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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/01/1994 City Council00544t- MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON NOVEMBER 1, 1994 The Special Session of the City Counca of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 6:00 p.m. on the 1st day of November, 1994, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Mayor Pro-tem Present Toby Pollard, Councilman Absent (arrived 6:13 p.m.) Kay Hardin, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Absent (arrived 6:20 p.m.) John Dillard, Councilman Absent (arrived 6:55 p.m.) Lynda Tate, Councilman Present and with four present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 6:11 p.m. Recessed 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 551.074 OF THE -- LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE REGARDING PERSONNEL, TO-WIT: ~. INTERVIEW FOR APPOINTMENTS TO THE COLONY MUNICIPAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 8:21 p.m. Reconvened 3. WORK SESSION TO REVIEW A PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE REQUEST ON APPROXIMATELY 18 ACRES LOCATED WEST OF F.M. 423 BETWEEN NORTH COLONY BOUI.EVARD AND SOUTH COLONY BOUI.RVARD Johnny Smith advised that two agreements are being reviewed that relate to property located west of FM 423 and a roadway west of McDonald's and the Diamond Shamrock. Mr. Smith introduced Mr. Ed Burke, attorney representing Dr. Dwight Gifford, property owner. Mr. Smith said Mr. Burke and the City Attorney, had reviewed these agreements and have been working together to prepare them and that Council is being asked to review the agreements before final action is taken. Mr. Burke noted that the two agreements deal with two separate pieces of property and that legal ownership is different on the two tracts. He noted that one agreement names Dwight and Janie Gifford as owners, while the other agreement names North Street Development as the owner. 2 The first agreement deals with the acceptance of a roadway behind McDonald's. Mr. Burke said we know all we can about the street without having had someone who was present when the road was actually constructed eight years ago. He said that any drainage problems can be addressed at time of site planning. The agreement which has been discussed for several months, allows no parking on the street and asks that the developer be allowed to name the street, with city approval. Mr. Smith said it is understood that median cuts, signals, etc on FM 423 are out of the city's and developer's purview, but that both will cooperate and assist in any way possible. Mr. Burke said they have potential buyers that cannot get financing approved because there is no one responsible for the street. Mr. Smith advised that he did verify this information with First Colony Bank. Councilman Lynch questioned paragraph 3 regarding provision of utilities by the City. Mr. Burke said all they want is for the city to provide standard taps and then the developer will work with the city to get utilities installed. Mr. Smith said this will be handled under existing guidelines of the city, but that verbiage can be added to the agreement to address this issue, if needed. Councilman Lynch said he is leery of taking a road when we don't have a full report on it's condition and asked if the developer could put up a bond to ensure the condition of the road. Mr. Burke said that is not a problem, but it is necessary for the city to take action so the buyer can progress with financing. Councilman Pollard asked if a traffic study had been done on this road and Mr. Burke said it has been talked about but never done. He said one can be done at a later date if needed. Mr. Smith noted that the highway department will have the final say regarding median cuts on FM 423. Councilman Tate asked if we are sure this road meets city standards and will handle the growth in this area. Mr. Smith said we have drawings and as-built drawings that show it meets the city's standards. He said we don't have any city staff or professional engineer who signed off (for the city) that it was inspected an ensuring this is the way it was put it. Mr. Smith went onto say we can do concrete samples and determine the depth of the concrete is adequate and that it was poured correctly, but it will not tell you what kind of base there is underneath. He said we know that there are utilities in the area adequate to support the growth. Mr. Smith suggested that since we don't know about the sub-surface, we can require boring under the street to access utilities. He said the city will do it's best for drainage protection. He said from our (staff) understanding, the size, sewer, and water, etc. can handle the development. Councilman Tate asked if the road is wide enough and Mr. Smith said if he had been here when the road was built, and it was know then that a commercial strip would be built, then he would have wanted the road to be wider. He continued, stating that the street is 27' wide and the agreement is not to allow parking on either side of the street, which will allow for easy passage of emergency vehicles and should prevent any problems with in and out traffic. Councilman Tate asked if Mr. Smith had any further negatives. Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Cravens have estimated the cost to put in a road from scratch at $90,000 to $100,000. and that he knows that the road has been there for 8 1/2 years and has withstood heavy tanker truck as well as other truck and vehicle traffic. He said there is no deterioration from that traffic and that he does not have any negatives to say the city's taking of the road would not be worth the risk that we are aware of to support the development. He said the development that will take place will expand 00544 the tax base, increase our sales tax revenue and create jobs and that when he puts all that together and tries to say what is the best recommendation to make to the council, that he --~ has no down side and he cannot say that accepting the street will cause the city a know problem. He said that staff has been looking for problems and have even talked to former Public Works Directors, but have been able to find nothing other than what the council