Dec 16, 2024 Zoning Board of Adjustment on 2024-12-16 5:30 PM

aren't they drive too fast? All right well after this president I hereby call this meeting of the city of Denton's Zoning Board of Adjustment session. The Zoning Board of Adjustment of the City of Denton of Texas will convene in its regular meeting at 532. Item one on our agenda is the US and Texas Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And now for the Texas Pledge. On the Texas flag I pledge allegiance to the Texas, one state, under God, one individual. So my name is Connor Hall. I am a vice chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment in the City of Denton. Prior to commencing our hearing, I would like to review our meeting format for the benefit of those in the audience. The board consists of seven regular members and three alternates. The members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment are residents of the City of Denton. We serve voluntarily and have been appointed to our positions by the City Council. It takes six votes to authorize a variance from the city's zoning or sign ordinances. If there are any members of the public who wish to speak on item, please fill out a blue card and hand it to Carla. We will now commence with our regularly scheduled agenda. Item number 2A is ZBA 24-015. Consider the approval of the November 18, 2024 minutes. Each member of the board has been provided a copy of these minutes. Are there any corrections, additions, or deletions to these minutes? No. All right. The chair would entertain a motion on item number 2A. I motion the approval of the minutes. Okay. Second. Okay. All right. Having received a motion and a second, is there further discussion? No. Okay. There being no further discussion, please vote on the motion. So, all in favor of passing the item number 2A, raise your hand and say aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed? Okay. Excellent. The yeas have it. So, we are hearing, we are having one variance hearing tonight. Items B24-0131. In the interest of time, I will swear in all witnesses at this time. Will all witnesses who will provide testimony in today's hearing, please stand and raise your right hand. Okay. Under the penalty of pre-jury, do you swear or affirm that any testimony or information you provide or any statement you make for the support is complete, true, and correct to the best of your knowledge and ability? If so, please answer, I do. I do. Okay. Excellent. In order to ensure a quarterly meeting, the hearing procedure for each variance will be as follows. Okay. Number one, no person shall speak unless they are recognized by the chair to speak and then shall only speak from the podium. First, the city's presentation and questions from the board. Next applicant and next applicant presentation and questions from the board. After the parties have finished their presentations, members of the public may speak on the item. And finally, the board may ask any follow up questions of staff or applicant that were raised by the public and not previously answered. At the conclusion of the evidence, I will close the public hearing. Let's see. Item number 3A is B24-0131. Hold a public hearing and consider approval of a variance from the residential 3R3 district dimensional standards. Specifically, development code table 3.2-D as it relates to the minimum lot width of 60 feet. The subject property is generally located on the west side of Fulton Street, approximately 180 feet south of West Congress Street. Sorry, the matter, okay, the matter before the board is whether to grant a variance to the city development code regulations regarding parking. I now open the hearing. Good evening, Julie Wyatt. I'm a principal planner with the city of Denton and I'm presenting B24-0131. So the request before you is to consider a variance from the R3 dimensional standards, specifically those related to lot width. The subject property is located on the west side of Fulton Street, just south of West Congress. It's outlined in yellow on your screen, the solid yellow line. The lot as it stands, it currently has a width of about 49 feet and then approximately has an area of 7,500 square feet. R3, which is the zoning designation that applies to the property, has a minimum lot width within that district of 60 feet and then a minimum lot area of 10,000 square feet. The subject property is developed with a single family dwelling and an accessory dwelling unit. That single family dwelling meets all required setbacks, all other dimensional standards associated with R3. It's just that lot width that is under consideration tonight. Also, some other considerations. In Denton Development Code subchapter one, any existing legally established lot is lawful. So in this case, the lot could remain as it is in perpetuity. However, the property owner would like to replat the property to modify some of the property boundaries, so we're going to talk about that in some upcoming slides. And so that's really why we're here tonight. So just a little bit of history. The property was platted in 1917 as lot six, block four of the high school edition. You can see it, it's kind of outlined lightly in yellow on your screen. The original dimensions of lot six included 75 feet of width along Fulton Street, 150 feet deep, and the lot was about 10,900 square feet. Shortly after plating, the lot boundaries were modified by deed. Back in the 1920s, the city didn't have a subdivision or zoning ordinance, so after it was platted, the property owners of lots one and two actually purchased portions of the north side of lot six. And so what it did is it made lots one and two deeper, but it made lot six narrower. So you can see on your screen, we've got an aerial map from 1942 that shows generally on the white lines or those platted lines, the yellow line is that deed line, where that property boundary was modified by deed. And you can actually see that there was a fence line, or it was actually a wall, established along that northern boundary of lot six. You can see the shadow a little bit, and that wall is here today. So you could see on the map on 2015, I chose that one because our map didn't have leaves on