Loading...
Minutes P&Z 05/06/2013100 Municipal Drive fioliFTrophy Club Entities Trophy Club, Texas 76262 IN Meeting Minutes Planning & Zoning Commission Monday, May 6, 2013 4:00 PM Public Services Conference Room CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCE A QUORUM Chairman Senelly called the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. and announced a quorum present (5 members). Mr. Allen and Mr. Reed were not in attendance at the start of the meeting. COMMISSION MEMBERS.- Present: EMBERS. Present: 7 - Commissioner Garrett Reed, Vice Chair Larry Vowell, Chairman Richard Senelly, Commissioner Fred Allen, Commissioner Dale Forest, Commissioner Mark Sadley, and Commissioner Dennis Sheridan STAFF PRESENT: Carolyn Huggins, Community Development Director GUESTS PRESENT: Dan Boutwell, President, Municipal Planning Resources Group REGULAR SESSION 1. 2013-279-T Planning and Zoning Commission Orientation. Carolyn Huggins introduced Dan Boutwell, a planning consultant who has worked on and off with the Town since 1986. Ms. Huggins: Dan will be presenting an informal Orientation on the roles and responsibilities of a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, and l'll follow up with some projects that are currently going on in the Town and give you a little bit of the history of the vacant properties, both commercial and residential. Mr. Boutwell: The first question a new Zoning and Planning Commissioner usually asks is "What am I doing here?" My name is Dan Boutwell, President of Municipal Planning Resources Group. When we started here we were Planning Resources Group and then we incorporated. We have done work off and on for a lot of years in Trophy Club. Mr. Reed arrived at 4:05 p.m. Mr. Boutwell: I'm going to do a refresher of Planning and Zoning to incorporate a wide learning curve; I'm going to take you through what Planning and Zoning is for a municipality and some of the authority that the State of Texas gives us. Planning and Zoning Commission Page 1 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 When the State of Texas talks about Planning and Zoning, there are some bodies, in particular, that they talk about. Whenever you look at a Local Government Code and go through the law that authorizes this, every time you see something that says "Governing Body" that means the Town Council. Local Government Code speaks in code; it never really says "Planning and Zoning Commission, " but what it will say is "Body responsible for approval, or for recommendation." So whenever you see it referred to as the "body responsible for... " that's going to be the Planning and Zoning Commission. In the State of Texas when they set up the authority for the Planning and Zoning Commission they set up planning separately from zoning. They set first the authority for platting property, how to plat: that was the Planning Commission, and later on they set up an authority for zoning which was the Zoning Commission. Both are authorized to have seven members on the Commission, but smaller cities cannot get two different bodies of seven each and keep a quorum, so what we've seen across the state of Texas — unless you're in the really big cities — is that these are combined into the Planning and Zoning Commission. The last one is Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Local Government Code probably says more about the Zoning Board of Adjustment and gives it more definition than either the City Council/Town Council or the Planning and Zoning Commission. Basically that's because the Zoning Board of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial board, and it actually has some particular authority allowed it. We're not going to deal with that because you're not the ZBA, you're the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Senelly: Let it be noted that Mr. Allen has arrived at 4: 11. Mr. Boutwell: It is important to note that unlike all of the other committees, the Park Committee or the Finance Committee, or other committees that the city may have, your organization is not a committee. You are a Commission, and you're formed as a Commission by the authority of the State of Texas. In the role of the Planning and Zoning Commissioner you need to wear more than one hat, to be an administrator and visionary. This is a little bit difficult to do because you approach the thing that you're looking at differently when you are a visionary then when you're an administrator. When you work as the administrator you're dealing with the Subdivision Regulations and the Zoning Ordinance. When you work as the visionary it's the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is a little bit different document because it is visionary. When you do your Comprehensive Plan you actually want to let yourself dream: what do we want Trophy Club to be when everything is built out — what do we want it to look like? Where do we want our commercial to be? Where do we want our parks to be, and how do we want them to look? What kind of commercial do we want? Those are the types of things you ask, and you don't worry about who lives on what lot at that time, or what is already there. The idea is eventually, over a period of time as time changes, you'll start changing your zoning and your land use to meet that Master Plan. It may take it thirty years or more to happen, but that's being a visionary. The administrator is different. You have regulations and standards; you need to be able to administer those regulations and standards. Your authority in the Comprehensive Plan and the Local Government Code is found in two different places. First well talk about Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code, and that's where you get your authority. 