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Home My WebLink About02-19-15 Regular Meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission n V Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of February 19,2015 Commissioners Present: Richard Warren,Helen LaCour, Lou Ann Martin, Mark Follis,Wyatt Smith,Trey Kendrick, Nick Barrera,and Hal Lawler Commissioners Absent: Les Bird City Staff Present: Planning and Development Director Tim Tietjens,City Planner Eric Ensey,City Engineer Bob Eng,Assistant City Attorney Clark Askins,and Office Coordinator Peggy Lee Council Members Present: Danny Earp 1. Call to order. Chairman Hal Lawler called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call of Members. Commissioners Kendrick,Warren,LaCour, Barrera, Martin, Follis,Smith,and Lawler were present for roll call. Commissioner LaCour left the meeting at 7:15 p.m. 3. Consider approval of meeting minutes: January 29,2015. Motion by Commissioner Barrera to approve the January 29,2015,meeting minutes. Second by Commissioner Warren. Motion carried. Ayes: Commissioners Warren,LaCour,Martin,Barrera, Follis,Smith, Kendrick,and Lawler Nays: None 4. Consider a recommendation to City Council-on an amendment to the city's Future Land Use Map amending a tract of land approximately 1.0 acre in area further described as Tracts 262 and 262A, La Porte Outlots,situated in the Enoch Brinson Survey,A-5,City of La Porte,Harris County,Texas,from "Large Lot Residential"to"Commercial." Being interrelated,the staff reports for agenda items 4 and 5 were given in a single presentation by City Planner Eric Ensey. Applicants Jose and Martina Guadalupe Marroquin (on behalf on property owner Dennis Noseworthy) have requested to rezone a 1.0 acre portion of a 2.14 acre tract of land described as Tracts 262 and 262A,La Porte Outlots from Large Lot Residential to General Commercial. An amendment to the Future Land Use Map to identify the entire site as"Commercial"is necessary in order to accommodate the rezone request. The Marroquin's intend to purchase the property and develop an automobile and truck repair facility. Motion by Lou Ann Martin to deny an amendment to the city's Future Land Use Map for a tract of land approximately one acre in area further described as Tracts 262 and 262A,La Porte Outlots. Second by Trey Kendrick. Motion carried. Ayes: Commissioners Warren, LaCour,Martin,Barrera,Follis,Smith, Kendrick,and Lawler Nays: None R Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of February 19,2015 Page 2 of 6 5. Open public hearing to receive input on an application for Zone Change#15-92000001 by Jose Marroquin&Martina Guadalupe Marroquin on behalf of Dennis Noseworthy,owner of a 1.0 acre tract of land described as Tracts 262 and 262A,La Porte Outlots,situated in the Enoch Brinson Survey,A-5, City of La Porte,Harris County,Texas,from Large Lot District(LL)to General Commercial (GC). Chairman Lawler opened the public hearing at 6:03 p.m. a. Staff Presentation The staff report for this request was presented in conjunction with agenda item 4. Public hearing notices were mailed to all property owners located within 200'of the subject site. The city received two responses from the mail-out, both in opposition of the rezone request. b. Applicant Presentation Hilda Cantu, 6402 Avondale, Pasadena,TX, realtor,spoke on behalf of the applicants. In response to questions from the Commission, Ms. Cantu stated the proposed use will be a mechanical repair shop that will service automobiles and 18-wheeler trucks (without the trailers). The hours of operation will be 7:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. c. Public Comments(for,against,or questions) The property owner, Dennis Noseworthy, addressed the Commission. Mr. Noseworthy stated there are very few residential properties remaining along Sens Rd. Most all development along the roadway is commercial. d. Question and Answer There were no questions posed. 6. Close public hearing. Chairman Lawler closed the public hearing at 6:25 p.m. 7. Consider recommendation to City Council on Zone Change Request#15-92000001. Commissioners had concerns with setting precedence for further similar requests and with encroachment into the Large Lot District. j Motion by Commissioner Kendrick to recommend denial to City Council of Zone Change Request#15- 92000001. Second by Commissioner Warren. Motion carried. Ayes: Commissioners Warren, LaCour,Martin,Barrera,Follis,Smith,Kendrick,and Lawler Nays: None Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of February 19,2015 Page 3 of 6 8. Consider a recommendation to City Council on an amendment to the city's Future Land Use Map amending a tract of land approximately 6.43 acres in area further described as Tracts 351 and 352,La Porte Outlots,situated in the Enoch Brinson Survey,A-5,Harris County,Texas,from"Large Lot Residential"to Light Industrial." Being interrelated,the staff reports for agenda items 8 and 9 were given in a single presentation by City Planner Eric Ensey. The applicant,QualaWash Holdings LLC(on behalf of property owner Louisiana Chemical LLC) has requested to rezone a 6.43 acre tract of land described as Tracts 351 and 352,LaPorte Outlots from Large Lot Residential to Light Industrial. An amendment to the Future Land Use Map to identify the site as"Light Industrial"is necessary in order to accommodate the rezone request. QualaWash intends to lease a 5.0 acre portion of the subject 6.43 acres to construct an additional parking lot for trucks and trailers. Motion by Commissioner Follis to amend the city's Future Land Use Map amending a tract of land approximately 6.43 acres in area further described as Tracts 351 and 352,La Porte Outlots. Second by Commissioner Smith. Motion carried. Ayes: Commissioners Warren, Martin,Follis,Smith,and Kendrick Nays: Commissioners Barrera and Lawler 9. Open public hearing to receive input on an application for Zone Change#15-92000002 by QualaWash Holdings LLC on behalf of Louisiana Chemical Co.LLC,owner of a 6.43 acre tract of land described as Tracts 351 and 352,La Porte Outlots,situated in the Enoch Brinson Survey,A-5,Harris County,Texas, from Large Lot Residential(LL)to Light Industrial(LI). Chairman Lawler opened the public hearing at 6:34 p.m. a. Staff Presentation The staff report for this request was presented in conjunction with agenda item 8. Notice of the public hearing was mailed to all property owners within 200' of the subject site. No written comments were received from the mail-out. b. Applicant Presentation Dan Langdon,QualaWash Regional Vice-President,addressed the Commission. Mr. Langdon provided a brief description of the company. The rezone is being requested to provide additional trailer parking to accommodate the company's expansion. Qualawash representatives contacted and discussed their plans with five adjacent property owners and received overwhelming positive response. Tony Garcia,with SDC Construction,4221 McKinney, Houston,TX addressed the Commission. SDC Construction will serve as the general contractor for the project. Mr. Garcia provided Commissioners with a handout of an executive summary describing the parking lot expansion project. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of February 19,2015 Page 4 of 6 c. Public Comments(for,against,or questions) Darrell Hutchins, 11311 North P St.,spoke in opposition to the rezone. Mr. Hutchins stated the property was previously rezoned approximately five years ago. At that time,the property owner was required to plant trees to help serve as a buffer, but that was never done. Mr. Hutchins is concerned about the additional noise that will come from moving trailers in and out of the parking lot. Jim Carlson,with QualaWash, committed to planting trees and complying with any requirements of the site plan. Barrett Gibson,with Louisiana Chemical Co.,was available to answer questions. Richard Hillenbrand,with Louisiana Chemical Co.,was available to answer questions. Mr. Gibson and Mr. Hillenbrand agreed to forward any additional requests of the company to their upper management. Julia Hutchins,wife of Darrell Hutchins,stated they hear noises at night caused by hooking and unhooking onto trailers. They also hear clanging noises generated by opening and closing the dome lids on the trailers. Mrs. Hutchins believes additional trees would help buffer the noise. d. Question and Answer The Commission and staff discussed concerns brought up during public comments. 10. Close Public Hearing Chairman Lawler closed the public hearing at 7:57 p.m. 11. Consider recommendation to City Council on Zone Change request#15-92000002. Commissioners discussed buffers and drainage. Motion by Commissioner Follis to recommend to City Council,approval of Zone Change request#15- 92000002,to rezone 6.43 acres described as Tracts 351 and 352,La Porte Cutlots,from Large Lot Residential(LL)to Light Industrial(LI),subject to the following conditions: 1. A 20-foot landscape buffer shall be maintained parallel to the west property line as well as a 20- foot wide landscape buffer beginning from a parallel line 54 feet from the south property line(the 54 feet representing the width of a future drainage easement for improvements to the F-101 drainage system).The existing tree vegetation shall not be removed and shall be maintained within the buffer area. 2. An 8-foot high masonry fence shall be provided along said buffer adjacent to the proposed industrial development. Second by Commissioner Warren. Motion carried. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of February 19,2015 Page 5 of 6 Ayes: Commissioners Warren,Martin, Follis,Smith,and Kendrick Nays: Commissioners Barrera and Lawler 12. Discussion on Chapter 106(Zoning)follow-up items for review. City Planner Eric Ensey provided an overview of several items carried over from the recently adopted zoning amendments to Chapter 106 that City Council wanted the Commission to look into further. The items are listed below and are followed by the Commission's recommended course of action shown in bold: a. Tree Preservation(Section 106-801,802,803) • Create an exclusion for single-family lot developments from the requirements of the tree preservation ordinance. • No changes to the requirement to provide a tree survey and tree disposition plan. • No changes to the reduced fee of$50 per caliper inch and the maximum cap of$100,000. b. Outdoor Storage in Main Street District(Section 106-511(c)) • Create a definition for"outdoor storage"that would be applicable city-wide for both residential and non-residential properties. c. Temporary Signage(106-877) • Allow placement of signs and/or banners within rights-of-way for city events. • Allow placement of signs for federally funded projects within the city. • Allow sandwich board and other similar non-fixed temporary signs common in the Main Street area so long as they are located in a safe manner and picked up at the end of the day. Staff will draft an ordinance with the proposed changes for further review and consideration by the Commission. 13: Discussion on establishing a Subcommittee for review of the Development Ordinance and Commission Bylaws. City Planner Eric Ensey explained the need for the Commission to perform a review of the city's Development Ordinance and to create bylaws for the group. Motion by Commissioner Kendrick to appoint two subcommittees to begin review of these items as follows: Bylaws Subcommittee: Commissioners Kendrick and Smith Development Ordinance Subcommittee: Commissioners Martin,Follis,Barrera,and Warren Second by Commissioner Warren. Motion carried. Ayes: Commissioners Warren, Martin,Barrera,Follis,Smith, Kendrick,and Lawler Nays: None Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes of February 19,2015 Page 6 of 6 14. Administrative reports. • Grand Opening of Animal Shelter set for April 27tH o Staff conducted a neighborhood meeting with the property owners in the"circle"areas near Sylvan Beach regarding the proposed rezoning to Mixed Use District. 15. Commission comments on matters appearing on the agenda or inquiry of staff regarding specific factual information or existing policy. Commissioners expressed positive comments about the proposed rezoning of the"circle"areas near Sylvan Beach to Mixed Use. 16. Adjourn Motion by Commissioner Warren to adjourn. Second by Commissioner Kendrick. Chairman Lawler adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peggy e Secretary,Planning and Zoning Commission Passed and Approved on ,2015. U Hal Lawler Chairman, Planning and Zoning Commission