of points. Mr.Marty~...ef~rr~d to a note
regarding barric~dJpgoftheexisting trees which are to.be counted,:bytMr.Miller.asked
him how this barricading will be done. Mr. Martyn pointed out that this' is the problem
of the appl icarlt. The publ ic hearlng was opened.
Gordon Kni'ght ,Pastarof the church, came forward to expa 1 in that the reason for this
expansion l.s duet~growthneeds, and requested that the Commission approve this Permit
andslte plan~ Mr..Martyn askedlfthere is a school planned on .thissite, and Mr. Knight
answ'ered therea'r.e.no plans for a schoo'l, but rather a Sunday school!, ,and pointed out
this is only an'addItIon, and.that there 'are no plans forrazlnganYiexisting structures,
then went on to state t.hat the Church is aware of 1 andscap lng requi rements.
Mary Arnold McCulloch came forward, stating she is a representative for the Adam Royder
Family Descend'ent.sstating the'f..are concerned with the plans to alter and change the
existing bulldlngonthis sltewh'ich was,built 'inl89l. She then read from a deed which
dedicated the land/building to the Wellborn School Trustees,which is now defunct. She
explained that the school was. built with lumber from Wellborn and was the only anglo
one-room s-choelhouse/church i'n the area!, She stated the Rock Prairie Baptist Church owns
the adjoining property, and 'understands that the new building will be joined to the exist-
ing bull~lng and the interlerof the exlsting building will be chang~d. She stated that
an official Texas HistorIcal Marker. has been requested for.this site~! the papers are now
being processed, and she has been informed by a Mrs. Milton Nance th~tthere is a possi-
bility that thls-marker wfll be awarded. She then a'sked that. this Cc,mm!ission please deny
or table this request untiJadeterminatlon can..be made regardIng owm'eriship of this land,
as she has been ,unable to find anywhere a statement that the Rock Prairie Church owns this
site. She went en to explain ,that it would bean asset to the City of College Station to
have this marker, as it has none now.,
Mr. Hill asked Mr,s~ McCulloch to come 'forward to clarify exactly what buildings she refers
to on the sIte plan and> she explained that she has no concernsw,ith any of the new build-
ings, but only,wants to make sure the existing building is not altered in anyway, so
she does not want this connectIon made. Mr .Kni ght came' forward to say tha t the chu rch
is asking fer a.permit only for' this expansion, and whether or not the church owns the land
is of no concerntothls COfl1mis-Sion.-~ Mr. Hill.asked Mr. Knight if any other members had
any concerns regard.Jngj.oining<the existing building to the new building, and Mr. Knight
answered that the>vo-te'wasunanimous to do the plans and to use the exlsting building,
also maklng aC0nnection between the bui'ldlngs by enlarging the existing window: to become
the entrance to the existing building, also to divide the interior of the existiing building
into classrooms. Mr. Hill asked what the construction of the new building would be and
Mr. Knlght ans-weredthat it would be wood wlth the same trim as the existing building.
~
P&Z Minutes
5-'"3-84
page 7
Public hearingwasclos.edas on one else spoke. Assistant City Attorney .Locke was asked
to come forward; Mr. Hill then asked ber if there would be a problem with approval of this
Use Permit when there is a question of clear title. Mrs. Locke answered there is no prob-
lem with cons.iderationofa use, but the City does not consider a titlehold~r on a property..
Mr. Hill asked. to what. extent this commission is allowed to consider preservation of
historical In-terests and Mrs. Locke answered the P&Z Commission is restricted to only what
ord inan'cea 1 lows . Mr. Hlll askeq If the Commission can deny a request on the grounds of
endangering another structure o.f possible historical significance. Mrs. Locke answered
that tonight we only have theworrdof Mrs. McCulloch, and it is not possible for this
Commission to consider her reque$tbecause the building in question does not have any
official status yet. Mr. Kaisersaiclthat in the zoning ordinance, one of the considera-
tions to be made lsUthat theprQP9seduse will not be detrimental to. 'the health, welfare
and safety of the surround'ing neighbor'hood or its occupants , nor be substantially or per-
manently injurious to neighboringproperty,Uand if it is ruled that this is an historical
building, the proposed attachment might cause permanent injury. Mrs. Locke again .stated
that ownership isnotlnvolved,thatthe ordinance does not lend itself to this type of
consideration. Mr. Miller asked what if the use permit is granted and approval given only
to thenewbullding, but not to the connection. Mr. Hansen said the applicant might want
to redraw the plans if this were) to .happen.. "Mr. Martyn asked why this cannot walt, that
the chur'ch has 'been therefor years and another month should not hurt anything. Mr. Mayo
said that Just because this building might be designa.ted "historical site" in Texas, that
does not mean you cannot de anytblngto it. Mrs. .Lo.cke said an historical.designation
will not affect thlsapplicatlon.. Mr. Hill said'hewould like to see a more defi'nitive
answer te.the'questlonof IIcanthls Commission take'into account something which m.ight
have historical s]gnlflcance regarding the site plan?II.
Mr. Miller made amotion..t0 approveth.is Conditional:Use Permit r'equestand to deny the
site plan. 'Mr. Hans,ensecondedthe motion.. Mr. Hill said he thinks the Commlssion needs
legal justlfi.catlonfr0mthelegal department at the next meeting. M'rs. .Locke said that
she dees not anticipate any problems with preparing a memo for the .Commission. Mr.. Kaiser
asked to hear fromitheappl i cant, who then cameforwa,rd . Mr. Kn ight sa i d the church has
retained legal counsel regarding ownership and the use of the property. Mr. Hill stated
that ownership of the property is not being considered. He thenex.plained that this
Commiss'ioncan deny a si.teplan for a number of conditions regarding the safety, welfare,
etc., and explained further that this Commission has asked the AssIstant City Attorney to
clarIfy whethertheP&Zcan takelnto account th'eposslblehistorical significant factor
which has arisentonlght" Mr,Knfght said that this is not an historical site now. Mr.
