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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 09/18/1961 - SpecialPRESENT: • Mayor Ben F. McDonald Commissioners: Tom R. Swantner Dr. James L. Barnard J. R. de Leon M. P. Maldonado W. J. Roberts SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING September 18, 1961 7:00 P. M. City Manager Herbert W. Whitney City Attorney I. M. Singer City Secretary T. Ray Kring Mayor Ben F. McDonald called the meeting to order. The Invocation was given by Dr. James L. Barnard. City Secretary T. Ray Kring called the roll of those in attendance. Motion by Barnard, seconded by de Leon and passed that the absence of com- missioner Jim Young be excused for cause. Mayor McDonald announced the public hearing on the application of C. F. Ditty for a change of zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "I-2" Light Indus- trial District on Lot "A", Byron Willis Subdivision, out of unrecorded Lot 1, Block 1, original Byron Willis Subdivision, being the north 4221 x 163' of Lot "A" (and being the north line of the existing "I-2" District, which line is 500' north of Lexington Boulevard). Ed Shaw, Zoning Coordinator, located the property on the map as being between Lexington Boulevard and McArdle Road adjacent to the existing "I-2" zoning on Lexington; pointed out the surrounding land uses of residential property and one non -conforming use for a plumbing supply business by a Mr. Dildy; showed the Council a petition re- ceived by the Zoning & Planning Commission in opposition to the application signed by 152 persons in the neighborhood; stated that there had been one written return in favor and 7 against the application; and that the Zoning & Planning Commission's rec- ommendation was that the request be denied. No one appeared to speak in favor of the application. Eight residents in the Park Lane Subdivision, directly adjacent to the prop- erty, Mr. & Mrs. Sorenson, Mr. & Mrs. George Stevens, C. M. Moody, M. L. Jackson, Carroll Camden, and James Burnett appeared in opposition, presented a display of color map showing zoning of properties in the area involved, pictures of the residential homes, Mr. Ditty's property, and that of Mr. Dildy, to support their opposition on the basis of a health menace due to mice, rats and snakes, a detriment to the area due to litter and weeds and general unkempt appearance, and a general lowering of residential property values. • Special Council Meeting September 18, 1961 Page 2 No one else wishing to speak, Mayor McDonald declared the hearing closed. Motion by de Leon, seconded by Maldonado and passed that the recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission be concurred in, and the application for a change of zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "I-2" Light Industrial District on Lot "A", Byron Willis Subdivision, out of unrecorded Lot 1, Block 1, original Byron Willis Subdivision, be denied. Mayor McDonald announced the public hearing on the application of Sam Susser & Joe Craine for a change of zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "B-4" General Business District on Blocks A, B, D, E and also a change in zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "I-2" Light Industrial District on Block C, being that property located on the south side of Lexington Boulevard. between Weber Road and the future extension of Carroll Lane, and having a total acreage of 27.8 acres with an average depth of 485', plus or minus, as shown by a plat on file in the Zoning & Plan- ning Office. Ed Shaw located the property on the map; pointed out the surrounding land uses; showed a sketch of the area indicating the Weber Road, Carroll Lane proposed ex- tension, and the proposed residential Carroll Heights Subdivision of Marshall Boykin; and read the following excerpt from the September 5, 1961, Zoning & Planning Commission meeting, which constitutes the recommendation: "The Commission discussed this applica- tion with reference to their previous action and the statements offered by the owners at this meeting. After considerable discussion, it was moved, seconded, and passed to amend the action taken on this application at the August 22 meeting as follows: "1. That Block A, in addition to Block A, be approved as "B-4" General Business District; "2. That a portion of Block C (described as being the east 300' along Lexington Boulevard and the depth of this tract as presented on the sketch submitted with this application) be approved as "I-2" Light Industrial District; That an 18 month time limit to begin construction be imposed on the portion of Block C recommended for "I-2" Light Industrial zoning; and That the application be approved subject to a proper plat, includ- ing a provision for a street adjacent to the "I-2" District from Lexington Boulevard to the adjacent tract owned by Mr. Boykin." Commissioner Barnard requested that hereafter the number of votes for and against each recommendation of the Commission be furnished to the Council in the re- ports. • Special Council Meeting September 18, 1961 Page 3 Ralph Graham, attorney representing Sam Susser and Joe Craine, located the