[Livable Places Action Committee on June 7, 2022.]
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GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
UM, IT IS THREE O'CLOCK ON TUESDAY, JUNE 7TH, 2022.
I AM SONNY GARZA, ALONG WITH LISA CAR CLARK, OUR CO-CHAIRS OF THE LIBERAL PLACES ACTION COMMITTEE.
I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AS A VIRTUAL MEETING USING MICROSOFT TEAMS. UM, A LITTLE NOTE, PLEASE MUTE YOURSELF AND TURN OFF YOUR CAMERA DURING THE MEETING.
UM, IF YOU ARE JOINING US VIA TELEPHONE, YOU MAY USE STAR SIX TO MUTE AND UNMUTE YOURSELF.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, I WOULD, UH, REMIND YOU THAT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK DURING THE MEETING, PLEASE USE THE RAISE YOUR HAND FEATURE OR UNMUTE AND STATE YOUR LAST NAME SO THAT YOU MAY BE RECOGNIZED BY THE CHAIR.
UM, ALSO A REMINDER TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE IN THIS MEETING BUT ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THE RAISE YOUR HAND FEATURE IS ONLY FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
BUT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SIGN UP IN THE CHAT AND, UH, WE WILL CALL YOU BY NAME AT THE END OF THE MEETING DURING THE, THE PUBLIC SESSION.
SO, UH, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, EXCUSE ME.
SO, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK AGAIN DURING THE MEETING, I'M, UM, I'M GONNA ASK TO YOU TO STATE YOUR NAME AND ANSWER PRESENT AS I CALL THE ROLE.
SO PREPARE TO UNMUTE YOURSELF IF YOU ARE MUTED, AND WE WILL BEGIN THE CHAIR.
THE CO-CHAIR, LISA CLARK, UH, PRESENT IS PRESENT.
BRADLEY PEPPER IS NOT PRESENT.
SHERRY SMITH, DR. SMITH IS NOT PRESENT.
DUSTIN O'NEILL IS NOT PRESENT.
MARK NIGHTINGALE IS NOT PRESENT.
STEVE CURRY CONNECT ME WITH A JOURNALIST.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS, IF I, UH, IF UH, YOU JUST JOINED US AND YOU MISSED YOUR NAME, PLEASE MAKE YOUR PRESENCE KNOWN NOW.
UH, AT THIS POINT I SHOW 12 COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, PRESENT FOR OUR MEETING.
SANDY STEVENS HAS JUST JOINED THE MEETING.
I, I DIDN'T WANNA INTERRUPT YOU, SO NO, THANK YOU.
REMEMBER, WE'RE JUST AT THE BEGINNING.
EVERYONE'S CALL RIGHT IN CALL RIGHT OUT.
SO AGAIN, IF, UH, ANY OF YOU MISSED A ROLL CALL
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AND HAVE SINCE JOINED US, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TO SPEAK UP AND WE WILL ADD YOU TO THE LIST.UH, A COUPLE OF QUICK INSTRUCTIONS, UH, THAT WE ALWAYS GO THROUGH, AND I WILL DO THEM BRIEFLY FOR OUR PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO THE MEETING.
SOME BEST PRACTICES FOR THIS MEETING ARE THESE, AFTER JOINING THE MEETING, STAY MUTED WITH YOUR CAMERA OFF TO MINIMIZE BACKGROUND DISRUPTIONS AND HELP WITH BETTER STREAMING QUALITY.
IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK, ENTER YOUR NAME IN THE CHAT AND YOUR NAME WILL BE CALLED IN THE ORDER RECEIVED.
UM, IF YOU'RE USING THE CELL PHONE AGAIN, USE STAR SIX TO MUTE AND UNMUTE YOURSELF.
UM, WHEN COMMENTS ARE TO BE HEARD AT THE END OF THE MEETING, UH, WHEN THE CHAIR CALLS ON AN INDIVIDUAL FROM THE PUBLIC TO PLE SPEAK, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND SPELL YOUR LAST NAME OUT LOUD.
UNLESS STAFF HAS ALREADY DONE THAT FOR YOU.
AGAIN, A VERBAL RECORDING OF THIS MEETING IS IMPORTANT, SO PLEASE SPEAK SLOWLY AND CLEARLY.
THE CHAT OPTION IS NOT TO BE USED FOR, UH, ANYTHING OTHER THAN PUBLIC SPEAKER REQUESTS OR BASIC STAFF ADMINISTRATION ABOUT POSTED AGENDA ITEMS. AGAIN, THE HAND RAISED FEATURE IS TO BE USED ONLY BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF TO IDENTIFY THEIR INTEREST IN COMMENT OR QUESTIONS.
AGAIN, IF YOU ARE NOT A COMMITTEE MEMBER AND YOU HAVE A COMMENT OR A QUESTION, PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME IN THE CHAT AND YOU'LL BE CALLED AT THE MEETINGS END.
UH, AGAIN, PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE HEARD AT THE TIME DESIGNATED ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
AND THEN OF COURSE WHEN WE FINISH, PLEASE DISCONNECT OR HANG UP ALL DEVICES RIGHT AFTER THE CHAIR.
ALRIGHT, UM, WE WILL BEGIN, BEGIN WITH, UH, THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT BY, UH, DIRECTOR MARGARET WALLACE BROWN, DIRECTOR WALLACE BROWN.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AGAIN.
UH, EX OH, EXCITED TO SEE EVERYONE.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF, UM, ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT THE WORK OF THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT OTHER THAN, UM, THIS COMMITTEE.
I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT CITY COUNCIL APPROVES SOME CHANGES, UH, THE CHANGES THAT YOU RECOMMENDED, UM, AT THE VERY EARLY ONSET OF THIS COMMITTEE WORK, UM, THE TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THEM, UH, IN MAY.
AND SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CHANGES TO HOW WE, UM, ESTABLISH THE CALENDAR FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION, PUBLIC NOTIFICATION FOR AREAS, UM, WITH FOR PLA, FOR RELAS AND, UM, VARIANCES AND THE 20 DAY ADVANCE NOTICE FOR, UM, FOR SOME OF OUR WORK.
SO COUNSEL HAS APPROVED THE FIRST TRANCHE OF WORK THAT YOU'VE SUBMITTED TO THEM, AND WE ARE VERY PLEASED, UM, FOR OUR APPLICANTS, I RECOMMEND YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, UM, HOUSTON PLANNING.COM AND, AND LOOK AT, UM, AND WHAT THEY ARE SO THAT YOU CAN BE AWARE OF THE CHANGES THAT, UM, THAT ARE REQUIRED OF OUR APPLICANTS.
AND THEN THE SECOND THING I WANNA SAY IS THAT OUR MAJOR THOROUGHFARE AND FREEWAY PLAN, OPEN HOUSE IS COMING UP ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15TH.
AND I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO ATTEND.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR CHANGES TO THE MAJOR THOROUGHFARE AND FREEWAY PLAN, AND THIS IS THE, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN ABOUT THEM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE, WHAT PROPOSES, UM, WHAT APPLICATIONS WE'VE RE WE'VE RECEIVED FOR PEOPLE PROPOSING CHANGES.
SO THOSE TWO THINGS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT AND, UM, YOU CAN FIND ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT'S DOING@HOUSTONPLANNING.COM AND I'M HANDING IT BACK TO THE CHAIRMAN.
AND I JUST REMIND YOU THAT, UH, THE MAJOR THOROUGHFARE MEETING IS VIRTUAL, CORRECT? OH, YES.
IT IS VIRTUAL AND YOU CAN GET THE, UM, THE LINK TO IT FROM OUR WEBSITE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR AGAIN.
UM, THAT WILL BE ON THE 15TH, I BELIEVE AT FIVE 30.
THANK YOU AGAIN, DIRECTOR WALLACE BROWN.
I WILL NOW HAND THE MEETING OVER TO, UH, TAMMY WILLIAMSON.
TAMMY, ARE YOU THERE? YES SIR.
MY NAME IS TAMMY WILLIAMSON WITH PLANNING STAFF.
I'LL BE FACILITATING THIS DISCUSSION TODAY IN THE AGENDA FOR TODAY.
WE HAVE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE TRANSPORTATION FOCUS GROUP AND UPDATE TO THE COMMITTEE ON PROPOSED MINOR REVISIONS TO PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS.
AM I STILL SHARING THE SCREEN? NO, I AM SEEING IT.
IT SOUNDS LIKE WEIRD ON MY SCREEN.
UM, THE PROS RECOMMENDATIONS TO, UM, MINOR REVISIONS TO PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO A FEW TYPES OF RESERVES ALONG WITH OTHER PROVISIONS WITH CHAPTER 40 TWO'S, PLATTING AND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE.
AFTER THAT, WE WILL PRESENT HOMER ACTIVITY AND EXPECTATIONS FOR NEXT MEETING AND WE'LL HAVE TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THE END.
SO TO PRESENT THE TRANSPORTATION FOCUS GROUP TOPICS AND MEETING DATES IS
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ARACELI RODRIGUEZ, UH, PLANNER THREE ON STAFF.UM, TODAY, UM, JUST SIMPLY MAKING AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT A SMALL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE GROUP HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON FIELD TRANSPORTATION RELATED TOPICS AND SEVERAL PART PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE EXPERTS ON THE FIELD WILL BE PART OF THE FOCUS GROUP.
BUT IF YOU WOULD STILL LIKE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO JOIN THE MEETINGS.
FEW MEETINGS WILL BE HELD TO DISCUSS ON TWO MAIN TOPIC, AND THOSE TOPIC ARE GONNA BE ABOUT, UM, TWO POINT OF ACCESS AND THE CUL-DE-SAC REQUIREMENTS INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SCHEDULED MEETING WILL BE AVAILABLE IN OUR LET'S TALK HOUSTON WEBSITE BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.
AND THEN ALSO ON AUGUST 9TH, WE WILL HAVE A PRESENTATION WITH THE PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION GIVEN TO THE COMMITTEE.
UM, THIS IS ALL THE ANNOUNCEMENT I HAVE FOR TODAY, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, LET ME KNOW.
IF NOT, I'LL GIVE IT BACK TO TAMMY.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION FOCUS GROUP COMMITTEE MEMBERS? ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? AGAIN, THIS IS NEW, SO, UM, IF YOU SEEM A LITTLE SURPRISED, THAT'S QUITE ALL RIGHT.
BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE NOT SEEN BEFORE.
WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THIS IS GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD AND UH, AS YOU CAN SEE RIGHT HERE, UM, THE TOPICS THAT ARE GONNA BE DISCUSSED.
SO THEY TEND TO BE A LITTLE MORE TECHNICAL AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE GOT ALL THESE, I'LL JUST SAY TECHNICIANS WORKING ON THIS AND THEY'RE GONNA BE OUR CONSULTANTS.
AND THEN AS, AS, UH, ELLI SAID, THEY WILL COME BACK TO US WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
ALRIGHT, SO TAMMY, DO WE GO BACK TO YOU? YES SIR.
THE NEXT ITEM ON TODAY'S AGENDA IS TO INFORM THE COMMITTEE OF PROPOSED MINOR RECOMMENDATION CHANGES FROM PREVIOUSLY CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO TO BE MORE CONSISTENT AND LESS CONFUSING, STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT THE CRITERIA FOR MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS BE ADJUSTED.
WHEN MULTI-UNIT RESIDENTIAL WAS PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE IN JANUARY, STAFF PRESENTED THE RECOMMENDATION FOR MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS OF ONE SPACE PER UNIT, LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 1000 SQUARE 1000 SQUARE FEET, AND TWO SPACES PER UNIT GREATER THAN A THOUSAND SQUARE FEET.
WE RECOMMEND TO CHANGE THE UNIT SIZE TO BRING CONSISTENCY WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NARROW LOT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS PRESENTED LAST MONTH WITH A THRESHOLD OF 1500 SQUARE FEET.
LIKEWISE, FOR SECONDARY DWELLING UNIT RECOMMENDATIONS PRESENTED IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR, WE RECOMMEND TO CHANGE THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN REQUIRING ONE ADDITIONAL PARKING SPACE TO TWO PARKING SPACES FROM 1200 SQUARE FEET TO 15,000 SQUARE FEET.
THE RECOMMENDATION OF NOT REQUIRING AN ADDITIONAL PARKING SPACE FOR UNITS OF 1000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS IS STILL THE SAME.
AND ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS JUST TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS PRESENTED FOR NARROW LOT DEVELOPMENTS.
STAFF WAS ENCOURAGED TO ALSO CONSIDER ADDING ONE MORE CRITERIA FOR MARKET-BASED PARKING FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS.
IN ADDITION TO RAIL STATIONS, HIGH FREQUENCY BUS STOPS IE RED LINE WITH A SERVICE FREQUENCY OF 15 MINUTES OR BETTER BOOST STOPS TRANSIT STATIONS AND PARK AND RIDE FOR ALL DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN A HALF MILE DISTANCE.
WE RECOMMEND TO ADD BLUE ROUTE BUS STOPS WITH A SERVICE FREQUENCY OF 20 TO 30 MINUTES WITHIN OPPORTUNITY ZONES.
THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM WAS CURATED IN 2017 TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO DEVELOP AND INVEST IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS AND A MANNER THAT ENSURES BENEFIT TO BOTH INVESTORS AS WELL AS THE EXISTING RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES.
THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE DESIGNATED 99 CENSUS TRACKS WITHIN CITY OF HOUSTON BOUNDARIES AS OPPORTUNITY ZONES STAFF RECOMMENDS TO ADD THIS CRITERIA TO THE MARKET-BASED PARKING AVAILABILITY IN ORDER FOR THESE AREAS TO UTILIZE THE BENEFITS OF MARKET-BASED PARKING FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS.
THE FINAL PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION CHANGE IS A RESULT OF LAST MONTH'S DISCUSSION ON NARROW LOT DEVELOPMENTS FOR LOTS LESS THAN 40 FEET WIDE.
INSTEAD OF THE PROPERTY SIZE THRESHOLD BEING LESS THAN 15,000 SQUARE FEET AND THEN 15,000 SQUARE FEET OR GREATER, WE RECOMMEND TO CHANGE THAT TO BE 15,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS AND THEN GREATER THAN 15,000 SQUARE FEET.
TO HELP MAKE IT CLEAR, THIS FLOW CHART WAS PRESENTED TO YOU LAST MONTH BY SAVITA AS A MEANS TO HELP UNDERSTAND STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT PRE PROVISIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR WHAT SITUATION OF RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
THE PROPOSED CHANGE IS HIGHLIGHTED HERE, PROPERTIES OF EXACTLY 15,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS WOULD NOW BE STEERED TO THE LEFT FOR MORE OPTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT TYPES.
AND YES, THIS IS TRULY A MINOR CHANGE, BUT WE AGREE WITH THE COMMITTEE'S COMMENT ABOUT THE ADJUSTMENT.
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ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE TO A NEW TOPIC? RIGHT.UH, SO SUBCOMMITTEE, ARE THERE QUESTIONS? LISA, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? I DID, BUT IT WAS FOR A PREVIOUS TOPIC, SO THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE.
WASN'T THAT IMPORTANT? THANK YOU.
I APOLOGIZE I DIDN'T SEE YOUR HAND RAISED, SO, UH, IF YOU WANT YOU CAN SEND ME AN EMAIL OR UM, WE CAN CHAT ABOUT IT IF YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION.
I DIDN'T SEE THE, YOUR HAND UP.
UM, SO, UM, AGAIN, SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON WHAT YOU'VE SEEN SO FAR? AGAIN, ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO YOU AND ACTUALLY WAS DONE BASED ON YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THEY ARE, AND I THINK TAMMY, YOU'LL AGREE THEY'RE MOSTLY TECHNICAL AND VERBIAGE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
ALRIGHT, UH, WITH THAT I THINK WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC, TAMMY.
THE NEXT TOPIC ON THE AGENDA IS DISCUSSING A FEW TYPES OF REVERT RESERVES, SOME PROBLEMS OR GAPS IN THE CURRENT ORDINANCE AND STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION STAFF IS LOOKING FOR CONSENSUS FROM THE COMMITTEE FOR THE PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS TWO MAIN LAND CLASSIFICATION.
ONE IS A LOT SINGLE FAMILY RE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, WHICH INCLUDES A DUPLEX OR A SECONDARY DWELLING UNIT.
AND THE SECOND IS RESERVE, WHICH IS ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT MEETS THE DEFINITION FOR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL.
THE RESERVE TYPES THAT WE WILL BE DISCUSSING MOSTLY OCCUR WITHIN SINGLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENT, EITHER IN CONJUNCTION WITH OR AS AN AMENITY TO.
THE FIRST TYPE OF RESERVE TO BE DISCUSSED IS COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE OR C-O-S-C-O-S IS ONE OR MORE AREAS ON A SUBDIVISION PLAT USED FOR THE PURPOSE TO REDUCE THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE OF ONE OR MORE LOTS.
THE INTENT OF COS IS AS A COMMON OPEN SPACE RESTRICTED FOR THE USE OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE SUBDIVISION WHEN THE LOT SIZES ARE REDUCED WITHOUT RESTRICTING LOT COVERAGE.
THE CURRENT ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR COS ARE SHOWN ON THE SCREEN WITH THE VAGUE REQUIREMENT OF BEING ACCESSIBLE TO ALL OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE SUBDIVISION.
THERE CAN BE AND HAVE BEEN AN UNATTENDED CON CONSEQUENCE, AN EXAMPLE OF WHICH IS SHOWN ON THE SCREEN.
THIS RECORDED AND CONSTRUCTED SUBDIVISION PROPOSED LOTS LESS THAN THE MINIMUM SIZE REQUIREMENTS.
SO PROVIDED COS BUT ONLY PROVIDED THE COS IN THIS ONE AREA SHOWN IN GREEN OUTSIDE OF THE SUBDIVISION'S PERIMETER FENCE, WITH NO MEANS FOR THE RESIDENTS TO ACCESS EXCEPT FROM THE PUBLIC STREET WITH NO SIDEWALK.
MANY SUBDIVISIONS DO LOCATE THEIR COS WITHIN THE SUBDIVISION, MORE CENTRALLY LOCATED AND MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE, BUT IT IS NOT CURRENTLY A REQUIREMENT.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO PROVIDE CLEAR LANGUAGE ABOUT WHAT IS ACTUALLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE RESIDENTS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INTENT OF COS AS USABLE SPACE AND AS A COMMUNITY AMENITY ARE MET TO THIS END.
ANY COS SHOULD BE CENTRALLY LOCATED AMONG THE LOTS NEEDING TO UTILIZE THE COS WHERE THE REDUCED LOT SIZE, IF NOT CENTRALLY LOCATED THEN SHOULD NOT BE LOCATED ON THE OUTSIDE PERIMETER OF THE SUBDIVISION FENCE UNLESS PEDESTRIAN ACCESS IS PROVIDED TO THE AREA.
ANY PROVIDED COS SHOULD BE USABLE SPACE NOT MERELY A NARROW LANDSCAPE STRIP.
AND THE IMAGES ON THE SCREEN ARE FROM MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY.
CODE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF OPEN SPACES TO REPRESENT SIDE PLACEMENT AND USABILITY.
THE NEXT RESERVE TYPE IS RESERVE RESTRICTED TO RECREATION.
A RECREATION RESERVE IS INTENDED TO BE USED FOR LARGER COMMUNITY AMENITIES THAT WOULD PROPOSE STRUCTURES LIKE A SWIMMING POOL OR CLUBHOUSE.
THE ORDINANCE CURRENTLY ONLY ALLOWS A RECREATION RESERVE TO HAVE FRONTAGE ON A PUBLIC STREET OR TYPE ONE PAE, WHICH IS A PRIVATE STREET BUILT TO PUBLIC STREET STANDARDS.
STAFF RECOMMENDS TO EXTEND WHERE A RECREATION RESERVE MAY BE PROPOSED TO BE ALLOWED ON TYPE TWO PAE PRIVATE STREET OF 28 FOOT WIDTH AND SHARED DRIVEWAYS FOR IF THESE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE A LARGER AMENITY FOR THE RESIDENTS.
ALL TYPE TWO PAE AND SHARED DRIVEWAY REQUIREMENTS FOR MAXIMUM LENGTH AND FIRE PROTECTION MUST STILL BE MET.
THE THIRD AND FINAL RESERVE TYPE FOR TODAY'S DISCUSSION IS PARKING RESERVES.
CHAPTER 42 CURRENTLY ESTABLISHES REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL PARKING SPACES FOR SHARED DRIVEWAYS AND TYPE TWO PAE SUBDIVISIONS IN THE CITY DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS BASED ON THE CONSTRUCTION CODE AND THE GENERAL LOCATION REQUIREMENT OF ONLY BEING LOCATED WITHIN THE SUBDIVISION.
THE ORDINANCE SPECIFIES THAT THE PARKING SPACE SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL RESIDENTS OF EACH DWELLING UNIT OF THE SUBDIVISION PLAT.
THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW INSTANCES WHERE THE LOCATION OF THE PROVIDED PARKING RESERVE OR RESERVES ARE NOT ACCESSIBLE TO SEVERAL LOTS EXCEPT IF WALKING AROUND THE BLOCK
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OUTSIDE OF THE SUBDIVISION.STAFF RECOMMENDS TO ELABORATE AND DEFINE ACCESSIBLE BETTER.
WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN AN ADDITIONAL PARKING SPACE IS REQUIRED, IT IS TO BE LOCATED TO BE WALKABLE WITHIN THE SUBDIVISION FROM THE LOTS.
ANOTHER ISSUE WITH THE PLACEMENT OF A PARKING RESERVE IS WHEN IT IS PROPOSED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE EDGE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY.
WHEN THE PARKING RESERVE IS ADJACENT TO THE EDGE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, THERE ARE TWO MAIN POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. THE FIRST IS VEHICULAR TURNING AND MANEUVERABILITY.
THE EXAMPLE ON THE SCREEN EXHIBITS THE DIFFICULTY OF TRAVELING ON THE RIGHT OF WAY ON THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE PARKING RESERVE AND THE MANEUVERABILITY DIFFICULTY WHEN THE PARKING IS LOCATED TOO CLOSE TO THE PAVEMENT EDGE.
ANOTHER DIFFICULTY IS WHEN THE PARKING RESERVE IS ONCE AGAIN LOCATED IMMEDIATELY A ADJACENT TO THE RIGHT OF WAY EDGE WITHOUT TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE.
WHEN THE PARKING RESERVE IS LOCATED AT THE RIGHT OF WAY EDGE AND THERE IS NOT THE REQUIRED DISTANCE FROM THE EDGE OF PAVEMENT TO THE PROPERTY LINE FOR THE SAFETY ABOVE AND SIDEWALK WIDTH, THEN THERE IS A CONFLICT AND COULD END UP REQUIRING A REPL TO CORRECT THE LOCATION.
STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT PARKING RESERVES NOT BE LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE RIDE OF WAY EDGE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS RELATED TO THESE RESERVES? THANK YOU, TAMMY.
I'VE GOT, UM, I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO.
I'VE GOT NEIL DYKEMAN TO BE FOLLOWED BY MIKE BERGER.
UH, T TAMMY, QUESTION ON THE FIRST ONE.
THE, SO THIS PROBLEM IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE IS PEOPLE PUTTING THE GRASS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FENCE OR BASICALLY NOT YOU BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY USEFUL INSIDE THAT, THAT UH, UM, SUBDIVISION ITSELF.
UM, LIKE STUPID QUESTION, WHY ARE THEY PUTTING IT THERE AND WHY IS IT YEAH, OUTSIDE THE FENCE.
I MEAN THE, JUST BECAUSE IT'S ON THE EDGE DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT ACCESSIBLE, BUT THEY'VE OBVIOUSLY BLOCKED IT OFF.
IS THERE SOMETHING IN YEAH, IN THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FENCE AND THE WAY IN SOMETHING ELSE IN THE, THE DEVELOPMENT RESTRICTIONS THAT ARE CAUSING 'EM TO DO THAT? UM, AND DO YOU KNOW IT'S JUST A MATTER OF YEAH.
OF, OF CHOICE OR IS THERE SOME OTHER BLOCKAGE THEY'RE TRYING TO GET AROUND? NO, MOST OF IT IS DESIGN DRIVEN.
WE HAVE A LOT OF, THIS IS MOSTLY FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, FOR LARGER SUBDIVISIONS WHERE YOU'RE CREATING LOTS AND LOTS OF LOTS.
UM, AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY DO LANDSCAPE RESERVES, LANDSCAPE BUFFERS AROUND THEIR SUBDIVISIONS TO KIND OF CREATE A GRASS AREA TO SEPARATE BEFORE YOU GET TO BACKYARDS OR SIDE YARDS.
UM, AND FOR LIKE, UM, SUBDIVISION MONUMENT SIGNS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND IT'S JUST WHEN C OS IS REQUIRED, THEY JUST SAY, HEY, I ALREADY HAVE A SPACE, WHY NOT PUT IT HERE WHERE I'M ALREADY WANTING TO PUT A BUFFER? IS MY, SO ARE THEY GOING TO NEED TO DO BOTH THEN? ARE YOU BASICALLY GONNA HAVE TO, THEY YOU IT'S GOT, IS THAT GONNA COST TO THAT EXAMPLE? IS THAT GONNA COST THAT DEVELOPMENT TWICE? AND I MEAN, IT STRIKES ME IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA TO HAVE YOUR WALKING TRAIL AROUND THE EDGE, BUT THEY'VE OBVIOUSLY DESIGNED IT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A FENCE SO THERE'S NO REAL ACCESS AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AND SO I'M, I'M UNCLEAR IF YOU'RE BASICALLY GONNA, IF THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THAT AND THEN PUT ANOTHER RESERVE INSIDE TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR OBJECTIVES OR IF THERE'S SOME OTHER SETBACKS OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S, THAT THEY'RE GONNA HA THAT THAT, THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO WORK AROUND.
UM, I THINK THAT WAS A VERY, VERY UNIQUE AS PROGRAMMER, UM, A UNIQUE SITUATION.
