Loading...
04-11-1989 ... .., . . PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES The- Schertz Planning and Zoning, Commission convened in a regular session on Tuesday, April 11,1989 at 7:00 P.M. in the Municipal Complex Conference Room, 1400 Schertz parkway. Those present were as fo;llows: PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OTHERS PRESENT TY BRISGILL, CHAIRMAN MARY MARSH, VICE-CHAIRMAN KEITH VAN DINE, SECRETARY MERWIN WILLMAN BOB ANDREWS GEORGE VICK JOE POTEMPA KEN GREENWALD, COUNCILMAN LEON DAVIS CITY STAFF STEVE SIMONSON, ASST. CITY MANAGER NORMA ALTHOUSE, RECORDING SEC'Y. #1 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Brisgill called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. #2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Regular Session March 28, 1989 B. Special Session April 4, 1989 A. Regular Session March 28, 1989 Bob Andrews made a motion to approve the minutes for the regular session March 28, 1989. Mary Marsh seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous in favor. Motion carried. B. Special Session April 4, 1989 Bob Andrews asked that under Item #2 (B.) (on the agenda) "Special Session" be changed to "Joint Public Hearing". Mr. Andrews then made a motion to approve the minutes, with the agenda amended, f-or the Joint Public Hearing April 4, 1989. Merwin Willman seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous in favor. Motion carried. #3 CITIZENS' INPUT OTHER THAN AGENDA ITEMS There was none. 14 CONSIDER AND MAKE RECOMMENDATION: Zoning Change #91 (Amendment to Zoning Ordinance which would limit the wall height of- -an accessory building to not more than eight (8') feet and the total building height to not more than fifteen (15') feet.) Chairman Brisgill asked for input. Leon Davis of 1017 Gettysburg cpmmented he thought there.was some c9nfusion about what exactly determined the eight. feet: a~d the- fifteen feet.. .' .-. -''''''"r;'' . . Chairman Brisgill remarked that the eight feet is the wall.- -Mary Marsh -remarked she. ~id not think that s,ame question had been answered at the public hearing and asked exactly what constitutes the wall. Chairman Brisgill explained that wall height has to dd with the footer, the studs and the header and Merwin Willman agreed with him. Bob Andrews noted that the Southern Building Code specifies all these standards. Merwin Willman made a motion to recommend to City Council approval of Zoning Change #91 which is an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance which would limit the wall height of an accessory building to not more than eight (8') feet and the total building height to not more than fi~teen (15') feet. Keith Van Dine seconded the motion. Before the vote, Mary Marsh asked if grandfather already existing accessory Simonson answered that is already implied. the Commission buildings and should Steve The vote was now taken and it was unanimous in favor. carried. Motion i5 GENERAL DISCUSSION Mary Marsh informed the Commission the Civic Leaders Panel met on April 6, 1989 and along with she and George Vick, there were six members present and three members absent. Mrs. Marsh went on to say Jim Shriver was selected as chairman and Margaret Riley volunteered to be the note taker. Mary Marsh stated that the panel showed lots of interest, had many questions and agreed it would take longer than two months to accomplish their goals. Mrs. Marsh also said the panel will be meeting again this Thursday evening. George Vick agreed with Mary Marsh on the fact that the panel had many interesting comments and questions. Bob Andrews asked Steve Simonson if he had any knowledge about the sign down by the Knights of Columbus property saying that the Schertz Church of Christ is relocating there. Steve Simonson commented-he knew nothing about it. Bob Andrews referring to the list of tabled items each member had received, pointed out John .LundJs request to allow mobile homes on FM 1518' which ,had been tabled on 2-28-...89 pending further information from Mr. Lund. Bob Andrews ,asked - if -Steve-Simonson had heard anything. from -John Lund and was informed he had not. "- -2- .. . . Bob Andrews requested that this it~m be put back on the agenda of the May- 9, 1989'Planriing and Zoning meeting in order to clear it off the list of-tabled items arid that Mr~ LUnd be sent a letter informing him of this action. The Commission concurred. Keith Van Dine brought up the following: (a) Referred to another tabled item - the possible name change of a section of Binz-Engleman Road, and informed the Commission it didn't look like the property owners in his area were going to have another meetingu~til May. oftj'>" :..... -_..~"'- (b) Said that in case he misses a meeting and no one can get hold of him, he is probably in Austin testifying. (c) Regarding the water meters on the fire hydrants, he hasn't seen anyone getting water for a while. (steve Simonson said he had checked into it and the contractors are buying water from the City and selling it.