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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCA 1986-04-08 Minutes CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL 1. BBA-2 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE BUILDING CODE & ORDINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS APRIL 8, 1986 - 7:00 P. M. The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Joe Coulson, at 7:00 P. M. PRESENT: Chairman Secretary Members Joe Coulson Greg Wheeler Orville Baker Gerald Stewart John Larriviere ABSENT: Robert Skinner Request of Dr. James Walker for a variance from Section 5-9 of the City Ordinance #1236, the ordinance requiring that all permanent buildings in residential zone be 75% brick. Chairman Coulson called for Dr. Walker to come forward. Dr. Walker was not present so he was represented by Mrs. Walker. Mrs. Walker, 7127 Riviera Drive, came forward and stated her case. She explained that the building they tore down was originally a boat house. She said it had become a neighborhood eyesore. Mrs. Walker stated they want to replace the building and add a ten foot extension for storage. She showed letters from their two nearest neighbors saying that the Walkers proposed building would be an asset to the neighborhood. She stated that they were replacing the building for the Browns and the Skaggs because the three of them in that vacinity keep their yards the nicest in the old North Richland Hills area. Mrs. Walker stated they plan to put a very nice building with eaves and it will be very well maintained. Chairman Coulson asked Mrs. Walker what kind of flooring was existing in the garage. Page 2 Mrs. Walker said that there was nothing there now, but that there had been battery cases that were laid solid. She stated that they had torn down the building and then came to get a building permit for it when they ran into trouble. She said they already had the ten foot concrete extension there and now they had a bare space. Chairman Coulson asked approximately how long had the other structure been there. Mrs. Walker stated it had been there about 25 years. She said it was falling down and becoming a fire hazard. Chairman Coulson asked what kind of floor they plan to use on the ten foot extension. Mrs. Walker stated that it would be a concrete floor. Chairman Coulson asked if she was going to concrete the floor of the existing space. Mrs. Walker stated that it would all be concrete. Mr. Larriviere asked if there was a slab there now. Mrs. Walker said just on the ten foot extension. Mr. Larriviere asked what kind of floor the old structure had. Mrs. Walker said that it had been battery cases. She stated that it was not concrete right now, they had not gotten that far because they had to quit when they realized that they had a problem getting the permit. Chairman Coulson asked if the battery cases were hard, rubberized material. Page 3 Mrs. Walker stated that it was solid, but she did not know if it would hold a car or not. She said if the cases were to be used, they would cover them. Mr. Stewart asked if Mrs. Walker's house was 100% brick. Mrs. Walker stated it was all brick. Mr. Stewart asked how old the house was. Mrs. Walker stated that it was 25 years old. Mr. Stewart asked if the brick on the house was contemporary or old. Mrs. Walker said it was not new brick because 6 years ago when they were building a flower bed, they tried to get brick to match the brick on the house. She said the brick is a very long and narrow brick and could not be found. Mrs. Walker said the house is painted yellow with white trim and the garage was to be white with a white roof and fairly large eaves. Chairman Coulson asked what would be wrong with going in there and pouring a good slab and meeting the city code. Mrs. Walker said there is no problem with meeting the code on the slab. Chairman Coulson asked if there was a problem with putting certain amounts of brick on the garage. Mrs. Walker said that was the problem. Chairman Coulson stated that with the doors and windows in the building, there would be very little brick to be added on a garage this size. He said one to two thousand brick would be adequate. Page 4 Mrs. Walker stated it would be more expensive and one side of the building can not be seen from the street. She said that even if the brick was the same price as siding, she thought the siding would look alot better. Chairman Coulson stated that it appeared that if a slab was put in properly to meet the city code and put a sufficient amount of brick ledge, it would be a better arrangement for the 75% brick ordinance. He asked if the edges of the garage would be seen from the street. Mrs. Walker stated that very little could be seen. Chairman Coulson asked if the brick could be matched. Mrs. Walker stated that if