A LOT OF C OS IS ACTUALLY SEPARATED INTO SMALLER RESERVES SOMETIMES.
UM, I FOUND, ACTUALLY I CAN PULL UP AN EXAMPLE.
I JUST WAS GRABBING THIS, UM, CAN YOU SEE THIS RECORDED PLAT ON THE SCREEN? IT'S ACTUALLY AN EXHIBIT.
SO ALL OF THESE RESERVES ARE ALSO THEIR COS.
SO SOMETIMES THEY BREAK IT UP AND DO IT AS THESE KIND OF LEFTOVER PIECES THAT DON'T QUITE MAKE FOR LOTS AND THAT'S WHAT THEY USE ALSO FOR COS.
UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE LIKE THIS, THIS IS STILL, THEY'RE USING THESE ALSO AS THEIR COS, WHICH ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE GETTING BACK TO THE PROBLEM THAT THESE AREN'T REALLY USABLE 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA END UP WITH A FENCE.
AND WHAT HAPPENED HERE IS THEY ACTUALLY BUILT A FENCE ACROSS THIS.
AND SO YOU CAN'T ACCESS THIS AT ALL, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT'S BLOCKED OFF EVERYWHERE ELSE EXCEPT IF YOU GO ALL THE WAY BACK AROUND.
SO THERE ARE WAYS TO INCORPORATE IT WITHIN THE PLA IT'S JUST DESIGNING IT.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT, IT DOES.
I GUESS I'M CONCERNED THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE THE FIX YOU'RE DESCRIBING MAY MAKE THEM HAVE TO DO IT TWICE IF THEY STILL NEED THAT BUFFER FOR THAT TYPE OF LOT.
UM, AND IS NOT JUST SWITCHING IT FROM POINT A TO POINT B BUT MIGHT INCREASE OR RE REDUCE THE, YOU KNOW, THE DENSITY EFFECTIVELY FOR WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE IS JUST THEY'RE MAKING BAD DESIGN CHOICES.
UM, TAMMY, LET ME, LET ME JUST JUMP RIGHT IN HERE REAL QUICK.
[00:25:01]
I KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT BOTH, UM, WE'VE GOT UH, MIKE BERG AND LISA CLARK AND THEY BOTH HAVE INSIGHT IN THIS.SO IF I MAY, LET ME GO TO ONE OF THEM AND THEN I'LL COME BACK TO YOU SO THAT WE CAN MAKE NO, I'M GOOD THAT MY POINT'S MADE.
ALRIGHT, MIKE BERGER, YOU ARE UP.
UH, TAMMY REAL QUICK SO I DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT CHAPTER 42 REAL QUICK.
WHAT IS THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR COMPENSATED OPEN SPACE? IS IT 700? SO, SO FOR IN THE ETJ AT 5,000, IF YOU GO UNDER 5,000 IS WHEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE COS AND YOU COULD STILL GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 1400.
IT'S JUST YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE MORE COS.
WHAT ABOUT IN, IN THE CITY THAT'S NOT AT CITY IT'S 3,500.
IF YOU GO BELOW 3,500, IT REQUIRES COS BUT YOU CAN ALSO USE THE DENSITY OPTION AS EITHER 60%.
SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO RESTRICT YOUR DENSITY, THEN YOU CAN PROVIDE COS INSTEAD.
IT'S JUST, IT'S A A FAIRLY LARGE SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR PER RATIO FOR IN-CITY.
UM, SO MY COMMENTS ARE, UH, THE FIRST DRAWING I CAN SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
HOWEVER, AGAIN, I DON'T DO THAT SITE.
I COULD SEE HOW THE PURPOSE OF COMPENSATING SPACE IS USED FOR EVERYONE, BUT IT'S ALSO I THINK BEAUTY AND TREES AND STUFF.
AND THE PICTURE YOU HAD WAS HORRIBLE BECAUSE IF I DEVELOPED THAT I WOULD'VE PUT SOME TREES THERE AND PROBABLY A PATHWAY FOR PEOPLE TO WALK.
AND I THINK IF THEY WOULD'VE DONE THAT, I THINK EVERYBODY HERE WOULD PROBABLY BE FINE WITH THAT.
BE A DOG WALK AS LONG AS YOU, LIKE YOU SAID, THEY DON'T BLOCK OFF EACH END OF FENCE.
SO UNFORTUNATELY THAT'S AN ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM WITH THE FENCES WHERE PEOPLE WILL CHOP OFF THEIR, UH, COMMON AREA.
THERE'S NO REALLY NO INSPECTION FOR THAT.
YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, THERE'S NO INSPECTION FOR IT AND YOU HAVE TO JUST TRUST EVERYONE.
BUT A NEIGHBOR COULD CALL IN ON IT.
UM, SO I, I WOULD, UH, I BE, IT'S, TO ME, IT'S GONNA BE VERY HARD TO PUT THIS DOWN IN WRITING WHEN YOU SAY IT HAS TO BE ACCESSIBLE EVERYONE.
'CAUSE THAT IF GOES, IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENDS ON EACH SIDE, IT IS ACCESSIBLE.
AND I CAN SEE SOME BEAUTY IN THAT.
AGAIN, IF YOU PUSH THE HOUSE BACK, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING THE DEVELOPER COULD HAVE DONE IS PUT UP ANOTHER FENCE BETWEEN THE, UH, THE, UH, RESIDENTIAL UNITS AND THE STREET, WHICH WOULD LOOK UGLY.
AND NOW, OKAY, I JUST SOLVED MY PROBLEM.
I GOT COMPENSATING SPACE HERE.
UM, WHICH IT'S NOT GOOD FOR ANYONE.
SO I, I I THINK WE NEED TO SEE THE, THE VER YOU KNOW, THE, THE LANGUAGE ON THAT TO REALLY PUSH THAT THROUGH.
UM, SECOND ONE IS, UM, YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, PARKING BEING ACCESSIBLE.
AND THAT IS A WEIRD EXAMPLE YOU HAD AND WELL, I, THERE THERE'S, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF EXAMPLES YOU GUYS SEE IN PLANNING.
I KNOW THAT, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT MOST LOTS NEED TO HAVE A PARKING ACCESSIBLE, 'CAUSE I'VE DONE SOME INSIDE THE CITY, SOME 45, 60 UNIT PROJECTS WHERE WE HAD SOME HOUSES FACING THE STREET.
A FEW OF 'EM, I KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE IT, BUT WE HAD SOME FACING THE STREET, THE RESTAURANT INSIDE THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND, UH, WE HAD THE PARKING AND THEY COULD STILL USE IT.
IT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE FURTHER TO WALK.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, TO BE ABLE TO PUT THIS IN WRITING AND BE SO A, A DEVELOPER OR BUILDER KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE THEY CAN PUT THIS STUFF IS GONNA BE A LITTLE HARD TO WRITE UP.
AND THEN TO SAY IT HAS TO BE ACCESSIBLE, WHAT IS, WHAT IS ACCESSIBILITY? IS IT A HUNDRED FEET, 50 FEET, A THOUSAND FEET? BECAUSE IF YOU GO OUT INTO BAKERS HOMES RIGHT NOW, THERE'S SOME PROJECTS THERE THAT ARE 570 FOOT DEEP.
THOSE LOTS, THEY PUT THE PARKING AT EITHER ON ONE END OF THE OTHER.
SO IS THAT ACCESSIBLE OR NOT? YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THOSE ARE KIND OF QUESTIONS WE'RE GOING TO, AGAIN, I'M GONNA SEE THE LANGUAGE ON, I I DO, I DO AGREE THAT MOST OF THE LOTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE, BUT IF THERE'S AN OUTLIER, LIKE ONE OUT OF THE SIX IS NOT THERE, I THINK WE OUGHT TO HAVE AN EXCEPTION FOR THAT.
SO MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOU LOOK AT MOST DEAL.
BUT IT'S, I KNOW OUR RULE IS SIX.
SO SAY HEY, FIVE OF THE HOMES HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS.
AND THE THIRD THING IS, UM, I HAVE DONE THIS A FEW TIMES TOO, THAT TURN IN ON THE COMMON DRIVE YOU WERE SHOWING PO POSSIBLY THE WORST WAY TO ACCESS THAT PARKING SPOT, GOING FROM THE WRONG WAY.
CAN WE SHOW THAT PICTURE? UH, A LOT OF TIMES THAT RIGHT AWAY YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT RIGHT ON THE, UH, ROAD, YOU'VE GOT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE STREET EDGE AND THE PROPERTY EDGE.
NORMALLY IT'S 12 FEET OR MORE IN THE CITY.
AND ON BIGGER STREETS IT'S EVEN LARGER.
LIKE ON 20TH STREET, 19TH STREET, IT'S, IT'S 20 FEET DEEP, UH, BECAUSE OF EASEMENTS AND THINGS.
SO AGAIN, UM, I'M NOT SURE I AGREE WITH THIS ONE BECAUSE I, I THINK YOU CAN GET YOUR CAR IN THERE.
IT IS FOR GUEST PARKING AND BECAUSE OF THE WIDTH OF THE ROAD, YOU'RE SHOWING A 25 FOOT WIDE ROAD THERE.
IF YOU HIT IT FROM THE 25 FOOT, YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF TURNING RADIUS TO GET, GET YOUR CAR IN THERE.
UM, THIS ONE I DON'T AGREE WITH BECAUSE I, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, YOU SAY A MINIMUM DISTANCE.
UH, I GUESS I WOULDN'T WANNA SEE WHAT, SEE WHAT YOUR MINIMUM IS.
YOU'RE THE EXAMPLE AGAIN, SHOW IS A CURBING GUTTER STREET.
[00:30:01]
THERE, BUT IF YOU CAME FROM THE OTHER WAY, OR IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THAT FENCE THOUGH, THAT WROUGHT IRON FENCE, MAYBE THAT'S PART OF IT IS, OKAY, YOU CAN DO THIS, BUT YOU HAVE TO, UH, BE SO FAR AWAY FROM THE FENCE OR SOMETHING SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE THAT TURN.UM, I SHOW LISA CLARK TO BE FOLLOWED BY OMAR'S FARM, LISA.
SO THE FIRST EXAMPLE, TAMMY, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT PREVIOUSLY.
UM, WE DO SAY IN THE VERBIAGE ON YOUR SLIDE, IT SAYS, NO COMPENSATING OPPOSITE SPACE ON THE PERIMETER.
I'M NOT THE DEVELOPER THAT DEVELOPED YOUR EXAMPLE, BUT I CAN SEE REASONS WHY YOU WOULD WANT IT, DEPENDING ON WHAT ROADWAY YOU'RE ON, YOU MAY BE TRYING TO BUFFER NOISE.
UM, AND YOU WOULD WANT THAT BUFFER SPACE WITH LANDSCAPING AND PROBABLY A SIDEWALK OUTSIDE OF THAT.
NOW, I DO AGREE THAT IN THOSE LARGER AREAS AND ALONG THE TRAILWAY ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PERIMETER BENCHES, YOU KNOW, DOG WALKING STATIONS, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, TO MAKE IT A USABLE SPACE AND TO HAVE ACCESS MAYBE AN EASEMENT THROUGH SOME LOT, UM, BESIDE THIS LOT SIDE PROPERTY LINE FOR ACCESS TO COME THROUGH.
BUT I, I'M REALLY CONCERNED THAT WE'RE SAYING NO PARAMETER, UM, COS BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE INSTANCES WHERE THAT'S THE BEST OPTION.
UM, WE DON'T WANT TO BUILD A BUNCH OF THESE LARGER COMMUNITIES IN THE CITY OR THE ETJ AND NOT HAVE A BUFFER OUTSIDE OF THEM.
WE LOSE ALL THE TREES THAT ARE ALONG THE ROADWAY AND THE BUSHES AND ALL OF THE BEAUTIFICATION THAT PEOPLE HAVE WORKED TO ADD TO THE, THE CITY.
AND I DON'T WANNA SEE THAT GO AWAY.
IS THAT, UH, IS THAT THE END OF YOUR COMMENT, LISA? YES, SIR.
WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE MORE DISCUSSION AFTER, UM, BECAUSE I WANT US TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS.
IT LOOKS LIKE, OMAR, I'M COMING TO YOU.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE KNOW WHAT WE DON'T, WE, WE KNOW WHAT WE DON'T WANT.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT WHAT WE WANT INTO LANGUAGE, AS MIKE WAS SAYING.
SO, UM, OMAR, PLEASE, YOU'RE NEXT.
YOU ARE MUTED, SIR, I'M NOT HEARING YOU.
UM, I WANTED TO PIGGYBACK OFF, UM, LISA AND MIKE'S CONCERNS AND, AND I THINK THAT I LIKE WHAT THE CITY IS TRYING TO PROPOSE HERE.
I, I LIKE THE IDEA THAT COS SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE.
IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE, BUT I'M, I, MY PERSPECTIVE IS THAT, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH SUBDIVISION PLATING REGULATIONS, THEY SHOULD BE EXTREMELY OBJECTIVE TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN LOOK AT THEM AND KNOW WHETHER YOUR PLATT'S GONNA BE APPROVED OR NOT.
