Loading...
08-18-1997 (Planning & Zoning) Minutes PLANNING AND ZONING COMIVIISSION MINUTES The Planning and Zoning Commission met in a Regular Business Meeting joint with City Council on August 18, 1997,at 7:00 p.m_in the Council Chambers of the Wylie Municipal Complex, located at 2000 Hwy. 78 North, Wylie, Texas 75098. A quorum was present and a notice was posted in the time and manner required by law. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Jim Swartz, Cleo Adams, Joel Scott, John Mondy, Reta Allen, J. C. Worley and Wanda Sparks. COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Rich Eckman, Ray Capley, Cecilia Wood, Tim Owen, Steve Ahrens and Mark Clark(late). ABSENT: Bart Peddicord- excused STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Mike Collins- City Manager, Mindy Manson-Assistant to the City Manager, Mike Phillips-Building Official, and Rebecca Rogers- Secretary. PRESENTATION 1. Presentation by Kansas City Southern on proposed Wylie Development Project. Warren Erdman,Vice President of Kansas City Southern was introduced by Rich Eckman, Chairman of Planning&Zoning Commission. Mr. Erdman stated a "vision" of what the City of Wylie could look like if we plan for the future. They are here to receive input, the community's ideas and modifications will be made. Mr. Erdman introduced Dick Sparlin-MC Centennial, Dick Holdaway- Planning&Development for KCS, Mike Berry-Alliance Development Company,Bill Callaghan-Corporate Communication&'KCS, Mike Carpenter-Environmental & Safety Planning/KCS, and Glenn Ebling-Property Acquisition/KCS. Mr. Erdman began the presentation. Wylie is strategically located in a evolving world economy. To the west,the west coast and trade coming from Asia and to the east you have a evolving transportation network that will soon be trade headed for Mexico through the NAFTA Agreement. Westport was developed in Fort Worth by the Alliance Development Corp. This is an intermodal facility located at the intersection of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern railways. A study was done by Insight Research Corporation with preliminary information provided by KCS as to the magnitude of the program proposed for this community. That initial study estimates that by the year 2006 over 1,200 direct/mdirect jobs would be created, over 315 million in cumulative economic impact and est. 15 million in cumulative tax impact. KCS believes that the actual figures could actually be more significant than those quoted by Insight. Existing problems can be solved while creating opportunities for the future at the same time. This proposal would allow for the closing of 10 grade crossings in the central business district of Wylie. In addition to these ten,there are four others that have been identified that could be closed that would enhance safety and provide for more expeditious flow of traffic through the community. By closing the mainline through the heart of the community,the opportunity will be created to develop a four-lane scenic parkway through what is essentially the main street of the community. As a result of this, new highway frontages will be made available for new businesses and new development along the right-of-way. This "Planned Development" could be done through a joint venture with the City of Wylie, Wylie Economic Development Corporation, the Alliance Development Company and the Kansas City 1 Southern Railway. KCS could essentially be the landholder and bank of the property, making it available to the Wylie Economic Development Corporation as sites and tenants become available as the prime developer and the Alliance Development Company would be the world wide marketer of the business park A three-way partnership, land already acquired by KCS, a world class marketing agent in Alliance and the local economic development corporation as the lead developer. This would assure you local decision making and local direction in the development of the park. Mr. Erdman turned the second part of the presentation over to Mike Berry of Alliance Development Company. Mr. Berry stated that Alliance Development Company has worked with KCS on several projects in the past. The marketing strategy of the Eastport Business Park is to create a very high quality, high image, rail oriented business park that will become an economic development for the City of Wylie and more importantly, it will become a very strategic and logistics transportation center for certain kinds of industry. The key to this type of development would be the rail infrastructure that would be built adjacent to the site. Alliance proposes to develop a large scale, mixed use(manufacturing, distribution, retail, flex-tech non-rail related, restaurants, retail support, high amenity projects, possible recreational facility)business park that would cater to the needs of a wide variety of users. Breakdown: 2.2 mil. sq. ft. distribution, 192k sq. ft. of flex-tech, 88k sq. ft. tied to railway, 7k for transportation, and 41k sq. ft. retail/commercial. Masterplans are intended to be