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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/16/1994 - Minutes - Planning & Zoning CommissionMINUTES • Plannin & Zonin Commission g g CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS June 16, 1.994 7:00 P.M. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairman Hawthorne and Commissioners Lane, Hall, Garner, Lightfoot and Gribou. COMII~IISSIONERS 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. • Commissioner 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 approximately 15 acres located at the southeast corner of the Sebesta Road and State Highway 6 intersection from R-1 Single Family Residential to Gl General Commercial (94112) 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 F.M. 281.8 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 Plan 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 site. Development Policies state that commercial development 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 through 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. 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 harking lot plan for future improvements of Certified Copy located at 1911 Texas Avenue m 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 staff stated that at 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 plan showing this or the other changes as conditioned by the Design Review Board. Commissioner Hall moved 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 Wolf Pen Creek Zoning district (94505) City Planner Kee presented the staff report for a proposed multi-family project which will have 240 living units on 16.5 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 Commission 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 to 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 requested thumbnail sketches of the propose drainage ditch from the Eastmark Drive cul-de- 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 & Z Minutes June 16, 1994 Page Z of S Chairman Hawthorne expressed concern with the lack of buffering in the east and west parking areas to the adjacent properties. • City Planner Kee stated that there is no screening proposed in those areas but there is room for some trees, shrubs or a combination. Applicant Jimmy Goodson approached the Commission and showed a video of a similar project in Alabama. He presented color samples of a rose colored brick that will be used with a beige or grey split faced masonry block around the pool deck area. The landscape architect for the project is currently working on benches with pockets of landscaping around them to be located throughout the site. Mr. Goodson stated that an underground pipe will be installed instead of the proposed open channel from the cul-de-sac to the creek to prevent further eroding of the channel. Commissioner Gribou expressed concern with the conflict between the parking lot lighting and interior lighting fixtures. He suggested that the lighting fixtures be more consistent with the overall site. Commissioner Hall expressed concern with not installing a sidewalk along the south side of Colgate. Considering the use of the property, a sidewalk is essential. Once Colgate is extended the pedestrian traffic in the area will only increase. Without additional sidewalks, pedestrians are being forced into the street. Chairman Hawthorne agreed that requiring the sidewalk along the south side of Colgate would be more consistent and utilized by the residents of the site as well as the pedestrians in the overall neighborhood. Mr. Goodson stated that an internal pedestrian sidewalk is provided that meanders through the site down to the creek. An additional sidewalk along the south side of Colgate would not be utilized. There is also a substantial elevation difference between Colgate and the site, approximately 7'. If a sidewalk is required, a retaining wall may have to be installed to maintain the required slopes. Commissioner Gribou moved to approve the site plan with the following conditions: (1) All staff and Design Review Board comments and recommendations be met; (2) A sidewalk is required along the south side of Colgate Drive; and, (3) Staff has the discretion to approve the final drainage plan including the aesthetics of the proposed underground pipe from the cul-de-sac to the creek. Commissioner Lane seconded the motion which passed unopposed (6 - 0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Establish parking requirements for a manufacturing facility located at 512 F.M. 2818, previously Texas Digital Systems. (94802) Staff Planner Kuenzel presented the staff report and stated that while it would be beneficial from a timing aspect to determine a parking requirement for all manufacturing uses, the diversity within the industry makes such a determination difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, it may be better in the long run for each individual new site or additions to existing sites to come before the Commission. In this manner, the individual company can present the circumstances surrounding the use, and the Commission can condition the parking requirements on the use remaining similar to the one approved. If conditions change, they will then need to come back before the Commission for additional parking requirements. P & Z Minutes June 16, 1994 Page 3 of S Chairman Hawthorne expressed concern with the arbitrary phrase, "as long as they are similar". He also expressed concern with the Commission being required to determine what is or is not "similar" in a particular case and the precedent that it will set for future cases. Chairman Hawthorne stated that he would feel more comfortable basing the requirement on something more definitive such as the square footage of the building. The applicant should be able to know what is expected of them when they develop in College Station, including the amount of parking they will have to provide. It seems that there would also be a legal concern in establishing parking requirements based on "similar" uses. Commissioner Gribou agreed that the City needs a more consistent policy in determining parking requirements. It does not seem practical for the City to keep track of the number of employees fora specific facility to see if they are in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance. With manufacturing uses, it seems more reasonable to base the parking requirement on the square footage of the building. Chairman Hawthorne stated that he would prefer the variance process to ~ establishes standard'~instead of the proposal to determine requirements on a case by case basis. These variances could come before the Commission instead of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Commissioner Hall stated that this problem will keep reoccurring once the Business Park begins to develop. The City needs to make a determination now before more requests are received for M-1 development. Bob Bower, the owner of Texas Digital Systems approached the Commission and explained that he is proposing to add five parking spaces. He stated that until the Commission approves the request, his business is at a stand still. He cannot submit a site plan to be reviewed by the City until the parking is determined. Mr. Bower stated that customers rarely visit the site and the professional staff travels extensively selling the products. Parking has never been a problem in the past. Commissioner Gribou stated that he does not have a problem with this particular request and the proposed parking is reasonable based on the square footage of the building. However, a standard policy should be established for similar requests in the future. Chairman Hawthorne sugges~ed that the Commission make a decision on the Texas Digital case tonight and direct staff .eg recommend~~ a clear policy Ito ~ establish parking requirements for these manufacturing uses u 5ce5 . Commissioner Gribou moved to approve the proposed parking requirement for a manufacturing facility located at 512 F.M. 2818 as per the proposed five additional parking spaces with a total of twenty parking spaces for the facility. Commissioner Gribou also directed staff to look further into establishing parking requirements for manufacturing facilities. Commissioner Lightfoot seconded the motion which passed unopposed (6 - 0). AGENDA TI'EM NO. 6: Consideration of a variance to the Driveway Access and Location Ordinance for a proposed mini storage facility to be located along Manuel Drive at Cornell, lot 5, block 1 of the K.F.O. Addition. (94406) Transportation Planner Hard presented the staff report and recommended approval of the variances for both driveway spacing dimensions since due to the size of the subject tract and existing driveways, the spacing requirements of the ordinance cannot physically be met. The Project Review Committee requested that the applicant provide information on the spacing distances between the proposed driveways and existing driveways. The applicant has failed to address this area both in the revised site plan and in the letter of appeal. Staff also recommended approval of the throat length variance for the driveway on Manuel, again since the required dimension cannot physically be met without reducing the size of the building. P & Z Minutes June 16, 1994 Page 4 of S Representative of the applicant, Earl Havel with Garrett Engineering informed the Commission that the size of the building cannot be reduced and still economically meet the • owner's needs. He offered to answer questions pertaining to the proposed variance requests. Commissioner Gribou moved to grant the driveway variances for a proposed mini storage facility to be located along Manue] Drive at Cornell, lot 5, block 1 of the K.F.O. Addition with the staff recommendations. Commissioner Garner seconded the motion which passed (5 - 1); Commissioner Hall voted in opposition to the motion. AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: Other business. There was no other business. AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: Adjourn. Commissioner Lane moved to adjourn the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Commissioner Gribou seconded the motion which passed unopposed (6 - 0). •R APPRO Chairperson, Kyle Hawthorne TTE T~~: • r / Pla nin ec nician, Natalie Thomas • P & Z Minutes June 16, 1994 Page S of S ~J i• i~ ~~annin~ ~' ZoninB Commission Guest ~,e~ister Date L ' l~.' ame ~(cfcfress 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. ZS. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 2S.