'A city is authorized to adopt zoning regulations in accordance with a Comprehensive Plan." That is the authority of your Planning and Zoning Commission Page 2 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 Zoning Ordinance. If you don't have a Comp Plan you have nothing to base your Zoning Ordinance on. What it means is that if a zoning request comes in or there is a zoning change one of the first things you ask is "What is the Comprehensive Plan say?" Are we developing this in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan ? Interestingly enough, for years Cities had to adopt in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan but the State never told us what a Comprehensive Plan was. Some cities would look at their zoning map, and say that's our Comprehensive Plan. Or they would say we are going to plan comprehensively as we grow. They said a lot of things. Some folks developed a comprehensive plan like what we have, but there just wasn't any legal authority. I was able to work on the legislation that founded Chapter 219 which states that a City may adopt a Comprehensive Plan for the purpose of promoting sound development of municipalities promoting the public health, safety and welfare. That's where it says we can look at the long range look at what our cities look like. We can actually base our zoning on that comprehensive plan. That's the interaction between the two. So, what's a Comprehensive Plan? It's comprehensive in scope, general in nature, and long range in perspective. It needs to cover the entire city. If you are a city that has an Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) -- Trophy Club doesn't have any ETJ — the ETJ may go half a mile, two miles, five miles — it depends on population. The City of Fort Worth has a five mile ETJ. Which means that five miles outside of the boarder of their city they still have control over the platting — not zoning, but platting. When you look at this on a map it's really interesting. Look at the border of Fort Worth, and then you expand it out five miles all around and that's how much authority they have. You have some jurisdiction in those areas. You can control signage in the ETJ. You can control platting in the ETJ. The ETJ must use the Town's Subdivision Regulations. You cannot control zoning in your ETJ. The zoning is only within the corporate limits of the city. Mr. Forest: Don't you run into problems within your adjoining cities? Mr. Boutwell: You do, and in that case it's first come first serve. Whoever was there first, has precedence. Whenever you have cities like you do in the metroplex and you start to draw the ETJ map, it's a nightmare. Ms. Huggins: As Dan said, Trophy Club does not have any ETJ. We're land locked here, surrounded on all sides. [Pointing to a map on the wall] This is Churchill Downs, and they petitioned the city to be annexed in 2006, that was our last ETJ that came into the city. This is all Corp property; we do have a long term lease with the Corp for the development of Trophy Club Park. 0: Marshall Creek? Ms. Huggins: Marshall Creek was annexed into Roanoke in 2007. Vice Chair Vowell: If we were within the five mile radius of Fort Worth would we be an ETJ of them? Mr. Boutwell: Not once you've incorporated. The land that Trophy Club is in was originally in Westlake's area. Westlake released that area, but they also retained a two foot strip around the limits of the city so that whenever we incorporated they were limiting us. The other cities, Southlake and Roanoke enclosed quickly anyway. The bottom line is you don't have to worry about ETJ because you don't have any. Since you are incorporated nobody can incorporate you. A long time ago there was some talk between Westlake, Southlake and Trophy Club merging — that never happened and that's a very difficult thing to happen. 0: Can an ETJ cross county lines? Planning and Zoning Commission Page 3 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 Mr. Boutwell: Yes. The city of Burleson lies in two counties, and so their ETJ is two miles now. Q: Do we have any Tarrant County in Trophy Club? A: Yes, there is a little bit down at the very bottom. Mr. Sheridan: I live in both; it splits my property Mr. Boutwell: That was an interesting case because it was a disputed survey line that was finally settled. Ms. Huggins: There is a Town map in the very back of your books that will show the county line. Mr. Boutwell: When we look at the Comprehensive Plan we look at the entire city, and if you have ETJ, we look at the ETJ also because you may annex it in; if you do you want to know what it's planned. The Comp Plan should address the physical elements -- the streets, physically where the different land uses will be located, parks, topography, open spaces. All of these types of these things are addressed in the Land Use Plan. One of the first things that we did was develop goals and objectives and policies. The Committee of Trophy Club when they developed their Comprehensive Plan had ninety people on the committee, and it was an interesting thing. We divided up into land use: commercial, residential, utilities, parks all those different things and divided those ninety people up into the different areas and they developed goals and objectives and came back and shared with the group. They massaged it and took it to the P&Z and Council and eventually approved it, but it was a chore. It was truly a town effort. Q: What year was that? Mr. Boutwell: That was in 1996. It was adopted in 1997. Usually when we get into these goals and objectives with the Comprehensive Plan, people will try to start micro -managing the Comp Plan. The Comprehensive Plan isn't going to look at drainage problems and issues; it may look at the overall goal for what you want to do, but not the issues. Nor will it look at an individual piece of property. It needs to be long range, at least twenty plus years. It's ultimate development. That's why it has to be visionary. You have the Comprehensive Plan that was adopted April 1997, you'll have periodic updates. You have a Strategic Vision 2030 now, you need to take the overall plan of the original Land Use Plan and apply this update, the Strategic Vision 2030. Ms. Huggins: Some of you were at the meeting that Council had with different Boards and Commissions to hear the Council go through the Vision 2030 that they have adopted. It's an overall view of what they are looking for in Trophy Club in the future. It's in your book and on your CD. They would like the Planning and Zoning Commission to keep that in mind as we do land developed in the future. It has to be based on the Comp Plan but they want us to take into account the Vision 2030 adopted strategy as well. Q: Why was the 2030 Vision plan done separately and apart from, and not by, the Planning and Zoning Commission? Ms. Huggins: It was not meant to be a Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Because we are so close to being built out the Council feels we need something beyond a Land Use Plan, probably a redevelopment plan. They are still trying to figure out exactly Planning and Zoning Commission Page 4 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 where we should go with updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. In the meantime, with the commercial properties along 114 being all we pretty much have left, they wanted some sort of vision in place for those properties. We're kind of at the mercy of whatever developer comes forward and wants to develop, and if it meets the zoning ordinance, how are we going to stop them? In trying to direct the EDC and Stephen Siedel, Assistant Town Manager who is the staff liaison to EDC4-B and is in charge of economic development for the Town; they wanted to give Stephen and EDC4-B Board a vision of where they wanted to go with those commercial properties. That was a lot of what the Vision 2030 plan was and because it was so much more than just land use it took into account what do we need for our residents as far as families — what do families want in the town? What do retirees want in the town? They tried to take into account all of the different age groups, and because of that it was a committee made up of a lot of different age groups of the residents of the Town and not just the Planning and Zoning Commission. They didn't put any of the committees or commission, or boards in charge of it. They created a new group and tried to make it a blend of a lot of different residents. Q: So our role is strictly land use? Ms. Huggins: Land use should be considered one of your first and foremost responsibilities. Q: Ina vacuum? Ms. Huggins: No, 1 wouldn't say that. Mark Sadley: As far as our group trying to work within the guidelines of Vision 2030, etc., the only time that we really have a possibility of affecting it would be if somebody was asking for some type of variance or something? We can't deny something that is within code, right? Ms. Huggins: On platting you have a pretty narrow authority, but on zoning and site plan you have a wider authority. Q: So when something like that comes before us would the Economic Development group or some other group be coming with recommendations? Ms. Huggins: They haven't in the past except on PD -30. 1 think that was the only land development where other groups were involved. You brought up a good point, there are some projects where other groups might be very interested in having it approved and could come before you and say here's our recommendation because we've looked at this from X, Y and Z point of view and would like you to consider recommendation for approval. Mr. Boutwell: The way I've seen this work with other cities is that you have the Comp Plan but you may also have an addendum or some refinements of these visions or other additional goals. Your decisions are still on the Comp Plan but you can look and see how they're affected, even spun, according to what the goals are. You use both of these items together. If there's a site plan, a request for a new PD, or an amendment to a PD, or a rezoning, and simply because you've zoned everything doesn't mean it's not going to be rezoned, or things aren't going to be redeveloped. As it's redeveloped you'll take a look at the Land Use Plan, which is the map, and say where do we want it? Obviously there are some place 1 don't want residential or commercial, and some places where 1 do want parks and green spaces. Where do we want this and how does it apply to the Vision Plan ? You work them as a hand and glove, but they are your tools to use; that's as the visionary. Article 219 of the Local Government Zoning Code says that when we do these maps Planning and Zoning Commission Page 5 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 now, we have to put a note on the map says 'this is not a zoning map, and should not be construed as a zoning map, or controlling zoning. Every map, every Comprehensive Plan, has to have it on there. The reason we do that is that the public usually have a very difficult time in understanding the difference between a zoning map and the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan does not establish zoning. The Comprehensive Plan is a guide; a wish -list. If you see this up close it is drawn in bubbles. I do that on purpose, I don't want to have an exact location — these are guides. That's the Comprehensive Plan, and that's the hat you wear as the city's visionary as you try to look into the future. The tools to implementation of the Comprehensive Plan are zoning, subdivision regulations, and special studies (such as a sidewalk study, a walking path study, etc.). The Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code, says you can divide the Town into districts, determining number, shapes and sizes of the districts. What does zoning do? Zoning regulates the height of buildings. It can tell me the square foot of the building, the square foot of the lot, the percentage of the area that I can cover with concrete, the impervious area, and the percent of the area that has to be landscaped. It can tell me the size of my yard, how far I sit back from the side, front, and rear. It can determine density -- how many units per acre. Multifamily is eighteen to twenty four units per acre. It can tell me where 1 can do it. According to the Comprehensive Plan it says where commercial goes, where residential goes and we can determine that if it's in accordance with a Comprehensive Plan. And it can tell me what kind of uses I can put there; where are you going to put your rendering plant? Well, we're not going to have one — that's prohibited. Your salvage yard? We're not going to have one — that's prohibited. Pawn Shops? Believe it or not, state law says we cannot prohibit a Pawn Shop. We have to let it go somewhere, by right. We don't have a choice; state law says we have to do it about some things. You'll notice our zoning ordinance has a manufactured housing district; it does because state laws say you have to provide for manufactured housing. If you don't provide for manufactured housing you can put it any place that you can put any regular house in any subdivision, so we have a district. We don't have anything zoned that, but we do have a district. So if somebody came in said I want to do a manufactured house, you say the first thing you have to do is zone the property. They have to take it through zoning. These are the things that zoning does. You also do platting. And there is a difference in platting and zoning, and this is critical, because some of the problems that I see that Planning and Zoning Commissions have is that at a meeting they're asking inappropriate questions for the