could not be matched. She also said that half brick and half siding was not very attractive and that if the brick was the same price as the siding, she would rather go with siding. Mrs. Walker said she wished the Committee members had gone by her house so they would have realized that white siding would look very nice. Chairman Coulson asked what kind of siding she proposed to put on the building. Mrs. Walker said she did not know anything about building materials, but it was a nice wide slat. She said they would put very good materials into it. Chairman Coulson said that part of the Committee's concern was the slab. Mrs. Walker stated it will be no problem to put in the slab. Chairman Coulson said the other problem was the 75-25% brick code. He asked if any of the other members had anything to say about it. Page 5 Mr. Baker stated he recently tried to build onto his house and had a lot of trouble finding brick that matched. He said if he had it to do over again, he would ask to use siding because the brick they got did not match their house because the house was 30 years old. He said he could understand Mrs. Walker's problem, if they could get brick to match it would look better, but if they can not get the brick to match, it will look like it is built on. Mr. Baker stated that Mrs. Walker had a good point. Mrs. Walker said that if they bricked it, they would end up having to paint it yellow to match. She said they had enough work without adding more. Mr. Stewart asked if Mrs. Walker if the brick on her house was painted. Mrs. Walker stated it was. Mr. Stewart asked what color it was prior to the yellow. Mrs. Walker said the brick was a tan color that blended into nothing so they painted it yellow. Mr. Stewart asked if she was proposing to build another structure and use siding instead of brick and would paint it to match the house. Mrs. Walker stated they were not going to paint it. She said it would be the same color as the eaves on their house so it would not look patched. Mr. Stewart asked if the siding was fiberglass. Chairman Coulson said it was masonite siding. He asked if it was asphestos. Mrs. Walker said it was not. She said it was the solid long slats. Page 6 Chairman Coulson asked if it was overlapping siding. Mrs. Walker said it was. Mr. Stewart asked if she had checked to see if she could get a matching color of siding for her house. Mrs. Walker said the trim of her house and the roof and shutters were all white. Mr. Stewart asked if she plans to build a solid white building. Mrs. Walker stated she was. Chairman Coulson said once the old structure was torn down whatever replaced it would definitely be newer and cleaner, but when a building is starting from ground level, there are certain restrictions that must be followed. He stated that as far as the code was concerned, a couple of thousand brick would not make that much difference in price and it would look better brick. Chairman Coulson said if her house was a painted brick, the size of brick could be matched whether it was 9 inch or jumbo size unless it is an old style textured brick, then it would be hard to replace. He said if it is painted and as far as the code was concerned, he would recommend that a certain amount of brick be put on the structure. He said as far as the cost is concerned, if brick is put on the building, the value of their property will go up. Mrs. Walker stated she realized this, but their property was already over valued and over improved for the neighborhood. She said if she did not plan to live there very long, she would let it go as is and build the storage house and even put two or four storage buildings in the yard, but since she has to live there and their neighbors have to look at it, the kind of building she wants to put up would look nicest. Page 7 Chairman Coulson said he understood what she was trying to achieve and sympathized with her, but his opinion was to stay with the building code. Mr. Stewart asked Mr. & Mrs. Skaggs were present. Mrs. Walker said they were not, but her neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Brown, were present. Mr. Stewart asked Mrs. Walker if either of the other neighbors, Mr. Phelps or Mr. Skaggs were at the meeting. Mrs. Walker said they were not. She said the Phelps live on the other side of her. She said they signed one of the letters in approval of the building. She said all the Phelps would be able to see was the roof line. Chairman Coulson asked if a plan for a building permit had been submitted to the city. Mrs. Walker said she did not know, because her husband came down to get the permit and discovered they had a problem. She said her husband was out of town tonight. Mr. Stewart said he was having a problem with by passing the brick ordinance. Mrs. Walker stated that even if they put brick