Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesb MINUTES Planning & Zoning Commission CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS June 16, 1994 7:OO P.M. COMIVIISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairman Hawthorne and Commissioners ..Lane, Hall, Garner, Lightfoot and Gribou. COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Smith. STAFF PRESENT: Assistant Director of .Economic & Development Services Callaway, City Planner Kee, Assistant City. Engineer Morgan, Planning Technician Thomas,. Transportation Planner Hard; Development Coordinator Volk, .Staff Planner Kuenzel, Staff Planner. Dunn .and Policy Analyst McDaniel. AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Approval of minutes from the meeting of June 2, 1994. Commi sinner Gribou moved to approve the minutes from the meeting of .June 2, 1994 as written. Commissioner :Lane seconded the motion which.. passed unopposed (6 - 0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Public hearing to consider a rezoning request for app>•oximately 15 acres located at the southeast corner of the Sebesta Road and State H[i~way 6 intersection .from R-1 Single Family. Residential to Gl General Commercial (9411 Staff Planner Kuenzel presented the staff .report and recommended approval of the proposed rezoning request. This.. request is for a portion of a currently unplatted piece of property... It was zoned R-1 when it was annexed into the City as an interim zoning classification. 'The Land Use .Plan that was adopted in the .early 1980's..reflects this area as Office/Service.` A subsequent' study, the FM. 2818.. Extension Study, was adopted in _ 1992. The Land Use Plan for the property fronting on 2818 was changed to reflect most of that area as' Office/Service. This change in the Pian in the vicinity of the subject .tract would constitute a change in conditions that would justify a use .other than one shown on the older plan for the proposed cite. Development Policies state that commercial.. developrrnent on an arterial should be a minimum of 400'. deep and should be located at points of high vehicular access. -Points of highest access are defined by ,grade .separations along controlled access roads. _The ..proposed location and lot configuration meet these criteria.. The Development Policies' further address access by recommending that drive entrances should be minimized thrqugh the :`platting and/or site plan .process. If ownership :has been divided in the area a plat must be submitted. At the moment, it appears .that the entire 69.8 acre. tract remains under single ownership.. If the rezoning is approved; eventually the area of the tract that is not included in this request should display a "step down" approach to buffering the single family development to the east and to.the south. Although the request is not in compliance with the Land Use. Plan, the planned office/service along F.M. 2818 will provide sufficient area for any future build-out scenario. Five surrounding property .owners were notified with no .response. Chairman Hawthorne opened. the public hearing. -~ "~ i Bob Bower, a partner in the East Bypass Development Group, the owner of the subject property, informed .the Commission that he has a contract with a local car dealership for approximately 4.0 acres of the .property. He stated that he has a preliminary proposal for .the Douglass Nissan site. if the Commission would. like to review,it. Mr. Bower offered to answer any questions pertaining to the proposed rezoning request. Chairman Hawthorne closed the public hearing.. Commissioner Gribou moved. to recommend approval of the rezoning request for. approximately 15 acres located at the southeast. corner of Sebesta Road and State Highway 6 intersection from R-1 Single Family. Residential to C-1 General Commercial with special ~~ ,~ attention. being paid to the step down approach. and. buffering of the existing single family development. Commissioner Lightfoot seconded the motion which passed unopposed (6 - 0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Consideration of a parking. lot plan for future improvements of Certified Copy located at 191.1 Texas Avenue in the Wolf Pen Creek zoning district. (94 408) Staff Planner Kuenzel presented. the staff report and recommend approval .with all Project Review Committee and Design Review Board recommendations. One issue. that must be addressed: by the Commission relates to the driveway throat length. Site changes that require site plan review would justify a review of driveway locations and design. Due to the fact that. the drive is existing and .that it provides the sole access point to the site, staff is .allowing the .drive to remain. Staff does .have the discretion to require that throat length criteria be met. Again, the layout of the ,:existing site :makes it impossible to meet the full length that would. be required.:under the ordinance.. Therefore tiff stated