Miller pointed out thC!:lthe would not be a Commissioner at the next meeting, but wanted
everyone to knew that hewlllbe -l00klng for the trees which are shown on the site plan.
Mr. Knlgnt asked this Commi.ssion to please"approve the site plan without the connection
to theexistingbullding,so construction'- can begin. After general discussion, Mr. Miller
withdrew- hi's motion and Mr. Han.sen wlthdrew his second.
Mr. Hillas-ked..ff thls.Commi.ssloncould cross out a portion ofa structure. Mr. Pullen
s,uggested.that the Chairman.a'sk the applicant why there was such a rush. Mr. Knight
came forward again to explain that the church has an <opportunity to get help with the
builcjingof the new. facility from retired men, and it must take place in July, ahd further
that he would rather have approval 'of the new addition only without the connection than
to. have the entire site-plan tabled.-?"Mr. Kelly asked Mrs. McCulloch if this would be
suitablet0her,ands-he answeredtha.t it would be acceptable, except that the auditorium
of the e,xis-tlng' bulldingnor the origlnal furniture in it should also not be changed.
Mr. Kelly.s.ald this.Cemmlsslon could table this request until all legalities are worked
out 0rthe C0mmission couldappr0ve only the new part and postpone any changes or reno-
vati-on~' to .the interior' or exterior of the existing structure. Mr. Knight said this
p&Z Minutes
5-3.-84
page 8
type of approval would cause problems with the time limlts they are working under. Mr.
Hill said there are3alternatives.: (l}approve the site plan, (2}defer ruling on the site
plan but: not because ofownershlpof the land, or (3)approvethe site plan with the
deletion of the connection "section between the new and existing building. Mr. Martyn
said theappl Icantreportedplans to renovate the interior of the existing building,
and appro\l~l without only thecon!'l~ction would not help this situation. Mr. Hansen
sa"id thiswouldena.bl"e"thecongregationto.get started.on the new structure. Mr. Mayo
suggested the Commission approve the Conditional Use Permit and the site plan as shown
and leave the legalities to "someone else. Mr. Hill saldthe question is, does the ordi-
nance allow the P&Zto vote against something because of possiblehistor"ical signifi-
cance. Mr. Mayo s.aidthat ordinance does not have any reference to historical signifi-
cance. Mr. Hill stated again he wants a clear legal opinion regarding this and asa
chairman now, and a citIzen also, he would have some concerns with changing something
which has hlstorical interest.
Mr. Hansen made a motion to approve this request for. a Conditional Use Permit only. Mr.
Kelly seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously (6-0).
Mr. Martyn then made a motTon to deny the site plan as submitted. This mo'tion died for
lack of a second.
Mr. Kelly then made a.motion. totable the site plan. Mr~Kaiser seconded the motion.
Mr. Hlllaskedlf everyone Is aware that the next meetlngis May 17th, and" the church
has ind.lcatedthis delay"<will cause hardshipo Mr.. Martyn said they should either approve
this on.eoronewith slight modi-flcations. Mr. Mayopelnted out that at the next meet-
ing, the CommIssion will have changing members" Mr. Miller said that the applicant is
responslblefbr theplariasshown regarding landscaping..
Votes were cast on themetion to table the site plan and 'carried 4-2 with Hansen & Miller
ag i anst..
AGENOAtTEM'" NO, 7: .84-708: A pub] ic hearing on the question of granting a Conditional
Use Perml't fer"'establlsh]ng a church on lots 34, 10 &'11 Block 2 McCul10ck Additi.on'
Subdivi'siC:.:>1'1 (lc;>catedoetweenArlze>na & Phoenix Streets). Application is in the name of
Chr 'sot .'He>]y ....Mfss.iQnary" Baptls.t. .Chu rch...
Mr. Ca 11 away explained that. th i.s request and 5 i tep 1 an are v i rtua 11 y the same as the. one
this CQmmi-ss:.ion deni'ed approximately one year ago, also stating that the P.R.C. require-
ments. have all been met, but pointed out that although Conditional Uses of this type are
considered appropriate in residential, or any zoning districts if,theCommission consid~rs
all requirements have been met, previous Commission c.oncerns with this site plan/use permit
have s-tlllnat been addressed, those being the lack of'o.n-sitecirculatlon and the neigh-
borhoodstreet condttlons.and how through traffic might be affected should there be over-
flow", eff-s.ite"parki n9.. The staff report in the packet addresses street capacity, and
reperts. that 'lanyon-street parking would not allow for the requ ired 20 ft. pavement for
pqs.sage,of emergency" vehicles." Mr. Hill asked if this was in the P.R.C. report. Mr.
Callaway replied that' it is in the staff report, but not'in the P.R.C. report. Mr. Martyn
as.ked i-f ttl.ere had been any changes from a year a'go, to which Mr. Callaway repl ied there
had not. Tl)e' publ ic hearing wa"s opened,
";>-
Tyree Th0ma$.,a nearby proper.tyowner came forward to. speak in opposition 'saying the streets
are currently. very tIght and spoke of olherchurcheslnthe neighborhood and the overflow
parklng whIch" is already occuring. He .referred to a possible safety hazard 'to older people
in the nelghborhood due to crowded streets, Mr. Kell"y asked t.1r. Thomas if he ever parks
on the street and Mr. Thomas answered that sometimes it becomes necessary. Mr. Kelly
repl 'edthat'Mr~ Thomas is then a"lso contrlbuting.toa problem, as do other families in
the area,