HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002/08/13-Minutes-HEDC City of Fort Worth
City Council
Economic and Community Development Committee
Highlights of the Meeting Held
August 13, 2002
Committee Members Present: Jeff Wentworth, Wendy Davis, Frank Moss, Clyde Picht
City Staff Present: Christian Anderson, Jacqueline Bender, Mike Brennan, Donald Cager, Bette Chapman,
Fernando Costa, John Cox, Bea Cura, Hugh Davis, Gloria Eurotas, Sarah Fullenwider, Cynthia Garcia, John
Garfield, Ossana Hermosillo, Tom Higgins, Chun-I Lu, Christine Maguire, Penny McCook, Elizee Michel, T. J.
Patterson, Reid Rector, Bob Riley, Robert Stums, Pat Svacina, Gail Tidwell, Peter Vaky, Jerome Walker,
Ardina Washington, Marcia Wiseman.
Call to Order: Chairman Wentworth called the meeting to order at 1:12 p.m.
Approval of Minutes from the Meetings held on July 9, 2002 and July 15, 2002: Committee Member
Wendy Davis moved to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Clyde Picht and
carried unanimously.
Discussion and Consideration of Changing the Boundaries of the Alliance Foreign Trade Zone (#196):
Tom Harris, senior vice-president of Hillwood Properties, reviewed the previous presentation that he had made
to the Committee concerning the boundary change for the Alliance Foreign Trade Zone. He said that the
djustments requested by the Committee had been made, and he indicated the areas that would be removed from
end added to the FTZ (presentation attached). Mr. Harris explained that the boundary change is being pursued
because of a current customer in the north Gateway area who needs to be located in the FTZ. He also added
that there had been discussions with Eddie Gossage of Texas Motor Speedway about whether there was any
intent to ever use the Speedway property as a foreign trade zone. He said that, depending on this decision,
Hillwood anticipates another boundary change in the future.
Ms. Davis asked if the Fort Worth property that was added had good development potential. Mr. Harris said that
it did. Mr. Picht asked why the Texas Motor Speedway was part of the FTZ. Mr. Harris explained that when the
FTZ was established, Hillwood owned what would become the Speedway property. It was incorporated into the
FTZ application, and no changes to this have ever been made. Mr. Picht then asked what would happen if the
Speedway did not want to maintain FTZ status. Mr. Harris said that as much of the acreage as possible would be
placed back into developable Fort Worth property. Mr. Wentworth asked if the total acreage of the FTZ could
be changed. Mr. Harris explained that the total acreage could only be changed by making a request to the FTZ
board in Washington.
Mr. Harris then asked for the recommendation of the Committee and a letter from the Mayor supporting the
boundary changes. Ms. Davis moved to recommend that the Mayor write a letter of support. Committee
Member Moss seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
Discussion and Consideration of Additional Requirements and Standards in the Zoning Ordinance for
Boarding Houses:
enny McCook of the Planning Department made the presentation (attached). She said that staff is requesting
put or changes to their recommendation and authorization to place a text amendment on the next Zoning
Commission agenda. Ms. McCook explained that an interdepartmental working group was convened at the
request of the Hemphill Corridor Task Force (HCTF) and Council Member Wendy Davis to review and address
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problems concerning the few remaining problem properties, which include boarding houses, apartments and a
motel. Ms. McCook said that because of the lack of clarity concerning boarding houses, the HCTF agreed that
y ")oarding house issues should be addressed separately. Ms. McCook then defined boarding house according to
the Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance and presented proposed standards for boarding houses. Ms. McCook added
that the most important proposed operational standards included the on-site resident manager requirement and
the requirement that rooms must be leased for 30 days or longer.
Mr. Wentworth asked to what extent the four currently-registered boarding houses comply with the proposed
regulations. Ms. McCook said that most are in compliance with the current regulations or are working to
address citations. Not all have resident managers.