case under consideration. Zoning regulates how the land is used. Platting regulates how it's divided. When you are considering a platting case, don't ask where the building will be set or how far the building is set back. Don't ask about the landscaping. Those are zoning issues, and the state of Texas says if it's platting we can ask platting questions on how the land is divided, but that's all we can ask. State law also says if you look at this plat and it meets all of our requirements and subdivision regulations you have to approve the plat. There's no leniency there for you guys; it says you have to approve the plat. Mr. Sheridan: Does the same go to zoning? Once something is zoned, then zoning says what the use is, and then there are some regulations on dividing it; so if somebody came in and meets the zoning requirements and meets the subdivision requirements then we can't say no. Mr. Boutwell: That's right. If somebody comes in and it's zoned some commercial use and he comes in to plat it, and he says what he wants to put on there and you don't want that type of business on there — that is not part of the discussion. All that is part of the discussion is if I'm going to plat the lot how wide can it be? If I deny it, I Planning and Zoning Commission Page 6 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 can't deny it because it's used for that use. Folks have asked can I be sued because of this type of situation. Absolutely you can be sued, but if you're not arbitrary and capricious you're going to prevail every time. The law says is you can't make decisions arbitrary or capricious. If you have a rezoning case come before you and you approve it because it's based on the Comprehensive Plan there is no way that they'll find that's arbitrary and capricious, because it's based on something that has gone through the public hearing process and you'll be upheld. If you do it because of any of the land use principles as part of your vision and your Comprehensive Plan, you will be upheld. For example, someone comes in with a rezoning and wants to put a cell tower there. You say I don't like cell towers, they're ugly, and there will never be a cell tower here. You're going to lose that one because that is arbitrary and capricious. There needs to be some justification or some reasons behind what you do. Your zoning ordinance will give you justification and reason. Q: You're using the word "rezoning" so if somebody comes in and wants to rezone the property or whatever, we do have the right, within reason, to either deny or change or alter or negotiate. Mr. Boutwell: Absolutely Q: It's only when it's already zoned and they meet those requirements we do not have the ability to negotiate. Mr. Boutwell: Right. In that case what you're approving is the rezoning, not the platting, just the rezoning. It's difficult to keep these hats straight sometimes. If the guy comes in to plat something I would just as soon he wouldn't tell me what he's going to do with it because if it's a plat you have very little choice. The zoning ordinance has two parts. One is the map. You've got a map that shows all the different districts laid out. The map tells you where you where the district is located. The text tells you what is allowed in the district. It takes the text and the map together to make up the Zoning Ordinance. There are two types of zoning. There is straight zoning and there is planned development. A straight zoned district has set regulations. Single family residential, manufactured homes, neighborhood services, professional office, commercial - - all of those are set zoning districts with set regulations. They even have what kind of land use can happen in those districts. If somebody wants to come in and develop according to that district, he can do that without any further change. If somebody comes in to change zoning from Professional Office to Neighborhood Service, don't ask him what he is going to put there because he can put whatever is allowed in that new district. So if you get something that has a straight zoned district — you, for instance, can't change the setback, you can't change the square footage or the height -- because those are already established. Even if you don't like what he's going to do with it, you can't change it. The only way you can change that is if you amend the zoning ordinance to change the regulation, but then it changes it city-wide. Q: This body does not have the authority to create or amend ordinances? That's the Council? Mr. Boutwell: You have the authority to recommend a change, but the Council is the one that adopts and ultimately changes it. But, there cannot be a change to the zoning ordinance without P&Z's recommendation. As the Zoning Commission, you are the recommending body. The State of Texas says that before the Council can act on an item they have to have a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission. Ms. Huggins: And your recommendation can be to deny, but we have to have a Planning and Zoning Commission Page 7 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 recommendation before going to Council. Mr. Boutwell: And if you do have a recommendation to deny, it makes it a little bit more difficult for the Council to pass it, because in order for them to pass it over your denial they have to have super majority, or three quarter vote to do that. I think this body has a lot of authority; you are a very important commission. Planned Development — each Planned Development establishes its own regulations. It sets all of the heights and densities and setbacks; it can even set elevations of buildings. It can set colors and landscaping. It can set whatever it wants regardless of what the landscaping or screening regulations state in the zoning ordinance. The regulations of that PD supersede everything. If there is something that is not addressed in the PD you would fall back to your zoning ordinance and let it speak to those cases where it may not be spoken to. All of those things are established by the PD. Trophy Club has an enormous amount of Planned Development, which isn't all bad. The Town gets to have more control, more say, in a PD. Mr. Sheridan: If somebody has a PD that calls for the color green brick and they want to change the color, as a Commission are we restricted to only discuss that color or if they make a change to the PD does that open up everything in the PD? Mr. Boutwell: That's a really good question, because to make