> Bob Andrews asked if they are paying the same rate as the citizens of Schertz and S.teve Simonson repl ied he didn' t think so, but he would check into it. Joe Potempa told steve Simonson the name of C and C Motors he had given him for a business up on IH-35 was in error and it is actually Cibolo Valley Auto Repair. Mr. Potempa also mentioned he had noticed a new sign going up next to San Antonio Machine. George Vick had some questions on Amendments 7, 8, and 9 listed in the Herald Newspaper regarding the City Administrative Officer, the City Manager and the City Secretary. steve Simonson indicated to Mr. Vick that he was sure he would understand the amendments better if he read the whole document and saw how they fit in rather than reading them out of context. George Vick also brought up again the fact that the parking of tractor /trailers is doing a booming business in Windy Meadow Mobile Home Park. Chairman Brisgill asked George Vick if he had called the police and Mr. Vick replied he had reported it to the police, but hadn't seen any change. steve Simonson reported that he personally had spoken with the Police Chief about the problem. Merwin Willman brought up the following: (a) .Reminded the Commission. they had received. a copy of the Ordinance- on Junk Vehicles- and: shoti-ld read it over because they are involved. -3- ..., . " . . (b) Said the City Council, at their workshop" had asked that .a -statement about public hearings be include.d in the "Guidelines for Changin-g street Names within the City of _Schertz". Mr. Willman- wondered if the Commission could. have copies of the- "Guidelines'" with that statement included and was told yes they could. (c) Asked if Steve Simonson had heard anything from Thistle Creek about removing their sign. ( Steve Simonson said he had been promised it would be down a week ago, so he will check into it again. ) (d) Noted that the request from the Inspection Department to address the height of fences in residential areas and the use of barbed wire in the. City had not been included on the List of Items Tabled. steve Simonson pointed out it had not been officially tabled, it was just an item brought up in general discussion. Mr. Willman emphasized he thought it should be put on the list so it doesn't fall through the cracks and get forgotten. (e) Told the Commission the section in our ordinance covering park and recreation areas is very vague. Said he has written to five different cities requesting information on how they handle their parks and recreation areas and has rece~ved a response back from four out of the five. Mr. Willman said some of the information received has been very interesting and showed the Commission ,a copy of the City of Lubbock's Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Willman commented he is waiting for the fifth city to reply and then he will write up something and present it to the Commission for their discussion. Mary Marsh remarked she thinks people don't understand that just because there is a park area in a subdivision, that it isn't only for the use of the people in the subdivision, but is a City park. ( f ) Asked why April 18th for notice for the Brisgill pointed for Earl Sawyer's the newspaper notice for the public hearing on Earl Sawyer's request didn't also include the acceptance of the new zoning map. ( Chairman out it had been included right under the notice request. ) Bob Andrews asked if the Herald if the official newspaper of the City and was 'informed by steve Simonson it is. Merwin Willman expressed curiosity as to how many people in the City of Schertz subscribe to the aerald. -4- ..- .: . steve Simonson brought up the-following: (a) City Council has, in th~ past, had a column they wrote for the Newsletter and City Manager, Kerry Sweatt, wants to know if the Planning and Zoning Commiasion would also like to participate by -writing a column. The consensus was in favor of participation. (b) Expounded on a two-day conference he and Lew Borgfeld had attended in Austin given by the Texas Department of Commerce. Mr. Simonsbn said they are there: to serve us, to provide us with information, they are willing to help us, and they have people willing to come and talk to us.. Mr. Simonson went on to say there, is 'one dynamic lady, in particular, he would like to have speak to Planning and Zoning, City Council and the Economic Development Task Force about the City's goals and what the City forsees in the future. Mr. Simonson also said he had orderd a bunch of information to receive by mail. Mr. Simonson commented he hadn't felt this good in a long time about a conference. Mr. Simonson further stated the Commission can get help in many areas, particularly in the planning part of planning and zoning, and specifically with the City Plan. Mr. Simonson stressed that one of the hardest things when dealing with a city is having enough information available upon which to base your decisions. Councilman Greenwald asked Steve Simonson if he had heard anything from the Census Bureau and was told he had not. Bob Andrews asked if the Texas Department of Commerce had shown any percentiles of mixes for zonings. steve Simonson replied he had not seen any. Steve Simonson related to the Commission that one thing the Texas Department of Commerce stresses is not going out and hiring someone to tell you what you have in your city. The have a means of helping cities with their marketing arid in obtaining special funding. Mary Marsh asked if they have periodic conferences and if they have a manned office and steve Simonson