HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune
PLANNING &
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
NEWSLETTER
Building a Better Community with You
P OPULATION : T HE J UNE POPULATION ESTIMATE IS 102,940
NEW NON-RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTUR-
AL STANDARDS ADOPTED
1
AMENDMENT TO PROPOSED TO THE
UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE -
SINGLE-FAMIY PARKING
2
LUMINAIRE (LIGHT FIXTURE) LOCATION
IN BATHROOMS
3
BUILDING INSPECTIONS 3
RESIDENTIAL PERMIT TOTAL 3
BUILDING PERMIT TOTALS 4
TRACKING THE NUMBERS 4
BUILDING PERMIT CHARTS 5
LOCAL U.S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STREAMGAGES 6
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT MAP 7
PLANNER-ON-CALL 8,9
Inside this issue:
PO Box 9960
1101 Texas Avenue
College Station, TX 77842
979-764-3570
Fax: 979-764-3496
www.cstx.gov
JUNE 2015
New Non-Residential Architectural Standards Adopted
On May 28th, the City Council approved an amendment to the Unified Development
Ordinance (UDO) regarding the Non-Residential Architectural Standards. The stand-
ards were initially adopted in 2003 and then expanded in 2004 as an economic devel-
opment effort. Some revisions to the standards occurred over the years though sig-
nificant revisions were identified as needing to be accomplished.
The Planning & Zoning Commission provided the overall guidance to the amend-
ment effort with input from development community contacts including the local
chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The revisions represent a sub-
stantial overhaul to the standards while maintaining the general framework in which
designers and reviewers are familiar.
The ordinance amendment addressed a variety of items such as changing how the
standards apply to different building types, simplifies the manner in which the stand-
ards are written and organized, and provides additional design options, flexibility
and opportunities to seek relief. Some of the major changes can be summarized as
follows:
Changed the standards to provide emphasis on more prominent areas and image
corridors of the City while reducing or eliminating some requirements in areas
that are not as prominent.
Reduced the complexity of the ordinance by moving the non-architectural stand-
ards out of the architecture section and into the applicable parking, landscaping,
and development standards sections. This change also allows architectural re-
views to be done independent of site plans and thus allowing greater flexibility
in the design process of developing a project.
Increased the flexibility of the types and percentages of architectural features,
materials and colors that can be used.
Modified the applicability of some requirements to better apply to specific cir-
cumstances and not be a one size fits all approach that created unintended conse-
quences.
Created an alternative compliance review path to the prescriptive ordinance re-
quirements by authorizing the Design Review Board (DRB) to consider and ap-
prove architectural designs from a registered architect that are innovative or ad-
dress other unique circumstances.
The new standards can be found in UDO Article 7 ‘General Development Stand-
ards,’ Section 12-7.10 at www.cstx.gov/UDO.
Amendment Proposed to the Unified Development Ordinance – Single-Family Parking
Planning & Development staff have drafted a proposed amendment to the City’s “Single-Family Residential Parking
Requirements for Platting” section of the Unified Development Ordinance. This is the section of the Subdivision Regu-
lations that requires new single-family developments to mitigate future neighborhood parking problems and maintain
certainty of emergency vehicle access through subdivision design. The ordinance was adopted in 2013 in response to a
report generated by the Joint Neighborhood Parking Task Force in 2012. Through application of these requirements
over the past several years, staff have identified amendments to make the requirements easier to understand and apply.
The proposed amendments to Section 12-8.3.W. of the Unified Development Ordinance are intended to provide addi-
tional options and increased flexibility for single-family developments.
Proposed changes include:
Ordinance sections have been re-arranged for ease of use;
An additional option that permits standard 27-foot wide streets with parking on one side (and no additional visitor
parking) has been added;
Now allows visitor parking spaces to back on to local streets
when two or fewer spaces are provided in a pod;
No longer allows on-street parking on narrow streets;
The traffic calming section has been modified;
Right-of-way requirements for wider streets are now defined;
Alley-fed parking standards have been clarified / better de-
fined.
Staff met with the Joint Neighborhood Parking Task Force in
June to discuss the proposed changes, and a two-week public
review period (ending Friday, July,10, 2015) has been offered
to get feedback on the amendment. The proposed ordinance
language can be reviewed at the following weblink: http://
cstx.gov/index.aspx?page=3844.
