09-25-1990 PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES
The Schertz Planning and Zoning Commission convened in a regular
session on Tuesday, September 25, 1990 at 7:00 P.M. in thE~
Municipal Complex Conference Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway. Those
present were as follows:
PLANNING & ZO`dING CONIMISSIO\~ CITY STAFF
BOB ANDRE6tiS, CHAIRMAN STEVE SIMONSON,
JIM SHRIVER, VICE-CHAIRti1AN ASST. CITY MANAGER
KEITH VAN DINE, SECRETARY NORMA ALTHOUSE,
MER6~~IN WILLNIAN RECORDING SECRETARY
HARRY BAUMAN
GARY BRICKEN
MEMBERS ABSENT
GEORGE VICK
KEN GREENWALD, COUNCILPERSO~?
#1 CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Andre~tis called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.
#2 APPROVAT., OF MINUTES: Regular Session September 11, 1990
Chairman Andrew°s noted that on page 3, last sentence, where it
says h's not suggesting a change......" h's should be
he's.
Merwin Willman made a motion to approve the minutes, with the
spelling correction, for the regular session September 11, 1990.
Jim Shriver seconded the motion and the vote .was unanimous in
favor. Motion carried.
#3 CITIZENS' INPUT OTHER THAN AGENDA ITEMS
There was none.
#4 CONSIDER AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION: Preliminary and Final
Plat Approval for Exchange of Drainage R.O,.W.
Between the City of Schertz and HER
Partnership (PC #167-90)
Chairman Andrews expressed concern about what kind of study has
been done to show that this smaller channel can carry the
drainage.
Steve Simonson informed the Commission this plat comes to them
after two years of meetings and negotiations and has the approval
of CCMA and of the Highway Department. Mr. Simonson said what
they`re doing is bringing the water behind COMA which will solve
CCMA's problem by saving their oak trees and their parking lot,
which they have to rebuild each year, and will take the
accumulation of water off the corner of Dietz Road and E. Live
Oak Road/ Jack Hays Blvd.
Mr. Simonson continued on saying this arrangement was worked out
with Jesse Hellums, one of the members of HHER Partnership, who
said he would donate the drainage R.O.W if the City gave him back
the R.O.~~'. which fronts Jack Havs Blvd.
Steve Simonson explained a little bit about where the drainage
flows and said that as a result of the City going bark and
looking at the drainage study and having the engineer look at the
drainage study, they- have concluded this will be sufficient to
maintain the easement through the 180' R.O.W.
Steve Simonson then went to the map to show the Commissioners how
water drains down from Deerhaven, Savannah Square and areas of
IH-35 and ends up at Dietz Road and Jack Hays Blvd.
~lerwin Willman mentioned he`s a little confused because on the
plat in one place it says there`s a 1.60 acre section to be
incorporated and in another place it says there's a 1.34 acre
drainage R.O.W. to be abandoned.
Steve Simonson explained they are incorporating a new 1.60 acre
section and it is labeled across the top that a 1.34 acre section
is to be abandoned less the an;ount of the 0.238 acre drainage
easement to be retained, but if the rest of the Commissioners
feel this needs to be made clearer, it's no problem - he will see
that it's clarified by the engineer.
Harry Bauman asked if the area being abandoned is going to be
filled in and Steve Simonson replied yes it is. Mr. Simonson
further stated the area being abandoned will eventually be
developed.
Gary Bricken, going back to the point of confusion, related that
three things are happening here: (1) they're abandoning one area,
t2) they're taking one area, and (3) they're retaining the
easement.
Keith Van Dine acknowledged that Merwin Willman's right, there
might be some possible confusion about this in the future. Gy~ry
Bricken agreed.
Chairman Andrews asked if this a vacate and replat of previously
platted property.
Steve Simonson advised that the plat previously included all the
homes and they are not vacating the area where the homes are
located. Mr. Simonson said he knows this is an unusual
situation, but it's an exchange type of transaction and not
really a vacate and replat.
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Chairman Andrews then asked if the floodplain statement should be
included on the plat.
Steve Simonson replied, even though it's kind of redundant, some
kind of statement about this area and the floodplain should be on
the plat.
Merwin 4~'illrnan made a motion to approve the preliminary and final
plat for the exchange of drainage R.O.W. between the City of
Schertz and HHER Partnership contingent on verbage being inr_Iuded
on the plat explaining that one area is being abandoned, another
area is being incorporated, and the easement is being retained.
Also requested on the plat is the inr_lusion of the floodplain
statement. Garti° Bricken seconded the motion and the vote was
unanimous in favor. :Motion carried.
