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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 01/14/1981 - SpecialWpr MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 14, 1981 4:16 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Luther Jones Mayor Pro Tem Edward L. Sample Council Members: { Dr. Jack Best City Manager R. Marvin Townsend Jack K. Dumphy Asst. City Attorney Bob Coffin Leopoldo Luna City Secretary Bill G. Read Betty N. Turner , Cliff Zarsky Mayor Luther Jones called the meeting to order in the Council Chamber of City Hall and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to conduct, public hearings on four zoning cases. City Secretary Bill G. Read verified that the necessary quorum of the 'Council and the required Charter Officers were present to conduct a legally con- stituted meeting. • City Manager R. Marvin.Townsend announced the public hearing on Application No. 1280-2, Cliff Zarsky - Texan Homes, Inc., for a change of zoning from "R -1B" 'One -family Dwelling District to "R-2" Multiple Dwelling District on a 3.43t acre tract of land out of Lot 5, Section 50, Flour Bluff & Encinal Farm & Garden Tracts, 'located on the south side of Glenoak Drive, approximately 200' west of the Drainage Ditch. • Mr. Townsend informed the Council that both the Planning Commission and the Planning Staff recommend approval and that in response to the notices of the public hearing, none had been returned. Mayor Jones ascertained that no one wished to speak in regard to this application. Motion by Sample that the hearing be closed, seconded by Turner and passed unanimously. Motion by Turner that the Council concur with the recommendation of the Planning Commission and grant the zoning of "R-2" for Application No. 1280-2; seconded by Sample; and passed by the following vote: Jones, Sample Best, Dumphy, Luna, and Turner voting "Aye"; Zarsky, disqualifying himself from voting since he is personally involved. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * .BQEiLMED SEP 1 91984 Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 2 City Manager Townsend announced the public hearing on Application No. 1280-4, Nueces Development Company, fora change of zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "B-1" Neighborhood Business District on Tract A, from "R-16" One -family Dwelling District to "A-1" Apartment House District on Tract 6, and from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "R-2" Multiple Dwelling District on Tract C, the three tracts being described as follows: Tract A being 1.884± acres, Tract B being 3.444±, Tract C being 3.259± acres, all tracts out of Lot D. Edwin Farm Lots, located on the southeast corner of Old Brownsville Road and Cliff Maus Drive. City Manager Townsend stated that both the Planning Commission and the Plan- ning Staff recommend approval and that in response to the notices of the public hearing, none in favor and two in opposition had been returned. He then asked Mr. Larry Wenger, Chief Planner, to summarize the case. Chief Planner Wenger located the area on the zoning and land use map, des- cribed the land use in the surrounding area, showed slides of the area, and stated that the applicant plans to develop a mixed use subdivision with a retail business site on this property. Mayor Jones ascertained that no one desired to speak in regard to this application. Motion by Best that the hearing be closed, seconded by Sample and passed unanimously. Council Member Turner inquired if the staff had received any correspondence from the schools in the area in regard to this application, and Mr. Wenger replied that they had not. City Manager Townsend expressed the opinion that the schools in the vicinity would like to have this land developed. Motion by Best that the Council concur with the recommendation of the Plan- ning Commission and grant the requested zoning; seconded by Turner; and passed unanimously. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * City Manager Townsend announced the public hearing on Application No. 1280-5, Messrs. Nixon M. Welsh, Jim Gunn and Bill Ogletree, for a change of zoning from "FR" Farm -Rural District to "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District on Tract A, from "FR" Farm -Rural District to "A-1" Apartment House District on Tract B, and Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 3 and from "FR" Farm -Rural District to "B-4" General Business District on Tracts C and D, described as follows: Tract A being 35.9t acres out of Lots 23, 24, 25 and 26; Tract B being 4.71± acres out of Lots 24 and 25; Tract C being 7.4± acres out out of Lots 25 and 26; Tract D being 3.5± acres out of Lot 24, all out of Section 19, Flour Bluff and Encinal Farm and Garden Tracts, located on the northwest corner of Saratoga Boulevard and Rodd Field Road. City Manager Townsend noted that the Planning Commission recommends approval with the exception of the "B-4" zoning on Tract D, on which they recommend that "B-1" be approved in lieu thereof; and the Planning Staff recommends approval with the exception of Tract D, on which they recommend approval of "A-1". He stated further that in response to the notices of the public hearing, three in favor and