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Home My WebLink About04-05-04 Main Street District Committee MAIN STREET DISTRICT STATE OF TEXAS )( COUNTY OF HARRIS )( CITY OF LA PORTE )( March 31, 2004 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN OF A MEETING OF THE MAIN STREET DISTRICT COMMITTEE TO BE HELD ON APRIL 5, 2004, AT 3:00 P.M. AT LA PORTE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 604 WEST FAIRMONT PARKWAY, LA PORTE, TEXAS, REGARDING THE ITEMS OF BUSINESS ACCORDING TO THE AGENDA LISTED BELOW: 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL 3. REVIEW MEMBER INFORMATION LIST A. MAKE CORRECTIONS B. SIGN FORM OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE 4. REVIEW AND DISCUSS LETTER SENT TO MAIN STREET DISTRICT OWNERS, ETC. DATED MARCH 26, 2004 5. VIEW AND DISCUSS SLIDE PRESENTATION OF EXISTING MAIN STREET DISTRICT AREA 6. DISCUSS VISION OF MAIN STREET 7. DISCUSS OUTLINE FOR PROCESS ON DEVELOPING MAIN STREET DISTRICT 8. ASSIGN TASKS FOR NEXT MEETING 9. ADJOURN A QUORUM OF CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEMBERS MAYBE PRESENT AND PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSIONS DURING TillS MEETING, HOWEVER, NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BY THE CITY COUNCIL OR THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION. TillS FACILITY HAS DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS AVAILABLE. REQUESTS FOR ACCOMMODATIONS OR INTERPRETIVE SERVICES AT MEETINGS SHOULD BE MADE 48 HOURS PRIOR TO TillS MEETING. PLEASE CONTACT CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AT 281-471-5020 OR TDD LINE 281-471-5030 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. ~(t.iUIlJil City Secretary ~ if-of Date posted Main Street Committee Members Chairman Bill Manning, Sr. 108 S. 2nd La Porte, TX 77571 Vice Chairman Robert (Bobby) Schlenk 620 S. 4th La Porte, TX 77571 281-471-7590 800-472-1425 Fax: 281-470-9486 Mobile: 713-299-7221 281-470-7625 Deborah Johnson New Life Foundation 908 W. Main La Porte, TX 77571 Doug Martin Paul U Lee La Porte Funeral Home 201 S. 3rd La Porte, TX 77571 281-471-2677 Fax: 281-470-0647 Mobile: 713-302-1454 deborah@newlifecf.net 281-471-0123 lmartin@evl.net A.J. (Jim) France 202 S. 2nd La Porte, TX 77571 Pat Muston 117 Garfield La Porte, TX 77571 281-842-8840 281-471-1537 Vicki Campise 1902 Roscoe La Porte, TX 77571 Gloria Lair 304 W. Main La Porte, TX 77571 281-471-5182 281-470-7755 Paul Berner 3007 Carlisle La Porte, TX 77571 281-471-3466 281-471-6850 City Liaisons Crystal Scott, City Manager Administrative Assistant Nicholas Finan, Interim Planning Director Wayne Sabo, City Planner Downtown Revitalization Coordinator (yet to be named) CITY OF LAPORTE TEXAS PUBUC INFORMATION LAW OPEN RECORDS Acr Under the Texas PUblic Information Act, the Open Records Act states that anyone may request information regarding municipal employees and Elected/Appointed Officials (ie. name, address, and telephone number). You have the right to reqtiest the exclusion of certain information contained within your personnel files from public access. You also have a right to . change your mind in the future by contacting the Human Resources Department (Elected and Appointed Officials need to return this form to the City Secretary's Office) of the City of La Porte. Note: All request for disclosure of public information are subject to review of the City Attorney, who shall initially determine which infonnation is subject to privacy exclusions pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act. Do you want to request that certain information within your personnel file be excluded from public access? [ ]YES [ ]NO Print Name Employee Signature City of La Porte Established 1892 March 26, 2004 Backaround: The area described above has traditionally held a unique place in the City of La Porte. For a long time it has served as the main local area for commerce and services. While the activities have changed over the years, the uniqueness has not. The architecture, location of buildings, and overall appearance contributes the most to the uniqueness and character of this area of La Porte. In the past there have been attempts to look at various ways the City could aid in the Main Street area's vitality. One such way is through the zoning district. As I understand it, several years ago there was consideration to rezone the property from. General Commercial to Neighborhood Commercial along with addressing setbacks, landscaping, and off-street parking. That attempt failed for various reasons, but it seems primarily for the list of activities that were or were not allowed. There is still interest in the City's ability to aid in the vitality of Main Street by the City Council, City Staff, owners/tenants of Main Street businesses, and citizens. The City continues to explore ways to do this. Recently, City representatives met with Texas Department of Transportation representatives to discuss issues with the State's control of the street, sidewalks, and right-of-way. City Council has authorized the position of a Main Street Coordinator that would be a City employee, but work directly with Main Street business ownersltenants, etc., as well as perform some economic development efforts. The City has created a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which encompasses the physical street. The City will continue to explore other areas that it can assist in the vitality of Main Street. But with the burning of a building within the 100 Block of Main Street, there has been some concern as to any new construction being able to meet the current zoning and blending in with 604 W. Fairmont Pkwy. · La Porte, Texas 77571 · (281) 471-5020 Main Street District Regulations Page 2 the unique character of the Main Street area. For example, a new building within a General Commercial zone is required to provide off-street parking, landscaping, and meet certain setbacks that existing buildings do not meet. On February 9, 2004, City Council established a moratorium for new construction in the Main Street area, until City. staff could review the Zoning Ordinance with the Planning and Zoning Commission and business ownersltenants who would be affected by the ordinance. Process: The staff has outlined a process to determine if there is a need to change the zoning district regulations, and if so, what should those changes be. A committee has been formed. It is comprised mainly of business owners/tenants of the Main Street area, a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, a Chamber of Commerce representative, and an Heritage Society member (see attached list of members). The Chairman of the Committee is Bill Manning and Vice-Chairman is Bobby Schlenk. Staff liaisons are Wayne Sabo, City Planner; Crystal Scott, Administrative Assistant to the City Manager; Nicholas Finan, Interim Planning Director; and the Main Street Coordinator, yet to be named. The committee is starting from scratch. There are no proposed district regulations. The committee will look at the possibility of leaving the zoning regulations in place, creating a separate district with its own set of regulations, maintaining the current zoning, but within the Main Street District apply some new or remove some existing limitations, or recommend some variation. The committee is not reviewing or considering changes to the building code, nor is it intended to look at capital improvements for this area; although these may be discussed. The committee will present its recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Planning and Zoning Commission will have at least one public hearing and modify or accept the recommendation of the committee or make its own recommendation to City Council. The City Council will conduct at least one public hearing and then take action to accept, modify the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission, or choose not to make any changes at all. It is expected the process will take several months, and there will be periodic updates from the committee to the Planning and Zoning Commission. There was to be an initial public hearing conducted by the Planning and Zoning Commission on March 24, 2004, to gain some initial input from the general public. It has been changed to April 15,2004, at 6:00 P.M. in the City Hall Council Chambers located at 604 W. Fairmont Parkway. The information gathered at the public hearing will be provided to the committee. There are no regulations being proposed at this time, only input being sought. For more information, please contact Wayne Sabo, Nicholas Finan, or Crystal Scott at 281-471- 5020. Attachments Main Street District Committee Members Bill Manning, Sr., Chairman Robert (Bobby) Schlenk, Vice-Chairman Deborah Johnson Doug Martin AJ. (Jim) France Pat Muston Vicki Campise Gloria Lair Paul Berner City Liaisons: Crystal Scott, Administrative Assistant to the City Manager Nicholas Finan, Interim Planning Director Wayne Sabo, City Planner DowntoWn Revitalization Coordinator (yet to be named) "IS . IlIIOII 9? ~ oHoS ... o o N ...... ... N ~ t ." ..: u it: Ii; o ,.! '" '" e: '" I ~ ,. /' ~ b i .... ~ ~ ~ li; ~ .... C I- w w ~ li; z .... <C ~ C w Ul o Q. o ~ Q. ~ I- Z w ~ ~ ::;) U