replied yes to both questions. Chairman Brisgill brought up the following: (a) Suggested the Commissioners take a minute and read their copies of a letter drafted to Craig Fa_rmer of Grand, Prairie, Texas in response to his letter to the Commission regarding the short course at the conference being geared toward the needs of small cities. Mary Marsh aske_d if ,it .will - dO?lny good to send him a-letter since he forwarded - theorig_~n_al - letter sent to him onto Laurie -5- -tv \ ~, . . Thomas, next year's Planning and Zoning Commissioners Short Course Coordinator. Chairman Brisgill recommended a Farmer be sent to Laurie Thomas. was a good idea. copy of the letter to Craig The Commission concurred this (b) Asked who sets up t.he criteria for an Occupancy Permit. (steve Simonson said in order to get an Occupancy Permit, the establishment has to meet all the building codes.) Mr. Bris~ill then st~te~ there is nothing in the Occupancy Permit regarding access for the handicapped and he would like to see it included. Mr. Brisgill pointed out that Garden Ridge Outlets does not have access for the handicapped and as far as he can see, there is nothing in the ordinance requiring Garden Ridge Outlets to install such facilities. There was discussion on exactly which types of business should have handicap access with steve Simonson commenting businesses that have a Home Occupancy- Permit don't have large crowds entering their piace of business, and Merwin Willman suggesting the Commission check the state law on this matter. Bob Andrews mentioned such businesses as beauty salons, video stores and book stores and wondered if they should be required to have handicap access.' Chairman Brisgill asked the Commissioners to roll this subject over in their minds and he will bring it up again later for discussion. Bob Andrews informed the Commission there is a certain kind of FHA financing that requires the City to issue an Occupancy Permit and in the City of Schertz, as far as he knows, there is no fee, whereas in the City of San Antonio there is a charge of $160.00. (c) Remarked that the issue of the Mayor's request for an exception to the Zoning Ordinance (a setback for a carport he wants to build) bother~d him. Mr. Brisgill went on to say the Commission kept referring to an instance last year where a similar exception was granted and upon researching that particular case, he found the carport in question was an already existing structure whereas the Mayor's is not. Mr. Brisgill felt the Commission should make more of an effort in the future to be better informed and more careful in their discussion so they don't present a bad image to the public when situations like these arise. Merwin Willman asked steve Simonson if he had heard from the Business Club regarding input to the Sign Ordinance and Mr. Sim6nson repli~d he had spoken with Jim:~hriver,- but ~ecause of the filing dea~liIle for income taxes-being upon us, Mr. Shriver had asked if he could have an extension on the time for giving his report. -,6- .. .. . , . . Merwin Willman, observing that every time you turn around there care new signs and banners going up, asked i;f the city has a procedure' new businesses ml,lst follow - when they come into the 'City. steve Simonson explained that new businesses: have to get -an Occupancy Permit and the Inspection -Department informs them of ~hat they need. . 'Steve Simonson inquired if Merwin Willman had any particular business in mind and Mr. Willman said he had two - the business next to Kountry Kitchen and the one that moved in the old Beck Concrete house. Chairman Brisgill commented it all goes back to enforcement - it either makes or breaks the Sign Ordinance. Bob Andrews noted that both Cibolo Creek Pharmacy and the Dairy Queen have changed owners recently and asked if they need a new Occupancy Permit. Steve Simonson said he will check on it. Bob Andrews also noted that when he had a business in Universal City and went into City Hall to request an Occupancy Permit, he had to make an appointment to see the City Inspector. The City Inspector questioned him about his business and informed him about all the ordinances and regulations before he would even come out and inspect the property so a permit could be issued. Mary Marsh remarked tpere should be one or two persons 1n charge of this sort of thing who are well informed about the City's regulations. Chairman Brisgill asked if there shouldn't be some kind of form a person can fill out when they come in requesting their water be turned on. steve Simonson requested that the Commission let him take this problem to the Inspection Department, find out what it is they do currently, and then get back with them if help is needed. Joe Potempa thought maybe the City could get realtors involved. Chairman Brisgill asked Bob Andrews if he reports to the City when he sells a property and Mr. Andrews replied he does not. There was a brief discussion about the fact that property transfers are published in some newspapers. Steve Simonson reported that the City finally has a landscape plan for the Municipal Complex. -7- .. " . . . 16 ADJOURNMENT Chairman 5risgill adjourned the meeting at 7:56 P.M. A public hearing is scheduled for April 18, 1989. The next regularly scheduled meeting is April 25, 1989. -8-