the trees, so you can see it better. You could see lot one, two, and six again, with the white line being those original platted boundaries. The yellow line, once again, is that boundary that was established by those deeds in the 1920s, which created the width of lot six of 49 feet. And that wall is still there. You can see the shadow. So we're done with history, and now we're going to talk about the current proposal. So the property owner, and he is tonight, can answer any questions, would like to replat lot six and to take in a portion of lot five, so take in a portion of the lot just to the west of the subject property. As part of that replat, he would also add in a replat of lots three and four to really make sure that all of those property boundaries are consistent with the deed boundaries. The Denton Development Code, subchapter eight, requires that any plat approved by the City of Denton has to conform to the zoning regulations. So, and lot six does not meet that minimum lot width because R3, which is the zoning, requires a 60 feet of frontage along Fulton Street. So that's why the property owner is here today, in order to seek a variant so that he can replat the property. Additionally, just as kind of a bonus, the replat would address two issues. It would update the property boundary lines so that it is consistent with the deed lines. And it also, that extension of lot six, it's currently lot six, but if the variance is approved and he's able to replat, it would be now lot five R. It would increase the size of that lot so that it would meet the minimum area requirements for R3, although it wouldn't meet the width. So the criteria for approval of variance is in subchapter two of the Denton Development Code. I'm not going to read all of this to you, but we'll just go over some of the highlights. So the first one is, are there special circumstances or conditions that apply to this parcel, that they are peculiar to this parcel, that wouldn't generally apply citywide, and are these conditions such that a strict application of the DDC would deprive the applicant of being able to plat the property. By our analysis, there really are three peculiar circumstances associated with this property. First, the lot's history and age. That deed history that we went through while it was originally established as a platted lot of a certain size, it has been modified since then. That doesn't generally apply to parcels within R3 and the Denton Development Code, or within the city. The Denton Development Code requires, as I said, that all lots created by plat have to meet those minimum dimensional requirements. So something like what's happened on this property couldn't happen today because the code wouldn't allow it. There's a physical circumstance. The north and south boundaries, those are fixed. They're owned by other properties, as well as there are improvements on those lots, which prevent the property owner from acquiring additional property. And also context, the purpose of this lot is to replat the property. As I mentioned, he is building a dwelling on the property consistent with all other dimensional requirements in R3, but the context of this is really that replat, and so that's why it is consistent with the first criteria. The second, granting the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the district. As I've mentioned, that variance is really to just replat. It is not to intensify the use on the property or add additional uses. It really is just related to drawing those correct boundaries. The proposed deviation is the minimum necessary. The literal enforcement and strict application of the provisions of the DDC would result in an unnecessary hardship. As I mentioned before, we kind of hardened boundaries here because of adjacent ownership as well as improvements, and so those boundaries can't be changed, and they've been in that configuration for 100 years. And trying to force the property owner to try to acquire additional property would really be that unnecessary hardship. The proposed variance is not for the purpose of mitigating a financial hardship, and the current property owner did not create this condition. It was long ago. So based upon the criteria for approval, and staff does recommend approval of the variance, I will be happy to answer any questions, and as I mentioned, the applicant is here. So, this property I believe was redeveloped, like this is a new-built home that is being put on here, and that home construction is mostly along the way, like it's a mostly finished structure from what I've observed riding down the street or riding my bike past it. So, how is it that this is coming to us now when the structure is already mostly complete? Is the purpose of this just to extend the lot, or is this something where the city stepped in and said, "Oh, we've noticed your lot doesn't meet these requirements"? It is just to extend the lot. So, the property owner reached out prior to purchasing the lot and went through the permitting process for the single-family home in ADU. It's consistent with all of those dimensional requirements in R3. It really is just to extend that lot toward the west. So, the ADU was already there? You're adding the ADU. When I bought the lot, is it okay for me to talk? You'll need to come up here. I'm sorry. This is a conforming, non-conforming lot. I know, that sounds crazy. Before I bought the lot, I went through all the stuff with the city, got all the approvals, because I had questions because I didn't want to purchase the lot and not be able to utilize it, right? Right. So, I've got all the, it's okay to do this. The only reason I'm trying to extend the lot, and you're probably going to think this is crazy. I own the house at the corner, which is 1117 West Congress, which has been my home since 1990. It's one of the anchor houses in the community, in the whole neighborhood. My parents have the house across the street at 1120 that I've completely redone for them to live in, and I'm building the house at 507 Fulton Street for my wife and I to live in. The EU is roughly 400 square feet apartment, and all that is, since it's a thousand square foot in one bedroom, if I have