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Home My WebLink AboutR-2003-19 placing moratorium to file/issue permits for alteration elevation of property .e e RESOLUTION NO. 03- l.!L A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS, PLACING A MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE FOR FILING AND THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS UNDER ORDINANCE NO. 1444-A, PASSED AND APPROVED ON MARCH 23, 1998, FOR ALTERING THE ELEVATION OF PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE; PROVIDING THAT SUCH MORATORIUM SHALL EXPIRE AFTER 180 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PASSAGE OF THIS RESOLUTION; PROVIDING FOR SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS IN THE EVENT OF HARDSHIP; FINDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS: SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of La Porte finds and determines that the practice of property owners within the City of La Porte altering or changing the elevation of their property by adding fill dirt to the property, without filing proper site plans with the City, and without obtaining proper certification and permits from the City, is, in some cases, causing damages to adjoining and abutting property, and is not in the best interest of the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City of La Porte. SECTION 2. The City Council further finds and determines that it is in the best interests of the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City to place a moratorium on the acceptance for filing and consideration and the issuance of approval of Site Plans under the terms and provisions of Ordinance No. 1444-A, Section 11.02 Drainaae and Storm Sewers. delineating proposed changes in the elevation of property within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte, for a period of 180 days from the date of passage of this resolution. Provided, however, that this Moratorium does not extend to the issuance of approval of Site Plans under the terms and provisions of Ordinance No. 1444- A, of Building Permits and/or Site Plans for approved Commercial Site Plans, and/or Residential House Pad construction. e e 2 e e PASSED AND APPROVED this the 23rd day of June, 2003. CITY OF LA PORTE ~~ . No an L. Malone, yor ( ATTEST: iuJ' ~ '#- Martha Gillett, City Secretary 3 . EXHIBIT 2 e e -e . . REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM Agenda Date Requested: AUl!ust 11.2003 Approoriation Requested By: Rohp.rt Aldp.n Cllmming,c Source of Funds: Department: Plannio& Account Number: Report: Resolution: X Ordinance: Amount ,Budgeted: Amount Requested: Exhibits: I. 6/23/03 Resolution for Moratorium 2. 8/11103 Resolution for lifting Moratorium Budgeted Item: YES NO SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION Upon acceptance of the Ordinance 1444-D which is the set of proposed attachments to Ordinance 1444-A, the Council may, at their discretion consider lifting the moratorium placed on the issuance of new fill dirt permits as was enacted by Resolution 2003-19 on June 23, 2003. Please be advised that the Fill Dirt Review Committee (FDRC) will the night of August 7, 2003. The final recommendation for the lifting of the moratorium will be pending the outcome of the FDRC meeting and any addendums to this proposed resolution will be so posted and presented Friday August 9, 2003. Action ReQuired bv Council: Consider amending or other action on a resolution of the City Council of the City of La Porte, Texas, placing a moratorium on the acceptance for filing and the issuance of permits under Ordinance 1444-A, passed and approved on March 23, 1998, for altering the elevation of property within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte. The proposed Resolution 2003-19-A is attached. Aooroved for City Council Al!enda dl0t~iJ~ Debra Brooks Feazelle, City J? -5-0 3 Date . . RESOLUTION NO. 03- l.!L A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS, PLACING A MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE FOR FILING AND THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS UNDER ORDINANCE NO. 1444-A, PASSED AND APPROVED ON MARCH 23, 1998, FOR ALTERING THE ELEVATION OF PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE; PROVIDING THAT SUCH MORATORIUM SHALL EXPIRE AFTER 180 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PASSAGE OF THIS RESOLUTION; PROVIDING FOR SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS IN THE EVENT OF HARDSHIP; FINDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS: SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of La Porte finds and determines that the practice of property owners within the City of La Porte altering or changing the elevation of their property by adding fill dirt to the property, without filing proper site plans with the City, and without obtaining proper certification and permits from the City, is, in some cases, causing damages to adjoining and abutting property, and is not in the best interest of