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2023-07-06 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT REGULAR MEETING MINUTESMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND. TEXAS HELD ON JULY 6, 2023 AT 6:00 PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 3519 LIBERTY DR. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Lewis opened the meeting for the Zoning Board of Adjustments Regular Meeting at 6:00 PM ZBA Chairperson, Mark Lewis ZBA Vice Chairperson Jerry Acosta ZBA Member, Gary Shrum ZBA Alternate Member, Natasha Charles ZBA Alternate Member, Christopher Tristan Also, present were Deputy City Attorney Lawrence Provins Community Development Assistant Director Martin Griggs, Planner I Patrick Bauer, Planning Intern Logan Farris and Administrative Assistant Shelby Lowe. N EW BUSINESS Chairperson Lewis read into the record the items on Consideration and Possible Action — VARZ 23-06: Fence Variance for a Residence in Single -Family Residential — 1 (R-1) Zoning District. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - VARZ 23-06: FENCE VARIANCE FOR A RESIDENCE IN SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL - 1 (R-1) ZONING DISTRICT P ublic Hearing: A request by Vidal Pineda, applicant, and owner, for approval of variances, as permitted by the Unified Development Code, Ordinance No. 2000-T, to allow: a. An eight -foot -ten -inch (8 -10 ') high decorative fence within the front yard in lieu of the four - foot (4) permitted (Section 4.2.4 3(a)(2)(b)); b. An eight -foot -ten -inch (8'-10") high decorative fence within the side and rear yard in lieu of the eight -foot (8') permitted (Section 4.2.4.3(a)(6)); c. A residential fence to be located within fifteen feet (15') of a public street (Section 4.2.4.3(a)(2)(a)), to wit: Legal Description: Lot 1, Block 1, Minor Plat of L & E Estate, a subdivision of 1.000 acres of land in the City of Pearland Texas, according to the map or plat recorded in County Clerk's File N o. 2014041116 in the Plat records of Brazona County, Texas. General Location: 3430 Keis Road, Pearland, TX. P lanner I Bauer presented the staff report with exhibits. Planner I Bauer stated Request (b) no longer pertains to this variance request, so the Board will only be voting on Request (a) and (c). P lanner I Bauer stated that Request (a) conforms to 1 out of 8 criterions for approval. Staff is not strongly opposed to Request (a) but does not recommend approval of the requested variance. P lanner I Bauer stated that Request (c) conforms to 1 out of 8 criterions for approval. Staff does not recommend approval of Request (c). Should the Board decide to grant the Request (c), then staff recommends the following as a condition of approval: 1. The front yard fence shall be angled 10 feet from both front corners to maintain a clear sight triangle from adjacent properties. Applicant, Vidal Pineda at 3430 Keis Road, Pearland, Texas 77584, was in attendance in -person in Council Chambers to present to the ZBA Board. He stated that he is trying to get his fence permitted that he built. Chairperson Lewis called for public input. Resident, Monica Teague at 4113 Wells Drive, Pearland, Texas 77584, stated that she is not opposed to the fence. Ms. Teague stated that the street is a dead end street and does not have much traffic. She stated that the fence was built well. Ms. Teague asked if the fence needs to be built 15-feet from the street. Resident, Margaret Gnewuch at 3421 Warren Road, Pearland, Texas 77584, stated that she is o pposed to the fence. Ms. Gnewuch stated that the fence has adversely affected the drainage on her property, because no mitigation was added for the fence. She stated that she is worried about her trees due to the location of fence. Resident, Brandon Schmick at 3409 Warren Road, Pearland, Texas 77584, stated that he is opposed to the fence. Mr. Schmick stated that the fence was built with no permit. He described what the surrounding area was like for Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Harvey. Mr. Schmick stated that the fence is serving as a dam to the property. He stated that there is no on -site detention and that a fence needs to go through the permitting process. Mr Schmick asked the ZBA to find a solution for the surrounding neighbors for the drainage. Chairperson Lewis asked staff to answer Ms. Teague's question if the fence needed to be built 15-feet from the street. Assistant Director Griggs stated that the purpose for the 15-foot setback in the yard is to keep permanent structures from being built on a utility easement and to provide adequate sight when entering and exiting the property. Member Charles asked staff if the current fence on the property was built without a permit. Assistant Director Griggs answered yes, and that Code Enforcement brought this case to the Planning Division. Member Shrum asked staff if the ZBA looks at the hydrology of the property Assistant Director Griggs answered that if a permit came through for review, that City staff would have checked for flood plain information and would have potentially asked that the fence design be modified. Member Shrum asked staff where the 15-foot setback would place the fence on the property. Planner I Bauer answered that the fence would be in the front grass area indicated by the site plan. Member Shrum asked staff what happens to contractors that do not pull permits when building a fence Deputy City Attorney Provins stated that is an issue between the property owner and their contractor, but if the u npermitted work is not removed that would be an issue between the City and the property owner. Deputy City Attorney Provins added that the board would not look at the drainage of the property for a fence height variance Member Shrum asked staff if where the fence currently is located covering any public utilities. Deputy City Attorney Provins stated that there are not public city utility lines there today, but there is a water and sewer easement off Wells Road. Member Shrum asked staff if ZBA grants the variance for the setback will they be preventing utilities from being installed. Deputy City Attorney Provins stated that is something that would be reviewed at the