Tentative Public Hearing Dates:
Planning & Zoning Commission – August 6, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
City Council – August 27, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Background: In 2012, the City Council’s Strategic Plan identified neighborhood parking issues as a problem af-
fecting the City’s Neighborhood Integrity. In response, the Joint Neighborhood Parking Task Force of the College Sta-
tion City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission was formed through City Council Resolution. The Task Force
created solutions to address neighborhood parking within three contexts: established neighborhoods with existing prob-
lems, established neighborhoods with emerging problems, and future neighborhoods with potential problems. City or-
dinances were adopted based on the report generated by the Task Force.
If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Prochazka, AICP, Principal Planner at jprochazka@cstx.gov or Danielle
Singh, P.E., Transportation Planning Coordinator at dsingh@cstx.gov.
Page 2/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
Page 3/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
Luminaire (Light Fixture) Location in Bathrooms
With bathrooms getting smaller in some instances,
and designers or builders getting more creative, the
National Electrical Code clarifies the approved loca-
tions of light fixtures installed above and around
bathtubs or shower areas. The code states that the
restricted zone is measured by the bathtub or shower
stall width plus 3 feet horizontally and 8 feet vertical-
ly from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall
threshold. All cord-connected, chain-hanging, pen-
dant light fixtures, track lighting, and suspended
(paddle) fans are prohibited in the above listed re-
stricted zone. They shall be out of reach of an indi-
vidual standing on the rim of a bathtub or shower.
Approved light fixtures securely surface-mounted or recessed-mounted to walls and ceiling are permitted within the
restricted zone.
Another thing to take into account when locating an electrical fixture in the bathroom is to install fixtures listed for
damp locations. Where a light fixture is subject to shower spray, the light fixture must be listed for a wet location.
Contact the City of College Station Building Division at 979.764.3570 with any questions.
Brian Binford
Building Official
BUILDING INSPECTIONS:
MONTH BUILDING PLUMBING ELECTRIC MECHANICAL LAWN SIGN POOL TOTAL
JANUARY 371 261 163 126 35 2 8 966
February 477 293 240 191 5 4 8 1,223
MARCH 593 403 231 170 7 0 8 1,412
APRIL 495 302 272 238 33 20 14 1,374
MAY 525 350 285 253 44 1 10 1,468
JUNE 651 377 422 307 81 16 21 1,875
TOTAL 3,112 1,986 1,613 1,285 243 43 69 8,345
With the new TRAKiT software our residential permit
types have been combined, the table below provides
additional details to show the Residential Subtypes.
Residential Permit No. of Permits Issued Valuation
Single-Family (Detached) 38 $10,456,005
Townhomes 3 $358,950
Duplex 0 $0
BUILDING PERMIT TOTALS:
Month of June 2015 Month of June 2014
Type of Permit Permit Unit Total Sq. Ft.Heat Sq. Ft.Amount Permit Unit Amount
ACCESSORY 4 0 220 0 $67,620.00 4 $140,000.00
ADDITION 8 4 4,533 3021 $269,930.00 5 $1,763,600.00
COMMERCIAL NEW 6 0 20,005 16458 $1,020,000.00 7 $1,022,770.00
DEMOLITION 4 0 0 0 $0.00 7 1 $479,700.00
POOL 9 0 0 0 $400,057.00 4 $131,000.00
REMODEL / RENOVATION 85 1 219,424 72859 $3,671,975.00 20 $1,295,361.00
REROOF 6 0 0 0 $40,979.99 5 $81,785.00
RESIDENTIAL 40 40 142,054 107706 $10,771,078.00 55 56 $10,029,979.00
SIGN 9 0 0 0 $0.00 13 $0.00
SLAB ONLY 1 0 14,788 0 $140,000.00 1 $48,900.00
TOTALS 172 45 401,024 200,044 $16,381,639.99 121 57 $14,993,095.00
January 01, 2015 - June 30, 2015 January 01, 2014 - June 30, 2014
Type of Permit Permit Unit Total Sq. Ft.Heat Sq. Ft.Amount Permit Unit Amount
ACCESSORY 13 0 2,178 0 $163,570.00 13 $316,550.00
ADDITION 40 8 227,187 185,790 $4,930,020.00 35 5 $3,022,432.00
COMMERCIAL NEW 35 88 277,199 146,349 $33,562,025.00 44 88 $41,234,937.00
DEMOLITION 45 15 37,628 0 $277,700.00 30 18 $627,400.00
MULTI-FAMILY 12 161 272,131 147,540 $18,311,026.00 53 703 $56,084,421.00
OTHER STRUCTURES 2 0 0 0 $10,000.00 0
POOL 40 0 5,381 0 $2,151,382.00 35 $1,577,972.00
REMODEL / RENOVATION 155 9 591,103 305,828 $10,584,956.26 113 15 $10,047,261.00
REROOF 33 0 0 0 $242,959.99 25 $778,102.00
RESIDENTIAL 494 502 1,415,814 1,077,260 $93,373,372.24 431 439 $71,972,544.00
SIGN 78 0 4,574 0 $80.00 105 $0.00
SLAB ONLY 60 0 161,140 0 $956,318.00 10 $2,627,564.00
TOTALS 1007 783 2,994,335 1,862,767 $164,563,409.49 894 1,268 $188,289,183.00
Tracking the Numbers
New Single-Family Homes:New Commerical:Total Permits:
YTD - 1 yr YTD - 2 yr
11% 29%
YTD - 1 yr YTD - 2 yr
- 20% 17%
YTD - 1 yr YTD - 2 yr
11% 19%
Year-to-date, single-family home permits
experienced an increase in quantity when
compared to last year at this time, June 2014,
and increased when compared with two years
ago, June 2013.
