Notes from December P&Z Meeting

P&Z met on Tuesday, December 1, 2009.  The meeting opened at 7:03 p.m.  The only member not present was Bert Buys.

A public hearing on the sign permit application submitted by Meritage Homes for the Hearthstone Ranch Subdivision was opened at 7:04 p.m.  Meritage Homes wants to put up two flags, 48 square feet each, to attract attention to the entrance of the Hearthstone Ranch subdivision on FM 1560.  The Sign Ordinance allows only one flag with a maximum size of 40 square feet.  A Meritage representative spoke explaining the purpose of their request.  The public hearing was closed at 7:07 p.m.

The next item on the agenda was the discussion of and action on the approval of a conceptual site and design plan for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ Meeting House that will be located at the intersection of FM 1560, Iron Horse Way, and Antonio Drive, including:

a.  Site Plan
b.  Building Design
c.  Storage Building Design
d.  Signage, and
e.  Exterior Lighting

City Administrator, Rick Schroder, stated that all of their plans complied with ordinance requirements.  There will be no access to this property off of FM 1560, just off Iron Horse Way and Antonio.  The height at the ridge of the roof of the Meeting House is 26.5 feet.  If I heard correctly, the steeple will extend 39 feet above that.  The capacity of the building will be roughly 300 people, and there will be 170 parking spaces.  The building will be made of white stone and stucco.  There will be a sign on the building but no other signs anywhere, except for stop signs at the exits.  They hope to have their plans finished and approved by the end of 2009.

A motion was made to approve the plans as submitted (listed above) and to add the words “exterior lighting will be full-cutoff.”  The motion was approved; all were in favor.

The next, and last, agenda item was discussion of and action on the approval of a variance to the Sign Ordinance requested by Meritage Homes for the Hearthstone Subdivision located at the intersection of FM 1560 and Payne’s Gray.

As stated above, the ordinance allows one flag that is a maximum of 40 square feet, and Meritage is requesting two flags that are 48 square feet each.  Joe Edmond asked the Meritage representative present why they wanted to exceed the size allowed.  She did not know for sure but thinks that they probably just come in that size.

Other Board members expressed concern that the flags might interfere with the overhead power lines and that the flags might possibly create a traffic hazard by causing a visual impairment for drivers attempting to pull out onto FM 1560.  Rick Schroder stated that he would have HPD determine if those concerns were valid and if the flags would be in the City’s right-of-way (ROW) or the State’s.  If they would be in the State’s ROW, he stated that that would not be our concern.

Another Board member brought up the fact that the flags are temporary, but Meritage’s request did not specify any time limit.

Alex Blue said he didn’t know why the flags could not be made smaller to comply with the ordinance since there was no text on the flag.

Jerry Cotton did not want more than one flag.  He understands that this is a marketing ploy, and he is OK with that as long as the flag complies with the ordinance.

A motion was made to recommend to City Council that the variance request be disapproved and that their concerns regarding the power lines and clear vision safety issue be addressed; all were in favor.  This issue will be on the City Council’s agenda on December 10, 2009.

The next P&Z meeting will be on January 5, 2010.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 6:10 pm and is filed under City Hall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.