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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Planning Commission - 08/03/2011 MINUTES 'E E/VED REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers - City Hall DEC 2 3 20! August 3, 2011 5:30 P.M. RE7ys SCE COMMISSIONERS: STAFF: Rudy Garza,Chairman Rudy Garza, Interim Assistant City Manager A. Javier Huerta, Vice-Chairman Stephen Draper, Interim Deputy Director Marco Castillo Miguel S. Saldafia, AICP, Manager, Land Gabriel Guerra Development Evan J. Kelly (Absent) Sylvia Carrillo, Assistant Director John C. Tamez Lisa Wargo, Senior City Planner Govind Nadkarni Andrew Dimas,City Planner Mark Adame Deborah Brown,Assistant City Attorney John Taylor Linda Williams, Recording Secretary Si usted quiere dirigirse a la comision y su ingles es limitado, habra un interprete de espafiol a ingles en la junta para ayudarle. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Garza at 5:30 p.m. and a quorum was declared. Chairman Garza welcomed and introduced new Commissioners Marco Castillo and Gabriel Guerra to the commission. Chairman Garza expressed thanks for their willingness to serve on behalf of the community and city and he looked forward to working with them. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. July 20,2011 Motion to approve the July 20, 2011 minutes was made by Commissioner Taylor and seconded by Commissioner Tamez. The motion passed with Commissioner Kelly absent. III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Chairman Garza opened the floor for nominations for Chairman. Nominations were closed. Motion to approve re-electing Chairman Garza as Chairman was made by Commissioner Taylor and seconded by Commissioner Nadkarni. Motion passed with Commissioner Kelly absent. Chairman Garza opened the floor for nominations for Vice-Chairman. Nominees for Vice- Chairman were Commissioner Huerta and Commissioner Taylor. Nominations were closed. Commissioner Huerta was re-elected as Vice-Chairman by a four to-three vote with Commissioner Kelly absent. IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS A. PLATS I. Continued Plats Andrew Dimas, Development Services, read Continued Plats items "a" and "b" into record (shown below) and stated the applicant for items "a" and "b" requested the plats be continued to the August 31, 2011 regular Planning Commission meeting. SCANNED Planning Commission Minutes August 3,2011 Page 2 IV. PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEMS(cont.) A. PLATS 1. Continued Plats(cont.) a. 1210097-NP048 (10-20000007) Roblex Industrial Subdivision Unit 2 (Preliminary— 18.679 Acres) Located west of Flato Road between Agnes Street(SH 44)and Bates Drive. b. 0511031-P008(11-22000008) Rancho Vista Subdivision Unit 5 (Final—6.171 Acres) Located east of Fort Griffen Drive and north of Stampede Drive. Motion to continue Continued Plats items "a" and "b" to the August 31, 2011 regular Planning Commission meeting was made by Commissioner Nadkarni and seconded by Commissioner Tamez. The motion passed with Commissioner Kelly absent. 2. New Plats Mr. Dimas read New Plats items "a" and "b" into record (shown below) and staff recommended approval. a. 0811054-P014(11-22000014) Gardendale Subdivision, Block 3, Lots 12A & 12B (Final Replat - 0.94 Acre) Located north of Cain Drive and west of Nelson Lane. b. 0811055-NP041 (11-21000017) 6600 South Staples, Block I, Lots 2 & 3 (Final—6.39 Acres) Located west of South Staples Street between Saratoga Boulevard and Timbergate Drive. The public hearing was opened for items "a" and "b" with no one coming forward in favor or in opposition. The public hearing was closed. Motion to approve New Plats items "a"and"b"was made by Commissioner Taylor and seconded by Commissioner Nadkarni. The motion passed with Commissioner Kelly absent. B. UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS 1. Code Amendments in Compliance with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Ms. Lisa Wargo, Development Services, gave a PowerPoint presentation on Code Amendments of the Unified Development Code (UDC) that covered four sections: Development Concept Overlay Districts, Special Overlay Districts, New Standards (UDC "General Development Standards" Section) and Text Amendments to the UDC. Each section and accompanying amendments were reviewed. After Ms. Wargo's presentation, the floor was opened for discussion and comments. Commissioner Castillo posed several questions regarding how restrictive some of the amendments would be to the developer and builder regarding "cluster housing." Commissioner Castillo continued he was not well-versed on the UDC document and after he has an opportunity to familiarize himself with it, maybe some of his questions would be answered. Planning Commission Minutes August 3,2011 Page 3 Mr. Rudy Garza, Jr, Interim Assistant City Manager stated that before the UDC was adopted, the section regarding "cluster housing" was already approved. Mr. Garza continued that in some of the newer areas of the city, this alternative would provide an opportunity for the builders to implement this concept and build smaller units. Mr. Garza stated that in other areas of the country, "cluster housing" has worked very well. As part of the criterion for this federal grant, and to be able to apply for future grant funding, the City was required to have established and approved ordinances that met the scope of the grant as well as receive credit points. Mr. Saldana stated that the proposed ordinances have been thoroughly reviewed by the Planning Commission in previous meetings and now they were ready for formal adoption. Mr. Saldana continued that for new Commissioners Castillo and Guerra,they are coming in at the end of the process for the UDC approval. Commissioner Castillo asked how conflicts would be handled for an overlay district that was not in compliance with the underlying zoning and Staff responded that those matters would go back through the process for resolution instead of being forwarded to the Planning Commission and City Council. Commissioner Castillo used the streets/sidewalks in the downtown area as an example of how their non-compliance would be handled. Staff stated that development standards would be implemented to make the project workable. Commissioner Castillo added that if someone wanted to move forward on a mixed-use project,those standards might be a deterrent to their project if they had to retro-fit sidewalks to obtain compliance. Commissioner Huerta commented that the proposed ordinances will provide a lot of options, but on the flip side, those options could be costly to the developer. Mr. Saldana interjected that the current UDC allows mixed uses, and in order to encourage development throughout the city, we have to offer incentives that will benefit both the community and the completed project. After