Pilot Point City Council wants more clarification on the Unified Development Code draft.
At the March 26 City Council meeting, members had the opportunity to ask questions about the UDC draft.
The March version posted on the city’s website is over 100 pages long and includes a mix of new and revised versions of the city's regulations.
“We’ll take as long as this council desires and as the public may demand, because transparency and understanding are two important ingredients,” Community Services Director Darrell Gentry said in response to a concern that resident William Harrison discussed during the public forum.
Gentry summarized some of the changes to Article 7.0, which would require a “mandatory presubmittal meeting for the site plans and other development related plans” and an “annual review and progress report on city comp plan master plan set.”
Article 18.0 would require a traffic impact analysis, “for non-residential developments larger than 100 acres or generating more than 1,000 vehicles per day.”
Gentry noted that applicants who started the process before the UDC adoption will not be held to the new UDC standards and will continue to follow the old rules.
The board gave staff several notes, about grammar issues, clarifying sentences, and including definitions, for the next draft.
“[We]… sometimes forget that not everybody lives in the same world that we live in day-to-day, using the same acronyms and the same wording, and so I appreciate that that was brought up, ' City Manager Britt Lusk said.
The board agreed not to take action on the item and to wait until the draft is revised.
Gentry addressed the council again to seek approval for Dr. Lisa Smith's, local eye doctor, proposed consolidation of about 17 nonconforming lots into a single lot. The property is located between Scott Lane and Eddleman Street.
Smith is requesting that the north-south alleyway be abandoned to better utilize it for future development.
Gentry added that on the west, it could be used as a future trail system at a later date.
The board approved abandoning the public right-of-way to consolidate the lots.
Assistant City Manager Michele Sanchez sought approval to submit two applications for funding for the city.
First, for the funds for the city's Main Street through the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program, which requires a $20,000 match, Sanchez said, with the possibility of receiving up to $1 million in funding if the city’s application is approved.
Sanchez also brought forth an application to submit to the “Texas Water Development Board for Financial Assistance for Water System Improvements” as said in the agenda.
If granted, the city could be awarded up to $5 million in a “one-off project application” to complete a well project and ground storage tank, Sanchez said.
The council approved both applications.
Also at the meeting, Assistant Director of Community Services Katie Blust discussed how the code compliance division encounters many residents who are unable to comply due to physical or financial barriers.
Some recurring difficulties the residents had, Blust noted, included cutting grass and removing debris.
The proposed solution is to create a volunteer assistance program to help residents with those tasks.
The first step, Blust said, is to gauge community interest in the program.
If well received, the next step is to develop a program framework that includes training, guidelines and consent waivers. Then it would be brought back to the board for approval.
“Anytime we can give people opportunities to serve and encourage them to do so is a good thing,” council member Ray Dane said.
