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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ 2001-03-27 Minutes MINUTES OF THE TOWN MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHlAND HillS, TEXAS MARCH 27, 2001 1. CAll TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Don Bowen at 7:00 p.m. Present Absent City Staff City Council Present 2. ROll CAll Chairman Don Bowen Doug Blue Ted Nehring Tim Welch Richard Davis Ron Lueck James Laubacher City Manager Assistant City Manager Director of Development Zoning Administrator Planner Assistant Director-Public Works Office Coordinator Recording Secretary Larry Cunningham Steve Norwood John Pitstick Cathy Horton Dave Green Mike Curtis Carolyn Huggins Micah Johnson Mayor Pro T em Lyle Welch Joann Johnson Joe Tolbert Oscar Trevino Russell Mitchell 3. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Mr. Lyle Welch, Mayor Pro Team, was in attendance speaking on behalf of the Mayor, introducing City Council Members present. He began the meeting by explaining to everyone that they were attending a meeting being conducted by the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of North Richland Hills regarding the proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Before the close of his introduction, Mr. Welch sent a special thank you to the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission for all their hard work and turned the meeting back to the Chairman Don Bowen. Mr. Bowen welcomed the citizens to the public hearing, followed by an introduction of the Planning and Zoning Commission members. Mr. Bowen explained that this plan would guide the City in its growth over the next 8 to 10 years. 4. PRESENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE BY STAFF AND CONSULTANT Mr. Dan Sefko, Planning Consultant with Dunkin, Sefko & Associates 9603 White Rock Trail, Dallas, began the presentation with a brief explanation of steps taken to construct the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The plan is designed to guide and manage the growth and assist in the coordination of the future in the City of North Richland Hills. The plan is flexible and can be amended. When the Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1991 there was only one-half of the City was developed. Dunkin, Sefko & Associates performed a Existing Land Use Survey in 2000, which showed more than 75% of the community has developed leaving only 23% of the land vacant. A portion of this 23% is land found in flood plains and can not be developed. Mr. Sefko outlined the procedures taken to develop the Comprehensive Land Use Plan proposal. A map was drafted, time was spent identifying important issues which need to be addressed and workshops were performed to develop a final product. The staff would like to divide the retail districts into more traditional land use categories such as Neighborhood Services, Retail and Commercial. Mr. Sefko turns the discussion over to Cathy Horton, Zoning Administrator, to explain the five main strategic areas that need further study, care and consideration before they are developed. . The first strategic area is the North Precinct Line Transition Area, which is a portion of land in the north entrance into the City of North Richland Hills. This area includes a number of deep parcels of land and backs up to residential land uses. Cathy pointed out that since this is a strategic point of entry into North Richland Hills and the city would like to make this a special area with unique character. · The second strategic area is the Smithfield Conservation District which is very unique and the city would like to hold onto the historic significance of the area. The potential of more mixed uses for business such as mixed business and residential uses should be examined. · The third area of strategic interest would be the Freeway Business District, which targets Northeast Loop 820 that will undergo significant widening. The plan is interested in the character and redevelopment potential of the area. The staff intends to keep a close eye on the expansion to keep the citizens informed of the changes. · The fourth strategic area is South Grapevine Highway Planning Area along Grapevine Highway, south of Northeast Loop 820, and includes neighborhoods along Harmonson Drive to Linda Spurlock Park. There is hope for redevelopment in that area. Some businesses have started to run down and need some assistance in terms of incentives for redevelopment. The City plans to help residents with a clean up campaign focussing on this area as a primary focal point of the City. · The smallest area, the Denton Highway Transition Area. This area includes property along Denton Highway up to Haltom City. Haltom City has approved cases with a retail and office use. Our side has single family homes with one home being converted into an office building. The