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GOOD AFTERNOON AND WELCOME TO THE NOVEMBER 13TH, 2023[Development Services Committee on November 13, 2023.]
MEETING OF THE STATE OF GARLAND DEVELOPMENT SERVICE COMMITTEE.HEAD WITH ME AS MAYOR PRO JEFF GLASS AND CONS LEWIS.
WE'LL MOVE RIGHT INTO OUR AGENDA ITEMS. FIRST ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES, THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THREE PAST MEETINGS.
COUNCILOR MORRIS ASKED FOR MORE DETAIL IN THE IN THE MINUTES.
AND, UH, IF YOU'RE SATISFIED, THEN I ASK TO APPROVE ALL THESE IN THE BLOCK.
HONOR CHAIR, I AM SATISFIED WITH, AND I APPROVE ALL THREE AS SECOND.
ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
I DON'T SEE ANYONE HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY FIGURES.
WE ALWAYS INVITE ANYONE WHO WISH TO COME SPEAK TO US TO JOIN AT SAME TIME.
AND THE SINGLE ITEM WE HAVE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION TODAY IS ZONING PAST RECOMMENDATION, DISCUSSION.
I THINK ACTUALLY THE CITY MANAGER'S GONNA KICK IT OFF HERE VERY WELL.
THIS IS, THIS IS AN EXCITING ITEM.
AND, UH, BEFORE STAFF KIND OF JUMPED INTO IT, I WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON, UH, SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE WORKS ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM.
UH, THEY STARTED, UH, SOMEWHAT BEFORE I, UH, BECAME CITY MANAGER AND WAS OVER THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THE BUSINESS.
UM, AND THEN JUST PROVIDE SOME GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT OUR, OUR PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, WHICH, WHICH IS A BIG PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS HERE IN GARLAND.
UH, SO OF COURSE, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, COUNCIL DIRECTION WAS TO, UH, REVIEW THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS.
AND, AND WHEN WE SAY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS, THAT REALLY INCLUDES FROM THE TIME A DEVELOPER OR PROPERTY OWNER WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR ALL THE WAY UNTIL BUSINESS IS OPEN, UH, OR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY.
UH, REALLY A START TO FINISH, UM, REVIEW OF THE PROCESS.
SO A LOT OF THAT WAS, UH, OF COURSE COMING FROM COUNCIL, BUT THE PRESSURE WE'RE RECEIVING FROM OTHER DIRECTIONS ALSO IS RELATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAM.
UH, THAT'S GOING TO HELP, UH, STREAMLINE THE PROCESS FOR US.
CLARITY, UH, YOU'LL HEAR THAT WORD MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES TODAY.
UH, THAT, UH, THAT IMPLEMENTATION IS IN THE WORKS.
I WILL TELL YOU IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME.
UH, IT'S A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT TO GET US FULLY IMPLEMENTED ON CLARITY.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING FROM A, A MUCH OLDER SYSTEM, UH, THAT IS NOT FULLY COMPREHENSIVE TO A, A PLATFORM THAT'S REALLY GONNA BE VERY USER-FRIENDLY FOR THE DEVELOPERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS, ANYBODY THAT'S LOOKING TO PULL A PERMIT.
UM, IT'S ALSO LOOKING TO UNIFY ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PERMIT PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND TO BRING TOGETHER MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS THROUGH THAT WORK STREAM.
AND SO THAT, THAT NEED ALSO DROVE, UH, THIS, THIS, UH, THIS IDEA OF STREAMLINING OUR PROCESSES BEFORE WE PROGRAM THEM INTO THE, THE CLARITY SOFTWARE.
SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF HARD WORK AND, AND EFFORT PUT IN BY STAFF, UH, OVER TIME BEHIND THE SCENES, UH, ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, THREE, FOUR MONTHS, UM, ON BOTH THE CLARITY AND THE, AND THE WORK STREAM REVIEW.
UH, AND OUR, OUR GOAL OVERALL IS TO SEE THAT, SEE THE PROCESS STREAMLINED CONSIDERABLY.
AND SO WHAT, WHAT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT IS REALLY JUST A SNIPPET OF A LOT OF THE WORK THAT'S GONE ON.
AND SO, I, I DON'T WANNA UNDEREMPHASIZE THE HARD WORK THAT STAFF HAS DONE ON, ON THE SIDE OF THIS.
A LOT OF 'EM ARE IN THE BACK THERE AND, AND HAVE BEEN SORT OF CHEERLEADERS FOR THE PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS.
AND, UM, WILL'S GOING TO GET INTO SOME MORE DETAILS ABOUT THAT.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, SOMETHING I WAS TOLD MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, AND I'VE COME TO BELIEVE IS THAT OUR BEST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL IS TO HAVE IN HAND A PREDICTABLE, CONSISTENT AND FAST PROCESS.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN GAINING A REPUTATION FOR GETTING PERMITS OUT THE DOOR QUICKLY.
UM, DEVELOPERS TAKE NOTE OF THAT.
AND, UH, WHEN WE KICKED THIS OFF, UH, ANDY CRYSTAL AND I HAD A KIND OF AN ALL HANDS ON DECK STAFF MEETING WHERE WE SPENT A FEW HOURS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT WAS, UH, WE POSED SEVERAL WHAT IF, WHAT IF SCENARIOS? SO WHAT IF WE HAD THE BEST DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS, WHAT IF WE HAD DEVELOPED, OR WHAT IF WE DEVELOPED A REPUTATION FOR HAVING THE BEST, UM, UH, THE BEST REPUTATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AS FAR AS BEING THE EASIEST TO WORK WITH? UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S POSSIBLE IF WE, IF WE ACCOMPLISH THAT, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS.
UM, SO AGAIN, WHAT YOU'LL HEAR TODAY IS, IS FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON POTENTIAL
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POLICY CHANGES, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT COUNCIL DOES.BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT WE ARE OWNING OUR PART.
THE STAFF IS OWNING OUR PART OF THIS PROCESS, WHICH IS CONSIDERABLE BECAUSE YOU'RE REALLY AT THE TAIL END OF THE PROCESS IF YOU LOOK AT IT.
THERE'S A LOT OF FRONT END DISCUSSIONS THAT TAKE PLACE.
UH, AND SO STAFF IS OWNING OUR PART OF THE PROCESS, TRYING TO IMPROVE AND STREAMLINE, UH, AND MAKE, UH, MAKE THINGS AS USER FRIENDLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, THE LAST THING I WANNA MENTION, AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF TURN IT BACK OVER TO, UH, TO WILL AND ANDY IS, UM, FUNDAMENTALLY, UH, THE CITY'S REVIEW PROCESS IS TIED TO HOW WE HAVE HISTORICALLY USED THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
AND SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN HOW THAT PLANNED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, OPERATES ON THE GROUND HERE IN GARLAND.
HISTORICALLY PLANNED DEVELOPMENTS, THEY'VE BEEN AROUND FOR DECADES.
UM, REALLY POST-WAR WHEN THE SUBURBS STARTED BOOMING, UH, AND YOUR TYPICAL QUARTER ACRE LOTS WITH YOUR 12, 1300 SQUARE FOOT HOMES JUST POPPED UP EVERYWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UH, CITIES STARTED SORT OF QUESTIONING HOW CAN WE GET BETTER DEVELOPMENT AND HOW CAN WE OFFER A MIX IN A VARIETY OF HOUSING OPTIONS AND USE OPTIONS AND PLAN DEVELOPMENTS, UH, STARTED TAKING PLACE AT THAT TIME.
AND, AND THE PD TOOL HAS EVOLVED OVER TIME SINCE BACK THEN.
BUT THE, THE SAME CORE PURPOSE IS THAT, UH, IT'S PDSS STRIVE FOR BETTER DEVELOPMENT, THEY SHOULD DRIVE BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND SO KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW IS THAT OUR, OUR PD PROCESS HAS REALLY BECOME A WAY FOR DEVELOPERS TO BE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT AND TO WORK AROUND OUR STRAIGHT ZONING DISTRICT REGULATIONS.
SO A A TYPICAL SCENARIO HERE IS THAT, UM, A A DEVELOPER COMES TO THE TABLE WITH A PROJECT THAT DOESN'T QUITE FIT IN WE'LL, SAY IF IT'S A MULTIFAMILY PROJECT, ONE OF OUR MULTIFAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS.
AND SO THEY'LL SAY, WELL, WE CAN'T MEET THIS, WE CAN'T MEET THIS, LET'S DO A PLAN DEVELOPMENT.
AND, UH, IT KIND OF BECOMES A DEFACTO VARIANCE PROCESS.
OR THE WORD THAT WE USE A LOT IS DEVIATIONS.
UM, WHEN IN REALITY PDS ARE THEIR OWN ZONING DISTRICT, YOU CAN WRITE A PD WITH WHATEVER YOU WANT IN THERE.
AND SO WHEN WE, WE TALK ABOUT DEVIATIONS, 'CAUSE THAT'S OUR FRAMEWORK, THAT'S THE CONTEXT THAT WE'RE COMING FROM.
BUT IN REALITY, A, A PD IS ITS OWN ZONING DISTRICT.
THERE'S NO DEVIATIONS, IT'S, IT'S ITS OWN ZONING DISTRICT.
SO WE, AGAIN, HISTORICALLY, HOW GARLAND HAS HANDLED PDS IS TO HAVE, UH, SORT OF COMPARE EVERYTHING BACK TO THE BASE ZONE.
UH, IF IT'S MULTI-FAMILY, WE HAVE A FEW STRAIGHT ZONE MULTI-FAMILY DISTRICTS.
UM, HOW DO, HOW DOES WHAT THE DEVELOPER'S PROPOSING COMPARE TO THAT? AND THEN THE PD KIND OF SETS, SETS UP TO RECONCILE THE DIFFERENCES AND THEY COME FORWARD AS DEVIATIONS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, VARIANCES, DEVIATIONS, THOSE SOUND LIKE BAD TERMS. AND SO WHEN, WHEN WE COME TO COME TO COUNCIL AND WE'RE PROPOSING A BUNCH OF DEVIATIONS, IT'S REALLY JUST BECAUSE WHATEVER PROJECT COMES TO THE TABLE DOESN'T QUITE FIT INSIDE THE BOX THAT, THAT WE HAVE SET UP IN THE GDC AND IT, AND IT BECOMES A CHALLENGING PROCESS FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UH, AT, AT THE STAFF AND COUNCIL LEVEL, SO THE DEVELOPER WILL PROPOSE A LAND USE, AGAIN, WE'LL SAY MULTI-FAMILY.
