ccreg 05-02-2000
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REGULAR SESSION OF THE SCHERTZ CITY COUNCIL
MAY 2, 2000
The Schertz City Council convened in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 2, 2000 at 7:00
p.m. in the Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz,
Texas. Those present were as follows: Mayor Hal Baldwin, presiding; Councilmembers
Pia Jarman; Joe Potempa; Glyn D. Williams and Ken Greenwald. Absent:
Councilmember Reginna Agee. Staff present were City Manager Kerry Sweatt and City
Secretary Norma Althouse.
Mayor Baldwin welcomed everyone and then asked them to rise and join him for the
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
#1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Regular Session 03-07 -00
Special Workshop Session 03-15-00
Regular Session 03-21-00
Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the minutes, as written, for the Regular Session of
3-7-00, the Special Workshop Session of 3-15-00 and the Regular Session of 3-21-00.
Mrs. Jarman seconded the motion, which carried with the following votes:
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AYES: Councilmembers Jarman, Potempa, Williams and Greenwald.
NAYS: None.
#2 HEARING OF RESIDENTS: Those citizens wishing to speak on agenda items
(other than public hearing items) or items not on the agenda, will be heard at this time.
Mayor Baldwin noted that four people had signed up to speak, but three out of the four
signed up to speak on the public hearing item. He informed those people they could
speak during the public hearing, but it wasn't necessary for them to sign up. Regarding
the fourth person, the Mayor said he was sure he would want to speak during the Hearing
of Residents. First, however, Mr. Sweatt has some information to pass on to the citzens.
Mr. Sweatt stated the Council is now limited as to the response they can give to residents
because of an outgrowth of recent change to the Open Meetings Act. He read the
following statement:
NOTICE TO RESIDENTS
IF YOU PLAN TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ON A MATTER WHICH IS
NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT STATE LAW
(THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT) ALLOWS ONLY THE FOLLOWING
RESPONSES TO A QUESTION:
. 1. A STATEMENT OF SPECIFIC FACTUAL INFORMATION;
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2. A STATEMENT OF EXISTING CITY POLICY; OR
3. DISCUSSION REGARDING WHEN THE MATTER CAN BE PLACED ON
THE COUNCIL'S AGENDA FOR CONSIDERATION AT A LATER
MEETING.
Mr. Sweatt went on to say this would be a real hang up if there were a serious problem
because there can be no dialogue and that, in his opinion, is dumb. Mrs. Jarman added it
is, however, the Attorney General's opinion. Mr. Sweatt then related the policy for being
on the agenda is to submit something to him in writing by 9:00 a.m. on the Thursday
preceding the next Council meeting.
Billy Wilson of 104 Church Street had signed up to speak about a follow-up on his
neighborhood and Dead End street signs. Mr. Wilson commented that in the last two
weeks he has found two snakes on his property as a result of the debris adjacent to him.
Other than that, the neighborhood looks good and is mostly cleaned up. He apologized
for the City not being able to find parts of the low-water bridge like he said they would.
Apparently they disappeared when the Palms Apartments were demolished.
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Then Mr. Wilson, saying he lives at the end of Church Street, mentioned there are no
Dead End signs and everyone turns around in the driveways of the homes at the end of
the street. Could they have some Dead End signs erected? Mr. Sweatt indicated it is a
City policy to take care of those things and he will look into it.
Mr. Sweatt updated Mr. Wilson regarding the property adjacent to him. A notice was
sent to the property owner for clean up and the owner didn't respond, so they awarded a
bid for clean up, but it was put off because of equipment problems. In the meantime the
owner contacted them and wants to clean it up himself. If the bid can be withdrawn, the
City will let the owner know.
Mr. Wilson asked if when the property is cleaned up, could he call Animal Control to
come over and inspect things. Mr. Sweatt replied yes he could call them. Mr. Wilson
thanked the Council for their time.
#3 PUBLIC HEARING: To receive citizen comments on a request from Oak Forest
Venture, Ltd. to rezone 8.851 acres from R-1 (Single-Family District, lots 80' x 120') to
R-6 (Single-Family District, lots 60' x 120') in Oak Trails Subdivision.
Mayor Baldwin stated they have a request from Don McCrary, representing the
developer, to withdraw the rezoning from consideration at this time. Since it is on the
agenda and was published in the newspaper, we have to hold the public hearing. The
Mayor then explained the procedures that would be followed for the public hearing.