guests to come over, well, they don't want to be sleeping in the floor, so that's why we did that. My daughter has moved into my house at 1117 West Congress Street. I own the house at 1113 West Congress Street, which is the Otis and Emily Fowler house, okay? You're really going to think this is crazy, but maybe not. My grandkids, I want my grandkids to be able to walk out the back door of 1117 West Congress, go down the backyard, go through a gate and a fence, and come to my house at 507 Fulton Street, because I'm paranoid about, and like I said, abduction. I know that's crazy, but it happens, and so I'm just trying to build myself a buffer zone for my grandkids to travel back and forth. I'm so sorry, this is my dad, please forgive me, he's old, and I take care of him. So I'm just trying to build a buffer zone to where my grandkids can travel from West Congress to Fulton Street without having to get on the streets. And I've spent a lot of money to do that. It's like I told my buddy the other day, I'm spending money like I'm a rich man, and I'm not. So this is the only reason I'm doing it. There's never going to be any, there's no utilities back there, there's no water, electric, or anything, not ever planning to put any utilities back there. The biggest thing that will ever be back there may be a fire pit. So that's why I'm trying to do this. But I knew there would be questions, because okay, wait a second, here's a lot that doesn't conform, and there's a house on it. So all the 507 Fulton Street lot, all the due diligence was done, it's okay, I'm golden to build that house that I'm working on right now. It's a performance house, which the city likes, because it's what's coming in the future. And again, all I'm trying to do is give a safe passageway for my grandkids. You mentioned spending money, can I just, if it's not too personal, can I just ask like how much this going through the ZBA process? $8,000 to date to get a, I own all the property. I own 1117, 1113, and 507. And in order to get in an imaginary line that's basically already there, I spent $8,000. And to get the permits from the city of Denton to build my thousand square foot house on Fulton Street was $16,000. So before I've ever sunk a shovel in the ground, I've spent $27,000, and it hasn't been easy to stomach, but that's what I've done. So anyway, I'm committed to the neighborhood. I was born in Denton in 1957, my mom and dad were born in Denton in 1934. I'm not going anywhere, and our houses, like I said to start this, are pretty much anchor houses in the whole neighborhood. I mean, our houses are one of the reasons why old Denton is old Denton. I don't have any more questions. This is an interest to keeping the meeting moving and staying on posting and such. Do we have more questions? No more for the applicant. Okay. Do we have any more for staff? So I sent out a map of a lot of properties that I kind of suspect are nonconforming in this neighborhood with a total cost of like $8,000 to bring this, assuming that's representative of like going through a ZBA process. I know that previously the city has rezoned parcels that were kind of nonconforming, like there were some duplexes up in Idiots Hill where the city initiated a rezoning to bring them into a zoning district that would be in compliance with existing structures. Is there like a historical reason why there's so many nonconforming parcels in this area? Because that seems like a cost that potentially dozens of people might go through. I'll make an attempt at this, and then if Hillary or Haley want to jump in. So that was something that with the 2019 Denton Development Code that we have a provision within that code that if you have a legally established lot, even if it doesn't meet those minimum dimensional requirements, that it would be a conforming lot. You'd still have to meet things like setbacks, building coverage, and so those lots wouldn't have to come in and do anything in order to stay conforming. The difference with this request is that he has requested a replat, and so that's where that difference comes in. I don't know if that answers the question or if anybody else wants to jump in. So that's a really good question, but I am going to remind the board that we're here to consider the facts and the criteria for approval for this specific ordinance for this specific property. So I'm not saying don't have this conversation. I'm just saying I would recommend that it not factor into your analysis with regard to whether to grant this variance. And Julie, if I understood correctly, that answer also was sort of to the effect of the properties that are in that current configuration can stay as they are for time memorial. It's if they want to change their boundaries for some reason or another. And you would anticipate that would be a fairly unique scenario? Yes. Okay. Thank you. Are there any more questions for the board that we just had from the staff? Okay. Well, I know you just came up, but will the applicant please present any evidence or arguments to support their request? If there's anything you'd like to add. You know, it's just what it is, what it is. Okay. You laid it off pretty quick. Well, in that case, do any of our board members have any additional questions for the applicant? Okay. Now that the applicant and the city have presented their testimony, evidence, and arguments, is there anyone who wish to speak regarding this variance? If so, please come forward. Say your name and mailing address. You have four minutes of your support. So, after hearing all the testimony, evidence, and arguments, and questions and answers, as well as hearing from all those desiring to speak in support and in opposition to the variance, I will entertain further questions from the board for any of the parties or the speakers. I don't see any. So, hearing done, I now close the public hearing. The board will now deliberate and decide on the variance request. Upon the completion of the board's deliberation, the board shall render an unbiased decision based on the record and supported by reasons and finding a fact. And considering the variance, this board shall consider the facts and information in the agenda