a change to that color they have to actually amend the PD. Now their amendment to the PD could be to amend this color, but when you amend the PD you open up the PD. Mr. Sheridan: In other words as a Commission we at least have the right to talk about anything in that PD, whether it be the roof, the floor... Mr. Boutwell: Right. Usually most Planning and Zoning Commissions will respect the PD. If the applicant is coming in to ask for a change to square footage, he usually isn't going to run over and grab another area at the front and start changing that. Doesn't mean that P&Z can't, but as an amendment to the PD you want to respect what the applicant is asking for within the PD. Q.: It is my understanding that you can't take a PD requirement to the Zoning Board of Adjustment because to do something other than what the PD says the only relief on a PD is by an amendment to the PD and not to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Mr. Boutwell: An amendment to the PD is a zoning change. Whenever we do zoning changes we have to give public notice, we have to notify people within two hundred feet, have to have a public hearing at the P&Z and you have to do the same thing at Council. Ms. Huggins: An example would be recently the Planning and Zoning Commission heard a case before them where Tom Thumb, PD -21 Plaza Shopping Center, was asking for a change to the signage in the shopping center to allow LED signage for the fuel station; they wanted an additional two feet to each monument sign for signage for the fuel station. We could have also talked about hours of operation, because that's in the PD. It had nothing to do with what they were asking for; they were asking only for an amendment to the PD for three specific signs to be increased in size. Yet that could have opened up the PD to talk about other things. Our Town Attorney will say to you, please don't stray too far. Respect what they are coming before you and asking. Respect the PD document and what's already established. Mr. Boutwell: That's also why many developers would rather take a beating than go back and amend a PD. They just hate to go back and amend a PD, have to open it and go through the public hearings and notifications again. Planning and Zoning Commission Page 8 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 Q: The PDs, are they all available someplace? I can see where it might be helpful to have them on a disc or something so we have the opportunity to review them if something was coming up. Ms. Huggins: 1 could do that for you guys. Typically if we do have an amendment to a PD 1 do provide that PD to you -- certainly the development standards, because the development standards are what you're considering. Q: Often times the community will summarize the characteristic of their PD just to keep track of the kinds of things they have been permitting or requiring. Mr. Boutwell: A PD is just like Zoning Ordinance; it has a map and text. The PD is shown on your zoning map. The text part of it, because it's not straight zoned, is a text document of regulations and usually it can be from one page to fifty pages in length. Whenever you review zoning cases you get a straight view, a straight zone case, sometimes it may require a site plan. Carolyn will give you a Staff recommendation and she'll submit a site plan, if it requires a site plan. The site plan may have landscaping on it also. There may be a tree survey required, those types of things, those are the things you look at if it's required by the straight zone district. If the straight zoned district does not require a site plan you won't get that. All you get is a request to change zoning from commercial to professional, and that's it. Almost always someone will ask, where's the site plan? Well we don't have the site plan because we don't know what we're going to build on it, we don't know what kind of structure is going to be there. That is normal on a straight zoned district. Planned development you'll have some things to look at: you'll have the development regulations, a concept plan and a development plan. The development plan you can see in Trophy Club because Trophy Club has some development plans where the entire development is planned out and it shows where all the different sections are going to be, but when you get down to the actual section it may be a little bit different. PD -28 shows the high school in this area of town, but what it didn't have was the site plan for it. They couldn't provide the site plan at the time they did the PD because the school wasn't developed yet. So what happens is you may get just a development plan; that may be all that you have, and then at a later date when they develop that area they'll come back with a site plan. That's part of the PD process, so that's why it has to get your approval also, because of that site plan. The PD requires the text regulations and an overall development plan -- how long it's going to take to do this thing. In residential areas, where there are different phases of your PD, they will come back with a plat. The plat may not look exactly like the development plan because they hadn't worked out the exact streets configuration then. It ought to look something like it, but it may not look exactly like it. It may not have the same amount of lots — it may have fewer which is ok. Then, all they have to do is come back with the preliminary plat and final plat and then we look at the development plan to see if it is in accordance with that development plan. When we get that plat, understand the plat is not part of the PD process; that's the platting process so we cannot ask all those PD questions. We just have to look to see if it is accordance with that development plan, and if we already have a preliminary plat, then we'll have to approve it. I have some asterisks down at the bottom. It says "Construction engineering drawings are not reviewed by P&Z and Council." The construction plans, the engineering drawings are usually approved by the engineer and by the building official. Expect to see site plans, development plans, you may see some elevations, but the construction drawings you'll probably never see. If you're wondering if they aren't coming in, it's not because they're not turned in — they are, but the normal process is to take it to those professionals and building officials. Planning and Zoning Commission Page 9 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2093 Q: Drainage