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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Planning Commission - 09/26/2012MINUTES REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING City Hall Council Chambers September 26, 2012 5:30 P.M. COMMISSIONERS: A. Javier Huerta, Chairman Govind Nadkarni, Vice Chairman Mark Adame Fred Braselton ** Marco Castillo * ** Gabriel Guerra Chris Hamilton Mike Lippincott * * ** Philip Ramirez * *Arrived at 5:38 p.m. ** *Arrived at 5:35 p.m. * ** *Arrived at 5:38 p.m. STAFF; Mark Van Vieck, P.E., interim Director, Development Services Sylvia Carrillo, Assistant Director, Development Services Pete Anaya, P. E., Planning Director Robert Payne, AICP, Senior Planner Miguel S. Saldana, AICP, Senior Planner Annika Gunning, Project Manager Marcie Downing, Assistant City Attorney Jamie Pyle, P.E., Engineering Services Linda Williams, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Huerta at 5:33 p.m. and a quorum was declared. ll. APPROVAL OF ABSENCES Commissioner Mark Adame requested that his absence be excused for the September 12, 2012 meeting due to work commitments. A motion to approve Commissioner's Adame absence was made by Vice Chairman Nadkarni and seconded by Commissioner Hamilton. Motion passed. Ill. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 12, 2012 Meeting Motion to approve the September 12, 2012 minutes was made by Commissioner Ramirez and seconded by Vice Chairman Nadkarni. Motion passed. IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS — Discussion and Possible Action on the Following Items: A. PLATS 1. New Plats Mr. Miguel Saldai"ia, Development Services Department, read New Plats Item "a" into record as shown below. Mr. Saldana stated the plat satisfied all requirements of the Unified Development Code (UDC) and State Law and Staff recommended approval. a. 0912097 -NP063 (12- 21000027) Ocean Village Estates Block 1 Lot 3A Final Re lat— 3.936 Acres Located south of Ocean Drive and west of Airline Road. Planning Commission Regular Meeting September 26, 2012 Page 2 IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS — Discussion and Possible Action on the Following Items: A. Plats 1. New Plats (cont.) The public hearing was opened with no one coming forward and the public hearing was closed. Chairman Huerta called for a motion. Motion to approve New Plats Item "a" was made by Vice Chairman Nadkarni and seconded by Commissioner Adame, Motion passed. Mr. Saldana read New Plats Items "b" into record as shown below, Mr. Saldana stated the applicant's representative submitted a letter of request to table action on the plat until the October 10, 2012 meeting. Staff recommended approval of the request. b. 0912098 -NP064 (12- 23000027) Bay View Addition Bloch 9 Lot 8 Final Re plat — 0.74 Acre Located north of Morgan Avenue between Fifth street and Santa Fe Street. The public hearing was opened with no one coming forward and the public hearing was closed. Chairman Huerta called for a motion. Motion to approve tabling New Plats Item "b" until the October 10, 2012 meeting was made by Commissioner Hamilton and seconded by Commissioner Guerra. Motion passed. Time Extensions Mr. Saldana read Time Extensions Items "a" and "b" into record as shown below. Mr. Saldana continued representatives for the applicants submitted a letter of request for a six -month time extension. Due to current market conditions, the applicant for Time Extension item "a" did not want to move forward on the project at this time. The applicant for Time Extensions Item "b" requested additional time to comply with technical review requirements. Mr. Saldana stated Staff recommended approval of the requests. a. 0211016 -NP014 (11- 21000008) Russell Industrial Area Block 7 Lot 1A Final Re plat — 4.28 Acres Located west of Baldwin Boulevard and north of Agnes Street. b. 0212022 -PO10 (12- 22000010) Airline Crossing Unit 2 Final — 17.7 Acres Located west of Airline Road and south of Lipes Boulevard. The public hearing was opened with no one coming forward and the public hearing was closed. Chairman Huerta called for a motion. Motion to approve Time Extensions items "a" and "b" for a six -month time extension was made by Vice Chairman Nadkarni and seconded by Commissioner Ramirez. Motion passed. B. Amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC) to create two new zoning districts for land use compatibility near public or private facilities (airplane flight patterns, refineries, water treatment plants, etc.) that present a threat to public health, safety or welfare. Mr. Robert Payne, Planning Department, addressed the commission. Mr. Payne stated that at a previous meeting, Staff gave a presentation for discussion on the work Staff proposed to initiate the rezoning process for the base zoning for the single family zoned properties in the Weber RoadNorktown Boulevard areas. (KDEV5 MSHAREM1 -? 