HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/21/1988 - Minutes - Planning & Zoning CommissionMINT?TES
• CITY OF COLLEGF. STATION, TEXAS
Planning and 7,oning Commis ion
July 21, 1988
7:60 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: All Present. -(Moore & Davis arrived late}
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Director of Planning Callaway, City Engineer
Pullen, Senior Planner Kee, Assistant City
Attorney Bank: R: Planning Technician Volk
AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Approval of minutes - meeting of July 7, 1988.
Mr. Colson made a motion to apprcn~e the draft. minutes as submitted. Mr. Dresser
seconded the motion which carried by a vote of 4--0-1 {Stecaart abstained;.
AGENDA ITEM N0. 2: Hear visitors.
No one spoke.
AGENDA ITEM N0. 3: 88-106: A public hearing on the question of
rezoning a 26.41 acre tract of land located along the west side
of Rio Grande Boulevard and the north side of Rock Prairie Road
from A-0 Agricultural Open to R-1 Single Family (10.54 acres) and
R-4 Apartment/Low Density (15.87 acres). Applicant is W. D. Fitch.
• Mr. Callaway described the request, location, physical features of the tracts and
area zoning. He identified existing area land uses as developed and developing
single family to the east and north; vacant Westchester Park subdivision and the
Episcopal Church to the west and the Southwood Athletic Park to the sough. He
informed the Commissioners that the subject property and surrouz:ding properties are
reflected as low density resident;:ial ea:itl: the area across Rock Prairie Road as being
reflected as parks and recreation.
Mr. Callaway pointed out that the overall maximum density allowed with this request
would be approximately 12.8 units per acre, which would be a combination of the R-4
sti~hich allows apartments, townhomes and convalescent homes at a maximum density of 16
units per acre, and the R-1 district which allows a maximum density of 8 single
family units per acre, less the portion of the acreage in the R-1 portion which t~~ould
be lost t;o streets rights-of-way, etc.
He continued by painting out; that: the trams are located along major streets adequate
to handle the traffic which would be generated, that R-4 zoning i_s typir_al.l_y
considered to be an approgriate buffer between low density residential areas and more
intense zoning districts. He explained there is an established single family
resident:iril area to the east: of the subject tract across Rio C:rande, and the uses
allowed in an R-4 district could create a potential for neighborhood opposition to
that part of the request. Fie continued by pointing out that the single fznnily uses
allowed in the R-1 portion of this request would clearly be in compliance with the
plan, but staff believes that the principal. issue to be addressed in tha_s request, is
the appropriateness of density and range of uses provided for in the R-4 portion of
this request, in the ~ibsence of constrain±s from streets and. utilities, or conflicts
with the adopted Land Ilse Plan.
Mr. Dresser asked for clarification regarding development to the west and Mr.
Callaway explained by referring to a drawing on the wall which was supplied by the
• applicant.
The public: hearing was opened. W. D. Fitch, owner and applicant. came forward and
explained the proposed uses for the tracts, adding that the article which had
appeared in the necaspaper. c>n Wednesday was an accurate report. He stated that the
single family portion will be large, 1 acre lots, and the convalescent home is
proposed to be located east of and adjacent to the church, which is an ideal. location
because of the location to the established hospital, medir_al facilities and park on
the south side of Rock Prairie Road. He said the plan is to develop the land
parallel. and adjacent to the existing G-N tract with 1 story small efficiency
apartments for retired persons, and the parcel. to the west of the R-1 to be developed
for apartments.
Mr. Fitch said that. he would prefer that any rezoning of the subject tracts be
conditional upon the stated proposed development, but staff has informed him that the
City cannot: grant conditional zoning, so he sai.ll have to take care of those
restrictions himself. He spoke of proposed access being very limited, of the
inclusion of reserved tracts for landscaped barriers and of ta1]. chain-link fences
far security.
Mr. Dresser asked about. access to the R--4 tract and Mr. Fitch explained only one
entrance is planned, with no access from Rio Grande unless the Fire Marshal requires
one.
No one else spoke. The public hearing was closed. Chairman Sawtelle reminded the
• Commissioners that there is no allowance for conditional zoning changes so they
should keep in mind that all permitted uses listed in the ordinance will be allowed.
;Mr. Moore arrived at the meeting at 7:15 p.m.}.
After additional brief discussion regarding the merits of limited access to these
tracts, Mr. Stewart made a motion to recommend approval of this rezoning request.
Mr. Moore seconded the motion which carri~:d unanimously ;6--Q!.
AGENDA ITEM N0. 4: 88-704: A public hearing on the question of
renewing a Conditional Use Permit for a temporary location for a
meeting and party facility at 805C Wellborn Road for the
applicant, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
Mrs. Davis arrived at the meeting just after Chairman Sawtelle read the agenda item
descript:i.on.