property in relation to surrounding zoning and uses; explained that Lot A, on the cor- ner of Weber and Lexington, and Lot E, corner of the proposed extension of Carroll Lane and Lexington, are planned for service stations, Lot C, in the middle of the property, is proposed for a furniture store, and that Lots B and D are planned for retail use, in- cluding a grocery store on Lot B for which Mr. Ketch, in charge of management of rent- als, already has a firm offer. He stated that there were no written protests and no one appeared at the Commission hearing in opposition; that Marshall Boykin had been con- cerned only with protection being provided for his proposed residential subdivision at the rear of this property, and that for this his clients had provided a 60' wide street, Concord Street, as an access street from Lexington to Mr. Boykin property, between Lot C and D; and further that his clients had dedicated a total of 60' for the widening of Weber Road, and for the proposed extension of Carroll Lane. Mr. Graham explained that Mr. Ketch had pointed out the flexibility of this piece of land, since there was enough area to suit the needs and purposes of any tenant, but that firm details cannot be concluded until the property is zoned, and urged that the requested zoning be grant- ed since his clients had paid in excess of $200,000 for the property, that the addition- al tax revenues to be realized from the development of this property were certainly in the public interest and growth of the City, and that no one would build a residence fronting on Lexington. He also explained that the Commission had initially recommended. "I-1" zoning on Lots B & D in the mistaken belief that this was for general business, but that "I-1" is for a very limited use, and the "B -k" zoning is required for his clients' purposes of retail concerns. Joe Craine stated that he operates three furniture steres in town, that as his competition has already moved out farther, it is imperative that he gets started out there too; that they have done everything that has been asked of them; that the Commission has recommended A, C and E for business, but that a furniture store needs business around it for, foot -traffic as well as automobile traffic; that they definite- ly want to develop right away; and urged that the application be granted. Sam Susser showed the Council a map of the City marked with the areas which he felt they could serve, and explained that they had an ambitious program for this area which they intend to call "Lexington Plaza" which Vhey can't develop if they have to keep begging for 50' or 100' more of the proper zoning; that they intend to develop just as quickly as they have the tenants; and that they are going to attempt to use Special Council Meeting September 18, 1961 Page 4 part of the property to build District Offices for firms from the Valley to Houston. He stated that they had met all of the requirements of the City Officials, and felt that the requested and needed zoning should be granted. Sam Allen, owner of adjoining property across from Weber Road, appeared and spoke in favor of the application on the basis that Lexington Boulevard was destined to have a lot of growth for both business and industrial use. In answer to questions from the Council as to a recommendation with regard to Lots B and D, which they felt was ignored in the amended recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission, John Keltner, of McClendon & Associates, explained that when the first map was filed, the Commission had approved the "B-4" zoning for Lots A and E and "I-1" for the rest of the tract; that during discussion it Was found that "I-1" vas not satisfactory for N&'. Craine's plans for development of Lot C; and the Commission then approved the 300' of Lot C for "T-2" use, so that meant that Lots A, 300' of Lot C, and Lot E Were approved for zoning, but no vord about B & D; that following the Com- mission's meeting on Sept. 5, the present preliminary plat, revised to show the dedi- cated street areas, the reduction of the size of Lot C to the approved 300' for and the balance of the property of Lots B and D for "3.4", had been resubmitted. Howard Ayers, Chairman of the Zoning & Planning Commission, stated that the Commission's recommendation had been amended to provide the necessary zoning for the portions of the property for which there was immediate planning, end that the feeling had been to withhold any zoning on the other 2 pieces of property until such time as there were particular and definite plans for it. Mayor McDonald stated that he would be willing to rule to sever Lots B aad o from the application and send that potion back to the Zoning & Planning Oommisaion, and ask the Council to act on the balance. During the discussion, Mr. ilraham stated that he considered that the record as presented reflects a denial of the soning re- quested on Lot and Lot D. Mayor McDonald declared the hearing closed, and that he would entertain amendments to the recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission and vote on then first, and then vote on the amended recommendation or on the Sept. 