has already been told about and what has been described. Mr. Cravens noted that when the property develops, the developer will have to provide the easement in the site plan for widening of the existing S. Colony Boulevard, if needed. Mr. Smith said this is one of those situations when staff has to provide as much information as possible for the council to make a good decision and with what we know, he believes this is a good exchange. Councilman Pollard said the City code states the builder has to certify the condition of the road before the city can accept it (road). Mr. Smith and Mr. Cravens both agreed that concrete samples were done to show how thick the concrete is, but that is ail they know about the road. Hal Jones, traffic engineer, was present and stated that to be valid, testing would have to be done every 10 feet and then it would only tell how much lime is there. Mr. Smith said he understands the concrete samples were done at time of construction and their data is as accurate as the as-built drawings the dty has. He said he cannot guarantee that accuracy since the city did not have them performed, but he can say they were done. Councilman Burchard expressed concern over taking a road without knowing it's condition and said that he believes in 10 years it will have to be widened. Mr. Burke clarified, that the road is really an easement, but that it has been called a road and used as a road all along, and that it has experienced all types of traffic with no -- deterioration. Mr. Burke said this agreement has very little down sides and lots of up sides , for the city. Mayor Maiming asked Mr. Burke what type of drive ways and parking are proposed. Mr. Burke said they anticipate pad sites and off-street parking. Mayor Manning suggested requiting a common access road into each tract. Councilman Burchard asked about the assistance with the State to get a median cut and Mr. Burke said they want the city to assist but it will not cost the dty any money. Councilman Lynch said the engineering costs for drainage and the bond costs need to be included in the agreement. Mr. Smith suggested combining drainage costs and roadway condition in one bond for $50,000 and if the actual costs are less, the amount of the bond can be reduced. Hal Jones said $50,000 should be enough to cover the time period of 1 1/2 years. (The street will become public domain in 1 1/2 years) Councilman Dillard said it seems that for economic development, we need to go ahead and accept this roadway, noting we will end up with it anyway. Mr. Smith said the dty will have core samples done thi.q week and put in the amount of the bond in the agreement. He suggested bringing this agreement back on the November 7, 1994 agenda for approval. Mayor Manning reminded everyone that a letter from our traffic engineer had stated that as long as there is not a median cut on FM 423, the road width should be sufficient, but if a median cut is made, then the road will have to be widened. Councilman Dillard said the council has to decide if the benefits from the development of this property will be "- 4 0 J844o sufficient to offset any maintenance of the roadway. John Frieble, traffic engineer said a median cut with both left and fight turns would mean the road would have to be widened, but if only right turns were allowed, the width would be satisfactory, though not optimum. Variations of the type of median cut to make were discussed. Mr. Smith suggested taking out paragraph 2 completely, which addresses the median cut. Mr. Burke said he thought that would be agreeable. Mr. Burke said Angelina's Mexican Food Restaurant has purchased the southwest corner of the property and Dr. Candy Mays has purchased the tract behind McDonald's. He said with this resolved, the property will be sold sooner. The second agreement deals with an access easement on 18 plus acres west of FM 423, through which the city accesses it's lift station and Club Fore Driving Range accesses it's business property. Mr. Burke noted again the agreements are separate due to different owners. Mr. Smith covered the details of the agreement. Councilman Dillard asked the location of the mini-warehouses that had been proposed and Tom Cravens indicated they would have been located about 600 feet from the road. Councilman Lynch said we need to strike paragraph 7 relating to annexation because the Council cannot do that. Mr. Smith agreed, stating the city cannot legally guarantee to forego any attempt to annex property. Councilman Pollard said as far as abandonment of the existing easement, the provision for access to the new location, the city is agreeing to build a roadway, at the city's expense in a location mutually agreed on by both parties. Continuing, Councilman Pollard asked if the city will still have to abandon the easement if it is decided the existing location is acceptable. Mr. Burke said no, the concept is to abandon it with the provisions in place to establish a workable solution that will satisfy all the needs. Mr. Smith clarified that whatever site Dr. Gilford and the city agree on for the easement, the city would give up any claim to the other and they (developer) will do with it as they choose. Councilman Burchard asked if paragraphs 6 and 8 are putting an obligation on the city to re-zone. Mr. Smith agreed stating we cannot do that, and explained these paragraphs merely state the city will work with the developer within the normal guidelines in any zoning case. Councilman Burchard suggested two changes; paragraph 4 - add "agreed to by the city" and paragraph 3 - change to "at no cost to Gifford." There was further discussion regarding internal road access. Both agreements are to be placed on the November 7, 1994 council agenda, with the changes noted at this meeting, for approval. 