O-2004-1501-AAAA re:Main Street District

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It e September 8, 2004 Betty Waters, Chairperson & Planning a nd Zoning Commission Members 604 W. Fairmont Pkwy. La Porte, TX. 77571 Dear Ms. Waters, On behalf of the Main Street District Committee, we present the proposed draft document outlining an ordinance for the creation of a Main Street District classification and regulations. We also recommend the creation of a district that generally extends from SH 146 to Kansas and to include one block north to First Street and one block south to A venue A with the inclusion of Virginia and Broadway two blocks south to Avenue B. Within the district is an overlay portion that would extend from SH 146 to Kansas and include one half block north to the alley between First St. and Main St. to one half block south to the alley between A venue B and Main St. For background, the committee was made up of ten representatives from the community representing business and property owners, residents, Heritage Society, the Main Street Association, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and Chamber of Commerce. The committee was formed after the City Council requested a moratorium be created over the general area described above to protect the area from development that would be inconsistent with what seemed to be a focal point of La Porte, a symbol of La Porte's past, and an area that holds a potential for La Porte's economic potential in tourism. The committee recognized the potential and strength of the Main Street area and agreed it needed to be preserved. The committee reviewed the current zoning district regulations (Commercial) and noticed it did not fit with the era in which the Main Street area was originally created, To preserve the district and to aid in its vitality, the committee realized that the Main Street area needed regulations that had more flexibility than any of the zoning classifications allowed. The end result was a mixed-use zone. The interior of this district, however, did hold some unique characteristics that needed some additional considerations, so an overlay district was added to the area under consideration.