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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA 1991-11-21 Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS NOVEMBER 21, 1991 - 7:30 P. M. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Tom Duer at 7:30 P.M. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Chairman Members Alt. Member Dir. Community Dev. Building Official P & Z Coordinator Tom Duer Billy Cypert Robert Skinner Steve Ingham Barry LeBaron Steve Pence Wanda Calvert ABSENT: Jeff Bunting Jim Kemp Mark Barfield CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 22, 1991 Mr. Cypert made the motion to approve the minutes as written. This motion was seconded by Mr. Skinner and the motion carried 4-0. Chairman Duer stated that it takes four affirmative votes to pass a variance request and since there are only four members present, all will have to vote affirmative to pass a request tonight. He stated if the applicant had rather wait until there are five members present, the applicant may request a postponement. 1 . BA 91-20 Request of Ideal Pool Corporation to vary from Zoning Ordinance #1080, Section 13.3.3 (c), on Lot 1R, Block 23, Clearview Addition, to allow outdoor display of in-ground pools. This property is located at 8001 Grapevine Highway. Chairman Duer opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak in favor of this request to please come forward. Page 2 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Steve Lyon came forward to represent Ideal Pool in their request. He said they wish to put some in-ground pools at the old hot rod building. Chairman Duer said he has a concern about the holes that will be dug. He asked if they would be buying the property or leasing it. Mr. Lyon said they would be purchasing the property. Mr. Skinner asked where Ideal Pool Corporation is located. Mr. Lyon said they were at Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Skinner asked if they had anyother places in the Metroplex. Mr. Lyon stated they do not. Mr. Ingham asked if this is a franchise. Mr. Lyon said it was not, it is a corporately owned and operated facility. Chairman Duer said their concern is if something happened to the Corporation, we need some kind of assurance that the holes would be filled up so it would not be a hazard. Chairman Duer asked what they had done in the past. Robert Hudson, General Manager and Head of Operations, 2215 No. Beach Court, Atlanta, GA, came forward. He said they had been at the same location in Atlanta for 21 years and have never had that problem. He said they also have three other branches in the Atlanta area and have been successful. Mr. Hudson stated it would be very easy to fill in the holes. He said it would take approximately 400 yards of dirt to Page 3 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 fill the four holes and would cost about $1,000. Mr. Lyon showed the layout of the pools, parking, entry and landscaping. He said the display would cover approximately 5,000 square feet with approximately 3,000 square feet on the side for landscaping. He said they will tear out the old asphalt parking that is there now so they can landscape per city requirement. Chairman Duer asked what type fence they plan to put around the pools, a see-through wrought iron or a complete blockage type fence. Mr. Hudson said they would like to put up a see-through wrought iron if that is permissible; if not, they would put up a wooden fence. Mr. Hudson said he would like for the pools to be seen because they are decorative. Chairman Duer stated they will have to have a 6 foot barrier fence between them and the residential area, but asked Mr. Pence if they had to have a barrier fence around the pools. Mr. Pence said they would have to have a 6 foot screening fence between the commercial and residential, their back property line, and just a 6 foot fence around the pool area with self closing gates. Chairman Duer said wrought iron would be okay if it was close enough together so no one could squeeze through. Mr. Pence said that is correct. Mr. Hudson said they spoke to the homeowners in the back and there is already a 6 foot wood fence that separates the property, but if the Page 4 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 homeowners wish, he would put another wood fence inside their fence to give them maximum blockage. He said this area would only be used for auxiliary parking. Mr. Cypert asked what the depth of the pools would be. Mr. Hudson said two of the pools are designed to be 8 foot pools and two are to be 3 to 5 feet deep. He said they are only there for demonstration. He showed a layout of the pools, a 15 by 30 foot kidney pool, an 18 by 36 foot with walk-in steps, a 16 by 32 foot and a standard 14 by 28 foot, 3 to 5 foot deep pool. Mr. Hudson said the kidney shaped pool would also be a 3 to 5 foot deep pool. Chairman Duer asked if there would be landscaping. Mr. Hudson said yes, some would be in grass, some in trees and some in flowers. Chairman Duer asked what kind of liability does the pool company have. Mr. Hudson said they usually carry a million dollar policy, but they don't know if that will be adequate for Texas. Mr. Hudson said they did some demographics around and this city and the Dallas area is the only area that has had an increase in pools built in the last 3 years so