4. WORK SESSION TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED THOROUGHFARE PLAN FOR THE CITY Mayor Manning excused himself from the meeting at this time, due to a potential conflict of interest, and noted, that he has filed the appropriate document with the City Secretary. Mr. Smith advised that Mayor Manning has purchased some property at FM 423 and Cougar Alley that may be impacted by one of the alternate proposals to the thoroughfare plan (plan). Continuing, Mr. Smith stated there were representatives from 00544, Hunter and Associates, Centex and Shula Netzer Real Estate. He said Centex and Ms. Netzer have questions regarding the proposed plan. Councilman Burchard asked if other accesses from the west side of FM 423 and north of N. Colony have been considered, noting it is sometimes difficult to get out of that part of the city. Councilman Lynch said when Eckerd's is built at that corner the access will be helped. John Frieble, Hunter and Associates said his firm began working on the plan about a year ago, working with Bob van Til. He said they used plans from Plano, Carrollton and Frisco for input. He stated the plan was complete in March 1994 but due to changes in staff presentation was postponed until now. Mr. Frieble said subsequent to completion of the plan, Dal-Mac began to plan the development of the IBM property and that brought about some changes and additions to the plan. Mr. Frieble noted some significant changes from the old plan as follows: 1. Lake Shore Blvd. - removed because council seriously questioned the viability of that road. Councilman Lynch noted it was cost prohibitive. 2. Alignments in the north changed to reflect Frisco's thoroughfare plan and alignments in the south changed to reflect Carrollton and Plano thoroughfare plans, especially Headquarters Drive. 3. Spring Creek will cross 121 and tie into N. Colony 4. S. Colony will tie into that road. 5. Major thoroughfare across Wynnewood Peninsula across the lake to 121. In time 423 will not be able to handle the traffic and this road may be a likely candidate for Denton County sponsorship, due to it's regional significance. Hal Jones, also with Hunter and Associates, noted this road is on Denton County's thoroughfare plan. 6. 423 south of Cougar Alley is shown to be 8 lanes divided. Mr. Frieble said Nowlin Drive has not been changed, but this has been discussed with Centex. Councilman Lynch said more r.o.w, will be needed on 423 from Cougar Alley to 121 and asked if it is Mr. Frieble's opinion that the proposed east/west road is necessary. Mr. Frieble said it is necessary for access and circulation in this area. Mr. Smith asked how much flexibility there would be with this road through private property and Mr. Frieble said there would be a great deal of flexibility, noting it can be moved to serve the needs of the area. Mr. Smith said the 121 frontage is the most valuable and asked if the road can be moved around to achieve the best use of that property. Mr. Frieble said yes, the road must match the land use. He went on to say approving the thoroughfare plan is approving the size and distribution of roadways in the city. Mr. Smith said when Centex learned of the proposed east/west roadway, they changed their whole plan for the property. Roger Sefzik with Centex said they have 3 problems with the plan: 1. East/west road - Nowlin Drive 2. Widening of 423 south of Cougar Alley 3. Standridge changed from 2 lanes to 4 lanes. Mark Good representing Cencor showed the CounCil the proposed site plan for the property at 423 and 121 and said we have to blend the reality of what we're doing with what would be optimum. Mr. Good presented an alternate to the plan, showing the east/west 6 0 544o roadway running from Paige to Blair Oaks along the same line as presented in the plan, then varying from the plan by swinging to the north and connecting with the existing Nowlin Drive. He said his firm has met with Hunter and Associates twice and they (Hunter) feel the east/west road is a necessity. Councilman Lynch said you're asking us to compromise our own study, stating that he appreciates their input but that he can't believe Centex wants the city to sacrifice the in and out flow of traffic for our citizens to benefit development. Councilman Pollard asked why the east/west road changes from 6 lane divided to 4 lane divided west of 423. Mr. Frieble said the studies show there will less traffic on that portion of the road. He went on to say the Centex alternative will not fulfill the intent of providing a complete, continuous route from east to west and that it does not make use of all the interchanges. Steve Bilheimer, with Centex, stated that no updated study had been done by Centex because when the plan was approved in 1989, the road was shown as 2 lane and the area was zoned residential. Mr. Sefzik introduced Tom Metcalfe with Weitzman Group who said they are about to close a deal and don't want to see it fall apart. He said the statistics are very subjective and that they feel the east/west road would not be used to get through the area. He said he hopes compromises can be worked out to everyone's benefit. He said the plan as it is proposed may make his company's project impossible. A representative of the Nelson Corporation said he represents a prospective buyer for property south of 121 (Dal-Mac property) and they are concerned with the traffic patterns. He said they would like the opportunity to discuss the plan with Hunter and Associates. Ms. Shula Netzer, also representing the same buyer said the property along 121 is the most valuable property and these 2 parallel roads would choke development along 121. She said there is a big concern with Headquarters Drive and pointed out several problems with the proposed alignment. Mr. Smith said the plan needs to be discussed with all parties involved and brought back to the council within a reasonable time frame. Councilman Burchard asked when the Thoroughfare Plan should be brought back to council. Mr. Smith said he would monitor what happens, stating he hates to see an agreement intended to promote growth and to benefit the city be put into cement and then find it actually impedes and works against us in our growth. Mr. Smith said the city has to be sure to protect traffic flow and it is a tough decision for the Council. He said the traffic thoroughfare update started before Dal-Mac ever announced their intentions on the IBM property publicly and now their 1100 acres and another large area owned by Centex are ready to develop at the same time. W'~ no further business to address, Mayor Pro-tem Lynch adjourned the meeting at 11:53 p.m. APP , . Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, City Secretary 7