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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ 1991-05-23 Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS MAY 23, 1991 - 7:30 P. M. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman James Brock at 7:30 P.M. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Chairman Vice Chairman Members Dir. Community Dev. Building Official P & Z Coordinator James Brock David Barfield Ron Lueck Don Collins Pat Marin Paul Miller Barry LeBaron Steve Pence Wanda Calvert ABSENT: Don Bowen CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1991 Ms. Marin made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Lueck said he had a correction on page one. He said he was the one who nominated David Barfield for Chairman. Mr. Barfield said there is another correction, page 9, first sentence should be "Mr. Barfield said it would" affect her property. Ms. Marin amended her motion to approve the minutes with these changes. This motion was seconded by Mr. Miller and the motion carried 6-0. 1 . PS 91-05 Request of Keith & Jo Ellen Anderson for Final Plat of Lot 1, Block 1, KLA Addition. This property is located on Crane Road, south of Amundson Road. Chairman Brock stated that Mr. Anderson has agreed to all the engineer's comments. PS 91-05 APPROVED Mr. Barfield made the motion to approve PS 91-05 subject to the engineer's comments. This motion was seconded by Mr. Lueck and the motion carried 6-0. Page 2 P & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 2. PS 91-08 Request of Birdville I.S.D. for Final Plat of Lot 1, Block 1, Green Valley Addition. This property is located at the northeast corner of Smithfield Road and Green Valley Drive. Chairman Brock stated they had answered all the engineer's comments and have agreed to them. Mr. LeBaron said they have agreed to the engineer's comments and Mr. Bill Cypert with B.l.S.D. and Mr. Larry Stone with Schrickel & Rollins Engineers are present if the Commission has any questions. PS 91-08 APPROVED Mr. Lueck made the motion to approve PS 91-08 subject to the engineer's comments. This motion was seconded by Ms. Marin and the motion carried 6-0. 3 . PZ 91-14 Public Hearing for request of the City of North Richland Hills to rezone Blocks 1 through 4, Woodland Oaks Addition, from the present classification of R-2-1800 square foot houses to R-2-2300 square foot houses. This subdivision is located on the west side of Precinct Line Road, north of Martin Drive. Mr. Lueck said he has a personal and financial position in this case and would withdraw from discussion and refrain from voting. Mr. Barfield said he lives adjacent to this property and he signed the petition that initiated this request so he would abstain from voting. Chairman Brock opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak in favor of this request to please come forward. Page 3 p & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 Fritz Rademacher, 9124 Nob Hill Drive, came forward. He said he is the President of the Homeowners Association for Woodland Oaks. Mr. Rademacher said most of the homeowners he represents came from other cities and were attracted to this area. He said they feel it has a potential of a Meadow Lakes or a Diamond Loch Subdivision, the crown jewels of North Richland Hills. Mr. Rademacher said there are approximately 20 homes built in the subdivision and they exceed the deed restrictions for the size of homes. He said about 5 months ago the ownership of their subdivision changed hands and the current owners, who are non-resident investors, proposed to build out the entire subdivision, approximately 65 lots, with 2 builders, tract type home builders, with limited floor plans you would see duplicated or with a little variation. Mr. Rademacher said one of the builders was found to be inadequate and was eliminated. He said the other tract home builder was planning to build approximately 31 houses. Mr. Rademacher said he heard last week that this builder also may not build in this subdivision, did not hear for what reason. Mr. Rademacher said this was greatly appreciated by the home owners. He said if they allow this duplication of homes, this tract type building, to be built to current zoning, it will have a devostating effect on their property values. Mr. Rademacher said they are working with the current owners regarding the deed restrictions, but the city has given them an alternative to rezone the subdivision. Mr. Rademacher said they turned in a petition which the Commission should have a copy of, and he has another one tonight which 100% of the homeowners available have signed. He said one Page 4 p & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 homeowner was out of the country and could not sign the petition. He said he understands the city does not have the ability to tell a builder how to build a home, but you do have the ability to change the zoning and require larger homes in Woodland Oaks. Mr. Rademacher said the