Good evening and welcome to the city of
McGomery City Council and Planning and
Zoning Commission special meeting for
August 18th uh 2026. It is exactly 6 PM
and I'd like to call this meeting to
order. Uh before we get started, if you
please check your phones to make sure
that they are off so that we can conduct
business and not be interrupted. that
would be most appreciated. Uh we will
begin with we have um everyone is here
but Miss Langley and uh we will begin
with the invocation given by Mr. Stan
Donaldson and then the pledge of
allegiance. Would you please rise?
» Father, we thank you for this day. We
thank you Lord that our hearts and minds
are receptive father to the
presentation. I thank you father we use
wisdom and guidance in all of our
business affairs. and thank you for
blessing the city of Montgomery and uh
and the people in it in Jesus's name.
Amen.
>> Amen.
>> Pledge allegiance to the United States
flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
>> Now the Texas flag.
>> Honor the Texas flag. I pledge
allegiance to thee, Texas, one state
under God, one and indivisible.
>> All right. I did receive one request
under the citizens comments. So with
that, Mr. Rocky Butler, would you please
come to the podium?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> He is here to speak on the item of a
thank you.
>> Okay. Um uh my name Rocky Butler. Um I
am an office based office FM1097. I live
in Minnesota by way right there in
Whiteall area actually. Um but I just
wanted to kind of say a few things.
First of all, good evening to you all,
mayor, city council and planning
committee as well as the MEEDC who
whatever members are here. I don't know
what you're here at this time, but I
just wanted to take a few minutes to
personally thank you um for giving me
the opportunity and placing your trust
in me to represent the city, the city of
McGomery. For those of you who don't
know who I am, again, as Nate mentioned,
my name, Rocky Butler. I'm with uh
Butler Real Estate Group and I work
under the commercial vision division of
Berkshire Hathaway. And I had the
privilege to list and sell 213 Prairie.
You're all familiar with that property
with the city own. Um, I wanted to come
before you tonight not only to say thank
you, but to also share a few of the
analytics of the listing and give you an
idea of the exposure generated
throughout the listing period that that
I had. The properties promoted more than
50,000 times. It generated over 1,400
detailed views. That means those people
spent some time looking through the
metrics of the marketing materials that
we sent them. And then that exposure
resulted into multiple calls that we
serviced as well as over 30 private
showings of that property.
As many as you may know in commercial
real estate, getting the property from
listing all the way to closing requires
cooperation from a lot of people. And
throughout that entire process,
uh, the city administration, the MEDC
were extremely responsive and
professional.
Whenever we needed information,
documents, signatures, any type of
property maintenance or decisions,
everyone involved made it a priority to
get these things handled quickly and
efficiently for us. I especially want to
recognize Brent Walker. Uh Brent was
pivotal throughout the process and was
always available when something was
needed to be addressed.
And I want to thank you Brent. Thank you
personally very much for being so
helpful to us. Uh I also want to thank
the city and everyone in behind the
scenes that assisted along the way. A
successful closing is truly a team
effort and I sincerely appreciate the
cooperation, professionalism I received
from beginning to end. And then finally,
and most importantly,
I want to apprec I appreciate the
confidence you placed in me to represent
the city of McGomery and its people
this this town. I never take that
responsibility lightly.
It was a true privilege to work on your
behalf and help bring this property to a
successful close. It was an honor. Thank
you. [clears throat]
>> Thank you.
>> All right. Next item on your agenda is
presentation number five. Presentation
and discussion by Brett Kee appended
East Collaborative regarding the
proposed unified development ordinance
UDO.
» There's presentation on
>> I'll I'll give you a little a little
intro where we are and what we're doing
here today. I wanted to
You can do it. I mean, can you see right
there?
>> Yeah, I sure can.
>> Sorry.
>> All right, no problem. I I wanted to
touch base with you and tell you what brought us here and why we kind of
scheduled this. We've been working on
this for quite a while and I know you
guys have heard inputs from us and the
staff and everybody else and and
Zach, the attorney, everybody's been
reading this. We've been working with
him. It's taken quite a bit to get where
we are. This is your opportunity to
listen to what's been going on to ask
the questions because we're getting very
close to being able to close this out
and adopt this in in the month of
September. Um, so this is the
opportunity to ask questions. If you
hear something you don't understand,
this is the best time to do it. Uh, we
want the feedback. We want to hear from
you. If you hear something that you you
want to learn more about, the attorneys,
Zach or Brett can answer those questions
or myself, any of us. Tilly, she has
lots of answers.
So that's it. Go ahead.
Well, good evening. I'm Brett Kee, CEO
of Ky Keys Collaborative. Address is 77
Sugar Creek Center Boulevard, uh, Sweet
600 at Sugarland.
Um, pleased to be with you tonight. As
Brent indicated, um, this has been a
long process for a variety of reasons,
but we're to the point where we're very, close. Um, so I wanted to give you
an update on on where we are. Next
slide, please. Um so this shows you the
organization of the unified development
ordinance or UDO. Um we delivered um
really four different modules because we
broke the first one into modules one and
1.5. Um so that's where we have all the zoning districts and all the
setbacks and heights and other types of
standards. Um the permitted and
conditional land uses, site development
and design. I'm going to talk to you a
little bit more about that tonight.
flood plane and floodway development
didn't change. We simply brought that
from your current ordinance into the new
format and then measurements and word
usage. Module two, you can see what was
included there. We've been going back
and forth with staff of recent on the
tree preservation standards. uh Brent
and and staff has been very good about
reading it um from their perspective,
making sure that it's something they can
understand and administer and trying to
keep it simple and straightforward but
yet achieve the outcomes that we're intending to get. And then module
three is basically all the all the
procedures,
please. Um so these are all the the
deliverables that we've um sent to the
city over time. Most recently, last
week, we just uh worked through the
thrower plan, which is basically, you
know, text dot to the county shows kind
of your your larger streets, but they do
not get down into the the collector
roadways and some of the um connections
within and between some of your
neighborhoods and how the whole city is
going to tie together. This is
critically important. Um, in the past
when we haven't had this, as you know,
we have lots of neighborhoods with dead
ends and circuitous streets and it makes
it very difficult to move through and
across the city. And so we want to be
able to make sure that people are able
to move freely without having to get
back out on, you know, 105 to go down to
two places uh when they can just go
across access and make sure that there's
adequate collector roadways which all
your residential streets feed to and
that feeds out to your major arterial
roadways. So that'll be delivered um the
[clears throat] revised draft will be
delivered tomorrow and then everything
else is all the the UDO pieces.