Year-to-date, new commercial permits
experienced a decrease in quantity when
compared to last year at this time, June 2014,
and increased when compared with two years
ago, June 2013.
Year-to-date, total permits experienced an
increase in quantity when compared to last year
at this time, June 2014, and increased when
compared with two years ago, June 2013.
Page 4/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
PERMITS BY TYPE
YEAR TO DATE
Type of Permit Permit Unit Amount
COMMERCIAL NEW 35 88 $33,562,025.00
MULTI-FAMILY 12 161 $18,311,026.00
REMODEL / RENOVATION 35 4 $9,469,152.26
RESIDENTIAL 351 363 $75,177,990.24
Page 5/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
Page 6/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
Local U.S. Geological Survey Streamgages
Recording Actual Flood Heights Resulting from Specific Rainfall Events
About a year ago the City entered into a contract with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the installation, opera-
tion, and maintenance of stream stations that will help provide actual field-measured data. The City of College Sta-
tion’s regulated floodplains impact hundreds of properties with values in the millions of dollars. The City has under-
taken several major capital projects that are influenced by best available flood studies. Associated flood insurance
rates and development regulation, as well as general impacts to many citizens is broad. Due to this significance, it is
important for our flood studies to be as accurate as possible.
The stations provided for by this agreement will collect a contin-
uous reading of stormflow data to compare the FEMA floodplain
studies with measured rainfall through a mathematical relation-
ship this directly corresponds to streamflows and depth. Measur-
ing streamflow accurately, requires specialized instrumentation
and personnel. USGS provides ongoing inspection and mainte-
nance for the station instruments and data confirmation.
College Station has two sites (as pictured below) where USGS
gages are installed and transmitting to the website. Directions to
the links are below. One gage is on Bee Creek Main downstream
of Texas Avenue South near the Police Station. The second is
on Bee Creek Tributary A downstream of Longmire Drive in
Longmire Park.
Access the USGS Data for
the Local Gages
Data from these two USGS streamgages (as well as
all USGS stations across the State) is available at:
tx.usgs.gov. Directions to navigate: at the left side of
the page under Data Center, click on the blue “text”
link near the top. This page lists all the stream flow
gages in the state. Scroll down to the Brazos River
Basin. They are located at the top, station numbers are
08111052 (Bee Creek Main) and 08111054 (Bee
Creek Trib A). Click the station numbers and you can
navigate to select related data. You can also sub-
scribe to receive email notifications when these creek
locations exceed defined parameters, (i.e. certain
flood depth, or rainfall amount, etc).
Additional technical information on streamgages is
available on the USGS fact sheet “How Does a U.S.
Geological Survey Streamgage Work?” at http://
pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3001/.
For questions please contact Alan Gibbs, City Engi-
neer via email at agibbs@cstx.gov or by phone at 979.764.3570.
Page 7/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
New Planning and Development Map
The City now has a NEW Planning and Development Map. Find it by going to our website at www.cstx.gov and click-
ing on MAPS & GIS on the right. It is replacing the old Development Map. Below is information and tips to navigate
the new map more easily.
This map features the ability to:
View property information: Zoom to the property, click on the property parcel, and information appears in a pop-
up window. Follow the Brazos Central Appraisal District hyperlink to view additional information about the prop-
erty.
View scanned plats: Turn on the Scanned Plats layer in the Layer Control. Then, click on subdivision and info
appears in a pop-up window. First, click on the Show Related Records link in the pop-up window. Then, click on
the Laserfische Path hyperlink in the pop-up table.
Icons explained:
The layer list is in the top left corner. Click on this button to turn layers on and off.