AND WORDS LIKE ACCESSIBLE ARE A LITTLE BIT SUBJECTIVE.
AND SO I THINK THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE DEAL WITH OFFSITE PARKING IN, UM, THE OFF STREET PARKING RULES, WE HAVE RULES THAT SAY THAT AN OFFSITE PARKING LOT NEEDS TO BE SO CLOSE TO THE USE IT'S INTENDED TO SERVE.
AND THAT THIS IS THE WAY WE'RE GONNA MEASURE IT WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE SHORTEST, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN ROUTE.
UM, AND WE CAN LOOK AT AN OFFSITE LOT AND SAY, WELL, IT IS ACCESSIBLE BECAUSE YOU CAN WALK TO IT AND UNDER 800 FEET FROM THIS LOCATION.
AND SO RATHER THAN WORDS LIKE ACCESSIBLE, I, I LIKE THE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S GOTTA BE SOME KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MEASUREMENT OR METRIC YOU CAN USE LIKE CON YOU KNOW, ALL THE LOTS WITHIN A SUBDIVISION THAT PROPOSES, UH, TO PROVIDE COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE, YOU KNOW, SHALL BE THIS DISTANCE FROM SOME PORTION OF THIS, OF A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE, WHICH IS ACCESSIBLE BY THIS KIND OF PEDESTRIAN ROUTE.
UH, I MEAN IF, IF, IF THERE WERE SOME NUMBERS THAT WOULD GIVE US SOME SORT OF REAL PREDICTABILITY AS TO WHETHER A PLAT IS ENTITLED TO BE APPROVED BEFORE IT'S SUBMITTED, UM, I, I THINK WORDS LIKE ACCESSIBLE ARE FINE FOR DISCRETIONARY APPROVALS WHERE WE CAN HAVE JUDGMENT AND WE CAN DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER A PARTICULAR PROJECT, UM, SUPPORTS, YOU KNOW, SOUND PLANNING PRINCIPLES.
BUT FOR SOMETHING LIKE A SUBDIVISION PLAT, I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY WANT THE WORD ACCESSIBLE IN IT UNLESS IT'S, UM, EXTREMELY LIKE SHORT LIKE IN A BUDDING ACCESS, LIKE A DRIVEWAY, LIKE A CURB CUT OR SOMETHING.
BUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE JUST NEED NUMBERS BEFORE AS A COMMITTEE WE CAN REALLY SAY WHETHER THIS IS GONNA WORK OR NOT.
AND I, AND I, AND I WANNA SUPPORT LISA'S POINT ABOUT THE PERIMETER COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE, UM, RESERVES BECAUSE I THINK THAT IN THE EXAMPLE, UM, THAT WAS SHOWN THAT PERIMETER COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE, I AGREE IT'S
[00:35:01]
NOT REALLY TOO USEFUL.UM, AND UH, AND THAT DEFENSE REALLY UNDERSCORES THAT.
BUT THE, BUT THE EXISTENCE OF A FENCE AND THE EXISTENCE OF THE RESERVE ON THE PERIMETER, UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE, THE PROBLEM, RIGHT? IF THERE WERE, FOR EXAMPLE, GATES IN THE FENCES SO THAT AT LEAST THOSE LOTS THAT BACKED UP TO THE PERIMETER, UM, COULD ACCESS THOSE AND, YOU KNOW, WE COULD, I I THINK THAT THAT COULD BE SOME KIND OF PERFORMANCE STANDARD TO ALLOW, UM, COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE ON THE, THE PERIMETER AS LONG AS THERE WERE CERTAIN, AGAIN, DEFINABLE OBJECTIVE ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS THAT'S PROBABLY WORKABLE INSTEAD OF JUST BANNING IT OUTRIGHT.
UM, AND THAT, THAT'S JUST SORT OF WHAT I, WHAT I THINK.
I JUST THINK WE NEED SOME SORT OF, UM, PREDICTABLE OBJECTIVE STANDARDS THAT CAN BE APPLIED BY UM, YOU KNOW, A SITE DESIGNER.
ALRIGHT, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS SCOTT KUBLER.
HEARING WHAT I JUST, THE LAST SPEAKER JUST HAD TO SAY I, I WOULD ADD TO HIS COMMENTS OF INCLUDING SOME KIND OF MINIMUM STANDARDS BECAUSE FOR THE COMPENSATING OPEN SPACES, EFFECTIVELY WHAT I'M HEARING BEING DISCUSSED IS THE FACT THAT I COULD PUT A VERY NARROW PATHWAY, MUCH LIKE THE PICTURE THAT YOU HAVE UP THERE THAT WOULD BE THREE FEET WIDE, THEN I'M EXAGGERATING, WHICH WOULD EFFECTIVELY MAKE IT NOT USABLE FOR ANYBODY.
I THINK IF YOU PUT SOME KIND OF MINIMUM, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IF YOU MAKE SOME MINIMUM SPACE, SO YOU COULD PUT A DOG RUN OR SOMETHING OUT THERE TO MAKE IT ACTUALLY FUNCTIONAL, I THINK YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING, UH, THAT WOULD, WOULD BE, UH, BENEFICIAL TO EVERYBODY.
BUT TO, TO CREATE THAT ENVIRONMENT IN AN EFFECTIVELY UNUSABLE SPACE WOULDN'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE.
UH, ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMITTEE HAVE A COMMENT OR A QUESTION? AND IF I MAY, JUST TO REITERATE, THAT'S THE CURRENT ORDINANCE HAS THAT LOOSE TERM OF BE ACCESSIBLE AND SO THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DEFINE MUCH BETTER AND MORE OBJECTIVELY.
SCOTT, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE OR YOU, OH, YOU'RE JUST TAKING YOUR HAND DOWN.
OKAY, SO, UM, I WANNA OPEN THIS, UH, LET ME TURN ON MY CAMERA HERE.
I WANNA OPEN THIS UP FOR DISCUSSION.
SO, UM, I LIKE WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT LISA CLARK SPECIFICALLY AND, AND MIKE AND ACTUALLY NEIL, ALL OF YOU, DISCUSSED THE FACT THAT IT COULD BE USED FOR BEAUTIFICATION AND IT COULD BE USED AS A BUFFER.
SO I, I'M WONDERING, AS I SAID EARLIER, WE KNOW WHAT WE DON'T WANT AND IT'S HARDER TO SAY WHAT WE WANT SPECIFICALLY, THE EXAMPLES GIVEN HERE ON THE SLIDE ARE REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES.
SO I WANTED TO OPEN THIS UP TO DISCUSSION.
SO THINGS LIKE IF YOU AMENITIZE TO X LEVEL, THEN ALL OF IT COUNTS AS COS OR A PERCENTAGE OF IT COUNTS AS COS, UM, AND THEN WE HAVE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR, UH, WHAT THAT, UH, THOSE AMENITIES WOULD BE.
UM, TAMMY, YOU KNOW, JUST JUMP RIGHT IN.
AGAIN, I JUST WANNA OPEN THIS UP FOR DISCUSSION AGAIN.
WE GO TO A PERCENTAGE COUNTS, IF IT'S AMENITIZED IN A CERTAIN WAY, IT DOESN'T COUNT AT ALL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WANNA HEAR WHAT THE, THE SUBCOMMITTEE HAS THOUGHTS ARE RIGHT NOW.
AND AGAIN, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS, UM, I, I DO WANT YOU TO KIND OF JUMP IN AND GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT, HOW THIS LOOKS TO YOU.
UM, WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED IS, THERE'S ANOTHER PORTION THAT CORRELATES TO COS, IT'S CALLED AN OPEN SPACE AMENITIES PLAN.
IT'S IN THE ORDINANCE FOR, IF YOU'RE TRYING TO USE COS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER THINGS THAT COULD CONFLICT, THEN YOU PROVIDE AN AMENITIES PLAN, IT GETS RECORDED WITH A PLAT AND THERE'S SPECIFIC AMENITIES LIKE, UM, PROVIDING A WALKWAY TO AND THROUGH PROVIDING LANDSCAPING, PROVIDING A BENCH, PROVIDING DECORATIVE FEATURES.
THERE'S ALL SORTS OF A LIST OF AMENITIES TO CHOOSE FROM, BUT IT'S FOR VERY SPECIFIC INSTANCES WHERE IT'S REQUIRED IN CONJUNCTION WITH COS AS OPPOSED TO JUST WHENEVER YOU'RE PROVIDING COS, THOSE AMENITIES WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE REQUIRED UNDER CURRENT ORDINANCE.
SO JUST FY ALRIGHT, SO MY, MY QUESTION IS FOR THAT, FOR THAT SLIDE WHERE WE SEE THE EXTERIOR STRIP AND THERE'S NO AMENITIES WHATSOEVER, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, DO WE MARRY THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER AND THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY MARRIED TOGETHER, BUT DO WE MARRY THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER? SO LET ME GO AHEAD AND CALL NEIL.
HIS HAND IS UP AGAIN AND WE'LL START OUR DISCUSSION.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE WITH THIS ADJUSTMENT.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO CREATE A, IN A COMMUNITY INTEGRATED TO ITSELF, OBVIOUSLY IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE THIS COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE ON THE INTERIOR.
IF YOU'RE TRYING TO EITHER BUFFER THE COMMUNITIES AND
[00:40:01]
CREATE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES WITHIN COMMUNITIES OR INTEGRATE COMMUNITIES TOGETHER, THEN IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE THE OPEN SPACE ON THE EXTERIOR.AND I'M NOT TRYING TO, WHY WE'RE WE SHOULD BE TRYING TO LEGISLATE THAT UNLESS, IS THERE A SPECIFIC ISSUE THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET ADDRESSED THAT WITH THIS RULE CHANGE? OR IS THIS JUST KIND OF THINKING THROUGH WHAT MIGHT BE GOOD? TAMMY, I KNOW YOU HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT.
YES, SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET BACK TO THE INTENT OF COS.
IT'S WHEN YOU'RE REDUCING YOUR LOT SIZE, YOU'RE TAKING AWAY GREEN SPACE FROM A SINGLE RESIDENCE.
AND SO TO DO THAT YOU PROVIDE A COMMON GREEN SPACE THAT YOU CAN USE IN LIEU OF HAVING THAT SPACE ON YOUR OWN LOT.
AND SO THAT IS THE WHOLE IDEA.
IT'S COMPENSATING FOR THE OPEN SPACE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE LOT, WELL, NOT SHOULD HAVE BEEN, BUT THAT TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE YOUR LOT SIZE BUT NOT RESTRICT DENSITY, YOU NOW ARE POTENTIALLY HAVE LESS GREEN SPACE YARD SPACE PERSONALLY.
AND SO YOU'RE PROVIDING IT WITHIN THE PUBLIC SPACE FOR THAT SUBDIVISION AND IT'S COMPENSATING FOR THAT.
SO IT SHOULD BE A USABLE, A TRULY USABLE GREEN SPACE FOR THE RESIDENTS THAT HAVE THAT REDUCED LOT SIZE, NOT AS A LANDSCAPE BUFFER.
LANDSCAPE BUFFERS ARE ABSOLUTELY FINE.
I MEAN IF THAT'S WHAT THE IN DESIGN INTENT IS, BUT THAT'S NOT THE INTENT OF COS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE, NEIL? IT IT DOES, BUT I, I THINK IT, THAT SEEMS TO BE VERY, VERY CHALLENGING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO.
AS I SAID, I CAN SEE MANY REASONS WHY YOU WOULD WANT THE PERIMETER TO BE THE OPEN SPACE DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND MANY LOTS WHERE, LIKE THIS ONE YOU CAN SEE WHY THEY DID IT.
THEY'RE TRYING TO CREATE SOME SPACE BETWEEN THE STREET ANYWAY.
SO IT STRIKES ME THAT IF YOU SIMPLY MAKE THIS CHANGE, YOU'RE EFFECTIVELY GONNA MAKE 'EM HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY'VE DONE HERE PLUS SOME MORE IN THE MIDDLE, WHICH I DON'T THINK IS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE RULE CHANGE.
JENNIFER, I SEE YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP AND YOU'RE MUTED.
UM, I'M JENNIFER WITH THE, THE PLANNING STAFF.
UM, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WE'VE SEEN OVER TIME AND, AND PROBABLY MORE ON SMALLER SUBDIVISIONS IS THAT WHEN THE COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE IS PLACED IN LONG STRIPS IN THE BACK, SOMETIMES ON THE SIDES IT GETS FENCED OFF PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE THAT ABUTTED INCLUDED IN THEIR, UM, IN THEIR YARDS.
AND THAT'S THE, THE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S FACING A STREET, YOU DON'T SEE THAT SO MUCH, BUT IF IT'S ABUTTING ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT OF SOME KIND, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE WHERE, UM, YEAH, THEN IT'S JUST LOST AND PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN IT INTO THEIR OWN SPACES.
SO IT'S PARTLY AN ENFORCEMENT ISSUE, BUT WE REALLY HAVE NO MECHANISM TO ENFORCE IT ONCE IT'S HAPPENED.
JUST, ALRIGHT, THANK YOU JENNIFER.
SO AGAIN, THE IDEA IS THAT IF IT'S COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE, IT SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE AND USABLE IS THE BOTTOM LINE.
