Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/08/1981 City Council 00095 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TIlE COLONY HELD ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1981 A REGULAR SESSION of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:30 p.m. at Peters Colony Elementary School with the following members present: Richard Turner Mayor Scott North Councilman Norman Adeler Councilman Charles Dodds Councilman and with no members absent, a quorum was established. 1. BRIEFING SESSION The Council did meet in a briefing session, and Mr. Savage reviewed the following agenda items; however, no action was taken at this time. 2. PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPRE- HENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE: A. TO CHANGE THE MINIMUM SQUARE FOOTAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING UNIT. B. TO CREATE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS BASED ON LOT SIZE AND SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE UNIT. C. TO REQUIRE GARAGES FOR ALL SINGLE FAMILY UNITS. Mayor Turner announced a five-minute break would be taken to allow citizens the opportunity to sign to speak for or against these zoning changes. Upon reconvening, Councilman Adeler moved that the Public Hearing be opened. Seconded by Councilman North, the motion was passed by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Mr. Savage at this time briefed the Council on the background preparation and work done by Planning & Zoning, Fox & Jacobs, the Concerned Colony Citizens and city staff, as outlined in the following memorandum written by him to the members of the Planning & Zoning Commission on August 27: "This week I have been meeting with representatives of the Concerned Colony Citizens Committee and Fox & Jacobs to review the issues raised by the CCCC petition and to see if a consensus can be developed which will resolve concerns expressed by all interested parties. "One basic issue of concern involves the mix of future housing. At present Fox & Jacobs offers three basic product lines. The Today home has typically been considered an entry-level home for the first-time home buyer. The Accent product line is designed for the intermediate buyer market. Finally, the Flair product line has been offered as an upper level product for the middle income upwardly mobile family. Historically the mix of the three single family product lines in The Colony has been 35-40% Today homes, 35-40% Accent homes, 20-25% Flair homes. There is strong agreement that all parties desire to see this basic mix of housing opportunities continued. Frank Graham said that Fox & Jacobs has a vested interest in maintaining high property values in The Colony. From the company's perspective, maintaining the present housing mix is one of the most effective ways of maintaining high property values. Mr. Graham is in the process of preparing tentative development plans which will show Fox & Jacobs' proposals for the housing mix in the area west of FM 423 and in the Phase 5 section on the east side of town. As part of the 000956 housing mix concept, Fox & Jacobs is committed to its past philosophy of distributing housing products throughout the city so that there is no heavy concentration of any one product line in any large section. Within neighborhoods Fox & Jacobs will continue its past practice of buffering product lines. A second issue of concern centers around the matter of affordable housing. Charles Hammons and Marlene Poole have both expressed concern that housing size reduction has been one of the key ingredients in the design and marketing of "affordable" housing. As representatives of the CCCC they challenged Fox & Jacobs to come up with more innovative designs and building techniques which will reduce or hold the line on housing costs. They also urged Fox & Jacobs to look into alternative housing design concepts such as patio homes or zero lot line homes, and the use of Planned Development Districts. Such concepts offer builders the opportunity of reducing housing costs by making more efficient use of available land and by allowing subdivision improvements such as streets to be developed in accordance with the needs of the district. As part of the tradeoff, developers often provide open space, special off-street parking, landscaping and buffering amenities. Fox & Jacobs is presently examining a number of these suggestions. Part of the dilemma that Fox & Jacobs faces in terms of developing new product lines or introducing new housing concepts is that the lead time for such products is often one year to eighteen months provided that the necessary local governmental approval can be obtained in a timely manner. As far as the general challenge to pursue innovative building techniques and new housing design concepts, Mr. Graham readily accepted that challenge on behalf of Fox & Jacobs. "On the issue of minimum housing size, the CCCC petition requested a change to 1200 square feet. Fox & Jacobs would like to see the 1000 square-foot minimum retained. As a practical matter, the average living area in the sections where the new "cottage" product will be built will be at least 1100 square feet. Fox & Jacobs can commit to this minimum average in the presently platted subdivisions. While there still is genuine concern over this question, I think the consensus of all parties is that this solution will provide at least a temporary answer until time allows the consideration of some of the innovative design concepts dis- cussed above. Basically, this would result in maintenance of the present standard in the zoning ordinance, but a commitment on the part of