5th recommendation, as the case may be. Motion by Swantner, seconded by Barnard and unanimously passed that the recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission of Sept. 5th be approved by this Council with the addition of Lots B and D in the "13-4" approval, and that the zoning • • Special Council Meeting September 18, 1961 Page 5 be granted as requested upon the plat under date of Sept. 12, 1961, under seal of McClendon & Associates, Which shows Lot C as being zoned "1-2" for 300', the right- of-way for Concord Street, Weber Road and Carroll Lane, and Lots A, B, D and E as be- ing zoned "B-4", subject to final approval of plat submitted. Mayor McDonald read the application of John J. Heller for a change of zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "AB" Professional Office District on Lot 15, Block 6, Del Mar Addition, being that property located at 1714 Third Street which is vacant. Ed Shaw located the property on the map, explained that the owner plans to build a duplex on the lot, that the application for "AB" zoning rather than "R-2" had been made at"the suggestion of the Planning Office so as to provide for his plans but eliminate any question of spot -zoning, since Lot 15 is adjacent to "AB" zoning; that three written returns had been received in favor of this application and six against, but that since the owner had stated that he would file deed restrictions restricting the use of the lot to duplex dwelling, two persons had withdrawn their objection by phone; and stated that the recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission was that it be approved subject to deed restrictions being filed restricting the use of Lot 15, Block 6, Del Mar Addition to a two-family dwelling. John Heller appeared in support of his application and presented the re- striction to be recorded with the County. A. H. Hurst spoke in support of the application, and stated that Father Cannon, representing 5 property owners had approved and thought the zoning should be granted after explanation of the restriction and proposed development. No one appeared in opposition to the application. Mayor McDonald declared the hearing closed. Motion by Roberts, seconded by Maldonado and passed that the recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission be concurred in, and that the change of zoning from "R -1B" to "AB" be granted on Lot 15, Block 6, Del Mar Addition. Mayor McDonald read the application of Mrs. Lora M. Sherrill for a change of zoning from "R -1B" One -family Dwelling District to "A-2" Apartment House District on Lot 1, Retama Grove Addition, at 814 Cenizo Street, and the adjoining property to the south (160' x 130.3') located on the northeast corner of Cenizo and Up River Road (un- recorded) at 4014 Up River Road. • Special Council Meeting September 18, 1961 Page 6 Ed Shaw located the property on the map, pointed out the surrounding uses of property, explained that Lot 1 has a swimming pool on it, that the adjoining property described as 160' x 130.3' on the northeast corner of Cenizo and Up River Road is a large residence for which a Special Council Permit to operate a convalescent home has expired, that the applicant desires to convert the upstairs of her home into 1 or 2 apartments, and that the recommendation of the Zoning & Planning Commission was that the property on the northeast corner of Cenizo and Up River Road (a 160' x 130.3' lot) be approved subject to the filing of a proper plat and that Lot 1, Retema Grove Sub- division, be denied. The following appeared in opposition to the foregoing application: Mr. & Mrs. L. D. Davis, Mrs. Jennings, and Mrs. Allsop. Mr. Davis, as spokesman, objected to the changing of the single family residential zoning, but that they didn't particularly ob- ject to Mrs. Sherrill making another apartment in her existing residence, on the basis of its being detrimental to the surrounding residential property values, but their primAry objection was to any change in zoning of that part facing on Cenizo Street. No one appeared to speak in favor of the application, and Mayor McDonald asked that the record show that the applicant, Mrs. Sherrill, had not been present. Mayor McDonald directed that in addition to the required legal notice of public hearing on zoning applications, that the City Secretary notify by postal card all persons of record who appeared before the Zoning & Planning Commission public hear- ing, and that in the case of petitions received in this connection, that the moat log- ical representative be notified. Mayor McDonald declared the hearing was closed. Motion by de Leon, seconded by Barnard that the request for a change of zoning from "R -1B" to "A-2" on Lot 1, Retama Grove Addition, and the adjoining prop- erty to the south located on the northeast corner of Cenizo and Up River Road, be denied in its entirety. On vote, Mayor McDonald abstained, Commissioners Barnard, de Leon, Maldonado and Roberts voted "Aye", Commissioner Swantner voted "Naye", and Mayor McDonald declared the motion had carried 4 to 1, and that the change in zoning was denied. There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned.