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10-01-2001 Schertz Board of Adjustment Monday, October 1, 2001 The Schertz Board of Adjustment conducted a Public Hearing on Monday, October 1, 2001 at 6:30pm in the Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas. Those present were as follows: Chairman Earl Hartzog, Board members James Harden, James Harris, Norman Slocum, and Kathy Hill. Others present were: Planning and Zoning Commissioner William Sommers, City Planner Ron Youngblood, and Recording Secretary Evelyn Boggess. #1 Call to Order: Chairman Hartzog called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. #2 Approval of Minutes: Minutes of July 16, 2001 and August 20, 2001 were not published. Meeting of September 17, 2001 was cancelled due to not having a quorum. #3 Public Hearing: On a request from Richard Wiseman, 2449 Woodbridge Way, Woodbridge Subdivision for a special exception to the zoning ordinance to encroach into the 20' building setback from 20' to 6' to construct an arbor. Ron Youngblood stated that 13 letters were sent out, and none were returned. Mr. Wiseman has approval from his HOA and approval from Planning and Zoning. Chairman Hartzog then asked if any citizens would like to speak on this item. No one signed up to speak, so no further business to discuss, Chairman Hartzog closed the public hearing. #4 Public Hearing: On a request from Richard A. Palmer, 2 acres in Abstract 255, Survey Martin & Walker off of Crested Oak for a special exception to the zoning ordinance to exceed the required wall height of 8' to 16' for construction of a storage building. Mr. Youngblood explained that this request is for construction of a storage building for Mr. Palmer's RV, with the intent to later build a house on these two acres. Mr. Palmer is requesting an 8' variance for wall height. Mr. Palmer's property is not part of the Oak Trail or the Forest Oak Subdivision HOA that surrounds them. The road to his t property is also a private road. Mr. Palmer has stated that he would be receptive to providing some landscaping. At this time the Planning and Zoning Commission recommends approval for Mr. Palmer's building. Mr. Youngblood stated that 23 letters were sent out, 23 came back opposed and none were in favor of this request. Mr. Sommers stated that a gentleman had come to the Planning and Zoning commission and stated that there was some information that had not been looked at, and this gentleman was asked to appear tonight with this information. He was also told that Planning and Zoning could not undo something that was already done. Chairman Hartzog then asked if there is any citizens that would like to comment on this item, and if so to come up and provide there name and address. Thaddeous Kelly-4324 Willow Oak prepared a package for the Board to look at. Explained that on page one, it shows the proposed diagram, the building is thirty feet by fifty feet and it's an all-metal structure with no windows. Mr. Kelly stated that he is requesting a variance for the wall height of 16-feet, but in the UDC it states that the total building height should be no higher than 15-feet and by the time that he puts the roof on the building it would make the height eighteen and a half-feet. Mr. Kelly stated that in Mr. Palmer's request, it has a twenty five-foot setback from the Crested Oak Street and he is also in compliance with the side yard setback from Mr. Kelly's property fence. Mr. Kelly stated that in doing that, Mr. Palmer has already shown that setback from the street is considered his front yard and the setback from Mr. Kelly's fence is considered the side yard. Mr. Kelly stated that in Section 0 of the UDC, it states that no detached accessory used for structure shall be allowed in the front or side yard. Mr. Kelly explained that this building would be situated in the front yard. Mr. Kelly also stated that the City Codes were not complied with when the initial permit was issued. The property is located within the Schertz city limits. Mr. Kelly asked that the Board comply with the City Codes. Mr. Youngblood stated that this is an issue about an accessory structure versus a garage. The residents are applying this to a 70 by 100-foot lot, which in subdivision that would be true, but this does not apply to a two-acre tract of land. Mr. Youngblood stated that the side yard issue is not an issue at all because it has not been determined where Mr. Palmer is going to build his house. Mr. Palmer has owned 2 this property for seventeen years, long before the subdivision was built. The subdivision is only about two years old. Mr. Youngblood also noted that Mr. Palmer has the right to cut down any trees on his property that he wants to. Richard Rath-4329 Willow Oak stated that Crested Oak Street does not stop at his property, but goes all the way down to the dead-end. The road goes past the sign, and the sign is not a City sign, but someone else's. Mr. Rath's point is that it is not a private road, but a City street up to the edge of Mr. Palmer's property. Mary Rath-4329 Willow Oak stated that when they moved in there was a private sign that said "Private Property". Then one day, the sign was moved up about 100-feet right behind their property. Mr. Youngblood stated that this is a private street according to the plan. Thomas Hawkins-4320 Willow Oak noted that when he walks out on his back patio there would be a building blocking his view of everything. He stated that there shouldn't be a big metal building blocking everything. Tom Chapman-President of Oak Forest Ventures stated that he owns other lots that abut this property. He explained that if you look at this situation they have on-site, you would see that this large two- acre tract does sit directly behind these gentlemen's homes. He noted that they are only twenty feet away, he understands that it is further than it needs to be, however when looking at a 16-foot high building only 20-feet away from the property line, that is significant. He stated that this building could have been put up on the other side of the property where it is not butted against anyone's property. Mr. Chapman also stated that from a marketing standpoint, he might have trouble selling these properties that he has because he felt that no one is going to want to buy a piece of property that its only view is of a metal building. Richard Palmer-Property Owner stated that he was told that if he would have built the house first, then they couldn't stop him from building the garage. So he did it in the reverse way, stating that he knew this might cause problems, but wanted to get the problems taken care of right away. 3 Beverly Kelly-4324 Willow Oak at this time Mrs. Kelly presented a prepared statement. Upon completion of her statement, the Board asked her to provide a copy of this statement (for the