time of permitting and the ZBA granting a variance would not interfere. He stated that the permit may n eed a waiver of encroachment that can only be approved by the City Engineer. No further discussion from Staff, ZBA Board or Public input. Chairperson Lewis read into the record the items on Consideration and Possible Action — VARZ 23-06: Fence Variance for a Residence in Single -Family Residential — 1 (R-1) Zoning District. Member Shrum made the motion to approve Request (a), Vice Chairperson Acosta seconded the motion. Motion failed 2-3. Chairperson Lewis read into the record the items on Consideration and Possible Action — VARZ 23-06: Fence Variance for a Residence in Single -Family Residential — 1 (R-1) Zoning District. Vice Chairperson Acosta made the motion to approve Request (c), Member Shrum seconded the motion. Motion failed 0-5. Chairperson Lewis read into the record the items on Consideration and Possible Action — VARZ 23-07: Special Exception and Variance for the Development of an Office Use. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION - VARZ 23-07: SPECIAL EXCEPTION AND VARIANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OFFICE USE P ublic Hearing: A request by Tessie Gurley, applicant, on behalf of 2 Barretts, LTD, owner, for approval of a special exception and a variance, as permitted by the Unified Development Code, Ordinance No. 2000-T, to allow: a. Special exception for construction to occur on a site with existing nonconformities (Section 2 7.3.7(a)); b. Variance to the 25' front building setback requirement for the Neighborhood Service (NS) District (Section 2.4.4.4(c)(2)(a)), to allow for a building to encroach into the front building setback, to wit: Legal Description: Lot 1, Block 1, Minor Plat of Tessie's Place, a subdivision of 0.9091 acres of land in the City of Pearland, Texas, according to the map or plat recorded in County Clerk's File N o. 2019038486 in the Plat records of Brazona County, Texas. General Location: 4904 W Walnut Street, Pearland, TX. Planner I Bauer presented the staff report with exhibits. Planner I Bauer stated that this a request for a special exception and a variance and provided site history. Planner I Bauer stated that Request (a) conforms to the criteria for approval of a special exception. Staff recommends approval of Request (a) Planner I Bauer stated that Request (b) conforms to 2 out of 8 criterions for approval of a variance. Staff does not recommend approval of Request (b). Applicant, Tessie Gurley at 2378 Saba! Park Lane, League City, Texas 77573, was in attendance in -person in Council Chambers to present to the ZBA Board. She stated that her father owned both properties. Ms. Gurley stated that the new building on the property was originally a CJ Harris Elementary school building and that her family wanted to keep this historical building in Pearland S he stated that Cherry House Moving Services moved the building on to the property and that the building is windstorm compliable. Ms. Gurley stated that when the building was moved Cherry House Moving was responsible for establishing the setback to the property line. She requested to be able to leave the building where it currently is. Chairperson Lewis called for public input. There were no persons wishing to speak for or against the proposed request. Chairperson Lewis asked staff if the building from the school is going to be converted into a business and if this is why it needs to have the proper setbacks. Assistant Director Griggs answered yes and stated that there needs to be a residential to non-residential buffer. Chairperson Lewis asked if this area is a multi -use area. Assistant Director Griggs stated that this property was approved for a Zone Change by City Council to Neighborhood Services (NS) in 2020. He stated that Walnut Street does have a mixed use character and zoning. Chairperson Lewis asked staff if the building could be moved to have the proper setback. Assistant Director Griggs answered yes Member Shrum asked staff what has changed with the building located on the east side of the property. Assistant Director Griggs stated a special exception is needed anytime there is development on the site that has a non -conformity on it. He stated that this site is unable to comply with the 25-foot setback that is required along the east property line, and the building is within that setback. He continued stating that the change in use is what triggers the need for a special exception Member Shrum asked staff about the building on the west side of the property and if it is not able to be moved would it affect the utility easement. Assistant Director Griggs and Deputy City Attorney Provins answered and discussed the waiver of encroachment and what could happen if the City must utilize the easement. Deputy City Attorney Provins stated that this decision by the Board could influence future Walnut Street projects. Member Shrum asked staff if Walnut Street could be expanded in the future Deputy City Attorney Provins stated that he is not sure when the expansion could possibly happen. Vice Chairperson Acosta asked if the building was placed on the property before or after the property was platted Assistant Director Griggs stated that the building was placed on the property on April 2019 during the middle of their platting process. No further discussion from Staff, ZBA Board or Public input. Chairperson Lewis read into the record the items on Consideration and Possible Action — VARZ 23-07: Special Exception and Variance for the Development of an Office Use. Member Charles made the motion to approve Request (a), Member Tristan seconded the motion Motion passed 4-1. Chairperson Lewis read into the record the items on Consideration and Possible Action — VARZ 23-07: Special Exception and Variance for the Development of an Office Use Member Tristan made the motion to deny Request (b), Member Shrum seconded the motion. Motion passed 5-0. DISCUSSION ITEMS No discussion. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 7:08 PM These minutes respectfully submitted by: cw) ..{XditAk Shelby Lowe, Ainistrative Assistant Minutes approved as mitted on this 3rd day of August 2023. Mark Lewis, Chairperson