City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. Good evening everyone. I want to welcome everybody to this regular called meeting of the Temple City Council. It's currently about 10 minutes after 5. Please rise as Pastor Robert Bean leads us in the invocation with the pledge being led by our own city Ellen.

Shall we pray? Father, we thank you God for who you are. God, we thank you God for all our leadership that is gathered here today. We thank you for our mayor. We thank you for the city council, God. We thank you for everyone that has been diligently seeking your face, not only God, but given hard decisions that they have to make. We ask you, God, that they would keep their mind upon you. You say, "Whose mind is kept on you, you keeping perfect peace." We thank you, God, for them, God. We appreciate them, Lord. We thank you that you have given us them the to to do great and mighty things here in the city of Temple. Even thank you for the residents that are gathered here in Temple, God, in Belton and the surrounding area. So God, we ask you God for your peace and mercy and grace will be upon us at all times and we'll stay focused on you more than we focus on our problems. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Please join me in the pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Robert, I always enjoy your prayers. They're so uplifting and encouraging for the council. Thank you very much.

All right. Uh, first item is public comment. Citizens who desire to address the council in any matter may do so. We just ask that you step to the podium and state your name for the record. We have a few folks that have signed up. So, we will start uh with Mr. Alan Lidle. Good evening, mayor and council and staff. Alan Lidle. I live here in Temple and not sure exactly how to phrase this. I heard a news report this morning that said that at one point we were talking about charging for downtown parking. Apparently, that's been put on hold at this point. However, it appears that it's only on hold, not forever taken away. I would like to ask the city council and at their next meeting to have a resolution to permanently declare parking downtown to be free. Now, obviously, as a resolution, you can change your mind, but then the city council has to vote on it and let and let the citizen know that they are going to change their mind. The reason I asked for this is we no longer have access to the virtual on the internet. So, you have to come downtown. As much as I like you folks and the other boards that I visit, I'm not going to pay to come see you.

I think you would. No, I won't. Yes, you would. So, unless you're planning on reimbursing me, I'm not going to pay. And you can't uh block off city hall, for example, and not charge for city hall if you're going to charge the rest of them. So, please consider making a resolution getting Kathy to write you up one that permanent that makes it free parking downtown unless you guys have a public hearing and voted back out. Thank you.

Thank you, Alan. Uh, next up, Carolyn Riley. Good evening, councilman. Um, I just want to talk to you about this journey that I've been on with the city of Temple for almost nine years. In SE 2017, I applied for home improvement grant. It was approved. I was told my house was number nine on the list. Now, I'm going to skip to 21 because 17 all those other years was nothing in 21. And every time somebody left, they always contacted me the new person. So, I'm not like dropped off, but they're calling me. So, in 21, after they checked my house out, wanted to get an estimate for uh leveling and all this good stuff, it was determined that my house was not safe. I was told that I need to move out as soon as possible. I did. I've been out of my home now for four and a half years. I'm still waiting. Every time I ask about something, I'm told one thing. Next time I ask, it's something different. I don't know who else I can talk to. And I thought, well, you know what? I'll just come here because I would call down to that uh over where I don't even know what it's called. Transform Temple or whatever it is. I'd call, they would answer the phone. And I guess I've called so much that I don't get an answer. So now I just show up

because I'm like, I need to know what's going on. And why? I'm out of my house. I had to find somewhere to stay. The house is still there. It was leaning when they told me it was it was leaning. the some of the beams were leaning so it was unsafe. So I'm out and I just need to know what's going on because now I mean I'm staying with a friend but I've got stuff in a suitcase and plastic tubs around the wall and I want to go back home. So can somebody tell me or get or direct me to talk to someone who's going to do some good because I've talked to people. I'm going to get back with you. That's nothing. That's all I got. Okay. Thank you.

You bet. Thank you. And we'll be sure that um I'm going to say the same thing. Someone will get back to you. But now as the mayor um I know that so somebody will get back in touch with you in the next tomorrow or one day next week. Pardon? I'm hold it. All right. Do it. Don't give me your phone.

You can find me. No, I you can find me on the website. I'm right there. What? We got a feisty group tonight. Uh next up, Sarah Royer. Hello members of the council, mayor, everyone. Um, this is because we started doing some in we started looking into information over the data centers that were approved to be in Temple. Um, the deal with the Rowan digital infrastructure is no longer just a local discussion. It's a community risk with statewide implications. Our recent G Texas GOP resolution on large-scale data centers warns that rapid expansion is straining our electric grid and increasing pressure on limited water supplies. And these concerns are now formally recognized on state record. We are not here to stop growth. We're here to demand risk proportionate responsibility. If a project places demands on our grid and our water and our families, then the as good neighbors, they should be very happy to take whatever they're throwing on us and reinvesting those funds back in Temple. My mouth is so dry, I must be nervous. If a project um project Temple is expected expected to consume 300 megawatts of continuous electricity, this isn't even meta. um enough to power roughly 150,000 homes every day. For context, Temple has fewer than 35,000 homes. And this single facility will draw more power than all the homes in Bell County combined. And what do we receive? A 10-year 50% tax abatement for just 40 permanent jobs. Roughly one job for every 25 million invested here. And these are highly special specialized roles and most likely will not be filled from our community. We've also seen

precedent that Rowan's Mariah facility has promised had made many promises but now it's vacated in less than two years and it just sits as a warehouse. If demand shifts they can leave but we cannot. We're stuck here with with our services being messed up. We can't just let them have our grid overload our grid capacity or water supply. The state resolution by the GOP calls for enforceable safeguards, transparency, independent impact assessments, and local resource sustainability. So, we're asking for three clear conditions, and a binding community benefit agreement before they're allowed to start building this spring. Um, mandatory shutdown during grid stress events. This facility should shut down completely before a temple a single temple household or business loses its power. Um, temple homes and businesses need to be restored 100% before one data server is turned back on. And just as like we we should have something on hand at least 10% of the pro project's value like a $70 million investment trust for our local schools, nonprofits, and workforce development that can be used as a trust and we can use the the interest off of that. But if they messed up our waters, if they mess up our grid, we would have that money there as a deposit to make sure it's paid for. Thank you so much. Um, as stewards of Temple, our growth should strengthen our community, not strain it. Just help us do better, please.