benefits are: a larger home would increase property values for those homes that are going to be built, and will maintain the values of the existing homes. He said it will provide a higher tax base for North Richland Hills. Mr. Rademacher asked if anyone read the article in the Star Telegram this week-end regarding Northeast Tarrant County and North Richland Hills. He said there were comparisons with Grapevine, Colleyville, Euless, Bedford, etc. He said the article stated the city leaders face the need for services when the tax base is stagnate. It said this area is scheduled to enlarge from 45,000 people in 1990 to 75,000 people in the year 2,000 and they are trying to figure out where to get our tax base from. Mr. Rademacher said one of the advantages for improving Woodland Oaks is not only would it improve the property values, but it will attract people with higher income. He said this article also stated the average income for residents of North Richland Hills is $43,000; Colleyville's average income is $72,000. Chairman Brock asked how the current negotiations with the land owners was progressing. Mr. Rademacher stated they have had several meetings with them; the Homeowners Association presented a new set of proposed increased deed restrictions and have had verbal agreements on some, but nothing in writing. He said they have also asked Page 5 p & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 to be allowed to have a hand in the architectural review. Chairman Brock asked had they got anywhere with the square footage; have they reached a verbal agreement. Mr. Rademacher said they have not. He said the reason for coming here is to bring up the restrictions on the lower end of the subdivision which they feel are too low. He said the Homeowners Association feels North Richland Hills does not need smaller homes, particularly in Woodland Oaks. He said there are other areas in North Richland Hills that are zoned for smaller homes. Mr. Rademacher said the owners, Crown-Oaks, have said they want to work with the Homeowner's Association, but are here tonight in opposition to this request. He said the majority owners of Woodland Oaks are investors, they are not developers and not residents, coming from out of the city and are trying to tell us how to do things in our own subdivision. He said their interest in Woodland Oaks is to make money selling lots. Mr. Rademacher said the minority owners, represented by the Woodland Oaks Homeowners Association have a vested interest in insuring the proper development of Woodland Oaks. He said they are 100% residents of North Richland Hills and 100% in favor of this zoning petition. He said this is an opportunity for North Richland Hills to support it's residents, to stop this negative flow of decreasing property values. He said we have started a good thing in Woodland Oaks and asked the Commission to help them keep it going. Mr. Rademacher asked for a show of hands of those present from the Woodland Oaks subdivision. The majority of the crowd was from Woodland Oaks. Page 6 p & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 Chairman Brock called for anyone else wishing to speak in favor of this request to please come forward. There being no one, the Chairman called for those wishing to speak in opposition to this request to please come forward. James J. Brady came forward to represent the investors of 67 lots in Woodland Oaks Subdivision. He stated that when they purchased these lots, they were zoned R-2, but had more restrictive deed restrictions than the City's zoning restrictions. He said 15 lots were deed restricted for 1800 square feet houses, 9 lots were deed restricted for 2,000 square feet, 13 lots were deed restricted for 2100 square feet, 15 lots deed restricted for 2200 square feet and 38 lots were deed restricted for 2500 square feet. Mr. Brady said there are no homes built at this time that are 1800 square feet. He said there was a petition signed by 14 homeowners; he asked what about the others. He said some who bought homes 2200 square feet paid more for them than some with 3200 square feet. Mr. Brady asked if we were talking size or quality. He said they did have two builders that wanted to build in the subdivision; one was not going to build quality homes, but the other builder was going to build large homes; he was going to have a model home that was 3600 square feet. Chairman Brock asked if Crown Oaks plans to build or do they just sell lots. Mr. Brady said Crown Oaks purchased the lots from the developer and plans to sell the lots; they do not build. He asked P & Z to go with the City's zoning ordinance for R-2 zoning and not penalize the current owner of the lots. Page 7 P & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 Mr. Brady said, as a representative of the land owner, he objects to this rezoning. Chairman Brock called for anyone else wishing to speak in opposition to this request to please come forward. There being no one, the Chairman