that is the reason they are coming here. He said they are not coming here to make a buck and run. Mr. Hudson said they make a complete study of the area and then know out front what they can expect. He said including the building, they will have close to a million dollars invested in this piece of property. Mr. Cypert asked if they have a contract on this piece of property. Page 5 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Hudson said they do. Mr. Ingham asked if it is a straight purchase or a lease/purchase. Mr. Hudson said it is a straight purchase contingent on getting this variance. Chairman Duer said the concern the Board has, if you left, there would be a need to fill the holes up. He asked if they would be willing to take out a surety bond to cover this in case it ever happened. Mr. Hudson said they would be happy to do so. Mr. Ingham asked if this is a public company or a private company. Mr. Hudson said this is a private company. Mr. Ingham asked how they came about to pick North Richland Hills. Mr. Hudson said Mr. Lyon is their Real Estate Broker and they were looking in the Grapevine area because there were more pool permits issued in this general area than anywhere else. He said they intend to do pools in Dallas and Fort Worth also. Chairman Duer 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 Ballard, 8005 Grapevine Highway, came forward. He said he has a business at this address. He said the Real Estate man had tried to get in Page 6 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 contact with him, but he was unable to meet with him to find out what they had in mind for this property. Mr. Ballard said he feels this area is more for retail sales and he feels it would be a negative thing to his property. Mr. Ballard said he has people come to his business with small children and they might get in that pool. He said he might be liable just like they would be liable. Chairman Duer asked Mr. Ballard if he was the one who has the hair salon. Mr. Ballard said he was. Mr. Cypert said if this variance request is granted, they would have to meet all the fencing requirements of the city. He also said he did not think Mr. Ballard would have any liability for anything that happened on the other person's property. Mr. Ballard said he might not, but if they were in his business and wondered off, some times the legality varies. Chairman Duer said he did not feel they would have a direct entrance into the pools. He said they would probably have to go through the store first and then out to the pool area. Chairman Duer said they have to have self locking gates anyway. He asked how they plan to have it. Mr. Lyon said they want to control the pool area. Mr. Ballard said he would have no problem if the Board required them to have some kind of a bond. Chairman Duer said that is his concern; if their business failed, they would need a surety bond to cover filling the holes. Page 7 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Ballard said it seems North Richland Hills has been very protective of property as to the looks, not having portable signs, but now you are wanting to bring this in, something out of the norm for this area. He said if they were out on an acre or two acres out away from the business area, then it would be a different ball game. Mr. Ballard said that all the businesses within a 2 or 3 block area are retail businesses. He said they will either de-grade or up-grade the property. Chairman Duer said in that area there are a lot vacant also. Chairman Duer said the Board is interested in, if they purchase the property or if they just lease it; that would make a difference. He said if they plan to spend close to a million dollars on this property, he thinks they will do a good job on it. Mr. Hudson said they hope to help these small businesses. He said he does an enormous amount of advertising which will bring people in. He said, of course they will be interested in a pool, but we get them in the area and they might buy something else also. Cynthia Maine, 7913 Birchwood, came forward. She said she is not necessarily opposed to the request. She said she owns the property adjacent to this property. Chairman Duer asked if it was a residential house. Ms. Maine said it was. She said they have an 8 foot wooden fence there now and she just wanted to make sure he puts up an 8 foot wooden fence. Ms. Maine said she had talked to him and he said he would, but she just wants to make sure he does. She said she feels this would up-grade the area. Page 8 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Chairman Duer called for anyone else wishing to speak in opposition to this request to please come forward. There being no one wishing to speak, the Chairman closed the Public Hearing. Mr. Ingham said since they are going to put money into the property and up-grade it, he would be in favor of granting the variance with the bonding. Mr. Skinner and Mr. Cypert stated they both agree with Mr. Ingham. Chairman Duer asked if the Board could grant this to this particular owner, tie it to Ideal Pool Corporation. Mr. LeBaron said they could not, it would have to go with the land. He said the property is zoned C-1 and anything allowed in C-1 could go in there. He said this use is allowed in C-1 zoning, but the outdoor display violates the outside storage in C-1 so they