The legend is also in the top right corner. Click on this button see view how different layers that are on are sym-
bolized on the map.
The query tool (top left corner) allows you to find and zoom to subdivisions and parks quickly.
The measurement tool (top left corner) allows you to measure distances and calculate areas.
The about icon provides a lot of the information referenced here.
TIPS
To identify and see information about a layer on the map just click on the map and a box will pop up. Information
about each of the layers that are checked on will be available. Flip through the layers with the arrow.
If you can’t see everything in the box due to size limits on your screen, click on the map with your mouse
and hold down. You can move the map with your mouse (similar to panning) which also moves the box so
it can be viewed fully.
To view aerial imagery (inside the city limits), you’ll have to turn off the Background blocker Layer in the layer
list.
If you have comments or questions, please contact the IT Department – GIS Division at gis@cstx.gov or Venessa Gar-
za at 979.764.3674 or vgarza@cstx.gov.
Page 8/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
PLANNER ON CALL
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Planner-on-Call system helps over 1,800 people a year that call, email, or come into the P&DS office with questions
related to planning and development. This section highlights some of the more common questions. If you have questions
for the Planner on Call, please contact us at 979.764.3858 or POC@cstx.gov.
Q: What is the phone number to the ____ department?
A: For a comprehensive list of contact information for each City department, please call the main line at 979.764.3500
or refer to the City website at this location http://www.cstx.gov/directory.
Q: How do I submit my application(s)?
A: Planning and Development Services has a new application submittal service known as eTRAKiT available at
https://etrakit.cstx.gov/etrakit3/ that allows all applications to be submitted online. This service also allows you to
pay fees, submit supporting documents, view the status of your application, and view staff review comments. To submit
an application, follow the outline below:
Q: How many hard copies do I need to submit?
A: Now that all applications can be submitted online, hard copies no longer need to be supplied with the applications. If
any hard copies are needed under certain circumstances, City staff will request them from you after your application
has been received.
1. Complete the appropriate application available at http://www.cstx.gov/applications and save it as a .PDF
document.
2. If you have not already done so, you will need to send the following information to cspds@cstx.gov to have
your account set up (once set up, we’ll send you login information and then you can log into eTRAKiT and fin-
ish setting up your account):
a. Company Name
b. Contact Name
c. Address
d. Phone Number
e. E-mail Address
3. Once you’re logged into eTRAKiT, go to your Dashboard to view all applications that you have submitted
and are linked to, to apply for new projects/permits/licenses, and to schedule inspections.
4. On the left side of the page, you can select to apply for a permit or a new project under their corresponding
titles. The chart on the next page determines which category each application can be found under.
5. Enter all applicable information for the application you are submitting, upload the application and all re-
quired plan documents, and hit ‘Next Step’ at the bottom.
6. Check the applicant and owner information, then enter the engineer name and contact information, if applica-
ble, and hit ‘Next Step.’
7. Review all information on this page, find your fees, then select ‘Next Step.’
8. Next is your confirmation page that will tell you how you can pay your fees.
9. You will receive a notification email once your application has gone through a completeness review and you
have been assigned a project manager.
Page 9/June 2015/www.cstx.gov
eTRAKitT Permit, Project & License types
Q: How many hard copies do I need to submit?
A: Now that all applications can be submitted online, hard copies no longer need to be supplied with the applica-
tions. If any hard copies are needed under certain circumstances, City staff will request them from you after
your application has been received.
For additional information regarding eTRAKiT and applications, please contact the Planner-on-Call.
Permits Projects Licenses
Building Permits
Driveway Permits
Tent Permits
I-Vendor Permits
Northgate Outdoor Dining
Special Event Permits
Carnival/Circus Permits
Parade Permits
Sign Permits
Banner Permits
Grand Opening Permits
Abandonments
Public Right of Way
Easement
Alternative Parking Plan
Appeals/Waivers/Variances
Administrative Adjustment
Buffer Appeal
Driveway Appeal
Non-Residential Architectural Standards Appeal
Northgate Standards Appeal
Special Exception
Written Interpretation
Zoning Variance
Architectural Reviews
Non-Residential Architectural Standards
Northgate Standards
Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Conditional Use Permit
Development Permit
Development Plat
Plats (all types)
License to Encroach
Municipal Utility District
Open Records Request
Pre-application Conference
Private Improvement in Public ROW
Rezoning
Right of Way Permit
Seismic License Agreement
Site Plan
Wolf Pen Creek Development
Zoning Letter
Rental Registration
Northgate Parking License