the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City of La Porte. SECTION 2. The City Council further finds and determines that it is in the best interests of the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City to place a moratorium on the acceptance for filing and consideration and the issuance of approval of Site Plans under the tenns and provisions of Ordinance No. 1444-A, Section 11.02 Drainaae and Storm SeweIS. delineating proposed changes in the elevation of property within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte, for a period of 180 days from the date of passage of this resolution. Provided, however, that this Moratorium does not extend to the issuance of approval of Site Plans under the terms and provisions of Ordinance No. 1444- A, of Building Pennits and/or Site Plans for approved Commercial Site Plans, and/or Residential House Pad construction. . . SECTION 3. This moratorium shall remain in effect for a period of 180 days. SECTION 4. Any property owners subject to this moratorium may apply to the City Council for an exception in the event that a hardship results from its application, and the City Council is authorized to grant an exception when it finds that such hardship does exist. SECTION 5. The City Council officially finds, determines, recites and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of this meeting of the City Council is posted at a place convenient to the public at the City Hall of the City for the time required by law preceding this meeting, as required by the Chapter 551, Tx. Gov't Code; and that this meeting has been open to the public as required by law at all times during which this resolution and the subject matter thereof has been discussed, considered and formally acted upon. The City Council further ratifies, approves and confirms such written notice and the contents and posting thereof. SECTION 6. This Resolution shall be effective from the date of its passage andSapproval, and it is so ordered. 2 . . PASSED AND APPROVED this the 23rd day of June, 2003. CITY OF LA PORTE .d~~ No an L. Malone, yor ATTEST: Martha Gillett, City Secretary 1" 3 . . REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM Agenda Date Requested: June 23. 2003 Requested By: Rohert Alden Cumming,. ~ Appropriation Source of Funds: Department: Plaaaiag Account Number: Report: Resolution: X Ordinance: Amount Budgeted: Exhibits: 1. History 2. Resolution for Moratorium 3. Original Ordinance 4. Letter Signed By City Councilmen Amount Requested: Budgeted Item: YES . SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION At the request of the Mayor and Councilman Mosteit, this item has been placed on the agenda. The history behind the ordinance has been provided and a resolution for Council discussion regarding the proposed hold on filling until the ordinance is reviewed and possibly amended has also been provided. Additionally, the original ordinance has been attached Staff requests direction. r Action ReQuired bv Council: Consider the resolution placing a moratorium on the acceptance for filing and the issuance of permits under Ordinance 1444-A. (f; -it -0 3 Date . . EXHIBIT 1 Histon Ever since March of 1998, the City of La Porte has used the Development Ordinance 1444-A to regulate the filling, alteration and/or raising of elevation of acreage land within the City Limits. Over the past several months there has been a flurry of activity regarding fill dirt operations in La Porte which is due mainly to the construction of the Harris County Flood Control District's (HCFCD) regional detention basin BSI2-01-00 in Deer Park. The contractor digging the regional detention pond has been offering, at a low price and sometimes free of charge, to haul in fill to La Porte citizens' land and grade it out. In all cases the policy has been to hold the landowner responsible for ensuring that the proper drainage ditches/trenches are constructed by their contractor. The Ordinance does not currently call for or dictate the need for an upper limit to any fill operations. In compliance with the Texas State Water Code, the City of La Porte Development Ordinance contains stipulations that when a property is filled "Adequate drainage shall be provided as to reduce the community's exposure to flood hazards with respect to adjacent... developments." Furthermore, the Development Ordinance states that "The protection of adjoining property shall be accounted for in the design of the drainage system.. . " According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) the City of La Porte is ranked as a high risk area due in part to the high number of repetitive loss structures within the City limits. The act of filling land contributes to the raising of grade thereby either taking land out of the floodplain or reducing its flood risk. The Lomax area of La Porte has been an area of traditional drainage problems. As such the philosophy over the past five years has been to allow property owners to improve their land by filling it as