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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - City Council - 1984 - 04/14 - WorkshopALLEN CITY COUNCIL PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN Present: City Council: Don Rodenbaugh, Mayor Joe Farmer, Mayor Pro Tem Jim McClure Rex Womack Jim Wolfe Dennis Offutt Absent: Ward Paxton Planning & Zoning Commission: Gary Koch, Secretary Bobby Glass Dick Erickson (left at 11:00 a.m.) Jack Pennington Wayne Armand Absent: Jim Pendleton, Chairman Jerry Wilson (arrived at 1:00 p.m.) City staff: Jon McCarty, City Manager Marty Hendrix, City Secretary Bill Petty, Director of Community Development Tom Keener, Development Coordinator The called - special workshop session of the Allen City Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission was convened at 8:45 a.m, on Saturday, April 14, 1984, in the open -space office area of the Allen Municipal Annex, One Butler Circle, Allen, Texas. Update (Agenda Item I) City Manager Jon McCarty advised of the proposed agenda for this meeting and the break at 12:00 noon, in order to attend the Rolling Hills Park Dedication. City Manager McCarty provided a summary of the comments that had been submitted at the last workshop session in the following categories: 1. The three characteristics or features of Allen which are liked the most. 2. The three characteristics or features of Allen which are liked least. 3. The three most critical development problems. /19 ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 2 Update (cont'd) (Agenda Item I) Mr. McCarty pointed out comments to number 1 were: 1. Small town atmosphere 2. School system and relationship between city and school 3. Opportunities for balanced growth and creative planning Comments to number 2 were: 1. Adequate streets 2. Large number of small houses in single areas 3. Lack of larger houses 4. Neighborhood integrity 5. Lack of shopping 6. More employment opportunities 7. Lack of citizen input on development issues 8. Fragmentation within the community Comments to number 3 were: 1. Thoroughfares/Streets 2. Sewer Treatment Facility 3. Expanded tax base 4. Parks and Recreation facilities 5. Having an imbalance in housing 6. Ranch estates 7. Growth management 8. Land Costs What Will Be Accomplished in Today's Meeting (Agenda Item II) City Manager McCarty advised both bodies that the two major areas of review and discussion at this meeting would be: 1. Citizen Input or Involvement 2. Comprehensive Planning Elements Establish General Guidelines for Citizen Involvement (Agenda Item III) Bill Petty, Director of Community Development, spoke before the Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission on the use of citizen involvement and requested that each individual write down the items or input that they would like to receive from the citizen involvement in the comprehensive planning process. The groups took several minutes to write down their com- ments and City Manager McCarty gathered those comments and worked on compiling that information to be brought back at a later time in the workshop. Establish Methods of Obtaining Citizen Involvement (Agenda Item III -B) Bill Petty, Director of Community Development, advised the groups that while the other data was being compiled, they would discuss the methods of obtaining that citizen involvement. 169 ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 3 Establish Methods of Obtaining Citizen Involvement (cont'd) (Agenda Item III -B) Mr. Petty handed out information for the groups' review and discussion containing the following information classified in the method of obtaining input, the advantages, disadvan- tages, the minimum time period for the particular method, and the expense of the survey: 1. Telephone Survey 2. Committee with Subcommittee 3. Public Hearing at Forums 4. Direct Mailout 5. Random Sample 6. Committee Structure 7. Public Hearing 8. Presentation of Public Issues 9. None 10. Other Discussion on these methods included the thoughts that the need for citizen input and what it should contain should be determined first before the method of obtaining it was determined; why there was such a high cost for the telephone survey and how it would be conducted; and also, the timing for a telephone survey had to be just right in order to get results. Mr. Petty handed out a sheet showing these methods and asked the groups to list them in the order of their preference from 1 to 10. The groups took several minutes to prioritize these methods and Mr. Petty took up the sheets for compiling that data. Mr. Petty advised that the following were the results of that data: Ranking Point Number Method Totals 1 Public Hearing (open forum) 35 2 Direct Mail 38 3.5 Committee with Submommittee 46 3.5 Public Hearing at Forums 48 (school, church, civic groups) 5 Telephone Survey 49 6 Committee Structure 59 7 Presentation of Public Issues 64 8 Random Sample 73 9 None 103 Mr. Petty advised that several individuals had also indicated that they would like to see a combination of several of the methods. Mr. Petty reviewed briefly again the items that were ranked in the top three, being Public Hearing (open forum), Direct Mail, Committee with Subcommittees and Public Hearing at Forums (school, church, civic groups), as to their time period and expense. There was considerable discussion on these various methods of obtaining information and it was pointed out that the rating of the methods tend to show that general information would be gathered at first with work towards gathering detail- ed information with the direct mail. /fO ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 4 There was considerable discussion on the holding of the public hearing forums by neighborhoods rather than by civic groups, or church groups. It was suggested that the civic groups and the church groups encourage attendance at the neighborhood public hearings. It was also pointed out that the presentation of public issues should also be placed in the local newspaper and the city's newsletter. Mr. Petty summarized the comments on the methods to gather information in the planning process of the Comprehensive Plan. That is, develop the