City of North Richland Hills would like to preserve the integrity of the neighborhood off Tourist Drive while at the same time allowing these lots to develop with non-residential uses. Mr. Dan Sefko commented about adjustments made to the Thoroughfare Plan. One of the major issues that was considered during the planning phase was "Gateway Treatments" to ensure these city entrances are identifiable with the community. Another issue was the Dart Rail Lines coming through the city and the areas of potential stops. Mr. Sefko and City Staff would like to recommend that the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council, pending public input, make any adjustment to the Future Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Thoroughfare Plan. Finally, Ms. Horton discussed with the citizens some of the public input received during the time the maps and comment cards were on display around the city. Some of the comments were brought to the attention of the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council at the February 19, 2001, joint work session. Since that meeting there have been more comments regarding the Comprehensive Land Use Plan: · Davey Davis visited the office regarding a 40-acre tract of land on the future plan being shown as office use, with the existing zoning being shown on the '91 plan as Multifamily and Industrial. The 40-acres is located on Mid-Cities and Rufe Snow behind the Kroger. · Ron Huggins of Huggins Honda visited the office to discuss the possibility of a small expansion at his dealership on Northeast Loop 820. · There were many calls and letters received from the Steeple Ridge Neighborhood group concerning a triangular tract of land on North Davis Blvd. On the '91 plan this tract of land is shown as Residential and Retail and on the future plan it is shown as Office. · Gary Wang owns lands on Hightower and Davis. On the '91 plan his land is shown as Retail and Single Family and is proposed as Low Density Residential. Mr. Wang purchased the land in hopes of developing it as Retail. · Kevin Littlefield visited our offices regarding his land that fronts on Martin Drive, north of Home Depot and Mid-Cities Blvd. He would like his land to also be considered in the Office district. · Douglas Gilliland of Strummer Drive is concerned with the policies of the Freeway Business District Area that states that a minimum of 25 acres of land is needed to rezone properties in that area. Most of the properties are subdivisions on smaller lots with homes and he feels this would make it harder for a developer to group enough acres to have a 25-acre minimum. · Jim Stevens owns property on Holiday Lane, which is currently zoned Multifamily and is proposed as Neighborhood Services and Institutional. He feels this is an error and would like the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council to consider changing it to show Neighborhood Services only. · Patty Shepherd has commented on the property on the corner of Smithfield and Bursey. On the '91 plan this property is shown as residential and on the proposed plan it is shown as Neighborhood Services. · Harold Carter would like to make sure that all residents surrounding the Northeast Loop 820 expansion be kept informed as far in advance as possible of the changes to occur. At this time, Mr. Dan Sefko turned the meeting over to Chairman Don Bowen to begin the public hearing of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. 5. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF THE UPDATE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS INCLUDING THE FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND THOROUGHFARE PLAN ELEMENTS. Opening the public hearing Chairman Don Bowen announced that there would not be a final decision made at this meeting. This meeting is to hear public concerns and address questions regarding the Proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Areas of concern from the public are as follows: · Martin Drive north of Home Depot and Mid-Cities Blvd: Kevin Littlefield, 9108 Martin, spoke in regards to his property being included in the Office zoning in the proposed plan. Charles Rodgers, 6417 Rogers Drive, feels that offices being allowed on Martin would cause safety issues for children. Robin Eddins, 8628 Crestview Drive, does not feel that the office zoning is appropriate for this area. She feels that the creek should act as a natural buffer between the commercial and the homes. Joann Beverage, 6504 Park Avenue, feels that the office sites will encroach into the area from Home Depot. · Freeway Expansion Area: Linda Graham, 4805 Nancy Lane, was concerned about plans for the expansion. Starline Autry, 4800 Susan Lee Lane, is concerned with the expansion of Ron Huggins Honda. He also mentioned the noise level since Loop 820 was constructed and is concerned with the future widening of