#5 CONSIDER AND P9AKE RECOMMENDATION: Review of Toning
Ordinance (Article VIII and Articles VIII
through kX, Section 2)
The first to be discussed was Article VIII of the Zoning
Ordinance which is Single Family Dwelling Manufactured Housing
District Regulations R-7.
Copies of definitions for a mobile home, HUD-code manufactured
home, modular home, manufactured housing or manuiar_tured home,
modular component, park model or house trailer, and recreational
vehicle had been distributed to the Commission and Chairman
Andrews asked them to take a minute to review the definitions.
Merwin Willman was of the opinion this matter still needs more
research.
Chairman Andre~ys commented his recommendation is to change
"Single Family Dwelling Manufactured Housing" to "Single Family
Dwelling Manufactured or Modular Housing" and add these
definition to the definitions section of the Ordinance.
Merwin Willman asked Chairman Andrews on what occasion an R-7
zoning classification would be used.
Mr. Andrews gave the example of a developer wanting to use 5,000
square foot lots for the building of modular homes.
Harry Bauman then asked what would stop him from putting a mobile
home in his own backyard.
Chairman Andrews replied the regulation that says you can't have
two dwellings on the same lot.
Gary Bricken remarked there is a slight difference between a
mobile home and a modular home and said he is reminded of the
case where a person legally brought a modular home into a very
nice neighborhood, despite many objections, and a year later you
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couldn't tell the difference between it and any other house in
the neighborhood - it was just as nice.
Keith Van Dine emphasized that's a good point, because if it`s
legal they can do it.
After discussion, the consensus of the Commission caas to keep the
title for Ax-ticle E?III the sane as is but add the definitions for
a mobile home, HLD-code manufactured home, modular home,
manufactured housing or manufactured home, and a nodular.
component to the definitions section of the Ordinance.
Mervin F9illman mentioned that, cloth a little luc}c, he should have
some information on manufactured housing coming from the APA
li}>rary and it should be here in about 4-b weeks.
Chairman Andrews mentioned he would like to see some provisions
in the Ordinance fcr park models, for example in a ~lebile Home
Park to prevent them from becoming a permanent fixture.
After some discussion about park models and the possibility of
including the definition for a park model or house trailer, Gary
Bricken pointed out. the definition given applies to a structure
with less than 320 square feet.
At this time Merc4.in Fti'illman advised that such a definition, if it
Caere to be included in an ordinance, should be in the Mobile Home
Park Ordinance not the Zoning Ordinance, so the Zoning Ordinance
should stay as is.
Mr. Willman also noted that if they're going to use definitions,
they should make sure they all agree.
This concluded the discussion on Article VIII.
Jim Shriver asked if Article XIV, Section 2.1 where it says "All
uses within this district shall be limited to professional
offices, retail sales and/or services" should also mention
wholesale. After looking at the Schedule of Uses, the consensus
of the Commission was that wholesale need not be mentioned.
Chairman Andrews then commented on the last sentence of Article
XVII, Section 3.1 which reads: "No parking, storage, or simi~,'ar
use shall be allowed in required side yards or side street yards
in~M-1 Districts." Mr. Andrews inquired if this sentence should
be included in the side yard setback requirements of all the
other zoning classifications for businesses (NS, OP, and GB).
Steve Simonson indicated that the way the City is set up, you're
not going to see an M-1 or M-2 area next to a residential area .
The consensus of the Commission was that this sentence need not
be included in the side yard setback requirements of all the
other zoning classifications for businesses.
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Jim Shriver referred back to Article XV, Section 1 where it
mentions collector streets and asked what a collector street is.
Steve Simonson answered that Aero and Pecan are both examples of
collector streets - traffic feeds into them to go from one place
to another. Mr. Simonson said he thinks of a collector street as
a cross through but not a major thoroughfare.
Gcing back again to the Manufacturing Districts, Steve Simonson
said he would just like to add that even though the Ordinance
lists an ~1-2 Zoning District, none has ever been authorized in
the City.
Moving ahead to Article XX, Section 2(c), Chairman Andrews
pointed out the second sentence of the second paragraph which
reads: "Regardless of the spacing of driveways, right turn
.~ct~eleration/deceleration lanes shall be provided at each
driveway which has an average daily volume of more than one
thousand (1,000) vehicles or an average inbound peak hour volume
of fifty (50) right turns or more." Mr. Andrews asked when and
at what point is this counted - before development or after.
Discussion on this resulted in the Commission changing the
sentence to read as follows: "Regardless of the spacing of
driveways, right turn acceleration/deceleration lanes shall. be
provided at each driveway."
