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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8-17-15 PC Minutes * M I N U T E S * REGULAR MEETING JOINT PUBLIC HEARINGS PLANNING COMMISSION CITY COUNCIL City Council Chambers August 17, 2015 A Regular Meeting and Joint Public Hearings of the Planning Commission and City Council was held on August 17, 2015 and called to order at 3:09 p.m. with the following members present: Commission Members present: Chairman Sina Nejad Commissioner Lynda Kay Makin Commissioner J.P. Colbert Commissioner Lauren Williams-Mason Commissioner Eddie Senigaur Commissioner Bill Little Commissioner Ava Graves Commission Members absent: Vice-Chairman Marty Craig Commissioner Clint Walters Commissioner Frank Messina Commissioner Shani Daigle Councilmembers present: Mayor Becky Ames Coucilwoman Gethrel Williams-Wright Councilman W.L. Pate Councilman Mike Getz Councilwoman Robin Mouton Councilman Audwin Samuel Councilmembers absent: Coucilman Claude F. Guidroz Also present: Chris Boone, Director of Planning and Community Development; Adina Ward, Planner II; Raymond Rowzee, Planner I; Fran Malvo, Recording Secretary; Tyrone Cooper, City Attorney APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Senigaur made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting and Joint Public Hearing held on July 21, 2014 and July 20, 2015. Commissioner Mason seconded the motion. Motion to approve carried 7:0. REGULAR MEETING 1) File 858-OB: A request to abandon a 20’ general utility easement in Block 1 of the McFaddin Heights Addition, Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas Applicant: Chaudhry Bashir Location: Block 1, McFaddin Heights Addition Mr. Boone presented the staff report. Mr. Chaudhry Bashir, on behalf of Arain, LLC, has applied for the abandonment of a 0.06 acre general utility easement. The property is located near the intersection of Martin Luther King Parkway and Isla Street on the north side of Interstate 10 East. Mr. Bashir would like to construct a new convenience store at this location, but the property he owns is divided by this utility easement. Once the easement is abandoned, he would like to replat the property in preparation for construction. This item was sent to all interested parties. No negative responses were received. At the last meeting, this item was held over due to a concern that a pipeline may exist within the easement. It was found that Centerpoint may have a line present. As such, the applicant will need to apply directly to Centerpoint for their consent. The Planning staff recommended approval with the following conditions: 1. Applicant provides assurance that Centerpoint Energy and any other entity with rights to the easement provides their consent. Slides were shown. Jeremy Mitchell of Faust Engineering at 2525 Calder was present and addressed the Commission. Discussion followed. Mr. Boone suggested that Mr. Mitchell provide correspondence from Centerpoint Energy giving consent to the abandonment. Mr. Mitchell agreed with Mr. Boone and stated that he’d rather the board approve the abandonment and include the consent from Centerpoint Energy as a condition so that the issue is resolved. Discussion followed with Attorney Tyrone Cooper and Chairman Nejad. Chairman Nejad asked for any comments or questions for Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Boone. Mr. Boone stated that the original staff recommendation was that the applicant provides written consent from Centerpoint Energy or any other entity with rights to the easement that provides their consent. Commissioner Mason suggested the type of verbiage to use for approval of the abandonment. The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Mason made a motion to approve the request to abandon a 20’ general utility easement in Block 1 of the McFaddin Heights Additions as requested in File 858-OB, subject to the following condition: 1. The applicant provides written assurance with Centerpoint Energy or any other entity with rights to the easement provides their consent. Commissioner Makin seconded the motion. Motion to approve carried 7:0. 2) File 859-OB: A request to abandon the 12’ alley north of the subject property in Block 6, Cartwright and Roberts Subdivision “A”, Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas. Applicant: Dr. Hani Tohme, P.E. Location: 3010 Washington Boulevard Mr. Boone presented the staff report. Hani Tohme is requesting an abandonment of an alley in conjunction with the development of the property at 3010 Washington Boulevard. Due to the shallow depth of the property, an abandonment request for the alley to the north was submitted. Due to the presence of an 8” sewer line in the alley, the City of Beaumont Water Utilities department cannot approve the abandonment, and retention of an easement would not meet their future needs. AT&T states that the alley is used for telephone service as well. In