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06-28-1994 PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES. `The Schertz-Planning and Zoning Commission convened in regular session on Tuesday, June '28 1994 at `7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Complex Conference Room, 1400 `Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas. Those present were as follows: PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION OTHERS PRESENT -BOB ANDREWS, CHAIRMAN JAMES LEONARD MERWIN WILLMAN, SECRETARY NORMAN SLOCUM KEITH VAN DINE DAVID RICHMOND TONY MORENO CITY STAFF PIA JARMAN . COUNCILMAN KEN .GREENWALD STEVE SIMONSON, . • ASST. CITY. MANAGER MEMBERS~ABSENT. NORMA ALTHOUSE, - . RECORDING SECRETARY GEORGE VICK, VICE-CHAIRMAN ' #1 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Andrews called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.. #2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Regular Session June•14, 1994 Pia Jarman pointed out that on Page 3, first Paragraph, it was Tony Moreno who abstained from voting and not Keith Van Dine. Mrs. Jarman also asked that on Page 4, the first Paragraph under Pia Jarman, the phrase along this line be amended to read changing the subject. Merwin Willman made a motion to approve the minutes, as . amended, for the Regular Session June 14, 1994. Pia Jarman seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous in favor. #3 CITIZENS' INPUT OTHER THAN AGENDA ITEMS .There was none. #4 CONSIDER AND TARE APPROPRIATE ACTION: Request from Buf- fington Homes for Permanent Signage Along FM 78 and Along FM 3009 James Leonard. was at the meeting to represent this request. Chairman Andrews asked for Staff input and Steve Simonson. replied this is a st~~ightforward request based on the Sign Ordinance .and on the FM 3009 Overlay Ordinance. The Overlay Ordinance says you can't have an,'off-site development. sign and the Sign Ordinance doesn't make a statement one way or the other, so that would be a difference on FM 78 versus FM 3009. r Chairman Andrews commented we're confronting two separate issues here. FM 3009 has an Overlay District ordinance and FM 78 has a Special:District:.ordinance,-on.the railroad side, plus having to dead with. the 'Railroad`Commission. As far'as FM 78, we cannot authorize any signs.- the only way to get one would... be for an existing sign to become vacant. Any sign on the railroad side has to have permission of the Railroad Commission. Signs should have an ID number and without that ID number, they are in violation of the Railroad Commission ordinance as well as the City ordinance. Jim Leonard recognized the fact there are billboards along FM 78, but said the signs he is referring to are the 4' x 4' and 6' x 6' ones of which there are about 10 along FM 78 that are within the Schertz City limits. Mr. Leonard asked- how the City's code is enforced on signs already there and Mervin Willman replied that some of the signs: are grandfathered because ..they were there before we had established a .Special District along the railroad tracks. Mr. Leonard then inquired how long the City has had the Sign Ordinance in existence and Mervin Willman answered he thought about ten years. Mr. Willman went on to say the ordinance covers the size, the height and the distance between signs and is available for anyone to read. Jim. Leonard remarked the size of the sign he is requesting (a one-sided 8' x 8') is stated in his letter to Steve Simonson. What .they are looking for is some means of directing traffic into the Thistle Creek neighborhood. Chairman Andrews asked Jim Leonard if he knew who put up the sign in front of the Greenshire Subdivision advertising Buffington Homes and U.S. Homes in Thistle Creek. Mr. Leonard responded that property is owned by the developer of Thistle Creek. Mr. Leonard then brought up the Dover sign at Woodland ' Oaks advertising Dove Meadows, saying it is obviously an off-site sign and should come down. Chairman Andrews asked if the sign doesn't come down, what action Mr. Leonard will take and Mr. Leonard said he would probably look for sign space in the city limits of Cibolo along FM 3009. Mr. Andrews then .wanted to know what the intentions are for the sign presently there if this request is approved and Jim :Leonard replied both properties are being handled by the -same marketing. firm. Mr. Leonard then volunteered to remove .the- rotting/delapidated sign which is advertising Greenshire. Chairman- Andrews stated, just for clarification, there was' no . request for permission to place-the sign that is there now ' advertising .Buffington Homes and U.S, Homes in Thistle Creek. `Mr. Leonard maintained he did not put up that-sign. -2- David Richmond wanted it to be known there was also no request for permission to place the Kimberly-Murphy sign still up there. Mr. Richmond, saying he took a look at the Buffington Homes/U.S. Homes sign, indicated