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Mr. Sweatt pointed out the location of the proposed rezoning on the map. The request is
for rezoning from R-1 to R-6. This request was reviewed by Planning and Zoning and
they held a public hearing and are recommending denial of the request. Notices were
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sent to three property owners within the required distance and none were returned either
in favor or opposed. He knows there are some property owners in the audience anl1 he
will be glad to answer their questions.
Don McCrary of Don McCrary & Associates, engineers for the project, related there are
several dynamics underway. One is that other subdivisions, in the same general area, but
outside the Schertz City limits, are in the process of being developed. The City ofCibolo
has a meeting tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to discuss Wiederstein Parkway. They would like
to reroute traffic through the Cibolo subdivisions and out to Wiederstein. He doesn't
know if it will be a go because it's been on the books for two years.
Mr. McCrary also pointed out there are significant differences between their plan and the
Master Plan of the 1970's.
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Jim Prestidge of 4317 Spanish Oak commented he was President of the Oak Forest
Council in 1997 and said Oak Forest is looking for a little loyalty from the City, being
they are an old-time subdivision. He then referred to the request for rezoning to R-6 and
was not in favor of garden homes or garden apartments in the immediate area. Mr.
Sweatt pointed out R-6 zoning is not garden homes or garden apartments, it is still single-
family zoning, just smaller lots. An R-l lot is 9600 square feet and and R-6 lot is 7200
square feet. There was some discussion about an article in the paper referring to garden
homes and garden apartments and Mr. Sweatt admitted he did not know where that
originated. It wasn't anything the City reported.
Mr. McCrary explained some of the configurations of the plan and also mentioned he
knows some of the drainage is wrong. Mr. Prestidge said they have been through this
before and are now seeing another rezoning issue. Circle Oak and Crest Oak will get the
brunt of the traffic if this is approved. He wants to keep the zoning as R-1.
Joe Collins of 4313 Willow Oak (in Oak Trails) related when his family bought their
house, they were told it would be a three-unit subdivision and all the lots would be the
same size. The only difference would be that some of the houses may possibly be
smaller. He would like Council to consider keeping the lots the same size. He feels the
developer has broken faith with the residents. There are questions that need to be
answered as far as traffic flow and the size of the houses.
Mayor Baldwin mentioned there are R-6 lots all over Schertz which have some very
expensive houses built on them. Mr. Collins argued that if the lot were smaller, the house
would be smaller. Mayor Baldwin responded not necessarily because you can get a lot of
square footage in a two-story house. Mr. McCrary pointed out he is not the builder, but
has heard lots of people want large houses, but not necessarily large yards. He suggests
keeping this project in abeyance and has done so by withdrawing the request.
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Mr. Hollingsworth of Circle Oak Drive expressed concern about the traffic. Are they
going to connect into Circle Oak Drive?
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Robert Horn of 1422 Circle Oak Drive emphasized they had fought this battle before.
Circle Oak Drive cannot handle all the traffic. They already get enough from the first
unit of Arroyo Verde Subdivision. Mayor Baldwin asked him if his main concern is
traffic and Mr. Horn answered yes and also depreciation of the value of houses. Mayor
Baldwin assured him there would be no depreciation of the value of houses.
Charlotte Prestidge of 4317 Spanish Oak inquired what kind of zoning is between Crest
Oak and IH-35. Commercial? Mr. Sweatt, saying he assumed they are talking about the
Ripps property, answered it is zoned R-l. Mrs. Prestidge then asked if it's feasible that
Circle Oak not be opened up to new development. Mayor Baldwin indicated he could not
answer that question. The project needs to be re-engineered and they need to come up
with a redesigned plan. There also needs to be another public hearing after that is
accomplished. The sad part of the whole thing is that Green Valley Road cannot handle
the traffic. To this, a gentleman in the audience (name unknown) mentioned that a study
was done and it was determined Circle Oak is too narrow for two-way traffic.
Mayor Baldwin then commented everyone likes to live on a private street with minimum
traffic. Sometimes that creates a hardship for public safety vehicles and school buses and
all that needs to be taken into consideration. His suggestion is to wait and see what Mr.
McCrary comes up with and keep an eye on the Planning and Zoning meetings. That's
where this process starts.
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There being no further questions or comments, Mayor Baldwin thanked the audience and
closed the public hearing at this time.
The majority of the audience left at this time, but they were called back because Council
still had to vote on the issue.
#4 ORDINANCE: Consider and take action as a result of above public hearing,
choosing one of the following options:
(a) approve first reading of Ordinance regarding rezoning of8.851 acres from R-1 to
R-6;
(b) table action on Ordinance rezoning 8.851 acres from R-l to R-6; or
(c) have developer request withdrawal of rezoning request.