none in opposition had been returned. Chief Planner Wenger located the area on the zoning and land use map, des- cribed the land use in the surrounding area, showed slides of the area and stated that the applicants plan to develop a residential area, an apartment house area and business use. Council Member Turner asked for the applicant's opinion of the recommended zoning of "A-1" on Tract D. Mayor Jones invited the applicant to speak at this time. Mr. Dana Bennett, representing Nueces Development Company, informed the Council that the applicants are willing to accept "B-1" zoning on Tract D as recommended by the Planning Commission. He explained that they are attempting to develop this area by providing buffer between the business zoning and the residen- tial zoning. No one else spoke in regard to this application. Motion by Turner that the hearing be closed, seconded by Best and passed unanimously. Motion by Turner that the Council concur with the recommendation of the Planning Commission and grant the requested zoning on Tracts A, B and C, with the zoning of "B-1" on Tract D; seconded by Dumphy; and passed unanimously. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 4 City Manager Townsend announced the public hearing on Application No. 1280-6T, Text Amendment to Zoning Ordinance: Amend Article 31, Newly Annexed Territory, by amending Section 31-5 by adding thereto one new subsection to be numbered 31-5.26 setting forth a zoning classification of "A-1" Apartment House District on a described tract of land when annexed to the City of Corpus Christi, Texas, said tract being approximately 7.390 acres of land out of Farrell J. Smith 225.2 acre tract of land, out of the Mariano Lopez de Herrera Grant, State Abstract No. 606, Nueces County, Texas, (Legal Description on file in the Planning & Urban Development Office), located on the north side of Teague Lane, approximately 375'± west of Calallen Drive. City Manager Townsend informed the Council that the Planning Commission recommends approval and that there is no area of notification, but the staff did contact the property owners directly involved. Chief Planner Wenger located the area on the zoning and land use map, des- cribed the land use in the surrounding area, showed slides of the area and stated that the owners plan to develop an apartment subdivision on this tract of land. City Manager Townsend commented that the staff is concerned about any drainage from this area into the river because it is very near the point of the City's intake for water supply. Mayor Jones then invited the applicant to speak. Mr. Dana Bennett, recpresenting Nueces Development Company, developers of River Canyon Subdivision, displayed a preliminary plat of the entire development and stated that the subdivision planned is a very low density type with large lots similar to Woodland Creek or Westwood Heights. Mr. Bennett pointed out that if they developed the entire 73 acres, they would have 330 lots or 330 units in that area, and since they are such large lots, they plan to use 200 lots with 350 units, which is only an increase of 20 units over that allowed for single- family dwelling zoning. Mr. Bennett continued by informing the Council that the Calallen Indepen- dent School District planned to express opposition to this zoning request because they would have a problem with density and because Teague Lane would have to carry a great deal of traffic to accommodate the planned apartment complex. He stated that they had examined the zoning at other elementary schools and discovered that Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 5 frequently schools have "A-1" zoning surrounding them, or even "AB" or business zoning. He expressed the opinion that this apartment complex will create a buffer between the planned shopping center and the school in the area; therefore, they feel that "A-1" zoning is compati le for this area. City Manager Townsend asked if the area will drain to the river or not. Mr. Bennett explained that Mr. Nixon Welsh had met with Mr. James K. Lontos, Director of Engineering and Physical Development, and they had agreed on the method of draining this area. City Manager Townsend reiterated that the City feels very strongly that the drainage should not go to the river at this point. Mr. Nixon Welsh addressed the Council and pointed out that with the develop- ment of this subdivision, streets will be connected in a manner which will actually improve the traffic. He explained to the Council that they had observed the traffic in the vicinity of the school at Wildcat Drive, Teague Lane and Calallen Drive between the hours of 7:30 and 8:15 a.m. and there was no appreciable traffic prob- lem. He stated further that between the hours of 3:30 and 3:45 p.m., there was a traffic problem at this intersection at the time school was dismissed but indicated that similar traffic situations exist near all schools at that time of the day. He also stated that after that time, there was no problem with traffic. Mr. Welsh expressed the opinion that the existence of the proposed apartment development would have no effect on the traffic at that peak time. Council Member Luna inquired about the traffic