he is more in favor of that size rather than an 8' x 8'. He would think the developer of Greenshire, once he starts working in there, is going to look at putting additional signage (and hopefully coming to the Commission about it) at the entryway even as he creates an .entrance. Mr. Richmond further stated the area between there and the Baptist Church is a narrow stretch which could become congested with signage. The Buffington Homes/U.S. Homes sign there now is good looking and adequate, and whether that's the right location for it remains to be seen. David Richmond asked Jim Leonard if Buffington is going. to 'continue with the".bandit signs and Mr. Leonard answered yes " 'they are, but those are only allowed on weekends and they. are trying for something that would be on display seven days a week. Merwin Willman stated this would have to be a special permission sign since on-site only signs are allowed. Crow Development obtained special permission for an off-site sign along FM 3009 in 1986. Chairman Andrews explained the Commission's intent is not to .impede development, but to maintain aesthetics. Jim Leonard, saying he understands that, emphasized they do not have a front window like FM 3009 in which to advertise. Merwin Willman asked where the sign is that's already up there and Chairman Andrews told him as you come out of Greenshire, turn left, and about 150' to 200' on the left-hand side, before • the church, there used to be a Greenshire sign - it's now on the ground about 50' past that. _ Jim Leonard stressed they need a sign where, when people are looking for them, it will give them directions. Mr. Andrews suggested the corner of Dietz and Borgfeld roads. Keith Van Dine, referring to the letter from Jim Leonard, pointed out it says permanent and to him permanent is permanent. Is there a problem with stipulating a time frame? Jim Leonard answered one year increments of approval would be okay with him. Merwin Willman had previously mentioned the . Crow Development: sign was up for three years, but had been approved by the Commission in~one-year increments. - David Richmond recommended sending a letter to the developer of Greenshire requesting that he furnish a letter to the Commission where it shows the owner gave him authorization for the sign and recommended sending a letter to the owner telling -3- , him he needs to get permission from .the Commission to have the sign displayed. Merwin Willman told Jim' Leonard he should read the Sign Ordinance and the Overlay District Ordinance so he can see what is required by the City. Tony Moreno agreed with David Richmond in feeling we should step back and get with the property owner. Mr. Moreno then asked if we have on record anyone being spokesman for the owner. Chairman Andrews replied not that he knows of and we need to see something from the owner granting authorization for the sign. Steve Simonson advised he will get letters out tomorrow along with copies of the Overlay District Ordinance and/or Sign Ordinance. ~ . Tony- Moreno pointed out the:FM 78 Railroad District also needs to be taken into consideration. Chairman Andrews acknowledged that's correct and then emphasized we all want business and since developers count rooftops in a given radius, not necessarily in individual cities, it behooves us all to cooperate and at the same time try to maintain the integrity of the area. Merwin Willman noted we should give priority to our own developers before considering off-site development. Jim Leonard, once again mentioning the Dover Homes sign, stressed if they can't compete heads up, then they'll pull up and leave. Chairman Andrews pointed out that Dover Homes is not in violation. They were building in Woodland Oaks and then came down to Dove Meadows, and are now also looking at building more homes further back in Woodland Oaks. Mr. Andrews told Jim Leonard he was sure Buffington Homes looked over the site where they are developing before they bought it and took into consideration there was no window for advertising on FM 3009. The Commission's responsibility is to look at it so everyone gets a fair shake. Money doesn't even enter into it. Merwin Willman commented maybe the best location for the Buffington sign is where the old Crow Development sign was on the Alamo Waste property. Jim Leonard acknowledged they had considered that site, but Henry Gutierrez doesn't own the land .and they have not contacted the owner. Chairman Andrews recommended tabling this .item until Steve~_ Simonson gets the. letters out to the developer and the property owner .and has their replies which should be in time for the _ next meeting. -4- Merwin Willman made a motion to table the request from Buffington Homes for permanent signage along FM 78 and along FM 3009 until the next meeting which will be July 12, 1994. Tony Moreno seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous in favor. Motion carried. #5 GENERAL