Next, please. Um, so the UDEO implements
the comprehensive plan. So, you have a a
comprehensive plan. We made sure that we
were making reference to that and we
were following the policies and the
initiatives and the objectives that were
spelled out in that plan. Should you
ever be challenged on a zoning case, you
always want to be able to look back to
the comprehensive plan and point your
finger and say, "This is the adopted
plan that we relied upon." So from from
the land use the land use plan um the
zoning districts match the land use plan
the the districts there and you can see
some of the objectives that were
identified in the plan and the response
to some of the different um sections of
the of the UDO that are included. Next
slide please.
So for downtown obviously revitalize and
create infill for streetscapes all those
things are addressed within the code. um
in the housing, expanding housing
options, allowing mixeduse housing and
support housing amenities. So, we've got
districts that provide for a variety of housing types, not obviously just
your single family or large lot, but we
do have um the plan development district
and R2 district to some extent. Um and
then particularly having transition
standards. So, if you live in a home now
and you have a field behind you, you
want to make sure that whatever might
come in your backyard is going to be
compatible or going to have a good
transition. Um, so that could not only
be lot size, but it would all be um
landscaping, screening, fencing,
whatever that might be.
>> Next slide.
um two other categories, mobility,
connectivity, um walkability, sidewalks,
biking, improved connectivity, all those
things are addressed. And then same way
with open space and landscaping and I'll
be talking to you a little bit more
about that later in the presentation
here.
Next slide.
As I mentioned, compatibility. Um, you
know, every community and every
development ordinance wants to achieve
compatibility between different types
and scales of development and making
sure we're protecting uh neighborhoods
and personal investments. So, the UDO
has spent a lot of time on design
standards and buffering, landscaping,
and other things to make sure that we're
providing for that. And then the plan
becomes action through the UDO. So
basically for every element of the comp
plan there's a response within the UDL.
So since we last met with you um there's
a few changes and these um many of them
came from staff review
uh Zach's review, attorney review, etc.
So um
see if we get to the right spot.
function.
» So, um your
um the proposed districts are on the
left hand column.
Um the the corresponding districts on
the right. So, your R1 is still R1, your
R2 is still R2. Um we have a new
downtown district. As you know, downtown
has always been zoned the same thing as
every other commercial district, even
though it's entirely unique. So, we
wanted to make sure have standards that
mimic the rest of downtown and what
exists there today. And then your your
commercial, institutional, and
industrial districts are all the same.
And your plan development district, if
you recall, it had expired. And so we
have new standards in there for ED plan
development.
Um so originally when we drafted it um
we had some kind of different
development options where people can
have smaller lots with increased open
spaces and things of that nature.
Basically provided for development
clustering. We simplified that. Um so we
removed that requirement. We still
provide for open space. Your
compensating open space provision is is
still in there. We're just doing it in a
different way. Um and then um we've
added variations for lot size and rear
setbacks. So for instance, there's a new
subdivision coming in that's R1 has
9,000 foot lots and they are beside or
back up to a 1 acre or larger lot. Um it
requires that those lots be 70% the size
of the 1acre lot. So just those that
basically [snorts] share a property
line. Everything else can can be you
know single family. But again, you know,
you probably heard it before, everybody,
you know, is concerned about the value
of properties and the impact on their
property. So that's part of the reason
why why we do that. And all the um
regulations are in tables that spell out
lot areas and widths and depths and all
the setbacks. And then we have graphics
in there that help illustrate and show
how we apply
property.
Next slide. As I mentioned, we have
transitioned um between your different
districts. So, whenever there's a
difference in building scale or height
or the massing of a of a building or
just the intensity of the land use,
we've built in um transition standards.
And the purpose is really to reduce the
uh impacts on privacy, on shadowing in
certain in instances as well as on the
visual character and value. And so an
example is um a maximum twostory
apartment um has to be at least 50 feet
away from an R1. There's requirements
for building separation heights and
buffer yards. The buffer yards are based
upon the housing type. So basically the
bigger the difference between the
intensity of uses, the larger the buffer
yard, more landscaping that's required.
um when [clears throat] there's a a
non-residential use next to like a
commercial use whatever that might be
office um retail has to be 100 foot away
from R1 and 50 foot away from R2. Um and
then there are also building design
standards. So if the district provides
for say a three-story building, it has
to step down to two stories, you know,
so it's more in line with with a twotory
single family home. So the image there
you see on the right of apartments and
then you have single family and again
depending upon the height and the the
intensity of that use the buffer yard
will shift and the mixture of of trees
and shrubs and in some cases required
fencing is is in there
tree preservation standards um you know
you have the benefit of being in an area
where you have a lot of mature
vegetation
that contributes to the aesthetic of the
community and the character of the
community. So, we want to make sure
that, you know, we're not being too
difficult for development, but at the
same time, um, if they're able to
preserve trees to the maximum extent
practicable, we want to do that. We've
simplified the standards to ease the
administration. So, there's not, you
know, any massive tree surveys or
anything like that that are required.
But if there are trees um you know along
roadways that exist now we want to
preserve those. We have like a 30 foot
preservation width. Um so you see the
difference between the top photo and the
bottom photo where we can preserve trees
along our along our streets. And then we
have landscaping requirements on the
individual individual sites themselves.
But if there is open space that's
provided and they're able to preserve
the trees, we expect them to do that.