need a variance. Chairman Duer said he thinks they should ask for a surety bond and we should ask the Public Works Department to decide how much it would cost to fill the holes in case the business folded. BA 91-20 APPROVED Chairman Duer made the motion to approve BA 91-20 with the following stipulations: 1. that an 8 foot barrier fence be put in place closest to the residential section; 2. that Ideal Pool Corporation provide the city with a bond equal to the cost of filling the holes with some substance, that being decided by the Public Works Department. Page 9 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Ingham asked if the Board could make a stipulation that they must buy the property. Mr. LeBaron said he was not sure he could answer that. Mr. Ingham said he would not be in favor of this if they do not purchase the property. Mr. Skinner said he would like to go on record stating that if they do not purchase the property, he would not be in favor of granting the variance. Mr. LeBaron said the Board needs to ask the gentleman if they will provide us some documentation as to the purchase of the property. Mr. Skinner said they could provide this prior to the permit being issued. Mr. Hudson said the property is currently owned by a bank and they can not lease it. Chairman Duer amended his motion to add #3 to require proof of ownership of the property prior to permitting for construction. This motion was seconded by Mr. Cypert and the motion carried 4-0. 2. BA 91-21 Request of Volkman's Inc. to vary from Zoning Ordinance #1080, Section 9A.5.4 (b), on Lot 5R, Block 27, Holiday West Addition, to allow house to be built beyond the 6 foot side set-back line/access easement. This property is located at 5614 Cancun Drive. Chairman Duer opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak in favor of this request to please come forward. Page 10 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 John Volkman came forward. He said he is requesting this variance to benefit the lady next door so she can enter and exit her garage. Chairman Duer asked if he thought moving the house over a little would relieve her problem. Mr. Volkman said it would as much as possible and still be able to utilize the lot. He said she has been able to get in and out of her garage so far, but we only have a slab there. He said he has hopes it will be okay. Chairman Duer asked if there would be some reinforced steel that you could put on the edge of that house in case she backs into it. Mr. Volkman said he had talked with the lady about it. He said we could do that. He said they will do something. Chairman Duer said this lady may not always live there and they need to fix it where it would please other owners also. Mr. Volkman said he also has to fix it where it will sell and we don't want a mess there either. Mr. Skinner asked if he has a contract on this house. Mr. Volkman said he did not, it is going to be their model. Mr. Skinner said he had seen their signs all along Cancun and Buenos Aries. He asked if they purchased all those lots. Mr. Volkman said they had purchased 30 lots there. Page 11 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Skinner asked if they would all be zero lot line. Mr. Volkman said they would be; they are zoned that way. Mr. Skinner said several have side entry garages and some have front entry. He asked what are his plans. Mr. Volkman said in the past, they have had a few of both, however, here they will mostly be restricted to front entry. He said there may be one or two cases where they butt up to a duplex, they might have a side entry. Mr. Volkman said they will try to avoid another problem such as this one. He said when you deal with zero lot line, occasionally this arises. He said the guys that set up the forms can be off an inch or two. Mr. Volkman said they had 64 lots in Grapevine and they had to go a couple of times for a variance. Mr. Volkman said these lots on Cancun and Buenos Aries have been replatted at least 3 times and there may be 3 sets of pins on every lot. He said the surveyor could flag the wrong pin. Mr. Skinner said he is not so concerned with them being a few inches over the line as he is the inconvenience it makes to a house next door. Mr. Volkman said he had worked with Ms. Head and the city staff, Steve and Mr. LeBaron. He said they walked over the lot and decided what was the best solution. He said this is the best solution for this situation. He said they have one more that will have this same type situation. He said when they come up with a new drawing, they will all go out and decide what is best. Mr. Volkman said they may have to come back for another variance. Page 12 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Chairman Duer asked if this lady's house has a 3 point back-out. Mr. Volkman said she could, but she is concerned if someone bought it with a large car, they might have problems. He said to put anything on that lot would present the same problem. Mr. Ingham asked what sizes the houses would be. Mr. Volkman said they would range from 1500, 1600 to 1700, averaging about 1580 square feet living area. Chairman Duer 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. There being no one wishing to speak, Chairman Duer closed the Public Hearing. BA 91-21 APPROVED Mr. Cypert made the motion to approve BA 91-21 as requested. This motion was seconded by Mr. Skinner and the motion carried 4-0. 