AND THE, THE PD PROCESS, THE DETAIL PLAN REVIEW BECOMES MORE OF A, WELL, HOW DO WE MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF THAT MULTIFAMILY INSTEAD OF, IS THAT THE RIGHT USE FOR THE PROPERTY? YOU KNOW, IF IT'S MULTIFAMILY, OKAY, WELL, HOW CAN WE, MAYBE WE LOWER THE BUILDINGS, ANOTHER STORY.
UH, MAYBE WE PLANT SOME TREES, WE DO SOME, YOU KNOW, LESS PARKING, MORE AMENITIES, UH, IT, AND IT KIND OF BECOMES THIS, THIS NEGOTIATED TRADE OFF OF, UM, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF THE, OF THE LAND USE INSTEAD OF, UH, INSTEAD OF, OKAY, IS THIS THE RIGHT LAND USE? UH, WE'RE GONNA GOING TO GET INTO THE SORT OF NITTY GRITTY DETAILS OF THE DESIGN TO MITIGATE THAT LAND USE.
SO AGAIN, A LOT OF, A LOT OF OUR CURRENT SITUATION WITH PDS IS THAT THE DEVELOPERS IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT AND IT, AND THEY'RE THE PROACTIVE ONES INITIATING WHAT HAPPENS HERE.
NOW, WHERE WE WANT TO GO, UH, IS TO CREATE A PD PROCESS THAT IS, UH, HAS THE CITIES IN THE CITY IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT, AND PUTS US IN A POSITION WHERE WE CAN REALLY NEGOTIATE AND PUSH FOR HIGHER QUALITY DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND, UH, AND APPROPRIATE USES ON THE, THE LAST REMAINING LAND THAT WE HAVE.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST FACTORS IN HERE IN, IN LOOKING AT THIS FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IS THAT THE, THE PARCELS THAT ARE LEFT UNDEVELOPED IN GARLAND ARE UNDEVELOPED FOR A REASON.
THEY'VE GOT TOPOGRAPHY ISSUES, THEY'VE GOT DRAINAGE ISSUES, THEY'VE GOT, UH, UTILITY ISSUES.
UH, THERE'S JUST, THEY'RE, THEY'RE CHALLENGING PARCELS AND THAT'S WHY THEY HAVEN'T DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS.
UH, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO WITH OUR LAND, WHAT WE CAN REDEVELOP.
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CHALLENGING.AS YOU GUYS KNOW, WE'VE WORKED THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFERENT REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS OVER THE YEARS.
UH, BOTH SCENARIOS ARE REALLY DIFFICULT.
AND SO, UH, PLAN DEVELOPMENTS ARE GOOD FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE THEY, THEIR ULTIMATE FLEXIBILITY.
YOU CAN WRITE WHATEVER YOU WANT IN A PD.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'VE ALWAYS USED IT AS WELL, HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OUR BASE ZONING REQUIREMENTS? UH, WELL, NOT NONE, NONE OF THOSE BASE ZONING REQUIREMENTS I CAN TELL YOU ARE GONNA WORK ON THE LAND THAT WE HAVE LEFT.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE AND THAT'S WHY MOST OF THE DEVELOPMENTS THAT COME THROUGH END UP AS A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK AND, AND WE'RE THERE NEGOTIATING AND, AND TRYING TO, TRYING TO MITIGATE USES AND IMPACTS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
BUT, UM, REALLY WHERE WE WANT TO GO IS TO, IS TO USE PDS TO ADVOCATE FOR HIGHER QUALITY DEVELOPMENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE EXAMPLE THAT THAT I THINK, UH, HAPPENS A LOT OR COULD HAPPEN A LOT, IS IN A MULTIFAMILY SCENARIO, UH, WHERE, WHERE THEY, TO MAKE THE, TO MAKE THE PROPERTY WORK AGAIN, IN A REDEVELOPMENT OR A CHALLENGING PARCEL SCENARIO, THE, THE BEST WAY TO GET THE DEVELOPER TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT IS TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THEM SOMETHING.
AND, AND A LOT OF TIMES THAT MEANS MORE DENSITY OR SOME OTHER WAY TO ADD VALUE TO THE PROPERTY.
AND A PD IS A GOOD MECHANISM FOR THAT.
UH, BUT WE NEED TO DRIVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND WE NEED TO BE DRIVING FOR HIGHER QUALITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, BASICALLY SAYING, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU THIS, THIS DENSITY BONUS, OR THIS, THIS HIGHER AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT.
'CAUSE YOU WILL BRING A GREAT PROJECT HERE, BUT WE'RE GONNA ADVOCATE AND ASK THAT YOU DO X, Y, AND Z TO MAKE THIS A, A BETTER DEVELOPMENT FOR US.
UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S A, IT'S A TOOL TO MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITY IN REDEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS OR SCENARIOS WHERE WE JUST HAVE REALLY CHALLENGING PARCELS THAT ARE LEFT.
SO IT, I THINK A PD CAN BE USEFUL, BUT WE'VE GOT TO OWN OUR PART ON THE STAFF SIDE AND REALLY PUSH FROM DAY ONE WHEN A DEVELOPER WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR THAT, WELL FIRST, IS THIS THE RIGHT USE FOR THE PROPERTY? AND TWO, UM, HOW CAN WE GET THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, NEW DEVELOPMENT TO LOOK AS GOOD AS IT CAN TO FIT IN AS GOOD AS, AS WELL AS IT CAN, UH, AND, AND ALL THE OTHER QUALITY THINGS.
AND PART OF, PART OF WHAT, UH, WILL HELP DRIVE THAT.
UM, HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE'RE GONNA KICK OFF A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PROCESS.
SO WE'VE BEEN OPERATING OFF OF ENVISION GARLAND FOR, UH, WHAT IS IT, 13 YEARS, 12 YEARS? YEAH.
AND SO A RE-ENVISIONING OF WHAT THE FUTURE OF GARLAND LOOKS LIKE, CONSIDERING WHERE WE'RE AT NOW, AND THE LIMITED LAND AND REDEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE WILL REALLY HELP FROM, FROM COUNCIL'S PERSPECTIVE, HELP US TO GO AND NEGOTIATE THEN FOR A BETTER DEVELOPMENT ONCE WE KNOW WHAT THAT VISION LOOKS LIKE, AND HAVE THAT CASTED THROUGH THE COMP PLAN PROCESS, THAT'S REALLY GONNA HELP US.
UM, AND, AND WHAT THIS COMES DOWN TO AGAIN, IS, IS THAT WE WANT TO DRIVE, WE WANT TO ADVOCATE FOR BETTER, UH, BETTER AND MORE QUALITY DEVELOPMENT.
UH, BUT IT ALSO, DRAWING BACK TO OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN, THE BEST ASSET WE HAVE AS A CITY IS OUR LAND.
THE 57 SQUARE MILES OF GARLAND THAT LAND.
WHAT HAPPENS ON THAT LAND, THE USES THAT HAPPEN ON THAT LAND DRIVE, THE REVENUE THAT, THAT LETS THE CITY NOT ONLY OPERATE, BUT IT DETERMINES THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
AMENITIES, OUR TAX RATE, OUR SCHOOLS REVENUE COMES OFF OF THAT SAME LAND.
AND SO, SO MUCH THERE, THERE'S A, NOT TO PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON Y'ALL
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, WE WANNA OWN OUR PART ON THE STAFF SIDE, AND TONIGHT WE'RE ASKING THE, THE, THE COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER SOME CHANGES THAT WE THINK WILL HELP US, UH, ON THE LAND USE SIDE, THE POLICY SIDE, UH, TO DRIVE FOR BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
SO, UM, I'LL END WITH KIND OF AN EXAMPLE THAT THAT CAME UP ACTUALLY JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WITH, UH, DIGITAL REALTY, WHICH OWNS, UM, ALL THE LAND BEHIND STRIKE REAL ON HOLFORD.
SO THEY'RE A, A DATA CENTER DEVELOPER.
UM, THEY OWN A HUGE AMOUNT OF ACREAGE HERE.
UH, THEY HAVE A, A WELLS FARGO DATA CENTER THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW.
UH, AND THERE'S A POTENTIAL FOR FOUR MORE, UH, DATA CENTERS ON THAT PROPERTY.
UH, THEY, THEY CAME TO US ESSENTIALLY AND SAID, HEY, WE'RE, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THOSE, WITH THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, WE ALSO OWN PROPERTY IN RICHARDSON, WHICH WE'VE KNOWN, WE'VE, WE KNOW THAT THEY HAVE FOOTPRINTS IN BOTH COMMUNITIES, AND THEY'RE SAYING, HEY, WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THE PROCESS IN AS SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME AS POSSIBLE.
AND THE WAY THAT THE PD WAS SET UP, UM, FOR THAT PARTICULAR AREA MAKES THEM COME BACK THROUGH FOR A DETAILED PLAN, WHICH IS, AGAIN, ABOUT A FIVE TO SIX MONTH PROCESS, UH, TO WORK THROUGH WITH A LOT OF UPFRONT WORK ON THEIR PART.
IT'S ALREADY SOMETHING THAT THE COUNCIL HAS SAID, WE'RE OKAY WITH DATA CENTERS IN THIS ZONING DISTRICT.
UM, AND SO YOU'RE, YOU'LL SEE IN THE COMING, IN THE COMING WEEKS, UM, THAT WE WANT TO MODIFY THAT ZONE SO THAT THEY CAN GET THROUGH THE PROCESS QUICKER.
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BUT FOR ME, IT WAS JUST A WAKE UP CALL THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A REALITY THAT, UH, DEVELOPERS NEED SOME HELP.WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOTTA PARTNER WITH THEM, BUT WE'VE ALSO GOTTA POSITION OURSELVES TO ADVOCATE FOR MORE HIGHER QUALITY DEVELOPMENT.
WE'VE JUST GOTTA FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE HOW WE USE THAT TOOL.
UH, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT.
SO I'M GONNA ZIP IT AND LET THE EXPERTS TAKE OVER.
UM, IT'S A GREAT WAY TO KICK IT OFF.