Thank you, Miss Royer. I enjoyed the uh the um the I guess the grand opening of the uh radio station. Yes. A couple of weeks ago. Thank you for the award. Yep. Nice event. Congratulations. Uh next, Joe Royer.

No. parking downtown. [laughter] Oh, one and one thing I forgot to say and so I didn't hold you to it is also please limit your comments to three minutes or so. We got a timer right up there for you.

I'm Joe Royer. I live in District 2. Uh my background is in information technology, real estate, and solar power. And I'm here to specifically talk about um the metadata center. I mean, yes, data centers in general are a strain, but Meta in particular has has made a lot of uh empty promises and false claims, ranging from uh deceptive to flatout lies. I've been uh dissecting some of their power claims today. I'm still working on the water. I don't really have a a good presentation on their water yet, but I I can come back. their uh power claims. They've worked a deal with NG to buy all of the power that the new solar farm generates, which is approximately 200 megawws. And their data center, they claim, is going to consume about 152 megawatts, which sounds like a great deal until you consider the fact that they're consuming 152 megawws 24 hours a day and the solar plant only produces 200 megawatts about 5 hours a day. So, the rest of that power is coming from our grid. and they like to com they like to brag that they're 100% renewable and that all of the power they use comes from renewable sources. Well, we've seen that little thing on our bill where go green or you know contribute to renewable energy sources where you can add two or three cents an hour to your bill and that money supposedly goes to pay for new renewable energy projects. And so that's probably what they're doing. They're probably paying an extra penny and saying, "Oh, this is going toward renewable sources." But the truth is it's coming off of our grid, a grid that's already under strain. And this is like like Sarah mentioned, this is a lot of power that these things are pulling, especially when you put it in context of 150 megawatts. That's over a 100,000 homes. And this is the second data center in town. Like this is a lot of strain they're putting on our grid. And yes, they they claim that they're helping with renewable energy projects, but at the end of the day, it's still putting a strain on our grid, on our delivery mechanisms, on our

infrastructure. So in doing all this research I was looking for I tried tried to play devil's advocate against myself and I was looking for okay where has has met Meta really come through and shined like where have they told the truth and the only instance I could find of Meta actually telling the complete truth was today in their court case when they admitted that to using uh predatory technology against children. So this is not somebody we want to do business with. Thank you.

Thank you. Eric Jones. While Erica is coming up, I would recommend everybody because I'm I'm the guy that does this um pull down the UROT app at some point and that will give you a up totheminute picture of electricity usage across Texas and you know whether it's coming from solar or gas or co you know whatever the source is coming from and it will tell you the amount that's available versus the amount that's that's actually being used at that moment. Um I I just think that's good information to have. So the herot app is super easy. [clears throat] Mr. Jones.

Hello. Good evening out councilman. My name is Eric Jones. I'm the general manager of the green door on Second Street in downtown Temple. I have been a downtown employee for 12 years. I'm here for the proposed pay parking that has been somewhat implemented but retracted. I went to a council meeting yesterday where they told us blatantly this will be enforced in the future. I have created an online petition with over 2,000 signatures and I will not take my foot off the gas on this until I hear from you guys that y'all will not implement paid parking in downtown. That's really all I got. Thank y'all so much. Yeah. Thank you. Uh is it Larry? Yes. Quick.

Yes. Yes, sir.

And thank you all. and I was here last time and spoke in behalf of Sammons uh community center and I came in hopefully to see uh a resolution to get it done but I don't see that. So what what we're really looking for is the hundreds of old people that meet there all the time have been very patient more than a year since their facility was no longer available. And we're looking for three things. We're looking for an assurance that it's going to eventually be rebuilt or repaired or whatever to make it functional again. and then a an estimated timeline on the budget and planning and an estimated timeline on the completion. So, um I have to go back and face about 300 old biddies and old codgers tomorrow and uh I I I'm going to keep coming until we get some answers and we're trying to be as nice about it as we can. So, thank you for your time. Gloria, Bill.

Hello, my name is Gloria Bell. I'm officially one of the old bitties and I am also here about Sammon's Community Center. At last council meeting um we were told that there would be some news forthcoming um a decision on what was going to be done about salmons at the next meeting which is this one. And I also checked the agenda before I signed up to speak and there was nothing. So I'm just here to nag. Don't forget about us please. Thank you. We will not be forgotten.

Um and I think I may have said this the last meeting. Salmons is Oh, did you say it? Oh, man. Um, it's a Sammons is a complicated issue. Um, it's the the building um after the tornadoes in really bad shape to the point that it um that the city's really having to take a long protracted look at whether it makes sense to demolish and rebuild, whether it makes sense to try to rebuild what's left. Um, it it is going to be a while. and it's it's not something that we're going to have the answer to um in the next three months or you know maybe even six months. It's we're going to have to find a way to put that in the budget and and make it work because it is it is simply unsafe to occupy. One thing that we've noticed and all council members have uh have said this is I don't know that I as the mayor appreciated um the importance of Salmon's Community Center to the folks that use it. I think it was um obviously a very wellused facility just in in you know the total number of visits per day but also that it's it's a um it's it's a place of community building and development for the old codgers and gizers right I mean it's important to the fabric of that community we as council members know that staff knows that um and please know it is top of mind but it's not going to be solved tomorrow it's it's a it's a complicated process this. So bear with us.

Ian, be kind. I saw you laughing. Okay. Please don't quote coders and geysers.

Uh Rucker, Council Rucker, Preston. Um always glad to be able to come here and thank uh the work our staff and council does, especially our civil servants, police, and fire departments. Um, I'm here on behalf of Belton ISD and just want to thank um, especially the public works department who came and worked with our schools, sidewalks, the roads leading up to the driveways during the ice storm a couple of weeks ago. Um, it was nothing but outstanding work the partnership between the city of Temple and Belton ISTD. Uh, we believe it's been a great partnership and [clears throat] are just very very thankful and hope it continues that way for many many decades. Thank you.

Thank you, Rust. appreciate your encouragement. Next is the uh consent agenda. All items that are on the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the city council and may be enacted by one motion. If discussion is desired by the council, that item can be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any council member and will be considered separately. So tonight um uh we will be pulling for separate u consideration item 3 I and item 3J. So council at this time I'll entertain a motion on the consent agenda which is item 3 A through 3M less item 3 I and 3J.

I move to approve the consent agenda items 3 A through E through 3 MUS I J. We have a motion by council member Pilington. We have a second by council member Kirkindall. Council, please cast your vote. The consent agenda minus items uh I and J passes five votes to zero. Moving on to item I. Item I is to consider adopting a resolution appointing Mary Beth Herrell and Amy McHugh as substitute judges for the city of Temple Municipal Court of Record. Judge Parsons, Mayor, um I don't know how much y'all want me to to go into the memo, but I'll tell you that this is a long time coming and I know we're at the point of, you know, uh pulling the trigger and getting going. Uh but I want to say that this was a an extensive search that the interviewing committee and selection committee came from each department in our city and uh these two candidates were unanimous. Okay. Uh both of them come to you uh come to us but mainly to you for your approval tonight as um you know with extensive experience both in the law and in both sides of the equation as far as prosecuting and defending and actually uh judicial experience as well. So, I'm not sure if I should read this or if I should just entertain questions.

This has been a long time coming. I know it's been a heavy lift for you and your department specifically. So, we we appreciate all the work that you've done. Um, council, does anyone have any questions for Judge Person? And Judge, I've got a microphone up here if you'd like to Yes.

Uh, bring the the candidates up. I would say just one more thing. When I began as city judge, I came from the city attorney's office as you know and that was a part-time position that I took and then it it grew right and the laws have changed such and this is just really for the benefit of the community to know because it's a lot of detail but the law has changed such that I I honestly cannot take much of a vacation because I need to be here and that's really what sort of pushed this over the the final threshold. So, and the other part is adding adding these posts to our to our ranks over there. We we just haven't had this kind of change. So, we really I think somebody mentioned that I was very picky. We certainly deserve to be for the benefit of the community at large. So,

Mr. President, I didn't have a question, but I do want to thank you for working so hard on this. I know it'll I know it'll benefit you, but it'll benefit your office as well as our community and thank you very much for I know this has been a a lot of work for you to get this going and I appreciate it. Well, thank you. It does and it does go um you know with the strategic plan of having a committed uh workforce that is talented but dedicated to the needs of the community uh in a seamless way. So, I think that we're it it's a win-win. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Very good. Let's um let's vote on the item and then you can swear them in.

So, council um this is consent agenda item 3 I which is to consider adopting a resolution appointing Mary Beth Herald and Amy McHugh as substitute judges for the city of Temple. Um if there's no further discussion, council, I'll entertain a motion on item 3 I. To approve item 3. I'll second it. We have a motion by council member Grant. We have a second by Mayor Pro Tim Walker. Council, please cast your vote. Item three, I passes five votes to zero. Congratulations.

Sorry. Is it great? Okay, let me begin and I'll have you stand here. Please raise your right hand. I, Amy McHugh, I, Amy McHugh, do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will truthfully execute the duties that I will truthfully execute the duties of the office of substitute city attorney uh, city, excuse me, municipal judge of the office of substitute municipal judge and will to the best of my ability and will to the best of my ability

preserve, protect, and defend preserve, protect, and defend the Constitutions and laws the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas and of the United States. of the state of Texas and the United States. Congratulations. Thank you. [applause] I, Mary Beth Herald, I, Mary Beth Harrell, do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the duties that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of substitute city municipal court judge. What is wrong? [laughter] of the office of substitute municipal city court judge

and will to the best of my ability and will to the best of my ability preserve protect and defend preserve protect and defend the constitutions and laws the constitutions and laws of the of the state of Texas and of the United States of the state of Texas and the United States. Congratulations. [applause]

Thank you ladies. Welcome to the team. So, thank you so much.

Moving on to item 3J is to consider adopting a resolution of support for an age restricted housing tax credit project by Jes Development Company, Inc. in the form of fee waiverss not to exceed $500. during uh discussion during um workshop. It's my understanding that JEES has asked to uh delay this um this vote. So, we will table this item um uh to a date uncertain. We're going to wait on them to come back and when when and if they're ready to make a vote. So, council, I'll entertain a motion on the indefinite tableing of item 3J.

I'll make a motion to table item 3J. We have a motion by Mayor Pro Tim Walker. We have a second by Council Member Kirkindall. Council, please cast your vote. 3J passes five votes to zero. Item four is the first reading in a public hearing to consider adopting an ordinance authorizing an amendment to the unified development code article 6 to add a new section for the love where you live build for the love where you build overlay consisting of neighborhood conservation 1, neighborhood conservation 2, and neighborhood conservation three and overlay zoning districts and are and to consider recommending the plan to the city council for adoption. Mr. Strickle.

Good evening, members of the council, mayor, and staff. I am excited to bring this and present to this uh to you formally. This is a program that's been a few years in the making. So, this is for the love where you build uh neighborhood conservation overlay and city approved plan set tonight for before you for first reading and it will come to city council for second reading on March 5th. So, we'll go over just a few agenda items um for our introduction, a little bit of history, a a breakdown of base zoning versus what an overlay is, what our neighborhood conservation overlays are and their applicability, our process, our standards, and then the city approved plan set to wrap it up at the end. So, as you know, uh city staff did send out over 10,000 legal notices, and it did cause um a little bit of concern in the community. So, we have uh done our due diligence and just held some public engagement meetings and just kind of wanted to start off with a disclaimer of what this program does do and what it does not do for members of the public in the audience today. So, this is only applicable if a resident or a development or applicant is building new or redeveloping their property. If they're not making any changes to the property, this program is not applicable. Uh what this program does mean for property owners is it is intended to provide more opportunities for site improvements such as front porches or additions to their homes. Uh an allowance of increased lot coverage so they can take up more of the lot. And then an opportunity to allow an accessory dwelling unit or a mother-in-law suite on a property which is not currently allowed by right in the city of Temple and is only achievable through a reasonzoning request. And then overall it does allow for some more options for infill development on existing lots. This program does not take away anybody's property rights. They're able to use the property as they

do today and continue to do use it in the future uh with no changes. It does not take away any homes. It does not create any HOAs and it does not charge any new fines or fees. Um so just wanted to kind of start off with with that. So, Love Where You Build was born out of Love Where You Live. As many of you know, our Love Where You Live is a neighborhood program planning initiative where we go out into our um areas of City of Temple and our defined neighborhood planning districts just as a way to reach our area residents and converse with them and build those lines of communication and trust uh to work alongside our residents in each neighborhood and identify their values, visions, and goals and their concerns. Um, and that helps us cultivate some long range planning needs for these neighborhoods. Um, and that can stem with capital improvement projects or even private development. So, Love You Build is applicable in 14 of our uh 24 neighborhood planning districts and they're really it's centrally located around the heart of uh the city of Temple. So, just to kind of recap on that, when we are doing our neighborhood planning initiatives and we're going out and we're talking to these area residents, what we really noticed was there's a a missing middle housing, there's a need for housing in the city of Temple that maybe doesn't fit um all walks of life. So, we are trying to cultivate a program that fits um that u addresses that missing middle housing need. So, just to kind of go over what base zoning is, uh, base zoning is a main set of rules to tell you what businesses um or what types of uses are and are not allowed on a piece of land. Every city or sorry, I think I need some water, too. Uh, every property in the city of Temple has a base zoning, and that just tells people what they can and can't do

on that parcel of land. Uh so for example the easiest breakdown is where residential can go, where commercial can go and where industrial can go. So each base zone has a use table that has a further breakdown of what types of residences, what types of commercial, and what types of industrial are allowed in within those zoning districts. So, if area residents are wondering if they can build a coffee shop in their neighborhood or add a second unit onto their structure, you would essentially look up your base zoning and find out what your base zoning is and then cross reference it with the use table to find out if you can open that coffee shop or if you can have a a duplex on a property or if it's just for single family detached dwellings. So, on your screen is a picture of the city of Temple. um us planners, this is what we look at. This is what we understand. This is planning. Um this is zoning for the city of Temple. It's all colorcoded and has uh different chunks of what goes where. So just a simple breakdown is green is your agricultural, red is more of your commercial, purple is your industrial, and your yellows and browns is your more of your residential. So that just kind of showcases what can go where in the city of Temple. Now, a zoning overlay is like an extra set of uh rules or guidelines on top of base zoning, and it's really used when the city wants to protect special features. So, like a historic overlay or our I35 overlay. Those overlays just have an additional set of standards and guidelines, and it can be for things like landscaping setbacks, um height restrictions, or just to try to preserve and protect historic buildings or natural resources. So while a property would still follow its base zoning, the overlay just is that cherry on top and the additional set of standards or exceptions. So for instance, the

neighborhood conservation overlay does add a set of additional standards and we're looking at things like landscaping, parking, and overall site design, but also allowing for additional exceptions. So uh flexibility and dimensional standards um and then even some uh how a a structure is situated on a property. So you can think of it as a tailor zoning uh that really fits the unique needs of a specific area. So while I mentioned earlier that lever you build is applicable in 14 of our 24 neighborhood planning districts. It's not applicable in the entirety of that neighborhood planning district. When we're going out and we're in these neighborhoods, we're really trying to identify where do we need infill development. The city of Temple does have a lot of vacant parcels and we're trying to account for that. So, this color coding, if you will, is where we feel that infill development or redevelopment um is most appropriate. Just to kind of help orient you on this map, the black borders are the neighborhood planning districts themselves. And then the color code of NC1 is yellow, NC2 is orange, and NC3 is pink. Um, and that just uh identifies where each neighborhood conservation overlay is more appropriate. While they're all meant to achieve the same things, they have just a few slight differences, and I'll go over that in just a moment. So infill development, I say that word a lot, but infill development means to make use of vacant parcels. So as I mentioned, we do have a lot of vacant parcels in the city of Temple. And as most people know, that can really lead to code compliance issues such as illegal dumping, un unhoused encampments, and then overall depreciate um depreciation of the area. So by providing infill and flexibility to encourage infill, the intent is to try to help provide more eyes on that area. um and to provide quality

obtainable housing. The quality obtainable housing that we're trying to encourage is through our city approved plan sets. So, a lot of the maybe some of the housing design that you may find is kind of your standard three-bedroom, two bathroom, twocar garage, and it really fits the needs of a lot of people and it is a perfect um home, but it doesn't fit every stage of life. Everybody's in a slightly different stage of life and might need a different type of housing. Um, so these H city approved plan sets have been designed intentionally to accommodate all stages of life and it is intended to allow area residents, builders and developers to do more with less while maintaining the character and integrity of the neighborhood. Um, that's intended to encourage the infill development. This is a very busy screen. So, um, essentially neighborhood conservation overlay one, two, and three are all intended to achieve the same thing, which is infilled development. Uh, relaxed setbacks and relaxed dimensional standards. But there are a few highlights. Um, really just to highlight those highlights for neighborhood conservation overlay. One, we're really looking to maintain and protect that standard traditional single family detached housing. Um that's its primary focus with the allowance of accessory dwelling units by right and a little bit of a larger lot coverage of 55%. For neighborhood conservation overlay too it is um intended for the infill development of single family homes as well as uh maybe some duplexes uh cottage court developments town homes. So a little bit higher density. So NC1 is our lowest density. NC2 allows for a little bit higher density with an increased lot coverage up to 65% um as well as accessory dwelling units and structures like carports. And NC3 is our highest density which is intended um

for kind of your neighborhood scale apartments and uh live work units. Now when I say neighborhood scale apartments that 400 unit 100 unit should not come to the forefront of your mind. This is for infill development. This is for human scale, small walkability, pedestrian accessible um development that should fit within the fabric of our neighborhoods that is intended to be along the corridors. So if you think Avenue M, Avenue H, those are uh large corridors that collect a lot of people. And when we're talking about neighborhood scale apartments, it's more of your 8 to 10 unit. So, that's intended for if individuals maybe don't have a vehicle and they don't have access to transportation, they are on a major corridor where they can use the the sidewalks to get from point A to point B um and live in that area where that pedestrian um access is encouraged and available. And then with NC3 because it is our highest density um and what the that NC3 allows we are also allowing an increased lot coverage up to 80%. Um now all of that is to say that it still has to meet the site organizational standards even if they are allowed to take up that lot coverage. So, in our public meetings, what I felt like was really important to showcase here tonight was a compare and contrast of a base zoning layer in one of our neighborhood planning districts and the neighborhood conservation overlay in that exact same area of the neighborhood planning district. So, um on the left side of the screen is Jackson Park. What I want to point out is that the base zoning is 2F. That's two family. So, what that means is that duplexes are allowed by right. This neighborhood itself is predominantly a single family detached neighborhood, but because of the base zoning, the if a a vacant parcel was available, a duplex would be allowed by right, which may be

appropriate, but our current rule book, if you will, our UDC, our unified development code, does not have any standards for duplexes. So, the neighborhood conservation overlay is intended to encourage those standards where we don't have any standards right now. So that's to address parking, landscaping, and site organization as well. It is in it is intended to fit within the single family character of that neighborhood. I do want to make a a point um that if a base zoning is single family 1, single family 2, or single family 3, regardless of the neighborhood conservation overlay, would not permit a duplex in that overlay. The neighborhood conservation overlays are not intended to allow additional flexibility for uses. It's really targeted towards your site organization um and additional standards. That was something that we um really got a lot of feedback from our public engagement um just trying to ensure that we make that clarification that uh base zoning does presi preside. So this is about a 122page uh document if anybody's interested in a little bit of light reading. But the document itself is intended for not just builders and developers. I'm a planner. I read code all day every day. So I understand this, but this program and um document is intended for your everyday citizen to come in and look at it and understand what we're talking about. We do feel like a picture is worth a thousand words. So, this is a quick reference book, if you will, of what housing type is permitted in what neighborhood conservation overlay. So, you can just look at it and say, "Oh, I I would like to do um a single family detached that's permitted in um you know, in all of these neighborhood conservation overlays." And the guide book is also intended to showcase the product type

that we're looking to see. these product types that are showcased here fit within the fabric of these uh existing neighborhoods as it is today. So, we do have some development standards. So, while um part of it will allow or could allow some area residents to have more flexibility in their front yard set back to have the things like the front porches that they always wanted or to build an addition on the side of their house or in the rear of their house because we are allowing for reduced setbacks. Some of these lots do lend themselves to subdivision. So we did also account for if a property is subdivided, these are the dimensional standards that they could be subdivided to. And there's a little bit of additional flexibility if they are rear loaded versus front-loaded. So you can have a little bit more flexibility and reduction in those setbacks if they take access from the alley or if it's a rear-loaded property. And then we also have um the lot coverage in here and um and then limitations on accessory structures for their square footage. So accessory dwelling units have been a big topic in the planning department. So we wanted to make sure that we accounted for that in our level where you build document as well as when we had the recent tornatic activity. A lot of area residents need car protection. and they're looking to cover their vehicles and their their possessions. So, we've had a lot of requests for carports. Uh carports right now because of where the carport requests are coming in at their front yard setbacks don't allow them that flexibility for a carport. So, it's causing variance requests. So, we went ahead and we built the carport allowance into the love where you build document since it covers the majority of where these carport variance requests are coming in. Um, I do just want to make a a a big point. Even though we're

encouraging infill and we're allowing accessory dwelling units by right, if they don't fit on the site or if utilities or infrastructure is not available, then it can't go there. So, if it does fit, then it's allowed. Um, but if it doesn't fit, then it it can't go. We do have a model blocking of um how single family and two family can fit harmoniously all along each other or side by side with each other. Um really what we're trying to showcase here is how parking can be on the side or in the rear of the property. Um and then a two family and a single family home. If they maintain the character of that single family um architecture, then then it looks like an entire single family uh sub subdivision or model block. And then for our neighborhood conservation overlay two and three, these are this is just a block rendering for duplexes and town homes, how they can fit harmoniously in with each other um and have the parking in the rear. And really the main point of both this rendering and this rendering is to encourage that front yard engagement, that front street engagement. When you have more people in the front of their homes um on those big front porches or just engaging with each other, you have more eyes on the street, you have more eyes on what's going on and more people know that more people are out in the front of their homes and engaging with each other, which hopefully can always decrease um any unwanted activity. And then it just gets people back out to know their neighbors instead of everybody being in their backyard, which is something that we learned with our neighborhood planning initiatives is just to try to get people back out in their front yards and know your neighbor and know your community and really just to re-engage um in your area.

So infill development, this is an actual rendering of a vacant lot in the city of Temple. This is one of our city approved plan sets and this is just to showcase how it can essentially be a plugandplay and fit seamlessly within the character of the neighborhood. Um, really what I wanted to point out is that you still can have that uh sidewalk, that front sidewalk connecting to your regular sidewalk, take advantage of any alley access should you want it, but there's plenty of room for a side drive if it's needed as well if a property does not lend itself to um alley access or rear access. A lot of our um area residents pulling a permit can be a little daunting for them, especially if they've never pulled a permit before. So, we're trying to make that process um quicker and easier to encourage the infill development. So, we did create a quick and easy five-step process. We'll do the majority of the homework, if you will, on the front end. um individuals would come in and speak with a planner, but by the time they're ready to pull building permit, that process um is intended to be quick and seamless. So, when I uh talk about standards, landscaping standards right now are not required uh for residential development in the unified development code. um our area builders and developers all put that in because it's it's great to do. But when it comes to infill development, these are mature um areas. People have invested a lot of time, effort, and energy into their landscaping. There's mature trees. There's mature landscaping. So, when an infill lot comes in, it should be no different. So, we did require nine formal plantings for the the properties and that includes trees and shrubs, um a sorted yard. It should look like it fits within the character of the neighborhood. So, that