record) to the Board. Mrs. Kelly agreed to this request. Thaddeus Kelly brought pictures of the sight to show that the building would be located directly behind his property. Mr. Kelly stated that they attended the Planning and Zoning meeting as soon as they found out about this project. Mr. Kelly claimed that when they attended the meeting, a board member told them that if they wanted a view, they should have bought land. R.W. Davis-1632 Bench Trail stated that they are not physically affected by this, but would like to commentthat he has spent most of his life in the construction business. Mr. Davis feels that with all of the beautiful homes and property that were developed by Mr. Chapman, they shouldn't have to deal with this issue. Mr. Davis suggested that maybe Mr. Palmer could relocate the building to an area of the property where it will not be in the view of these homes. Mr. Palmer stated that these people do not know him and how he takes care of his property. He also stated that if he were these people, he would want a building behind him with an alarm system, security lighting, the property being taken care of, and a nice house being put in. Mr. Palmer stated that he bought this property 17 years ago for when he retired, and that is what he wants to use it for. Mr. Palmer stated that the RV cost was $200,000.00 and the cost to build the building is about another $50,000.00 making this a total investment of $250,000.00. He also stated that they are going to be cleaning up the property after they are finished building. The property would also be fenced in with a wooden fence. He also noted that he is willing to work with these homeowners for what ever they would like him to do to help make it look better. He stated that there are no windows, so there is not a privacy issue. It will also have a metal roof. The building will be insolated and have electric doors on it. Mr. Harris asked why there would not have been a problem if Mr. Palmer had built the house first. Mr. Youngblood stated that he believed the reason was because of the setback, but right now they do not know where the side yard is going to be. Mr. Youngblood stated that the issue right now is that these residents are expecting Mr. Palmer to follows the rules and regulations of their HOA and Mr. Palmer is not part of that HOA. 4 Mr. Slocum asked if Mr. Palmer has applied for a permit to build a home and if Mr. Palmer has had any planning done with siting the home site. Mr. Palmer stated that at this point he has not applied for a building permit for the home. He had a problem with getting the sewer up there; he has the water, but the sewer is going to cost $20,000.00 and he is working on that now. Mr. Slocum then asked if Mr. Palmer has discussed with the City the location of the house in relation with the storage facility. Mr. Palmer stated that he has not. Mr. Sommers stated that when the request came to planning and zoning, they had recommended for the approval the variance of height from 8-foot to 16-foot. He stated that is the only issue that is before the BOA tonight. Mrs. Kelly stated that in the plan, there is a bathroom, sink, and shower. She asked why would they have all those things added to a building that is just going to be a storage facility. Mr. Palmer stated that the reason for these facilities is because they are going to be doing a lot of work up there, and he doesn't want these people to be going into restaurants and stores to clean up. With no further business to discuss, Chairman Hartzog closed the public hearing. #5 Consider and Take Appropriate Action: Request on the above special exception to the Zoning Ordinance for Richard Wiseman, 2449 Woodbridge Way. With no further discussion, Mr. Harris moved to approve the request for special exception to the Zoning Ordinance for Richard Wiseman, 2449 Woodbridge Way. Mr. Harden seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion carried with all Ayes. #6 Consider and take Appropriate Action: Request on the above special exception to the Zoning Ordinance for Richard Palmer, 2 acres, Abst. 255, Survey Martin & Walker off of Crested Oak. Ron Youngblood requested that Mrs. Kelly give a copy of her speech to the BOA for recording purposes. 5 f Mr. Slocum asked if Planning and Zoning or staff have anything indicating what kind of landscaping Mr. Palmer would be doing on the property. Mr. Youngblood stated that the only landscaping is what Mr. Palmer agreed to at the Planning and Zoning Meeting, which would be red tip Fatinias that could grow up to the 18-foot. Mr. Youngblood stated that Mr. Palmer is doing this at his own cost and there is nothing in the UDC that says that he has to. Mr. Slocum also asked if Mr. Palmer's property is part of the platting for Oak Trails. Mr. Sommers stated that he is not part of the platting, he is independent. Chairman Hartzog asked if the height of the building would exceed 16- feet. Mr. Sommers stated that it would exceed that height, but noted that they have approved variances up to 35-feet. The discussion started to go into other issues and Mr. Slocum noted to make sure that the issue is clear concerning the variance of the wall height from 8-feet to 16-feet. Mr. Sommers then noted that anything discussed is limited to the agenda item only. With no further discussion, Mr. Harden moved to approve the request from Richard A. Palmer, 2 acres in Abstract 255, Survey Martin & Walker off of Crested Oak for a special exception to the zoning ordinance to exceed the required wall height of 8' to 16' for construction of a storage building. Mrs. Hill seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion carried with the following votes: AYES: Mr. Harden, Mr. Harris, Mr. Slocum, and Mrs. Hill NAYES: Chairman Hartzog #7 ITEMS BY THE BOARD AND CITY PLANNER: Discuss First American Letter, dated August 8, 2001 on Live Oak Hills. 6 ~ Mr. Youngblood stated that there is some drainage issues. He noted that the Company is asking the City what is required to bring the property up to City requirements. Mr. Slocum asked if there is anything that the City can do to positively advocate for this. Mr. Sommers stated that the board is governed by the Open Meetings Act and there can be a statement of fact made about the item, but a question can not be asked that would open it up to be a discussion item. There was some discussion about the issue and Mr. Youngblood stated that wording of the letter is misleading. Mr. Slocum asked it the City could discuss this with the property owners. Mr. Youngblood stated that they can, but it would take a lot of resources to send out letters to all of the property owners. #8 Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, Chairman Hartzog adjourned the meeting at 7:35pm. Schertz Texas Board of Adjustme ATTEST: ~~ /7 r& ~' . LM Planning ecr~ity of Schertz 7