2013-06-03 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTESMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 3,
2013, AT 6:30 P.M., 2ND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, 3519 LIBERTY DRIVE,
PEARLAND,TEXAS.
CALL TO ORDER
P&Z Chairperson Henry Fuertes called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. with the following
present:
P&Z Chairperson Henry Fuertes
P&Z Vice -Chairperson Linda Cowles
P&Z Commissioner Daniel Tunstall
P&Z Commissioner Mary Starr
P&Z Commissioner Ginger McFadden
Also in attendance were: City Planner Harold Ellis, Planner II Ian Clowes, Assistant City
Engineer Richard Mancilla, and Administrative Clerk Debbie Cody.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Vice -Chairperson Linda Cowles to approve the minutes of May 20, 2013
the P&Z Regular Meeting and seconded by Commissioner Mary Starr. The vote to approve was
5-0.
NEW BUSINESS
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - WAIVER OF DECISION OF TIME -
PRELIMINARY PLAT OF SOUTHERN TRAILS SECTION 15
A request by Christy Smidt of Kerry R. Gilberts and Associates, applicant, on behalf of
CL Ashton Woods, LP, owner, for approval of a Preliminary Plat of Southern Trails
Section 15, a 42 lot single-family residential subdivision.
Legal Description: Being 20.2 acres of land located in the H.T. & B.R.R. Co. Survey,
Section 84 A-538 and Section 80 A-564, City of Pearland, Brazoria County, Texas, also
being out of Allison -Richey Gulf Coast Home Company Subdivision as recorded in
Volume 2, Page 98 B.C.P.R.
General Location: The northwest corner of Kirby Dr. and Magnolia Crossing.
A motion was made by Commissioner Daniel Tunstall and seconded by Commissioner
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Mary Starr.
Planner II Ian Clowes reported that the reason for the request for waiver of decision was
simply that the applicant needed more time to address the comments made on the plat.
The vote was called and was 5-0 for approval.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - PRELIMINARY PLAT OF SOUTHERN
TRAILS SECTION 15
A request by Christy Smidt of Kerry R. Gilberts and Associates, applicant, on behalf of
CL Ashton Woods, LP, owner, for approval of a Preliminary Plat of Southern Trails
Section 15, a 42 lot single-family residential subdivision.
Legal Description: Being 20.2 acres of land located in the H.T. & B.R.R. Co. Survey,
Section 84 A-538 and Section 80 A-564, City of Pearland, Brazoria County, Texas, also
being out of Allison -Richey Gulf Coast Home Company Subdivision as recorded in
Volume 2, Page 98 B.C.P.R.
General Location: The northwest corner of Kirby Dr. and Magnolia Crossing.
There was no action necessary due to approval of a waiver of decision of time.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - WAIVER OF DECISION OF TIME -
PRELIMINARY PLAT OF SHADOW OAKS SECTION 1
A request by Christy Smidt of Kerry R. Gilberts and Associates, applicant, on behalf of
Richard Marek of KB Homes, owner, for approval of a Preliminary Plat of Shadow Oaks
Section 1, a 130 lot single-family residential subdivision.
Legal Description: Being 52.1 acres of land located in the A.B. Langerman Survey, A-
555, City of Pearland, Fort Bend County, Texas.
General Location: The southern intersection of Broadway St. and Windward Bay Dr.
A motion was made by Commissioner Mary Starr and seconded by Commissioner
Daniel Tunstall.
Planner II Ian Clowes reported that the applicant needed more time to address the
comments made on the plat. He illustrated the thoroughfare plan on the map and
stated that originally there were some ownership issues where it looked like it would
need to be platted without the road connecting, but the issues were resolved. There
were no questions or comments and a vote was taken for approval at 5-0.
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CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - PRELIMINARY PLAT OF SHADOW
OAKS SECTION 1
A request by Christy Smidt of Kerry R. Gilberts and Associates, applicant, on behalf of
Richard Marek of KB Homes, owner, for approval of a Preliminary Plat of Shadow Oaks
Section 1, a 130 lot single-family residential subdivision.
Legal Description: Being 52.1 acres of land located in the A.B. Langerman Survey, A-
555, City of Pearland, Fort Bend County, Texas.
General Location: The southern intersection of Broadway St. and Windward Bay Dr.
There was no action necessary due to approval of a waiver of decision of time.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - WAIVER OF DECISION OF TIME -
FINAL PLAT OF RIVERSTONE RANCH AT CLEAR CREEK SECTION 1
A request by Warren Escovy — LJA Engineering Inc., applicant, on behalf of Meritage
Homes of Texas, LLC, owner, for approval of a Preliminary Plat of Riverstone Ranch at
Clear Creek Section 1, a 59 lot single-family residential subdivision, to wit
Legal Description: Being a subdivision of 34.055 acres of land situated in the T.J.
Green Survey, Abstract 290, City of Pearland, Harris County, Texas also being a Replat
of lots 41, 42, 54-61, 70, 73-78, 90 and 91 of the Allison Richey Gulf Coast, Section "G",
a subdivision of record in Volume 4, Page 48, Map Records of Harris County, Texas.
General Location: Southeast of Riverstone Ranch Drive, approximately 1200 feet
south of the City of Houston ETJ border, Pearland, TX.
A motion was made by Vice -Chairperson Linda Cowles and seconded by Commissioner
Ginger McFadden.
