Friday, Nov. 21, 2008

Council cedes some power in building code updates

By SARAH JUNEK

The Keller City Council on Tuesday ceded some control to city staff by approving a measure aimed at streamlining the site plan review process.

The measure, one of many updates to the city’s Unified Development Code, allows the Community Development Department to sign off on site plans that meet all city standards. It will speed the process by about four weeks and encourage compliance, officials said.

"If it’s always been our objective to try to get development to be developed as per this code," Councilman John Baker said, "I think this is going to go a long way toward encouraging that."

The council’s review of site plans may have been unnecessary in some cases. Under state law, those detailed development plans that meet municipal standards must be approved, said Jay Brown, chairman of the city’s advisory planning board.

The council-review process gives the "perception we are hard to do business with," Councilman Ray Brown said.

Under the new process, however, staff may "have to make interpretation calls that the council may not agree with," City Manager Dan O’Leary said.

That prospect worried some councilmen.

"It just concerns me," Mayor Pat McGrail said. "On a major commercial project, the council still needs to have some involvement."

And as Keller inches closer to build out, many developers have a difficult time meeting all code requirements, officials said.

"It has been uncommon for you to get one with no variance," O’Leary said.

Councilman Tom Cawthra proposed a threshold whereby projects smaller than 7,000 square feet would be approved by staff and larger ones would still go before council for approval.

"We don’t have any basis to reject it when it meets all the codes," Councilman Mitch Holmes said.

Brown, the councilman, feared that would send the message that "if you’re a small business then we’re friendly if you’re a larger business then we’re not."

"We’re nothing but spectators if they come forward without any request for variances," Councilman Jim Thompson said.

Councilmen agreed to add an additional layer of accountability, requiring that the development director and another staff member evaluate if the plans complied with code requirements. They also requested a written update to council of all site plans approved by staff.

All site plans within Town Center would still go before the council, Assistant City Manager Chris Fuller said.

The new process was part of revisions to the city’s set of building guidelines. Others include requirements for parking of recreational vehicles, zoning for gas stations and sign regulations.

Standards proposed for Town Center are being considering in a separate process.

Written in 2002, the guidelines have undergone a two-year process of review including a ten-member technical review committee, review by the planning commission and several public hearings, the last of which was held on Nov. 18.