further discussion, Commissioner Taylor asked if the Planning Commission was requested to take action on the ordinances and Mr. Garza answered yes. Commissioner Guerra asked if there would be any financial barriers for development if the ordinances were approved and Mr. Garza responded that the block grant funding the City received its funding was through the Department of Energy. The funding is to allow cities to create and implement new alternatives that encourage redevelopment. After all discussion and comments were received, the public hearing was opened. Ms. Judy Telge, Board member of the Regional Transit Authority and a member of the Bay Area Smart Group, addressed the commission. Ms. Telge stated she was extremely pleased to see the City moving forward with the ordinances and would like to see the livable and walkable concept of communities. Ms. Telge continued that it would be great to see everyone from the different sectors coming together and moving forward and the city becoming that shining example for other cities. Ms. Carolyn Moon, Member of the Smart Growth Focus Group, stated she was excited about the ordinances and the economic and environmental impact that would be made because of the proposed ordinances. Ms. Moon concurred that she was excited to see the city moving in this direction. Ms. Darlene Gregory addressed the commission. Ms. Gregory stated it was her vision for the city to create a renaissance in the downtown area. Ms. Gregory continued that their group has been working on this vision for the past two years and felt in-fill development would be very critical to its success. Ms. Gregory continued she would like to see the ordinances adopted and passage of the ordinances would create tax revenue for the city as well as providing a walking community. Planning Commission Minutes August 3,2011 Page 4 Ms. Carey Roberts stated she has lived in cities where there were actually walkable communities. Ms. Robertson continued that she lived in the cities of Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon and it was great how the downtown areas of both cities created those types of communities. Ms. Robertson stated she owns a house on North Beach and was familiar with the RTA for transportation. Ms. Robertson continued she would like to place a photography studio below with her residence on top and she was very excited to know that the city was thinking about creating the "urban lifestyle." Mr. Garrett Dorsey, Energy Efficiency Consultant, stated he also worked in developing the island overlay for Padre Island and it was a great benefit to the island. Mr. Dorsey continued that adoption of these ordinances was about opening up resources for developing the city, which would be great. Ms. Joann Gilbertson stated she was also excited that the city was taking the initiative by developing new and creative options through the proposed ordinances. Adoption of these ordinances will provide a needed boost for redevelopment. Ms. Gilbertson continued that staff should be commended for their effort. Ms. Stacy Talbert, Park and Recreation, stated that in adopting the proposed ordinances, she would also ask the commission to consider the overall health of the community. Ms. Talbert continued that we needed to make these opportunities available for all citizens, not only to obtain grants funding, but also for the overall health and welfare of the whole community. The public hearing was closed and Chairman Garza called for a motion. Motion to approve the ordinances, with two corrections made by staff, was made by Commissioner Taylor and seconded by Commissioner Nadkarni. The motion passed with Commissioner Kelly absent. V. UPDATES ON FUTURE UDC AMENDMENTS Andrew Dimas, Development Services, gave a brief update on the review process for future UDC amendments. Mr. Dimas stated the proposed amendment would be received by staff and forwarded to the Base Zoning and Focus Groups for an in-depth review along with the Staff Team. The team is composed staff from Building, Project Management, Land Development and Comprehensive Planning. A tracker will be maintained of all text amendments under review. Ms. Brown asked how many text amendments had been received and Mr. Dimas answered that staff had received seven. Commissioner Huerta suggested the tracker be made available to all of the focus groups. Mr. Garza, Interim ACM, added that the groups for review might be broadened to ensure that no one was left out. VI. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Rudy Garza, Jr., gave an update on the leadership changes for Development Services Department. Mr. Stephen Draper was introduced as the Interim Department Director, Ms. Sylvia Carrillo, Assistant Director and Mr. Miguel Saldatia, Manager, Land Development Section. Mr. Garza continued the leadership changes were approved by the City Manager as Phase I and he looks forward to working with staff Mr. Garza continued that over the next six months, more changes will be implemented and as long as the City Manager sees that progress is being made, Phase II will be implemented. Mr. Garza stated the City Manager was pleased with the direction the department was striving for. /, Planning Commission Minutes August 3,2011 Page 5 Mr. Garza asked staff to address the commission. Mr. Draper stated he was glad to be part of the new leadership to help this community to continue to grow. Mr. Draper encouraged commissioners to contact staff with any comments or ideas they might have and he was looking forward to working with the commissioners in achieving the same goal. Ms. Carrillo stated she was excited to also be a part of the new direction for the department. Ms. Carrillo continued she has been working with the process over the past several years and was confident that the department would achieve the intended goal; which was to make the community a better place for all citizens. Commissioner Huerta asked about the function of the Building Office and Mr. Garza responded Mr. Draper would continue to serve as the Building Official since he has the technical skills to do so and Ms. Carrillo would be responsible for the management side of the department. Commissioner Taylor expressed that he was excited about the new plan for the department and he appreciated the rapport that had been developed with staff over the years and he looked forward to working with staff. A. ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON NEXT AGENDA No items were requested. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Nadkarni and seconded by Commissioner Tamez. Motion passed with Commissioner Kelly absent and the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Date: 3 12-1I igue Y Saldana, AICP Secretary to Planning Commission • QQ IPA J . • Date: U 1/ {i i d. Williams Reco ding Secretary (K OEVELOPMENTSVCS SHAKEO\I PNUI[PC MINUTEST 03 II MINUTES)