addition, at this point there is no indication that any adjacent property owners support the request. The item was sent to all interested parties. The planning staff recommended denial of the request. Slides were shown. There were two (2) objections for the request. The first objection was from AT&T stating that the alley is being used for telephone service and the other objection was from the City of Beaumont Water Utilities Department stating that there is an 8” sewer line located within the alley. The applicant was not present. Chairman Nejad asked if there were any questions for Mr. Boone. Chairman Nejad asked if anyone would like to speak in favor of or against the case. The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Makin made a motion to deny the request to abandon a 12’ alley north of the subject property in Block 6, Cartwright & Roberts Subdivision “A” as requested File in 859-OB. Commissioner Mason seconded the motion. Motion to deny carried 7:0. 3) File 860-OB: A request to abandon a 0.0781 acre portion of a general utility easement. Applicant: Anthony M. Leger, Soutex Surveyors & Engineers Location: 1610 IH 10 East Mr. Boone presented the staff report. Anthony M. Leger of Soutex Surveyors & Engineers is requesting an abandonment of the general utility easement at 1610 IH-10 East, on behalf of Shujat Holding Company. In 2002, a request was made to abandon this easement. The easement was created when a portion of Isla Street was abandoned in 1982. In 2001, Spurg, L.L.C. received a permit to construct the existing convenience store on a portion of the subject easement. A 20’ x 84’ portion of the building sits within the easement. Site plans submitted for the permit did not show any existing easements. The application for abandonment submitted in 2002 was presented to the board with a recommendation for denial. At that time, both Entergy and Southwestern Bell had objections to the abandonment. As discussed during the workshop, there was a license to encroach granted, however the applicant is seeking a full abandonment of the easement. With the current application, Entergy is no longer objecting to the abandonment, but AT&T stated that the easement is used for telephone services and they are in agreement to the owner relocating the services and the objection could possibly be reviewed. At this point, AT&T still objects. It was discussed during the workshop, to table the item until they could speak with the applicant to obtain additional information. The item was sent to all interested parties. No negative responses were received. Mr. Boone stated that during a pre-meeting discussion, it was mentioned that a gas pipeline may be present on the property. Staff recommended denial of the abandonment. Applicant was present. Jeremy Mitchell at 2525 Calder represented Faust Engineering addressed and the Commission. Discussion followed. Attorney Tyrone Cooper addressed Chairman Nejad regarding the easement and the license to encroach. Chairman Senigaur made a motion to deny a request to abandon an 0.0781 acre portion of a general utility easement as requested in File 860-OB. Commissioner Colbert seconded the motion. Motion to deny carried 7:0. JOINT PUBLIC HEARINGS 1) File 2236-Z: A request to rezone a piece of property to be used as a driveway from GC- MD (General Commercial-Multiple Family Dwelling) to RM-H (Residential Multiple Family Dwelling-Highest Density) Applicant: Dylan Blackshear Location: Northeast corner of State Highway 105 and RFD Road. Mr. Boone presented the staff report. Dylan Blackshear has submitted a minor plat to divide the property located at 7110 Highway 105 into four (4) pieces. The property will consist of three (3) lots along the highway as well as one large lot in the rear. Although the rear lot is zoned RM-H (Residential Multiple Family Dwelling-Highest Density), the driveway, or flag, of the rear lot is currently zoned GC-MD (General Commercial Multiple Family Dwelling). City of Beaumont’s subdivision regulations state: “All lots shall abut a public or private street and shall abut the street no less than the required lot width for that lot……” Minimum lot width in GC-MD Districts is 75 feet, which would force the “flag” to be 75 feet wide. Mr. Blackshear is asking to rezone the driveway, or “flag”, from GC-MD to RM-H, matching the rear lot. Minimum lot width for RM-H is 50 feet. A 50 foot wide driveway should meet all requirements for traffic accessing the rear lot with the same zoning district. Slides were shown. Planning staff recommended approval. Six (6) notices were mailed to property owners within 200 feet of the subject property. No responses were returned in favor of or in opposition. Applicant was present. Dylan Blackshear at 9820 Ash Creek Drive, Dallas, Texas addressed the Commission. Commissioner Little made a motion to approve a request to rezone a piece of property to be used as a driveway from GC-MD (General Commercial-Multiple Family Dwelling) to RM-H (Residential Multiple Dwelling-Highest Density) as requested in File 2236-Z.Commissioner Senigaur seconded the motion. Motion to approve carried 7:0. 