is a big thing in this town; flooding and some studies like that. How does that fit in with the site plan vs. the engineering drawings? Ms. Huggins: With a site plan it depends on where we are in the process. You have seen several projects in the past year where a plat and site plan came together, and included with that was construction engineering drawings. In Trophy Club there is a requirement, located in your ordinances, that I can't put a plat or a site plan on a P&Z agenda until the construction plans have been approved by the Town Engineer. Part of the construction drawings are grading and drainage. Trophy Club has Flood Plain. The Corp property is Flood Plain; we have Flood Plain all throughout Trophy Club, and drainage has always been a problem. When we were incorporated in 1985, we didn't have a drainage plan — a town -wide drainage plan. We went subdivision by subdivision, which now over the years has created a problem. We have water draining from one subdivision on to another, and the one taking the water may not have adequate storm drain systems to take on that additional water. Now we look at that in detail, and the Town Engineer looks at grading and drainage and those plans do not get approved until we are sure we've got a plan in place. In fact, when we get to where I talk about the projects under review I'll give you an example of one where we are having just that problem. It's been delayed because of the drainage. Mr. Boutwell: What will happen, the site plan using the preliminary plat will already have the input of the Engineers. If there are drainage questions there may need to be an additional lot that the engineer says will need a retention pond on that lot. What you might see is just a blank lot, that's because that's going to be used for a retention pond. Or on the site plan there may be a retention area or a channel area needed. That will need to be shown, but only as a plan view for input from the engineers. Q: Previously we have discussed or been part of the conversation at P&Z over drainage, and drainage problems, and drainage of a plan. I asked a lot of those questions. Somebody else on the commission would ask about ADA and different things like that. Just for my clarification, does that go under construction/engineering, and we really shouldn't be talking about it — or does that go under site plan and development? Mr. Boutwell: You can certainly ask questions: have the engineers looked at the drainage on this site? I think that's appropriate. Ms. Huggins: With both platting and site plans, we try to always have the Town Engineer, Tom Rutledge, there. The applicant's engineers are supposed to be there as well to answer those questions. Mr. Boutwell: You will probably not get the engineers drawings, but it is an appropriate question to ask, "Has the drainage been examined by the engineer on this site"? Q: With a historical issue like this, I would strongly suggest asking an even simpler question: How has the drainage been dealt with? Mr. Sheridan: Previously we have received the Q's and the drainage plan, the engineering sheet — not the whole set — but we have seen the engineering sheet for drainage. That brought the question up, is that ours or the engineers? Q: I have another question about planned developments, since we have so many. We're a town of planned developments. Has the town ever revoked one because of non-performance according to the requirements of that planned development? Mr. Boutwell: No, not revoked. The Town has tabled and worked on getting things Planning and Zoning Commission Page 10 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 adopted, but not revoked. Ms. Huggins: There have been some HOAs where the Town has had to step in and take responsibility for some issues that HOA's were not properly handling. On every plat you'll see a statement that says if the HOA doesn't maintain then the city will step in to do so. We have had to do that on a couple of occasions. In the last ten years we've had very good response from the developers, HOAs and they have done a great job of continuing to work with us on water conservation, types of zero-scaping, etc. Mr. Boutwell: Dan's Rules for Zoning Review - real simple: Don't design it for them. I don't know how many meetings I've been in where an applicant may bring us an incomplete drawing/incomplete design or design with questions on it. If we have questions on it, the meeting is not the place to redesign it for them. I've seen commissioners and Council members get caught up and say what if you take this down here and put this over here. If there is a question in it, the applicants are marvelous, innovative people. They can come up with ideas that will amaze you. If they don't get it right, you do two things: you can deny it or you can table it and send them back to the drawing board. Let them know there are problems and let them try to fix it. If they don't have it right, if you don't understand it, if there are things missing and confusing make them fix it — send it back. Mr. Sheridan: In being part of those who argue over parking spaces and placement of trees, usually when we get in that situation we are going out of our way — and I mean the Staff and the Town, not just the Commission, going out of our way to encourage, enhance or help somebody. So therefore the meeting does get involved in that rather than just deny something or table it. The most recent one is the church; they are trying to get something built for the school. So therefore the conversation over parking, over landscaping, over little things did occur. But we did work it out to where we recommended approval that night because they were in a rush and we were trying to be friendly to businesses, friendly to our applicants. Mr. Boutwell: I understand, but I also know that these guys usually have professionals that know the ordinances, they know what the rules are, and they can work it out. Sometimes we've had people bring things to the Town to see what they can by the Town. I do think you have to do everything you can do to accommodate folks and work with them. But, there's a point, place and time when it's either deny it or table the thing. I always like to table it and give them another shot at it rather than deny it. They have always been willing to do that. That sounds a little hard line, and I understand what it means to sit in your place. I'm the Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission in Burleson, so