SO I SEE, UH, SCOTT KOGLER, GO AHEAD.
I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF THE WORD USABLE IN THIS CASE.
DO YOU WANT THAT? DO YOU WANT THAT NOW,
OMAR, I SEE YOU GO RIGHT AHEAD, SIR.
I NEED A LITTLE MORE TRAINING WITH THAT
YOU KNOW, I, I DO THINK IT'S, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO DEFINE SOMETHING LIKE USABLE, WHICH IS, AND, AND I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THE CURRENT ORDINANCE, YOU KNOW, SAYS ACCESSIBLE, WHICH HAS LED TO, YOU KNOW, A FEW CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN PLAT APPLICANTS AND PLANNING ABOUT WHAT IS OR ISN'T ACCESSIBLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU JUST HAVE TO GO BACK AND FORTH AND THAT'S NOT THE KIND OF REVIEW THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE DURING PLAT APPROVAL.
AND SO I THINK RATHER THAN DESCRIBE HOW USEFUL IT IS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, MINIMUM STANDARDS, METRICS, MEASUREMENTS, YOU KNOW, DISTANCES FROM LOTS TO, UM, OPEN SPACE RESERVES.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT WOULD SERVE, UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH THE CITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY.
WELL, UM, ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.
WOULD YOU GO BACK TO THE AMENITIES PLAN? I, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN SUBMIT AN AMENITIES PLAN, BUT MY, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS WHEN DO YOU, AND WHEN DON'T YOU, OH, I'M SORRY.
BEFORE YOU GO ON THERE, I SEE DIPTI WITH HER HANDS UP DIPTI.
S GARZA, HOW ARE YOU DOING? I'M WELL, THANK YOU
SO, UH, A GOOD CONVERSATION HAPPENING HERE I THINK.
I THINK I WANTED TO PITCH IN, UH, ABOUT THE FOC ABOUT THE
[00:45:01]
REASONING.THIS IS ON THE DISCUSSION LIST TODAY.
COS COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE IS FOR, FOR, FOR AN OPTION FOR REDUCTION IN LOT SIZES.
AND AS TAMMY EXPLAINED, IT IS, IT IS ALLOWED IN THE CITY LIMITS AND IN THE ETJ, BUT IN THE CITY LIMITS YOU HAVE AN OPTION TO DO DENSITY.
SO MOST OFTEN, OR NOT IN THE CITY LIMITS, WE DON'T SEE THE USE OF COS.
UM, WE DO SEE THE USE OF COS, UH, OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS IN THE ETJ WHERE THE OPTION OF DENSITY IS NOT THERE.
AND THE INTENT OF THE ONUS WAS TO PROVIDE A COMMON OPEN SPACE, UH, WHICH WAS TO REMAIN DRY AND FLAT AND, UH, BE USED BY THE ENTIRE SUBDIVISION THAT WAS BEING CREATED.
WE HAVE SEEN MULTIPLE VARIANTS UNDER THE PLANNING COMMISSION REGARDING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF COS.
SO, UH, WHAT JUST OMAR JUST MENTIONED, I THINK FOR US, AT THE END OF THE DAY TO WRITE SOME STANDARDS, UH, MAYBE THE DISTANCE REQUIREMENT AND MAYBE MINIMUM SIZE REQUIREMENTS, UH, WHICH ARE THERE, THE SIZE REQUIREMENT IS THERE, BUT MAYBE WE CAN GET BETTER AT IT.
AND DISTANCE REQUIREMENT I THINK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, WE'VE SEEN MULTIPLE VARIANCES IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THAT'S WHY THIS IS ON THE LIST, THAT IT SHOULD BE LOCATED IN A PLACE WHERE IT IS REASONABLY ACCESSIBLE.
AND SO WE HAVE DONE ALL OF THOSE KIND OF VARIANCES.
SO HOPEFULLY WITH THIS ALL OF THIS DISCUSSION, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU ALL WITH SOME, UM, SOME BULLET POINTS AGAIN TO, TO BRING BACK TO YOUR ATTENTION AND HAVE MORE DISCUSSION ON IT.
UM, MR. SMITH, LLOYD SMITH, I SEE YOU WITH YOUR HAND UP.
UH, DIPTI, I'M, I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THE, UH, THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THE ORDINANCE, UH, SPELLS OUT COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE FOR INSIDE THE CITY VERSUS OUTSIDE THE CITY.
WHEN, WHEN YOU DO COME BACK FOR, UH, ANOTHER RUN AT THIS, COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT, UH, IN A, IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL AND THE RATIONALE FOR THAT, UH, FOR THE COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION? FOR SURE.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
ALRIGHT, SO, UM, MORE DISCUSSION AND TAMMY, AGAIN, WOULD YOU GO BACK TO THAT, THE AMENITIES PLAN AND WHEN THAT GETS USED AND WHEN IT DOESN'T? SURE, OF COURSE.
UM, SO IN THE ORDINANCE CURRENTLY THERE ARE CERTAIN, UM, AND IT ACTUALLY SPELLS IT OUT.
SO THE FOLLOWING SHOULD NOT BE USED.
AND SO I HAVE THIS KIND OF, NOT USED FOR, BUT THERE'S ONE OF THE BULLET POINTS IS EXCEPT FOR PROVIDED FOR.
AND THEN THE SPECIFIC SECTION OF THIS CODE, WHICH IS THE AMENITY SECTION, DETENTION POND, DRAINAGE, WASTES, WATERWAYS INCLUDING FLOODPLAINS AND FLOODWAYS OR RAVINES.
SO IF, AND THAT'S ONE OF THEM THAT IF COS IS WITHIN ANY OF THOSE PROPOSED OR EXISTING DETENTION POND DRAINAGE, WASTE WATERWAYS INCLUDING FLOODPLAINS, FLOODWAYS, RAVINES.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THEM WHERE AN AMENITIES PLAN WOULD BE REQUIRED.
ANOTHER IS, IF RIGHT NOW THE REQUIREMENT IS THAT NEEDS TO BE DRY AND FLAT, ONCE AGAIN, THAT GOES TOWARDS BEING USABLE AND ACCESSIBLE.
AND IF IT'S NOT, AND THEN YOU WOULD NEED TO PROVIDE AN OPEN SPACE AMENITIES PLAN APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IS IF YOU'RE COMBINING IT WITH LIKE RECREATION, UM, IF YOU'RE TRYING TO PROPOSE BUILDINGS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT HAVE THE LAYOUT OF IT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SPACE AROUND SOME SORT OF LIKE COMMUNITY SPACE.
SO THOSE ARE THE WHAT WOULD TRIGGER REQUIRING AN OPEN SPACE AMENITIES PLAN.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES.
SO MY QUESTION IS, UH, WHAT'S NOT ON THAT LIST? IT'S OBVIOUSLY IF YOU'RE DOING YOUR COS AND IT SURROUNDS AS A BELT, COULDN'T WE SAY, IF YOU'RE DOING THAT, THEN YOU HAVE TO, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH ANYTHING WITH DETENTION OR AS YOU SAID, COULD WE NOT ADD THAT STATE, ADD THAT AS A CRITERIA.
AND IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU WANNA DO THIS, IT WILL COUNT, BUT YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT AN AMENITIES PLAN AND WE WOULD SIMPLY ADD THAT, I MEAN, I THAT MIGHT BE TOO SIMPLISTIC, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT A PLANNER.
UM, BUT MAKE THAT A REQUIREMENT WHEN YOU WANNA DO IT SO THAT WAY IT CAN STILL BE USED AS COS BUT IT DOES FORCE THAT, UH, THE, UH, THE AMENITIES PLAN TO BE PUT IN PLACE.
AND THAT CAN BE POLICED, CAN IT NOT TO AN EXTENT.
UM, IT WOULD BE UP TO THE PERMITTING CENTER GROUP, EITHER HOUSTON OR THE COUNTY ENGINEER'S OFFICE.
IT DOES GET RECORDED WITH THE PLAT, SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT STAYS WITH THE SUBDIVISION.
WELL, SO LET ME, UH, LET ME ASK THE, THE SUBCOMMITTEE AGAIN FOR THOUGHTS.
SO AGAIN, I'VE GOT, UH, THOSE OF YOU HAVE ALREADY S SPOKE, SPOKEN ARE NEIL DYKEMAN, UH, MIKE BERG OR LISA CLARK.
OMAR IS FAR, SCOTT HUBLER LLOYD SMITH.
SO IF ANY OF YOU HAVE, UM, NEW IDEAS OR, UH, YOU KNOW, I'D EVEN BROUGHT UP TO TAMMY IN OUR LAST DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DO THAT, DO WE COUNT A PERCENTAGE OF IT FOR COMPENSATING OPEN SPACES, BUT NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF IT? SO AGAIN, LOTS OF TALK ABOUT HERE THE DEVIL, AS THEY SAY IS IN THE DETAILS.
SO, UH, HAVING HEARD WHAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM BOTH TAMMY AND OUR OTHER SPEAKERS, UH, ARE
[00:50:01]
THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? UM, SO I WOULD SAY, TAMMY, YOU OPENED THIS ASKING FOR CONSENSUS AND IN, IN MY MIND, I THINK IT MIGHT BE TOO EARLY TO ASK FOR CONSENSUS 'CAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN A LOT OF DETAILS.SO I SEE MR. DAVIS' HANDS RAISED.
MR. DAVIS, ARE YOU THERE? YES, I I I THINK GO RIGHT AHEAD.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, GO RIGHT AHEAD, SIR.
UH, DEFINING WHAT COMPENSATION MEANS IS IMPORTANT.
THAT IS, IF A, IF A, IF A, IF A PROPERTY A LOT SIZE IS SMALLER THAN ONE WOULD EXPECT FOR SOME LEVEL OF QUALITY OF LIFE, WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT ARE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU SEEK TO COMPENSATE? THAT MIGHT BE ONE WAY TO GET AT THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, IF IT IS AN ACTIVITY THAT IS NOT COMPLETELY PRIVATE, THAT IS, THERE'S A SHARED SPACE, A SHARED USE, UH, PICNIC GROUND IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.
IF YOU HAVE A PICNIC, UH, BENCH, UM, AND A AND A SHADE GAZEBO THAT COULD SERVE A WHOLE COMMUNITY AND COMPENSATE FOR NOT HAVING SPACE TO HAVE AN OUTDOOR GRILL IN YOUR, UH, BACKYARD.
SO THE SAME IS TRUE WITH A GARDEN.
UM, I, I THINK BECAUSE OF THE VARIABILITY OF WHAT COULD BE DEFINED AS COMPENSATING, HAVING EXAMPLES, UM, MIGHT HELP, UH, GET AT THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AN, AN EXHAUSTIVE, UH, LIST THAT COVERS THE UNIVERSE.
AND SO WHEN YOU HAVE THE CASE OF A SURROUNDING STRIP, THERE MAY BE SOME CONDITIONS IN WHICH YOU DEFINE IT.
UM, THAT IS THE, THE PROPONENT FOR THE PROJECT THAT THAT COULD BE A DOG WALK, RIGHT? AND IT GETS DEFINED IN SUCH A WAY AND THERE ARE ELEMENTS THAT ARE PUT DESIGNED IN THAT MAKE IT AN EFFECTIVE DOG WALK THAT SERVES BOTH THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THAT'S MY, UH, POSITION ON IT.
ALL RIGHT, MIKE, I SEE YOU WITH YOUR HAND RAISED.
YEAH, IT JUST, IT JUST DAWNED ON ME AT OUR LAST, UM, MEETING WE HAD, WE HAD A REALLY, UH, PRETTY PICTURE OF A, UH, COURTYARD PROJECT, WHICH, UM, IT'S REALLY INTRIGUED ME.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD CONCEPT, BUT BECAUSE IT'S A COURTYARD STYLE, AND I WOULD ASSUME WE'D MAKE THAT CENTRAL AREA A COMMON AREA, I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE GET ENOUGH IF YOU'RE TRYING TO BUILD SMALLER HOMES AND, UH, GET, GET TO LOTS OF 1500 SQUARE FEET OR SOMETHING.
AND YOU WANT TO BE THE, EVERYONE DOES 60% RULE MOST OF THE TIME.
BUT, BUT THAT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE ON A COURTYARD PROJECT.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PROVIDE COMPENSATING.
AND I'M JUST, AGAIN, THINKING MAYBE ON CERTAIN KINDS OF DEVELOPMENTS LIKE THAT, THAT, UM, THE COMPENSATING ACTUALLY GOES DOWN IF IT'S ALL ONE BIG, IF IT'S A COURTYARD STYLE, AGAIN, DEFINITIONS WERE EVERYTHING BECAUSE I, YOU START DOING THE MATH ON THIS STUFF, I STARTED MY PENCIL HERE GOING, MAN, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ENOUGH COMPENSATED.
YOU'RE, YOU HAVE THE MASSIVE COURTYARD OR YOUR, OR YOUR, UM, YOUR, IT BECOMES, YOUR LOTS HAVE TO GET BIGGER AND BIGGER TO MEET THE 60% RULE.
SO, UH, I WOULD LIKE US TO CONSIDER THAT.