020121 2012PCMINUTES1092612.PCMINUTES) Planning Commission Regular Meeting September 26, 2012 Page 3 IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS -- Discussion and Possible Action on the Following Items: B. Amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC) (coat.) Mr. Payne continued that for protection of the Navy's mission and continued development of future plans through the Joint Land Use Study (JLUS), it was a high priority and has become very important to proceed with creating the two new zoning districts proposed for use under airport flight zones or next to refineries or any other area that poses a potential hazard to its adjacent uses. Mr. Payne stated the proposed Commercial and Industrial Compatible Districts would not permit any residential uses or uses that congregate large groups of people. Mr. Payne provided a brief summary of the two districts: • The intensity of both districts (commercial and industrial) were controlled by floor area ratio similar to the Navy AICUZ guidelines; • Height structure limited to two stories; • Many of the uses in the two districts were not shown as permitted uses in the Navy guidelines and the use list should be considered a compromise between what the Navy would like and what was normally allowed in the two districts; and • The variety of uses allowed in the two districts were not unique since Staff used the City of San Antonio's use list included in their Airport Overlay District as a model. Mr. Payne continued that as an alternative, adoption of the Navy Use Guidelines was also considered as other cities have adopted their guidelines. Mr. Payne added that in those areas where the guidelines were adopted verbatim, they were rural areas and not urban. After Mr. Payne's presentation, the floor was opened for comments by commissioners. Commissioner Braselton asked how the map shown in the handout related to what was being proposed at tonight's meeting and Mr. Payne stated that the proposed districts were potential choices for those areas that were not developed. Commissioner Braselton asked Mr. Payne if he was referring to "retro- zoning" and Mr. Payne replied no. Mr. Payne continued that in proposing the zoning districts, it would indicate to the Navy that the City was doing something to curtail the potential threat of disaster. Vice Chairman Nadkarni asked Mr. Payne what would be done between tonight's meeting and before the amendment was adopted and what restrictions would be in place until the amendment was adopted. Commissioner Castillo stated the next step would be if the zoning was put in place and someone petitioned the City for a zoning change before the Planning Commission take action on this item, he felt the commission should have a legal briefing on this before the City adopts this amendment. Commissioner Castillo continued that this would add "tools to better handle any issues or concerns that may result of this amendment. Commissioner Castillo stated he would like to request that the City sponsors these zoning applications that may come in. Mark Van Vleck, Interim Director, Development Services, stated that based on the commissioners' comments and questions, legal staff will be requested to provide a legal brief to present at a future meeting. Commissioner Hamilton asked if the proposed zoning districts were based on Navy guidelines and regulations and Mr. Payne stated the Navy's guidelines were much more restrictive than what Staff was proposing. (K: DEV8VCS1SHARED11. PC2012U012PCWNUTES %092612.PCMINUTES) Planning Commission Regular Meeting September 26, 2012 Page 4 IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS — Discussion and Possible Action on the Following Items: B. Amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC) (cont.) Commission Hamilton asked if implementing the proposed zoning districts would be enough to keep the Navy Base from leaving the area and Mr. Payne stated there were no guarantees, but by implementing the zoning districts would show the Navy that the City was going in the right direction. After all comments and discussion concluded by commissioners, the public hearing was opened. Jason Luby, 9847 Daisy Drive, addressed the commission. Mr. Luby stated he addressed the commission at the September 12'" meeting. Mr. Luby continued he was very concerned with the proposed zoning districts and the impact it would have on the land owners. Mr. Luby restated that he has a contract pending on the sale of his property and the passage of these zoning districts would hinder development. Mr. Luby continued that the proposed zoning districts would