Um there is a new open space
requirement. It's actually in the
subdivision standards. Um basically it
requires a minimum of 10% of the total
land area. In a plan development it
requires 20%. Because you have mixtures
of housing types and just more
intensity. And so you usually want like
a common green or open open space or
even you know small parks throughout
that. Um and then it provides for no
more than 50% of that can be within the
flood plane. No more than 30% of that
can be um for storm water requirements,
but those storm water requirements have
to be menitized. So it can't be a ditch
with weeds in the bottom of it. Count
that towards the open space. If they
have a retention and they have fountains
and they have trail around it, things
like that, then it can be counted
towards the open space. Otherwise, if
it's, you know, something that's
unsightly or not not going to be
maintained, it will not count. Um, and
the open space must be equal to the
amount required for the current current
phase. Basically, each phase of
development will have to provide their
open space. Um, so that they can say,
well, we'll do that later on, but I can
put in,
you know, the first phase and then they
sell to somebody else and now you're you
flossed out. We need to make sure that
each phase of development meets their
own requirements and you've always had
compensating open space provision. So we
have carried that through. So you're
used to administering that.
Um the procedures uh we did a
significant overhaul on that. Um we
dramatically simplified and streamlined
them. We consolidated a lot of the
processes where they were similar
approvals. um we removed and folded in
some of the standalone permits. So
instead of being a separate permit,
they're actually kind of an approval now
as part of a another process. Um
reduced provision for a lot of ongoing
uh monitoring and technical calculations
and things like that that just put a lot
of added burden on on your staff. And we
also remove procedures that they're
spelled out spelled out state law. We
didn't duplicate or replicate that code.
And we're still continuing to make a few
minor revisions, but nothing really
substitles.
So, um
we have put some building and site
design standards in for multif family.
>> Um and you can see that um basically it
doesn't provide for square boxes. um
that stairways have to be internal or
covered. Um you have to have different
uh materials and different colors. You
have to have variations in the in the
roof forms. Um also, you know, balconies
and and places where you might have jut
outs or building stepbacks, things like
that. So, you're not getting just a
blank facade. You have different wall
planes. Um and then there's also
foundation plantings
um and and things of that nature. So
this is an example of um an illustrative
if you will of those standards. So
making sure that you know building
interest entrances are accentuated
that there's two or more stories that
they're they're identifying with
horizontal articulation kind of the
different stories using materials or
other other types of architectural
methods. And we also don't provide for
large expanses of blank wall. So if
there's a side elevation or rear
elevation, they can't have beyond 25
foot. That's just a blank wall. you
know, no architectural treatment or
material change or color change or
windows or something like that that's
going to help articulate to make that.
We also have a 36060 degree requirement.
So, if it's uh visible from a public
street or public space or another
property, they're going to have to kind
of carry some of the design. has doesn't
have to meet the front facade standards,
but it has to carry that around all
sides of that building so you don't get
ugly rear elevation back up to your
subdivision park.
This is an example of aity space
requirements for multif family require a
minimum of 15%.
In this particular illustration, see the
yellow dotted lines, the dog bar.
So that can all be in one centralized
space or it can be broken out like this
as long as they're providing for a
minimum of 15% of the side area. Same
thing will apply relative to storm
drainage, other things like that.
Now, when we first drafted last time we
were here, we had some fairly
sophisticated
building design standards. State of
Texas a handful of years ago, uh, limits
local governments from dictating
building materials. Um, so our approach
has always been to basically say, well,
we're going to give them a menu of
options and you have to have three of
these things or four of these things and
you can pick and choose. Um, you know,
masonry is in there. It's not mandated,
but that's one of the choices. Um, we
thought and together with staff that it
would be easier if we just kind of have
straightforward um, you know, standards
so you don't have all these different
scenarios and stuff that can be
confusing and more difficult to
administer.
What I would like this evening is to get
commission and council's authorization
to draft standards that are based upon
what you're seeing here. So we would
have standards for single ointment
building. So you know just a
freestanding bank or a freestanding
restaurant or something like that just a
single occupant. um where we would make
sure that you as you can see by um by
the the illustration there that we have
um you know for every 30,000 square foot
of a single building exceeds that you
have some sort of corner corner element
or tower or something of that nature
your again your entrances are
accentuated you have different building
materials and colors um it's not you
have different facade planes so we have
some some step backs of a minimum of 18
in and again that has to be carried
around around the building. So in the
draft that we have right now we have
these illustrations and below the
illustrations are the corresponding
standards with the the numbers that are
shown on the shown on the um graphic.
And then there's also requirements for
building roof mounted equipment to make
sure that that's also screened. So have
a beautiful building and then have big
AC units or whatever else on top that
are aren't well screened. Um so this
would be the the single occupant
building design. Um the next slide is
comparable but it would be a multi
multiple occupant building design. Much
like you saw with the multif family.
Again we are delineating between first
and second floor. We have modulation of
the of the roof line. So you don't have
just one continuous plane along along
the top. Um you know using windows and
different materials and things like that
to really break up. as as you know,
you've got some pretty great examples uh
in downtown 105 of some existing
buildings that have done a very nice job
incorporating many of these same things.
So, this is not something that you're
not not used to doing, but basically
every individual tenant, we have what we
call kind of a building module and each
module kind of has to have its own its
own uniqueness so you don't just have
monotony of these buildings.
And then lastly, a multi- multiple
building center. So, um if you have a
shopping center and you have out
parcels, we don't want to um prevent
them from having individuality. Um but
at the same time, we want to make sure
we have some sort of uniform or some
consistencies between them. So um you
know the the out parcels can have their
own uh uniqueness but at the same time
tying in with some commonality with the
overall overall development complex. So
it looks like it was actually designed
to go together rather than a bunch of
oneoffs and every one of them have you
know whatever their franchise
architecture is and signage and
everything just doesn't feel like it's a
very well planned well planned
environment. Um so again a lot of a lot
of the same things with um having corner
architectural elements um providing for
pedestrian amenities and outdoor spaces
interior pedestrian connectivity between
different buildings and storefronts and
things of that nature. So those are
three different designs. Let me pause
there and just see what thoughts
comments you have. Again what I'm
looking for is are you on board with
this? um or are there certain things
that you have more concern about than
others? Um so as we go back and draft it
that we know you know where you want I
want to make sure that when that first
building goes up after this is adopted
that you go that's exactly what we were
looking for. So
>> I I just had the one question about the
lot size. What was the minimum lot size
you went through?