between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. Mr. Welsh replied that they had not observed any traffic problems at that time. Council Member Zarsky asked for an explanation of the plan for draining the area if it is not drained to the river. Mr. Welsh explained that the drainage for northern half of the subdivision will drain naturally to the river, but they.have worked out an acceptable plan for the southern half to go the other way. Mr. Lontos verified that there is a small section of the subdivision that does drain into the river; the southern portion will be drained the other way; the Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 6 staff has reviewed their drainage plan, and considering the entire subdivision, it is the staff's opinion that no additional drainage, other than that'that goes nat- urally to the river, should be directed that way and that the City will require that the drainage that goes to the south must continue to go in that direction. City Manager Townsend explained to the Council that the issue that will be before them is whether or not this land should be voluntarily annexed. He stated that no one on the staff is in a position to explain how this land can drain into the river without damaging the City's water supply, and this developer must work out all of the drainage plans before annexation of this tract can even be considered. He pointed out that it is the burden of the developer to plan the drainage. Mr. Welsh informed the Council that this tract of land drains into the river about 1,000' from the City's intake at the river and that there are other subdivisions which drain above the City's intake. He expressed the opinion that their subdivision would not harm the City's intake as much as those existing sub- divisions. Mr. Bennett spoke again and stated that they are aware of the potential problems of the complete development of River Canyon, but Mr. Welsh feels that part of the site can be drained away from the river and they are attempting to resolve the drainage problem for their future development. He reiterated that this development will be a high-quality, low-density subdivision and they want the site to be developed in its natural state. Mr. Welsh asked Mr. Lontos to more explicitly explain their drainage plans. Mr. Lontos stated that they have reviewed a preliminary report made by Naismith Engineers, and that report points out that only natural drainage should go into the river and recommends the methods by which drainage can go to the river, including natural swales, retards, etc., and noted .that the drainage could be pretreated before it goes to the river. City Manager Townsend referred to the fact that there are pollutants that drain off the surface of the land and there is the possibility that insec- ticides used on the lawns could drain into the river and the City's water supply before it is pretreated. He emphasized the fact that this is an intense problem and a serious platting problem. Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 7 Mr. Fred Auforth, Attorney for Calallen Independent School District, spoke in opposition to the application. He displayed a map of the Five Points area, not- ing that it is a very congested area with so many streets converging in the vicinity of the schools. Mr. Auforth stated that the School District opposes this applica- tion because of the hazardous traffic, indicating that while they agree with the City Manager's concerns, they are primarily concerned about the probable increase in traffic problems. Council Member Best expressed the opinion that there is no reason to deny this zoning request because of traffic and inquired of Mr. Auforth if he might be concerned because of the possible increase in density which might affect the schools in the area. Mr. Auforth denied that he would oppose a zoning case just because it would increase the enrollment at the school. Council Member Zarsky noted that Mr. Auforth had indicated that he would have no objection to development of single-family homes, and Mr. Auforth admitted that basically that was true. Mr. Zarsky then pointed out that if the developers had requested single- family zoning, the number of units allowed would only be 20 less than are now planned. Mr. Clyde Teague, Superintendent of schools in Calallen, presented a draw- ing of the area and referred to the various facilities located there. He agreed with the traffic situation as reported by Mr. Welsh that occurs in the morning but stated that it is entirely different at 3:30 to 4:00 p.m., and their position is that this type of traffic will be increased with any type of intense development such as apartment dwellings. He then displayed pictures of the traffic situation in the area. Council Member Best stated that he was in attendance at Five Points when the announcement that a new shopping center would be constructed and wondered why the school representatives had not objected to the shopping center. City Manager Townsend pointed out that the land where the shopping center supposedly will be constructed has not been zoned, platted or annexed to the City, and since they have not yet been before the City for approval, there is no way the school authorities have had an opportunity to express their opinion. Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 8 Mr. Teague stated that it was his understanding that construction on the shopping center will commence in February. City Manager Townsend reiterated that no development plan or anything else has been submitted to the City. Council Member Best commented that if a shopping center is constructed there, Wildcat Lane and Teague Lane would probably have to be widened. Council Member Luna inquired of City Manager Townsend as to whether or not the Traffic Department has conducted a traffic survey in that area, and City Mana- ger Townsend replied that they had not, but that he would be glad to have,this done. Mr. Jim Ewing, 5330 Northwest Trail, Board Member of the School District, explained that their opposition to this zoning request is the traffic problem that will be created. Mr. Ewing informed the Council that they were informed that when the Highway Department improves Highway 77, this should alleviate the traffic problem, but that according to Mr. Bill Minor of the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, this highway improvement might actually compound the traffic problem. He stated that there was strong opposition to this zoning from property owners in the area. Mr. Ewing also noted that they would not be able to address the shopping center until a zoning request is presented by those developers. Council Member Luna asked if Riverside Hospital had responded to express any opposition, and City Manager Townsend replied that they are not in the area of notifi- cation and, therefore, did not receive a notice. Mr. Bickford Shaw, Attorney with the Firm of Thorpe and Shaw, called to the Council's attention the fact that there are very few people who arrive home from work as early as 3:30 in the afternoon, and it is not likely that residents of the apartments would appreciably increase the traffic volume that occurs at that time of the day. Mr. Shaw also pointed out that the Planning Commission approved this unanimously and, in his opinion, the Calallen School District's opposition might stem from the fact that their enrollment might be increased. He noted that, unfor- tunately, the School District placed all of their schools in a crowded area. , Mr. Ewing stated that, to his knowledge, no one representing the developers has submitted anything to the School Board in regard to their plans and they were not aware of the zoning matter until they received a letter from the City. He agreed that there is already a drainage problem in that area and stated that they have employed Urban Engineering to attempt to resolve that problem. Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 9 Mr. Jay Taylor, who stated that he is in the apartment business, pointed out that there is a dire need for apartments, particularly in the Calallen area. Mayor Jones asked about the vacancy rate for apartments in the City, and Mr. Taylor replied that about a year ago, it was 97% full. No one else spoke in regard to this application. Motion by Best that the hearing be closed, seconded by Turner and passed unanimously. Motion by Best that this application not be approved at this time until some of the problems, including drainage, have been resolved; seconded by Turner. Mayor Pro Tem Sample commented that if the drainage problem has to be resolved, he felt that it would be appropriate to table the decision until the problems have been resolved. City Manager Townsend pointed out that this is a request for a Text Amend- ment and can be tabled for any length of time. Mr. Shaw asked to make a comment and read from the minutes of the Planning Commission meeting at which time the staff recommended approval of the zoning. City Manager Townsend explained that at the time this case was heard by the Planning Commission, the staff did recommend approval, but it was his position that the problems should be resolved before the text amendment is approved. Mr. Shaw pointed out that the issue before the Council is not a matter of drainage at all and contended that this was no reason to deny the request. City Manager Townsend stated that various issues cannot be separated from the zoning and this is part of the City's master land use plan. Council Member Dumphy agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Sample's suggestion that the decision be tabled, because he was of the opinion that the Council should not deny this application but that the developers should work out all of the problems satisfactorily, noting that obviously there is a traffic problem and evidently, there is a drainage problem. Mr. Welsh addressed the Council again and pointed out that the City pre- sently has a Master Drainage Plan and this subdivision is designed in concurrence with that plan. Council Member Luna stated that he agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Sample that the decision should be tabled until a study has been made. Mr. Lontos explained that the present Master Drainage Plan just shows the Minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1981 Page 10 point where the drainage is divided so that a portion of this area drains to the river and the other portion drains the other way. He stated