not impact a BRAC decision and what was needed was for the citizens to work more closely with the elected officials in trying to keep the bases open. Mr. Luby stated he felt the Navy was using the threat of possible base closure as a tool of threat to get the zoning districts passed. After Mr. Luby's comments, the public hearing was closed. After a brief discussion by commissioners, Chairman Huerta called for a motion. Motion to approve a proposed amendment to the Corpus Christi Unified Development Code by amending Section 1.11.2 Definitions, 1.11.3 Defined Terms and adding Section 4.8 Compatible Districts and other appropriate sections was made by Commissioner Ramirez and seconded by Commissioner Hamilton. After the motion was on the floor, Vice Chairman Nadkarni asked for clarification as to whether the approval was for the amendment to the Unified Development Code only and not placing any areas to be included and Mr. Payne stated the approval was for the amendment to the UDC. Motion passed. C. Proposed ADA Master Plan: An Element of the Comprehensive Plan Peter Anaya, P.E., Director, Planning Department, addressed the commission. Mr. Anaya introduced Jamie Pyle, Project Engineer with Engineering Services and Dennis Miller, Design Engineer with LNV Engineering. Mr. Anaya stated the ADA Master Plan was one arm of the City's overall Comprehensive Plan and it crosses over and beyond in that each city project has to be in ADA compliance. Mr. Anaya continued that an extensive review was conducted of the current system and it was found that a lot of the older projects were not fully in compliance with current ADA regulations. The ADA Master Plan continues the progress that has been completed in the City's Transition Plan and includes the following: • Mapping of proposed ADA accessible routes interconnecting locations of interest across the city; • An inventory of existing conditions of curb ramps, sidewalks and other pedestrian elements along the proposed ADA accessible routes; • identification of ADA deficiencies along same routes; • Projected construction costs to address identified deficiencies; • Proposed schedule for construction of the pedestrian infrastructure improvements; and • Identification of potential funding sources to fund the improvements. (KtDEVSVCSISWARED11. PC20 1 212 01 2PCMINUTES1092612 .PCMINUTES) Planning Commission Regular Meeting September 26, 2012 Page 5 IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS — Discussion and Possible Action on the Following Items: C. Proposed ADA Master Plan: An Element of the Comprehensive Plan (cont.) Mr. Anaya stated staff has received extensive feedback from various advocacy groups that focus on ADA issues. Mr. Anaya stated the community outreach process has been completed and was very successful in that staff received the necessary feedback to include some of the data in the plan. Ms. Pyle stated that the Master Plan was a planning document to be used to ensure that the city's arterial and collector streets would be in 100 percent ADA compliance. Vice Chairman Nadkarni stated if those funds were earmarked for arterial and collector streets, where would the funding come from to cover costs for street repairs and it was answered that the costs for those projects would be part of the estimated $13 million. Commissioner Ramirez asked if the reason for the curb cuts not being in compliance was attributed to not being installed correctly or changes in code and Ms. Pyle stated that some of the ramps were not in compliance due to guideline changes and safety issues. Commissioner Ramirez asked at the time the ramps were installed they were in compliance, but because of guideline changes, they were not and Ms. Pyle stated yes. Commissioner Braselton asked if the program was required by federal law, would it be necessary by law for the City to retrofit the curbs and ramps and it was answered no. Chairman Huerta stated by law and federal guidelines, 20 percent of every project has to be dedicated for ADA compliance. After all discussion and comments concluded, the public hearing was opened. With no one coming forward, the public hearing was closed. Chairman Huerta called for a motion. Motion to approve the proposed ADA Master Plan: An Element of the Corpus Christi Comprehensive Plan, as presented by Staff was made by Vice Chairman Nadkarni and seconded by Commissioner Adame. After the motion was on the floor, further discussion ensued. Chairman Huerta posed a question regarding how the three phases of the plan would be completed with no funding and Mr. Anaya replied that there would be eleven (11) sub - phases at $1 million per phase. Mr. Anaya continued at this time, there was no dedicated funding for the projects. Commissioner Hamilton stated that basically the Planning Commission was being requested to approve the Master Plan with no funding sources available and the City will figure out how to pay for the projects in the future. no. After all discussion concluded, the motion passed with Commissioner Braselton voting V. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC) by revising Subsection 7.5.7.A.7 relating to signs partially exempted from the UDC Mr. Van Vleck stated in the packet, Staff provided a copy of the draft agenda memo going to City Council to schedule a public hearing to approve a text amendment to the UDC amending the subsection governing signs partially exempt from the UDC to allow off - premise advertising. Mr. Van Vleck continued that in 1985, the City executed an agreement with the Regional Transit Authority that implemented the off - premise advertising on the RTA bus benches. Mr. Van Vleck stated the newly adopted UDC closed that door and states that it no longer can be done. Mr. Van Vleck continued the amendment will ensure that they match. The amendment will be scheduled as a public hearing at the October 10, 2012 meeting. f K:DEVSVCSISHARED11. PC201252012PCMINUTE51092612. PCMINUTES) Planning Commission Regular Meeting September 26, 2012 Page 6 V. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Amendment to the Unified Development Code {UDC} by revising Subsection 7.5.7.A.7 relating to signs partially exempted from the UDC Chairman Huerta stated that since this was not a public hearing item, the public hearing could not be opened, but he would allow time for public comments. Mr. Jack Gordy, 411 Bray, stated that he provided a copy of the letter to planning commissioners regarding tonight's item and he wanted to go on record letting the Planning Commission know that he was totally against the amendment. Mr. Gordy continued that the city ordinance clearly states that advertisement must comply with all city laws and regulations and no exemptions were allowed. Mr. Gordy stated that the City has ignored their own law in allowing RTA to continue to use their benches for Cooper Advertising. Mr. Gordy stated he brought this item to the City back in 1997 and nothing has been done. Mr. Gordy continued that if it was against the law for the citizens, it was against the law for RTA and he felt it was unfair. After Mr. Gordy's comments concluded, the public comment was closed. Chairman Huerta stated since the item was scheduled for discussion, no action would be taken at tonight's meeting, B. Clarification on Conflict of Interest Provision Applicable to Commission Members Marcie Downing, Legal Department, addressed the commission. Ms. Downing stated Ms. Elizabeth Hundley shared with her the information that was provided at the last meeting regarding conflict of interest. Ms. Downing stated the commission wanted further clarification regarding conflict of interest with individuals having contracts with the City. Ms. Downing clarified that anytime a board member or commissioner was personally involved with business with the City, it was always best to disclose that information and abstain from any discussion and voting. Ms. Downing continued that it can be determined on a case -by -case. Commissioner Ramirez stated the conflict of interest would be established for any city contract and Ms. Downing stated that it was always best to disclose that information for the record. Commissioner Braselton stated that at the last meeting, the commission approved a deferment agreement and he was not involved in the discussion or the vote. Commissioner Braselton asked for clarification as to whether a board member could no longer serve on a board or commission if that individual had business dealings with the City and Ms. Downing stated as long as full disclosure was made for the record and the member abstained, the member could still serve on the board /commission. VI. Director's Report A. Update on Department Operations Mr. Van Vleck reminded commissioners of the "Special Called Meeting" on October 3, 2012 for the JLUS Workshop meeting. Chairman Huerta asked for a head count of commissioners who could attend the meeting. All members stated they would be at the meeting. VII. Items to be Scheduled for the Next Meeting No items were requested. (K:6EV8VCS \SNARED \1. PC2012\2012PCMI NUTES \092612.PCMINUTES) Planning Commission Regular Meeting September 26, 2012 Page 7 Vlll. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Ramirez and seconded by Commissioner Guerra. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m. RA (K: DEMCSISHARED11. PC20121P012PCMI N UTE51092612. PCMINUTES) /W 9- 4�1/)' - `& 0 Mark L Van Vleck, P.E., Interim Director Ila Development Services Department Interim Secretary to Planning Commission