on the bottom of the structure, it would not be seen because of the shrubs and the fence. She showed a diagram of her property. Chairman Coulson asked the size of the structure. Mrs. Walker said it was 24 feet long and 10 feet wide. Page 8 Chairman Coulson said that there would be 34 feet of siding on both sides and that was a long area for siding. He said his continjent is that it will be the same problem that the existing garage had over a period of time. Mrs. Walker stated that as long as they live there, it would not deteriorate. She said the other building stood there for 25 years without a tear. Chairman Coulson asked how long the Walkers had lived there. Mrs. Walker said they had lived there for 15 years. Mr. Larriviere said that he was fighting the reason for a brick ordinance. He asked if it was for cosmetic or was it for structural and maintenance purposes. Mr. Stewart said it was for cosmetic purposes because there was no strength in the brick. Chairman Coulson said there was strength in the brick if it was tied to the wall with brick ties. Mr. Larriviere said that if they allowed the variance against the brick ordinance, then other cases would have to be granted so why have a brick ordinance. Mrs. Walker stated they were only trying to beautify their property. She said they could build a car port without any problem, but it would not look very nice. She said the siding would look alot better. Chairman Coulson stated that according to his approximate calculations, it would take 2500 brick to brick the structure and at $200 per thousand and $150 per thousand for labor and $400 for odd materials. Page 9 Mr. Wheeler said it did not matter how the structure was bricked as long as it was 75% brick. Chairman Coulson said it would not take alot of brick for a structure of this size. He said they could put a brick ledge around the structure to meet the code. Mrs. Walker said she did not understand why there would have to be brick when it would be covered by the shrubs. Chairman Coulson said if they did not have a brick ordinance, they would have out buildings with siding all over the city. He said as far as he was concerned, he would stick to the ordinance. Mr. Stewart asked what kind of roof it had. Mrs. Walker said it had a flat roof, but this building would have the same eaves as their house has. Chairman Coulson asked if there would be an exit door in the building. Mrs. Walker stated there would be one door in the back. Chairman Coulson asked Mr. Wheeler if this would meet the code. Mr. Wheeler said there were no minimum egress requirements for detached garages. He said the main point of this hearing was to decide whether the Walkers would conform to the brick ordinance or not. He said as far as the structure meeting the code, the inspection department would release the permit and inspections would be done on the structure throughout construction. Page 10 Mr. Baker stated that if everything had to be exactly according to code and the brick ordinance, then there would be no use in there being this Committee. He said if the Walkers want to improve their house and make it better than it was, under certain circumstances such as this, there is the possibility it would look better without the brick. He stated that with or without the brick, it was a decision the Committee needed to make. He said as far as the code and safety of the structure, it was up to the building department to see that it was done right. The Committee discussed the matter for some time. Chairman Coulson called for a vote to either conform to the brick ordinance or allow siding. BBA-2 DENIED Mr. Larriviere made the motion to deny the request of Mrs. Walker to use siding on the structure at 7127 Riviera Drive. This motion was seconded by Chairman Coulson and the motion to deny carried 3-1 with Mr. Baker voting against the motion. The brick ordinance was upheld. 2. BBA-3 Request of Phil K. Welsh for an appeal of the notice of "Abatement of a Dangerous Building" at the location of 7440 Watauga Road, Tract 4, Abstract 1753. Chairman Coulson called Mr. Welsh to come forward. Mr. Phil Welsh came forward and stated he represented the Louis Engler Estate. He said they did not rent this house out because there had been a fire there at one time. The property would probably be sold once Watauga Road was widened. He stated that the reason he was appearing before the committee was to request a delay of having to do anJ~hing with this house, because the developers would clear the property and save him the expense. Mr. Welsh said that he had priced the cost of having the house demolished and that is was between $2500 and $3000 to do this. It was an expense that they would not have two years from now when the property was developed. John Larriviere asked if there had been a fire