committee with subcommittees; follow through at the public hearings at forums of neighborhood dis- tricts, using civic groups and church groups to support atten- dance, and provide public issues using the newsletter and local newspaper; and then complete information gathering with direct mail questionnaire. At this time, City Manager McCarty had listed on an easel the responses to the request for items or areas that were expected to be received from the citizen involvement and asked everyone to take a look at those responses. Those responses were: City Services (Police, Fire, Sewage) Adequacy/Future Need/Willingness to Pay ° Balanced Growth - How Should City Grow ° Housing Density ° Citizen Input/Involvement ° Parks (Facilities, Types, Use, Location) ° Shopping/Business (Location, Distribution) ° Traffic and Transportation (Adequacy, Financing) ° Personal Data/Basic Data (Demographics, Why Choose Allen) ° Recreation ° I.D. and Emulate Model City Establish Methods of Obtaining Citizen Involvement (cont'd) (Agenda Item III -B) There was considerable discussion on the holding of the public hearings at the civic group level and at open forums, that the term public meeting should be used rather than public hearing, what information was expected to be gathered at those hearings, the process after the information is received, and the use of the committee with subcommittees to organize the information. After the discussion, the groups, by straw vote, deter- mined the favored methods of obtaining information, and the following was the decision: A. Committee with Subcommittees - Having an oversight committee with each member chairing a subcommittee. Focus of subcommittees is to formulate critical choices for a specific area facing the community and educational information about those choices to the community. B. Public Hearing at Forums - Seeking input from dis- cussions in all residential areas at the facilities of schools, churches, and the like. Civic clubs and other interested organizations to be used to promote attendance. C. Direct Mailout - Questionnaires or ballots are mailed to individual respondents or households. Informa- tional packets generally accompany the ballots to L-1 explain issues. There was considerable discussion on the holding of the public hearing forums by neighborhoods rather than by civic groups, or church groups. It was suggested that the civic groups and the church groups encourage attendance at the neighborhood public hearings. It was also pointed out that the presentation of public issues should also be placed in the local newspaper and the city's newsletter. Mr. Petty summarized the comments on the methods to gather information in the planning process of the Comprehensive Plan. That is, develop the committee with subcommittees; follow through at the public hearings at forums of neighborhood dis- tricts, using civic groups and church groups to support atten- dance, and provide public issues using the newsletter and local newspaper; and then complete information gathering with direct mail questionnaire. At this time, City Manager McCarty had listed on an easel the responses to the request for items or areas that were expected to be received from the citizen involvement and asked everyone to take a look at those responses. Those responses were: City Services (Police, Fire, Sewage) Adequacy/Future Need/Willingness to Pay ° Balanced Growth - How Should City Grow ° Housing Density ° Citizen Input/Involvement ° Parks (Facilities, Types, Use, Location) ° Shopping/Business (Location, Distribution) ° Traffic and Transportation (Adequacy, Financing) ° Personal Data/Basic Data (Demographics, Why Choose Allen) ° Recreation ° I.D. and Emulate Model City ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 5 Establish Methods of Obtaining Citizen Involvement (cont'd) (Agenda Item III -B) ° Future Perspective of Citizen, Pace of Growth, Guidelines ° Location/Distribution of Apartments and Business oHealth Related (Hospital, Ambulance Service) Small Town Atmosphere Environmental/Historical Review and Discussion of Master Plan Elements (Agenda Item IV) The groups took a few minutes to review the handout materials developed by city staff on the Comprehensive Plan - Plan Elements. Those elements being: 1. Government Service 2. Environmental Issues 3. Transportation 4. Housing 5. Health and Human Services 6. Economy 7. Parks & Recreation 8. Urban Design 9. Education 10. Land Use 11. Quality of Life Mr. Petty then reviewed each of those topics and asked the groups to indicate whether they felt these items should be included as a planning element of the Comprehensive Plan. There was discussion on the topic of quality of life not being needed and the need for a separate topic of "community facilities". The called - special workshop session of the Allen City Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission recessed at 11:45 a.m. in order to attend the Rolling Hills Park Dedication. The workshop session was reconvened at 1:00 p.m. The discussion continued on the planning elements and the changing of item 7 "Parks and Recreation" to "community facilities" and including the parks and recreation topic in that category; having two separate categories of "parks and recreation" and "community facilities"; the need to add a section or category that would provide for the review and updating of the comprehensive plan and having a policy state- ment regarding that; the need for a category or section to advise of the history of the city, current statistics, etc.; also a section that deals with the goals and objectives of the city; and the development controls. Bucket Exercise to Establish Comprehensive Plan Elements (Agenda Item V) Using a card technique, Mr. Petty had all of the planning elements topics listed on individual cards and placed them on the wall. He then had all of the sub -topics of the planning elements listed on cards and reviewed those cards with the Council and the Commission and asked for responses on whether these sub -topics should be considered under the proposed topics or changed to another topic or deleted altogether from consi- deration. IU ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 