>> It was just about the space of green
space versus the space of building
>> using a square footage. So was there a
minimum lot size?
>> I think we have for like commercial we
have 15,000 square ft.
>> Okay. What about residential?
>> It's the same as it is today. You're
9,000.
>> Yeah.
>> The only the only place that that's
different is in a plan development. In a
plan development, they have to bring you
um their plans. You have to approve
those plans. If they make any changes
those plans, they have to come back to
you and get them approved again. And
they're filed with the county. So
whenever anybody is going to develop a
piece within that master plan or
adjacent to that, all that's filed with
the county. Um so you have a lot more
control there. We're allowing and I'll
show you an example here in a minute. Um
you can have duplexes, you know, um
triplexes, town homes, apartment
buildings. You can have a mixture in a development.
And there the lot sizes obviously vary
accordingly.
This is the best presentation I've seen
from KKC. Great job. You nailed it.
>> Good
to say. And I do have a question. So BCS
Capital, we they purchased the property.
We've not seen really hardcore plans
yet. Adopt this tonight. They would have
to go according to these, right?
>> U when we adopt that
>> depending on where that is.
>> We haven't approved anything on that.
>> No, we haven't. We've just done we've
just approved like what we're going to
do as far as a 380. We've divi there's
been no design. Correct.
>> Not on building, right?
>> We're going through design for that or
they're going through design for now.
>> But as far as our ordinance, I think it
is enter.
Yeah, that's since they're development.
>> Well, if they're inclined to change some
things, I think
>> Oh, yeah.
» Sometimes a development agreement will
specify that which regulations they'll
abide by part of that agreement.
>> Okay, next slide, please.
Um, this is an example of when you have
two different districts, two different
uses, different scales that are next to
one another. We don't want them right on
top of one another. So again, you have
um 50 foot of distance or 100 foot of
distance depending upon whether it's
single family or multif family. And
there are buffer yard requirements. So
the buffer yards are spelled out.
There's like A, B, C, and D. And then
there's a matrix. So if it's single
family next to single family, it's an A
buffer yard. There's not much required,
right? Then as you go from there on up
the industrial, then you get up to the D
and it's very very intensive. And then
there's also natural buffer yards where
it's just trees and then there's um a
structural buffer yard where you know
they may have a fence or wall along with
trees or they can do a BM if they have
enough enough space. Um, so that shows
you kind of how that
>> was that is that 100 foot total the
distance
>> this one here showing 50 foot. So we've
got a 20 foot buffer with 15t on either
side.
>> But the the code is says
uh it's going to be 100 foot between
commercial and R1
>> and 50 foot for R2.
>> Yeah. So that housing looks at R1.
>> It does. You copy.
>> The code. That's a good point. Good
catch. The code does does say honored
for single family and 50. This
illustration does show 50.
>> Yeah, it says it up there. But
>> at the top right there,
50.
>> The second story.
>> Yeah.
And you notice that um the building on
the left steps down from two stories to
one story just within a certain distance
also.
So that would that's how those um
standards would would apply.
Next slide.
Um we have landscaping standards. So for
single family, you would have canopy
tree in the front yard and then another
canopy tree in any yard. So you'd have a
minimum of of two that are that are
planted. Um and then for commercial
um there are combination of canopy trees
per lot and then canopy and ornamental
trees per thousand square foot of
landscape area as well as shrubs that
are required. Um, and then you know
depending on what they're next to, they
might have buffer yard as well. So, um,
and then there's also
interior parking lots.
>> How do you define canopy tree? Is there
like a
>> Yeah, trees. That means because if you
go to our Kroger, [snorts] those are
supposed to be canopy trees. They're
sticks. Well, what what we can do is we
could include an appendix that um that
calls out the specific specific tree
types that qualify or can be an
ornamental.
>> And how about irrigation of all this
stuff? Is there forced irrigation?
They'll plant the trees and as long as
they planted them when they built it,
they die two years later, they nothing
hold them to it.
>> Let me check. I'll have to have to check
Ashley Dis. So usually we do have
provisions for that or there's an
alternative for zeroscape, you know, um
kind of native trees to Texas that are
drought tolerant. So I'll I'll email.
>> So what does that look like if they were
to do that and then they put in sub
canopy trees that are not on the list or
they do and they die? We have the
ability to have uh code enforcement go
out there and let them know that this
tree is dead and they have 30 days to
replace it. Rip and replace. Okay. Is
there is there a certain
size for the trees? How many gallons?
>> Yeah, so they're a 2 inch caliper or any
shrub is a minimum five gallon shrub.
And if it's an evergreen, it's I believe
minimum of six foot.
So they're not width necessarily.
>> A five gallon five gallon container.
So, um, you know, the the bigger they
get, the more difficult it is to keep
them alive when you plant them.
>> We don't want them too small because it
may take years before they really have
any effect. So, this is real common of
what all cities do.
>> Does that trees can be placed in
clusters and need not be placed at even
intervals? Does that hurt us or help us
or what's the pros and cons there?
>> Um, let's say parking lot with a little
bunch of trees clustered here because
they didn't want to do anything. So it
would create more of a natural type of
environment rather than having you know
this rigidity. So everywhere you go in
town they're exactly 25 foot apart. Plus
um if there are power lines or other
utilities they can group them so they
don't have to ask for variance because
we can't put a tree there. Um and it
just you know they can they can group
them within their open space. So they it
just gives them more flexibility. They
still have to meet the numbers. Um the
shrubbery along the parking lot though
we require that as a bumper bumper
screen along all um uh parking areas and parking and vehicular use areas. So
it may not be a parking lot, could be a
drive aisle or it could be a truck lane
or whatever that might be. Uh if they're
adjacent to a public rights way or
another property, they're required to
provide screening.
