HomeMy WebLinkAbout1967/11/20-Agenda-Pre-Council MINUTES
Pre-Council Conference
November 20, 1967
Present Late Absent
1. McKinley 8. Hoover (ILent 4) 9. Kemble
2. Kersnick
3. Wilson
4. Stovall
5. Guinn
6. Dunham
`,arsgard
I_ t e ni Follow-Up
1 . Appointments to Community Relations Commission ROY - See Regular meeting notes,
Item 3.
Councilman Dunham suggested the names of Messrs.
Harold V lderas and Joe M.trquez as candidates to fill
va, tut po::itions on the Community Relations Commission.
rhe City Council approved the :appointment of Valderas
,and Marquez durink, its regular session.
Closing of Birdell SLrecL (IR 7',=1299 & M&C P5.-260 - DAVID - notify affected persons of
held over from previous week) action.
'Elie Mayor mentioned that he had driven through the
area over the weekend. The City Manager referred to maps
displayed and indicated that property owners in the vicini-
tv h,+ i been contacted concerning the closing of Birdell
SLroer_. }Ie � aid that the Birdell Street closing was part
of old 1a, arings relating; to use of Lhe property in quc..-
tion. lie said that ,it first the owners of the property
were refused approval Lo close Birdell Street. Later
they offered to open and pave Andrew Avenue, which was
approved_
Dr. Guinn said that the construction of Andrew
Avenue on the ground would permit better traffic circula-
tion in the area. The Planning Director said that a new
pltt showing Andrew Avenue is ready for filing. Dr. Guinn
sAid the .access into this particular area had been very
poor for ., long; t-Ame. In response to his question, the
City 1Ian.iger replied to Dr. Guinn that Tom Ryan was building
the aparLi,1vnts.
flit street closing was approved by the City Council
,at Lhe re e*ul.ar meeting. _
3. -Idvanced Kight-of-Way Acquisition for Interchange DAVID - Worth with the Chamber of
,t Odom Road and I-35W (IR #1297) Commerce to qee what assist.anrt:
they can give us.
Thu City Manager explained to the Council that Llae
Plan Corrmi<'Sion w.as requesting; guidance from the City
Council concerning; the location of a service station on a
plat near the intersection of Odom Road and I-35W. Ile
;:aid that previous traffic estimates for chis intersection
had not taken into :account several major traffic generators
in the :area, particularly the GreaL SouthwesL Corporation,
Lhe planned Sears-Roebuck shopping center, and other anti-
cipated developments In the area. Ile reviewed several in-
ter e( ion }?l.in:; tinder consideration and pointed ouL that the
addiLion:al right -ol-w ay area needed to improve the intersec-
2
tion would be from 12 to 60 acres, depending upon the type of
intersection installed. The Mayor asked what was the Srate
Highway Department 's position on the long range development of
the intersection. The City Manager replied that present High-
way Department projections show it to be adequate, but the cur-
renL traffic situation shows traffic in excess of their projec-
tions, which indicates that the design of the intersection needs
to be updated.
The Mayor observed that I-35W, upon its completion, even-
tually will be shorter to points south of Fort Worth than I-35E
which runs through Dallis. lie suggested that by then much more
additional truck traffic kill be moving through the intersection.
Mr. Dunham said that he knew of plans for additional developments
in the area in the near future. It was pointed out that the
Planning; commission is ,uggesting to the City Council to dis-
approve the current request and attempt to establish some pro-
tective riblet-of-way in the vicinity of the intersection.
The City Manager said that under present arrangements,
if Fort WorLh bought the land, it would receive no reimburse-
ment tram the State. The Mayor asked the City Manager how we
1-ould prevent development of the area. The City Manager said
th.it we could hold the plat for thirty days. The Planning
Director remarked that the plat in effect was approved if the
City Council decides to take no action on the protective right-
of-way. Mr. Stovall suggested that the City start negotiating
the purchase of the land.
Mr. Sarsgard asked how the land purchases could be
financed. The City Manager explained that some monies were
available in unsold bond allocations for streets in new areas
and miscellaneous right-of-way purchase but using them would
surely cut into the other projects provided for in the CIP.
He also said that if we bought the corner in question at this
time, three additional corners would probably have to be pur-
chased before we were finished. The City Manager suggested
that the City would need to buy all of the right-of-way
within a relatively short period of time. Mr. Sarsgard asked
that if the City did nothing, and if all four corners of the
proposed right-of-way area were developed, who would have to
pay for the land when the construction of the project was
finally decided on. The City Manager said that the State and
the Federal government would pay for the cost at that time.