Mrs. Kee explained this request. i.s for the renewal of a conditional use permit which
coos issued ire August of 19$7 through May of 1988 for a temporary meeting and party
facility for the Fhi Delta Theta fraternity at 805C. She described the tract,
previous uses of the propert~T, area zoning and uses, and uses reflected on t?ie
adopted Land Use Plan.
She explained that the applicant requested and extension of the use permit through
December on his application, but has indicated over the telephone that he would like
to change the date of the request for extension to be through May of 1989. She
pointed out that the uses described by the applicant appear to be the same as the
previous permit, but that the number of members have increased slightly. She also
referred to a ].ease the fraternity has which expires in December, and the P.R.C.
report dated ?-22-87 which recommends that any extension of this permit require
PR•Z Minutes 7-21-88 Page 2
additional review to include upgrading the facility to meet all ordinance
requirements, and explained that ?~ecause the fraternity is not proposing an}j
• changes, no P.R.C. review was made of this application/site plan.
Mrs. Sawtelle asked for clarification of the lease and Mrs. Kee explained the lease
expires in December, but the applicant indicated by telephone that there is an option
to renew through May of 1989. Mr. Dresser asked if staff has received any complaint:,
about the use of this property and Mrs. Kee stated it had not, and neithex• had it
received any inquiries or comments in response to the 6 not::ifications mailed to
adjacent property owners.
Mr. Stewart asked what it would take to bring this property up to ordinance
requirements and Mrs. Kee explained the answer would depend upon what part of the
site i.s considered as part of the use, but. fully developed parking lots and quite a
lot of landscaping are lacking.
The public hearing c,~as opened. Chris Parker, 19Q7 Dartmouth #816 came forward,
stated he is the applicant and president of this fraternity, and explained the
fraternity is actively looking for a house tc: lease so the only need is for a
temporary facility until a more permanent location can be found. He added that he
has heard. this facility on Wellborn will be razed and the area re-developed with a
strip commercial. center.
Mr. Presser asked Mr. Parker if he is confident something can be located for a
permanent facility and Mr. Parker said he is, but the ultimate goal is to build in
Fraternity Row sti~hc:n enough funds are raised.
• No one else spoke. The public hearing was closed. Mr. Stewart said he has no real.
problem with this request, but he would rather no± have to continue issuing
extensions for temporary permits without bringing the establishment up to standards.
Mr. Dresser agreed, but added that he has observed this establishment a number of
times since it is being used by the fraternity, and thinks the appearance has
improved with this use, and it is cer±ainly more beneficial to the City to have i.t
used rather than to have it. si.t empty. Mr~. Colson said he, too, caoctld prefer to havF.
all facil.-ities brought up to standards, but -:f plans are to rage it, it wou]cl be a
large expenditure for a short period of time.
Mr. Michel said that he does not have knowledge of the discussion which took place
last year at the hearing, and asked to be apprised of the consideration given to the
request. at that. time. Mrs. Sawtelle read from the minutes and Mr. Michel said it.
sounds to him like the motion which granted tl~e C.U.P. last year was very definite in
setting prerequisites for any extension of the permit.
Mr. Dresser asked staff if it had any knowledge of plans for this land and Mr.
Callaway replied staff is not acyare of any plans for redevelopment.
Mr. Dresser then made a motion to approve the request for a "temporary" Conditional
Use Permit :for the location o:f a meeting and party facility for the Phi Delta Theta
Fraternity, s,~ith the permit to expire at the end of May, 1989. Mr. Colson seconded
the motion which carried bye a vo±.e of b-? ;Michel and Stewart against;.
AGENDA ITEM N0. 5: Consideration of a request to establish a
parking requirement for a new athletic facility (football
stadium) for the College Station Independent School District.
Request is in the name of HA/MRW Architects, represented by
Holster & Associates, Inc.
P€A 7, Minutes 7-21-88 Page 3
• Mrs. Kee explained the request comes as the result, of the 7.ening Ordinance not:
specifying a parking requirement for football stadiums or anything similar to the
stadium, but charges the Commission with t:he responsibility of setting the individuaa
requirement for the use. She referred to the letter from Holster & Associates, Inc.
which supplies information relative to attendance at AB:M Consolidated games and other
schools. She also referred to the memo from staff which supplies additional seating
requirement information gathered from other cities during a telephone-type survey,
adding those requirements ranged from 1 parking space for 3 seats tc) 1 parking space
for 6 seats. She also referred to a site plan on the wall which is concept.ua] only,
and is to be used only to get a general idea of the uses planned and the location of
the facilities to be included.
