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OP;AllijiPlanning Solutions
November 15,2005
Joey Dunn, Director
City of College Station
Development Services
P.O. Box 9960
College Station,TX 77801
Re: Comments pertaining to the UDO annual review — parking requirements for
vehicular repair land uses.
Dear Joey,
The purpose of this letter is to follow-up a verbal request that I made in October to
modify the parking requirements for automobile repair uses to 1/200 sq. ft. I am
representing the owner of the Varsity Ford dealership on the Highway 6 East Bypass who
is negotiating the sale of the property to the north of the existing dealership to a large
retail user. In analyzing their existing and future parking needs, I discovered that College
Station's parking requirement for automobile repair uses is extremely high when
compared to other Texas cities. College Station's current parking requirement is 1
space/100 sq. ft. After a random sampling of 13 other Texas cities, I found the range to
be anywhere from 1/200 sq. ft. to 1/500 sq. ft. I presented this information to staff who
then verified the results and found other cities with as low a parking requirement as
1/1000 sq. ft. Please see a summary of my research below.
Correcting the parking requirement for automobile repair uses is critical to making the
proposed large retail development work. As you can see by the table below, the
correction to the UDO has a huge impact on the parking required for the existing
dealership. Modifying the parking requirement to the highest end of the range (1/200 sq.
ft.) is the most conservative approach and still ensures adequate parking for repair shops
throughout the City.
1504 Foxfire Drive College Station, TX 77845 979-693-1213 www.IPSGroup.us
UDO Comment
Auto Repair Parking
November 15, 2005
Page 2 of 3
City Vehicle Repair/Body Shop Reqs. #Spaces Req'd.
Dallas 1/500 sf GSA 74
San Antonio 1/500 sf GSA 74
Corpus Christi 1/400 sf GSA 92
Grand Prairie 1/400 sf GSA 92
El Paso 1/300 sf GSA 123
Austin 1/275 sf GSA 134
Fort Worth 1/250 sf GSA 147
Round Rock 2 spaces/service bay 174
Bryan 1/200 sf GSA 184
New Braunfels 1/200 sf GSA 184
San Marcos 1/200 sf GSA 184
Temple 1/200 sf GSA 184
3 spaces/service bay+ 1 per
employee+ 1 per tow truck/service
Plano vehicle 317
College Station 1/100 sf GSA 368
I am disappointed that although city staff has seen this research, they have not agreed to
include this change. They have agreed to place this item on the list for next year's UDO
update. Staff has also agreed to support a variance request to the Zoning Board of
Adjustment. This seems illogical given that the problem is with the current UDO and
that is where it should be corrected. The increased cost to my client and the average
College Station taxpayer is a waste that could be avoided by simply altering one number
within the UDO.
UDO Amendment ZBA Variance
Hours Cost Hours Cost
Staff time modifying the UDO. 0.5 $12.50 N/A 0
Staff time reviewing request& 0.5 $12.50 5.5 $137.50
preparing/modifying staff reports.
Staff time conducting additional 1.0 $25.00 2.0 $50.00
research.
Staff time preparing for& attending 1.0 $25.00 7.5 $187.50
additional public hearings.
ZBA's time to prepare and conduct 0 0 12.5 Unknown
the additional public hearing.
Staff time notifying for additional 0 0 2.0 $50.00
public hearings.
Staff time responding to public 0 0 2.0 $50.00
notices and sign on property.
TOTAL 3.0 $75.00 30.00 $475.00
UDO Comment
Auto Repair Parking
November 15, 2005
Page 3 of 3
Please note that even if we are successful in obtaining a variance, staff will still have to
modify the UDO a year from now to deal with the real issue. My client and the taxpayers
will incur additional costs to work around a problem that could be fixed in short order. In
addition, there is no guarantee that we will be successful obtaining a variance as it
requires a minimum of four positive votes whether there are just four or all five members
of the ZBA present. From a planning perspective, a variance through the ZBA is a last
resort effort. All administrative remedies should be explored before a variance is
granted. The ZBA considers hardship and special conditions pertaining to the land itself,
not to the property owner or the land use.
When the City's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) was adopted in 2003, the City
made a commitment to keep the UDO a living document and to correct errors and
discrepancies as they arise. In the 12 months following the adoption of the UDO, the
Planning and Zoning Commission had an item on every regular agenda to provide a
forum for the public to speak specifically on the UDO. During that first year, a total of
seven ordinance amendments were initiated by staff amending ten articles of the UDO.
Many of these amendments were identified by staff through applying the UDO as well as
concerns expressed by the public. These amendments were done outside of the annual
review process that is required by ordinance. The intent of the annual review process was
to give staff, the Commission and City Council an opportunity to see how the UDO was
working and to ensure that the City was getting the desired results through the
requirements in place. It was never the intent to postpone much needed amendments for
once a year.
My hope is that the City of College Station will be more responsive in assisting existing
and new businesses in our community. Varsity Ford has been in our community for 17
years, 9 of those years in College Station. The dealership's annual gross sales are
approximately $65 million. They contribute approximately $67,000 in sales tax and
$27,500 in property taxes to the City every year. The proposed 50,000 sq. ft. Ashley
furniture estimates annual taxable sales of$16 million which would result in$1.3 million
in sales tax revenue.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide toward resolving this issue as quickly and
efficiently as possible. If you have any questions or need additional information, please
contact me at the office (979) 846-9259.
Resile y,
A
atali omas Ruiz,AICP
Principal, IPS Group
CC: Planning&Zoning Commission Molly Hitchcock, Staff Planner
City Council Lance Simms,Assistant Director