AND I, I THINK THE, UM, PATHS, THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE PRESENTING, DO YOU REALLY DO ACCOMPLISH REALLY BOTH GOALS THAT JUDD MENTIONED ONE, WHICH IS, UM, KIND OF MAKING THE PROCESS, HAVING SOME OPTIONS FOR DEVELOPERS TO MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE FRIENDLY, UM, MAKING THIS A LOT EASIER TO WORK WITH, UH, AS FAR AS GARLAND GOES, BUT ALSO, UM, USING THE, THE PD TOOL AS, AS, UM, LEVERAGE FOR BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
SO IT REALLY ACCOMPLISHES BOTH, UM, BUT I'LL JUST JUMP STRAIGHT INTO IT.
SO, UM, THIS JUST SO SHOWS KIND OF A LIST OF, UH, WORK, UH, WORK STREAMS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
UH, JUDD TOUCHED ON THIS EARLIER.
WE'VE, UM, REALLY A LOT OF FOLKS IN THIS ROOM, KIND OF THE AUDIENCE, UM, HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR, UM, FOR REALLY THE LAST FEW MONTHS, LOOKING AT THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AS A WHOLE.
UM, REALLY EVERYTHING FROM PRE-SUBMIT ALL THE WAY TO CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY.
AND, UM, TONIGHT, OF COURSE, WE'RE REALLY JUST FOCUSING ON THE ZONING, BUT JUST WANTED TO GIVE THAT CONTEXT THAT WE ALL REALLY ARE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING.
UH, CLARITY, AS JUDD MENTIONED, IS A MAJOR PART OF THAT.
THERE'S A LOT THAT CAN BE AUTOMATED, WHEREAS CURRENTLY IN OUR PROCESS IT IS, IT IS VERY MANUAL.
WE'RE STILL WORKING OFF A LOT OF JUST, YOU KNOW, SPREADSHEETS AND KIND OF OUR INTERNAL G DRIVE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING, YOU KNOW, A REAL COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM, UM, FOR, FOR DEVELOPERS AND STAFF ALIKE.
SO, UM, AGAIN, TONIGHT'S FOCUS IS REALLY JUST ON THE, UH, ZONING PATHS, BUT JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WAS KIND OF CLEAR THAT WE'RE LOOKING REALLY AT THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AS A WHOLE.
SO REALLY, UH, AS FAR AS THE DEVELOPERS' PERSPECTIVE ON OUR CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN GARLAND, UM, THE CURRENT PROCESS, OF COURSE, OUTSIDE OF STRAIGHT ZONING OR ANY TYPE OF ZONING APPLICATION, THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY TYPE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, MUCH IN THE WAY OF A PLAN OR DETAILED PLAN.
UM, IT REQUIRES DETAILED PLANNING DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ENGINEERING, SCHEMATICS, A DETAILED SITE PLAN, LANDSCAPE PLAN, BUILDING ELEVATIONS, ET CETERA.
SO FROM A DEVELOPER'S PERSPECTIVE, UM, HE OR SHE REALLY CANNOT CLOSE ON THE PURCHASE OF A PROPERTY UNTIL THAT ZONING ENTITLEMENT IS SECURED, AND THEREFORE THE SHORTEST AND LOWEST COST PATH TO ENTITLEMENT IS DESIRED.
AS JUDD MENTIONED, THE DETAIL PLAN CAN EASILY BE A FOUR TO SIX MONTH PROCESS, UM, UM, OFTENTIMES LONGER, UH, JUST DEPENDING ON WHAT THOSE ISSUES ARE.
AND OF COURSE, COSTLY AS IT, AS IT, UM, AS DEVELOPERS HAVE, HAVE, UH, OF COURSE, UH, SHARED WITH US.
SO A COUPLE OF QUOTES THAT, UM, UH, THE DYLAN MORGAN CONSULTING TEAM KIND OF HELPED US FACILITATE SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS AND INTERVIEWED SOME DEVELOPERS AND THEIR CONSULTANTS.
SO JUST KIND OF A COUPLE OF QUOTES THERE AS FAR AS FEEDBACK THAT THEY GOT.
UH, THE GARLAND PROCESS IS ONE OF THE MORE UPFRONT COST BURDENSOME PROCESSES COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES.
UH, ANOTHER SAID THAT, UM, WE, THE DEVELOPER EXPEND BETWEEN 200 AND $300,000 IN CONSTRUCTION DESIGN AND DOCUMENTATION NOT RELATED TO THE, UM, ACTUAL LAND USE PRIOR TO ENTITLEMENT.
UM, SO JUST SOME FINDINGS THERE THAT ARE FRONT LOADED ZONING PROCESS, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, PDS DETAILED PLANS, OR REALLY ANY TYPE OF ZONING APPLICATION THAT DOES REQUIRE, UM, THAT FRONT LOADED, UM, LIST OF REQUIREMENTS.
IT IS VERY DETAILED AND COSTLY IN THE EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT, OFTEN BEFORE ENTITLEMENT IS SECURED AND BEFORE THEY CAN REALLY CLOSE ON THE LAND.
USUALLY THEY WAIT TILL AFTER ZONING APPROVAL IN SOME, IN SOME CASES AFTER A PLATT IS APPROVED.
BUT A ZONING APPROVAL IS A, A VERY, VERY BIG STEP FOR DEVELOPERS.
SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A MORE STREAMLINED PATH OR PATHS PLURAL.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS, UM, IN, IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES OR IN A COUPLE OF SLIDES FROM NOW.
BUT, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT DETAILED PLAN CASES, AND THIS CAME UP IN THE COMMITTEE MEETING A FEW MONTHS AGO.
UH, THE CASES WHERE THERE'S A DETAILED PLAN BROUGHT FORWARD, UM, THOSE CAN BE ELIMINATED WHERE THE USE THE LAND USE IS ALREADY ALLOWED PER THE PD.
AND WHERE THERE'S REALLY NO DEVIATIONS VARIANCES, IT REALLY MEETS ALL TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND THERE'S REALLY NOTHING TO CONSIDER.
THOSE ARE KIND OF, UM, REALLY MORE OR LESS TREATED LIKE A PLAT AND THAT THEY MEET ALL ZONING AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS.
SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, KIND OF SEND THOSE ONTO PERMITTING WHEN THOSE ARE, WHEN THOSE, UM, ARE THE CASE.
SO THERE ARE FOUR PATHS THAT WE'VE, UM, IDENTIFIED AS FAR AS, UH, ZONING APPLICATIONS GO.
UM, AND WE'LL GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON EACH ONE, BUT THIS JUST KIND OF, UM, INTRODUCES IT.
SO, UM, THESE FOUR PATHS, UH, I'LL JUST KIND OF GO 1, 2, 3, 4.
UH, THE FIRST ONE BEING OF COURSE, YOUR STRAIGHT ZONING APPLICATION.
WE HAVE THAT CURRENTLY, AND WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING OR, OR PROPOSING ANY, UM, CHANGES TO THAT.
THAT'S JUST AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, A DEVELOPER WILL ZONE FROM SAY, AG TO COMMUNITY RETAIL, AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'LL BE SUBJECT TO ALL, UM, YOU
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KNOW, GDC AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS.SO THEY'RE JUST ZONING THE LAND ONLY.
THERE'S NO PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
SO NO CHANGES, UM, PROPOSED THERE.
UM, BUT THE CHANGES ARE, UM, DO AFFECT PATHS TWO, THREE, AND FOUR.
UH, PATH TWO IS KIND OF LIKE I JUST TALKED ABOUT, WHERE A SITUATION WHERE THERE'S A, UM, PIECE OF LAND ALREADY ZONED WITHIN A PLAN DEVELOPMENT AND PERHAPS THAT PLAN DEVELOPMENT HAS A REQUIREMENT, HAS THAT LITTLE CHECKBOX THAT SAYS A DETAILED PLAN SHALL BE REQUIRED THROUGH PLAN COMMISSION COUNCIL.
UM, BUT IN THOSE CASES WHERE THE USE IS ALREADY ALLOWED PER THE PD, SO IT'S REALLY NOT A REZONE TO A DIFFERENT USE, AND WHERE THERE'S REALLY NOTHING THAT THEY'RE, THAT THE APPLICANT IS DEVIATING FROM, FROM THE PD OR THE GDC FROM THAT MATTER, UM, THAT'S NOT OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, ALLOWED FOR STAFF OR SOME SORT OF SEPARATE PLAN COMMISSION VARIANCE.
UM, IN THOSE CASES, WE WOULD PROPOSE THAT, UM, NO DETAILED PLAN IS NECESSARY.
SEND THOSE, UH, FOLKS ONTO, UM, SITE PERMITTING, WHICH IS THE NEXT STEP.
SITE PERMITTING, PLATING, THAT'S THE NEXT STEP AFTER ZONING APPROVAL IN GARLAND.
UM, PATH THREE IS, UM, PLAN DEVELOPMENT WITH A CONCEPT PLAN THAT WILL BE NEW, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A FEW SLIDES.
AND THEN, UM, PATH FORWARD WOULD BE A PLAN DEVELOPMENT WITH A DETAILED PLAN, A LITTLE BIT SCALED DOWN DETAILED PLAN FROM HOW WE CURRENTLY, UH, LOOK AT THOSE.
BUT THESE WOULD ALL BE OPTIONAL.
SO A CONCEPT PLAN WOULD BE OPTIONAL, AND A DETAILED PLAN WOULD BE OPTIONAL AS WELL.
IT WOULDN'T BE A SITUATION WHERE THEY HAVE TO COME IN FOR A CONCEPT PLAN FIRST AND THEN COME BACK THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS FOR AD DETAIL PLAN.
THESE ARE OPTIONS FOR, UM, A DEVELOPER AS WE'RE PROPOSING HERE.
SO, UM, I'M SKIPPING PATH ONE 'CAUSE THAT WAS THE STRAIGHT ZONING APPLICATION.
BUT, UM, JUMPING INTO PATH TWO, THIS IS AGAIN, WHERE ZONING ALREADY ALLOWS A PROPOSAL.
UM, IT'S NOT REAL, REAL OFTEN, BUT IT, IT'S OCCURS ENOUGH WHERE, UM, SOME ACTION IS, UM, PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, WARRANTED.
IT OCCURS IN MY, IN MY ESTIMATION, ABOUT THREE TO FIVE TIMES A YEAR, UM, ON AVERAGE.
