03/20/2017-CC-Minutes-Work SessionCITY OF SANGER, TEXAS
MINUTES: CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
March 20, 2017, 6:00 PM
502 Elm Street, Sanger, Texas
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Thomas Muir, Councilman Bill Boutwell,
Councilman Lee Allison, Councilman David Clark, Councilman Gary Bilyeu,
Councilman Allen Chick
The Mayor and All Councilmembers were present constituting a quorum.
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Mike Brice City Manager, Cheryl Price City Secretary,
Jim Berman Director Parks and Recreation, Christy Punches Municipal Court, Clayton
Gray Finance Director, Ramie Hammonds Building Official, Alina Ciocan, Director of
Economic and Development Services, Neal Welch, Director Public Works, Laura
Klenke, Librairian/Social Media.
1. Call Meeting to Order.
Mayor Muir called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
Work Session Agenda Item No. 5 was moved up to the first of the Agenda
5. Review of New Website
Jim Berman, Director of Parks and Recreation was recognized representing the Social
Media Committee who were all present at the meeting. He provided visuals which
included a tour of the website and gave details on the year long process of the Website’s
development. He advised that the Committee is also currently working on a Social
Media Policy. There was discussion. It was noted that the City is working with the
Chamber and there are links to the Chamber, Economic Development, and the School
Websites. The City’s Parks and Recreation Department works closely with the Chamber
on several events and does post them on our website, and the Chamber posts our events
on their website. Suggestions to post updates on ongoing construction projects such as
McReynolds Road, the Wastewater Treatment Plant, etc. There was also discussion on
the Mobile site and it was noted that there is a way to track the results of completed
work order requests. Councilmembers complimented the website and thanked the
Committee for their work.
2. Review Revised Landscape Ordinance.
Alina Ciocan, Director of Development Services and Economic Development was
recognized to present the Landscape Ordinance. She advised this is part of the ongoing
process of reviewing all of our ordinances and updating them. She noted that the
Landscape Ordinance can get very complicated. There is no ordinance drafted at this
time. She noted that the scope of tonight’s meeting is to provide what we currently have
in place, some general requirement suggestions (using surrounding city Ordinances), and
to get feedback on what the Council wants to see before staff drafts an ordinance. The
information staff provided is below:
CURRENT LANDSCAPE REGULATIONS – Last updated in 1998
Chapter 14, Planning and Zoning, Section 48 – Landscape Regulations the Ordinance
does not address landscape requirements within residential districts (residential uses). It
Applies to the following zoning districts: B-1, B-2, B-3, I-1 and I-2; also, applies to
non-residential uses within SF-1, SF-2, SF-3, SF-4, MF-1, MH-1 and MH-2
• Landscaping of between 10 and 20 percent of the total lot shall be required. If
landscaping includes the planting of new and retention of existing shrubs, trees
and flowering plants, the landscape requirement may be reduced to 10%. Grass
is an appropriate landscape material.
• Not less than 40% of the total landscaping shall be located in the designated front
yard. Exception: I-1 and I-2 Districts – the side yard and read yard landscaping
requirement s may be waived.
• Landscaping of parking lots is encouraged. For each landscaped island of at
least 10 feet by 20 feet located within a parking lot, credit for four parking spaces
will be provided (cannot reduce the overall parking requirement by more than 20
percent).
PROPOSED UPDATES –Establish minimum landscaping requirements within all
single-family residential districts, two-family, townhome and manufactured housing.
• Establish minimum requirements for non-residential and multi-family
developments.
PROPOSED UPDATES – RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS – Minimum Standards
• Solid vegetative ground cover or lawn for the entirety of the lot that is n ot
otherwise covered by mulched planter beds, building(s) and/or driveway areas.
• A minimum of one (1) large tree with a minimum caliper of three (3) inches
measured at a height of six inches above the ground shall be placed in the
from of all residential lot.
• Additional requirements (trees and shrubs) based on lot size.
PROPOSED UPDATES – RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
LOT SIZE REQUIREMENTS
Less than 9,000 sq. ft. One (1) ornamental tree (min.2-inch caliper
Minimum 10 shrubs placed in the front yard (min..3-
gallon size)
9,000-19,999 sq. ft. One (1) large tree and two (2) ornamental trees
Minimum 18 shrubs placed in the front yard.
20,000 + sq. ft. Minimum 25 shrubs in the front yard
PROPOSED UPDATES – NON- RESIDENTIAL & MULTI-FAMILY
• Land requirement: 20% of the total lot area
• Perimeter screening of any parking lot or portion thereof that is visible from the
public right of way and contains _____ parking spaces or more.
• Interior /landscaping (parking lot areas)
o Requirements would differ for B districts, I districts and MF districts
o Require a minimum % of the gross parking lot area to be landscaped
o Require planter islands and establish landscaping criteria
• Landscape buffer under the following conditions:
o Multi family uses shall buffer when adjacent to single-family or attached
housing uses
o Commercial uses shall buffer when adjacent to single-family, attached
housing, multi-family
o Industrial uses shall buffer when adjacent to any use, including lesser
industrial uses.
