Zoning Board of Adjustment

City of Galveston Department of Planning and Community Development i i P. O. Box 779/ Galveston, Texas 77553-0779/ Ph (409) 797-3660/ Fax (409) 797-366] AGENDA ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT REGULAR MEETING 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 5, 2012 City Council Workshop Room 204, 2nd Floor of City Hall 823 Rosenberg, Galveston, Texas A. Attendance I B. Conflict of Interest C. Minutes: May 9, 2012 June 6, 2012 f· I July 11,2012 August 8, 2012 D. New Business and associated Public Hearing: f 12Z-29 (4402 Ave F/Church) Request for variances from the Galveston Zoning Standards Section 29-65 regarding setback requirements in a Light Industrial (L1) zoning district Property is legally described as the south 65-feet of Lot 8 and south east part of Lot 9 (8-2), Block 464, in the City and County of Galveston, Texas. Applicant: Burghli Homes, % Sandra Rodriquez Property Owner: Gilbert Hernandez 12Z-30 (8614 Teichman) Request for a variance from the Galveston Zoning Standards Section 29-107: Height and Density Development Zone (HDDZ) regarding wall plane articulation. Property is legally described as part of Lot 524 (524-6) Trimble and Lindsey, Section 1; in the City and County of Galveston, Texas. Applicant: Ferrell/Brown & Associates, Inc. Property Owner: Gulf of Mexico Foundation IDl @jo~m.i ! ij 1I t.'';/3 2 9 (012 ~ Prepared By: AlD ~.J~ Athena Petty, Planning CITY SECRETARY'S Date Prepared: August 28, 2012 OFFICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA). PERSONS IN NEED OF A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS II PROCEEDING SHALL, WITHIN THREE (3) DAYS PRIOR TO ANY PROCEEDING, CONTACT THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE, SUITE 201, 823 ROSENBERG, GALVESTON, TEXAS 77550 (409 797­ 3510). MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL MAY BE ATTENDING AND PARTICIPATING IN THIS MEETING. i I  IStaff Report 12Z-29 Page 11 12Z-29 (4402 Ave F/Church) Request for variances from the Galveston Zoning Standards Section 29-65 \ ~ regarding setback requirements in a Light Industrial (LI) zoning district. Property is legally described as the south 65-feet of Lot 8 and south east part of Lot 9 (8-2), Block 464, in the City and County of II , Galveston, Texas. Applicant: Burghli Homes, % Sandra Rodriquez Property Owner: Gilbert Hernandez XistID2 Zo' E" nm2 andLandUse: Zoning Light Industrial (LI) Land Use Residential Surr • Land Use: North South East West Zoning Light Industrial Light Industrial Light Industrial Light Industrial (LI) (LI) (LI) (LI) Land Use Residential Storage Wrecking! Residential Warehouse Salvage yard Property Owner Notification as of September ~. 2012 Sent Returned In Favor In Opposition No Comment 19 Advertisement Date: August 23,2012 City Department Notifications: Private Utility Notifications: Airport: Pending AT&T: Pending Building Department: Pending CenterPoint Energy: Pending Fire Chief: Pending Comcast: Pending Fire Marshal: Pending Texas Gas Service: Pending Police Department: Pending Public Works: Pending ANALYSIS The applicant is requesting a variance for access stairs that were added to a home that was elevated through the CDBG disaster recovery program. The new stairs encroach the 3' side setback requirement. Variance requested: • Side yard (east) setback from 3-feet to O-feet. Applicant's Justification Home was elevated as part of the CDBG recovery program. Previous elevation did not require existing step. Now that the home has been elevated 7.2 ft the staircase that faces 44th street will encroach 3 ft into set building line ". Staff Report 12Z-29 Page 2 CONDITIONS FOR A VARIANCE The Board of Adjustment may grant a variance under this Section only if the variance is not prohibited by Section 14.40I.C. in Article 14, Administrative Bodies, and if the Board makes a determination in writing that all ofthe following are demonstrated: 1. The request for the variance is rooted in special conditions of the applicant's property that do not generally exist on other properties in the same zoning district. 2. Due to said special conditions, the literal enforcement of the strict terms of these Land Development Regulations would impose an unnecessary hardship on the applicant. 