UM, SOME ADVANTAGES TO, UH, ELIMINATING THIS, THIS DETAILED PLAN PROCESS, UH, WHEN IT MEETS THIS TYPE OF, UH, SCENARIO.
UH, ACCORDING TO DEVELOPERS, THIS IS BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS WITH KIND OF LARGER SCALE DEVELOPERS, UM, SAVES, UH, OR, OR AT LEAST SHIFTS ABOUT 200 TO $300,000 IN CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS TO THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
UH, REDUCES THE RISK, UM, AS COSTS ARE PRE ENTITLEMENT.
AND OF COURSE, LENDERS VIEW THAT LACK OF ENTITLEMENT AS A RISK.
UM, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A REQUIREMENT THAT THEY HAVE A DETAILED PLAN THAT'S STILL, UM, SOME RISK ON THEIR PART, GOING THROUGH A WHOLE PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS AND NOT KNOWING IF CITY COUNCIL WILL APPROVE IT OR NOT, UM, IS, IS CERTAINLY RISKY FOR THE DEVELOPER.
AND OF COURSE, SHORTENS THE OVERALL PROJECT SCHEDULE SINCE THEY WOULD ELIMINATE THAT SORT OF PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS AND GO STRAIGHT TO, UH, PERMITTING.
TWO IS A PLAN DEVELOPMENT WITH A CONCEPT PLAN.
UM, THE IDEA HERE IS THAT, UH, UH, CONCEPT PLAN, UH, A VERY CONCEPTUAL PLAN WOULD BE PRESENTED WITH A, UH, FOCUS ON LAND USE, BUT A MUCH LIGHTER TOUCH REGARDING SITE, SITE LAYOUT DETAILS.
UM, REALLY THE, THE MEAT OF THIS ZONING APPLICATION WOULD BE THE PD CONDITIONS, KINDA THE WRITTEN CONDITIONS.
UM, AGAIN, IT WOULD BE CO ACCOMPANIED BY A CONCEPT PLAN, BUT, UM, THE PD CONDITIONS WOULD BE THE MAIN SORT OF APPROVAL CONSIDERATION.
AND OF COURSE, ANY BASE LAND USE THEY ARE PROPOSING OR LIST OF USES THAT WOULD ALL BE PART OF THAT ZONING APPLICATION.
SO, ADVANTAGES HERE, AND, WE'LL, WE'LL STAY ON THIS FOR A BIT, BUT, UM, IT SAVES OR AT LEAST SHIFTS, UH, BETWEEN 120, $180,000 IN CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS.
UM, AGAIN, THAT'S BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH DEVELOPERS, UM, REDUCES THE RISK JUST LIKE, UH, THAT PATH TO, UM, AND ESPECIALLY IF ON THE, ON THE COST SIDE OF THINGS AND THE TIMELY SIDE OF THINGS.
THIS, THIS SHOULD BE A, A LITTLE BIT QUICKER PROCESS SINCE THERE'S NOT AS MUCH DETAILED PLAN TO REVIEW IN THE WAY OF ENGINEERING, TRANSPORTATION, FIRE, AND ALL THOSE THINGS.
UM, SO CERTAINLY RE LESS RISKY IN SOME WAYS, UM, SHORTENS THE PROJECT SCHEDULE.
OF COURSE, AS FAR AS ZONING GOES, UM, IT ALIGNS WITH, UH, SOME PATHS THAT SOME OTHER CITIES HAVE HAVE TAKEN.
I BELIEVE A FEW MONTHS AGO I PRESENTED WHAT SOME OTHER CITIES ZONING AND PD PROCESSES LOOK LIKE.
MCKINNEY WAS PARTICULARLY, UH, INTERESTING IN THAT THEY DID, UM, IN RECENT YEARS ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT FOR PLANS WITH, UM, PDS.
SO THIS IS KIND OF ALIGNS WITH THAT, UH, WITH THAT PATH.
AND THEY DID THAT WITH THE INTENT OF MAKING THEIR PROCESS A LITTLE MORE DEVELOPER FRIENDLY AND A LITTLE LESS FRONT LOADED.
THIS, THIS REALLY ALIGNS WITH WHAT JUDD WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.
THIS, UH, PATH, ESPECIALLY AS I SEE IT, UH, ALLOWS THAT OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON THE LAND USE AS WELL AS TO, UM, WRITE THOSE PDS AND PD CONDITIONS TO LEVERAGE BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
IT KIND OF IS A, A BLANK SLATE ALMOST IN SOME WAYS, AS OPPOSED TO RECEIVING, UH, VERY DETAILED, UM, PLANS AND THEN KIND OF REVIEWING THEM ACCORDINGLY AND REVIEWING THEM TO MATCH THEM UP WITH THE BASE ZONING AND SEEING WHAT THOSE DEVIATIONS ARE.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A MUCH DIFFERENT APPROACH.
[00:25:01]
AND THEN JUST, JUST KIND OF A NOTE, THAT ONE RISK, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS MISS, UH, COUNCILMAN HEDRICK, I THINK YOU HAD MENTIONED THIS, UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR IN, IN THIS KIND OF FRONT LOADED PROCESS DISCUSSION, IS HOW CAN WE SHIFT A LITTLE MORE RISK ON THE DEVELOPER, UM, FOR THEM TO ASSUME SOME RISK, JUST KNOWING THAT, OKAY, YES, I MAY GET INTO CONSTRUCTION PLANS AND DISCOVER SOME ISSUES THERE, BUT HOW CAN THEY GET THROUGH THE ZONING ENTITLEMENT PROCESS A LITTLE, UH, QUICKER AS OPPOSED TO THE CITY KIND OF DICTATING, UM, THEM MITIGATING THAT RISK BY, UM, SUBMITTING THESE VERY DETAILED PLANS UP FRONT.SO, UM, SO THERE IS SOME RISK KINDA SHIFTED BACK ON THE DEVELOPER THAT, UM, THEY MAY GET THE ZONING ENTITLEMENT, BUT THEN AS THEY GET INTO MORE DETAILED, UH, PLANS AND, AND CONSTRUCTION PLANS, SITE PERMIT, THAT THERE COULD BE SOME VARIANCES OR, UH, SOME TYPE OF DEVIATION DISCOVERED, UH, LATER IN THE PROCESS THAT, UM, MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE AVOIDED.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF A NOTE THERE.
UM, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN KIND OF WORK AS, UM, CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE WITH THE DEVELOPER TO, OR IDENTIFY SOME OF THAT FLEXIBILITY THAT MAY BE NEEDED, UM, THROUGHOUT THEIR PROCESS.
SO JUST TO GIVE A FEW EXAMPLES OF WHAT A CONCEPT PLAN LOOKS LIKE.
SO, 'CAUSE WE LOOKED AROUND AT OTHER CITIES AND, AND SOME CITIES HAVE A QUOTE CONCEPT PLAN, BUT IT IS VERY DETAILED.
IT IS REALLY NOT WHAT WE KIND OF HAD IN MIND FOR THIS EXERCISE.
SO, UM, AN EXAMPLE HERE, WE DID THIS A FEW YEARS AGO, AS SOME OF YOU MAY RECALL, PRIOR TO THE SHOCK CLOCK LAW, WHEN THAT GOT, UM, ENACTED BY THE STATE IN 2019, UM, THE COUNCIL DIRECTED FOR CONCEPT PLANS TO BE REMOVED AS, AS AN OPTION, UM, FROM THE GDC.
AND THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT PROCESS IN THAT EVEN IF YOU WENT THE CONCEPT PLAN ROUTE, THE DEVELOPER STILL HAD TO COME BACK THROUGH THE WHOLE DETAIL PLAN PROCESS.
SO THAT WAS KIND OF THEIR OPTION.
UM, BUT AN EXAMPLE IS THIS MY POSSIBILITIES CONCEPT PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED IN 2018.
UM, A KEY HERE IS, YOU KNOW, THE, FOR THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THE THUMBS UP FOR A CONCEPT PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD TO THE PLAN COMMISSION CITY COUNCIL, BUT NOT NECESSARILY, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY GIVING A THUMBS UP THAT YES, THIS WILL WORK FROM ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE.
'CAUSE NOT A LOT IS BEING REV GONNA BE REVIEWED IN TERMS OF ENGINEERING STUDIES AND SCHEMATIC ENGINEERING, THINGS LIKE THAT AND THE CONCEPT PLAN.
SO, UM, KIND OF THE KEY HERE IS, UM, AS YOU'LL KIND OF SEE IN THIS CONCEPT PLAN, IT DOES SHOW A BASIC LAYOUT.
IT KINDA SHOWS WHERE THE STREETS ARE AND THE ACCESS POINTS AND KIND OF GENERALLY WHERE THE LOTS ARE.
IF YOU CAN SEE THAT IT KIND OF GIVES, UM, UH, WELL ANYWAY, IT KINDA GIVES A NUMBER OF LOTS THAT I BELIEVE ADDS UP TO 300 LOTS.
BUT, UM, THE KEY HERE IS THERE'S REALLY NO DIMENSIONS ON HERE.
IT DOESN'T GIVE THE ACTUAL STREET WIDTHS, IT DOESN'T GIVE LOT WIDTHS AND DEBTS AND EVERYTHING, SO IT KIND OF LEAVES THAT OPEN.
UM, IF SO, IF THIS IS ENTITLED, WE CAN KIND OF WORK THROUGH THOSE DETAILS FURTHER, UH, INTO THE PROCESS AND SITE PERMIT AND CONSTRUCTION PLANS.
SO WE'RE NOT KIND OF OVERPROMISING, UM, YOU KNOW, A VERY SPECIFIC LAYOUT.
IT'S UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS MAY CHANGE AS AS THEY GET FURTHER ALONG.
UM, BUT IT DOES GIVE THEM THAT BASIC ENTITLEMENT AND GIVES THE PLAN COMMISSION COUNCIL MAYBE A ROUGH IDEA OF KIND OF WHAT TO EXPECT AND WHAT THE DEVELOPER CERTAINLY HAS IN MIND.
AND AS THEY'VE WORKED WITH STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT THAT CONCEPT PLAN LOOKS LIKE.
AND ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS, UM, THIS, THIS WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING A CONSULTANT DID ON OUR BEHALF AT THE ROSE HILL I 30 AREA.
