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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/15/1997 - Minutes - Planning & Zoning Commission MINUTES Planning & Zoning Commission CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS May 15, 1997 7:00 P.M. i • COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Acting Chairman Gribou and Commissioners Smith, Parker and Massey. COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Chairman Hawthorne and Commissioners Lightfoot and Garner. STAFF PRESENT: Acting Director of Development Services, City Manager Noe, City Planner Kee, Planning Technician Ruiz, Senior Planner McCully, Assistant City Attorney Reynolds, Staff Planner Battle, Development Coordinator Volk, Assistant to the City Engineer Homeyer, Graduate. Civil Engineer Kasper. (Council Liaison Mariott was in the audience.) AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Approval of minutes from the meeting of May 1, 1997. Commissioner Massey moved to approve the minutes from the meeting of May 1, 1997 as written. Commissioner Smith seconded the motion which passed unopposed (4 - 0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Consideration of a final plat of lots 1 and 2 of the CSL of Texas, Inc. Addition generally located on the northeast corner of Sebesta Road and State Highway 6 Frontage Road. (97-213) Graduate Civil Engineer Kasper presented the staff report and stated that the purpose of this subdivision plat is to create 2 lots zoned C-1 General Commercial. The 41.81 acre master preliminary plat for this property and the development agreement for future extension of sanitary sewer service are scheduled to be reviewed by the City Council during their regular meeting on May 22, 1997. The development agreement will allow the applicant to develop Lots 1 & 2 prior to the extension of sanitary sewer service to the property, so that when such extension occurs the applicant will have paid his "fair share" of the cost. Staff recommended approval of the plat with the condition that all staff comments are addressed and the preliminary plat and development agreement are approved by Council. Commissioner Smith moved to approve the final plat of the CSL of Texas, Inc. Addition with the staff recommendations. Commissioner Parker seconded the motion which passed unopposed (4 - 0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Consideration of a conceptual plan of approximately 735 acres generally located on the northwest corner of State Highway 6 and Greens Prairie Road that • includes the State Highway 40 extension. (97-307) Senior Planner McCully stated that the applicant is seeking general approval of the land uses, densities, and roadway alignments in order to finalize the location of a mitigation area needed to begin right-of- way acquisition for Highway 40. The Land Use Plan that is pending adoption does not lay out new development areas to the level of detail shown by this development proposal. The draft plan reflects the general planning concept of regional commercial at major intersections with medium density detached residential on the interior. The proposed development plan likewise reflects this concept, however, it includes more of a mix of these two land uses with duplex, townhome, neighborhood commercial, and office uses. The plan reflects both the City's adopted and proposed development policies as well as sound planning principles. The Land Use Plan that is currently under consideration will act as the policy statement for future development proposals. The applicant is proposing an amendment to that plan with this conceptual plan. If the City agrees to approve the conceptual plan, the Land Use Plan will be amended to incorporate the proposed development. The proposed development plan shows a mix of residential types at approximately 6.4 dwelling units per residential acre, whereas the pending plan shows single family only at between 3 to 6 units. The applicant recently approached the City staff to discuss the feasibility of the proposed development plan. The applicant is currently negotiating with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the acquisition of the property that will be required to construct the future Highway 40. As a part of these discussions, the applicant wishes to determine the future potential land uses and road alignments that will be required with development of the property. A development agreement that specifically ties down the alignment of Decatur (the Longmire • extension) is forthcoming. The Parks and Recreation Board has accepted the concept of the future parkland dedication as long as the floodplain areas remain accessible and act as linkages between the parks. The mitigation area should remain largely undisturbed; however, the Parks Board will consider providing hike and bike trails. They would also like to see a park remain adjacent to the proposed school site and also expressed interest in a 40 to 50 acre community park in this area. Staff recommended approval of the general concept of the overall plan with the understanding that more specific information relating to the physical characteristics of the property may change the layout. Owner of the property, Tim Crowley informed the Commission that he has been working closely with TxDOT and the Fish and Wildlife agency on issues surrounding the Highway 40 extension. In order to obtain the environmental clearance through the state, TxDOT is being required to do on-site mitigation for the existing Navasota Lady Tresses. He explained that the mitigation area must be obtained through a deed or easement and set aside for limited use. Before the right-of--way or mitigation area is sold, Mr. Crowley would like to see how the area will impact the future development of the entire property with respect to sanitary sewer, streets and drainage. He explained that the conceptual plan must be finalized so that they can begin to plan the infrastructure for the future development. The floodplain location shown is approximate; however, the intention of the plan is to retain as much of the floodplain as possible through parks and open space. There will be plans for detention and channel improvements once the drainage study is complete. The Commission agreed that the conceptual plan seems to recognize all of the important issues with respect to parks, thoroughfares, density, etc. The departure from the Comprehensive Plan is acceptable • and the impacts are mitigated because