flexible. Marketing strategy as the newest, state of the art,high quality transportation industry. Focus on logistics industry,target the users and build on the strategic link of the entire continental rail system and the new corridor to Mexico. Quality companies(Fortune 500)want to be in quality business parks. Many large companies (Michaels' Stores, General Mills, J.C. Penney's)have moved into the Westport Business Park in Fort Worth. Dick Sparlin of MK Centennial presented the sequence/timing of how this project would happen. Phase I would provide for the construction of 10,000 feet of new mainline track between Eubanks Lane and Skyview Drive. At Eubanks Lane, mainline traffic would be relocated to the existing track(old Cottonbelt line)to a point west of Wylie Industrial Park where a new spur connection would be made connecting the relocated track back to the existing mainline track. A new rail switchyard for commercial traffic would be constructed north of the new mainline. This facility would replace the Garland (Zacha Yard) relocating 30 employees to the new Wylie facility. When the construction is completed, the existing track along the old KCS mainline would be removed(approximately 3.3 miles)making an additional 50 feet of right- of-way available to the Texas DOT which would eliminate the interference of rail facilities. Phase II and III would be a coordinated effort of Wylie Economic Development Corporation and Alliance/KCS to develop the proposed Eastport Industrial Park and to provide incentives to the Texas DOT to expedite the planned(but currently unfunded)widening of SH-78. The Eastport Industrial Park would be phased to coincide with the marketing plan developed by a joint venture/partnership of the Wylie Economic Development Corp.,Alliance Development Company and the KCS Railroad. Initial construction would be to provide utilities,rail spur service and internal access road, and a landscaped"signature" entrance. Phase IV is scheduled to be completed after SH 78 is widened and improved. The plan is for an initial facility capable of handling 150,000 lifts. When open, this facility would replace the Zacha Yard in Garland, TX. Construction of the intermodal facility would consist of two 6,400 foot ramp tracks,6 storage tracks,parking for 460 trailers/containers, concrete paving for the ramp tracks and asphalt paving for the parking areas, 4-lane entrance road, gate with 2 inbound and 2 outbound stations. 2 The design of the facility will provide state-of-the-art facilities, comparable to a new facility recently opened at Jackson, Mississippi. Intermodal operations will be integrated with the rail operations of the industrial park. An AVI gate will allow incoming trailers to be delivered to manufacturers and warehousing within Eastport, and rail car deliveries will be spotted by the intermodal operations contractor. Current train traffic is 8 trains daily to the Zacha Yard and 4 trains daily to Alliance. With the new facilities,there would be a reduction to 10 trains daily. Once the intermodal facility is built, this would possibly be reduced to 7 trains daily. A study was also conducted of truckers "Where did you come from?" Origin/Destination Study. This study showed that 70%came from 635, 30%locally. Based on this information,it is projected that 30%+local traffic would use SH-78 and 70%would use Rockwall 1H 30 to SH-205. 2. Discussion and Questions for Kansas City Southern by Planning & Zoning and City Council. Questions from the City Council and Planning & Zoning members included the following: Hazardous materials spills, what is KCS's record - 2 minor , 0 catastrophic incidents in the last 10 years, 3000 car loads per year; Safety record nationwide- extremely good record in hazardous materials; can any railway company guarantee no hazardous material spills-no one can;does KCS have the authority to condemn and develop where ever they want to per the federal government-yes, but the last time that was used was over 20 years ago; has a study on the noise been done - yes, a preliminary study was conducted. Background sound is rated at 52-55 db, Skyview area rated at 92 db (high)and 65 - 70 db at various distances, KCS is operating under federal guidelines. Who would be liable for a spill/accident-it is the responsibility of the railroad,it City provided services-they would be reimbursed.Not responsible for the trucking industry. Would an airport be built here-no; Aren't all the good companies already in Alliance, why build here - the market shows the need for this type of development,not all companies want to locate in the same park. Will the industrial park be built in unison with the intermodal facility-manifest railyard built first and first phase of infrastructure to open the industrial park and begin one or two sites. Who is responsible for emergency facilities to be built-not needed for several years,not planning on site facility at this time,but would be working with the police and fire. How would the Cottonbelt line tie into the Santa Fe at 544 -the intersection would