What is pictured above, I’m pretty sure, is a photograph I took of the lot George Ulloa hoped to split into two separate pieces of property presumably for each of his children. His problem is that, for some reason that was never addressed at last night’s meeting, Kyle has an ordinance in its code that requires "all lots in rural subdivisions shall be greater than one acre in area." I guess this boils down to what an ordinary person envisions when encountering the term "rural subdivision." Does it bring to mind something like Amberwood set somewhere outside the Kyle city limits? Or, perhaps, something like the proposed Anthem development we’ve all heard so much about? (Technically speaking, "subdivision" is defined as "an area consisting of subdivided lots," so the argument could be made that America is, in reality, just one big subdivision.)
I spent about 30 minutes, on two different occasions, Sunday driving up and down Rolling Hills Road (which Google claims is actually in Buda) between Windy Hill Road and Highway 2001. What I saw was a large number of manufactured homes all sitting on lots much smaller than an acre in size and two more conventional-looking residences, one of which was either under construction or re-construction, it was difficult to determine which. According to the City, this collection of residences is known collectively as "Rolling Hills Estates." I am assuming the lot pictured above is the one in question because it was the only one along Rolling Hills Road that did not already contain some kind of structure and it was right in the vicinity described by the City as the location for the lot.
The ordinance lists three reasons why a variance may be granted and it specifically says all three — not just one, or two — must be met.
1. "That there are special circumstances or conditions affecting the land involved such as the strict application of the provisions of this chapter would have a substantial adverse impact on the applicant’s reasonable use of his land."
2. "That the granting of the exemption will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, or injurious to other property in the area."
3. "That the granting of this exception will not have the affect of preventing the orderly subdividing of other land in the area in accordance with the provisions of this chapter."
"I’m not sure we meet those requirements" with this request, chairman Mike Rubsam said.
"Right now he (Ulloa) has about 1.3 acres," commissioner Mike Wilson responded. "We’re saying at a minimum you have to have at least two acres to satisfy this. So any lot platted at less than two acres, we’re saying ‘You can’t re-plat it,’ which, I think, is a little excessive. A two-acre lot is a pretty big lot and I think most people would be happy with two-thirds of an acre, even outside the city."
"The problem with granting a variance like this," Rubsam countered, "is we’re basically making up our own guidelines and that is what becomes the standard when the next five or 10 people come up and want to do essentially the same thing."
As a result, Rubsam said, in the absence of any "special circumstances," he would recommend denying the variance. Wilson, however, moved to approve it, but his motion died as a result of it not receiving a second. Rubsam then moved to deny the variance and his motion passed 4-2 with Wilson and commissioner Irene Melendez dissenting. (Commissioner Lori Huey did not attend last night’s meeting.)
The commissioners unanimously approved the request to extend the above pictured street, which is currently not technically a cul-de-sac, but which will become one soon, at least for a while. The variance is needed because the city’s codes require that cul-de-sacs be a certain width and length (specifically 600 feet in commercial areas). By definition, a cul-de-sac is a dead-end street (and in most people’s minds it contains a bubble at the end to allow motorists to turn around and drive back in the opposite direction from which they entered the cul-de-sac, although such a bubble is not required to meet the dictionary definition of a cul-de-sac).
As you can see by the car pictured above, this is not a "dead-end" street. It is used by motorists traveling on Kyle Parkway from Dacy Lane who wish to enter the Wal-Mart parking lot without having to deal with the traffic signal at the next nearest entrance. SCC Kyle Partners, LTD, wishes to turn it into an actual dead-end street however, because it wishes to develop property behind those barricades seen in the picture and it needs to have that roadway extended to access that property.
It is believed that some time in the future that road will extend all the way to Bunton, although it is not, at least not currently, designated as the "Goforth Road extension" to Kyle Parkway recently approved by the City Council as part of the road bonds project. That extension is currently planned to intersect Kyle Parkway closer to Dacy than the above picture road does.
As for the bubble, a spokesperson for the developers said it actually will be placed on the side of the road, not at the end of it, but that barricades could be erected just beyond the bubble to keep motorists from being "trapped" at the actual dead-end of the road. The spokesperson said the development being planned does not extend past where that "bubble-on-the-side" would be located, although there was no clarity provided as to why the actual road needed to extend further than the development except that it needed, for some unspecified reason, to go as far as the actual property line.
In other action the commissioners misinformed residents of the Blanco Vista subdivision, who are still highly suspicious of what is actually going to be located on the northwest corner of I-35 and Yarrington Road (it will be a roughly 10,000-square-foot convenience store/gas station and other amenities to be determined later, but definitely not a truck stop) that the city was still actively pursuing warehouse zoning for that property, which is simply not true. The truth is the subject of zoning is off the table until the development consultants Catalyst and Gateway Planning deliver some form of conceptual plan for the property and possibly even adjacent areas.
The commissioners also threw the Comprehensive Plan, which the Council asked P&Z to "tweak," back in the laps of the council, reminding me of the Cool Hand Luke line "What we have here is a failure to communicate."
The Comprehensive Plan needs major revisions every 10 years and minor adjustments every five. This is one of those minor adjustment times. Municipalities normally higher consultants to deal with Comprehensive Plan revisions, but in an attempt to save money, Kyle city leaders hoped this time around the P&Z commissioners could gently massage the plan in a way to satisfy the mid-decade adjustment requirements. The commissioners, for whatever reason, decided (a) more than just a gentle massage was needed and (b) what was actually needed was beyond their abilities to deliver. So the commissioners labored last night over the wording of a letter it plans to approve in two weeks and send to council saying it should go ahead and hire consultants to fix the specific problems in the Comprehensive Plan identified in the letter.
Let’s say you own a large piece of residential property and you recently hired a landscaping firm to design and implement an intricate landscaping plan for your property. Now, however, you need the lawn mowed and instead of shelling out the big bucks to hire the landscaping company to come back and mow the lawn, you ask your 16-year-old son to get the riding mower out of the garage and get the job done. Instead, your son sends you a letter telling you to "hire the landscaping firm instead." That's tantamount to what the commissioners have done here.
If you ask me, this whole matter could have been handled by asking Rubsam and Wilson to sit down one Saturday afternoon (or any other afternoon they had free) with Planning Director Howard Koontz, going through the Comprehensive Plan as they did the aforementioned letter and suggesting minor edits/wording changes and then coming back to the full commission to vote on those edits. Instead, a small speed bump has been turned into a major obstacle.
No comments:
Post a Comment