Ms. Davis related some background information about the purpose of the proposed standards. She explained
that when the HCTF was looking at a mixed-use zoning overlay for part of Hemphill Corridor, they considered
excluding boarding houses from permissible uses within mixed-use zoning because of the problems associated
with them. However, staff emphasized that boarding houses do serve a useful purpose, and therefore should not
be excluded. Thus, the group sought to more clearly define boarding houses and to establish standards for their
operation.
Mr. Moss then asked about the 30-day provision, and how it would affect those people who wanted to stay for a
shorter time. Ms. Davis said that this type of service was available in motels at reasonable rates. She added that
the boarding house provides something in between multi-family housing and motels.
Mr. Wentworth asked if staff had looked at how other cities define and regulate boarding houses. Assistant City
Attorney Sarah Fullenwider said that they had looked at other ordinances, but they weren't very helpful. Mr.
Wentworth then asked about the meals requirement in the definition of boarding house. Ms. Davis said that was
e old definition, which had been a part of the problem. Mr. Wentworth then asked about the new proposed
definition. Ms. McCook said that the Law Department had asked that staff give the Committee the list of
concepts, and they would craft the language for the amendment, including the definition. It would include the
meal requirement, and it would include the requirement for a maximum of 5 sleeping rooms, with no more than
two occupants per room.
Mr. Picht asked if the boarding houses that currently exist would be able to meet the proposed requirements.
Gail Tidwell of Code Compliance said that the current boarding houses already comply with the majority of the
proposed regulations and that they are already required to register for the multi-family inspection program.
Mr. Wentworth asked about the feasibility of allowing only the four boarding houses that are currently
operating in Fort Worth. Ms. Davis said that she felt that boarding houses serve a legitimate gap purpose for
persons trying to recover from some difficulty, but they need to be operating properly.
Mr. Moss said he felt that there were people looking for reasonably priced, safe properties with food service
who might want to stay for less than 30 days. Ms. Davis concurred, saying that she thought changing the time
requirement to a week would be acceptable, especially with a resident manager on site. Mr. Picht agreed and
expressed concern about the need for the parking requirement, since many of the boarding house residents do
not have cars. Ms. McCook said the parking requirements had been included because the HCTF was concerned
about on-street parking, especially that spilling over onto residential neighborhood streets. Mr. Moss said that
he felt this requirement might force boarding house owners to locate parking where landscaping ought to be,
nd this could create an unsightly property.
A citizen, Ms. E. L. Knox, asked if one was precluded from operating as a boarding house if the house had 7-8
sleeping rooms rather than 5. Ms. McCook said that the proposal was for no more than 5 sleeping rooms, with
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no more than 10 people in those 5 rooms. Mr. Wentworth and Ms. Davis agreed that boarding houses ought to
be allowed to have more rooms, as long as other requirements were met. Mr. Wentworth asked staff to
0 nvestigate and to accommodate this in the proposal, but to keep the maximum number of residents per room to
2 and to consider removing the maximum number of rooms entirely. Mr. Moss asked if the proposed standards
applied to mixed-use zoning only. Ms. McCook said they would apply to boarding houses in all zoning districts
in which they are allowed. Presently, these are C, D, and MU1 and MU2 zoning.
The Committee recommended forwarding the item to the Zoning Commission. Mr. Wentworth asked that staff
address the Committee's concern about the parking requirement and the time limit. He suggested a week as an
appropriate length-of-stay requirement. The item will be forwarded to the full Council after being heard by the
Zoning Commission.
Discussion and Consideration of a Proposed Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment for the Development of
Townhouses Within Mixed-Use Zoning Districts:
Planning Director Fernando Costa made the presentation (attached). He explained that currently townhouses are
restricted to 12 units per acre, a restriction that staff feels impedes the development of this desirable form of
housing. He said that after a review of the townhouse zoning regulations by a group of neighborhood leaders
and Fort Worth developers, staff is recommending that the mixed-use zoning standards for apartments be
applied to townhouses, thus allowing them to be built at the same density as apartments. Mr. Costa then gave
the definition of a townhouse and explained the proposal, which would apply the MU1 and MU2 development
standards to townhouses, rather than the current R2 standards. The R2 standards restrict townhouses to a
maximum of 12 units per acre, while the MU1 and MU2 standards allow 40 and 60 maximum units per acre,
respectively.