He also pointed out that the position of the State Highway
Department is that, even with right-of-way available, it will
not begin construction on the intersection until the traffic
demands it. Mr. Dunham .said that it was 'bad planning" to
come back a few years from now and have to buy four gasoline
stations. Mr. Dunham asked whether any other financing op-
rions were available, and the Mayor said that developers
would help in purchasing the right-of-way. The City Manager
e:stimaLed that S300,000 to $600,000 would be necessary to
secure all the right-of-way in question.
The City Planning; Director said that the Great South-
west Corporation had told him informally that it is two years
ahead of its schedule of development. He also said that the
Sears Shopping Center was ::oon to be constructed. He said
Lhat since the present intersection of 1-820 and 1-35W is
only an interchange between freeways, the Odom Road Interchange
,�. 3 AVft
will be only local traffic acess/egress point on the freeways
in this vicinity. He said that without an adequate inter-
change at this point, development of the adjacent property
will probably be hindered. The Planning Director said that
many new factors concerning the design of the interchange
now exist that did not exist at the time the Texas Highway
Department made its computer projections.
The Mayor asked the difference between plans "D" and
"E". The Planning Director replied that "b" is the minimum
design standard for safe traffic movement and is oriented
primarily toward automobile traffic. He said that plan "E"
is a safer design and is oriented more toward large truck
movements. Mr. Dunham asked whether any thought had been
given to approaching the Highway Commission directly. The
City Manager said that this staff had dealt only with the
administrative staff of the Commission and that the City
Council itself should make the presentation to the State
Highway Commission.
The Planning Director said that the church in the
right-of-way area would probably need some land in the
vicinity for parking area. Mr. Stovall asked whether the
Plan Commission would accept the plat for the service sta-
tion if it were relocated to a greater distance from the
road. The Planning Director replied that the Commission
would accept such a plat.
In response to a question from Mr. Dunham, the City
Manager said that the contact with the State Highway Com-
mission by the City Council would be sufficient action on
the part of the City Council for it to disapprove the requested
plat. Mr. Sarsgard said that the City Council should state
Plan "E" as its preference to the State Highway Commission.
Mr. Dunham suggested that the City Council should deal directly
with the Commission itself. The City Manager said that his
office would prepare draft papers for the City Council to
present to the State Highway Commission, if requested. It
was suggested that this item should be held on the agenda
for one more week and the Mayor suggested that the resolution be
prepared as soon as possible in order to avoid any delays. The
City Manager suggested that the City Council's petition to the
State Highway Commission should be coordinated with the efforts
of the Chamber of Commerce.
5. Notification of Property Owners - "Zoning Case ERROL - Draft memo to Mahoney to
Z-67-151 (IR #1300 - Hearing Continued from prepare draft IR on unzoned land,
Previous Meeting) including review of meeting in
Library on program of zoning new
The Mayor said that the report concerning the noti- areas.
fication of the property owners appeared to be satisfactory
to him. Mr. Sarsgard suggested that interested persons may
appear for today's Council meeting. Mr. Sarsgard noted that
zoning was not an automatic process and he asked the Planning
Director what the status of unzoned land within the city limits
was. The Planning Director said that the City Plan Commission
4 ,0„
is working on the backlog at the present time. He said
chat in unzoned areas the City has no control over what
can be built on the property as long as it meets the City's
building codes.
Mr. Sarsgard asked how long it would take to dispose
of the backlog, and the Planning Director said two to three
months. Mr. Sarsgard said that he felt that unzoned land was
a very high priority item and should be disposed of as soon
as possible. The Planning Director said he thought that the
Planning Commission would be able to speed up the work load.
Mr. Hoover inquired of the Planning Director about a meeting
held in Lite Library concerning the schedule for disposing of
unzoned land in the City. Mr. Mahoney replied that the pro-
gram was part of his regular budget. Mr. Hoover wanted to ERROL - Ask Rodger to furnish
know how taxes of agriculturally zoned land compared to taxes report on tax values of agri -
on land zoned in other categories in industrial areas. Mr. Cultural land as requested.
Hoover said that indiscriminate zoning initiated by the City
roust be avoided. The Planning Director said that after land
Is annexed into the City, only the City building codes are
operative on unzoned land. Mr. Sarsgard asked for n map
:showing what unzoned areas remained within the City limits.
The Planning Director said that the information was avail-
able and that he will prepare a report concerning it and
present a timetable for its disposition. Mr. Hoover re-
quested that a resume of the meeting in the Library be in-
cluded in cite report.
6. Continuation of Neighborhood Improvement Program EHD - List on Agenda for 1112,
(IR #k1301)
No action was taken on this informal report.