Steve Simonson gave the Commissioners something to think about
and keep in the back of their minds regarding storage screens,
specifically around dumpsters. Mr. Simonson mentioned the
dumpster at Tiger Tote saying it`s behind the building, so
everything looks fine from Jack Hays Blvd., but trash is visible
to the residents of Woodland Oaks. Mr. Simonson mentioned that
Payless put an "L" around theirs at the corner of Borgfeld and
Jack Hays Blvd. and it seems to .work real well.
Various %yping errors and misspelled words were corrected in the
Sections covered above.
Chairman Andrews requested that review of the Zoning Ordinance
for the next agenda start with Article XX, Section 3 and go
through Article XXIII in its entirety.
#6 GENERAL DISCUSSION ,
Steve Simonson asked Keith Van Dine how Pfeil Road is holding up
since it was repaired and Mr. Van Dine said it is doing just
fine .
Merwin Willman:
(a) Asked what the status is on the proposed Specific Use Permit
Request and Special Exception Request forms. Steve Simonson said
there has been no feedback yet from the Inspection Dept., but he
would let the Commission know.
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(b) Told the Commission that in the new Planning magazine there's
an interesting article about selling cluster development. Mr.
Willman related he has been reading about it nor a long time and
has a copy cf the book "Changes in the Conner_tict~t River ~~a.lley"
if anyone`s interested in borrowing it. Mr. 61~illman further
stated he thin}rs it could work in Schertz, possibly in
Greensllire .
(c) Corunented he could use another binder. Said his is full., and
he cculd use another one so all the crclinances can be in one and
everything else in another.
Jim Shriver:
(a) Remarked cn this being the last meeting of this fiscal year.
Steve Simcnson:
(a) Reminded the Commission of the possible press release they
received in their packages concerning litigation with Garden
Ridge. Mr. Simonson said the Appeals Court threw out the Lower
Court's ruling. Mr. Simonson also stressed that the decision in
this matter will have far-reaching effects for other cities as
far as their extraterritorial jurisdicticn.
(b) Told the Commission the word he is hearing is that RTC is
causing them to lose home sales in the City. ?~Ir. Simonson said
RTC handles one lot like it handles a 200 acre development and
the City has lost as many as 6 sales in Savannah Square.
Gary Bricken asked if the situation's better in an_y other city
and Steve Simonson answered no.
Mr. Bricken then asked if the potential buyers had gone to other
cities or to other developments in this City. Steve Simonson
replied to other cities. Mr. Simonson did add, however., RTC is
trying to streamline the system.
Gary Bricken noted that the gentleman from Garden Ridge Quality
Closeouts bought a building in Cibolo to use for storage, and he
went through RTC and the deal was closed in two weeks.
Mr. Bricken then noted that the place he hears the mist
complaints about as far as buying property is the land in Tri-
County. Steve Simonson acknowledged that situation is a
nightmare.
(c) Informed the Commission McKinney Homes is looking into the
possibility of picking up some of the lots in Woodland Oaks not
picked up by Gemcraft.
Jim Shriver commented he had learned that Pacific Southwest Bank
is owned by RTC.
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Mr. Shriner then asked the status of "The Gardens" subdivision.
Steve Simonson said a new engineer has been hired and a new flood
study is being done, so as far as he knows, it's still moving
forward.
Gary Bricken asked Steve Simonson if he still feels strongly
about Fucl America going ahead with their proposed truck stop.
~1r. Bricken said it seems a prudent decision would be to delay
until the fuel situation stabilizes.
StP_VP_ Simonson remarked that anything could happen, Fuel America
has received an extension on their proposal for the land.
Gary Bricken indicated he would not be surprised to see a little
"creative footdragging" frorl Fuel America.
Steve Simonson pointed out that the particular piece of property
Fuel America is interested in purchasing seems to have a real
lure for certain types of businesses.
Harry Bauman questioned if Fuel America will do the same as
McDonald's and consider the land price too high. In answer to
this, Steve Simonson said he thinks part of it is just posturing
and rhetoric and noted that Diamond Shamrock seems to be doing
okay, and they didn't get a price break on their land.
Chairman Andrews asked Jim Shriner if the annual report will be
ready by the next meeting and Mr. Shriner assured him it will be.
Mr. Andrews also reminded the Commission to be thinking about the
appointment of a historian to do next year`s annual report.
#7 ADJOIIRNMENT
Chairman Andrews adjourned the meeting at 8:35 P.M.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is October 9, 1990.
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