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01-24-2022 Main Sreet MinutesMINUTES THE MAIN STREET COMMITTEE REGULAR SESSION January 24, 2022 A Regular Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on January 24, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers Conference Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to -wit: Present: Chair & Councilmember Mark Davis Mayor Ralph Gutierrez Committee Member Tim Brown Committee Member Allison Heyward City Staff: Brian James, Assistant City Manager; Charles Kelm, Assistant City Manager; Sheila Edmondson, Deputy City Secretary Attendees: Maggie Titterington, David Wissmann, Nick Marquez, Dean Weirtz, Judy Goldick Call to Order Chairman Mark Davis called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Hearing of Residents This time is set aside for any person who wishes to address the Main Street Committee. Each person should fill out the speaker's register prior to the meeting. Presentations should be limited to no more than 3 minutes. Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks while addressing the Committee may be requested to leave the meeting. Discussion by the Committee of any item not on the agenda shall be limited to statements of specific factual information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of existing policy in response to an inquiry, and/or a proposal to place the item on a future agenda. The presiding officer, during the Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call on those persons whohave signed up to speak in the order they have registered. No one signed up to speak. Discussion and /or Action Items 1. Minutes - Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the September 15, 2021 and the October 14, 2021 meetings. Chairman Davis asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the September 15, 2021 and October 14, 2021 meetings. Moved by Committee Member Allison Heyward, seconded by Mayor Ralph Gutierrez January 24, 2022 Main Street Minutes Page 1 AYE: Chair & Councilmember Mark Davis Mayor Ralph Gutierrez Committee Member Tim Brown Committee Member Allison Heyward Passed 2. On Street Parking - Discussion regarding on street parking issues. Assistant City Manager Brian James provided a PowerPoint presentation about On Street Parking. • Current Parking Restrictions on Main Street: Sec. 86 -148. Parking for certain purposes prohibited. (b) Parking in a 95 -foot portion of the 500 block of Main Street shall be for no longer period of time than 15 minutes during the hours of 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. (c) The portion of the 500 block of Main Street from the east curb line of Lindbergh Avenue, for 95 feet east on Main Street is hereby designated for limited parking and appropriate signs are authorized for placement. Ord. 10 M 03 Sec. 86 -149. Parking prohibited. (a) When signs are posted giving notice thereof, no persons shall park, stop,or stand a vehicle at anytime upon any of the following streets or portions thereof. Main Street North side within 15 feet of intersection of Main Street and Lindbergh Avenue Main Street North side from Lindbergh Avenue to Oak Street South side from Lindbergh Avenue to Aviation Boulevard; south side from Main Street Aviation Boulevard to Oak Street, except where otherwise posted; north side from First Street to east side of entrance to Bank; south side from First Street to east side of entrance to parking lot Main Street North side from Lindbergh Avenue to Curtiss Avenue Main Street North side for 65 feet west from Curtiss Avenue Main Street North side for 395 feet east from Oak Street Main Street South side from Lindbergh Avenue to Aviation Avenue Main Street South side from Aviation Avenue 300 feet west Main Street South side beginning 300 feet west of the intersection of Aviation Avenue to Oak Street during school hours Mr. James explained the issues that Main Street is experiencing with the current parking are: • There is no restriction on parking vehicles in the street as long as they are not an obstruction/hazard, are not in a no parking zone, and have a valid registration. • Auto repair business indicated they are struggling with parts supply shortage and its taking longer to get vehicles repaired and off their property. • They have requested a Code Amendment to allow parking on an unpaved area for six months. • City can pass a regulation limiting time of parking, etc. -There is no restriction on parking vehicles in the street as long as they are not an obstruction/hazard, are not in a no parking zone, and have a valid registration. January 24, 2022 Main Street Minutes Page 2 • Auto repair business indicated they are struggling with parts supply shortage and its taking longer to get vehicles repaired and off their property. • They have requested a Code Amendment to allow parking on an unpaved area for six months. • City can pass a regulation limiting time of parking, etc. Chair Davis opened the discussion up to residents who were in attendance: David J. Wissmann -707 Main Street- Mr. Wissmann stated the issue he sees is the car repair business parking the cars so close together on