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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 1997-07-21 Minutes MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, HELD IN THE PRE-COUNCIL ROOM AT CITY HALL, 7301 NORTHEAST LOOP 820 - JULY 21,1997 - 6:30 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Brown called the work session to order July 21, 1997 at 6:38 p.m. in the Pre- Council Room. ROLL CALL Present: Tommy Brown Byron Sibbet Lyle E. Welch Mack Garvin Frank Metts, Jr. JoAnn Johnson Don Phifer Cheryl Cowen Lyman Staff: C.A. Sanford Randy Shiflet Larry Cunningham Patricia Hutson Rex McEntire Greg Dickens Barry LeBaron Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Councilman Councilman Councilman Councilwoman Councilman Councilwoman City Manager Assistant City Manager Assistant City Manager City Secretary Attorney City Engineer Planning & Inspection 2. CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST TO CLOSE GALWAY LANE/NORTHRIDGE BLVD. Staff advised the Council of information that they had obtained since Council tabled this item at the July 14 meeting. Staff's recommendation to the Council was to leave the street open and place road humps at the north and south property lines of the park. Staff also recommended that the speed limit through the park be reduced to 15 mph. The Council discussed the road humps and who would bear the cost. Staff advised the Council that the City would pay for the two road humps in the park area and if the residents wanted any other humps, they would have to meet the criteria. Mayor Brown invited the citizens present to address the Council. City Council Work Session Minutes July21,1997 Page 2 Ms. Amy Archer asked for the addition of a pedestrian crossing and increased police patrol. Staff advised Ms. Archer that with the installation of park entrance signs and a reduced speed limit, a pedestrian crossing would not be needed. She was advised that police patrol would be increased to enforce the speed limit. Several other citizens expressed concerns about the speeding and whether the signage and speed bumps would be effective. The citizens were advised that residents on surrounding streets had notified the Council that they were opposed to the closing of Galway. The Mayor advised that the Council would take action on this item at the July 28 Council Meeting. 3. CONSIDERATION OF REMOVAL OR DOWNSIZING SECTIONS OF HIGHTOWER DRIVE FROM THE MASTER THOROUGHFARE PLAN. Staff advised two sections of Hightower were under consideration, one on the east side of Davis Boulevard and the other on the west side of Davis Boulevard. Staff explained to Council what would be involved to downsize the section of roadway west of Davis Boulevard and provide the needed 3: 1 slope. Staffs recommendation was to leave the two sections on the Thoroughfare Plan as either C-2U or C-4U, the entire distance with no plans to develop at this time. The Council discussed whether the road should be a C-2U or C-4U. The consensus of the Council was to leave the road on the Thoroughfare Plan with no changes. Mayor Brown advised this item would be placed on the July 28 agenda for Council action. A property owner on the east side of Davis Boulevard explained to the Council that the extension of Hightower made the development of his property unrealistic. Mayor Brown advised the property owner to work with Mr. Dickens, Mr. LeBaron and Mr. Shiflet to determine if the road could be moved to help his situation and still align up. City Council Work Session Minutes July 21,1997 Page 3 4. CONSIDERATION OF CHANGING LOT SIZE AND MINIMUM SQUARE FOOTAGE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ZONING REGULATIONS. Mr. LeBaron advised the Planning & Zoning Commission had held a workshop and public hearing on increasing the minimum square footage of houses in R-2 and R-1 districts. He explained that before they raise the square footage, other things should also be considered. He explained the Planning & Zoning Commission was recommending in addition to raising the square footage, making the lots larger and deleting the rear yard open space requirement. He explained how the open space concept works and why it is required. Mr. LeBaron presented a graph to the Council that showed over the past three years the average square footage was 2,371. He stated that changing to 2,100 square feet would not adversely affect the market, but it would affect the geometry of the lots. Mr. LeBaron discussed with the Council the typical lot size, the building lines, and the rear yard open space. He explained how the rear yard open space is calculated and his concerns if it was eliminated. Mr. LeBaron also advised the Council that he was concerned about there not being any minimum requirements for getting into side entry garages. He suggested Council consider incorporating this into the regulations. He suggested that Council might want to consider making the lots wider and cutting the 25 foot front yard requirement to 20 feet for houses with side or rear entry garages. There was discussion by the Council concerning what Mr. LeBaron had presented. Mr. LeBaron summarized his proposals: 1) Council consider a 20' building line, 2) eliminate the proposal for the deletion of the rear yard open space, and 3) leave the lot size at 70' if the front building line is changed to 20'. The Council discussed Mr. LeBaron's proposals and also the need for minimum drive way regulations. The Council questioned whether the builders were notified of the proposed changes and discussed the reason the Planning & Zoning Commission was recommending changes. Two local builders expressed their views on the changes. They made the following comments: 1) the minimum square footage should stop at 2,000 square feet; 2) 20' front building is a good idea; 3) there were concerns about 75' wide lots; 4) supported a reduction in the rear yard requirements; 5) no problem with side garage requirements. City Council Work Session Minutes July21,1997 Page 4 The consensus of the Council was for Mr. LeBaron and Mr. Shiflet to meet with some builders and bring a recommendation to the Council. The Planning & Zoning Commission is to be invited to participate in the meeting. 5. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Brown closed the work session at 8:02 p.m. and announced that the Council would go into Executive Session pursuant to his announcement made at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. ATTEST: (!l ()i/lItXti j(~ Patricia Hutson - City Secretary MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, HELD IN THE CITY HALL, 7301 NORTHEAST LOOP 820 - JULY 21, 1997 - 6:30 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Brown called the special meeting to order July 21, 1997 at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Brown recessed the special meeting to the work session in the Pre-Council Room. He advised that upon the adjournment of the work session, the City Council would adjourn to Executive Session pursuant to the Local Government Code as authorized by Section 551.074. ROLL CALL Present: Tommy Brown Byron Sibbet Lyle E. Welch Mack Garvin Frank Metts, Jr. JoAnn Johnson Don Phifer Cheryl Cowen Lyman Staff: Randy Shiflet Larry Cunningham Patricia Hutson Rex McEntire Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Councilman Councilman Councilman Councilwoman Councilman Councilwoman Assistant City Manager Assistant City Manager City Secretary Attorney Following the Executive Session the Council went back into open session at 8:28 p.m. to consider taking action on subject matter discussed in Executive Session. Councilwoman Lyman moved, seconded by Councilman Phifer, to accept C.A. Sanford's resignation as City Manager and to reassign him to other duties until June 1998 and to appoint Mr. Larry Cunningham to the position of City Manager effective immediately. Councilman Garvin advised, for the record, he respected Larry Cunningham and Randy Shiflet. He stated he felt the Council was making a choice of personalities. He stated he felt Council was not going through a due process to select the best manager the City could possibly get, although it could be either one of these. He felt the City was being short-changed with this process. He advised that he would not vote for the motion. Councilman Welch stated that when Mr. Shiflet was hired as Assistant City Manager he supported him and he is doing a good job. He stated he disagreed with Councilman City Council Minutes July 21, 1997 Page 2 Garvin. He stated the City needs leadership now and the Council needs to go ahead and take action. He stated he supported Mr. Cunningham for City Manager. Councilwoman Johnson stated that the Council has two of the best candidates the Council could ask for and she could not admire two individuals more. When Mr. Sanford was hired, the Council hired from within and did not go out. She stated she was comfortable with this. She wanted both men to know how much she appreciated them and the jobs that they have done. She advised she would support and back the City's new City Manager. Mayor Pro Tem Sibbet stated his main concern was that the Council was not taking their time; that there was a lack of patience. He stated it was unfortunate that the Council did not interview both of the the two inside candidates, but they did not go out to seek other qualified candidates in other cities. He stated he realized that the Council was dealing with a large population now and would be dealing with an even larger population 10 to 15 years from now, which he expects this employment to last. He stated that there will be grave, complicated problems that offer challenges for those that are willing to accept those challenges. He stated he was concerned that the Council did not have the patience to make an adequate decision. Councilman Metts thanked Mr. Sanford for being such a good City Manager. He stated in regards to the choice, he would prefer a little more time for himself. He stated he felt the City had two very qualified people and he will support the choice of the City Council whole-heartedly. Councilman Phifer thanked Mr. Sanford for his hard work. He stated the Council was fortunate and blessed to have two extremely qualified and competent individuals as Assistant City Manager. He stated the unfortunate part was that there was only one City Manager position. He stated the Council was at a time that he thought was critical that a decision be made and the Council has two qualified people from whom to choose. Motion carried 6-1; Mayor Pro Tem Sibbet, Councilmen Welch, Metts, and Phifer and Councilwomen Johnson and Lyman voting for and Councilman Garvin voting against. Mr. Shiflet stated that he and Mr. Cunningham had been discussing the appointment. Mr. Shiflet assured the Council that he supported their decision and supported Mr. Cunningham as City Manager. He advised that they would continue to work together as a team. He stated that there would be a smooth transition and they would be a positive management team. City Council Minutes July 21, 1997 Page 3 Mr. Cunningham thanked the Council and Mr. Shiflet. Mr. Cunningham stated that Mr. Shiflet was a quality individual and if he had to select, he would pick Mr. Shiflet as his Assistant. He stated they would move forward and he looked forward to working with the Council and Staff. He stated the City of North Richland Hills is very blessed with having an extremely capable staff. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Brown adjourned the Special Council meeting at 8:36 p.m. C Tom~~/é~ / ATTEST: @)Jþ¿¡it¡¿~ Patricia Hutson - City Secretary