UM, BUT THIS, YOU KNOW, IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHERE YOU DON'T SEE, UM, ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF, YOU KNOW, LINKS OF BUILDINGS, UM, WIDTHS OF STREETS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO IT, IT'S STILL, UM, IT IS STILL A NICE CONCEPT, BUT IT, IT DOESN'T GET OVERLY PRESCRIPTIVE OR DETAILED.
UM, SO IT LEAVES SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE.
AND THEN FINALLY, PATH FOUR IS A PLAN DEVELOPMENT WITH A DETAILED PLAN.
UM, BUT THIS WOULD BE SCALING BACK A DETAILED PLAN, UM, UH, CHECKLIST ESSENTIALLY AS, UH, AS THE STAFF HAS DISCUSSED, UM, AS WE MENTIONED OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE AN OPTIONAL, UH, PATH FOR A DEVELOPER IF THEY MAYBE WANT A LITTLE MORE OF A FEASIBILITY STUDY, UH, FOR LACK OF BETTER WORDS, TO MAKE SURE, UM, A SITE SITE LAYOUT WORKS, PERHAPS BEFORE THEY GET AN ENTITLEMENT, IT'D BE AN OPTION THAT'S OPEN FOR THEM.
UM, THE, THE PROCESS OF COURSE WOULD TAKE A LITTLE LONGER JUST WITH COMMENTS GOING BACK AND FORTH, UM, AT LEAST IN TERMS OF TECHNICAL REVIEW, UH, GOES.
BUT WITH THIS, UM, IDEA, THE DETAIL PLAN WOULD STILL INCLUDE A ZONING SITE PLAN, BUT WITH LESS DETAIL SUCH AS EASEMENTS, UTILITY LOCATIONS, UM, WE WOULD REMOVE THE ENGINEERING SCHEMATICS, UM, WHICH IS, IS KIND OF A BIG ONE FOR, UH, DEVELOPERS, UM, AS WELL AS THE LANDSCAPE PLAN.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS, UM, LANDSCAPE PLAN IS KIND OF CLOSELY TIED TO UTILITY LOCATIONS AND ENGINEERING SCHEMATICS, AND IT'S KIND OF HARD TO REMOVE ONE WITHOUT REMOVING SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS FROM THE CHECKLIST.
SO THAT WAS THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND THAT.
UM, NOW PERHAPS WE MAY STILL WANT TO ASK FOR LANDSCAPE PLAN IF THERE IS SOME SORT OF LANDSCAPE VARIANCE OR DEVIATION.
WE MAY WANT TO KIND OF BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT
[00:30:01]
IS BEING PROPOSED AND SHOW THAT TO PLAN COMMISSION COUNCIL.BUT, BUT ESPECIALLY IN, IN SITUATIONS WHERE THEY'RE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, REQUESTING ANY OF THOSE VARIANCES.
UM, THAT'S THE IDEA IS KIND OF SCALE BACK SOME OF THESE REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING A LANDSCAPE PLAN.
UM, SOME ADVANTAGES HERE THAT, UM, DEVELOPERS REPORT THAT 60% OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTITLEMENT ARE TIED UP IN CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, UH, THAT MANY WILL REQUIRE REDESIGN LATER.
DRIVING RESUBMITTAL COUNT, UM, REDUCES ABOUT 120 TO $180,000 IN CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS DURING THIS PHASE.
UM, AGAIN, THESE NUMBERS ARE BASED ON, UM, UM, INTERVIEWS WITH DEVELOPERS.
UM, BUT YEAH, AGAIN, WITH A DETAILED PLAN, IT WOULD STILL INCLUDE A SITE PLAN.
UM, WE CAME UP WITH A, A FEW ITEMS THAT CAN BE, UM, REMOVED SUCH AS THE UTILITY LOCATIONS AND, AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
OUR THOUGHT WAS THAT WE WOULD STILL BRING FORWARD BUILDING ELEVATIONS, BUT THEY WOULD BE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONCEPTUAL AND THAT WE WOULDN'T BE DOING THE DETAILED, UM, REVIEW OF ARTICULATION I'D LOOKING FOR THE SIX ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT, YOU KNOW, AND GOING THROUGH THAT WHOLE MENU, UH, BECAUSE OFTENTIMES WE FOUND THAT DEVELOPERS DO STRUGGLE TO, THEY MAY NOT EVEN HAVE, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF A SINGLE FAMILY HOME DEVELOPER, THEY MAY NOT HAVE A BUILDER LINED UP.
WE DID RUN INTO THAT ISSUE, UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR, LATE LAST YEAR, WHERE HE JUST SIMPLY DIDN'T HAVE A BUILDER YET.
AND SO THERE WERE NO ELEVATIONS TO PRODUCE ANYTHING HE DID PRODUCE WOULD JUST BE, HE'D BE MAKING IT UP.
AND, UM, SO, UM, SO THAT, THAT, THAT'S KIND OF ONE EXAMPLE.
BUT, UM, AND, AND ONE OTHER THING, JUST KIND OF FROM AN EFFICIENCY STANDPOINT, AS FAR AS BUILDING ELEVATIONS GOES, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT 'EM AGAIN ANYWAY WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING PERMIT.
ONE THING IS, OF COURSE, WE'RE MATCHING, TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT MATCHES THE DETAIL PLAN WHAT COUNCIL PROVE, MAKE SURE THERE'S NO JUST MAJOR
BUT, UM, BUT ALSO KIND OF JUST DOUBLE CHECKING THOSE BUILDING DESIGN CRITERIA.
SO, UM, THAT'S THE THOUGHT THERE, THAT THE BUILDING ELEVATIONS WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE CONCEPTUAL AND, UH, ESPECIALLY IN CASES WHERE THEY MAY NOT, UM, BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT, THAT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICE OR HAVE THAT AVAILABLE JUST YET.
SO, TO KIND OF WRAP THIS UP, REALLY, UM, THE THREE BIG KIND OF POLICY QUESTIONS, THIS ALL RELATES TO THE, THE PATHS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UM, IS ONE, DO WE EXPAND THE ZONING PATH OPTIONS TO ALLOW A PD CONCEPT PLAN OPTION? DO WE REMOVE THE DETAIL PLAN REQUIREMENT THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS FOR USES THAT ARE ALREADY ALLOWED AND NO GDC OR PD DEVIATIONS ARE REQUESTED? AND DO WE REMOVE OR KIND OF SCALE BACK THAT DETAIL PLAN SUBMITTAL AND MAKE IT A, UM, WE JUST KIND OF REDEFINED DETAIL PLAN A LITTLE BIT.
IT'S A LESS DETAILED, DETAILED PLAN IF YOU WANNA CALL IT THAT.
SO REALLY THOSE ARE THREE BIG POLICY QUESTIONS.
I'LL, UM, UH, CERTAINLY IF, IF ANY OTHER, UH, STAFF MEMBERS WANNA CHIME IN, BUT I'LL, I'LL KINDA LEAVE IT UP TO QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION.
ALRIGHT, COMMITTEE MAYOR, APPROACH
UM, IT'S NO SURPRISE TO ANYONE I'VE TALKED TO ABOUT THIS, BUT I'M NOT A FAN OF THE DETAILED PLANS BEING PRESENTED TO COUNCIL AT ALL.
I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER IT.
ALL WE DO IS LOOK AT IT AND SAY, YEAH, IT MEETS, UH, MEETS CRITERIA.
SO IT'S, IT'S, I I SEE NO POINT IN US EVER REVIEWING ANY DETAIL PLANS.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, EVERYTHING ELSE ON HERE, I THINK, I THINK IT LOOKS GOOD.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER I TALK TO DEVELOPERS, ALL THEY DO IS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PROCESSES HERE IN GARLAND BEING CUMBERSOME AND SLOW AND FRONT LOADED.
SO I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT WE'RE WE'RE, UH, TAKING AN AGGRESSIVE LOOK AT THIS.
SO, AS I THINK IT LOOKS, IT LOOKS GOOD.
MM-HMM,
UM, YEAH, THIS, THIS LOOKS GOOD.
UM, LOOKING AT WHAT WAS SENT EARLIER TODAY, JUST THE BASIC POWERPOINT, UM, I THINK THIS IS REALLY A GOOD STEP IN A RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, AND WE LOOKED AT, AT THIS LIGHTLY, UM, SOME MONTHS AGO, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE A CLEAR PATH LIKE THIS.
AND I LIKE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THIS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT I FEEL AS STRONGLY AS COUNCILMAN BATH, OR EXCUSE ME, MAYOR
NOT AS GOOD AT THAT AS SCOTT, UM, ABOUT NEVER SEEING DETAILED PLANS.
BUT I, I HAVE NOTICED WHEN DETAILED PLANS ARE PRESENTED TO US ON COUNCIL, TO SOME POINT ON PLAN, IT CREATES A BIG TEMPTATION FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMISSIONERS TO TRY TO REDESIGN FROM THE DAIS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING.
SO IF IT DOESN'T SERVE A PURPOSE OTHER THAN GIVING US A MENTAL PICTURE, I, I COULD PROBABLY BE PERSUADED TO THAT.
UM, I DO SAY ONE REAL ADVANTAGE TO THIS THAT I SEE IS WE HAVE, AND THIS HAS BEEN GETTING WORSE LATELY, I'M NOT SURE WHY, WITH CITIZENS WHO ARE ENGAGING, WHICH I'M HAPPY ABOUT WITH OUR PROCESSES AND WATCHING, UM,
[00:35:01]
DIFFERENT THINGS COME BEFORE PLAN AND COUNCIL, A LOT OF IT'S MULTI-FAMILY.THEY BECOME EXPERTS AND THEY'RE SAYING, OH, LOOK AT THESE.
YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY WOULD YOU EVER ALLOW ANYTHING WHEN THERE'S THAT MANY DEVIATIONS AND VARIANCES? AND THEY FEEL LIKE THAT'S A NEGATIVE? IT, I THINK, JUDGE, YOU SAID THAT IT, IT'S PERCEIVED AS BEING A NEGATIVE.
IF WE HAVE A RULE AND THEN WE LET PEOPLE, AND WE NAME ALL THESE, UH, DEVIATIONS, I THINK WE'RE SHOOTING OUR OWN FOOT, UM, BY DOING THAT.
SO MOVING IN THIS DIRECTION, I THINK WILL NOT ONLY SPEED IT UP AND MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT, BUT I THINK IT'LL, EVEN FROM A PUBLIC VIEW, PRESENT BETTER AND MORE SENSIBLY.