in the house. Mr. Welsh stated that he had heard that there had been one. He said that he had seen it from the outside, and could tell that there had been one. John Larriviere stated that the City was having to maintain the house be- cause kids were getting in it and had probably set the fire to it. Mr. Welsh stated that he could board the house up to lessen the activity for a much less expense than demolish- ing it. He said that he thought it was being used as a hay barn. Greg Wheeler stated that the barn he was referring to had been almost blown over two months ago and had been taken down. And that to the City's know- ledge, this house was not being used to store hay. Mr. Welsh asked the difference between the hay barn they had and this house having hay stored in it. Greg Wheeler stated that a barn had more free air space. Chairman Coulson asked if the Estate that Mr. Welsh worked for had insured the house in case some one got hurt or died in it. Mr. Welsh said that he was not aware of any liability on that property. He could put some on it. Chairman Coulson stated that regard- less of the insurance since that meet- ing, this put the committee as being liable should something happen. Mr. Welsh state~...:hat the committee had the liability before the meeting. Chairman Coulson said that it was a strong point, but something needed to be done. Whether the house was boarded up, the committee needed to know if the liability was taken care of. Mr. Welsh stated that they could secure the house up with boards, and to their vantage point, it would be cheaper than spending $2800 now to have the house demolished when it would be knocked down two years from now, with no cost to them. Chairman Coulson stated that $2000- $2800 would probably not be alot of money to his client, considering a possible death in the house because of fire or high winds. Mr. Welsh asked Chairman Coulson if he was ruling out the boarding up of the house. Greg Wheeler suggested if the com- mittee was considering letting it be boarded, the Fire and Police Depart- ments would need to be notified. Chairman Coulson said that the exist- ing trash needed to be cleared off and the place cleaned up. Mr. Welsh stated that people had dumped trash all around the area. Greg Wheeler stated that the City had been having trouble with illegal dump- ing. Mr. Welsh asked if the Fire Department would have to approve the boarding up of the house. Greg Wheeler stated that the Fire Department would have to be consulted. Gerald Stewart asked where Mr. Welsh came up with the figure of $2800 to demolish the house. Mr. Welsh stated he had got the figure from Briggs & Son a company that had done some work for the Engler Estate. Mr. Welsh stateL ..:hat the high cost was for the cost of dumping the loads. Chairman Coulson asked if the house was fenced. Greg Wheeler stated that it was not. Chairman Coulson asked if "No Tresè- passing signs had been posted. Greg Wheeler stated that he did not know if their signs were still up. Several signs had been put up, but they had disappeared. Chairman Coulson stated that Mr.Welsh needed to confer with his attorney because if someone got hurt or died it was unlimited what the Engler Estate could be sued for. Gerald Stewart stated the if the house was boarded up, kids could still get in and they would be concealed from whatever they were doing. Mr. Welsh said that the only thing that could be done, is to either board it up or tear it down because to repair it would be senseless since it would be torn down in a couple of years. His sole concern was the cost. Gerald Stewart asked if the family of this property would take the responsi- bility for the house. Mr. Welsh stated that they would get a liability policy. Gerald Stewart stated that the insurance would not be enough to pay for a young life if something should happen. Mr. Welsh stated that he rather tear down the house later on with no cost to him. Chairman Coulson asked how many acres the house was on. Mr. Welsh stated that there was twenty eight acres. Chairman Coulson stated that $2800 for ADJOURNMENT Secretary Building Code and Ordinance Committee that house was L Jrop in the bucket. Gerald Stewart stated that $65 a load was alot of money for demolition. He said that the current price for a load of trash was $45 a load but no higher than $50. Mr. Welsh stated he could find someone else that might be cheaper. He asked the time limit they had to demolish the house. Greg Wheeler stated that the permit must be taken out within thirty (30) days. Then 120 days to have the demolition completed. Chairman Coulson made the motion that the house be demolished. John Larriviere seconded the motion and the motion to deny was carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Chairman Building Code and Ordinance Committee