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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-07-04393 MINUTES #2421 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2004, 5:00 P.M. Mayor Holmes opened the meeting of the City Council. Present were Mayor Pro Tempore Jim Roberts and Councilmembers Syd Carter and Kelly Walker. Councilmember Harry Shawver was absent and excused. Also in attendance were City Manager Bob Livingston, City Attorney Rob Dillard and City Secretary Nina Wilson. AWARDS & RECOGNITION PRESENTATION FROM D MAGAZINE: The City of University Park was named #1 suburb. Executive Director of D Magazine, Tim Rogers, made a brief speech congratulating the City. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts presented each Department Director with a framed photograph of the D Magazine cover. Mr. Clark Lenhardt, who was featured on the D Magazine cover, was also presented a framed photograph, as well as, Miss Grace Jolas, pictured on the swing. The City was named # 1 suburb also in 2002. ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR RECOMMENDATION FROM CABLE TV FRANCHISE REVIEW ADVISORY GROUP: The Cable TV Franchise Review Advisory Group (FRAG) appointed by the City Council on August 3rd has met three times. The group, which also includes representatives from The Town of Highland Park, drafted a recommendation to the City Council regarding initial steps in the franchise review process. This action is not the completion of FRAG's work but rather an early step in that effort. Much of FRAG's discussion to date has related to cable TV and internet customer service problems experienced by group members. Ms. Beth Blankenship, member of the group, presented the recommendation to the City Council. The Cable TV Franchise Review Advisory Group recommends that the City of University Park and the Town of Highland Park perform the following: a franchise fee audit of Charter Communications for the Park Cities system; a compliance audit of Charter Communications relative to the existing University Park and Highland Park franchise agreements; and a technical assessment of the Charter Communications Park Cities system. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts moved acceptance of the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Carter seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the following: CONSENT AGENDA CONSIDER CONTRACT FY'05 FOR HEALTH SERVICES WITH DALLAS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The City agrees to pay the County $48.00 for the fiscal year October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005, which is the agreed upon City's share of the total cost less federal and state funding. Health services include tuberculosis control, sexually transmitted disease control, communicable disease control, and laboratory services. 394 CONSIDER APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES: For August 18, 2004. MAIN AGENDA PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR PD-2-R, PARK CITIES BANK, 4300 LOVERS LANE: Mayor Holmes opened a public hearing. Park Cities Bank requested approval of an amendment to Planned Development District 2 - Retail (PD-2-R) (Miracle Mile), specifically for the property at 4300 Lovers Lane, in order to locate a bank facility with two drive-thru lanes on the property on the east side of the building. Steve Metzger, attorney representing the bank, stated that all the neighbors had been contacted and there was no opposition. As no one at the City Council meeting spoke in opposition, Mayor Holmes closed the public hearing. Councilmember Carter moved approval of the request. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve an amendment to PD-2-R, 4300 Lovers Lane. CONSIDER ORDINANCE AMENDING PD-2-R, PARK CITIES BANK, 4300 LOVERS LANE: Councilmember Walker moved approval of the ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the amendment. ORDINANCE NO. 04/24 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS, AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE AND MAP OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, SO AS TO AMEND PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT NO. 2 (PD-2-R) FOR THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED AS LOT 1R OF BLOCK A, IDLEWILD NO. 2, AN ADDITION TO THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS, AND MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS 4300 LOVERS LANE, UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS; APPROVING A SITE PLAN AND LANDSCAPE PLAN; PROVIDING SPECIAL CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,000.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED 2004 PROPERTY TAX RATE AND BUDGET: Mayor Holmes opened a public hearing. Finance Director Kent Austin spoke on the inclusions in the budget and tax rate. The tax rate has been reduced for the l0th straight year. The proposed FY'05 rate of $0.32539 is a 0.2% reduction from last year's adopted rate of $0.32601. The certified taxable property base rose 4.2%. The proposed budget would collect $491,644 more in current property taxes than last year, a 4.0% increase. Comparing the new proposed tax rate of $0.32539 against the ETR yields an effective tax increase of 2.37%. As there was no comment, Mayor Holmes closed the public hearing. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts moved approval of the proposed 2004 property tax rate and budget. Councilmember Walker seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve both the property tax rate and budget for 2004. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MODIFICATIONS TO PLANS FOR CITY HALL AND GOAR PARK IMPROVEMENTS: The City has been working with Mr. Rowland Jackson of Newman, Jackson, Bieberstein Landscape Architecture (NJB) to develop improvements to Goar Park as 395 well as modifications to the City Hall renovation plans approved in February. Mr. Jackson reviewed the conceptual plans, which are intended to improve the appearance and usability of Goar Park while mitigating any impacts of the City Hall renovation. Mayor Holmes then called on anyone who wished to speak in favor of or in opposition to the modifications. Mr. Allen Terrill, 3209 Beverly Drive and Mr. Jeremy Adams, 3425 University Boulevard, representing Preservation Park Cities, spoke in opposition. Ms. Randee Heffiefinger, 3600 Rosedale, spoke in opposition. Ms. Lucy Billingsley, 6701 Turtle Creek, spoke in favor of the modifications and thanked the City Council for their willingness to make changes and listen to objections to the original plans. Mr. Reed Norris, 4310 University Boulevard, spoke in opposition. Mr. G. Irwin Gordon and his daughter Kristina, 3645 Haynie spoke in favor, and Mr. Gordon noted that the City has responded very well to requests from citizens and has acted aggressively to improve the park. Mr. lan Packer, 3649 Haynie, spoke in favor and noted that the mayor had spent a great deal of time to find a solution. He applauded the modifications. After no one else came forth to speak, Mayor Holmes stated the concept and design had already been approved in principal and final approval was now in order. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts recommended approval of the modifications as outlined in Mr. Jackson's presentation and recommended staff be authorized to proceed with developing a contract with NJB for design of the concept as presented and that the contract be returned for City Council approval at the September 22nd City Council meeting. Councilmember Walker seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the modifications to plans for City Hall and Goar Park improvements. REVIEW SMITH PARK PLAYGROUND CONCEPT PLANS: Director of Parks Gerry Bradley made the presentation. For the past few months, staff has been working with residents to develop conceptual drawings for the replacement of older playground components at Smith Park. The playground committee has been working with representatives of Southwest Parks and Playgrounds to replace playground components at Burleson, Caruth, Coffee and Caruth Parks. The new playground design will provide activities for both toddlers (ages 2-5 year olds) and older children (ages 5-12 year olds). Play structure components include: Swing Set, Rock Climber, Log Roll, Merry-Go-Round, Slides, Tic-Tack-Toe Board, Children's Backhoe, Tot Slide and Climbers, Vertical Climbing Features and Resilient Shredded Wood Surfacing. Support features will include additional concrete containment curbs, concrete walkways, picnic tables, seating benches and a playground drainage system. The total project cost for the Smith Park Playground upgrade is estimated at $69,174.25. The timeframe for the playground project is estimated to be approximately three to four months after materials have been ordered. Councilmember Walker moved to approve the concept. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the plans for the Smith Park Playground. CONSIDER ORDINANCE ORDERING CHANGE OF CERTAIN STREET ADDRESS NUMBERS: As there is a primary concern regarding the accuracy on the impact of emergency services (police, fire, & dispatch), building inspection and utility billing, a change has been recommended. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts moved approval of the ordinance. Councilmember Walker seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve an ordinance changing certain street address numbers. 396 ORDINANCE NO. 04/25 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS, ORDERING THE CHANGE OF CERTAIN STREET ADDRESS NUMBERS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. CONSIDER REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL TO REFER RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS IN ZONING ORDINANCE TO ZONING ORDINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION: The Zoning Ordinance contains an allowance for certain projections into the required side yard, such as window sills, belt cornices, eaves, chimneys and windows, along with the maximum distance that each may encroach into the side yard. There is also an allowance for other architectural features to project into the required side yard. Since there is no definition found in the Zoning Ordinance for architectural feature, the term has been interpreted in various ways over time. Either a true definition of what can be considered an architectural feature must be created or the term should be eliminated in order for proper enforcement to take place. It was recommended that these allowable projections be reviewed for all residential districts to determine their merit. Another item of concern regarding driveway lengths and location has arisen that will necessitate an amendment to the ordinances dealing with where these points of measurement are referenced. The Zoning Ordinance specifies that garages or carports constructed to be entered directly from an alley or side street shall be set back from the respective property line a minimum distance of 20'. While this does not create a problem in the vast majority of cases, there have been situations where the rear property line of a lot is located into the alley paving. Even in most of these cases, the City has been successful in obtaining a 20' foot setback from the alley paving; but, in reality, wording is needed that makes it much clearer to all parties from where the distance should be taken. Mayor Holmes moved the issue be referred to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee (ZOAC) for further discussion. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts seconded, and the vote was unanimous to refer the issue to ZOAC. DISCUSS FEASIBILITY OF RECONSTRUCTING LOVERS LANE, HILLCREST WEST TO DICKENS: SYB Construction is nearing completion of water and sanitary sewer utility replacement along Lovers Lane from Hillcrest to Thackery. There have been preliminary discussions with the contractor regarding the possibility of revising his contract to include the reconstruction of Lovers lane, Hillcrest to Dickens, in lieu of simply completing the permanent pavement repairs in the areas damaged by the utility construction. The work would be done this fall, and it was suggested that reconstruction of the remaining section, Dickens to Thackery, be done the summer of 2005, while school is in recess. Director of Public Works Bud Smallwood will bring a suggested timeframe, the scope of the work and cost to the City Council. CONSIDER RESOLUTION FOR ESCROW AGREEMENT FOR DEDICATION OF EASEMENT DEEDS FOR NORTHWEST PARKWAY WALL: All residents in the 3200-3000 block of Northwest Parkway have signed the Right-Of-Way Dedication Deed to donate approximately 14' of their property for the construction of a screening wall, street construction, and water line improvements along their frontage. As a protection to property owners, the City of University Park has agreed to hold the deeds in escrow pending approval of a construction contract for the screening wall. This agreement provides that Republic Title of Texas, Inc. will hold all deeds in escrow until December 31, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. In the event authorization and 397 approval for the project are not obtained, escrow documents shall terminate and become null and void, and the title company will retum documents to the respective homeowners. Councilmember Walker moved approval of the Escrow Agreement between the City of University Park and Republic Title of Texas, Inc. Mayor Pro Tem Robert seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the resolution for escrow agreement for dedication of Easement Deeds for the Northwest Parkway Wall. RESOLUTION NO. 04-13 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS, APPROVING AN ESCROW AGREEMENT WITH REPUBLIC TITLE COMPANY OF TEXAS AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION BY THE CITY MANAGER; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BOY SCOUT: Mr. Ryan Alleman, 4428 Southern, Highland Park, Texas introduced himself and stated that he was in Troop #72 and working on the Citizenship in the Community Badge. There being no further business, the meeting was adjoumed. PASSED AND APPROVED this 22nd day of September 2004. ATTEST: Ni~ity S-~rcretary ~a~e's'~. Holmes ~II, !~ayor