Fox & Jacobs, the CCCC and the city to work toward other housing options in the 1000-1200 square foot range. "Although the petition presented by the CCCC requested that an attached single family garage be required, this issue has not been discussed at length. There is agreement that garages in The Colony are quite often used for storage rather than for parking cars. Present city code require- ments call for two off-street parking places per dwelling unit. This can be satisfied without a garage. The petitioners have recognized that the home buyer has the option of using a garage for parking, storage or con- version to living area. One key element that all parties agreed to is the need for adequate storage of household possessions. Mr. Hammons suggested that this basic storage need might be met by something other than a garage. As a practical matter the majority of the homes currently being built do include a garage. An option that might resolve the basic issue would be to establish a minimum storage area requirement and allow a garage to satisfy this requirement. "In conclusion, I think there is a general consensus among all parties that: 1. The basic housing mix needs to be maintained to insure the maintenance of property values. 2. The new building techniques and new housing and planning design concepts need to be explored to address the issue of housing affordability. 3. At least for the time being, the present 1000 square foot standard can be maintained provided Fox & Jacobs builds an average house -2- 00095? size of 1100 square feet in its entry-level developments. In the future, Fox & Jacobs will be encouraged to build its entry- level homes in Planned Development Districts or use other development devices which encourage property maintenance and address quality of life considerations. 4. The minimum requirement relating to the garage issue is that adequate provision be made for the storage of household possessions. "In conclusion, I think it is important to thank Marlene Poole, Charles Harmnons, and Frank Graham for their personal efforts to reach a consensus which recognizes the genuine concerns of all parties. Our discussions were long, but productive." Mayor Turner then presented th~ recommendation based upon this consensus as well as their own public hearing to the Council. He stated that it was the Planning & Zoning recommendation that: 1. The 1000 minimum square footage for a single family dwelling be maintained but that a subdivision average of 1100 square feet be required. 2. A minimum 100 square foot attached first-level storage area be required in addition to the air-conditioned living area in lieu of an attached garage requirement. At this time, Mayor Turner opened the hearing for comments from the floor. John Kelemen was recognized. He stated that he did disagree with the 1100 average and felt that 1000 square feet was too small and also that he disagreed with the storage area rather than requiring an attached garage. At this time, Frank Graham representing Fox & Jacobs was recognized. Upon reviewing the past events, he did state that the stucco issue has been resolved. The issue now is the size of the homes to be built in The Colony and the requirement of an attached garage. He further reviewed the hearing held by the Planning & Zoning Commission and stated that the Planning & Zoning Commission did feel that these were not issues that should be decided immediately but should be studied properly prior to amendments made. He advised the Council that Fox & Jacobs had no intention of building only 1000 square foot homes. Marketing requires that a variety of homes be constructed. Regarding the garage, he did add that it was the consensus of all involved that the primary use for a garage was storage. He added also that Member Zimmerman came up with the 100 square foot average as an arbitrary figure, and he felt that 48 square feet would be more than adequate. Charles Hammons representing the Concerned Colony Citizens was recognized. He stated that the Concerned Colony Citizens did feel this compromise was a reasonable interim solution but not a final one. He advised the Council that the Concerned Colony Citizens were serious regarding pursuing adequate solutions to these problems in city planning, and the original intent of their petition was a call to begin better conscientious planning. Many of those that signed the petition still prefer a garage requirement, although a storage area was an acceptable compromise at this time. He also agreed that the memorandum presented by Mr. Savage is a fair consensus of their meetings. Kermit Pittman was recognized. He added that he was also concerned with the 1100 square foot average, as this was not changing the status quo. He added that all concerned keep speaking of entry-level housing. He asked that this term be defined. He was also concerned with the procedure for changing existing filed plats. Mr. Savage advised him that the minimum average square footage, if this proposal is accepted by the Council, must be on the original filed plat. Mr. Graham answered his concerns regarding entry-level housing and stated that this was determined by the amount of home that a median-income family can qualify to purchase. Marlene Poole stated that she was personally involved in the petition and that in five days the Concerned Colony Citizens had received 1327 signatures, which represents citizen concern over these issues. She does understand that Fox & Jacobs must build what the market demands, however, she urged them to continue working on innovative planning and urged the City Council to be sensitive to the needs of the citizens of their community. Larry