rendering on the screen is just showcasing how that uh infill development can go in. uh neighborhood conservation overlay 2 and three have some well they all have height looming standards but because there's additional heights that are allowed in NC2 and three we wanted to be cognizant of that so we do have a requirement in there that if you go up you have to go over so um we we built that in and that's whether it's residential or non-residential non-residential can go next to residential but also if you have a twostory accessory dwelling unit. It also has to um have a larger sideyard setback so that that single uh story structure next door has its privacy that it needs. And then we have some renderings here. Um you know, when we talk about side drives, rear access, where [clears throat] a carport can go, a a horseshoe drive or a U-shaped drive, we like to show an actual rendering of what that can look um like. So, we do have plenty of examples throughout this document of how to get a little diff a little creative, if you will, with your your parking and how your structure is oriented on that parcel. So, probably the most exciting part is the city approved plan sets. We do have 24 housing designs that um we have gone through to try to ensure that on these vacant lots, a lot of the vacant lots in the city of Temple are smaller. they're not really conforming to today's standards. Um, you wouldn't necessarily be able to subdivide to them today. So, that doesn't leave it to a lot of product availability. So, these housing plans are smaller. Uh, for instance, this is our Espironza. It's a singlestory 1,200 square foot um twobedroom with a three-bedroom option,

two bath uh detached single family home. But if you notice the width and the depth, it's only 30 feet wide and it's only 50 feet deep. So if you have a smaller lot, this can fit seamlessly on that lot. Um, and that's what these products are intended to do. And then we did create a few of our accessory dwelling units. So we have the single um individual ones or I'm sorry, the single story ones and then we have the carriage house where the parking goes underneath and then the living quarters are up top. So when you're dealing with smaller sites, you may not have parking readily available. So that parking can be in that garage underneath that that living structure so that individual can not only get the accessory dwelling unit, but they can also account for parking. We did develop some town homes and um some duplexes. We do have your standard horizontal sideby-side duplex. Uh but just to get a little creative with doing a little bit more with less. If you can't go out, you can go up. So we went vertical with a stack duplex design. And then we have a live work unit. This is the the sugar berry where there can be retail space on the bottom and then living quarters above with a separate access um for the living unit. We did uh hold and host several meetings and engagement efforts. We really did try to um meet as many area residents as we possibly could. Uh we did uh meet with we held a public engagement meeting on the 18th of November in the evening and then one on the 1st of December in the midday just in case people couldn't um make the evening one, maybe they could make the midday one. And then we held a public engagement meeting um on January 13th from 6 to 8. Uh that was that was a big one. That was after we sent out those legal notices. Um we had

at least I think a little over 400 area residents that came to that uh gave that public presentation um and had many members of the staff out there to answer additional questions as needed. Uh we did send out mailers. We put out door-to-door hangers, yard signs, social media posts, and we tried to reach our our neighborhood coalition to help us uh meet and reach as many area residents as possible. So, again, just to kind of quickly recap, um you know, this program again, it's not taking away anybody's property rights. They're still able to use their their property as they do today. So, if they have a commercial um entity and they are in a neighborhood conservation overlay one, they can maintain as they are. They don't have to none of this is retroactive, they're able to maintain and expand as they um as they do today. Uh it doesn't take away any homes or create any HOAs, and there are no new fines or fees that are um associated with this program. What it does do is allow some more flexibility for our current residents and then builders and developers that would like to make use of those vacant lots. For a public notification, we did send out 10,132 uh notices uh within a 200 foot notification boundary. To date, we have received 379 notices in response. 43 were in agreement and 336 were in disagreement. that uh disagreement um is a total of 3.24%. Um and notice of the uh hearing was published in the Temple Daily Telegram on January 9th in accordance with uh state law and local ordinance. So staff does write uh recommend approval of the amendment to the UDC article 6 um to add the new section for low build overlays consisting of

neighborhood conservation one um NC2 and neighborhood conservation 3 um and um to recommend it to you for adoption. And then it did go to the planning and zoning commission on their January 5th meeting and they did recommend approval eight to zero. And I'm happy to answer any questions should you have any. Thank you, Mr. Strickland. Council, anything for um Miss Strickland? That was a lot. It was a lot. It

was [laughter] good though. But we, you know, we do have so many lots that um have an opportunity for infill. think that this uh love where you build uh program makes it easier to do that. So um I hope that I hope this program gains good traction. Thank you, sir. Appreciate that. All right. So if there are no questions for Miss Strickland, I will uh open the public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak on this matter may do so. We ask you step to the podium. Please state your name. Alan Lidle.

Well, thank you, mayor, but I'm supposed to say it. So, my name is Alan Lidle. I live here in Temple. I do not live in one of these zones,

but looking at that, I have a few questions. One, the more people we pack onto a individual lot or individual neighborhood, the more likelihood of fire jumping from one building to the next. the closer the buildings are, the worse the opportunity is for multiple fire hazards if we get a fire. So, I'm really, you know, the the original planning setbacks and and sidebacks were to help with retain with preventing fire jumping from one building to the next, especially in duplexes and and apartments. the other of uh you know it's great presentation lots of work been put into it but have any of the developers said yeah we'll do something is it really going to get implemented

thank you those questions

um so the level you build uh dimensional standards as far as the setbacks are not um against the the fire code they're they're within the fire code. Um so and fire has reviewed this and blessed off on all of it. So we are we are good to go. Every building will still have to follow the international building code um the fire code. Uh no exceptions or reductions have been made outside of that. And then um as far as the implementation, we do have some interest and in fact we we have some things that are just waiting for adoption so that way um things can move forward. So, it's very exciting. Great. Thank you. Anybody else?

I'm Kathy Woods and I live here in Temple and I'm within the area that they're discussing. Uh my first comment is that the mailings that they sent out to the 10,000 people did not say that you live adjacent to it. You live within it. It said that you your property is within 200 ft. Which is made it sound like I'm not in it. I'm near it. I went downtown and they said, "Oh, no. You're in it. You're within it." So the mail the verbiage that was used in the mailing how many of those 10,000 people don't realize that they're not adjacent to it they're in it. So that that needs to be corrected where people understand that it does affect them. And I also wanted to point out that 336 people who came to hear about that were against it. Only 43 were for it. So there's not a lot of positive feedback from the people who it's going to affect that they want it. And there's another where we live on 21st Street. They the uh property is zoned the base zoning for our property is single family one on that street and single family three across the street from us. They're proposing to put in the NC3, which is the highest level where they can put apartment buildings there. She told us two times in the meeting that the last meeting that the apartment building zoning was going to be on major thorough affairs. Our street south 21st is not a major thoroughare at all. It's two blocks from M major thoroughare either way. and one the other one of the