Mr. Sweatt advised they have a letter from a representative of the developer asking that
the rezoning request be withdrawn. Mrs. Jarman commented she thought they have a
fourth option and that is denial. Mr. Sweatt explained if ies withdrawn, they can come
back in a couple of weeks. If it's denied, it cannot be resubmitted for twelve months.
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Mrs. Jarman pointed out there is a considerable difference between 9600 square feet and
7200 square feet and even if they do punch out to Wiederstein Road, you're talking more
than an extra 3 or 4 lots. Mr. McCrary stressed he needs to reconflgure because of the
irregular size of the property and the drainage, and it would be better if he could get
everything correct.
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Mr. Williams remarked they're saying Wiederstein Road will change the traffic flow, but
there's no guarantee - they're making an assumption. He lives in Woodland Oaks and
the residents there thought when Woodland Oaks Drive was opened up to Schertz
Parkway that it would change the traffic flow, but it didn't. Lots of people still go out to
FM 3009. Mr. McCrary explained they're talking about the possibility that this
development would not physically tie into Oak Trails and traffic would be forced to use
Wiederstein Road.
After more discussion about what the different options were, what those options would
allow the developer to do, and the time frames involved, Mrs. Jarman moved to accept
the withdrawal request from the developer. Mr. Greenwald seconded the motion, which
carried with the following votes:
AYES: Councilmembers Jarman, Potempa, Williams and Greenwald.
NAYS: None.
Mayor Baldwin suggested the residents keep attending meetings and reminded them
Council has the last vote on rezoning issues.
#5 ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES: Consider and take action regarding
architectural services for Municipal Building remodeling.
. Mr. Sweatt advised Council that a copy of the proposed letter of agreement was in their
packets. The amount for the services would not exceed $17,000. They recommend
approval of the agreement.
Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the agreement for architectural services with Burns
Fletcher Gill not to exceed $17,000. Mr. Potempa seconded the motion, which carried
with the following votes:
AYES: Councilmembers Jarman, Potempa, Williams and Greenwald.
NAYS: None.
#6 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
. Reported that as late as 4:00 p.m. today, they are still dealing with the drought
contingency plan. The Edwards and TNRCC keep changing their rules. A public
hearing will be published for May 16th. He will distribute to Council the latest
notice to citizens that the City is in Stage 1.
. Noted the revised Code of Conduct for Council would be on the next workshop
agenda.
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#7 ITEMS BY COUNCIL
Request by Councilmember Glyn Williams to discuss policy requiring City Manager to
brief City Council concerning "open" items.
Mr. Williams said he came to the conclusion after the last meeting that he would
withdraw his request. He has decided to tackle it a different way.
Mrs. Jarman:
. Mentioned that at the Library Board meeting yesterday they did a nice thing for the
volunteers. They had fIx-it-yourself ice cream sundaes and the volunteers really
enjoyed it and appreciated it. Librarian, Gail Douglas, mentioned having only minor
leaks after the latest rain. Apparently punching holes in the gutters worked. She has,
however, decided she should cover her computer. In addition to the $100,000 grant
the library just received, the Gates Foundation has a program whereby they would
give four new computers to the library. Ms. Douglas was very impressed with their
committee. They were on time and organized. She's pretty sure one of the
computers will be Spanish.
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· Referred to the Humane Society and said there was an adoption day planned for May
13th, but HEB was having problems (not necessarily the one in Schertz) and
requested they have no more for right now.
Mr. Potempa:
. Commented on the public safety award given annually by TML, which he had
brought up previously. Mr. Sweatt got back with him and Mrs. Agee had
recommended holding off one year. They will hold off one year to gather facts and
then submit the application to TML.
. Related Mr. Sweatt called him last week to let him know the Christmas tree had been
properly disposed of.
Mr. Williams:
. Thanked Mr. Sweatt and the Inspection Department for taking care of a couple of
problems in Woodland Oaks.
#8 ITEMS BY MAYOR
There were none.
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Before adjournment, Mr. Sweatt reminded everyone of the groundbreaking this Friday at
10:00 a.m. for Metro Ambulance. The location is at the end of Commercial Place down
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from the Public Works facility. He will be out of town and cannot attend, so he
encouraged everyone who can attend to do so.
#9 ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Baldwin adjourned the meeting at
8:17 p.m.
CZ~
Mayor, City of Schertz, Texas
ATTEST
X#~.1UUi ~A-<U--i
City Secretary, City of Schertz
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