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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA 1993-06-17 Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS June 17, 1993 - 7:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Robert Skinner at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT Vice-Chairman Members Robert Skinner Billy Cypert Jim Grant Perry Christensen Bill Schopper Barry LeBaron Clayton Husband Steve Ingham Tom Duer Dir. Plan/Insp. PZ Coordinator ABSENT CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF MAY 25, 1993 Mr. Cypert made the motion to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Christensen, and the motion carried 5-0. 1. SA 93-09 Request of Civitas Group for a variance from the Zoning Ordinance No. 1874 on Lot 20R, Block 2, Stonybrooke South Addition, to allow the house to be built across the front building line. This property is located at 8410 Ruthette Drive. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated that this item was postponed at the request of the applicant. 2. SA 93-17 Request of Richard Hlinko for a variance from the Zoning Ordinance No. 1874 on Lot 10, Block 2, Valley Park Estates, to vary from the minimum square footage requirement in the R-1 district. This property is located at 6509 Valley View Drive. Vice-Chairman Skinner opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak to come forward at this time. Mr. Richard Hlinko, 412 Blue Jay Court, Bedford, came forward to speak. He stated he was requesting a variance from the 2,000 square foot requirement to a minimum of 1 ,800 square feet. He stated there are many homes in the 1,800 square foot range in the area. Mr. Hlinko stated most of the people buying the lots are requesting homes in the 1 ,800 square foot range. He stated the costs for larger homes are too great. He stated the house they are considering is 1 ,861 square feet. Mr. Cypert asked Mr. HUnko to point out the houses on the map that are less than 2,000 square feet. Mr. HUnko came forward and pointed out the lots. Mr. Cypert asked if those lots were originally part of the subdivision. Mr. Hlinko stated yes. ZBA Minutes .. Page 2 17 June 1993 Mr. Gardner Hinkley, formerly of 6508 Valley View Drive, came forward to speak. He stated they own two lots in the subdivision that are for sale. He stated the house he sold was about 1,800 square feet in size. He stated the house was built in 1980. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked what the depth of the lots were. Mr. Gardner stated about 165 feet deep. He stated he bought the lots in 1981. He stated he has received some calls on the lots as weU. He stated the restrictions were 1 ,800 square feet in the 1970's. Mr. Gardner stated that sewer was available in the area now, and the lots are becoming more valuable. Mr. Christensen asked Mr. Hlinko how long he has owned the lots. Mr. HUnko stated about ten years. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated these lots are about 12,300 square feet in area, which is less than the 13,000 square feet the ordinance requires. Mr. Hlinko stated there are six separately platted lots. Mr. Cypert asked if there is a contract on that lot for a house. Mr. Hlinko stated yes. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked if there are homes on any of the other lots. Mr. Hlinko stated there are four homes to the north. He stated he did not know the square footage of those houses. Mr. Christensen asked if Mr. Hlinko knew about the 4,000 square foot house currently under construction. Mr. HUnko stated it is around the comer on Valley View Drive. He stated they replatted two lots into one lot. Mr. Lay McDonald, 331 Harwood Road, Hurst, came forward to speak. He stated he has a contract on the lot to construct a house. He stated that house is the largest by far in the neighborhood. He stated anyone would have to replat two lots to put a house that large in the neighborhood. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked Mr. McDonald if he has a purchaser for his house. Mr. McDonald stated he has a contract to build a house contingent upon getting this variance. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked if those people were at the meeting. Mr. McDonald stated no. Mr. Christensen asked if the sale of the lot was contingent upon approval of this request. ZBA Minutes - Page 3 17 June 1993 Mr. McDonald stated yes. Mr. Schopper asked if they are looking only at the one lot and one house. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated yes. Mr. Hlinko stated he was told he would have to have building plans for each lot and submit a separate application for each lot. Mr. McDonald stated he did apply for a building permit on this lot before they applied for the variance. Mr. Christensen asked if there was a reason why the house cannot be increased in size to meet the 2,000 square foot minimum. Mr. McDonald stated the couple could not afford the other 139 square feet. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked why the couple cannot afford a 2,000 square foot house. Mr. McDonald stated the construction costs are about $60 per square foot. He stated that would add about $8,300 to the cost of the house. Mr. Hlinko stated most of the callers on the other lots are also looking for houses between 1,800 and 2,000 square feet. Mr. Robert Curry, 6517 Valley View Drive, came forward to speak. He stated he was speaking against the request. He stated he has lived there for nine years and owns the lot to the south. He stated he was active in getting the water and sewer improvements in the area, and is working on getting the road resurfaced. Mr. Curry stated they are finally seeing the neighborhood increase in value, and allowing a smaller house in the area is regressing. He stated that the person buying the house should be able to afford the extra square footage if they lose some amenities. He stated the subdivision to the north if becoming active again. He stated allowing a smaller house would be a detriment to the area. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked Mr. Curry how many square feet was in his home. Mr. Curry stated his is 1 ,900 square feet. Mr. Hlinko came forward again. He stated the lot costs in the Woodland Oaks area are about $40,000 dollars, nearly double what they are looking at. Mr. Schopper asked what his lot costs were. Mr. HUnko stated about $19,000 to $20,000. There being no one else wishing to speak, Vice-Chairman Skinner ctosed the Public Hearing. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked when the 2,000 square foot rule came into ZSA Minutes - Page 4 17 June 1993 effect. Mr. Husband stated that requirement passed about 1989. He stated the ordinance passed in 1984 required only 1 ,800 square feet in the R-1 district. He stated in 1989, the minimum requirements in the R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts were bumped up by about 200 square feet. Mr. Cypert stated he understood the need to upgrade the neighborhood, but when the subdivision was platted, the minimum was 1 ,800 square feet. He stated each of these cases must be looked at individually and considered as such. He stated he would have problems if it were a spec house. Mr. Cypert stated having a contract on the house is a plus. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated the larger houses are sitting on larger lots. He stated these lots are less than the 13,000 square foot minimum. He stated there are other regulations that may affect the size of the home on this lot. He stated there are five more potential cases if this request passes. Mr. Cypert stated the hardship in this case is that the owner of the land has held it for ten years without being able to sell it. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated they need to look at the long term effects of this case. Mr. Cypert stated the person that spoke against the request only has 1,900 square feet in his house, and the house the Board is considering is only about 50 square feet smaller than that. He asked if there was any chance that the buyers could increase the house to 1,900 square feet. Mr. McDonald stated probably not. He stated that is all the couple can afford. He stated he sent them to the mortgage to qualify, and the house was adjusted to reflect what the couple could afford. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked if the house had three or four bedrooms. Mr. McDonald stated four bedrooms, two baths, and one living area. He stated it has a two-car side entry garage. Mr. Cypert asked what type of amenities were going into the house. Mr. McDonald stated there is a good amount of tile and other amenities. Mr. Cypert asked if there were things in the house they would be willing to be flexible on to get a larger house for the same amount of money. Mr. McDonald stated there are not enough extras to cut $3,200 out of the house. Mr. Cypert made the motion to approve SA 93-17 as presented. There being no second to the motion, the motion failed, and the request was denied. Mr. Hlinko asked how the Board could deny a request for this when most of the houses in the area are similar to what he is proposing. ZBA Minutes - Page 5 17 June 1993 Vice-Chairman Skinner stated the Board considered all the options and has made its decision. Mr. Hlinko asked why he was not informed when the zoning was changed on the property to R-1 . Mr. Husband stated in 1984, the City did a rewrite of the zoning ordinance and revised the map. He stated the district designations changed. He stated when cities do mass zoning changes, they do not send out individual notices to property owners because it is cost prohibitive. He stated the City ran a large legal notice in the paper to notify city residents and property owners, and the notice included a map with the new district lines and designations. 3. BA 93-18 Request of General Mills Restaurants for a variance from the Zoning Ordinance No. 1874 on Tract 9W3, Wallace Survey, Abstract 1606, to vary from the minimum parking requirements. This property is located at the southwest corner of Grapevine Highway and the entrance to North Hills Mall. Vice-Chairman Skinner opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak to come forward at this time. Mr. Ron Gates, with General Mills Restaurants, 5900 Lake Ellanor Drive, Orlando, Florida, came forward to speak. He stated they are proposing to build a new restaurant in front of North Hills Mall. He stated the building is 7,667 square feet. He stated the lot is so small that the minimum parking requirements cannot be met. He stated they are putting 49 spaces on the lot. Mr. Gates stated they have a reciprocal parking agreement with the owners of the Mall to utilize their common parking area for the mall. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked for a brief history of General Mills Restaurants and other restaurant locations. Mr. Gates stated General Mills owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants. He stated they are developing a new restaurant called China Coast. He stated it is proving to be very successful in test sites around Orlando and Watt Disney World. He stated employees have developed the concept for several years, and they plan to build 30 restaurants in the country this year. He stated there are four open in Orlando, two in Indianapolis, one in Addison and Mesquite, and one in Dallas. Mr. Gates stated he has brought along a media package for the Board for their information. He stated the standard restaurant size is 9,000 square feet, and they have reduced the size of this restaurant to fit it on the site. He stated they are trying to penetrate new markets with smaller restaurants. Mr. Cypert asked how many patrons this restaurant would serve. Mr. Gates stated about 270 patrons. Mr. Cypert asked how many employees it takes to support the restaurant. Mr. Gates stated 