Planner II Ian Clowes presented the staff report explaining that most of the comments
had been addressed by the applicant, but the reason for the request for waiver of
decision of time was due to the need for park land dedication. When the cluster plan
was approved, it required park land dedication as opposed to park land fees and there
was no allowance for such dedication with this final plat submittal. The applicant had
stated that they potentially had land they could use, but they were not sure so they were
looking to see if a bond could be done. According to Mr. Clowes, it is not something
that is normally done and therefore the applicant would need to either dedicate park
land at this time or amend the cluster plan to allow for payment in lieu of the dedication.
The request for waiver was to allow more time to work out the details. A vote was taken
and approved 5-0.
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CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - FINAL PLAT OF RIVERSTONE
RANCH AT CLEAR CREEK SECTION 1
A request by Warren Escovy — LJA Engineering Inc., applicant, on behalf of Meritage
Homes of Texas, LLC, owner, for approval of a Preliminary Plat of Riverstone Ranch at
Clear Creek Section 1, a 59 lot single-family residential subdivision, to wit
Legal Description: Being a subdivision of 34.055 acres of land situated in the T.J.
Green Survey, Abstract 290, City of Pearland, Harris County, Texas also being a Replat
of lots 41, 42, 54-61, 70, 73-78, 90 and 91 of the Allison Richey Gulf Coast, Section "G",
a subdivision of record in Volume 4, Page 48, Map Records of Harris County, Texas.
General Location: Southeast of Riverstone Ranch Drive, approximately 1200 feet
south of the City of Houston ETJ border, Pearland, TX.
No action was necessary due to approval of the waiver of decision for time.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Zoning Update — City Planner Harold Ellis reported on 2 zone changes from the
previous agenda, the first being at 4608 Walnut which was awaiting the second
reading and the second being a request to change the zoning from General
Business (GB) to General Commercial (GC) which the P&Z recommended
denial. Lastly, was a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a carwash which is
awaiting the first reading by Council.
2. Commissioners Activity Report — Chairperson Henry Fuertes wanted to discuss
detention ponds and open space but deferred to the workshop to be held after
the meeting.
3. National APA Conference Overview - City Planner Harold Ellis suggested that
each of the commissioners who attended the National APA Conference give a
brief overview of that conference.
Chairperson Henry Fuertes talked about the presentation that was given
regarding a big box coming to town without mentioning names. It was given from
the perspective of city staff, a commissioner, and a council member. There were
many comments after the presentation from people after who were appreciative
of the insightful honesty.
Vice -Chairperson Linda Cowles stated that she was very grateful to be allowed to
go to this conference. One of the workshops she attended was about parks and
having a sense of place. They talked about the importance of community input
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and the processes of charrettes to gather ideas. She also went to another
workshop about aging and the baby boomer generation. Being there will be
millions of people from that generation in our community as senior citizens, what
is the city doing to plan for those people who at some point, will no longer be
driving. She also went to a workshop about form based codes versus what the
city is currently doing. She liked the idea of having these transition areas, where
you have areas that transition from one zone to another. Lastly, there was a
workshop she stumbled upon regarding ethics. She learned that staff has to
walk a fine line when it comes to dealing with developers and maintaining
professionalism and expressed her appreciation of staff for what they do.
Commissioner Ginger McFadden went to a workshop for planning
commissioners which presented a very thorough overview of the planning
process. She also attended one on ethical decision making and another on what
a suburban planner is to do. She noted that many people at the convention
noticed that she was from Pearland and were impressed with that. Among other
workshops attended was one on arts and parks and how there are many
connecting trails among the different communities and also one regarding the
use of social media and mobile apps as a means of obtaining feedback. She
mentioned that the ethics workshop suggested that the commissioners should
have a city email address so that if anything happened, the planners would have
a specific email address related to city business. City Planner Harold Ellis
mentioned that it could possibly be in the works already. Vice -Chairperson
Cowles also mentioned a workshop that talked about due process and what we
are not supposed to say and added that one of the persons on the panel
suggested that anyone who got up to speak in the Planning & Zoning meeting
should be sworn in.
The staff overview of the convention was deferred to another time.
4. Commission notification of upcoming cases (DRC agenda) — City Planner Harold
Ellis explained that the Commissioners would be receiving a copy of the
Development Review Committee Agendas to keep them informed of upcoming
plats, zone changes and various activities. Vice -Chairperson Linda Cowles
mentioned an interest in attending Pre -Development meetings also, however it
could only be those meetings that the Commission would not be directly involved
in.
5. Next P&Z/JPH Regular Meeting — June 17, 2013 — Vice -Chairperson Linda
Cowles mentioned that she would not be able to attend the next meeting, nor
Commissioner Daniel Tunstall. With the absence of Commissioner Matthew
Hanks from this meeting, it would be verified that the four remaining
commissioners would be able to attend. Planner II Ian Clowes mentioned that
there would be three zone changes presented at the upcoming meeting.
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6. Election of Officers, July 1, 2013 — It was announced that the July 1, 2013 P&Z
Regular Meeting would include election of officers (Chair and Vice -Chair) to the
Commission.
ADJOURNMENT- Chairperson Henry Fuertes adjourned the meeting at 7:02 PM.
These minutes are respectfully submitted by:
U
Cody,
Minutes approved as submitted and/or corrected on this 17th day of June 2013, A.D.
P& C airperson Henry Fuertes
P&Z Regular Meeting
June 3, 2013
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