that he has not seen a plan from Mr. Welsh as to how he plans to have that land drain. Council Member Best then withdrew his motion, and Council Member Turner withdrew her second. Motion by Sample that Application No. 1280-6T be tabled for six months; seconded by Dumphy. Mr. Dana Bennett inquired if the matter could be tabled for a shorter period of time. Council Member Zarsky stated that he felt that the application should be tabled to resolve the traffic problem also, and Council Member Dumphy agreed. Council Member Best suggested that the developers meet with the school officials and the citizens in the area to discuss these problems. Mayor Jones then called for the vote on the motion to table this applica- tion, and it passed unanimously. City Manager Townsend then inquired of the Council if they felt that the developers of the proposed shopping center should be contacted in regard to their plans, and the Council indicated their concurrence. City Manager Townsend presented the ordinances on the zoning applications that were approved; City Secretary Read polled the Council for their votes; and the following ordinances were passed: ORDINANCE NO. 15970: AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI ADOPTED ON THE 27TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1937, APPEARING OF RECORD IN VOLUME 9, PAGES 565, ET SEQ, OF THE ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION RECORDS, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME AND PARTICULARLY AS AMENDED BY ORDINANCE NO. 6106, AS AMENDED, UPON APPLICATION OF CLIFF ZARSKY-TEXAN HOMES, INC. BY AMENDING THE ZONING MAP BY CHANGING THE ZONING ON A 3.431 ACRE TRACT OUT OF LOT 5, SEC. 50, FLOUR BLUFF & ENCINAL FARM & GARDEN TRACTS, SITUATED TN THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM "R -1B" ONE FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT TO "R-7" MULTIPLE DWELLING DISTRICT; KEEPING IN EFFECT ALL OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE EXISTING ORDINANCE AS AMENDED; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. The Charter Rule was suspended and the foregoing ordinance was passed by the follow- ing vote: Jones, Sample, Best, Dumphy, Luna, and Turner voting "Aye"; Zarsky dis- qualifying himself from voting. minutes Special Council Meeting January 14, 1980 Page 11 ORDINANCE NO. 15971: AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI ADOPTED ON THE 27TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1937, APPEARING OF RECORD IN VOLUME 9, PAGES 565, ET SEQ, OF THE ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION RECORDS, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME AND PARTICULARLY AS AMENDED BY ORDINANCE NO. 6106, AS AMENDED, UPON APPLICATION OF NUECES DEVELOPMENT COMPANY BY AMENDING THE ZONING MAP BY CHANGING THE ZONING ON TRACTS A, B AND C, BEING PORTION OF LOT D, EDWIN FARM LOTS, SITUATED IN THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM "R -1B" ONE FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT TO "B-1" NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DISTRICT ON TRACT A, TO "A-1" APARTMENT HOUSE DISTRICT ON TRACT B, AND TO "R-2" MULTIPLE DWELLING DISTRI ON TR CT C, S ID TR TS NG MIRE L ' IE RI: D F R; KEELING IN EFFECT ALL OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE EXISTING ORDINANCE AS AMENDED; REPEALING ALL ORDI- NANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. The Charter Rule was suspended and the foregoing ordinance was passed by the following vote: Jones, Sample, Best, Dumphy, Luna, Turner and Zarsky voting "Aye". ORDINANCE NO. 15972: AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI ADOPTED ON THE 27TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1937, APPEARING OF RECORD IN VOLUME 9, PAGES 565, ET SEQ, OF THE ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION RECORDS, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME AND PARTICULARLY AS AMENDED BY ORDINANCE NO. 6106, AS AMENDED, UPON APPLICATION OF MESSRS. NIXON M. WELSH, JIM GUNN AND BILL OGLETREE, BY AMENDING THE ZONING MAP BY CHANGING THE ZONING ON TRACTS A, 8, C AND D, BEING OUT OF SECTION 19, FLOUR BLUFF & ENCINAL FARM AND GARDEN TRACTS, SITUATED IN THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM "FR" FARM -RURAL DISTRICT TO "R -1B" ONE -FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT ON TRACT A; TO "A-1" APARTMENT HOUSE DISTRICT ON TRACT B; TO "B-4" GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT ON TRACT C; AND TO "B-1" NErGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DISTRICT ON TRACT D; KEEPING IN EFFECT ALL OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE EXISTING ORDINANCE AS AMENDED; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. The Charter Rule was suspended and the foregoing ordinance was passed by the following vote: Jones, Sample, Best, Dumphy, Luna, Turner and Zarsky voting "Aye". * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *`* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * There being no further business to come before the Council, on motion by Sample, seconded by Turner and passed unanimously, the Special Council Meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m., January 14, 1981.