it is very difficult for me to take off my consultant hat and put on my planner hat. What's platting? I already told you a while ago, but basically it's the process regulating how the land is divided. It tells us the width of the streets, how they get water, how they get sewer, how they get streets, how they divide the land, how they split it up into lots, and how they do the circulation. The types of plats: Preliminary plat, final plats, replats, amending plats. All but the preliminary plat are cited by state law. State law does not recognize a preliminary plat. A preliminary plat is something planners and cities have instituted that comes before the plat. It's preliminary to the plat. We do that because there is a state law that says we have thirty days to approve something. If the plat comes before you, the city, and they file it and they give Carolyn their check, it means the application is completed. State law says we have thirty days to act on it. If we don't act on it in thirty days its deemed approved. So cities have said before you give us a final plat we need something preliminary, we need a preliminary plat showing what all you're going to be doing. Once we approve that we can approve your final plat quickly. So the preliminary plat comes before the final plat. Planning and Zoning Commission Page 11 of 15 Meeting Dale: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 The final plat is the last and final. It's the plat. A replat has already been platted; we're platting it again. Usually it's to split one big lot into two, or take three lots and make it into two; we're just moving lot lines around. Whatever we do still has to meet with our zoning ordinance. Amending plat is easy. We have to amend it because there is call that's wrong, a dimension that's wrong. It's just a small amendment to it. Those are the plats. For preliminary plat we require preliminary drainage and engineering be submitted so that we have an idea of what's happening. When you get to the final plat you'll have final engineering drawings. When the final plat conforms to the approved preliminary plat it must be approved. If you have a final plat that comes before you and you don't like how many lots are in the plat, and it's the exact same lots that are on the preliminaryplat, you have to approve it. If it complies with your preliminary plat you must approve it. That's hard for us to do sometimes. Final plat gives you everything exact. Final plats you have all the final engineering drainage. Final plats are the ones filed at the court house after they are approved by the town or the city. The final plat must conform substantially to an approved preliminary plat. If it does, we approve it. Replat is control over the preceding recorded plat. Replats that are residential require notification of everyone in the subdivision within two hundred feet. Thirty day rule says you have thirty days from the time it's submitted or then it's deemed approved to act on it. The P&Z and the Council each have thirty days. The P&Z has thirty days, it's approved. The Council has thirty days to act. Q: Does "act on it" also include tabling? Mr. Boutwell: No, the law says if you don't deny it in thirty days it is deemed approved. Tabled is not a denial. Ms. Huggins: We let the applicant know, before it's even tabled, that there is a 30 -day rule. We usually ask the applicant to waive the 30 -day rule to keep the plat consideration going. The applicant is asked to give me agreement in writing that they waive the 30 -day rule in order to table the case. Also, must be approved with in thirty days of approval — 1 want to clarify that. A project can be submitted to me and start through review process, and that thirty days isn't going to start until it's a complete project. A complete application ready to be placed on a P&Z agenda; then the clock starts ticking. Q: Calendar days or business days? Ms. Huggins: Calendar days. One of these projects we have had in review for eight months. It's not ready; the thirty day clock is still not ticking because we are not close to being ready for P&Z. Mr. Boutwell: On some of those the applicant is more than willing to give you a waiver to start with because they know that it's going to take more time. They would rather give you a waiver than get a denial. Ms. Huggins: Almost always from the date of P&Z approval we go to Council within thirty days. If we don't, something odd has happened. Rarely will there be more than thirty days between P&Z and Council. Mr. Boutwell: When you are platting you can require some things of the developer. You can get construction funds or construction for all of the improvements — the utilities and streets within subdivision. You can get a portion of site utilities and streets, you can get parkland dedication, and you can get dedication of public right of Planning and Zoning Commission Page 12 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 way. That's why it's important on your Comprehensive Plan that you show your thoroughfare plan because as your city grows you can require that property to give you right of way where that thoroughfare plan is shown. Ms. Huggins: We use all of these. They pay us infrastructure construction inspections based on a percentage of the overall construction of the infrastructure. Parkland dedication must be provided with a final plat. Dedication of public right of way is required through platting, and occasionally a portion of offsite utilities and streets come into play. That's happening right now with Neighborhood 6 where we're trying to put in a little playground just south of the gas well. The street ends at the subdivision and we are asking them to extend the street to the playground, as well as provide sidewalk access. Mr. Boutwell: Dan's Rule for Platting is a lot like Dan's Rule for Zoning: Don't design it for them. Recommend approval, recommend denial, or table it if you have a waiver provided by the applicant. That's the only time you can table one of those; if you table it and thirty days pass they can get it approved. Platting Process: Comes to the staff, Carolyn does her magic on it; do P&Z action. Some cities they deny it, it stops right there. If you approve it, it will go onto Council for action. If Council denies it, it's dead. Council approves it they now submit their final plat, goes to Carolyn again for Staff review to look at it again. We see if it complies with the approved preliminary and it goes to P&Z