properties that's zoned for the NC3. The only egress they have from the property is onto West Avenue B, which is only about 300 foot long. That section of it from 21st and B. It's less than 300 foot. So, there's not enough room to have a lot of people going in it. It doesn't even It's not even on 21st. It's on 20 on Avenue B. And it's a deadend street. it dead ends into the uh drainage at the railroad. So there's we have a problem with the idea of putting apartment complexes on that property that's all single family dwellings on that street. you know, if they put 10 units over there, we're talking 25, 30 cars coming, you know, that could be coming out of that property. If they have, you know, 10 people, you know, 10, even if it, you know, for if each two people each people that have have two cars for each apartment, you could have a lot of cars and it's not a major thorough affair. So it could create a lot of hazards as far as and also the property does back up to the railroad to the drainage ditch and that would be not a very safe place to have a lot of children you know but and uh I guess that's all. [laughter] Thank you for your time.

Thank you ma'am. Yeah I think there was some

that's all right. Um there was some unfortunate language I think that was required by law that really scared a lot of people and um that that disappointing that we we had to send that out. Um and I think a lot of the 330 something people felt like um we were taking something from them instead of adding something to or adding opportunities for them. Um, and I think M Strickland's done a really good job trying to explain all that, but it there there's a a little bit of miscommunication, I'm afraid. I think once people realized what was really going to happen, they would have changed their mind about voting against it.

Yes. Thank you, uh, Councilwoman Walker. And we did have during the planning and zoning commission meeting, it was it was a wonderful attendance. We had a lot of area citizens such as yourself that came and spoke. Um we did have uh once the the meeting went through a lot of individuals felt like their their questions were were satisfied. Um we have fielded in the planning department hundreds um if not probably thousands of phone calls as well as uh members of the council yourself, a lot of other departments uh with questions, concerns, comments um just trying to kind of understand what does this really mean because of that that requirement that was on there. Once we were able to speak with those area residents or um get an email back to them clarifying uh what was actually happening, they they were okay. So we we did field a lot of phone calls with a lot of positive responses. Some individuals even uh retracted their disagreement and sent back in agreement. Um so that there was a lot of positive feedback after a while about the the program. And then I I did just want to um make one brief statement if that's okay, mayor. Um, even though we have colorcoded, if you will, NC3 along some higher trafficked roads, if if it can't fit on the site, then it it can't go there. So, we're just um kind of looking forward in the future when it comes to long range planning. We're we're looking forward in the future of what what does this area look like? What can it develop as? And if it can have higher density, let's make sure we account for that and put some standards in place that address things like parking and access um access infrastructure um site organization standards.

So the the in the NC3 designation was the highest density. It is. Yes, sir. And that was what 85

uh% you can cover up to 80% of the lot with a a structure. However, you still have to account for parking. So if if your development, if you will, um even if you could take up 80%, if you have to account for so much parking, then it won't necessarily allow your parcel to take up 80%. Um maybe half of it has to be parking, maybe you can't have that that neighborhood apartment. Maybe you can only maybe it only lends itself to a a town home or a live work. Or maybe it only lends itself to a single family unless they were to subdivide and and collect more parcels to make it bigger.

So for clarification, the um the footprint of the actual building plus the parking cannot be more than 80%. It's the footprint of the structure itself. Okay. Yes, sir. So parking then could take up [clears throat] some of the other 20%. It can. Okay. while still having the required setbacks. Yes. Within within that designation. Yes, sir. And I'm my way of understanding it. If you can't build a multif family there now, you can't do it with this. This actually puts generally more restrictions on those that are currently multif family with some of the setbacks with the height controls and some of that stuff. Correct.

Yes, sir. That is correct. So, base zoning presides. So that's that's the key takeaway is if your base zoning allows a um a higher density structure then then that's fine. But the neighborhood conservation overlay is just putting those additional standards in place uh for any structures that go in the lot I was talking about is single family and you're talking about it and allowing So um because it's base zoning is single family three an apartment complex wouldn't be allowed on that parcel because it's base zoning. Miss Wood,

if if you want to continue to comment, would you No, you're fine. Come to the microphone because we we record this and it's um so if you you know instead of bantering back and forth, if you don't mind coming to the microphone and also I believe Mr. Wood has some comments, but he could probably Would you like me to take this one? Yeah. Or this one's fine. Kelly, you want to? Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you, sir. Mr. Wood, if you would just go ahead and state your name.

My name is William B. Woods. I live at 214 South 21st Street, Temple. I have lived in that neighborhood and my family has for well over 75 years. There is a number of problems I can see with that uh apartments. one, we have a church there. It's on a 50 by 140 foot lot. They have a big uh

congregation and we have cars parked the full block from 21st to 23rd on both sides. with the exception of a part of it. They park north on 21st. They park south on 21st. They park east on Avenue B. There's a fire plug. They are bad about parking and blocking the fire plug. They also double park. To me that's very dangerous. I've seen what those kids do and in the past I have as a firefighter responded to some things of what kids will do and what happens to them. They come running out of that church and they run around behind the car go back up the other side. They go out in the street. You can't see them. I'm afraid it's going to happen. The kids going to get run over. I am very stressed about that because I've seen in my career lots of kids get killed. There's a I seen a kid that come out of a apartment complex because and there was a business on the other side of the street. The truck backed over that kid. They had to take the dual wheels off of the truck to get the kid's head out. I had one kid in the neighborhood. He was about three years old. walking

good. He come running over to my house and his parents wouldn't anywhere around. I called PD finally anyway. the kid should not have been out like that. And that happens and that's why I have so much concern about all this parking from apartments and residential far as that goes. The thing is you let them build those buildings out closer to the street. You have a long pickup and you pull it in there. You got kids, you can go around it or people go around it and they have to go out in the street to get around the other side of the vehicle. People do that and you can't see them till it's too late.