Sample added also that the Council must listen to the needs of the people. Joan -3- 000958 Lux was recognized at this time. She told the Council that she had lived in a planned city development and reviewed for them her experience. Con- tinually smaller homes were built within her area and when she did try to sell her home, the market value of her property had been diminished. She added that people will not attend City Council meetings because they feel they will not be listened to by the Council. Mr. Bob Lux added that we are the only city that allows a 1000 square foot minimum home and that the city would certainly benefit from a slower growth rate, primarily because of traffic problems. He added that he felt that it was the City Council's responsibility to work with the present citizens in this community, not future citizens. He further stated that he urged Fox & Jacobs not to lower our quality of life in The Colony. Councilman North, at this time, did respond that the cities of Allen, Grapevine, Plano, Richardson, Garland and Colleyville did allow homes of 1000 square feet. At this time, Mr. Bob Brown was recognized. He prefaced his comment by stating that he was proud of The Colony since its beginning in 1974. Fox & Jacobs, during this growth process, had made many promises and they were not able to live up to all of them. Mr. Brown felt that the efforts of the Council and Planning & Zoning members were misplaced. The market value devaluation of present homes could change tax revenue drastically in the future. He urged that an industrial base be established and that growth be controlled. Mayor Turner asked how the 1200 square foot minimum housing standard could affect the growth of The Colony. Mr. Brown answered that he felt this square footage limit would help the city preserve the quality of the homes, limit the creation of segregated neighborhoods and assist in controlling growth, which is a vital issue particularly regarding water. He advised the Council that there was no water plan for industrial use at this time by the Municipal Utility District. At this time, Mayor Turner recognized Bruce Soppas. Mr. Soppas stated that the citizens elected the Council to look after their needs and their growth, and he felt the Council should support the citizens in this endeavor. At this time, Mayor Turner asked Frank Henry, a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission to make a statement regarding their recommendation. Mr. Henry stated that Planning & Zoning Commission must deal with the city as it is today as well as what it will be like in 1990 or 1995. He advised the citizens that the city has been living with a master plan completed in 1977 and paid for by Fox & Jacobs and that this plan would soon be under revision by the Commission. He also added that plat approval is a matter that will be discussed by the Zoning Commission in the near future. He is pleased to note the interest of the citizens and assured the citizens that the Planning & Zoning Commis- sion also wants to be responsive to immediate needs of all citizens in The Colony. Regarding the recommendation, Mr. Henry stated that he did feel this was the most meaningful approach until the master plan could be redone and the zoning ordinance comprehensively corrected. Councilman Dodds asked what time requirement the Commission was looking at regarding this project. Mr. Henry said that creating goals for the city and revising a master plan probably would take a full year to complete. At this time, Mayor Turner announced that the Council would take a ten-minute break before continuing with the hearing. Upon reconvening, Councilman Adeler said he was pleased with the citizens' concern and their input into the meeting but felt that an answer would not be given this evening. At this time, Councilman North asked Mr. Graham to explain to him why presently many of the Today product lines are larger than many of the Accents. Mr. Graham advised him that there has always been an overlap between Flairs, Accents and Todays. He also advised that quality, which does not relate to the size of the house, is also a factor. Councilman North stated that he did not want to continue to down size homes in The Colony. Councilman North then stated that Planning & Zoning did recommend a storage area only and two off-street parking areas, however, he favored an attached garage. Mr. Graham stated that all off-street parking was side-by-side parking in the driveway and in the back of the home. Councilman Dodds stated that he felt the design of the models was the main problem, and Councilman North asked if they could be bricked at this time. Mr. Graham advised that it would be difficult to brick the models already constructed, however, Section 23, now under construction, will be bricked. There being no further comments for or against this proposed zoning change, Councilman North moved to close the hearing and directed the staff to research the garage issue particularly regarding minimum square footage. There was no second on this motion. -4- 000959 Councilman Dodds then moved to close the hearing and direct the staff to prepare an amendment ordinance requiring the minimum square footage of single family homes be 1100 and that attached garages be required in single family zoning districts. Councilman Adeler seconded the motion. At this time, Mr. Savage clarified that the 1100 would be any individual home in The Colony. Mayor Turner then called for a vote on the motion on the floor. The motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Councilmen Adeler and Dodds Noes: Councilman North 3. RECEIVE REPORT ON INITIATIVE PETITION REGARDING UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES Janice Carroll, City Secretary, advised the Council that in accordance with Chapter 8 of The Colony City Home Rule Charter, she did review the initiative petition and did determine that it was not signed by the requisite number of qualified voters equal in number to at least 15% of the qualified voters in the city. Mr. Oprea had the signatures of 707 qualified voters and 803 would represent the proper percentage. He has also been advised, Mrs. Carroll explained, that the petitions were not in the proper form in that they do not have an affidavit as required by Section 8.03 of the Charter. Mrs. Carroll explained that Mr. Oprea did have ten days from that date to correct the petitions and resubmit them to the City Secretary's office. If, at that time, he had the adequate number of registered voters and all signatures were within 45 days of the second submission, the petition would be valid at that time. There followed a brief discussion regarding procedural guidelines. There followed a brief discussion of the background of this petition. Councilman North then stated that he felt that the Council should look at all hospital proposals if proposals were received again by the city. Mr. Oprea stated that the petition was begun because of the slow action of the City Council to come to this decision. He advised Council members and the audience that Universal Health Services did request to come before the Council several months ago and was not able to do so. However, if the Council does go out for proposals, Universal Health Services is prepared to compete. He further advised the Council that the whole scope of their plans were contingent on some major changes at this time. 4. CONSIDERATION OF PASSAGE OF ORDINANCE ADOPTING 1981 NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE Mr. Savage advised the Council that this code was recommended by the Council of Governments as were all of the regulations. It had been adopted by Lewisville, Piano, Carrollton, Dallas and other metro- plex cities. At this time, Mayor Turner read aloud the following captioned ordinance: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, ADOPTING THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, 1981 EDITION, PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION; PROVIDING AMENDMENTS; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Councilman Dodds moved that this ordinance be passed at this time. The motion was seconded by Councilman Adeler. Prior to voting, there was a brief discussion. Mr. Stoffregen asked who did the inspections on Fox & Jacobs homes as he was displeased with the quality. Mr. Savage advised that the city does do the electrical inspections and that he would look into this if it is a problem. There being no further discussion, Mayor Turner called for a vote on the motion on the floor. The motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None -5- 000960 5. RECEIVE CITY MANAGER'S STATUS REPORT Mr. Savage advised the Council that during the Labor Day weekend the City of The Colony pledge center collected $1,882 in donations. He also advised the Council that he was now working with Mr. Forrest, Municipal Utility District Director, on a joint health insurance program, however, it had not been completed at this time and, on September 15, the Aetna rates will be increased. He asked that the Council consider putting the new premium rates into effect at the September 21 meeting to run until this joint contract could be negotiated. The Council concurred on this. He advised the Council that the injunction suit filed against the city by Mr. Charles Purdy was heard on September 3 in Judge Boyd's court in Denton County. Judge Boyd did lift the temporary injunction against the city and at this time Mr. Purdy was in contact with the city to see what could be done in this area to correct the situation. He also advised that a suit had been filed against the city by Mozelle Crawford regarding the shooting of her dog by employees of The Colony and Eastvale, however, the attorney was presently reviewing the pleadings. He also noted that the IBM barricade had been removed on Camey and Fuqua Roads. Councilman North and Councilman Dodds asked if it would be possible to have the road opened. Mr. Savage answered that he would check into it. Regarding redistricting, he advised the Council that the census tracts outlining population could not be used for this project but that he would have the city secretary prepare a more detailed report on their options at the September 21 meeting. He told the Council that he would be holding pre-bid conferences on the sanitation contract process this coming week. Councilman North requested that this procedure, whether to bid or not to bid, be on the September 21 meeting. 6. CLOSED DOOR SESSION DEALING WITH PERSONNEL A. CONSIDERATION OF AUDITORS At this time, Mayor Turner announced that in accordance with Article 6252-17 VACS as amended, the Council would meet in a closed-door session to discuss proposals from auditing firms. 7. CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTMENT OF A CITY AUDITOR FOR THE 1980-81 FISCAL YEAR Upon reconvening in open session, Councilman Dodds moved to table this agenda item for further study. Seconded by Councilman Adeler, the motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None There being no further action to be taken by the Council, Councilman North moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilman Dodds, the motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Mayor Turner adjourned the meeting at 11:40 p.m. /.,~ICHA~D' TURNER, ~[AYOR JAN~Ev CARROLL, CITY SECRETARY -6-