3. The variance is not contrary to the public interest, in that: 1. It does not allow applicants to impair the application ofthese regulations for: a. Self-imposed hardships; b. Hardships based solely on financial considerations, convenience or inconvenience; or c. Conditions that are alleged to be "special," but that are actually common to many properties within the same zoning district. ii. The variance will not have a detrimental impact upon: a. The current or future use of adjacent properties for purposes for which they are zoned; b. Public infrastructure or services; and I c. Public health, safety, morals and general welfare ofthe community. 4. The degree of variance allowed from these Land Development Regulations is the least that is necessary to grant relief from the identified unnecessary hardship. S. The variance shall not be used to circumvent other procedures and standards of these Land Development Regulations that could be used for the same or comparable effect (e.g., if alternative deVelopment patterns, alternative development standards, or other flexible measures in these regulations are available that would avoid or mitigate hardship without using a variance, then they must be used). 6. By granting the variance, the spirit of these Land Development Regulations is observed and substantial justice is done. APPEAL FROM DECISION OF BOARD In accordance with Section 29-112, any person aggrieved by any decision of the Board, or any officer, department or other Board of the City, may appeal the decision or action of the Board by filing a petition for the same in a court of competent jurisdiction, setting forth that such decision is illegal in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds for the alleged illegality. Such petition shall be filed with the Court within ten (10) days from the day the Board renders its decision, and not thereafter. The time period set forth herein shall be deemed jurisdictionaL ATTACHMENTS "A" Zoning Map "B" Site Plan ~'Ll-\1.- Date Lori Feild Schwarz, AICP, Interim Director Date S:\Planning\Planning Division\ZBA\Staff Reports\ 12zba\12Z-29\12Z-29 stf.doc IStaff Report Case 12Z-30 Page 11 1 ~. 1 12Z-30 (8614 Teichman) Request for a variance from the Galveston Zoning Standards Section 29-107: Height and Density Development Zone (HDDZ) regarding wall plane articulation. Property is legally described as part of Lot 524 (524-6) Trimble and Lindsey, Section 1; in the City and County of Galveston, Texas. I I Applicant: FerrelllBrown & Associates, Inc. Property Owner: Gulf of Mexico Foundation I and Land Use: Commercial, Height and Density Development Zone, Zone 1 (C-HDDZ-l) Vacant Surroundinl! 7.1\1Ilno and Land Use: North South East West Zoning Commercial, Commercial, Commercial, Commercial, Height and Height and Height and Height and Density Development Zone, Zone 1 (C- Density Development Zone, Zone 1 (C- Density Development Zone, Zone 1 (C- Density Development Zone, Zone 1 (C- I Land Use HDDZ-l) Vacant HDDZ-l) Institutional HDDZ-I) Commercial HDDZ-l) Vacant I Property Owner Notification as of September 5, 2012: Sent Returned In Favor In Opposition No Comment 7 Advertisement Date: August 24,2012 City Department Notifications: Private Utility Company Notifications: Airport: Pending AT&T: Pending Building Division: No Objection CenterPoint Energy: Pending Fire Chief: Pending Comcast: Pending Fire Marshal: No Objection Texas Gas Service: Pending Police Department: Pending Public Works Department: No Objection BACKGROUND Adopted in April of 2008, the HDDZ regulations were created to provide new prescriptive development standards for key areas of the city in order to: I. Promote development and redevelopment that is compatible in height, mass and scale with surrounding neighborhoods and preserves view corridors and access to Gulf breezes; 2. Promote development and redevelopment that meets community objectives and supports an overall future vision for the island; 3. Promote sustainable design within the overlay zones; and 4. Allow for the continued growth and expansion ofthe local economy. IStaff Report Case 12Z-30 A recent change to the HDDZ regulations eliminated the requirement of Wall Plane Articulation when Page 2\ ) I not adjacent to a right-of-way, residentially zoned property, or body of water. In this case, the Wall Plane Articulation is not required on the rear. The recent changes also provided Staff with the ability to provide some flexibility in meeting the Wall Plane Articulation requirements for 'Very-Low Rise' buildings as follows: The Director of the Planning and Community Development Department may permit an I t increase of up to 40 feet to the maximum building wall length, a reduction of up to 3 feet I in minimum offset