Yeah, understood. Thank you. And I have one last. All righty. There is a drainage ditch. We have problems with it getting it clean, keeping it clean. It's too expensive for the city to do their part that they used to do. That's what I've been told. It's right behind. It's right behind those properties where they could build and

they're going to cover 80% of that ground and that water is going to go all into that drainage ditch. So, I've had had the federal government's been out there two times

to clean out the pipes. And I just talked to him yesterday. And I asked him, "How often can I call you without being a nuisance? Anytime that drain tage pipe gets stopped up, call me. It's going to get stopped up again. Because when they mow it, they drop a bunch of tall vegetation and it washes right down in there. That's one in frame that we had just recently. It washed it in there. They got to clean it out. Thank you. I appreciate it.

This is right where apartments behind. Right. Right. Understood. Thank you. Is there anybody else who would like to speak? Can you speak very briefly to the Woods concerns um regarding what would be required when and if something's built? Did I hear you say I'm not going to put I don't know what I heard you say. [laughter] Did um but the NC3 designation I think you mentioned that lot. Are you familiar with this particular case?

Uh, this particular lot, I did look at it after the planning and zoning commission meeting and I apologize. I I did not commit it to memory, but I did review it. Um, and what I can say is that um before anything is built, uh, people do come in and speak with a planner and really do a lot of homework right up front to ensure what can actually go there. Um, and if it can't go there, then it's just it's not going to be permitted. A drainage plan is also required for any of our building permits. All of these permits and products still have to follow our normal order of operations, if you will. So, they still need to come in and speak with somebody, see what can go there. Is infatil um utilities and infrastructure, are those available? Are they adequate? Do can the line account for, you know, whatever is actually trying to go there? Access, parking, etc. All of those things are reviewed. Um and then they also have to come up with a drainage plan. So even though we are um kind of visualizing and and stating that a higher density and designation future, it may be appropriate in this area. It doesn't mean that it's going to lend itself to a neighborhood apartment. I know that's the big connection and big key takeaway of NC3 and I I definitely understand um your concern about that, but basing presides. So if base zoning doesn't allow the use then it it doesn't it can't happen regardless of what the neighborhood conservation overlay is.

Very good. Thank you. You're welcome. That particular lot is single without a reasonzoning for the base zoning. It could not develop as an apartment. It's actually grandfathered right now on your information from the city. If he loses the notic

and and again, correct me if I'm wrong, you can only build single family three there. That is just had some different stuff on. You cannot build an apartment on the SF3 unless we resold it. Correct. That is correct. Yes, sir. Thank you. So, even though it's over, you couldn't do it, right? Unless it came forward with a a request for a change. Yeah. I'm going to say the way I understand all of this, it's it's actually adding restrictions to what's currently there to help some of the things that the people are absolutely

concerned about. Thank you. It it is a a give and take, if you will. So we are allowing flexibility and asking for standards in return. Keep going down.

Okay, understood. Very good. Thank y'all. Um, anybody else? All right, then at this time I will uh close the public hearing and council. I will entertain a vote on item Sorry, I lost track here. On item four. I'll make a motion to approve item four. Second. We have a motion by Mayor Pro Tim Walker. We have a second by Council Member Kirkindall. Council, please cast your vote. Hi, Council Member Grant.

Mayor Davis, I thank you for polling the council. Item five, thank you. Is to is to consider adopting an ordinance authorizing the release of 4.904 plus or minus acres. Uh, I'm sorry. 4.904 plus or minus acre ride ofway described as being attractive land situated in the William Gilmore survey abstract number 339, the MA Young Survey, abstract number 937, and the Henry Millard survey abstract number 552, Bell County, Texas, and being a part or portion of a certain ride ofway known as Old Howard Road. Mr. Nuttle.

Thank you, Mayor. And this is probably one of our biggest rightway abandonments that we've ever got and most of it's for uh property we just annexed. Um so transportation code chapter 311 provides us the the city authority over streets and alleys. 3117 specifically allows a home rural municipality such as Temple to vacate, abandon, or close a street or alley. but we are required to hold a public hearing which is why we're here today. So this uh map before you is the 4.904 acres of old Howard Road that is being requested for uh abandonment. This uh right ofway would end up being realigned as part of the Northwest Industrial Park project. Uh and the abandonment will allow the platting of that northwest Industrial Park to go forward while the realignment is under construction. Now, Old Toward Road is still in use. So, as part of this request, we are uh looking to retain a 3.77 acre temporary access and utility easement. Uh the term for that temporary easement will be until the new alignment is constructed and accepted by the city. um that that'll allow all the um all the paving and all the utility realignment uh before that takes effect. Uh so it'll allow continued use of Old Howard Road in its current condition for through traffic and utilities until that new construction and alignment is complete. Uh so um before I get to the recommendation, I did want to uh mention that typically I say we're going to get fair market value for this. There is one exception and that is when you trade right ofway aband

abandoned right ofway for new road right ofway and that's what's going to go on in this particular instance. Um, so we will be trading the TEEDC for the land for the new alignment while we uh give up this land. So the staff's recommendation today is to approve abandonment of 4.904 plus or minus acres of Old Howard Road subject to that 3.77 acre uh temporary access and utility easement for the term to end upon completion and acceptance of that new alignment of Old Howard Road. And I'm here if you have any questions. Thank you. Council, anything for Kyle? Item five is subject to a public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak may do so. We ask you step to the podium and state your name, please. All right. There being none, I will close the public hearing and council entertain a motion on item five.

Item five. Second.

Have a motion by council member Grant. We have a second by council member Pilington. Item five passes five votes to zero. Next item is consider adopting a resolution approving the final plat of the MandeR community replat number one with the developer requested exception to the unified development code section 8.3.1 park fees and chapter 12 code of ordinance code of ordinances fire prevention protection section 12-11A related to the maximum number of dwelling units allowed on a culde-sac being a 4.49 acre uh plus or minus acre 42 lot one block residential subdivision being a replat of the final plat of the Mandere community situated in the city of Temple Bell County, Texas addressed as 4231 Hartrick plus uh Hartrick Bluff Road, excuse me. Um the uh the developer has um agreed to postpone uh the final resolution of this uh particular project to a date uncertain and council. I will um entertain a motion on postponing this item uh until date uncertain.

I'll move to postpone till the date uncertain. Second. Have a motion by council member Kirkindall. We have a second by council member Pilington. Council, please cast your vote. The postponement of item six passes five votes to zero. It is now 6:30. Thank you all for attending this meeting and we are adjourned.