07-16-09 Regular Meeting and Public Hearings of the La Porte Planning and Zoning Commission minutes

Browse Search

Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of July 16, 2009 Members Present: Hal Lawler, Paul Berner, Dottie Kaminski, Les Bird, Richard Warren, Doretta Finch, Kirby Linscomb Jr., and David Janda (Alt 1). Members Absent: Lou Ann Martin (Alt 2). City Staff Present: Tim Tietjens, Planning Director; City Planner, Masood Malik; and Planning Assistant, Shannon Green. Others Present: 1. Call to Order. Meeting called to order by Chairman Hal Lawler at 6:08 p.m. 2. Consider Approval of the June 24, 2009, regular meeting minutes. Motion by Dottie Kaminski to approve the regular meeting minutes of June 24, 2009. Second by Doretta Finch. The Motion carried. Ayes: Hal Lawler, Paul Berner, Dottie Kaminski, Les Bird, Richard Warren, Doretta Finch, Kirby Linscomb Jr. None None Nays: Abstain: Tim Tietjens, Planning Director, welcomed new Commission Member Richard Warren to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Warren replaced Commission member Nick Barrera. Mr. Tietjens will be sending a letter of appreciation to Nick Barrera for his time on the Planning and Zoning Commission. 3. Open public hearing to receive citizen input on a proposed amendment to Chapter 106 of the La Porte Code of Ordinances pertaining to domestic livestock as an accessory use on lots in excess of one acre. Chairman Hal Lawler opened the public hearing at 6:12 p.m. A. Staff Presentation Masood Malik, City Planner presented staff's report. B. Proponents Nolan Allen, of 10730 North "L" Street voiced his concern on the following issues: 1. Mr. Allen's first concern was the concentration of two animals per acre. Mr. Allen explained to the Commission that less than 1 % of the Lomax animals are grazing animals. The majority of the animals are barn kept and hand fed. The original Ordinance was set for grazing animals. 2. Mr. Allen voiced concern regarding the 25ft setback and asked the Commission to consider other options, like different types of fencing only when concerns with neighbors were an issue. 3. Mr. Allen voiced concern with the usable acreage area and disagreed with no partial credit towards rounding to higher number of size of acre. Rhysa Walker, of 11438 North Ave "P" is a graduate of Texas A&M. Ms. Walker is currently an agricultural science teacher. Ms. Walker voiced her concern with the number of horses allowed per acre as written in the current ordinance. She read a report to show barn kept animals are hand fed daily and should not be held to the same standards as grazing animals. She read from a report from Dr. P.G. Gibbs of Texas A&M University. This report can be found on the Animal Science website.