And then, as I said, there's um islands
within the parking lots that require um
a canopy tree as well. So, you have you
don't just have 500 spaces out there
with with no trees or with a few shrubs
in an island, right? when you stand back
and and look across the site, you'll
see, you know, a variety of trees across
that site because they're required um
every 10 or 12 parking spaces. I believe
you have to have an island.
So, downtown there's none required. Um,
obviously you're very constrained with
your rideway and so forth, but we show
that that depending upon what may happen
in the future, if somebody uh were able
to provide, you know, a tree and some
street furniture and stuff, then that
would be great. But we don't outright
require it. Just
this is just an illustrative, an
example. if somebody has a plan
development. Um you see this well even
in the Houston area and all across the
country. People are coming in um with a
variety of different housing types. Um
so what it does is it allows them to
increase their their lot count and their unit count by having a mixture of
single family and two family and town
home and stuff. It helps them meet
different markets so that they can meet
different price points. So your firemen
and police officers and school teachers
and everybody else um can can afford
places. They're not all just, you know,
large lots that are super pricey. This
one actually shows how you can have kind
of some neighborhood commercial at the entrance that's walkable as well
as, you know, a large common open space.
Um so in some cases, maybe that's an
elementary school or maybe it's, you
know, park or whatever that might be. Um
so that just gives you an idea of what
Plan development again nothing gets
approved by right right has all the
standards in there but they have to
bring a plan to you and you review that
plan and that plan is adopted as part of
that ordinance
goes with that ordinance they come back
later and they they often do because
they don't know what the market's going
to do they don't know what end users
might come to them right um so they may
need to say gee we have you know we've
had this use come to us and
to come back and do a plan amendment to
accommodate [snorts] that use, but it
has to come back in front of the
council.
So, next steps, um, state law requires
you have, [snorts] uh, at least two
public hearings. So, generally that's
one before the funding and zoning
commission and then one before city
council. Um,
I should mention that the zoning map
is doesn't have to be changed except for
the downtown boundary. Um that's the
only change that you have. Um so we have
proposed a boundary to staff um and they
are looking at it to align the
boundaries. I think it's fairly obvious
where the downtown boundaries are. Um so
that would be the only change um from
what we have today. that's just, you
know, zoned on commercial. So, you would
have a DT for downtown district for that
area. Otherwise, everything that's zoned
today still be zoned the same.
>> So, you're saying we're lifting the
historic downtown district name and just
making it a downtown district.
>> Yeah, the zoning ordinance is is DT
designation. is it's a downtown that has
boundaries and as I said there are
standards where we bring buildings to
the street so they have a maximum
setback not a minimum setback so we want
them to keep that that pedestrian
streetscape
um and then there's provisions in there
that if they do you know a twotory or a
false twotory facade
um and you know creating small open
spaces and stuff whether that's for
outdoor seating or outdoor restaurants
or whatever. Keep in mind that this
everybody looks at downtown today and
says, "Well, it's pretty much there,
right?" But who knows what's going to
happen the next 10 or 20 years. Um, you
know, things could start redeveloping or
whatever that might be. So, we want to
make sure that we have have those
standards in place. So, somebody can't
come in and put, you know, a gas station
downtown and have pumps and big canopy
out front. That just disrupts that whole
story character.
Um
we have well first of all oftent times
when we do this it's dramatically
different than what you've had before.
So oftent times what we will do is we
will provide assistance to you for a
certain period of time. Um, oftentimes
what we do is we have you adopt an
ordinance whereby an applicant posts an
escrow fee and that fee pays our fee. So
it doesn't come out of the general fund.
Um, so they may post, you know, $2,000
and it cost us $1,000 to work with staff
and whatever we need to do if we need
to, you know, meet with you or what have
you. And we spend $1,000 and they get
$1,000 back. if it gets very involved,
there's lots of meetings and lots of
reviews and and revisions and things
like that, they spend $2,500, then they
post another $500. Um, so we have done
that in multiple places around Texas.
We're doing it in sim Texas right now.
Um, so we could help in um working with
staff to make sure that they are
identifying all of the applicable
provisions. Um, when somebody comes in
with a plan or resoning or a site plan
so that they're they're making sure that
they're addressing everything.
if they want to help how to interpret it
or how to apply it to a particular lot
or even, you know, talk with an a
development applicant or an architect,
whatever that looks like, we can be
available. Generally, it's just, you
know, on a on an hourby-h hour basis.
Um, and we can help give you a new staff
report template. Um obviously the
standards are a whole lot different. So
there's a lot more um materials to cover
in a staff report that you get when
somebody submits an application. It's
basically from staff saying here's
everything you need to know about this
application. Um it can either be
structured as saying if you want to
approve it, here's the conditions and
stipulation. If you want to deny it,
here's the uh stipulations and
conditions. um
we would we could do a memorandum of
staff review processes just to make sure
that everything is flowing smoothly,
that the communication lines are good,
um that we're not dropping the ball and
things are taking longer than they need
to. We want to make sure that when an
applicant submits um that, you know,
they're moved through the process and
they know what the next step is and when
that's happening so they don't get
frustrated. So, um, it helps everybody
if everything's laid out clearly and you
have a schedule of when to submit an
application, when public hearing notice
goes out, when the meetings are
scheduled, when you have to have your
comments back, things of that nature.
Um, so that is one things that I wanted
to point out if that's something you may
be interested in. And then the last
item,
um, last slide,
we have a a new tool that's called a
knowledge advisor. So as you recall your
code of ordinances is in the encode plus
platform and the UDO is in that same uh
cloud hosted web-based platform. So
somebody will be able to go to we'll
eventually put them together. So they'll
be on the same site but whenever you go
into the code all of the table contents
are hyperl right. So you can easily jump
there. If you come across a definition
you hover over that definition with your
mouse it pops up the definition. If it
makes a cross reference to the
landscaping standards or the parking
assigning standards as a hyperlinks will
take you right to those standards, we
can link back and forth between the code
of ordinances and so forth. So since we
have those in this platform and since
they will be kept up to date, so
whenever an ordinance is adopted and
sent to us, we codify and publish it
within 10 days. Okay? it it doesn't sit
for months because if somebody's
submitting for development and they're
investing hundreds or millions of
dollars in the community, they need to
know what the requirements are, not have
to dig through other ordinances. So,
they all need to be posted. Since
they're in the system, we have this tool
that somebody can ask a common language
question. So, they can say,
"What are the cities, you know, what are
the subdivision requirements?" Or, "I'm
submitting a resoning application.