that a.t the very least, the throat length should be increased from the 10' shown on the site plan to 19' and eliminate the first two parking on either side. of the 'drive. ' The applicant has. not submitted a revised site plane showing this or the other: changes as conditioned by the Design Review Board. Commissioner Hall mewed to approve the site plan with all staff and Design. Review Board recommendations. The sidewalk along Texas Avenue is important. and should not be .negotiated. Commissioner Gribou seconded the motion which .passed unopposed (6 - 0). :AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Consideration:. of a site plan for. the University .Commons Apartments located along the .north and south sides of Colgate Drive at Eastmark Drive and Central Park Lane in the'Wo1f Pen Creek Zoning district. (94505) City Planner Kee .presented the staff report for a proposed multi-family project which will have 240 living. units an 1b.5 acres.. for a density of 14:5 .units. per acre. Most of the. project will be located on the south. side of Colgate between. Eastmark and .Central park Lane with: ~ 6.4 acres located on the north side of Colgate, The 'Design .Review Board saw the proposal on May 25, -1994 and required additional ..information pertaining to paving materials to be presented at the Cornmisslon meeting. ;The Board also asked for details on benches and walkways. .Overall, the. Board was in -favor of the proposal having. viewed a video of this company's similar"project in another state. The .sidewalk master plan calls for a sidewalk along both sides of collectors. There is a sidewalk along the north side of Colgate .presently and the .Board did not. see .the need. for one on' the south side. The Board" would support the variance request t~ eliminate this sidewalk. '.Several of the dumpster locations as shown on the site plan would be visible from rights-of-way. The Board required these to be relocated and screened... The applicant has no problem with this requirement. The site plan submitted reflects all: Design Review Board concerns except for paving materials, information pertaining to the details of benches in .landscaped areas,. and .walkways. Staff .had also T ~ tmark Drive cui-de- the ro ose draina e ditch from the Eas requested thumbnail sketches of p p g sac to the creek that have not been submitted- to date. The applicant should be able to address these things during his presentation to the Commission. P ~r Z Minutes June 16, 1994 Page Z of 5 City Council Regular Meeting Thursday,: July 14, 1994 Page 3 Councilman Kennady made a motion to approve the purchase of replacement hardware and software for the Public Safety computer system in the amount of $403,756.97. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Crouch which carried unanimously; 4-0. Consent Agenda Item No. 2.5: This item was removed by the Legai staff to receive clarification. Mary Margaret Sexton explained that the license to encroach was prepared pursuant to the request of Development Services Division. She. pointed out the m®difications in the license agreement. She explained that the City shall have access to maintain the sewer line easement. Engineering Project Manager Brett McCully addressed the Council. He mentioned that the corner of garage extends one. to two feet over the sewer line. Agreement before Council is the result of negotiations between the applicant and Veronica Morgan, Assistant City Engineer. The sewer. line was in place. prior to the garage, the garage was permitted through an oversight. Therefore, the seller and buyer contend that the relocation of the line shall be at city expense. Mr. McCully noted that the line was rehabilitated six years ago and should have 20-30 years of service life. Councilwoman Crouch made a motion to approve Resolution No. 7-14-94-2.5 granting a license to encroach for part of Lots 7 and 8, Block 11, 1104 Glade. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Mcllhaney which carried unanimously, 4-0. ITEMS FORINDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION Agenda Item No. 3 -- Public hearing and consideration of a rezoning request for 15 acres located on the southeast corner of Sebesta Road and the East Bvpass. City Planner Jane Kee described the rezoning request from R-1 Single Family Residential to C-1 General Commercial Ms. Kee identified the buffering issues . for consideration. City Council Regular Meeting Thursday, July 14, 1994 Page 4 (1) Buffering of existing single family development to the east and south, in particular Foxfire and. Woodcreek. There is enough undeveloped land to the east and south to eventually buffer the existing residential subdivisions through the use of "step-down" zoning. No rezoning requests have been submitted to date to address this, This concern was discussed with the applicant prior to the submission of this rezoning .request. (2) Buffering future residential development that could occur adjacent to the property under consideration. This request will place commercial zoning adjacent to vacant R-1 zoned land. The city's current buffering requirements will not be adequate to address this C-1/R-1 adjacency, if the commercial property develops first. ~C~ Ms. Kee mentioned that five notices were mailed to property owners''200 feet. Opposition has been expressed to the staff. She. addressed the issue of "cut through" traffic, a concern of many residents in Emerald Forest. Ms. Kee described several elements of the Thoroughfare Plan for traffic improvements on the east side of the Highway 6 Bypass. Staff recommended approval of the request. Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request with the statement that special attention be given to the "step down" approach and buffering of the existing single family development. Mayor Ringer opened the public hearing at 7:32 p.m. -- Darrell Bruffett of 1518 Fontaine Drive addressed concerns about the noise level from Bossier Chrysler dealership near his .previous residence. His concerns were based on noise and the generat commercial zone.. He suggested Council consider this issue at another meeting in which all councilmembers are present. ~ Bill Atkinson, a partner in the East Bypass Development Group, .3001 Rustling Oaks, Bryan addressed the Council in favor of the rezoning request. He noted that a potential car dealership is proposed for a portion of this tract. City Council Regular Meeting. Thursday, July 14, 1994 Page 5 N®ble Douglass, President of Douglass Nissan, 200 Lee Street .expressed his ~ wishes for approval of the request. He heard the concerns from the surrounding residents and their concerns shall be addressed by the appropriate buffering. Councilwoman Crouch asked Mr. Douglass to clarify his response to their concerns of lighting and noise. Mr. Douglass responded that this site would be secure with .lights similar. to other local car lots, and will be turned off after midnight. He added that the noise can be addressed. Problems at the existing site were resolved with neighbors, only one complaint in the past five years. Mr. Douglass addressed the situation of cut.through traffic within neighborhood. He added that test driving cars will be performed on the highway not in the neighborhoods. Councilman. Kennady-asked Mr. Douglass if he considered alternative sites in College Station. Mr. Douglass replied there are other locations which are not feasible monetarily. Bob Bower,'.a partner in the East Bypass Development Group, 3409 Parkway Terrace in Bryan came forward to urge the Council to approve this request. Mike Caudel, 8406 White Rose Court in Emerald Forest Subdivision spoke against the proposal on behalf of the Emerald Forest. Homeowners Association. He expressed concern that the homeowners were not aware of this request in an appropriate time to study this matter further. Primary concerns consist of increased traffic and loud noise. Mr. Caudel asked the Council to further study the traffic plan in this area. - Jennifer Salter, 171.0 Springwood -Court in Emerald Forest Subdivision spoke in opposition to the rezoning request based on the traffic increase and noise. _.. :Debra Jansen, 1704 Emerald Parkway in Emerald Forest Subdivision spoke in opposition to the request. She commented that the change in vehicular traffic to .one way on the Bypass frontage road has increased the traffic on Driftwood.. The safety of children is a significant concern. -- Billy Stine, 204 Hearthstone, representing the Holy Cross Lutheran Church came forward to express opposition of the rezoning. request.. He remarked that a car dealership in this location is undesirable. He felt that the Church was not informed appropriately in this matter since the entire tract abuts the Church's property. City Council Regular Meeting Thursday, July 14, 1994 Page 6 ~. Patsy Deere, 1500. Frost in Foxfire Subdivision, representing the Foxfire Homeowner's Association requested the Council to table the issue. She read a written statement in opposition of the request. Rod. Pace, 2000 Huntington in Foxfire Subdivision, .came forward to speak in opposition to a commercial zone. One reason is the fear of decreased property values. John Hanson, 2101 Fairfax in Foxfire Subdivision, agreed with the comments made by neighbors.. He mentioned that an apartment complex would not be desirable. However, this zoning would be a logical compromise to meet the needs of commercial development and homeowners. He asked the Council to study this issue further. Mayor Ringer asked a question regarding other zones next to a single family residential Ms. Kee stated that the development policies allows office professional zones, medium density residential, and types of conditional use permits as buffers. - E.J. Norton, 2907 Adrienne in Southwood Valley, addressed the Council. He reflected upon his experiences residing in a neighborhood near a car