30 employees per shift. ZSA Minutes - Page 6 17 June 1993 Mr. Cypert asked how many parking spaces are provided on this site. Mr. Gates stated 49 spaces. Mr. Christensen stated if they consider four persons per car, that would equate to 95 spaces. Mr. Gates stated the City only requires about 77 spaces. Mr. Husband stated the parking requirements for restaurants are based on the number of square feet in the building rather than the number of people that might come to the site. He stated a restaurant requires one space for every 1 00 feet of floor area, which includes more than just the seating area. Mr. Schopper asked if they have done any internal studies to determine how many spaces are actually needed to support the restaurant. Mr. Gates stated they have, and for the 9,000 square foot building the need is 130 spaces. He stated when you build on an out lot at a mall, there is a lot more parking available. Mr. Schopper asked if the arrangement with the mall is for more spaces than what is required. Mr. Gates stated they have reciprocal rights over all the common parking areas at the mall. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked if they have that in writing. Mr. Gates stated yes. He presented a copy of the letter to the Board. Mr. Cypert asked if the employees would be required to park at the mall site to make the on-site spaces available for customers. Mr. Gates stated that would be the request even if they had 140 spaces on the lot. Mr. Cypert stated there is a lot of traffic on the loop road around the mall. He asked if there has been any thought to putting in a marked pedestrian crossing area on the loop road. Mr. Gates stated they have not at this time, but they can look into that. He stated it would probably not be a problem. Vice-Chairman Skinner a majority of the parking is near or on Mervyn1s lot. Mr. Christensen asked where the main entrance was. Mr. Gates stated it was on the Grapevine Highway side. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked if there was a sidewalk around the building to get patrons to the front door. Mr. Gates stated yes. ZBA Minutes - Page 7 17 June 1993 Mr. Grant asked if they have any experience in dealing with JMB Properties on their restaurant sites. Mr. Gates stated they might have, but he is not sure. Mr. Christensen asked if they have enough handicapped parking areas for this site, especially since they have shared parking with the mall. Mr. Husband stated the ordinance requires one handicapped space for the first fifty parking spaces. He stated they have probably developed this site in accordance to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is more strict on the number of handicapped spaces than the City's current ordinance. Mr. Christensen asked if the parking lot conforms to the ordinance requirements. Mr. Husband stated that when Mr. Pence does the plan review for building permits, he checks for compliance with all applicable zoning regulations including parking. Mr. LeBaron stated they would be in compliance with the City's minimum requirements. Mr. Christensen his concern was having enough handicapped parking spaces to serve that size of building. Mr. LeBaron stated that ADA does have higher requirements than the City. Mr. Gates stated the site is very small, and the owners may have intended for something other than a restaurant of this type to locate on that property. Vice-Chairman Skinner asked how far along they were. Mr. Gates stated the building plans are under review by the City at this time. He stated the property is currently being platted as well. Mr. LeBaron stated the platting of the property will take the longest. There being no one else wishing to speak, Vice-Chairman Skinner closed the Public Hearing. Mr. Cypert stated his support for the request. He stated he would like to see a marked pedestrian crossing across the loop road around the mall. He stated the parking indicated would be adequate. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated the mall has agreed in writing to share parking with this site. Mr. Cypert made the motion to approve SA 93-18 with the following stipulation: that a marked pedestrian crossing be placed across the loop road around the mall to aid patrons in getting to the restaurant. The motion was seconded by Mr. Schopper, and the motion carried 5-0. 1., ZBA Minutes - Page 8 17 June 1993 CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. Richard Hlinko came forward again. He asked if the house was brought up to 1 ,900 square feet, could that request be approved. Mr. Schopper stated that was what they meant by the spirit of negotiation. Mr. Cypert stated that was the reason he brought that idea up. He stated when the Board gets a response back that it is not possible, that leaves the Board to think that is would not be considered. Mr. HUnko asked why they would not approve something that would add to the City, rather than leave six vacant lots. Mr. Cypert stated they cannot speak for the six lots. He stated if it is a zoning question, he needs to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission and request that they take a look at that area. He stated this Board can only look at individual properties. Vice-Chairman Skinner stated they take a look at all the data tor each case and decided each one individually. Mr. Cypert stated the City Council set that standard for whatever reason they saw fit. He stated this Board is for individuals to come forward to tell why the standard won't work for them. He stated the Board cannot answer for those other lots. Mr. HUnko asked how he could go before the Planning and Zoning Commission to request that. Mr. Husband stated there is an application form, fees, and public hearings involved in the process. He stated there is no guarantees that any request would be approved. He stated it is entirely up to the Commission and the City Council. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.