What's the process for that?" or
um they can even include GIS. So
somebody can actually add about about an
address. So they can say, "Can I build a
restaurant at 110 Cherry Street?" And
it'll tell them yes or no. Here's all
the setbacks. Here's all the uses. You
can click and go to a GIS map. Um, so
this came up because in a conversation
with staff last week and I was in their
shoes when I was a young planner, we did
a whole new unified development
ordinance, entirely different than our
old ordinance and it was a lot of work
those first few applications because you
know we couldn't remember where
everything was at. We couldn't remember
how everything went together and the
question was if somebody splits an
application, how do we know all the
different bits and pieces that go with
that? This tool would answer that
question. So an applicant, council
member, commissioner, staff member, of the public can answer, ask any
question of your code of ordinances or
your UDO and it will give them a
response and uh it is um trained only on
your ordinances. So it does not permit
any scanning across the internet to
bring in something that doesn't apply
and it's all entirely factual. doesn't
give any suggest suggestions, any
recommendations, nothing. It just says
here's what the code says about your
question. Um, so that would be an add-on
to to the online code. We just we just
came out with this like three weeks ago.
>> So this would be on our website did
hyperlink to yours. And then that
information you host the software on the
back end.
>> It's it's all Yeah, it's hosted by
Microsoft Azure. So you got 99.99%
guaranteed up time and it's all backed
up and secure and everything,
>> right?
>> We're on the cloud too. So when they
send us ordinances, we can immediately
publish those ordinance right to right
to your site
and we would update
uh your probably not your code of order.
Well, could be your code of ordinance
and your UDO. You know, they're make
you're making changes along the way. So
we provide at least two updates annually
and can do more as needed to make sure
that when somebody asks the questions
they're getting the latest and greatest
answers.
>> What's the SLA to get the answers? So
like well say for instance we change the
code ordinances. What's the SLA to get
those up and published?
>> Uh we we do the ordinances within 10
days. Um,
we
would probably probably take another 10 days or so to make sure that
it's online. We're obviously we're using
new technology. Um, the way it all the
way did have to be, you'd have to update
the entire code of ordinances if you
made one change, but what we're getting
ready to deploy is you only have to
update that one section and I'll update
the whole thing. So, again, I will get
back with Brett on that.
You said it's a add-on to So it's an
add-on to the current service that we
that we're gonna that you subscribe to.
Is it an added cost? Add
>> an added cost. So cost.
>> Yeah. So it's it's there's not a onetime
fee. So we build it for you at no
additional cost, but we roll that into
the annual cost because uh it's it's
going out and utilizing different models
and every time somebody asks it a
question, there's a usage charge. So
obviously those mount up. So, it's um
$3,500 annually. So, we've done some
math and basically
um if you get a couple inquiries a day,
it'll pay for itself in four to six
months.
>> And you're talking about AI tokens for
AI tokens.
>> Yeah. So,
>> no
access.
>> So, we have access to a whole range of
different models. So depending upon the
question that it's asking it will
basically utilize.
>> So is it large language or is it
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> So it's not agentic.
>> So I can write you an agent profile if
you want.
It's up to you. Well, yeah. The only uh
the the only thing is that this is
drawing directly from your official code
of ordinances and code of order and you
know that's in the platform by having it
in the platform. Uh it's all we go
through the process. It's all indexed.
Um they're governed documents. So you
know there's a lot of lot of parameters
on that. You could try to use, you know,
a PDF and and use chat QBT, but you may
or may not get the right answer.
>> So, you say 3500
>> and then it's add
usage. There's
>> no that's that's covered. That's why we
do an annual fee. So, we're not
concerned about the the usage.
>> It can be used 100 times a day.
>> I was going to say so it can be used
either two times a day or 500 times a
day.
>> Yeah. I I mean oftent times, you know,
whoever's calling or asking questions of
staff multiple times a day, whe it's an
applicant, whoever it might be, and
they're have to chase that downs, find
information, email to them, call them
back, all that type stuff. So, what
we're trying to do is to limit that to
the extent practical. They can answer
their own questions on their phone or on
their laptop. And then once they have
that, when they come to staff, they're more intelligent about what
they're asking. Um, so in a short amount
of time, either get their answer right
up front or they'll call staff and say,
"Hey, I got this and just want to
verify." There's also a disclaimer.
Every time you ask a question, you get a
response. There's a disclaimer. It says
staff is the official answer, right? So,
we don't want you relying on this tool
as the end all beall. You always have to
verify staff.
Yes. Yeah. And you know when ordinances
get twisted to various interpretations
depending upon the the user. So
>> who owns the data you or us?
>> You make sure
>> we don't take any other software
companies every all the data you put in
that becomes their data no matter what
to get it back out to extract it as a
cost.
>> It's all yours. Um there's yeah there's
no additional cost. Um, it can be
exported to a word file any hour of the
day, any day of the week.
>> So, which platform did you say you were
using?
» Oh gosh, I would have to ask my my AI
engineer. Um, like I said, we utilize a
service that has access to um a variety
of different um AI models. Um, I'll I'll
email Brent the morning. You can pass it
on to
» How much time do you think this would
save you, Tilly?
» The time did it save me.
>> How many inquiries do you get in a day's
time?
>> A lot of inquiries. The The inquiries
come from engineers and architects. They
would still rather get it from a live
person. Um, I'm still directing them and
having to read the ordinance with them
to verify that they understand exactly
what the ordinance says. So,
even if they know the location of the
ordinance, even though I refer them to
that location, I email them the
information, they still want a phone
call. So,
um, need for handholding
>> and and we say there always has to be
human intervention, right? This is never
the answer. So
>> at the end of the day, always has to go
to
>> Yes.
» So that concludes my presentation.
>> Thank you.