AND I, AND MAYBE JUST ON A, THAT'S THAT STYLE HOME ONLY.
AND AGAIN, IT'S HARD TO DEFINE AND AS BUILDERS OR DEVELOPERS, YOU'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR EXACT THINGS, EXACT MEANINGS AND THINGS.
BUT, UH, BUT THINK ABOUT THAT.
TAKE THAT DRAWING THAT Y'ALL HAD SHOWN THE LAST MEETING, THE MEETING BEFORE AND FIGURE IT OUT AND SAY, GOD, YOU KNOW WHAT, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH COMPENSATING EVEN WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL COURTYARD STYLE PROJECT HERE, THIS WOULD NEVER WORK.
AND I, AND IT DIDN'T DAWN ON ME WHEN I FIRST SAW IT 'CAUSE I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ACCESS AND PARKING AND ALL THAT STUFF.
SO HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT THAT, TAMMY? IF I, YEAH, SO THE COURTYARD STYLE, IT WOULD BE A PERFORMANCE STANDARD TO HOUSE WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING AND THERE IS NO MINIMUM LOT SIZE, SO THERE WOULDN'T BE A NEED TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE COS PART OF IT.
IT'S JUST THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF THE OPEN SPACE.
THAT IS PART OF WHAT THE LANGUAGE FOR THE COURTYARD STYLE DEVELOP WOULD BE.
IT, IT WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE REQUIRED COS, YOU KNOW, THIS AMOUNT SQUARE FEET IF YOU'RE REDUCING YOUR LOT SIZE BY THIS MUCH.
UM, I DO NOT SEE ANY OTHER HANDS RAISED.
SO AGAIN, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE AND QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, TAMMY, I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN TAKING NOTES, SO, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE, I THINK NEIL WAS TALKING ABOUT ARE WE DOUBLING THE COS, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE HE DOESN'T WANNA DO THAT, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DO A RING AROUND THE PROPERTY AND THEN HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITHIN, UM, MIKE, YOU JUST HEARD MIKE, UH, WAS ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT, UH, LANGUAGE OF THE ORDINANCE.
UH, LISA WAS TALKING ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF THAT SURROUND.
[00:55:01]
LISA, WE MIGHT COME BACK TO YOU WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE AMENITIES MIGHT LOOK LIKE SO THAT YOU GET YOU AS A DEVELOPER, THE DEVELOPERS GET WHAT THEY WANT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE AMENITIES AND ALLOW, YOU KNOW, ALLOW THE RESIDENTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE.UM, BECAUSE AS YOU SAID, IT, IT ENHANCES THE BEAUTY OF THE DEVELOPMENT AS, AS YOU DRIVE IN AND YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, TREES AND SHRUBBERY AND AMENITIES.
AND ALSO, AS YOU SAID, FOR EVEN, UH, BLOCKING NOISE.
UM, OMAR WAS, UH, WANTED REALLY SPECIFICS, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE HE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS EXACTLY ACCESSIBLE.
WE NEED A MEASUREMENT, WE NEED HARD NUMBERS.
UM, SCOTT AND ALSO TALKED ABOUT PREDICTABILITY.
SCOTT TALKED ABOUT, UH, AMENITIES AGAIN.
AND THEN, UM, MR. COMMISSIONER SMITH, WHAT I WAS, SO, I WAS SO ENTHRALLED BY YOUR, YOUR QUESTION THAT I'VE NEGLECTED TO WRITE IT DOWN.
OH, IT'S THE, UH, THE, THE GENERAL IDEA THAT THE, UH, LOT SIZE AND THE COMPENSA COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 42 MAKE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN INSIDE THE CITY AND IN THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
UM, SO AS WE WERE DISCUSSING COMPENSATING OPEN SPACE HERE, UH, I'D ASK THAT WHEN IT, WHEN IT COME BACK, THERE'S A REFRESHER AND THE COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THOSE DISTINCTIONS SHOULD BE MAINTAINED.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHY I DID NOT TAKE NOTES ON THAT.
THAT'S WAY OVER MY PAY GRADE, SIR.
UM, ANYONE ELSE? TAMMY, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AT THIS POINT IN TIME? I DO NOT.
SO LET'S, LET'S SAY, IF WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON, WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATION THAT YOU WOULD COME BACK TO THE NEXT MEETING TO ANSWER SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS? I WOULD ASSUME YES, AND AT THAT POINT IN TIME, ASK FOR CONSENSUS.
WERE THERE, SHOULD IT BE ALL OF THE RESERVE PIECES OR JUST A FEW OF THE RESERVE PIECES? SO OBVIOUSLY THE COS, UM, ARE WE GOOD FOR THE PARKING? I MEAN, NOT THE PARKING, THE RECREATION RESERVE, ACTUALLY, IF YOU DON'T MIND TO REFER.
LET'S WALK THROUGH THEM AGAIN AND ASK QUESTIONS ON EACH ONE.
SO IF YOU COULD JUST HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF EACH ONE AND WE COULD TAKE MORE QUESTIONS.
SO THE FIRST ONE WE TALKED ABOUT WAS COS, WHICH WAS MOST OF THE DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND THEN THE SECOND RESERVE TYPE IS ON YOUR SCREEN, THE RECREATION RESERVE FOR, INSTEAD OF JUST LIMITING RECREATION RESERVE TO THE PUBLIC STREET TYPE OR TYPE ONE, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE THE RECREATION RESERVE ALSO BE LOCATED ON A TYPE TWO PAE AND A SHARED DRIVEWAY.
UM, WITH STILL THE, THE SAME SIZES.
ARE THERE, UH, I SEE, UH, NEIL GEMAN.
NEIL, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR A COMMENT? SO ON THIS, UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU WERE DOING ON THE COURTYARD, I GUESS YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO NOT LIMIT IT TO YOU BEING FIT ON AN EXISTING STREET.
DO YOU REALLY CARE WHERE IT IS AS LONG AS THERE'S A FOOTPATH TO IT? WELL, ISN'T THAT THE GOAL ACCESSIBLE BUT NOT BY A CAR? YOU KNOW, WHY DOES IT EVEN NEED TO TOUCH A STREET AT ALL TO ACCOMPLISH THIS? UM, SO THE RECREATION RESERVE IS INTENDED FOR THE LARGER AMENITIES.
SO YOU'RE GONNA END UP, UH, OBVIOUSLY IT IS A COMMUNITY, STILL A COMMUNITY BASE.
SO YOU CAN STILL BICYCLE, YOU CAN STILL WALK, UM, BUT IT IS A LARGER FACILITY.
UM, 'CAUSE OTHERWISE YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THE SAME THING ON LIKE AN OPEN SPACE RESERVE.
UM, SO HAVING AN A BUDDING SIDE SO IT DOESN'T GET LOCKED OUT FROM BEING ACCESSIBLE, UM, IS THE INTENTS ON HAVING IT HAVE FRONTAGE ON AT LEAST SOMETHING THAT IS PUBLIC DOMAIN.
AND AGAIN, I I WOULD ASK WHY DON'T YOU SIMPLY ADD FOOTPATH TO THIS? 'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE YEAH, IF THE GOAL IS A CENTRAL RECREATION RESERVE YEAH.
AND TO TAKE THE PRIOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS COMMENT ON, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY GAZEBO, YOU HAVE AN EATING SPACE.
DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED A CAR THERE? I MEAN, POCKET PARKS YOU DON'T REALLY NEED, IN SOME OF THESE LITTLE POCKET PARKS, YOU DON'T REALLY NEED A LOT OF CAR ACCESS.
AND FOR SMALLER SUBDIVISIONS, YOU, THAT MIGHT BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE ON, ON THE WALKABILITY SIDE.
A LOT OF THE POCKET PARKS MAKE THIS IDEA.
I'M JUST SAYING, ARE YOU GOING FAR ENOUGH? UM, THE PARK PARKS AND LIKE SMALL PLAYGROUND AREAS, THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE PLATTED AS A RECREATION RESERVE.
THEY CAN BE PLATTED AS AN OPEN SPACE AND THERE IS NO FRONTAGE REQUIREMENT.
UM, SO THAT'S A, THIS IS A, A LARGER SPACE, UM, WITH MORE INTENSE USE.
AND SO IF IT'S JUST A FOOTPATH, WHAT LAND ARE YOU TRAVERSING THROUGH TO GET TO IT? UH, A FOOTPATH IS A LOT EASIER TO FIT INTO A DEVELOPMENT THAN A NEW STREET.
I'M, I'M JUST, I, AS I SAID, I LIKE WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE.
I'M JUST QUESTIONING DOES IT EVEN NEED TO BE ON A SECONDARY,
[01:00:01]
UH, UM, UH, STRAIGHT? CAN YOU SIMPLY, AS LONG AS IT HAS ACCESS, YOU KNOW, WOULDN'T, WOULDN'T IT MEET THE OBJECTIVES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? DIP TO? YOU WANNA, SO IF, UH, TAMMY, IF I MAY, SO WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING HERE, NEIL, IS, IS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE, THE, UH, THE GRID ABOVE TODAY, IT'S A PUBLIC STREET OR A TYPE ONE PERMANENT ACCESS EASEMENT PERIOD.SO IT'S THE, THE CURRENT ORDINANCE IS MUCH MORE RESTRICTIVE.
AND AS YOU SAY, TODAY WE'RE TRYING TO ADD A TYPE TWO PAEA AND A SHARED DRIVE WITHIN, WITHIN FOOTAGE OF 50.
SO, UH, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND ACCESS TO IT.
UM, BUT UH, YOU MAKE A POINT THAT I'M SURE THAT, UH, TAMMY WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
MIKE, I'LL GET TO YOU MOMENTARILY.
DIPTI, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT.
YES, LIKE YOU SAID, WE ARE JUST WANTING TO EXPAND THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS.
CURRENTLY THE REQUIREMENTS ARE PRETTY, UH, STRINGENT.
UM, IF YOU ARE PROVIDING FOR, OR IF YOU'RE MAKING A TYPE TWO PAE PROJECT, WHICH ARE THOSE PRIVATE STREETS PROJECTS, YOU ACTUALLY CANNOT HAVE A RECREATIONAL RESERVE.
YOUR RECREATIONAL RESERVE HAS TO BE ON THE PUBLIC SUITE.
SIMILARLY WITH THE SHARED DRIVE PROJECT, THESE TWO PROJECTS TEND TO NOT HAVE A RECREATIONAL RESERVE, GENERALLY BECAUSE THERE IS, THESE ARE SMALLER KIND OF PROJECTS.
BUT AS WE, IN INCREASE, UH, AS WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE, IN THE CITY AND OUTSIDE, WE, WE WERE, UH, AS WE ARE LOOKING AT THE RESERVE SECTION, WE FELT THAT, UM, MAKING IT FURTHER OPEN SO THESE RECREATIONAL RESERVES COULD BE PROVIDED WITHIN THE TYPE TWO PAE DEVELOPMENTS AND SHARED DRIVE WAS THE REASON TO PUT THIS ON THE, FROM, UH, ON, ON THIS AGENDA FOR YOUR DISCUSSION.
AND DIPTI ALSO, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SINCE THIS IS A, WELL, DIPTI AND TAMMY, SINCE THIS IS A, A LARGER THING, IT COULD HAVE POOLS, TENNIS COURTS, AND YOU'RE GONNA NEED VEHICULAR ACCESS TO IT VERSUS, UH, AND WALKING PATH.
AND MAINTENANCE, UH, ESPECIALLY.
SO IT, THESE ARE LARGER AREAS, UH, LIKE TAMMY MENTIONED ALSO.
SO, UH, MOST OFTEN OR NOT, THESE WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF A PIE CONNECTION, DRIVEWAY CONNECTION BECAUSE THE PARKING, BUT ALSO FOR MAINTENANCE.
SO, SO IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IT'LL ONLY HAVE ACCESS TO A PEDESTRIAN PATHWAY.
BUT I GOT NEIL'S COMMENT THAT MAYBE NOT ALL LOTS, UH, SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
BUT I THINK WHAT, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WERE MENTIONING ANYWAYS.
WE WERE TRYING TO SEE, SAY THAT THE RECREATIONAL RESERVE ITSELF CAN HAVE ACCESS IN FRONTAGE ON A PAE OR, OR A SHARE DRIVE.
NOT THAT ALL LOTS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE RECREATIONAL RESERVE.
UH, LET ME GO TO MIKE, UH, DISH BERGER NEXT.
UH, S MIKE, MY COMMENT IS, WHY DON'T WE MAKE IT ON THE SHARED DRIVEWAY AT LIKE 28 FEET TO MATCH A SHARED DRIVEWAY? I'VE DONE THESE IN THE PAST.
WE CALL 'EM COMMON AREAS LIKE YOU, LIKE YOU ARE SAYING, BUT I'VE DONE SOME BIGGER NEIGHBORHOODS IN HOUSTON, AND I CALL 'EM POCKET PARKS BECAUSE THEY END UP BEING IN CORNERS SOMETIMES WHERE YOU REALLY CAN'T, DON'T WANNA WASTE DOING A BUNCH OF CUL-DE-SAC LOTS.