the Loop. Other problems with this area seem to be traffic speed on the access road from Grapevine Highway to Holiday Lane. Wendy Price, 4903 Maryanna Way, has concerns about the widening of Northeast Loop 820. Mike Curtis, Assistant Director of Public Works with the City of North Richland Hills, said that TXDot would present a widening plan in 3 to 4 more months. After the plan is proposed and comments are collected, TXDot will start contacting residents. There has been no official map released at this time. Once they are released, the city will have those maps available. Doug Gilliland, 4901 Strummer Drive, was pleased that the Richland Oaks Area was considered in the Freeway District. · Jerrie Jo Drive: Ann Robinson, 8308 Jerrie Jo, would like to be included in the Freeway Business District. Her property is north of Haverty's. Harvey Greenwald, 8300 Jerrie Jo, owns 9 Y2 to 10 acres of land and also would like to be included in the Freeway Business District. · Intersection of Smithfield and Bursey: Patty Shepherd, 8004 Kendra Lane, would like this lot to stay residential. Stephen Bos, 7608 Silverleaf Drive, would like to see this lot turned into a small park with a jungle jim and swings. Paul Timmons, 7624 Silverleaf, would also like this lot to be used for a park. Les Ferguson, 7609 Shadow Wood, does not wish to see business on this lot due to the children walking in this area to go to and from school. Owen D. Long, of Owen D. Long and Associates mentioned that the owner of this property would like to build a church on the lot. Rena Arnold, 7936 Arlie Lane, does not think that a church would be beneficial here, but does support a park. . Shady Grove Road Area: Dan Ventimiglia, 8624 Twisted Oaks Way, questioned whether or not a light is to be installed at Davis Blvd. and Shady Grove Road. Among his other concerns are traffic and property value. He feels that Wal- Mart being built in that area will cause major traffic problems and will result in property values going down. Commissioner Richard Davis stated that the final decision would be that of TXDot, but part of the conditions for the Wal-Mart approval was that the city staff starts immediately to warrant a need for a traffic light at Shady Grove and Davis. Theresa Hampton, 8601 Saddle Ridge Trail, is also concerned about there only being one way out and one way into her subdivision. Also concerned with the traffic and area impact, was Kevin Dentizer, 8556 Steeple Ridge Drive. Kirk Roberts, 8612 Shady Brooke Drive, did buy his home knowing that retail would be coming to the area. He feels that some office spaces would be a great buffer for the commercial and residential along Davis Blvd. He really does not feel that a bank would be a good use, but he does agree with doctor or dental offices. Tom Kelly, 8901 Trails Edge Drive, is concerned about the traffic in this area. He is also concerned about this being a high- density retail area. He feels that this being the North Gateway to the city will become a parking lot due to traffic. · Miss Mary Anne Harris, 2211 Winter Sunday Way, Arlington, Texas, requested that her property at the southwest intersection of Precinct Line Road and Rumfield Drive be shown as retail to coincide with existing zoning of C-1. Mark Howe, 3100 Carrisbrooke Court, Colleyville, speaking on behalf of Ms. Mary Anne Harris who owns property at Rumfield Road and Precinct Line Road. Several years ago, the property was rezoned to C-1 Commercial. The proposed plan shows that this property will be zoned office. Commissioner Davis interrupted the meeting to make a statement in regards to past zoning. If a property has been rezoned to Commercial today, after the plan is adopted, it will not change the zoning of that land. It will only change if that property requests a change. · Owen D. Long, 401 Woodbriar Court, Colleyville, owner of a portion of land at Mid-cities and Holiday Lane has asked that his land remain zoned as Commercial. · Jack Kimball, 7204 Oakland Lane, had some concerns about the future of Holiday Lane. Gary Wang, 7237 Davis Blvd, spoke in regards to his property on Hightower and Davis Blvd. He owns 9.3 acres, the front 4 acres was designated as Commercial on the '91 plan. On the proposed plan this property is shown as Residential. He would like for his property to remain Commercial. · Kent Davis, 6817 Nob Hill Drive, owns a business in Huntington Square. He has apprehensions about being included in the Town Center Zoning District. L. H. Newman, 8601 Davis Blvd, is concerned about his property along Davis Blvd. There being no more public comments, Mr. Richard Davis, seconded by Mr. Tim Welch, motioned to continue the public hearing until the April 12, 2001, meeting. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 6. ADJOURNMENT The chairman adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m. ~Q~ Chairman Don Bowen r;¿T1:e~