>> Great. Good stuff. Thank you.
>> One more question. It said six months on
there and that's included free inclusion
to the support staff for six months.
>> No, that's additional, right? You say
it's an island.
>> Yeah. Different cities have done it for
different periods of time. It's whatever
you want it to be. So basically it's to get Zach and Tilly and anybody
else in the city up to speed so they
feel comfortable and when applications
come in they they know exactly where to
go in the code. This this would go a
long way towards helping with that.
>> What is your cost of that? Um that tool
is the 3500 annual assist
>> that is uh we just have an hourly rate
charge and there is a a fee that the
applicant posts with their application.
So I believe in Simon right now they
post $1,500 and like I said if we spend
a,000 they get 500. Okay.
>> So lot sometimes it'll be different
depending upon if they're spinning a
plan development is a lot more involved.
So maybe five grand
>> but if our people need not an applicant
if they need assistance with it is that
a charge for that or is that going to be
the
>> because our contract for this project
will be done at the money comes from
that. So it's it's basically an on call agreement
>> and we can you know say we'll have a
weekly meeting with Tilly and Zach or
bi-weekly or if you want us to talk to
somebody we can but basically they can
look at it and say did I catch
everything and we can look at it say so
I remember what three years ago we
started this
>> three or four
>> 2011 hasn't been Stan you remember
>> oh it was
>> the the timeline dates.
Granted, I'm not holding you to it 100%
cuz some of it was our fault, but not
all.
>> Well, it was May the deliverable date I
think was May of this year.
>> May of this year%
» we went for a period of what six, seven
months without without point of contact.
So that alled this and then recently
um staff to their credit has has really
dug into it and they've been giving us a
lot of their feedback and so we've been
revisiting
you know we all want to get it right fast.
Can you revisit your explanation to the
mayor about the u historic downtown and
then you said no we're calling it
downtown. So
when people look stuff up is it going to
say historic downtown?
>> It certainly can. Right now it's just called downtown but that's a
simple change.
>> I'm just asking because I wanted to
clarify because I knew you said no we
call it downtown. So, I was like, is
that something we want to hang on to?
I'm just asking the question, historic
downtown.
>> I can explain part of that. You know,
the historic overlay that is down there
now has no teeth in it. It's really a
suggestion. I mean, it was a good idea
and it's a much broader. It covers some
of the houses and that, but it really
doesn't cover it. It doesn't make them
do anything. I know you've read it
because you know I mean it gives them
some design suggestions and things.
>> What this the difference was what we're
trying to do or what we tried to deliver
was a downtown district that you could
control setbacks, heights, you know,
looks and all that. You're actually
controlling something. Um you can always
have the suggestions of how you want it
to look like a 1887 whatever, you know,
building like it says now. You know,
there's some weird suggestions in there,
but
that's exactly what it is. It's a
suggestion. There's nothing that we can
say you have to do this. This gets it a
little closer. It still didn't say, you
know, you're completely limited, but it does, you know, they're not going to
plow half of it down and then put big
setbacks and put porches out front or,
you know, because we're going to keep
them street level facing, you know,
tight areas like it is now. That's kind
of the point of it.
>> I imagine the historic preservation
ordinance came along because downtown
didn't have its own district. So didn't
have didn't have standards. And so I'm
guessing maybe that was put in as a as a
step toward what we've got now.
>> Yeah. I I the reason I'm saying it is
because when you live here for quite
some time,
you uh you would tie everything into it
like come to historic downtown for you
know the cookie walk or for the
historical home walk or you know that
was our ploy to gather people into
downtown. Um I'm just I just want to
clarify
>> change the the terminology. You can keep
that.
>> Yeah.
>> The district is only for controlling the
architecture.
>> Okay. I'm just that's all just I'm just
want to know why because people will go
well is it downtown or is it historical
downtown? Guarantee it. They'll ask
they'll go what happened to historical
downtown? Nothing. We just took the word
historical off. So
>> it's a question they'll ask.
>> So I have a question about the PD. Thank
God it's now um expired. But anything
that happens on Pleasant, we don't get
those ugly institutional buildings ever
again. We can institute this. Correct.
Just
>> in the expired PD.
>> Well, yes, because it has again there's no teeth in that either anymore.
you know, there's most of it's filled
out, but as we go into the new
development that's still going to be in
some of those areas of that PD, this
will take over from that.
» Awesome. I just wanted to clarify
something about that planned
development. So, the planned development
district is a zoning district that did
not expire. The development agreement
expired. It's the agreement that
expired, not the people.
>> It's still there for And it's
>> indefinite.
Yeah.
>> Until you reszone it
>> then. But otherwise, plan development is
still there. It's the development or
that's expected.
>> There's no
>> piece to it. Again,
>> the plan development.
>> No, it was a deal. It wasn't it wasn't
finalized
when the development agreement expired.
Right.
What we have to do to get the ball roll
by September?
>> We have to have a public public hearing.
>> Just allow staff to finalize what we
have and bring it to us in September.
>> Yeah, we have a few more things to touch
up on. Um, and that's one of the
questions for you guys. I mean, I can
send everybody the 400page thing or
whatever it is, but I I didn't feel like
that was a value. I don't think
anybody's really, but it we can send out
whatever you want us to send out. You
can take the time to read, you know,
parts of it that you want. Um, that's
why I wanted to to hear the feedback
tonight. you know, as long as the the
direction is right, I think we, you
know, you'll adopt this and we'll move
forward. And it's really a just like you
said, you know, a couple meetings and
full adoption.
>> So, state law says public hearings
plural. So, you need to have at least
two, but you can also, if you're
interested in timing, you can also join
me where the commission will take action
and then the council would take action.
So you can kill two birds without
stopping.
>> So
>> just still have to have two
>> be the same presentation you just did
basically pretty much
» and when it's adopted it's moving
forward.
So, anybody that rushes in here and
they're in the middle of developing an
yes and no, are they referring to this
or are they referring to old stuff?
>> Want to be clear that there are vested
rights?
>> Yes.
>> Instead,
>> right? So, if somebody has made
application,
they basically vest themselves.