YOU PUT A PARK THERE AND YOU HAVE 28 FEET, 30 FEET OF ACCESS.
AND THEY HAVE, I BUILT THE GAZEBOS, I BUILT THE BARBECUE PITS, THE PICNIC TABLES AND UH, PICKLEBALL PORK THING ONE TIME.
AND ON A TEA DRIVEWAY, IF YOU DO A REALLY BIG TEA DRIVEWAY AT THE VERY END OF THE T, IT'S 28 FEET WIDE USUALLY, OR MAYBE 18.
BUT I, I'M WANTING 28 SOUNDS LIKE A BETTER NUMBER BECAUSE THE, THEN THE LAND SPREADS OUT BOTH WAYS ON EACH SIDE OF THAT.
UH, T IS, I'VE DONE, I'VE DONE THESE BEFORE.
WE'VE CALLED 'EM OTHER THINGS.
IF YOU'RE GONNA REVISE IT ON THE SHARED DRIVEWAY PART, I WOULD CONSIDER THE 28 FEET.
'CAUSE YOU CAN STILL PUT A CAR THERE.
AND THESE ARE PLACES NORMALLY THAT PEOPLE JUST WALK TO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, POOLS ARE A DIFFERENT SITUATION.
I DON'T SEE, I CAN 5,000 SQUARE FEET.
I DIDN'T GET, GET TOO MUCH OF A POOL THERE FOR THE POOL HOUSE.
I, I KNOW WE'RE MAKING IT BETTER.
LET'S, WHY DON'T WE GET IT DOWN TO 28 FEET.
ALRIGHT, ANYONE ELSE? ALRIGHT, TAMMY, YOU HAVE YOUR MARCHING ORDERS.
THE NEXT, UH, SECTION AND THEN, YEAH, WELL THE LAST RESERVE TYPE WAS THE PARKING.
AND THIS WAS THE, UH, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE, YOU KNOW, SIX UNITS AND MORE, UH, AND WHERE YOU HAVE TO, WHERE THE ORDINANCE CURRENTLY REQUIRES THAT THEY PROVIDE PARKING.
AND THE QUESTION IS, WHERE IS IT? SO YOU WERE SAYING X AMOUNT OF, UH, D DISTANCE FROM THE RIGHT OF WAY.
I BELIEVE THAT'S WHERE MIKE HAD SOME NOTES.
I GUESS IT'S THE LAST SLIDE THAT YOU SHOWED ON THIS SECTION.
THIS ONE? NO, THE ONE BEFORE THAT.
SO, UH, DO WE WANNA WALK THROUGH THESE ONE AT A TIME AND
[01:05:01]
TAKE COMMENTS OR DO, SHALL WE JUST OPEN THE FLOOR COMMENTS FROM THE SUBCOMMITTEE? ALL RIGHT.UH, WHAT WAS THE MINIMUM DISTANCE ON THIS SLIDE, TAMMY? FROM THE RIGHT OF WAY? WE WERE JUST SAYING NOT LOCATED IMMEDIATELY.
THERE WASN'T A, THERE WASN'T A HARD NUMBER THERE.
ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN COMMENTS ON QUESTIONS ON RESERVES PARKING? UH, YES, I HAVE ONE.
MR. SMITH, GO RIGHT AHEAD, PLEASE.
SO, SO TAMMY ARE, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE, UH, THE, THE NUISANCE OR THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE HERE.
UM, THE VISITORS HERE WOULD BE BACKING OUT INTO A LOCAL STREET.
UH, THERE'S TWO OR THREE SPACES IF THEY TURN OVER ONCE AN HOUR, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO OR THREE CARS BACKING OUT ONCE IN A WHILE, WHICH IS A VERY DIFFERENT THING FROM EVERY VEHICLE IN THIS LARGER SUBDIVISION.
WHAT, UH, WHAT, WHAT CHALLENGE ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE HERE BY, BY THIS REQUIREMENT? UM, A FIVE POINT TURN TO GET INTO THE PARKING SPACE WOULD BE ONE, YOU KNOW, UM, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ON LOCAL STREETS.
LIKE THIS EXAMPLE ON TIDWELL, THAT'S A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE.
UM, AND IT'S MEDIAN, AND IT WAS ONLY ABOUT THE EDGE OF CURB TO THE PARKING WAS ONLY ABOUT 10 TO 12 FEET.
AND SO THIS IS A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, BUT BECAUSE IT'S MEDIAN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ONLY HA YOU CAN ONLY TRAVEL IN ONE DIRECTION AND THEN YOU'RE HAVING TO TURN A 180 WITHIN JUST 12 FEET OF SPACE.
YOU'RE HAVING TO ACTUALLY MULTIPLE POINT TURN TO GET YOURSELF INTO A PARKING SPACE.
AND SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE IT OFF OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, LINE ONE FOR JUST BEING ABLE TO HAVE A, A CLEANER TURNING MANEUVERABILITY INSTEAD OF WIGGLING YOURSELF IN.
AND THEN ALSO FOR, UM, THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE, UM, REQUIRED IN THE CITY THAT IF THE EDGE OF PAVEMENT TO THE PROPERTY LINE ISN'T THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT, AND THEN SUDDENLY THERE'S A CONFLICT TO WHERE THE SIDEWALK WOULD NEED TO GO AND WHERE THE PARKING RESERVE CURRENTLY EXISTS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? UH, NOT ENTIRELY.
THE, THE SIDEWALK WOULD BE IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
THEY WOULDN'T OVERLAP, UH, IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE I COULD THINK OF.
WE SOMETIMES THEY DO A SIDEWALK EASEMENT WITHIN THE, THE PUBLIC OR WITHIN THE PRIVATE PROPERTY TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE.
WELL, I'LL, I'LL JUST, JUST OBSERVE IN THE, IN THE EXAMPLE YOU GAVE, UM, IS A DIVIDED STREET, UH, WHERE THE ONE WAY U-TURN ISSUE PARTICULARLY APPLIES.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S ONE VERY SMALL SUBSET OF PUBLIC STREETS.
UH, SO I, I'M, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT, UH, THE CONCERN WOULD APPLY IN EVERY PUBLIC STREET AS OPPOSED TO EITHER CERTAIN CLASSIFICATIONS OF STREETS OR CERTAIN GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATIONS LIKE BEING DIVIDED WITH THE ONE WAY TRAFFIC.
SO GIVE, GIVE SOME FURTHER THOUGHT AS TO HOW, HOW, HOW ONE MIGHT EITHER ADDRESS THAT THROUGH DIFFERENTIAL DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS, UH, OR THROUGH A DIFFERENT DEFINITION OF PUBLIC STREET MOVING TO SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, LESS ALL INCLUSIVE.
ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU MR. SMITH.
AND SO TAMMY, IS THAT ALL OF IT? THAT IS ALL OF THE RESERVES.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OTHER CHANGES.
SO BEFORE WE GO THERE, LAST CHANCE, UH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO UH, ASK A QUESTION TO MAKE A COMMENT, ASK FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC BECAUSE WE WANT TAMMY TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO THE NEXT MEETING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE HARD DATA THAT YOU HAVE ASKED FOR.
I'M NOT SEEING ANY HANDS RAISED, SO, UH, LET'S GO ON THEN, TAMMY.
SO THE NEXT TOPIC IS SOME MISCELLANEOUS CHAPTER 42 AMENDMENTS.
UM, I KNOW I DON'T LIKE THE TERM MISCELLANEOUS, BUT THAT'S SOME BITS AND PIECES.
SO RELA APPLICATIONS THAT REQUIRE A PUBLIC HEARING AND NOTICE TO ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS PURSUANT TO TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE 2 1 2 ARE CURRENTLY NOT ALLOWED TO SUBMIT AS A CLASS TWO REPL AND ARE THUS REQUIRED TO BE CLASSIFIED AS A CLASS THREE REPL.
CLASS THREE PLOTS REQUIRE BOTH PRELIMINARY AND FINAL APPLICATIONS AS SEPARATE SUBMITTALS AND CONSIDERATION BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
WHILE A CLASS TWO PLAT APPLICATION IS A FINAL APPLICATION IN ONE SUBMITTAL, STAFF RECOMMENDS TO REMOVE THE LAST BULLET POINT THAT ELIMINATES PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATIONS FROM AUTOMATICALLY
[01:10:01]
BEING ABLE TO QUALIFY AS A CLASS TWO RE PLAT.SO IF A PROPOSED APPLICATION MEETS THE CRITERIA AS A CLASS TWO PLAT, THEN IT MAY RECEIVE A APPROVAL FROM PLANNING COMMISSION AS A FINAL APPLICATION AT THE CLOSE OF ITS PUBLIC HEARING.
IF A PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATION IS PROPOSING A STREET OR INFRASTRUCTURE EASEMENT, THEN IT WILL STILL BE REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED AS A CLASS THREE REPLAT.
THE INTENT FOR CLASS THREE APPLICATIONS RECEIVING SEPARATE, PRELIMINARY AND FINAL APPROVALS IS FOR THE APPLICANT TO HAVE A PRELIMINARY APPROVAL BEFORE EXPENDING TIME AND MONEY ON THE ENGINEERING THAT IS REQUIRED WHEN PROPOSING STREETS OR INFRASTRUCTURE EASEMENTS, ALLOWING A PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATIONS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE MEET THE CRITERIA OF A CLASS TWO RELA TO BE APPROVED.
AND ONE SUBMITTAL WILL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT THE PUBLIC.
THEY'RE ONLY NOTIFIED ON THE PRELIMINARY, NOT THE FINAL, NOR THE CITY'S ABILITY TO REVIEW AND DETERMINE CONFORMANCE WITH APPLICABLE ORDINANCES AND CODES.
THIS PROPOSAL WOULD NOT VIOLATE CHAPTER 2 1 12 FOR CLARITY.
PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATIONS WHEN CURRENTLY SUBMITTED AS A PRELIMINARY APPLICATION, DO NOT REQUIRE TITLE REPORT BE SUBMITTED UNTIL ITS FINAL APPLICATION.
THIS WOULD CHANGE WHERE A TITLE REPORT WOULD NEED TO BE SUBMITTED WITH A CLASS TWO WITH NOTICE APPLICATION AND WOULD STILL RECEIVE THE SEPARATE LEGAL REVIEW FOR DEED RESTRICTIONS.
THIS MEETS THE CURRENT SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A CLASS TWO APPLICATION.
I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT, BUT THAT'S A LOT, TAMMY.
BASICALLY WHAT THIS IS DOING IS STREAMLINING BOTH FOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND FOR THE APPLICANTS.
THAT HAVING TWO SUBMITTALS FOR OTHERWISE RELATIVELY SIMPLE PLATS IS JUST MORE WORK A WASTE OF TIME AND YEAH.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF WORK.
IT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S REALLY NOT NECESSARY ON ANYONE'S PART, EITHER BY THE DEVELOPER OR BY PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
ALRIGHT, SO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, QUESTIONS, THERE'S A LOT, AS TAMMY SAID THERE TO DISCUSS, BUT THE GIST OF IT IS WE'RE, WE'RE BASICALLY STREAMLINING THIS, THE, UH, THE, THE CLASS TWO AND CLASS THREES TO MAKE IT EASIER AND SIMPLER FOR DEVELOPERS AND OF COURSE FOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO GET THROUGH THESE AND NOT A NOTIFICATION AT A PUBLIC HEARING.
SO QUESTIONS, EVERYONE COMMENTS THEN? I SEE NONE.
TAMMY, DO WE WANT CONSENSUS ON THIS? SURE, WHY NOT? THERE'S STILL A COUPLE OTHER OF THE MISCELLANEOUS CHAPTER FORT TWO, BUT WE CAN GO PIECE BY PIECE.
'CAUSE THEY ARE, WELL, I NEED NO NEED.
I MEAN, THIS IS, TO ME, IN MY MIND, THIS IS TECHNICAL AND STREAMLINING UNLESS WE HAVE A, UH, A SPECIFIC PROBLEM THAT ANYONE SEES.
UH, I THINK WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
OKAY, LET'S JUST MOVE ON THEN.
OKAY, SO ANOTHER TOPIC IS AN INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN WHAT IS PERMITTED OR REQUIRED IN SHARED DRIVEWAY DESIGNS AND THE MINIMUM LOT WIDTH REQUIREMENTS.
THE TWO DIAGRAMS ON THE SCREEN ARE TAKEN FROM CHAPTER 42.
THE ONE ON THE LEFT ALLOWS FOR PERPENDICULAR ACCESS OF ONE OF THE LOTS ON THE END OF THE SHARED DRIVEWAY, EITHER 18 FEET OR 16 FEET UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.
THE DIAGRAM ON THE RIGHT ILLUSTRATES THE REQUIRED DESIGN OF A T TURNAROUND FOR 16 FOOT SHARE.
DRIVEWAYS WITH EACH BRANCH OF THE T MUST BE EXACTLY 16 FEET.
DESPITE THESE TWO EXAMPLES, THE ORDINANCE SPECIFIES THAT THE MINIMUM LOT WIDTH IS 20 FEET, UNLESS MEETING MORE DIFFICULT REQUIREMENTS FOR LOT WIDTH AVERAGING AND STAFF RECOMMENDS TO ADD AN ALLOWANCE IN THE ORDINANCE TO ALLOW A REDUCED LOT WIDTH FRONTAGE.