long as the protection of their neighbors was accounted for the in the process. . City of La Porte Established 1892 June 20, 2003 Stuart Haynsworth General Partner La Porte 81,82, & 115 Ltd. 815 Walker, Suite 1435 Houston, TX 77002 Dear Mr. Haynsworth: The La Porte Planning and Zoning Commission met on June 19, 2003, to consider a request for a time extension for Special Conditional Use Permit #02-002, previously granted to you for the proposed development to be located north of McCabe Road, south ofFairmont Parkway between Union Pacific Railroad and State Highway 146. The Planning and Zoning Commission, by unanimous vote, approved the extension of Special Conditional Use Permit #02-002 for a period of one year, commencing June 20, 2003. This approval includes the General Plan previously presented to the Commission and City Council. If you have any questions regarding this action, please call me at (281) 471-5020. ~~ Director of Planning c:' Debra B. Feazelle, City Manager John Joerns, Assistant City Manager John Armstrong, Assistant City Attorney 604 W. Fairmont Pkwy. · La Port~, Texas 77571 · (281) 471-5020 ,e ,. n-. L"I/,-...I" 1 . 1-\ : _ I J\ I I ; .. 'l I I I I fl' / , . " . I \,..--l I - \t r \ L_ ORDINANCE NO. 1444-A AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 2.19 DEVELOPMENT, SECTION 4.08 DEVELOPMENT SITE PLANS: GENERAL AND SECTION 11.02, DRAINAGE AND STORM SEWER, OF CITY OF LA PORTE ORDINANCE NO. 1444 REGULATING THE PLATTING OR REPLATTING OF LAND INTO SUBDIVISIONS IN THE CITY OF LA PORTE AND WITHIN THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE; PROVIDING THAT ANY PERSON VIOLATING THE TERMS OF THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE DEEMED GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR AND SHALL UPON CONVICTION BE FINED A SUM OF NOT MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,000.00) FOR EACH VIOLATION; FINDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE: Section 1. The City Council of the City of La Porte hereby finds, determines and declares that all prerequisites of law have been satisfied, and hereby determines and declares that the amendments to Section 2.19, Development, Section 4.08 Develooment Site Plans: General, and Section 11.02, Drainaae And Storm Sewer, of City of La Porte Ordinance No. 1444, are desirable and in furtherance of the goals and objectives stated in the City of La Porte's Comprehensive Plan. Section 2. Section 2.19, DEVELOPMENT, of City of La Porte Ordinance 1444, is hereby amended to read as follows, to-wit: "2.19 DEVELOPMENT: The process of converting land within the City's jurisdiction from its natural state, or alterina the elevation of orooerty, or converting its existing usage to residential, commercial, or industrial uses. This definition encompasses any and all physical changes to the land not regulated through the City Building Code (e ORDINANCE NO. 1444--1L > Page 2 (. :'.-1~; : r=-: ; ;\ i (j I v!... "'-!i ~J \1-. inherent in such conversions. The term development includes subdivisions as defined herein." Section 3. Section 4.08 DEVELOPMENT SITE PLANS: GENERAL, of City of La Porte Ordinance 1444, is hereby amended to read as follows, to-wit: "4.08 DEVELOPMENT SITE PLANS: GENERAL The following sections of this Ordinance outline procedures for preparing and obtaining approval for developments not defined herein as subdivisions. Except as noted in Section 4.08 (A) below, it shall be a violation of this Ordinance for any person to develop property within the City of La Porte without first: a. Filing a Development Site Plan and required documentation for approval. b. Having said Development Site Plan approved according to the procedures set forth herein: and c. Obtaining a Development Authorization. A. DEVELOPMENT SITE PLANS: EXCEPTIONS TO FILING REQUIREMENTS 4-:-_ ~o De'/elopment Sito Plan filing shall be required as pro':ided for herdn in the case of a development whioh is strictly ~gricultLlral in oharacter and LIse. ~ No Development Site Plan filing shall be required as provided for herein in the case of a development that is solely and strictly a ORDINANCE NO. 1444-A(. Page 3 re ... : ~ _: : . ~ i /\ J . , . . ,\, ,;...f, -'Ij \1.- Subdivision, as that term is defined herein, and the requirements of Section 4.04 of this Ordinance have been satisfied for such Subdivision. 6:-_~0 Development Site Plan filing shall be r-oquired as provided for herdn in the oase of a development that is striotly residential in oharaoter and \;Ise, flAd OOOUfS in the foFFR of a single family house, regaFdless of whether saiEJ 110\;lse is GOnstFUoteEJ inside or outside of a Subdivision. B. MAJOR AND MINOR DEVELOPMENT SITE PLANS: REQUIREMENTS AND CONTENTS (SEE APPENDIX E) For both Major and Minor Developments, the Development Site Plan is drawn accurately to scale with exact dimensions. When accompanied by all other required documentation, Development Site Plans contain sufficient detail for evaluation of the proposed development. Complete instructions for preparing Development Site Plans are contained on Appendix E." Section 4. Section 11.02, Drainage and Storm Sewers, of City of La Porte Ordinance No. 1444 is hereby amended by adding language pertaining to the alteration of the elevation of property. Section 11.02, Drainage and Storm Sewers, shall hereafter read as indicated below: l.' ORDINANCE NO. 1444--A., Page 4 ie "-. "q.' ;"\ : "- : ,\i4 1 '.