6 a. Redevelopment of Blighted Areas b. Wide Range of Housing Including Elderly and Low Income Housing C. Neighborhood Quality d. Central Business District Housing e. Open Space V. Health and Human Services a. Construction and Location of Hospital Services b. Animal Control C. Health and Environmental Inspections d. Emergency Health Services 113 Bucket Exercise to Establish Comprehensive Plan Elements (cont'd) (Agenda Item V) There was considerable discussion on inclusion of "open space" and "flood control" under "Environmental Issues"; the inclusion of "elderly and low income housing" being a separate issue or included in the sub -topic "Wide Range of Housing"; in item C under "Economy" taking out the word "tax" in the state- ment of "tax incentives to attract new industries"; the place- ment of tax base in "Economy" as well as "land use"; placing open space under several categories; and the appropriate place- ment of cultural and artistic needs; taking out 24-hour day care and indigent health care from "Health and Human Services; taking public buildings/structures out of "Urban Design"; adding "all other school districts" to city's relation to AISD under "Education". The results of the responses to the planning element topics and sub -topics were as follows: I. Government Service a. Quality of Service b. Evaluation C. Appropriate Services d. Growth/Expansion of Services II. Environment Issues a. Air/Water Quality b. Noise C. Solid Waste Collection/Disposal d. Environmental Impact e. Waste Water Collection f. Flood Control g. Open Space III. Transportation a. Circulation Thoroughfare Plan b. Air Transportation C. Mass Transit d. Safety e. Rail Transportation f. Hazardous Materials IV. Housing a. Redevelopment of Blighted Areas b. Wide Range of Housing Including Elderly and Low Income Housing C. Neighborhood Quality d. Central Business District Housing e. Open Space V. Health and Human Services a. Construction and Location of Hospital Services b. Animal Control C. Health and Environmental Inspections d. Emergency Health Services 113 ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 7 Bucket Exercise to Establish Comprehensive Plan Elements (cont'd) (Agenda Item V) VI. Economy a. Employment Opportunities - Jobs b. Economic Diversification C. Role of City in Industrial Location/Expansion d. Retail and Service Needs e. Industrial Growth f. Adequate Energy and Water Supply g. Economic Development Plan h. Tax Base VII. Parks and Recreation a. Facilities b. Programming C. System Design d. Acquisition e. Compatibility of Adjacent Uses I. Accessibility g. Open Space Format and Level of Specificity (Agenda Item VI) Mr. Petty advised of the two basic format types of Comprehensive - Master Plans, those being: 1. Goals/Policy Statements/Objectives 2. Narrative Description with maps and tables u4 VIII. Urban Design a. Identification of Historical Sites b. Compatibility of Uses C. Utility Locations d. Treatment of Public Right of Ways e. Revitalize Central Business District IX. Education a. Identify Needs b. Continuing Education C. Higher Education d. City's Relation to Independent School Districts e. Location of Facilities X. Land Use a. Role of Growth b. Tax Base C. Open Space XI. Community Facilities a. Public Buildings/Structures b. Cultural and Artistic Needs The Council, Commission and City Staff reviewed the planning element topics and sub -topics to see if additional topics or sub- topics were needed. There was further discussion on the format of the plan and the need for an introduction to include the history, development controls, updating procedures and a methodology to gathering statistics in order to update on a timely basis, and any policy statements that needed to be made. Format and Level of Specificity (Agenda Item VI) Mr. Petty advised of the two basic format types of Comprehensive - Master Plans, those being: 1. Goals/Policy Statements/Objectives 2. Narrative Description with maps and tables u4 ALLEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CALLED - SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION APRIL 14, 1984 Page 8 Format and Level of Specificity (cont'd) (Agenda Item VI) Mr. Petty then posed the question of what type of format did the city officials want to proceed with. Mr. Petty reminded the groups of Mr. Wegner's presentation and the graph showing various comparisons and the need to reach a balance of both types. There was considerable discussion on the specificity of the comprehensive plan, whether the city needed just a general docu- ment or a real specific document that needed to be updated a lot, why the specificity of the document had to be determined at this point, and making the document understandable both for the developers as well as the staff. By consensus in the discussion, it was felt that the level of specificity of the Comprehensive - Master Plan was to have policy statements addressing development controls and guidelines will be specific and included as an integral part of the document. The format of the plan would be to use goals, objectives, and policy statements, in addition to maps for land use, thoroughfares, etc. In conclusion, Mr. Petty advised the Council and the Commission that at this workshop session they had reached a consensus on the planning elements for the plan, the methods for gathering citizen involvement, the format for the plan and the level of specificity, thus takinq the work on the outline of the comprehensive plan process to item 3, which is initial involve- ment of outside consultant. There was some discussion on the planning of the specific target dates for the outline items in order to move the planning process along and accomplish the goals. Adjournment The called - special workshop session of the Allen City Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission adjourned at 3:11 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, 1984. These minutes approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission on the 26th day of April , 1984. t K, ') m Pendleton, C IRMAN Gary och, SECRETARY 61 These minutes approved by the Allen City Council on the 3rd day of May 1984. 1 Marty Hendrix CITY SECRETARY I IS