WHEN THESE TWO VERY SPECIFIC CASES ARE BEING MET, WE ARE NOT PROPOSING ANY CHANGES TO THE SHARED DRIVEWAY PART OF THE ORDINANCE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? QUESTIONS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN? I SEE NO QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, IT'S ALL MAKE SENSE TO EVERYONE.
OKAY, SO I'LL NOW INVITE LYNN HENSON TO DISCUSS PROPOSED TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE SPECIAL MINIMUM LOT SIZE AND SPECIAL MINIMUM BUILDING LINE PORTIONS OF THE ORDINANCE.
LYNN, ARE YOU THERE? YES, I'M HERE.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS WITHIN THE SPECIAL MINIMUM BUILDING LINE AND SPECIAL MINIMUM LOT SIZE ORDINANCES, WE DO HAVE SOME PROPOSED TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
THEY ARE MINOR WORDING CHANGES THAT WILL HELP MAKE THE LANGUAGE MORE CONSISTENT WITHIN THE ORDINANCE.
AND TO CLARIFY CERTAIN INSTANCES, I WANNA REITERATE THAT THESE TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS WILL NOT CHANGE IN ANY WAY THE INTENT OF THE ORDINANCE AND IT WILL NOT CHANGE THE APPLICATION CRITERIA, THE ANALYSIS, THE PROCESS, OR THE RESTRICTIONS IN THE ORDINANCE.
[01:15:02]
SO WHAT WE HAVE ON THE SCREEN ARE TWO EXAMPLES.THE FIRST ONE IS THE EX EXAMPLE OF THE SPECIAL MINIMUM BUILDING LINE AMENDMENT IN 42 1 79 B UNDER THE SECTION THAT SPEAKS TO RULES GOVERNING, SUBDIVISION PLATS, DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND BUILDING PERMITS.
THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE STATES THAT A SUBDIVISION PLAT DEVELOPMENT PLAT OR BUILDING PERMIT THAT IS FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT BE APPROVED IF IT PROVIDES FOR A BUILDING LINE THAT IS LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO THE SPECIAL MINIMUM BUILDING LINE THAT'S ESTABLISHED.
THE WAY IT IS STATED THAT STATES THAT A BUILDING COULD NOT BE BUILT AT THE MINIMUM BUILDING LINE THAT WOULD BE ESTABLISHED BY SIMPLY REMOVING THE WORDS OR EQUAL TO THAT WOULD ALLOW A STRUCTURE TO BE BUILT AT WHATEVER THE MINIMUM SPECIAL BUILDING LINE IS SET BY THE ORDINANCE OR GREATER.
WE FEEL THAT THIS WOULD NOT CHANGE THE INTENT OF THE ORDINANCE AND WOULD ALLOW, UM, THE ORIGINAL INTENT.
THE SECOND EXAMPLE IS THE SPECIAL MINIMUM LOT SIZE UNDER 42 1 99 B ONE, WHICH SPEAKS TO APPLICATION REVIEW.
THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE STATES WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS.
UPDATE THE LIST OF SPECIAL BUILDING MINIMUM LOT SIZE APPLICATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS.
BECAUSE THIS FALLS UNDER THE SPECIAL MINIMUM LOT SIZE, THE WORD BUILDING SHOULD NOT BE IN THIS SECTION.
THE SPECIAL MINIMUM BUILDING LINE APPLICATION REVIEW FALLS IN ANOTHER SECTION OF THE ORDINANCE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE EXAMPLES? YEAH.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ANY QUESTIONS? SO THIS IS REALLY MORE, YOU KNOW, LANGUAGE AND, AND TECHNICALITIES.
UH, AGAIN, AS LYNN SAID, IT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING CURRENTLY, UM, IN THE CRITERIA, UM, FOR EITHER OF THESE ORDINANCES.
SO ARE IS, ARE THERE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, GREAT PRESENTATION LYNN.
WHAT DO WE HAVE NEXT? LYNN, AGAIN,
LYNN, WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT HOMEWORK ACTIVITY IN OUR NEXT MEETING? YES.
SO, UM, THE SURVEY THAT IS ONLINE UH, REFERS TO THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS PRESENTED AT THE LAST MAY 11TH LIVABLE PLACES ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE LISTED ON LET'S TALK HOUSTON.ORG FOR THE PUBLIC TO REVIEW.
IF ANYONE HAS AN HAS OR WANTS TO MAKE COMMENTS ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, THE SURVEY IS STILL OPEN.
AND I URGE YOU FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY FILLED OUT THE SURVEY TO SHARE IT WITH INTERESTED PARTIES THAT MAY WANT TO COMMENT.
THE WEBSITE EVEN OFFERS A EASY OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION.
THERE ARE BUTTONS AVAILABLE SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE IT ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN, AND VIA EMAIL.
ALSO, THE STAFF WOULD LIKE THAT THE COMMITTEE, UM, AND THE PUBLIC TO CONSIDER ALLOWING PRESENTATIONS TO BE MADE ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU'VE HEARD BOTH AT THE LAST LIVABLE PLACES ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND TODAY THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT CAN COME OUT TO YOUR CIVIC GROUP, YOUR PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION, OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO DISCUSS THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST A PRESENTATION OR YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS OF WHO THE STAFF CAN TALK TO, PLEASE CALL TAMMY WILLIAMSON AT (832) 393-6600.
THAT'S THE MAIN NUMBER FOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
ALSO, WE DO HAVE AN ARTICLE THAT IS POSTED ON LET'S TALK HOUSTON.ORG.
IT'S ACTUALLY A SHORT VIDEO BY STUART HICKS.
HE'S AN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN EDUCATOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO.
HIS YOUTUBE IS ENTITLED, THIS IS WHAT MAKES GOOD CITIES GREAT AND IT TAKES A LOOK AT THE HISTORY AND INTERESTING USES OF ALLEYS.
PROFESSOR HICKS EXPLAINS THAT ALLEYS ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES OF URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN.
YOU CAN FIND THIS LINK TO THE YOUTUBE
[01:20:01]
ON LET'S TALK HOUSTON.ORG/LIVABLE PLACES.AND UNLESS THERE ARE QUESTIONS, I CAN TURN IT BACK OVER TO MS. WILLIAMSON.
ALRIGHT, UH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ANY QUESTIONS FOR, UH, LYNN? ALRIGHT, HEARING NONE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD.
TAMMY, I THINK THE LAST THING IS PUBLIC COMMENTS AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT OUR NEXT LIVABLE PLACES MEETING ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING IS JULY 12TH AT 3:00 PM AND THEN YES, FOR IF WE ARE, IF YES, WE ARE READY FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ALL RIGHT, SO REMEMBER TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR ANOTHER EXCITING MEETING OF LIVABLE PLACES.
REMEMBER, IT'S UH, IT'S WONDERFUL WORK WE'RE ALL DOING HERE.
SO I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU BEING HERE.
SO NOW WE'LL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, MR. CALVERT, UM, DO WE HAVE PEOPLE SIGNED IN THE CHAT TO SPEAK? NO ONE AT THIS TIME HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
ALRIGHT, LET ME JUST MAKE A NOTE HERE.
IF YOU ARE, UH, LISTENING IN AND YOU HAVE A COMMENT OR A QUESTION, UM, FOR STAFF, NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO, UH, TO DO THAT.
SO IF, UH, IF YOU'VE NOT PUT YOUR NAME IN THE CHAT AND YOU ARE LISTENING IN, PLEASE ANNOUNCE YOURSELF, SPELL YOUR LAST NAME AND UH, WE'LL TAKE YOUR QUESTION OR COMMENT.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO HAS A QUESTION OR COMMENT FOR LIVABLE PLACES SUBCOMMITTEE? YES, PLEASE.
WHO'S SPEAKING? THIS IS MARK WILLIAMSON, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S-O-N.
UH, FIRST COMMENT IS THAT FOR SOME REASON WHENEVER I COME INTO THESE MEETINGS ON TEAMS, I DON'T HAVE A CHAT IN WHICH TO DROP MY NAME.
AH, AND I'VE BEEN, THIS IS A TECHNICAL ISSUE THAT SOMEONE ON STAFF WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING INTO A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO AND I NEVER HEARD BACK.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHY I, WHY I'M HERE.
I WANTED TO INQUIRE IF THERE WAS ANY WAY AT ALL THAT WHILE WE'RE VISITING THE SPECIAL MINIMUM LOT SIZE ORDINANCE, WE COULD FIX THE GLITCH THAT SOMEHOW ALLOWS A, AN OLD ORDINANCE, WHICH MINIMUM LOT SIZE BLOCK, WHICH NEVER HAD ANY LAND USE COMPONENT AT ALL TO OVERRIDE A NEWER, UH, LAND MINIMUM LOT SIZE AREA, WHICH DOES HAVE A LAND USE COMPONENT.
UH, THE EXACT LEGAL REASONING IS, UH, LOST ON ME WHY THAT SHOULD BE SO.
AND I AM JUST LOOKING FOR A, A FIX OTHER THAN FOR WAITING FOR ALL THE OLD MINIMUM BLOCK TO, UH, EXPIRE OR THE, UH, NEW ORDINANCE, NEW RENEWALS TO INCLUDE, UH, KILLING THE OLD ORDINANCE.
IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO HAPPEN.
IT'S CAUSED SOME PROBLEMS IN OUR AREA, THE HEIGHTS, THAT'S ALL.
AGAIN, APOLOGIES FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO USE THE CHAT, BUT THAT'S, UM, THAT'S WHY I ASK IF THERE'S ANYONE LISTEN.
SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND FOR YOUR QUESTION, TAMMY, DID YOU HAVE ANY, DID YOU UNDERSTAND, UM, MARK'S QUESTION OR COMMENT SO THAT WE CAN GET TO WORK ON THAT? I DO, YES.
UM, ALRIGHT AGAIN, UM, MR. CALVERT, I DON'T SEE ANYONE IN THE CHAT, DO YOU? UH, YES, WE HAVE, UH, MELISSA BIELER SIGNED UP TO SPEAK NOW.
ALL RIGHT, MS. BIELER, ARE YOU THERE? YES, GO.
UH, YES, GO RIGHT AHEAD PLEASE.
UH, MY NAME IS MELISSA ER, I'M WITH AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON, LAST NAME B-E-E-L-E-R.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY SUPER APPRECIATE EVERYTHING.
UM, I AM ALSO REALLY GLAD THAT LYNN WENT OVER HAD A REQUEST A PRESENTATION FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS.
'CAUSE I HAVE SEVERAL GROUPS I THINK WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO HEAR FROM, UM, ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I ALSO WOULD LOVE TO SEE LIKE A FULL ENGAGEMENT TIMELINE OR OVERVIEW.
UM, I BELIEVE LAST MONTH WE TALKED ABOUT MAYBE LIKE THE SUMMER WE'RE PHASING INTO ENGAGEMENT FOR THIS WHOLE INITIATIVE.
SO I'D REALLY LOVE TO KNOW WHAT ALL IS PLANNED FOR THE NEXT THREE TO SIX MONTHS.
UM, JUST SO THAT COMMUNITIES CAN BE AWARE OF, OF HOW THEY CAN, UM, ENGAGE.
UM, AND I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY FUN TO HEAR THE MAIN QUOTE OF THIS MEETING BEING KIND OF WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.
UM, SO I HOPE THAT COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS CAN DEFINITELY HELP US, UM, MAYBE CRYSTALLIZE THAT.
BUT ALSO I, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITIES TO, UH, HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE IS STILL.
UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF JUDGMENT CALLS BEING MADE TODAY ABOUT WANTING LANDSCAPE BUFFERS AND ETJ OR UM, WHAT ACTIVITIES WE'RE DOING IN SHARED OPEN SPACE.
SO I THINK COMMUNITY VOICES CAN HELP US
[01:25:01]
GET THERE.ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
UM, MR. CALVERT, ANYONE ELSE? NO ONE ELSE IS ASSIGNED TO SPEAK.
UM, UH, AGAIN, I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR IF THERE'S ANYONE WHO IS LISTENING IN WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE, UH, COMMITTEE.
UH, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT NOW TO UNMUTE.
STATE YOUR NAME AND UH, BE RECOGNIZED BY THE CHAIR.
ANYONE? ALRIGHT, WITH THAT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, UM, I WILL OFFICIALLY ADJOURN THIS MEETING OF THE, UH, LIVABLE PLACES ACTION COMMITTEE.
SO FOR ALL OF YOU BEING HERE, WE APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR INPUT.
THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE IN THE COMMITTEE AND THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TAKING ALL YOUR TIME AND BEING HERE WITH US TODAY.
AND I FORGOT TO TURN MY CAMERA ON, SO, UH, THAT DISEMBODIED VOICE WAS ME.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE.
AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO STEPH ON A WONDERFUL MEETING, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT MEETING IN JULY AND, UH, SEEING WHAT YOU COME, WHAT YOU'LL BE PRESENTING AT THAT TIME TO THE, THE COMMITTEE.