UM, YEAH, AND I, AND I THINK THE, UH, PART OF, OF WHAT JUDD, WHAT JUDD SAID EARLIER IS ALSO IF YOU ARE, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT, OKAY, THIS IS THE STANDARD, AND THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT HOW TO MITIGATE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT DON'T EXACTLY FIT, THAT TAKES AWAY A LOT OF YOUR CREATIVE THOUGHT TO BE ABLE TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS ITS OWN ZONING.
WHAT'S THE VERY BEST WE CAN DO WITH THIS? INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SQUEEZE YOUR SHOULDERS IN AND FIT IN THIS LITTLE BOX.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT ABOUT, UM, ABOUT THIS PLAN.
CAN YOU FLIP BACK TO YOUR THREE POLICY QUESTIONS? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, MY, MY INITIAL RESPONSE TO THIS IS, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY GOOD STEP.
UM, DO YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE MORE THAT IS YOU'RE PLANNING TO EXPAND ON WITH THIS? OR IS THIS THE CONCLUSION THAT OUR STUDY HAS REACHED SO FAR? IF I COULD ADD TO THAT BRIEFLY? SURE.
MAYBE WILL, IF YOU COULD GO TO THE, UH, SECOND TO THE LAST SLIDE THAT TALKS ABOUT ALL THE, I'M SORRY, THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT ONE.
THIS ONE SHOWS THE WORK STREAMS. YEAH.
SO THIS IS THE MAJOR PROJECT, AGAIN, WHEN WE KIND OF EMBARKED ON THIS FRONT LOADING, IT TOOK US A LITTLE WHILE TO GET OUR HEADS WRAPPED AROUND, AND IT TURNS OUT IT'S A REALLY BIG ANIMAL.
AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE EMPLOYED DMC TO HELP US WITH THIS.
'CAUSE IT IS A VERY DETAILED, THEY HELPED US WORK THROUGH KIND OF A SIX SIGMA LEAN PROCESSES, SORT OF, UH, UH, PROCESS.
AND SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING UP HERE IS, IS THERE ARE SUB-PROJECTS THAT WHAT WE DISCOVERED WHEN THEY WENT THROUGH WHAT THEY CALL A ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS, THESE WERE THE MAJOR THINGS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THAT ACTUALLY TRIGGER A SUB-PROJECT.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MIGHT SEE ONE THAT SAYS, INCOMPLETE SUBMITTALS.
THERE'S, THERE'S THINGS ON HERE THAT, THAT, YES, THE DEVELOPER MAY SAY, WELL, IT'S ALL CITY.
WELL, THE STAFF'S GOT SOME INPUT TOO ON, WE MAY RECEIVE THINGS THAT ARE NOT READABLE OR THEY ARE, AREN'T, AREN'T ASSEMBLED IN THE WAY THAT MAKES IT EFFICIENT.
SO ALL OF THESE ARE SUB, SUB, UM, PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK ON KIND OF BEHIND THE SCENES.
SO, LIKE, ONE TO ME THAT'S A REALLY BIG ONE IS THE, IS COMMENT COMPREHENSION.
SOMETIMES A DEVELOPER OR AN ENGINEER MAY SEE OUR COMMENT, THEY'RE NOT SURE WHAT THE INTENT IS.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT, SO WE'RE GONNA MAKE A DILIGENT EFFORT TO, AND WE KIND OF PUT IT INTO A COUPLE OF CATEGORIES.
IS THIS A FIX ME CATEGORY, MEANING IT DOESN'T COMPLY WITH OUR TECHNICAL STANDARDS MANUAL, OR IS IT A CLARIFICATION COMMENT? SO THERE'S GONNA BE SOME, SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN INCREMENTALLY MAKE THE PROCESS SMOOTHER, MORE CLEAR, MORE EFFICIENT, THAT KIND OF THING.
SO THIS TO YOUR QUESTION, IS WHAT'S HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES IN ADDITION TO THE ACTUAL PATHWAY REDESIGN? AND THE PATHWAY REDESIGN KIND OF PUTS US IN, I THINK, UM, IN A SIMILAR POSITION TO OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES SLASH COMPETITORS.
WE'RE ALL COMPETING FOR, YOU KNOW, THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT ATTRACTS SALES TAX AND PROPERTY TAX, AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS WITH THAT.
AND SO I THINK THIS PUTS US IN LINE WITH THAT, UM, AS WELL AS WHAT'S UNIQUE IS IT GIVES A COUPLE OF OPTIONS THAT OTHER CITIES DO NOT HAVE, AND THAT'S, UH, ON THE DEVELOPERS' APPLICANT'S RISK.
AND THAT DID, THAT DID ANSWER A LOT OF MY, UM, MY QUESTION THERE.
AND I, AND I'LL TELL YOU REPEATEDLY FROM, UM, FROM DEVELOPERS, I HAVE HAD TO COMMENT THE PEOPLE IN GARLAND ARE THE BEST OF ANY CITY, THE BEST, THE FRIENDLIEST, SO ON AND SO ON.
SO, UM, SO KUDOS TO ALL, ALL OF THE PERSONALITIES AND HELPFULNESS AND EVERYTHING, BUT IF YOU'RE SHACKLED BY A PROCESS THAT IS ONEROUS, WHICH OURS IS, UM, THEN THAT, THAT IS OFF-PUTTING TO DEVELOPERS.
SO, UM, I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THIS.
UM, I'M ANXIOUS TO SEE IT MOVE FORWARD AND I'M, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT'S KIND OF PERCOLATING
[00:40:01]
BEHIND THE SCENES TOO, BECAUSE THIS IS JUST GONNA GET BETTER AND BETTER.A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
CAN YOU CLARIFY WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PATH THREE AND PATH FOUR? IT'S NOT REAL CLEAR TO ME, AND THE WORD FOR PART FOUR WAS ZONING SITE PLAN WAS, UH, MENTIONED AND I, I STILL CAN'T QUITE SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO.
AND, AND THE ZONING, THAT WAS JUST KIND OF CLARIFICATION THAT, UM, JUST THE SITE PLAN, USUALLY THAT EXHIBIT C OF A DETAILED PLAN, THE ACTUAL SITE PLAN.
SO THAT'S JUST, UM, WE, WE'VE SEEN THAT TERM USED BEFORE IN OTHER CITIES, KINDA THE ZONING SITE PLAN, BUT, UM, A, OOPS, EXCUSE ME.
UH, THE CONCEPT PLAN OPTION, THE CONCEPT PLAN IS GONNA BE VERY, VERY CONCEPTUAL.
UM, THERE'S REALLY NO, I MEAN, CERTAINLY MR. HICK OR MR. CAFFREY BACK THERE CAN CON CLARIFY IF I'M MISSING ANYTHING, BUT THERE'S REALLY LITTLE TO NO ENGINEERING REVIEW IN THESE TYPES OF THE PLANS.
UM, AND SO IT'S GONNA BE JUST KIND OF PUTTING A LITTLE BIT OF THAT RISK BACK ON THE DEVELOPER TO SAY, OKAY, WELL, I WANT MY BASIC ENTITLEMENT.
HERE'S KIND OF A LAYOUT THAT I'M THINKING, UM, WORKING WITH STAFF, OF COURSE, WITH THE, THROUGH THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT, UM, BUT IT, IT, THE MEAT OF THIS, THIS ZONING PATH IS REALLY GONNA BE THE WRITTEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LAND USE REQUEST OF COURSE, AND, AND THE WRITTEN PD CONDITIONS, UM, A DETAILED PLAN, IT, IT WILL STILL HAVE A SITE PLAN.
UM, LET'S SEE, UH, IT, IT, IT WILL HAVE DIMENSIONS AND WHATNOT.
THERE JUST WON'T BE, UM, AS, AS MUCH IN THE WAY IN TERMS OF KIND OF THE EASEMENTS UTILITY LOCATIONS.
AND ACTUALLY IT MIGHT HELP COUNCILMAN AS A BACKUP SLIDE TO HAVE YEAH, THAT LAST SECOND I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT THIS ONE TOO.
IS IT THIS ONE? SO IF I COULD ADD JUST REAL QUICK, SO ON THE, ON PATHWAY THREE, THAT'S, THAT IS A TRUE CONCEPT PLAN KIND OF KIND OF IDEA.
YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THE CONCEPT PLAN MINUS DIMENSIONS FOR A REASON, BUT IT ALSO COMES WITH THE, WITH THE PD LANGUAGE, CORRECT? WE'LL, WE'LL CORRECT.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE LAND USE INTENSITIES, ALL THE THINGS THAT, THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR, THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH TO, TO COLLECTIVELY CREATE A PD OR WHATEVER.
SO THEY'LL, YOU'LL, THERE'LL BE SOME DETAIL, BUT THE ACTUAL GRAPHIC REFERENCE OF WILL BE A VERY BROAD CONCEPT PLAN.
AND THE CHALLENGE IS, IS ONCE YOU START DIMENSIONING ONE THING, THEN YOU START ASKING QUESTIONS, OKAY, WELL, THAT'S NOT GONNA WORK WITH THIS, AND THEN THAT'S NOT GONNA WORK WITH THAT, THEN YOU'RE, THEN YOU'RE RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED, SO THAT THAT CONCEPT PLAN AND PD LANGUAGE IS WHAT'S BEING CONSIDERED FOR LAND USE ENTITLEMENT.
AND THEN THEY WOULD COME BACK THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS FOR THEIR, THEIR SITE PLAN.
THEY'RE JUST, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE STAFF LEVEL.
SO WHAT YOU'LL BE SEEING ON THIS SLIDE IS ARE THOSE ARE THE PAGES THAT COME OUT OF OUR, OUR DETAIL PLAN AS IT SITS NOW ON THE FRONT END.
SO YOU'LL DO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A TRADITIONAL SITE PLAN, ENGINEERING SITE, CIVIL, THESE COME A LITTLE BIT LATER BECAUSE THEY REALLY HAVE A LITTLE LESS IMPACT ON WHAT WE COULD, THIS IS WHAT WE THINK IS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT HEAVY FRONT LOADING ALL OF THESE PAGES BEING REQUIRED.
SO EARLY IS, IS WHERE THAT FRONT LOADING REALLY BEGINS.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION A LITTLE BIT? WELL, WITH YOUR PART FOUR THOUGH, YOU MENTIONED YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ANY ENGINEERING DESIGN NECESSARILY, OR YOU WOULDN'T HAVE LANDSCAPING NECESSARILY, RIGHT? SO UNTIL LATER IN THE PROCESS, IN THE STAFF PROCESS, RIGHT.