2) File 2237-Z: A request to rezone a piece of property from RS (Residential Single Family Dwelling) to GC-MD (General Commercial-Multiple Dwelling) or a more restrictive zoning district. Applicant: Patrick Gibbs Location: 1030 West Cardinal Drive Patrick Gibbs is requesting a rezoning from RS (Residential Single Family Dwelling) to GC-M (General Commercial-Multiple Family Dwelling) district. Mr. Gibbs states that the current conditions make the residential zoning obsolete. One of the primary concerns for this request is spot zoning. The reasons being: 1. The request is not in compliance with the comprehensive plan. The subject property is designated as a stable area indicating the zoning is adequate. 2. The request is not consistent with the zoning or land use of the surrounding area; existing uses surrounding the property are either residential or institutional. Thirteen developed/occupied residential lots abut the property. 3. Rezoning would not serve a public purpose furthering public health, safety, morals or general welfare. Slides were shown. While most properties along Cardinal Drive are commercial, this particular area is largely zoned and developed as single-family. As such, should this rezoning be approved, it would be surrounded on the north, east and south by property zoned as R-S. One possible alternative would be to join with the adjacent church and apply for RM-H (Residential Multiple Family Dwelling-Highest Density) zoning. This would allow for residential uses and possibly allow for more limited commercial uses that would be more compatible with the surrounding land uses. Thirty (30) notices were mailed to property owners within 200 feet of the subject property. No responses in favor were returned. One response in opposition was received. The neighbor stated they were concerned about the noise in the neighborhood. Discussion followed. The applicant was present. Patrick Gibbs at 4835 Corley addressed the Commission. Discussion followed amongst the Commissioners, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Boone and Council regarding spot zoning. Chairman Nejad asked if anyone would like to speak for or against File 2237-Z. Michael Allen at 5550 Kenneth Street addressed the Commissioners. Mr. Allen stated that he would like a fence built as a barrier between his property and Mr. Gibbs’ property and he also stated that he would require the business to close at 10:00 p.m. with very little noise. Chairman Nejad opened the public hearing. Discussion followed. Chairman Nejad closed the public hearing. Commissioner Mason made a motion to deny a request to rezone a piece of property from RS (Residential Single Family Dwelling) to GC-MD (General Commercial-Multiple Family Dwelling) or a more restrictive zoning district as requested in File 2237-Z. Commissioner Makin seconded the motion. Motion to deny carried 5:2 (Commissioner Senigaur and Commissioner Colbert) 3) File 2238-P: A request to allow a Specific Use Permit for a law office in an RCR-H (Residential Conservation Revitalization-Historic) District. Applicant: Audwin Samuel Location: 2636 McFaddin Avenue Audwin Samuel would like to operate a law office at 2636 McFadden Avenue. The 1816 sq. ft. structure will have three (3) people working in the office on a daily basis and normally, no more than two (2) scheduled clients visiting at the same time. Office hours will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Nine (9) parking spaces will be provided for employees and clients on the 0.1722 acre lot. Several other commercial uses exist in this block. Staff recommended approval with the following condition: 1. One ADA compliant parking space must be provided on the subject property. Slides were shown. Twenty-five (25) notices were mailed to property owners within 200 feet of the subject property. No responses were returned in favor or in opposition. However, a phone call was made from the residents of the neighborhood association speaking in favor of the SUP based on the fact that there are neighboring businesses in the vicinity. Chairman Nejad opened the public hearing. No one came forward and the public hearing was Comment \[FM1\]: Correction: Sean Samuels closed. addressed the Commissioners. Discussion followed. Chairman Nejad closed the public hearing. Commissioner Mason made a motion to approve a request to allow a Specific Use Permit for a law office in an RCR-H (Residential Conservation Revitalization-Historic) District as requested in File 2238-P with the following condition: 1. One ADA compliant parking space must be provided on the subject property. Commissioner Little seconded the motion. Motion to approve carried 7:0. OTHER BUSINESS THERE BEING NO OTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 4:12 P.M.