Mrs. Sawtelle invited arryore from the audience forward to address this issue and Jim
Holster, applicant & architect came forward to explain the request and the
information supplied in his letter to the Commi.ssior.. He stated that, it appears the
information from staff cvas gathered from cities much larger than College Station
where opponents from both schoo]r cUUld drive to the stadium, whereas his information
came from schools which have a similar situation to that in College Station where
opposing teams have lengt:hy distances to travel and it is likely that more car pools
will be formed, thus, the number of automobiles to be parked will be reduced. He
stated the proposed 1. parking space per ? seats can a]svays be expanded in the future
if it i.s determined there is a parking problem, because there will be ample available
land for expansion of all facilities.
Mr. Dresser pointed out that the Church of Christ parking lot, which is currently
being used for parking by students during the day, is nc:t shown on the conceptual
• plan and Mr. Holster stated it was left out on purpose because although that parking
lot will be there, the school has no plans to development any type of agreement to
use the lot. Mr. Dresser said that because it is used extensively Ilow, it would be
an indication that perhaps there is not ample parking for the studenta with the
existing facilities. Mr. Holster said one of the reasons why the proposed parking
lots are located so close to the street, is because it is hoped they can serve br>th
the school and the stadium.
Mr. Moore asked what would happen if people began parking on both sides of Welsh and
Mrs. Kee replied that currently there is a small area along Welsh which is signed for
No Parking, but Imless the rest is signed, parking on the street will be allowed.
Mr. Callaway interjected that Welsh street is probably wide enough to handle parking
on both sides of the street and still have ample room i'or c>ne lane each way to be
open.
Mr. Dresser said he would still prefer to see file parking ]ots developed on the high
school side of the street which would be more safe because students would not have to
cross the street so many times during the day. Mr. Holster reminded everyone that
the site plan submitted was a very preliminary conceptual plan, and does not
represent exactly where all facilities wi.l] be located.
Mr. Michel asked if a decision tonight would affect all future stadiums and Mrs. Kee
replied that the Commission can address a specific project or any stadium in t:he
motion. Mr. Michel then asked how much money was i.nvo]_ved in developing a parking
lot for 1082 ;1:5) rather than 773 {1:7}. Mr. Holster said that TAMIL uses a cost, of
$1400 per car, but his experience has been that a Barking lot costs approximately
• $1,000 per car.
David Brewer of the College Station Independent School P,ist.rirt. came forward and
PR•Z Minutes 7-21-88 Page 4
stated that although some of the sr_hools have indicated a certain parking ratio
• requirement, many of those lots are not paved, curbed and buttered. Mr. Dresser said
that he agrees that spending money for a parking ]ot which will be used only 5 times
a year i.s not desirable, but he wanted everyone to recognize a potential hazard
which may be created by on-street parkin};.
While Sa~ti~telle and Stewart indicated agreement, they both said they believe this is a
starting point which would be expanded as the need arises. Mr. Moore said that if
the stadium capacity is increased, the ratio will still have to be maintained.
Mr. Stewart made a mo~t.i.on t;o app.rove the request to set parking requirements for this
specific football stadium at a ratio of 1 parking space per 7 seats. Mrs. Davis
seconded the motion which carried unanimously (7--0).
AGENDA ITEM N0. 6: Other business.
Mr. Callaway requested that the Commission consider a time and date for the annual
tour of Gity facilities. A Friday in the first part of October was chosen as a
target for staff to work toward.
Mr. Gallaway then announced that the Council has set August 4+.:h at 4 P.M. for the
workshop to discuss the Commission's draft of the Goals 8: Objectives. He reminded
the Commission that August 4th is also the date of the next regular meeting at: 7:00
P. M.
Mrs. Sawtelle announced she would be unable to attend either of the meetings on
August 4th, so Mr. Stewart would be acting chairman.
• Mr. Dresser asked about the Northgate Merchant's meeting and Mr. Callaway said he had
not yet had a date set for the Commission to attend, but he would follow up on that
soon, and :in the meantime, the Council. has passed the amendment t.o the G-NG district.
regulations as recommended by the Gotnml.sston.
AGENDA ITEM N0. 7: Adjourn.
Mr. Michel made a moti_vn to adjourn. Mr. Stewart seconded the motion which carried
unanimously ;7-0;.
APPROVED:
Vice Chairman, Steven Stewart
ATTEST:
City--Secretary,-Dian-Jones --
r1
~J
P&7. Minutes 7--21-88 page
i•
NAME
1 .
~/~~i? , ~ , ~ ,ir r .
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
GUEST REGISTER
DATE July 21, 1988
J
' _~ . _.~~ c, ~ ,