BY THAT TIME, YOU'VE ALREADY RECEIVED YOUR ENTITLEMENT MM-HMM.
SO IS THEN THE QUESTION IS WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER DO PATH FOUR? IT JUST IS EXTRA MONEY.
THERE'S NO REAL ENGINEERING REVIEW NECESSARILY.
WHAT BENEFIT ARE THEY RECEIVING OUT OF IT? SO THAT'S WHY WE CALL IT THE FEASIBILITY PATHWAY.
AND, AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE THE, THE BULK OF THE CHOICES.
IT'S JUST THAT CAN CHANGE BASED UPON ALL THESE ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE UP HERE.
CERTAINLY, I MEAN, I HAVE MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH YEAH.
THAT KIND OF THING, BUT IT'S, IT REALLY, IF YOU CAN GET YOUR ENTITLEMENT, WHY WOULD YOU EVEN BOTHER FOR SOMETHING THAT WOULD CHANGE ANYWAY, PUTTING EFFORT INTO THAT, IT'S HARDER FOR ME TO EVEN SEE WHY WE NEED PATH FORWARD NECESSARILY.
IF YOU, I COULDN'T THINK OF A DEVELOPER WHO WOULD SPEND MONEY ON DOING THAT JUST TO GET A CURSORY REVIEW.
THAT'S GONNA CHANGE ANYWAY BASED UPON ALL THIS, WHEN THEY CAN GET THE SAME THING THROUGH THE CONCEPT PLAN.
AND SOME EXAMPLES OF, I GUESS, WHAT A DETAIL PLAN WOULD INCLUDE, AND WE'VE KIND OF FOCUSED ON WHAT WOULD BE TAKEN OUT.
IT, IT WOULD BE THE SITE PLAN, UH, WOULD SHOW FIRE LANES, UM, DRIVEWAY LOCATIONS, UM, BUILDING ELEVATIONS I TALKED ABOUT, ALTHOUGH THEY'D BE PERHAPS A LITTLE SCALED BACK DUMPSTER LOCATIONS, THERE'S STILL A NUMBER OF THINGS THEY WOULD SHOW ON A, A SITE PLAN AND DIMENSION SITE PLAN, AS YOU SAID.
UM, BUT, BUT YES, THERE'S, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WOULD BE SCALED BACK, AND THAT WAS DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, WHY WE LEFT IT IN AS, AS OPTIONAL ONLY, I SUPPOSE IF A DEVELOPER SO CHOSE TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A FEASIBILITY.
I LOOK AT IT WITH DEVELOPERS EVERY DAY, IF THEY CAN SAVE MONEY AND GET THE SAME ENTITLEMENTS AND YOU'RE REALLY NOT GETTING THAT MUCH BENEFIT OTHER
[00:45:01]
THAN THE CITY LOOKING AT A PLAN THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE ANYWAY.I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY WOULD MOVE AHEAD WITH THAT, THAT PATH.
UM, IS ONE QUESTION, IS THAT WITH THESE PATH THREE AND FOUR THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE TO COME, ESPECIALLY PATH FOUR, THEY'D HAVE TO COME BACK, OR WELL, PATH THREE, COME BACK WITH, UM, MORE OF A LAYOUT LATER AND ASK FOR SUBSEQUENT HEARINGS, UH, ONCE THEY HAVE THEIR ENTITLEMENTS, WAS THERE ANY TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT GET STUCK AT THIS NEXT PHASE COMING UP.
IS THERE ANY KIND KIND OF CLAW BACK PROVISION THAT WE HAVE TO REVERT THE ZONING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IF IT DOESN'T GO THROUGH AS IF I KNOW WE, WE, WE ZONED THE LAND, NOT NECESSARILY THE USE, BUT AT THAT POINT THEY ALREADY HAVE THEIR ENTITLEMENT.
ONCE, ONCE, IF THEY GET INTO THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL AND THEY RUN INTO ENOUGH SITE RESTRICTIONS THAT GET THEM OUTSIDE OF THAT ENTITLEMENT, WHETHER IT'S IN THE PD LANGUAGE OR THE CONCEPT PLAN, IT MAY CONSTITUTE A REZONE AND HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE.
UM, YEAH, I COULD SEE IF THEY, IF SOME MULTIFAMILY COMES IN, THEY CAN GET X NUMBER OF UNITS AND THEN THEY GET THROUGH THE PROCESS AND IT'S CUT DOWN BY A THIRD OR SOMETHING, THEN IT'S JUST NOT FEASIBLE ANYMORE FOR THEM.
UH, ONE BROADER QUESTION I HAVE KIND OF OVERALL IS REALLY, UH, NEAR THE BEGINNING, THE TWO AREAS, THE CURRENT PROCESS IN THE FUTURE PROCESS, AND, UH, SECOND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A CITY DRIVEN PROCESS.
I WANT A LITTLE MORE EXPLANATION ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT, IT'S ALWAYS MY OPINION LED BY SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO PURCHASE THE LAND AND DEVELOP IT THAT THEMSELVES.
RARELY IS IT THE CITY SAYING WE WANT TO DEVELOP SOMETHING AND, AND CHANGE THE ZONING AND, AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
HOW, HOW DOES IT REALLY BECOME A CITY LED PROCESS WITH THESE CHANGES? YEAH, I'LL, SINCE I THREW IT OUT THERE YEAH.
SO, I MEAN, YOU'RE RIGHT IN THAT WE WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE RESPONDING TO WHAT PROPOSALS COME IN FRONT OF US.
UH, WHERE I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE CHANGES IS IN HOW WE INITIALLY ADDRESS THOSE.
SO WE, WE DO A PRE-SUBMIT PROCESS NOW, AND, AND JUST KIND OF, RATHER THAN PUT OURSELVES IN A POSITION TO, UH, IMMEDIATELY BEGIN NEGOTIATING FOR BETTER DEVELOPMENT, WE JUST KIND OF SHOW THEM THE PROCESS, UH, AND, AND START TALKING THEM, OKAY, HERE'S HOW WE'RE GONNA GET YOU TO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, VERSUS, OKAY, LET'S HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IS THIS THE RIGHT USE? IS IT THE RIGHT DENSITY? UH, HOW DOES IT ALIGN WITH THE COMP PLAN, WHICH WE'LL GET A NEW ONE OF.
SO, I I, IT'S NOT SO MUCH A PROCEDURAL THING AS IT IS, OKAY, HERE'S HOW WE'RE GONNA HANDLE THOSE INITIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THE, WITH THE DEVELOPER, UM, AND THEN FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE TOOL OF THE PD OR HOW, HOW WE'RE USING THAT TOOL, IF THAT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
IT'S, IT'S NUANCED, ALL RIGHT.
THERE'S A LOT OF PROCESS THAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES.
WE'RE GONNA CHANGE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS, BUT I THINK WHAT I'M POINTING AT IS MORE OF A CHANGE IN THOSE INTERACTIONS THAT HAPPEN WITH THE DEVELOPER AND, AND MORE OF US JUST ADVOCATING HARDER ON BEHALF OF THE CITY THAT, UH, WE WANT BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
HOW ARE YOU GONNA HELP US ACHIEVE THAT? UM, AND, AND THAT'S PROBABLY A QUESTION THAT WE'RE GONNA ASK DEVELOPERS TOO, IS WE, WE WANT SOMETHING BETTER.
HOW CAN YOU HELP US GET THERE? I, I LIKE THESE CHANGES THAT WE'VE PROPOSED.
YOU KNOW, THREE AND FOUR IS KIND OF STILL IN THE AIR TO ME, BUT AT LEAST THIS GETS YOU TO A POINT WHERE I THINK DEVELOPERS WILL BE WANTING TO BRING MORE PROJECTS TO US WITH LESS MONEY AT RISK.
THEY GET THEIR ENTITLEMENT EARLIER.
THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT IN THEIR WORLD TO GET IT DONE.
AND GOSH, I HAVE MANY, MANY PROJECTS THAT ARE FIGHTING ENTITLEMENTS FOR MONTHS TO A YEAR, LONGER THAN THAT AT A TIME.
SO, UH, I'M ALL FOR SHORTENING THIS PROCESS, PUTTING THE RISK ON THEM IN THE BACKSIDE, AND, UH, LET THEM AND THEIR SMART ENGINEERS RESOLVE ALL THE ISSUES, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY GET TO THAT STAGE.
BUT I GUESS THEN ANSWERING THE POLICY QUESTIONS, THEN COMMITTEE YOU WANT TO ONE BY ONE.
FIRST ONE WAS EXPANDING ZONING PATHS TO ALLOW FOR THE PD CONCEPT PLAN.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? YEP, I LIKE IT.
I LIKE THE BUBBLE TYPE DIAGRAM.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAID, WHERE, YOU KNOW, DO WE REALLY NEED A FOURTH OPTION? AND MAYBE JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND SEE IF WE EVEN NEED THAT FOURTH OPTION.
EVERY, I MEAN, EVERY DEVELOPER'S GONNA TAKE THE, THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
IF I COULD, DO WE WANT TO HAVE IN THE ENGINEERING STAFF OR ANYONE WANT TO ADD TO THAT AND MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT SKIPPING OVER A KEY COMPONENT HERE? I'M CURIOUS BECAUSE OF WHAT THE UNDERSTANDING, I SAID WE WERE TAKING OUT ALL THE ENGINEERING AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN, THEN WHAT DOES THAT GET YOU, COUNCILMAN HEDRICK, YOU, YOU ASKED THE QUESTION A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, WHO WOULD, WHO WOULD USE THAT? THERE'S AS, AS, UM, JUDGE
[00:50:01]
WAS POINTING OUT AT THE VERY BEGINNING, THERE'S SOME VERY DIFFICULT PROPERTIES TO WORK WITH IN THE CITY.ONE CASE THAT CAME TO MY MIND WHILE RAMON AND I WERE SITTING OVER THERE AND, UH, WAS THE DOMAIN OF FIRE WHEEL, THEY ONLY HAD SIX AC ACRES OUTSIDE THE FLOODPLAIN.
I COULD SEE THAT THIS WOULD BE A CONCEPT WHERE THEY MIGHT WANT TO COME BRING THAT TO THE COUNCIL AHEAD OF TIME AS AN OPTION TO SAY, WE'RE TRYING TO RECLAIM THIS.