action; if it complies it goes onto Council action. If Council denies it for any reason then they start over again. If they approve it, it goes to the court house and they file it. That's a long drawn out process to get it platted, but it's the process set up by state law. Open meetings are public meetings and workshops, including public hearings. Open meetings are formal for the purpose of discussion and consideration of action items brought before us; usually just a seventy two hour notice for posting of the agenda. Formal agenda items, structured formally, open for attendance by the public, scheduled opportunity for public input, action may be taken on the items, and no written notification is required (if not a public hearing item). Informal meetings such as workshops require 72 hour notice for posting of the agenda. Formal agenda items with informal structure, open for attendance by the public, participation by the public is conditional, and usually the chairman can determine whether or not he wants to allow input from the public. Action may not be taken on items in workshops. Public hearing for zoning is very formal, fifteen day notice in the paper, ten days notice by mail, formally structured; open for participation by the public, participation may be limited by the chair. The chair can say things like: " I'm going to give everybody five minutes to speak. If you have the same thing to say as your neighbor just said, simply state that. You don't need to repeat everything that has previously been said." No actions are taken on any item in the public hearing. You can leave a public hearing open or you can extend it to a date specific. Closed meetings are executive session. Secret meetings — don't even think about it. We don't do those. What's wrong with this motion? "Mr. Chairman I don't see why we should approve this plat for a Pawn Shop. I don't like them, i certainly don't want them in our town, therefore l move to deny this plat. " There is a lot wrong with this motion — first of all, it's his opinion. It's kind of capricious. Platting has no authority of land use. What's wrong with this one: "Mr. Chairman I recommend approval for this zoning if the applicant will pave the community parking lot located next door. " It's contract zoning. I can't zone this condition subject to acting somehow someplace else. Planning and Zoning Commission Page 13 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 Here's another: "Mr. Chairman I recommend approval of this plat provided the front building line for this zoning district be decreased from 25 -ft. and the side yard increased to 15 -ft." We can't do that — how come? Because changing a regulation requires a zoning amendment. We can't put conditions on the plats like that. That's all I had guys. Mr. Allen: Well what's the big stink going on between PD -30 and the community and Planning and Zoning and the Council and everything? it was a PD issue that was recommended denied by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Council approved it. In the conversation, heresay information, it was a matter of communication between the developer and the staff, and the developer and the Planning and Zoning, and so forth and so on. Add some light onto this so we don't make the same general errors in the future and look like a bunch of jerks. Mr. Boutwell: Not knowing what this is let me say something else; you are in a public meeting with a quorum. It isn't a posted item, if it's just information on something that has passed that would be okay but if there is anything on-going on this you need to be careful talking about it. Ms. Huggins: It's not a posted item. In relation to P&Z orientation I was going to give you an overview of what's going on in town including PD -30, but because we have run out of time 1 would recommend that we put that on the next agenda to give you an idea what we are currently reviewing. We have a lot of projects going on in the town. Mr. Allen: I think it's a matter of historical information. Ms. Huggins: One of the things I can tell you is that we are working with the developer on PD -30. We do anticipate some development on that project in 2014. He is actively marketing the property for the first phase development which would be at Highway 114 and Trophy Club Drive corner. Mr. Senelly: Apropos of our agenda today, which is Orientation, just want to make sure everybody has had a chance to do their training — got their certification done, and sworn in and all that good stuff if you're new. Ms. Huggins: Have all four of you been sworn in? Mr. Reed: I have not. Mr. Senelly: Even though this is a formidable looking bomb that we've been given to review and keep as our guide, the book that you have in front of you which has been put together by staff— thank you so much, Carolyn — has everything in it that you need to know, and unfortunately, we need to know. Which means if you haven't had a chance to get familiar with — particularly the Zoning Ordinance — you really need to do so. There are a lot of sections in here that are good. Fortunately you also have something to run in your computer that will help you out, but do the homework because even though I love on the job learning and training, it's not going to be enough for this job when things come up. Ms. Huggins: In the book you have, there are five things that are on this disc; the other three things are the handouts you were given: the Sign Ordinance, Parkland Dedication, and Oil and Gas Well Manual. There's also an Oil and Gas Well Ordinance, but that's part of the Zoning Ordinance which is in your book. Again, in relation to being sworn in, there are two courses you have to take online — I'm sorry; those are two one hour courses! You will need to complete the certificates at the end of the training, and we will need a copy on file with the Town Secretary. Planning and Zoning Commission Page 14 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013 Planning tip Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2013 ADJOURN Mr. Senelly: Out of respect for everyone's time, we talked about five thirty, we're close. There is a lot more that we need to cover, things like past issues that we need to get familiar with - information of that type, so we need to adjourn this meeting. The meeting adjourned at 5:42 p.m. r 7 Richard Senelly, Ch an 0(o .�6�W/ r Carolyn Hug ' s, Community Nvlaiopment Director Planning and Zoning Commission Page 15 of 15 Meeting Date: May 6, 2013