closed the Public Hearing. Mr. Barfield said he does not plan to vote on this matter, but wishes to make a statement. He said the city has changed the restrictions for R-2 about two years ago from 1600 square feet to 1800 square feet. He said P & Z is presently studying the northern part of the city and are considering changing the Master Plan of that area to R-2-2,000 and he feels this is a good place to start. Chairman Brock said he wants the northern part of the city to have larger homes, but he feels they need to consider the legality of what they are doing. Ms. Marin said they have wondered about deed restrictions verses zoning and since they are not attorneys, they have a big question mark in their minds. She said to lift deed restrictions, you have to have a class action suit in a court of law in the State of Texas. Mr. Barfield said this is not a deed restriction issue, it is a zoning restriction. He said the city does not enforce deed restrictions. Chairman Brock said he feels they need to get a ruling from the City Attorney on the legality of this request. Ms. Marin asked if they could hold off on making a decision on this until they get a ruling from the attorney. Page 8 P & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 Mr. LeBaron said P & Z could make a recommendation to the Council and ask for an input from the City Attorney. He said they could table it until they get a ruling from the City Attorney. Ms. Marin made a motion to approve PZ 91-14, but that the City Attorney be contacted to give his opinion as to the legality of this move. This motion was seconded by Mr. Collins. The vote was 2-2 with Marin and Collins voting for and Brock and Miller voting against. Chairman Brock said he understands and agrees with the homeowners, but is concerned with the legality. He said he does not want to get the City involved in legal action. Mr. Barfield said P & Z does not make decisions, they only make recommendations to the City Council. Mr. Collins said they made a recommendation to the City Council if it was legal. Mr. Brady said this decision should be between you four, not Mr. Barfield. He said Mr. Barfield should not speak, he was supposed to be disqualified. PZ 91-14 TABLED Ms. Marin made the motion to table PZ 91-14 until the next P & Z meeting so they can get some advise from the City Attorney. This motion was seconded by Mr. Miller and the motion carried 4-0. Mr. Barfield and Mr. Lueck returned to the table. Page 9 p & Z Minutes May 23, 1991 4. PS 90-30 Public Hearing for consideration of an amendment to Subdivision Ordinance #1579 to require masonry screening walls along major thoroughfares. Chairman Brock opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak in favor of this amendment to please come forward. There being no one, Chairman Brock called for those wishing to speak in opposition to please come forward. There being no one wishing to speak, the Chairman closed the Public Hearing. Mr. Barfield said since this ordinance would make such an impact on the development in the city, he would like to see this tabled and get some developers in for discussion. Chairman Brock said he agrees and would like a letter to go out to the developers with a copy of this ordinance and set a time next month, probably the last meeting of June, for this to be heard. Mr. Lueck suggested they include the Zoning Board of Adjustment at this meeting. Mr. Lueck thanked Mr. LeBaron and the Staff for all the work that was put into this. PS 90-30 TABLED Mr. Barfield made the motion to table PS 90-30 for two meetings. This motion was seconded by Mr. Miller and the motion carried 6-0. Page 10 P & Z Minutes May 23,1991 5. 6. STAFF REPORT ADJOURNMENT æ~ Don Bowen, Secretary Planning and Zoning Commission Discussion regarding public participation process associated with the Master Plan update. Mr. LeBaron stated that Dan Boutwell with Planning Resources Group has informed him that it was time to start scheduling meetings for public input for the different sectors of the city for the Comprehensive Master Plan. He said they have tentatively been set for Tuesday evenings on June 18th, June 25th, July 16th, July 23rd, and August 13th, all at 7:00 P.M. Mr. LeBaron said in order to obtain public input, there will be notices put in the newspaper and we will send out special invitations to anyone who expresses an interest in the Comprehensive Plan, such as PTA Groups, Neighborhood Associations, Schools, Chamber of Commerce, etc. He said if any of them know of anyone they want notified to let him or Wanda know and we would send them an invitation. Mr. LeBaron said he had scheduled a joint workshop with P & Z and the City Council to discuss the draft zoning ordinance for June 11th at 6:30 P.M. He said he would also like for them to discuss the survey of the area between Bedford Euless Road and Grapevine Highway. Mr. LeBaron reminded P & Z of the June 3rd Training Seminar. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 P.M.