THEY MAY DO A LITTLE BIT OF ENGINEERING UP FRONT, ESPECIALLY FLOOD FLOODPLAIN OBVIOUSLY, TO RECLAIM THE AREA AND THEN BRING THAT IDEA TOWARDS TO THE COUNCIL.
'CAUSE IT COULD BE THE SHAPE, IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT, THAT MATTERS IN THAT AREA.
SO THAT WOULD BE ONE IN PARTICULAR THAT I COULD THINK OF THAT WOULD POSSIBLY USE OPTION FOUR.
SO IT'D HAVE MORE DETAIL WITH IT BEING BROUGHT TO THE COUNCIL.
AND, AND TWO, I'M CURIOUS TOO, WHAT THE LEVEL OF DETAILS ON THE CONCEPT PLAN.
I RECEIVED A CONCEPT PLAN TODAY FROM A DEVELOPER WHO, IT WAS JUST
IT WAS A RECTANGULAR SHAPED PROPERTY.
AND IN EXCEL THEY PUT COLORED BLOCKS.
I'VE NEVER SEEN A CONCEPT PLAN LAID OUT IN EXCEL BEFORE, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I RECEIVED A DAY TO START A PROJECT.
SO I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THE KIND OF CONCEPT PLANS YOU GUYS MIGHT RECEIVE.
UH, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY TYPE OF STUFF, THOSE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED.
SO IT'S A, THAT, THAT MAY BE SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO BEFORE AS WE CODIFY THIS IS, OKAY, WHAT IS A CONCEPT PLAN? MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.
WHAT IS IT, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE IN THERE? YEAH.
AND THAT'S WHY I ASK, WHAT IS THIS PATH FORWARD? REALLY A SUBSECTION OF CONCEPT PLAN PLUS THEN A WHOLE SEPARATE PATH.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING MAYBE TO CONSIDER, BUT I KNOW ALL OF THESE ITEMS YOU HAVE LISTED HERE, THAT CERTAINLY WILL CHANGE THE PLAN AROUND BASED UPON, WELL, MAYBE NOT, I'M SENDING THAT, BUT ALL, ALL THE REST OF 'EM IN EFFECT, THE SITE PLAN, CERTAINLY.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL MYSELF, JUST, I, I WANT TO KNOW.
IT'S JUST DIMENSIONS, I MEAN, YEAH.
DOABLE, RAMON, JUST TO SHOW THIS IS IN, THIS IS OUT OR NOT OUT, BUT AT A LATER PHASE, IT'S REVIEWED.
YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, SO THAT, THAT POLICY ONE ASKING ABOUT THE ZONING, THE OPTIONS FOR PD CONCEPT PLAN, UH, POLICY QUESTION NUMBER TWO, REMOVE THE DETAILED PLAN REQUIREMENT AND UH, WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS ON THAT? YEAH, I WOULD AGREE AS WELL THAT FOR USES THAT WERE ALLOWED.
AND THEN FINALLY, REMOVE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR DETAILED PLANTS.
WE'RE KIND OF, WE WANT TO SEE WHAT IS REMOVED THEN.
BUT I'M FOR JUST ELIMINATING, FRANKLY, JUST GETTING RID OF PATH FORWARD.
'CAUSE THESE EDGE CASES, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S MAYBE THAT CAN BE HANDLED THROUGH A SEPARATE MEETING WITH THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT SOLELY.
THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO HAVE FIRE AND CODE AND EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN YOUR TYPICAL PRED DEV MEETINGS.
YOU KNOW, IT CAN GO IF THEY'RE REALLY A, IN YOUR CA YOU KNOW, YOUR EXAMPLE OF FLOODPLAIN RECLAMATION PROJECT, THEY REALLY ONLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU NECESSARILY.
SO, UM, WELL, PART OF THE REASON I SEE FOR THE ELIMINATION OF PATH FOUR IS THERE'S NOTHING IN PATH THREE THAT'S RESTRICTIVE, PREVENTING THEM FROM GOING FURTHER IF THEY NEED FURTHER STUDY OR, YOU KNOW.
THEY COULD GO STRAIGHT TO EXACTLY PERMITTING AFTER THE CONCEPT PLAN APPROVAL.
SO THEY COULD, I MEAN THEY COULD TAKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE MINIMUM REQUIRED FOR OPTION THREE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, IF WE HAVE, IF THEY NEED A FLOOD PLAIN STUDY OR IF THEY NEED SOME KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TOPOGRAPHICAL WORK OR WHATEVER THROUGH ENGINEERING, THERE'S NOTHING RESTRICTING THEM FROM, FROM ADDING THAT TO IT THEMSELF AND, AND ALSO RIGHT.
DEFERRING TO, TO THE CITY ON THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IN THAT CASE IT WOULD JUST BE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
IF THERE WERE MORE, MORE WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, THEY COULD JUST DO IT IN, IN ADDITION TO WHAT'S, SO I DON'T THINK
[00:55:01]
THERE'S ANY REASON FOR THE FOURTH OPTION.ONE, ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, IF ANY OF THESE SUBMITTALS, DOES IT KICK US INTO THE 30 DAY WINDOW? IS THERE A POINT THAT THAT SUBMITTAL STARTS THAT OFF? IS THAT JUST BECAUSE WHEN THE APPLICATION IS
THE 30 DAY SHOT CLOCK WENT AWAY.
IT DOES STILL APPLY FOR PLATTS.
IN FACT, SOME LAWS WENT A LITTLE FURTHER ON THAT, BUT YEAH, THAT'S THE, THAT'S PIECE OF GOOD NEWS THERE.
I THINK WE'RE ALL IN ON ONE AND TWO.
JUST, WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK YOU HAD MENTIONED IS, IS THAT THIS INVOLVED SOMETHING THAT NONE OF THE OTHER CITIES OR FEW OF THE OTHER CITIES ARE OFFERING.
IS, WAS THAT IN REFERENCE TO THE PATH FOUR? WHAT WAS THAT REFERENCE SPECIFIC? AND THAT WAS MY STATEMENT.
SO REALLY THE FOUR OPTIONS, I MEAN, I THINK PROBABLY THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR IS A BIG PIECE OF THAT, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE OTHER PATHWAYS ARE A LITTLE MORE CALLED OUT SPECIFICALLY.
BUT, SO IF THEY'RE COMPARING, IF WE WERE TO DO THIS WITH FOUR BEING A, A, A MAYBE, UM, WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THIS THAT WOULD BE OFFERED THE BIGGEST ENTICEMENT TO A DEVELOPER TO CHOOSE US OVER ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES? I, I'M, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WILL, BUT I FEEL LIKE THE OPTION THREE, IS IT BEING A TRUE CONCEPT PLAN? NOW, I DON'T WANNA LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THE, THE PD LANGUAGE WILL, WILL BE, THERE WILL BE SOME DETAIL IN THERE.
IT JUST IS NOT NECESSARILY GRAPHICAL.
UM, BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD FAST TRACK.
'CAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THE CITIES, EVERYBODY'S ON THE SPECTRUM OF WHERE THEY ARE IN THE, IN THE LOADING AND EVERYBODY'S KIND OF PROBABLY PEAKED IN THE MIDDLE.
I WOULD THINK WE'RE GONNA BE PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT ON THE FRONT END OF LESS ON, ON THE ENTITLEMENT PIECE.
THERE'S, WHEN I WORKED IN MARYLAND, A LOT OF MY CLIENTS WOULD SAY, I WISH I COULD PICK MY PROJECT UP AND MOVE IT TO VIRGINIA JUST BECAUSE OF THESE KIND OF THINGS JUST RIGHT ACROSS THE BORDER.
AND IT WAS GETTING ALL THE ENTITLEMENTS IN MARYLAND JUST TOOK FOREVER.
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS AND, AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO I WOULD, ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO SHORTEN THAT? I, I THINK IT'S VALUABLE.
WE FOUND SOME OF THE COMP, THE COMPARISON CITIES, THEIR VERSION OF THE DETAILED PLAN WAS NOT TOO FAR OFF FROM OURS.
SO THERE ARE SOME THAT WERE MM-HMM.
THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT WEREN'T QUITE AS BURDENSOME, BUT IT WAS QUITE ON THE SPECTRUM.
SO WE, WE FEEL LIKE WE MAY HAVE SETTLED ON A NICE HAPPY MEDIUM.
THEN WE'LL, UM, AGREEMENT ON ONE AND TWO AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE ON, UH, ITEM THREE THEN, IF THAT'S OKAY.
LOOKS YOU, IF THERE'S ANY, ANYTHING ELSE? UH, CITY MANAGER, DID YOU WANNA, UH, REPORT THIS OUT, UH, TO WORK SESSION OR? I, I'M HAPPY TO MOVE FORWARD IF WE WANT TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DETAILED PLANS.
I KNOW THE FULL COUNCIL WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO BE INVOLVED.
IF, IF THE COMMITTEE IS, YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THIS OUT WITH THE ADDITION OF WHAT THE NUMBER THREE OF WHAT'S REMOVED.
UH, ONE LAST THING IF I COULD.
UM, I WANT TO GIVE A LOT OF CREDIT AND SHOUT OUT TO THE STAFF, SO THEY'RE NOT ALL HERE.
THERE'S PROBABLY ABOUT TWO DOZEN MORE FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS AND I CAN TELL YOU IT HAS BEEN YEP.
SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF HOURS THAT WERE DONE ON TOP OF THEIR EXISTING WORKLOAD TO REALLY, UH, THIS WAS DONE IN A NINE WEEK SPRINT, UM, WITH THE HELP OF DMC AND THEY WERE EXTREMELY, UM, HELPFUL IN THIS PROCESS.
I'M GLAD WE BROUGHT 'EM ON BOARD AND WE MAY USE THEM AND ARE USING THEM FOR OTHER THINGS.
UH, SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANNA GIVE A TON OF CREDIT TO THE STAFF.
THEY, THEY REALLY TOOK ON A MASSIVE PROJECT AND, UH, AND, AND DELIVERED.
I I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE ALL THEIR EFFORT ON THIS AS WELL.
AND I KNOW THE COUNCIL DOES TOO.
WELL THEN WITH THAT, UH, BEING OUR ONLY ITEM ON THE AGENDA AT 4 59, WE ARE ADJOURNED.