Main Street to get the most amount of vehicles parked on the street. He stated you cannot see oncoming traffic with so many cars parked there. He suggested maybe the solution is to ask the vendor not to park so many vehicles in the street, or have the City create additional parking areas near there. Judy Goldick -807, 816 and 820 Main Street- Ms. Goldick explained that parking is a big issue on Main Street. She is going to be opening two more businesses on Main Street and the parking issue is very frustrating. There are several business owners who are trying to lift Main Street up and would like customers to come down and enjoy the view and patronize the businesses. She stated that Code Enforcement spoke to her for having a food truck on the grass, but the amount of cars parked on Main Street with Collision Center is not being addressed. Nick Marquez -816 Main Street- Mr. Marquez stated the frustration cannot be fully expressed with what is happening. The parking on Main Street is dangerous for not just business but residents as well. The dance studio /academy is moving away from Main Street due to the parking issue.The Collision Center is not doing their part to fix this issue. He and other businesses are investing time and money into improving Main Street and the City is not doing anything about this. It is a large safety issue. Mayor Gutierrez stated the 6 -month proposal is a good idea, but believes that the Collision Center does not have a proposal. He is ok with allowing a 6 -month variance for the Collision Center. Councilmember Brown stated that the 6 -month variance is a good idea, but he wants to make sure that the Collision Center does not park the cars in their grass area and then park on the street again. He would like to see around the 4 -month point a proposal from the Collision Center for a solution. Councilmember Heyward stated that this is an ongoing issue and giving them the 6 -month variance, she would like to see a plan at the 3 -month timeframe. Chair Davis say this issue is a bit more challenging. He is okay in giving them a Special Use Permit for them to park behind their fence in the grassy area, but believes this is a management issue with this business. He recommends that City Council consider a 6 -month extension, because it would provide immediate relief to Main Street and getting the cars off the street. He suggested a limit on parking overnight and possibly a permit process for residents who would be allowed to park overnight. Councilmember Brown suggested that the businesses are the ones who would be required to get parking permits for overnight parking. Chair Davis recommended that the city put up signs limiting overnight parking, and have give the residents a sticker that would identify that they would be allowed to park overnight, and if cars are parked during the hours that are restricted, the city could have that car towed. Mr. James explained that an amendment can be written for a one -time 6 -month period so cars /trucks could park on grassy areas. As business owners come in for a special permit, he would like to see their final plan/solution to the problem. Staff can review plans to make sure they meet code before they issue a permit. Staff is working on amendment and will present to the Planning and Zoning Commission, and then send to City Council for approval. January 24, 2022 Main Street Minutes Page 3 3. Code Enforcement - Discussion regarding Code Enforcement efforts on Main Street. Mr. James stated there have been some complaints from the residents about tall grass, junked cars, violations and other misc. codes. The city has stepped up and is dealing with these issues that have been brought to their attention. There are 3 categories that the city is dealing with: 1. Temporary conditions 2. Odd violations 3. Interim conditions with construction Mr. James explained that once the immediate issue of the parked cars on Main Street is taken care of, the Code Enforcement Dept. staff can address the other code enforcement issues. Staff can have a "snapshot" of the businesses of where they are today, and if things change on their property, staff then can identify the changes and address as necessary. Ask the "Love Where You Live" organization to help residents that may need some assistance. Another thing to consider is how aggressive and to what degree of enforcement do we want. Mr. James stated that this is a broad conversation to have with City Council to get some feedback for staff. 