possibly located further up 544 than where it is now,possible grade separation(the amount of train traffic does not qualify the city for the funds from DOT for a grade separation at this time) and upgrade signal protection. Would the remaining intersections be reconstructed to be smooth-yes, new materials are available for better crossings. Any interest in the abandoned building next to the Annex Service Center for purchase-no,does not impact railroad. Will there be a spur to the Premier Business Park-no. Will there be a fire department on site?Or will there be a requirement of reinvestment of the community for a new fire department? - possible addition of fire hydrants,no special requirements for an additional fire house. What does 2 %2 foot candles mean-a baseball field is lit by 50 foot candles. 2 1/2 foot candles means there is enough light so that a person who is working can see what they are doing, much more lighting in the Council Chambers. How tall are the light poles- over the intermodal facility will be 100 ft.high,and 40 ft.high in the parking area, shielded/screened. How will 2 I/2 foot candles affect the surrounding neighborhood -only 4 columns, 400 ft. apart. Is it like having a headlight in your bedroom window all night-it is a bright light. Will berms be built as a noise suppressor - feels that it is not necessary, the switchyard will be screened by the industrial park and screening. Some areas will be better cushioned,train whistle is the loudest thing,not much can be done about it. Alliance is different from the residential area, what are plans to defeat the noise problem- study shows that these is not a problem. Will there be a schedule for the trains-not always,bulk of trains will run from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (Like it is today). What was the effect on the quality of life in Jackson. Mississippi-more jobs and growth in the city. What about the property values-unknown at this time,will check into 3 it. ADJOURNMENT BY CITY COUNCIL A motion to adjourn City Council was made by Joel Scott, seconded by Cleo Adams. Motion carried, all in favor(7). ACTION ITEMS 1. Discuss and consider approval of the Minutes from the July 7, 1997 Regular Business Meeting. Motion was made by Steve Ahrens, seconded by Ray Capley. Motion carried, all in favor(6). 2. Discuss and consider a recommendation to the City Council a request for approval of a Final Plat (Approved for Construction) for the Westgate Phase III Subdivision submitted by Wylie/1997,L.L.C. Mike Phillips,Building Official, gave an overview of Westgate Phase III subdivision. This final plat contains 66 of the 113 total lots. Tipton Engineering, City Staff and Hogan Corporation(consulting engineer)have reviewed the plat and it meets all of the City of Wylie Subdivision Regulations and Staff recommends approval for construction. Questions were raised regarding the retention pond, Mr. Phillips stated that Phase III is not affected by the retention pond and before Phase IV will be developed that issue will have to be addressed. Motion was made by Steve Ahrens, seconded by Cecilia Wood to recommend approval of the Final Plat (approved for construction ) for Westgate Phase III. Motion carried, all in favor(6). CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Sharon Dowdy-325 Caffie Court, Wylie, Texas. Apologized for citizens in the room who didn't show the same professionalism,courtesy and respect that KCS has shown us. Ms. Dowdy feels that the KCS Railroad project is a good opportunity for Wylie. Roz Garland - 4131 Skyview Lane, is against the railroad but not against growth. Had several questions regarding the next step of process after proposal, the public vote, responsibility for payment for widening of SH 78. Craig Swaner-511 Jefferson Street, is against the railroad. States that the CCRG will continue to research projects,not just KCS,that want to come into the City. Brenda Rhinebarger-603 Burchshire Lane,feels that the city government doesn't listen to the citizens of Wylie. In her opinion,the railroad is not the vision for Wylie,no thank you to Alliance. Larry Neighbors - 603 Butler, is against railroad and feels there is no comparison with Wylie to Alliance. Be more selective. Paul Bridges-503 Overleaf Court,feels that railroads do not help a community and that emergency situations could not be handled by the City's emergency services. Joe Baker- 114 S. Carriage House Way, against the railroad and feels that the citizens would be paying for all improvements with the tax abatement incentives for businesses. Henry Garland- Skyview Lane,lives outside of the city limits and is unable to vote in the upcoming election. 4 Brett Volture- 1511 Anchor Drive,what steps are necessary to rezone land, current zoning. 5174) Reta Mai- 401 N. Ballard Avenue, feels that the City needs the additional industry. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn by Tim Owen, seconded by Steve Ahrens. Motion carried, all in favor(6). Respectfully submitted, Richard Eckman, Chairman Rebecca Rogers, Secr6iry 5