01-18-1996 Public Hearing and Regular Meeting of the La Porte Planning and Zoning Commission

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• • Notifications and advertisement of the mandatory public hearing were complied with on January 31, 1996. • • Staff, in reviewing the Replat request, has found it to comply with most applicable ordinance requirements. There are however, two issues, alley closing and easement dedication, that will require resolution before the Replat can be approved. As was noted earlier, the Replat has been filed in conjunction with an alley closing request that will ultimately be acted upon by City Council. When an alley closing request is received by the City, one of the first actions taken is to notify all of the City's franchise utility companies. These are Houston Lighting and Power Company, Entex, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, and Prime Cable. The City's Public Works Department is also notified. Alleys in "Old La Porte" primarily serve as utility corridors and each franchise utility has a vested right to utilize the alley for its service lines. Each utility, must therefore "sign off" and state in writing that there are no objections to closure, or state what conditions must be attached to the closure. In the case of this alley, there are service lines belonging to the City of La Porte and all of the franchise utility companies. Typically, in these circumstances, the utility companies will state that there is no objection to closure if an adequate utility easement is dedicated. However, as of yet, there have been no official replies received from the utility companies. Council can not close the alley until the franchise utilities have responded.. Replatting the alley at this time would, therefore, be premature. In addition to timing, there is the issue of the actual easement dedication itself. Dedication language should, in this case, be noted on the Replat document. It is not included at this time, and again, until the franchise utility companies have responded, it is not possible to draft language that will, with certainty, establish adequate easement provisions. Development Ordinance No. 1444 establishes clear options and actions for the Commission to undertake when considering a Replat. They are as follows: 1. Approve the Replat as filed; 2. Disapprove the Replat as filed, provided the reasons for such disapproval are stated in writing and a copy of the statement is signed by the Chairman of the Planning Commission. Commission action shall be noted on three (3) copies of the Replat, which shall be distributed to the developer, Department, • and official files of the Commission. Final Plzts: Effect of Approval 1. Approval of a Replat as filed and all accompanying documentation