4. Targeted Incentives - Discussion regarding Targeted Incentives. Mr. James stated the City of Schertz Grant Programs are: Historic Grant, Local Flavor Grant and New Construction Grant. The Grant Program is funded with a certain amount of money, but if needed additional funds are pulled out of a contingency fund. There isn't a competitive program for the grants, and anyone can apply. To date, no one has been denied. Mr. James researched other cities' Targeted Incentive Programs and found similar processes in each of them. The City of Schertz would focus on attracting certain types of restaurants and businesses that the city is looking for to help give Main Street some upscale dining options and other specific businesses. An RFP would be advertised listing the criteria for potential applicants. Applications would be reviewed by Staff/City Council and the top applicants could receive the grant. Mr. James stated a good start amount for the program could be approximately $75,000 - $100,000. Mayor Gutierrez stated that he believes this is a good incentive for specific types of businesses to consider Main Street a location. Chair Davis stated that the Sector Plan talked about Main Street becoming a gathering place and the work and commitment that has already been done on Main Street has made tremendous improvements. Mr. Nick Marquez believes Main Street is on its way and suggested that this program be tabled. He would like to see the lights and infrastructure completed before another grant program is considered and let the market flow. Chair Davis does not want to table this program and stated this is another tool for current business owners or other potential business investors to bring in a specific type of business. He would like Staff to do more research on the topic, and bring back with some more specific details. 5. Design Review Discussion - Overview discussion. Mr. James stated that this topic was not brought up until recently when a business repainted the building some very bright colors. There were complaints asking how come the city allowed this business to paint using those bright colors. Mr. James explained that currently the city does not have that level of design review. The question is how significant of a problem is it? January 24, 2022 Main Street Minutes Page 4 Chair Davis asked it there was an option under the Main Street Mixed Use Overlay to apply standards. Mr. James stated staff has the ability to do that. He asked what other items are you wanting to regulate other than color of paint? Chair Davis believes the concern should be more on the design standard and vibe of Main Street. If the business is receiving City grants, then the city would have a reason to review the design plans. Chair Davis asked from a design aspect, does the city of have the ability to reach out to businesses or residential property owners concerning their dead or dying trees? Is there a way to help facilitate the removal and replacement of trees in those conditions? Mr. James suggested that the city could provide a financial incentive with a Tree Maintenance Grant Program to help with the maintenance or replacement of problematic trees. Chair Davis asked if the City's Tree Mitigation fund could be used to help residents who might need financial assistance. Mr James stated that the Local Flavor Grant could be used for tree trimming. Mayor Gutierrez wanted to clarify that the assistance is for tree removal vs. tree trimming that would be an annual cost. Councilmember Brown would like to have the assistance to only include removal, not trimming or replanting. Mr. James stated he /staff would survey the Main Street area and identify the residential/businesses that have these issues and see what type of assistance they would need. 6. Plane and Art Installation - Discussion and update regarding the Plane and Art installations. Mr. James stated that consultant recommended that the city wait on the art until they received the survey plan which will show easements and possible utility relocations. The city received the survey back and had a meeting with GVEC about the utility relocations. Staff is planning to move forward on the art installation and plane installation. The engineering firm that we have hired have done other plane installations and are building the proper foot pedestal for the plane. Staff will also be moving forward on the parking lot signage. Mr. James stated we can put together a budget amendment to pull funding from the HOT Funds. Kimley -Horn requested a meeting in February with the Main Street Committee to go over the plans. Chair Davis asked if Mr. James will send out the art information to the committee. He also wanted to inform the committee that the same plane that we will be installing is being displayed on Randolph AFB. Mr. James stated he would reach out to Randolph AFB. Mayor Gutierrez will reach out to Clemens High School, Allison Steele High School and Steele High School and encourage student to submit designs for the shirt art displays. 7. Next Meeting Date - Discussion regarding the next meeting scheduled for April 19, 2022. Chair David stated there will be a meeting in February with Kimley -Horn to go over the plans for Main Street. For the April Meeting -the topics discussed tonight will be brought back to finalize some of the agenda items. Adjournment Chairman Davis asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Moved by Mayor Ralph Gutierrez, seconded by Committee Member Tim Brown AYE: Chair & Councilmember Mark Davis Mayor Ralph Gutierrez Committee Member Tim Brown January 24, 2022 Main Street Minutes Page 5 Committee Member Allison Heyward Passed Chairman Davis adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Mark Davis, Chairman ATTES Sheila Edmondson, epu City Secre January 24, 2022 Main Street Minutes Page 6