DISCUSSION Chairman Andrews called on David Richmond, but Mr. Richmond had a question for Steve Simonson, who was not in the room at the moment, so Mr. Andrews called on Keith Van Dine. Mr. Van Dine also had a question for Steve Simonson, but he did mention one thing concerning the minutes even though they had already been corrected. On page 4 where it says he ( Keith Van Dine) commented that . consid.era.ng... the ..tim~e~ and effort the: Commission .has put into . zoning Schertz.Parkway, they should hold to that zoning and not allow. changes, he doesn't think he said they should not allow changes, he thinks he said they should look at it closely before allowing change. The Commission concurred. Steve Simonson came back into the room at this time, so Mr. Van Dine deferred the next point of discussion back to David Richmond. David Richmond: (a) Referred to the fact the owner of Greenshire hasn't finalized anything with a particular builder, and noted Japhet Homes, which was mentioned earlier by the owner, builds the type of custom homes that would be an excellent addition to the City. Steve Simonson declared they have heard several builders mentioned, but nothing definite yet. . (b) Pointed out an article in the Express-News about Leon Springs and how it was once considered dead, but it has now been revived and is thriving. Mr. Richmond said the article demonstrates there are things that can be done with the central part of a city other than putting in a five-lane road. It seems Schertz has possibilities present and we should keep some of these possibilities in mind, perhaps working in conjunction with the Economic Development Commission. Councilman Greenwald reported that the reason Schertz dropped out of the Bexar County grant system, as far as AACOG grants, was because they had used up all the low to moderate income they could for those grants and. now they can go state wide. - Keith Van Dine• - (a) Asked if anything had been added to the water. in his area because his has an odor to it. Steve Simonson answered not as -5- far as he knows but he will have the Water Department check. on it. (b) Inquired what time the City Park closes because a citizen asked him. The Commissioners thought probably 10:00 p.m. during the week and midnight on weekends. (It's 11:00 p.m. seven days a week.) Merwin Willman• Related we have a Railroad Right-of-Way District which was approved in 1990 because we foresaw the widening of FM 78. It contains a deadline for signs to come down. Councilman Ken Greenwald: Reminded everyone of the 4th of July Jubilee three-day celebration which starts on, July 2nd. Steve~Simonson: (a) Told the Commission that TXDoT is going to lower FM 3009, south of Dietz Rd. to north of Webster, by 1'8" which will make Eli Whitney and Cyrus McCormick much more accessible. Tony Moreno asked if TXDoT is doing this on their own and Steve a. Simonson replied no,_it is the result of a lot of discussion with citizens. Mr.. Simonson added that. an agreement has not been reached yet on .the. .sound abatement :wall. (b) Related that RAYCO will be at the next meeting. We have spoken with them about a minimum 60' lot width and they want to come in and talk informally. It will be a non-action agenda item. Tony Moreno questioned if they intend to start on the west side of Schertz Parkway and Steve Simonson said that's correct. Councilman Greenwald asked Mr. Simonson if he had informed RAYCO about the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Zone and Steve Simonson answered they looked up the law and the restricted percentage of residential applies only in the development/formation of the TIF. Once it is started, you can do whatever you want as far as the percentage of residential is concerned. (c) Informed the Commission they should be seeing a Site Plan for a trucking company that wants to build. next to Technos. It involves. about 10 acres of concrete and will be a transfer warehousing operation. The City had a long serious discussion with them about drainage. Mr. Simonson said he won't tell the Commission to approve the Site Plan unless the engineering for the drainage is approved. - _ (d) Distributed a chart to everyone showing new .home construction in the City of Schertz since 1983. -6- At this time, Mervin Willman interjected that he had just returned from visiting his daughter in Pennsylvania and wished he had a picture of the sound abatement walls in Philadelphia. They have vines growing along them, the landscaping is beautiful, and they look real good. (d) Mentioned that plans are to go to bids for Pfeil Road on August 15th. Chairman Andrews: Stated he had dinner at Northcliffe with a couple who have a friend in Mobile Villa and the friend says "thanks" in appreciation for all the work going on there. #6 ADJOURNMENT Chairman Andrews adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. . The. next regularly scheduled meeting is July 12, 1994,