3. BA 91-22 Request of J. S. Knaur, Jr. to vary from Zoning Ordinance #1080, Section 24.7.2 (E) and Section 5.5.3 (b), on Lot 11, Block 12, North Richland Hills Addition, to be allowed to vary from the masonry requirement and the 6 foot side yard requirement on an accessory building. This property is located at 7211 Briley Drive. Chairman Duer opened the Public Hearing and called for those wishing to speak in favor of this request to please come forward. Page 13 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Knaur came forward. He said he has a slab on his lot that has been there since the late 50's. He said it is a 3/8 inch rebar, 5 inch concrete reinforced slab. Mr. Knaur said he had used it to work on cars, lawn mowers and whatever he had there and now he would like to put a cover over it. He said it would be adequate for a frame building, but it would not support brick walls. Mr. Knaur said he told his neighbors what he wanted to do. He said the neighbor next door has an accessory building on her property also, but it falls within the city codes. He said the neighbors on both sides of him have signed a waiver stating they have no objections to the building. Chairman Duer asked how long he had lived at this property. Mr. Knaur said he built it in 1952 and it was the third house on Briley. He said he moved to Kansas in 1960 and have been back here since 1970. Mr. Skinner asked what was the purpose for the building. Mr. Knaur said it was to clear the junk out of his garage so his wife could park her car in it, and he has some shop equipment he would like to do wood work with and occasionally he might work on his car. Mr. Skinner asked if he plans to drive a car inside this building. Mr. Knaur said he would. Mr. Skinner asked if he would have electricity in this building. Mr. Knaur said he would have electricity, but no plumbing. Page 14 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Skinner asked how far he was from the property line. Mr. Knaur said he is 5 feet 6 inches to the fence. He said the fence is 3 feet inside his line. Mr. Cypert asked if the fence was on the lot line. Mr. Knaur said his neighbor has been using it for 24 years so he figures it is her's now. Mr. Skinner said our ordinance requires any building over 200 square feet to be 75 percent masonry. He asked if he could pour a border around this slab for brick. Mr. Knaur said he built this house on black clay and it takes about a 10 by 16 foot reinforced bean to hold a brick wall and he does not have that under the slab. He said he does not want to tear the slab up to put a beam under it. Mr. Skinner asked what percentage of brick is on his house. Mr. Knaur said probably 85 or 90 percent and his neighbor's closest to the building is about 100 percent. Mr. Skinner asked if he would consider putting 50 percent brick on the building since it is over 200 square feet. Mr. Knaur said he would hate to put a masonry wall on a flat slab. He said in 4 or 5 years there would be cracked walls. He said his house and fence has shifted to where the gates will not latch. Mr. Skinner asked if he would still plan to put a car in there. Page 15 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Knaur said the slab would hold up a car. Mr. Skinner asked if he would consider sizing it down to 200 square feet. Mr. Knaur said he could put a smaller building, but he had rather not. Mr. Skinner said this size, you must be planning on using it for more than a storage building. Mr. Knaur said that is correct. Mr. Skinner said he feels he needs to pour an additional slab around this slab and put brick on it. Mr. Knaur said that would change it from a $3,000 building to an $8,000 or $10,000 building by the time he adds the masonry. Chairman Duer asked Mr. LeBaron, in a residential area, what codes do we have about preventing auto repair. Mr. LeBaron said you are not allowed to run a business in a residential area, but you may work on your own car. Mr. Knaur said he does not intend to fix autos for a business. He said he is a registered engineer and he gets $50 to $100 an hour for his services, a heck of a lot more than fixing cars. Chairman Duer asked Mr. Knaur if he would consider putting a stockade, blocking type, fence up to block the view. Mr. Knaur said right now, there is a tree growing on the present fence. Page 16 Z B A Minutes November 21, 1991 Mr. Skinner said he could move his fence forward and put up a 6 foot stockade fence with gates in front of this building and then it would not be an eye sore. Chairman Duer said he would not see a problem with a variance from the brick ordinance if it could not be viewed from the street. Mr. Knaur said he could do that. Mr. Ingham said he would agree to that also because this would basically be a detached garage. Chairman Duer 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. There being no one wishing to speak, Chairman Duer closed the Public Hearing. BA 91-22 APPROVED Mr. Ingham made the motion to approve BA 91-22 with the requirement that a 6 foot stockade fence be placed to obstruct the building from the street. This motion was seconded by Mr. Skinner and the motion carried 4-0. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:30 P.M. ? "'"'- ~ ~ '^- .tJ~ Tom Duer,rChairman Zoning Board of Adjustment