>> Okay.
>> So, basically, you can't pull the rug
out from under change the rules of the
game after they already.
Um the question was asked if somebody
plants a large property but then each
owner land owner comes in and wants to
do a site plan over the next several
years then they will have to go through
the site plan process but that plat we
can't you know halt them and make them
start over again. who did create the
ordinance about two years ago where
there is a time
>> yes
>> and then goes to where
>> well that's what I'm trying to figure
because when when we [clears throat] sit
down for our meeting and they bring all the paperwork to us now we have to
sit there and we have two new members
that are going to go did you already
talk about this and we're going to have
to dig back and see and I guess we just
have to be more proactive with our
agenda and say hey this facility should
be able to take whether or not
y
>> I think it's assumed too but if we do
when we do make this rules can you share
with these new developments that are
happening a suggestion
>> you know at least throw it out there
>> think they can not only BCS but the
other side of
>> HB
this is what we're going for try to
influence at least you know don't just
go okay well they're just doing what
they're doing
>> they haven't done anything so they would
be a part of That's what
they
>> on the other side of HV.
>> Yes.
>> In that big old dirt pit. Yeah. They
were already moved dirt. So
>> made application.
>> They don't have they don't have a
development agreement with them.
>> It has nothing to do with the
development agreement.
>> Right. But they they haven't come to us
with any plans. They they would still be
under this new plan. Right.
>> They already submitted a development
application and escro agreement. So
we're already reviewing at least portion
of the civil.
>> But was there money?
>> The infrastructure is planned out in it.
I guess we'd have to talk to people.
>> Yeah. See see where it is because once
it comes to us.
>> Well, you could submit pictures without
having a plan. You could say this is
high pie in the sky. So that I mean
>> I'd like clarification.
>> Can we get that?
>> Texas is going to protect that property
owner. can't come in and change school
rules in the middle of it.
>> I know I'm I'm not I am asking if they
had already I remember seeing the
pictures. I didn't know where we were in
that process. So I wanted to know if
they would be adhering to this or if
they were grandfathered into the prior.
That's all I was asking.
>> Yeah. And it would be real simple,
right? You'd call it up and you'd tell
us and you'd say, "Hey, this is a list
of the developments and moving forward
they don't get touched and these moving
forward can be."
>> It would be great to have a list of the
grandfather.
>> Yes.
>> Just make everybody's job easier without
guessing.
>> The development agreement not yet done.
>> You could negotiate.
>> Sure.
>> This is part of that.
>> Same way with annexation agreements and
things like that. Cities have said part
of that agreement is that they will
abide by.
>> Yeah. And anybody coming in here that
wants to make money would would probably
be very understanding. We hope to
negotiate to look aesthetically
>> the way that this is versus what we had.
>> The financial impact is totally
different. So I'm sure that they would
love to be grandfathered.
>> Maybe they'll be more agreeable. It's
more pleasant to be submitted. Like I
mean we can hope for the best.
>> Stats out everybody. Let's just suggest
it to the people that are, you know, in
limbo right now at least just to share
it just to hopefully they want to fit in
because you know what they might go well
I want to do other projects so maybe
they will go along with the program. So
hopefully
we have a few temporary ordinances that
we can correct to you know and we can
clean up the tree stuff and you know
because we've been having to kind of
we've been in limbo on some of this. So
there will be some things we can suggest
and and work with and a lot of these
developers are more than happy to you
know I mean unless we you know cost them
a whole lot of money but
>> and that was my that was a question I
had are the developers do they are they
f like these or do they just going with
it because they don't have a choice or
do they actually
>> they love to get away with what they can
get away with more money in their
pocket. Are you finding that? [laughter]
>> Are you asking me or asking?
>> Yeah. I know for you like is are they
are you finding that they're actually
>> well
>> going with it or there is there a lot of
fight you know is you know
>> well once once they're adopted then
there's no
>> there's just no choice
but I
>> well your your your national retailers
national chain they do this all over the
country so they're not surprised by it.
They'll tell you oh this you don't ever
seen this before.
>> Okay.
They've done thousands.
>> They've seen it before and they've seen
things much more restrictive,
but you know, you'll probably you'll
probably get some push back. People
saying, you know, this is too much or
whatever. They always say, well, you
know, we're going to go down the road.
If the market's here, this is where the
traffic's at. This is where
development's happening. So
>> certainly when there
people want to be there, they'll do what
they need to to be there.
>> Can you postpone any new applications or
is there a time limit once they submit
it?
>> So be out.
How do we address the
» meaning that's up to you?
uh
knowledge.
>> We'll bring those back to you when we
get that far. Um th those will just be
upgrades to existing software agreements
that we have. to what we originally had
and then discuss the difference in money
for the
» How much more time do y'all need to get
these other little points settled other
decisions? I think we can do this in
September like he mentioned. I think we
can get it done in that time frame.
>> September
>> with the me meetings and everything
adopted.
>> Then we'll be calling the public meeting
>> through Yeah. through September.
We can do it jointly if you want to push
the time.
>> I think that would be best. I I I like
jointly.
>> So by September the 22nd we can be done.
>> I don't have a calendar but depending on
timing for those public hearings.
» If someone is present, if someone a
group comes in and does a presentation
discussion, does that start or does it
with the escrow payment?
>> An actual development application would
probably start the clock, but
>> okay. I wouldn't wouldn't start when
they they came would come in [snorts]
>> preliminary also just to just to be able
to present to you.
>> Okay.
>> You tell them come back October 1st
please. [laughter]
» We have to because we can't meet until
later in October.
>> That's right. That's right. [laughter]
» Vacation until then.
>> Just so much happens so quickly. I know
>> sooner it's in place, the more effective
it's going to be for this for the city.
» Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
>> Thank you. Good [clears throat] to see
you all.
>> Right. Uh, next item on the agendas, the
closing agenda, council inquiry.
» Number seven, items to consider for
placement on future agendas. You
>> all got it on the agenda?
I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn
>> by Mr. Donaldson, second by Miss Fox.
All those in favor of German say I. I.
We will. Thank you.