Mr. Wentworth said that he felt that the 40 and 60 unit densities were too high for townhouses, and he
0xpressed concern about the 60-feet height allowed under MU2 zoning, should these units be built near single
family residences. Mr. Costa said that the maximum number of units could be changed, and he emphasized that
there were transitional height requirements.
Mr. Picht asked if this recommendation would go to the Zoning Commission and then to City Council. Mr.
Costa said that was correct.
After some discussion, the Committee recommended 18 units per acre for MU1 zoning and 24 units per acre for
MU2, with a maximum height of 3 stories. The Committee decided to send the item to the Zoning Commission
with these suggestions. Mr. Wentworth also asked staff to look at the height of townhomes near single-family
dwellings, and he suggested that staff review the apartment density limits of MU1 and MU2 to see if any
changes would encourage more townhomes rather than apartments in areas where mixed-use districts abut
single-family areas.
Discussion and Consideration of a Tax Abatement Agreement with the Fort Worth Housing Finance
Corporation for the East Crest Single Family Development in the Stop Six NEZ:
Housing Director Jerome Walker made the presentation (attached). He said that the Fort Worth Housing
Finance Corporation intends to construct 16 single-family units on property located on E. Berry Street and is
requesting tax abatement under the provisions of the NEZ. The estimated taxes to be abated for a 5-year period
total $44,640. Mr. Walker asked that the Committee recommend the abatement to the full Council.
r. Moss moved to recommend the abatement. Ms. Davis seconded the motion, which carried.
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Discussion and Consideration of CHDO Funds for Polytechnic Heights Community Development
Corporation (CDC), Near Southeast CDC, and United Riverside Rebuilding Corporation:
Sousing Director Jerome Walker presented the first request (presentation attached) to allocate $130,000 of
Community Housing Development Organization funds as follows: (1) $50,000 in operating funds for the United
Riverside Rebuilding Corporation (URRC) to develop a 50-unit senior housing project; and $50,000 in
operating funds and $30,000 in predevelopment funds for Polytechnic Community Development Corporation
(PCDC) to develop a single-family or multi-family project in the proposed Polytechnic Heights/Wesleyan
Neighborhood Empowerment Zone. Mr. Walker asked that the Committee recommend the approval of the
allocation to the full Council.
Mr. Walker then presented the request (presentation attached) to reallocate $86,408.63 from 2001 program
income to the Near Southeast Community Development Corporation (NSECDC) to further housing
development activities in the Southeast area.
Mr. Moss moved to approve both items. Ms. Davis seconded the motion, which carried.
Discussion and Consideration of Building Permit Fee Waivers for the Lakecrest Subdivision in
Northwest Fort Worth:
Bob Riley, Development Director, presented the request (presentation attached) to waive the building permit
fees in the Lakecrest subdivision until January 9, 2003. Mr. Riley indicated the Lakecrest area on a map and
explained that the area was annexed in January 2001 and that under state law individuals may continue to use
their property as they were using it before annexation. He then explained that the City's practice has been to
consider a construction project grandfathered if it was underway on the day an area was annexed and to allow
the project to continue without city inspections, permitting, etc. However, because there are concerns about
0 which projects were grandfathered and which were not, staff is proposing to waive building permit fees until
anuary 9, 2003, the second anniversary of the annexation. Mr. Riley said that the estimated amount to be
waived is $30,000. He asked the Committee to recommend the waiver to the full Council. Mr. Moss asked if the
waiver applied only to building permit fees. Mr. Riley said that was correct.
The Committee recommended that the item be forwarded to the full Council.
Executive Session:
The Economic and Community Development Committee conducted a closed meeting to discuss and deliberate
economic development negotiations, as authorized by Section 551.087 of the Texas Government Code.
Requests for Future Agenda Items:
There were no requests for future agenda items.
Adjourn:
The meeting adjourned at 2:55 p.m. The next meeting is September 10, 2002 at 1:00 p.m.
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