backup, including staff's written analysis of the variance, the applicant's narrative and testimony presented in the public hearing, and the board's consideration and evaluation of the requirements of the applicable standards from the Denton Development Code. The board may either grant the variance as presented or with conditions, or they shall deny the variance. And, of course, those are the two options presented, and in your deliberation, consider the basis for the request and staff analysis of criteria for approval of the variance. Robert's rules of order say that if there's a motion to deny an item and it results in a tie vote, then the vote is of no effect. If that happens, we will need to take a second vote. With the motion stated and the affirmative, if the motion to approve fails, then the request is denied. Because there are multiple criteria for approval of the variance and the applicant must meet each criterion, ZBA needs to make a finding of fact for each criterion. Because of this, I am asking for a motion generally as follows. If you wish to approve the variance, you would say I move that variance be approved as presented by staff because the applicant has met variance approval criteria listed in section 2.8.1(d)(1). If you wish to deny the variance, I move that the variance be denied as presented by staff because the applicant has not met variance approval criteria listed in section 2.8.1(d)(1). All right, so let's see. Just for everyone's reference, we put the approval criteria on the board. Is there a motion? I make a motion to approve as recommended by staff. Do I have to say all the criteria? It meets the criteria as listed and presented to the ZBA. Go ahead. Second. Okay. Excellent. So let's see. Is there any further discussion that will be needed before we vote on this motion? I think we should all vote yes on this because it's just making what's already facts on the ground become the term. It's making the fact it becomes the term, so it just benefits everyone. I was just waving my hands. Okay. You're just ready. You're like, all right, let's get on it. Okay. Having received a motion and a second, we've already done further discussion. So the board may ask clarifying questions of staff liaison and state attorney's office liaison prior to calling for a vote. The board must state the grounds in support or in opposition to its finding and termination. There being no further discussion on the variance, please vote on the motion by show of hands. All in favor of passing the variance as recommended by city staff, please raise your hand and say aye. Aye. All opposed? All right. The ayes have it. The next item on the agenda is concluding items. Are there any concluding items for tonight's meeting? Chair, I have half of one. Okay. And because there's a fair number of new faces, I wonder if you might be open to us going around the circle and introducing ourselves. Oh, of course. Just like a one sentence, what's up, who we are. Okay. Yeah. I am more than happy to do that. Would you like to start? Yeah. Since you're right there, we go in a nice, easy form. Or, I remember what it's all about. It's fine. I'm Kate Linus. I have been on the ZBA, I don't know how many years, under how many different council members, either as a...as needed, or I think I'm an actual member now. I don't remember. I don't know. I just show up whenever I'm supposed to. My full time job is I am a...I am the grants officer for Children's Advocacy Center for North Texas, which is why I totally get what you said about safety. But yeah, live in Denton, have lived in Denton off and on since, I don't know, the 90s when I got my degree. My name is Christine Bray. I've been a member of ZBA for I guess a year now. I'll have three meetings maybe. I'm on Mobility Committee. I was previously the chair of the Denton Charter Review Committee, previous on the Bond Committee, and I've done a variety of jobs like medical testing lab, school bus driver, retail work. Awesome. I'm Kevin Blair, and fairly new to the ZBA as of a few months, and background in real estate as well as Greece wire rope lubricant sales. That's very specific. It is. Sounds very bad. That's correct. I'm Hillary, I'm your legal liaison. My name is Connor Hall. I am the vice chair of the zoning board. I've been named that since last month. So it's been a fun month. I'm also I'm currently a substitute teacher, though actually I'm proud to announce starting in January, I will be teaching full time as a fourth grade teacher. So I'm really excited to start that. But yeah, that is my current background. I'm also super new to this. So, you know, because I've only been here three months, so also one meeting for y'all. And I'm the administrative assistant for this board, so schedules, emails, all the not fun stuff. And it was a gross given the staff liaison for the city about nine years, you have any technical questions about the content of your package or anything like that. I'm James price within that in about 90 and a half years, working commercial banking for independent financial. Hello, my name is Liam gone Wakefield. I've lived in didn't since 2010. When I moved in with my grandparents. I graduated UNT with an urban urban planning and policy degree. So finally get to use it on the board. I've worked for the city before I like the auditorium I'm current, and I work, I'm currently a substitute teacher now. And I've just, I've been a bit around that in a while so glad to actually be able to be part of something that puts a mark on. I'm borrowing woods I've been living in Denton with my family since 93. I'm a retired airline pilot so I've been on several boards in the city. It is our home, and we're glad to be here and help out. I've been curious about y'all so I really appreciate it. Well, yeah, we skipped you. Julie Wyatt planner. A planner. Most interesting place. All right. Having a historic home yes and no. Before we come to chat, let's adjourn. Yes, of course. If there are no further community items I say we motion to end the meeting. Okay, well how about that I will use my power to end this meeting. Thank you everyone for showing up and thank you of course for presenting your case.