dealership. Mrs. Jimmie Vernon, 2103 Farley in Foxfire Subdivision stated that she agrees with the concerns expressed by other neighbors. She pointed out the insignificant uses for the proposed route on Foxfire' Drive. to Woodcreek. Richard Crooks, 2517 Fitzgerald in Foxfire Subdivision, expressed opposition to the rezoning request. The audience was asked to signify their opposition'to the rez®ning with a show of hands. David McWhirter, 1708 Amber Ridge in Emerald Forest came forward to note `~ that he has nofi heard significant reasons to change the land use for this .particular zoning. He referred to the Ends Statements displayed on the wall behind the City Council dias. Ohara. Ragland, 2200 Feber Circle in Foxfre Subdivision reiterated concerns of -- the homeowners. Vicky Newman, 2509 Fitzgerald in Foxfire Subdivision addressed the Council to express her opposition to this issue by stating that a change to commercial in this area violates the quality of life for Col ege Station citizens.. She asked Council to delay action of this item. City Council Regular Meeting ' Page 7 Thursday, July 14, 1994 ' _ Willie Allen, 8706 Driftwood in E-=merald Forest encourage the Council to delay consideration of this item. He also challenged the. Foxfire neighbors to use alternate routes and eliminate access through Emerald Forest. Bill ®avis, 9271 Brookwater Circle in Woodcreek came forward to address concerns such as noise, light fo'r this business type. _ Wayne Steelman, 9273 Brookw',ater Circle, shared concerns with previous speakers. - Doug Slack, 2301 Ferguson Circle in Foxfire Subdivision addressed two major issues. First; major land use change without an integrative approach; and, secondly, the designation of a creative traffic plan for the residences east of the Bypass. _ Sherry EI(ison, 2705 Brookway in Windwood Subdivision stated her concern that the city may set a precedent for,commercial property near other subdivisions along the Bypass. _ Mayor Ringer received a written statement from Leon and Susan Edmisson, 1003 Falcon Circle in the Foxfir~~ Subdivision whom protested the rezoning request. Lee Cartwright of 1503 Foxfire [')rive mentioned that the revision of the FM 2818 ° Corridor development plan doe; not justify rezone of the property. ~ Mr. Bob Bower noted that durinc~,the period of 1972 and 1982, Agency Records Control, (now AMC), located onlthe Bypass became city's largest employer other than TAMU and the only commercial development. on the Bypass. Furthermore, traffic was not a major concern <~s Emerald Forest developed. He emphasized this request for rezoning is for 5,00-600 feet at the front of the tract. Mr, Hanson argued two major issues: 1) traffic control 2) Possible development expanded toward property line c~yf church. ~ Richard Crooks expressed his hope the city will allow residents of Foxfire to continue to enjoy the area as it iaxists. Mrs. Vernon described the problems which could occur if the commercial property became vacant and thE~ residents could not have a voice in what type of commercial business might. be Ic~cated at this site. City Council Regular Meeting Page 8 Thursday, July 14, 1994 Deborah Sells of .2204 Ferber Circle pointed out that the AMS traffic is not a problem for Emerald Forest residents because the employees exit Emerald Forest Parkway to the Bypass. Mayor Ringer closed the public hearing at 9:00 p. m. Mayor Ringer restated the basis for the comments from citizens related to the land use for an auto dealership. Councilman Kennady made a motion to deny the rezoning request without prejudice and direct staff to re-evaluate the appropriate use for both tracts as well as the Highway 6 Corridor and re-assess the FM 2818 Land Use Plan. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Mcllhaney. Following the councilmembers viewpoints on this action, the motion carried unanimously, 4-0. Mayor Ringer restated the staffs response to citizen concerns regarding traffic flow. and step down. zoning. Mayor Ringer asked representatives from the different homeowner's associations affected by this issue tonight to provide their name and address with staff for further correspondence, if necessary. Agenda Item No. 4 -- Discussion of proposed final statement for 1994-95 CD Block Grant. Jo Carroll presented information on the 1994=95 Community Development Block Grant Statement in the amount of $1;206,000 for next year's activities. She identified the Program guidelines. She also outlined the Joint Relief Funding Review Committee recommendations for social services funding. The City Council meeting was delayed for a five minute recess. Mayor Ringer called the meeting back to order at 9:35 p.m. Ms: Carroll described the proposed activities for use of the grant monies. Councilman Kennady moved approval of the proposed final statement for 1994- 95 and with changes reported tonight. Councilwoman Crouch seconded the motion which carried unanimously, 4-0.