PROPOSED UPDATES – NON-RESIDENTIAL & MULTI FAMILY
• Open space requirements
o Grass or lawn covering
o Trees (ex. One tree per 4,000 square fee to open space)
• Landscaping of detention and retention ponds
• Require underground automatic irrigation in all planting areas.
There was discussion between Staff and Councilmembers regarding the some of the
items council would like to consider. There was discussion on Perimeter Screening;
Landscaping Parking Lots; Landscape Buffers between uses; Open Space Requirements;
Underground irrigation requirement; That Xeriscaping should include plants native to
the area; The types of trees were brought up, that there might be a list of trees to go by.
It was noted that if the ordinances went into effect the existing homes and buildings
would be grandfathered. The penalty is a misdemeanor in the Subdivision Ordinance
and would probably be regulated on a complaint basis. Ramie Hammonds Building
Official noted; on compliance, when a property changes hands in the CO process they
could catch any lack of landscaping at that point . Also brought up was landscaping,
maintenance, and safety of retention ponds. It was noted that some of the standards
could be regulated in a Planned Development, with some give and take of items. There
was discussion of having a Homeowner’ Associations for residential which would help
with maintenance of landscaping. It was noted that Council would like to see the
Residential portion done soon, with the amount of homes coming in. City Manager
Brice advised that it should not take that much longer to get it all done at once, to
include commercial and residential. Director of Economic and Development Services
advised that the goal is to get it right from the beginning, but if we come across some
items that need changes we can always do that. Mayor Muir noted there seems to be a
general feel with the Council to upgrade the Landscape Ordinance.
Mayor Muir noted that was only about 7 minutes left and possibly only room for one
more item on the Work Session Agenda.
3. Review of 2012 Building Codes and Amendments.
Ramie Hammonds Building Official was recognized to provide the Building Codes and
Amendments. She provided and summarized a memo showing the Major Changes
between the 2006 and the 2012 Codes. She noted we are currently still under the 2006
Code and we need to get updated. The State Mandated that we go to the 2015 for the
International Energy Code so we are already enforcing that Code. She highlighted items
of interest on the list:
Chapter 10 – Clarifications of when a posted evacuation plan is required, adding an
occupant load for a museum gallery, additional requirements for exit corridors in
commercial buildings. Specifically noted – Electromagnetically locked egress doors
may be used on panic hardware doors, as long an operation of hardware interrupts power
to electromagnet. Spaces beneath grandstands and bleachers are now required to be
adequately separated to protect the assembly seating area from any potential hazards.
This means that if the area is enclosed more than 100 square feet under the stand, it must
be fire rated. It was noted the schools do permit through the City.
Chapter 3 – if a parapet is not installed penetrations through the roof in a location within
4 feet of the common wall separating the dwelling units shall be prohibited. Smoke
alarms shall be interconnected so that the actuation of one alarm will activate all alarms.
Carbon monoxide alarms are required in homes with fuel-fired appliances and in
dwellings with attached garages.
Chapter 5 – Added floor protection requirements. Floor shall have 1/2inch gypsum or
equivalent to the underside of floor assemblies.
Local Amendments –
• Require that every foundation footing or addition of any size to a post tension
foundation be designed by a Registered Texas Engineer. In addition, any
foundation over 400 square feet needs to be engineered. It was noted that this
would include accessory buildings. There was discussion and it was noted they
could make it a requirement only for habitable structures. This item may need to
be discussed more.
• Not allowing water heaters in the attic. There are some limitations. If it is
located upstairs and there is a passage door to it, it would be allowed.
• Prohibiting panel boards on the outside of houses. We don’t allow fenci ng
around the panels and if someone wants they could flip your breakers from
outside of your house.
That basically hits the highlights of the code changes. They are also adding in the
Construction Site Standards for the Builders
• Install and maintain their trash and debris in containers on the lots.
• Install and maintain debris fence barriers at property lines to prevent trash and
debris from entering adjoining properties.
• Maintain the construction site free of trash, debris, and vegetation higher than 12
inches.
• Every construction project requiring a permit within the city shall have adequate
toilet facilities for workers associated with the project.
• Implement and maintain erosion control measures to include silt fencing or
erosion control blankets in areas subject to erosion.
• All lots must have a company/builder sign located at the front of the lot facing
the street. The lot address must be easily seen from the street.
• All streets must be kept clean and free of debris at all times for the duration of
the project.
• A copy of the building permit and an approved set of plans must be displayed on
site at all times during the construction process.
There was brief discussion and there was question as to the construction times. It was
noted they were 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Mayor Muir noted the they appreciated staff
bringing this to them and going over the key items. It looks like staff has taken a hard
look at this and it is in the spirit of not being over-regulated, and suggested staff speak
with the builders. Again, if we find that something is not working, then it can always be
changed. Ramie Hammonds advised that she would tweak the 400-foot building
foundation engineering requirement making it a habitable structure. She thanked the
City Council for their feedback.
4. Review of Building Permit Fees.
Not covered due to time will add to a future agenda.
5. Overview of Items on Regular Agenda.
There was no overview of Items on the Agenda.
5. Adjourn.
There being no further items Mayor Muir adjourned the Work Session at 7:10 p.m.