of the proposed Highway 40 splitting the property in half. The overall density of the area will not be drastically changed. P c~ Z Minutes May 1 S, 1997 Page 2 of 4 Commissioner Smith moved to recommend approval of the conceptual plan of approximately 735 acres located on the northwest corner of State Highway 6 and Greens Prairie Road with the staff and Parks • Board recommendations. Commissioner Parker seconded the motion which passed unopposed (4 - 0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Public hearing to consider an ordinance amendment to the Mobile Home Park ordinance to include manufactured housing. (97-806) This item was removed from the agenda prior to the meeting. AGENDA ITEM NO. S: Discussion with City Manager Noe concerning communication issues. City Manager Noe stated that he is present to discuss communication between staff, the Commission and the City Council. Over the last week or so, staff has started sending copies of all minutes for all Boards and Commissions to the City Council to improve communication. It might be helpful if the Commission received the City Council minutes as well. Commissioner Smith stated that the FYI Fliers have been very informative and lets the Commission know the final outcome of an item. Recently, there have been times when the Commission makes a recommendation and the City Council completely reverses their decision. The Commission is not informed of why the decision was reversed and does not get direction from the City Council for future cases. Commissioner Smith also expressed concern of not knowing what the City Council is working on such as the Northgate Hotel project. It was a surprise for Commissioners when they read it in the newspaper. He stated that he understands that some things are confidential; however, the Commission • should be informed about upcoming projects as soon as possible. Commissioner Gribou agreed and stated that the FYI Fliers are helpful. However, when there is a reversal of the Commission's decision or a difference of opinion, it is frustrating for the Commission to continue making recommendations not knowing the direction of the City Council. A copy of the City Council minutes might help in keeping the Commission informed. City Manager Noe stated that he and the Mayor have discussed the possibility of having a working meeting in June of each year with all the City Boards and Commissions and going over the strategic issues and vision statements after they are established by the City Council. During this meeting, the group could discuss how their particular body might work within the overall framework and have some working dialogue. Commissioner Gribou expressed concern that the June meeting is more of a "top down" approach to strategic planning. It might benefit the City Council to have more input from the established Boards and Committees prior to developing an agenda for the next year. There is some degree of wisdom and professional expertise that the Council could access in establishing the future goals of the City. Commissioner Massey agreed and stated that he thinks the Commission is offering their time to devote to certain issues that the Council might not have time to focus on. The Commission could provide the fine tuning or fill in the gaps for certain projects or issues. The Commission would have a much clearer direction if they knew the context of the direction from City Council. He suggested a Commission liaison at the City Council meetings. P & Z Minutes May 1 S, 1997 Page 3 of 4 City Manager Noe stated that if the Commission would like a briefing on a particular project or discuss a specific issue, he will be happy to attend the next available meeting. He stated that another • opportunity may be joint sessions between the Commission and Council as were conducted with the Comprehensive Plan. City Manager Noe stated that he envisions more joint sessions during the implementation phase of the Comprehensive Plan once it is adopted. The Commission reached a consensus that a rotating Commissioner serving as a liaison and attending the City Council meetings would be helpful and improve the communication between the two bodies. However, they requested that the item be placed on a future agenda for discussion with the other Commissioners. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: Presentation on streamlining the development review process. Acting Director of Development Services Callaway informed the Commission that Streamlining the Development Process is the number one strategic issue for 1996-97. The goal is to re-engineer the City's development process to ensure that it is customer friendly and produces a quality result based on common sense solutions in the minimum amount of time possible. The review will focus on the process and not on any change in the overall responsibilities (developer vs. City) that are currently in place. He presented several suggestions for improvement that have been received from developers and staff. Acting Director of Development Services Callaway stated that the focus group is currently working on a joint Bryan-College Station Development Standards, updating the local building codes and revising the role of the Project Review Committee. A Zoning Ordinance will be presented to the Commission concerning the role of the PRC at a future meeting. Commissioner Gribou stated that we need to realize the potential of electronic communications in streamlining the process. Attention should also be given to maintain the current quality and safety levels. Commissioner Massey stated that streamlining a process is effective; however, a lot of responsibility is being placed on staff. He stated that he will be interested to see the criteria established to forward a project to the PRC or the Commission. AGENDA ITEM N0.7: Other business. There was no other business. AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: Adjourn. Commissioner Massey moved to adjourn the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Commissioner Smith seconded the motion which passed unopposed (4 - 0). APPR _. ,,,f~~ ,'~ ~ Chairman, Kyle Hawthorne ST~ ~ , • la 'ng Technician, N talie uiz P & Z Minutes May 1 S, 1997 Page 4 of 4 Canning ~' Zoning Commission Guest ~,eBister Date fume 21 dress i 1. ,mss-~..~ , ~- ~~ }, ~. ~~~1,~ ~.~_~ l ~t ~ ~~~ ~ «P. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. • 11. 12. 13. 14. 1S. 16. 1 ~. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. • 24. 2S,