- "11.02 DRAINAGE AND STORM SEWER Adequate drainage shall be provided as to reduce the community's exposure to flood hazards with respect to adjacent, upstream and downstream developments. (See also Chaoter 94. Floods. of the Code of Ordinances of the Citv of La Porte for additional reQuirements.) Adequate drainage shall be provided within the limits of the subdivision and/or development. The protection of adjoining property shall be accounted for in the design of the drainage system, and shall be subject to the approval of the Director of Planning or his designated representatives. Anv cerson or oersons that alter or chanQe the elevation of orocerty shall be resoonsible for applyino for and obtaining. orior to said change or alteration of the elevation of orooertv. a develooment authorization from the CitY Planning Deoartment. Anv change or alteration in the elevation of orooerty reouires submission of a Site Plan orior to the change or alteration of orooertv. which said Site Plan shall delineate the orooosed change or elevation of orooertv. Said certified site olan shall be subiect to aooroval bv the Citv Enaineer." Section 5. Any person, as defined in Section 1.02(27) Texas Penal Code, who shall violate any provision of this Ordinance, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars . ORDINANCE NO. 1444- ,~.:.. Page 5 - ~ I~' ,,-. .- . : .. .... , . . . . '., ($2,000.00). Each day a violation of this ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate violation. Section 6. All rights or remedies of the City of La Porte, T!3xas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of any Zoning Ordinance or amendments thereto, of said City of La Porte, that have accrued at the time of the effective date of this Ordinance; and as to such accrued violation, the court shall have all the powers that existed prior to the effective date of this Ordinance; and as to such accrued violation, the court shall have all the powers that existed prior to the effective date of this Ordinance; and that all existing violations of previous zoning ordinances which would otherwise become non-conforming uses under this Ordinance but shall be considered as violations of this Ordinance in the same manner that they were violations of prior zoning ordinances of said City of La Porte. Section 7. If any section, sentence, phrase, clause, or any 'part of any section, sentence, phrase, or clause, of this Ordinance shall, for any reason, be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of.this Ordinance, it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City of Council to have passed each section, sentence, phrase, or clause, or part thereof, irrespective of the fact that any other section, sentence, phrase, or clause, or part thereof, may be declared invalid. Section 8. The City Council officially finds, determines, recites and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of this meeting of the City Council was posted at a place convenient to the public at the City Hall of the city for the time required by law preceding this meeting, as required by the Open Meetings Law, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code; and that this meeting has been open to the public ORDINANCE NO. 1444- b. . Page 6 i:' .~~ ~ '-. : ~ . ."1 ~ as required by law at all times during which this ordinance and the subject matter thereof has been discussed, considered and formally acted upon. The City Council further ratifies, approves and confirms such written notice and the contents and posting thereof. Section 9. This Ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days after its passage and approval, however, implementation of this ordinance will not take place until 180 days after its passage. The City Secretary shall give notice to the passage of the notice by causing the caption to be published in the official newspaper of the City of La Porte at least twice within ten (10) days after the passage of the Ordinance. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS THE ~ DAY OF March ,1998. CITY OF LA PORTE BY:~~ ~A=- 'N RMAN MACONE, r - ATTESTATION: s4/fJtdtv IitUdI ARTHA GILLETT, City Secretary .' .' Subject: Ordinance on permitting loads of dirt to raise property level. The availability of free dirt has raised the question whether the ordinance permitting this dirt is senAng the intent for which it was written. We ale requesting this ordinance be placed on the agenda and work shopped at the June 23, '03 meeting for possible action to address and/or correct this ordinance. Respectfully requested, ..~ Monday, June 16, 2lIOS AnIlrIce Online: MCIlIteIt88 Page: 1