depth and lor a reduction of up to 5 feet in minimum offset length for very low-rise buildings. ri However, as proposed, the building exceeds the reductions listed above in regards to maximum building wall length. I ~ ANALYSIS The applicant is requesting a variance from the Galveston Zoning Standards Section 29-107: Height and Density Development Zone (HDDZ). Wall Plane Articulation 29-107 (f)(4)(c) The Wall Plane Articulation requirement states that in base tier development, for every 30 feet of building wall length, there must be an offset of at least 5 feet in depth and 10 feet in length. After the third story, the maximum wall length increases to 50 feet. The purpose of this regulation is to provide for more variation in building design and eliminate featureless blank walls. The following chart outlines the three components of the Wall Plane Articulation requirement: Wall Plane Articulation Vertical Building Section Building Wall Offset Depth Offset Length From To Length (max.) (min.) (min.) Grade 13 Stories or 35' I 30 feet I 5 feet 1 10 feet Requested Variance: The applicant is requesting the following variance from the Wall Plane Articulation requirements for Grade to 3 Stories. In the table below, on/a' indicates that that portion of the Wall Plane Articulation requirement is being met and a variance is not required: Requirement Building Wall Length Offset Depth Offset Length 40 feet (max) 2 feet (min) 5 feet (min) South Elevation 85 feet n/a n/a East Elevation 88 feet n/a n/a North Elevation n/a n/a n/a West Elevation 110 feet n/a n/a II APPLICANT'S JUSTIFICATION Please see Attachment He". CONDITIONS FOR A VARIANCE ! The Board of Adjustment may grant a variance under this Section only if the variance is not prohibited by Section 14.401.C. in Article 14, Administrative Bodies, and if the Board makes a determination in writing that all of the following are demonstrated: 1. The request for the variance is rooted in special conditions of the applicant's property that do not generally exist on other properties in the same zoning district. IStaff Report Case 12Z-30 Page 31 2. Due to said special conditions, the literal enforcement of the strict terms of these Land Development Regulations would impose an unnecessary hardship on the applicant. 3. The variance is not contrary to the public interest, in that: i. It does not allow applicants to impair the application of these regulations for: a. Self-imposed hardships; b. Hardships based solely on financial considerations, convenience or inconvenience; or c. Conditions that are alleged to be "special," but that are actually common to many properties within the same zoning district. ii. The variance will not have a detrimental impact upon: a. The current or future use of adjacent properties for purposes for which they are zoned; b. Public infrastructure or services; and c. Public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community. 4. The degree of variance allowed from these Land Development Regulations is the least that is necessary to grant relief from the identified unnecessary hardship. 5. The variance shall not be used to circumvent other procedures and standards of these Land Development Regulations that could be used for the same or comparable effect (e.g., if alternative development patterns, alternative development standards, or other flexible measures in these regulations are available that would avoid or mitigate hardship without using a variance, then they must be used). 6. By granting the variance, the spirit ofthese Land Development Regulations is observed and substantial justice is done. APPEAL FROM DECISION OF BOARD In accordance with Section 29-112, any person aggrieved by any decision of the Board, or any officer, department or other Board of the City, may appeal the decision or action of the Board by filing a petition for the same in a court of competent jurisdiction, setting forth that such decision is I illegal in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds for the alleged illegality. Such petition shall be filed with the Court within ten (10) days from the day the Board renders its decision, and not thereafter. The time period set forth herein shall be deemed jurisdictional. ATTACHMENTS f "A" - Zoning Map f "B" - Aerial Map "C" - Applicant's Submittal I Respectfully Submitted, I I ,PI nning Manager!Assistant HPO Date I Lori Feild Schwarz, AICP, Interim D ctorlHPO Date ! S:\planning\planning Division\zBA\StaffReporu\12zba\12Z-30\12Z-30 STF.doc \ I