The city of Snyder Planning and Zoning Commission took a veritable paring knife to a proposed facade ordinance that is being considered by the Snyder City Council.
After a lengthy debate during its Tuesday meeting, the commission voted to recommend a leaner version of the ordinance, which would affect only new metal building construction along the city’s through-traffic corridors — Business U.S. Hwy. 180, Business U.S. Hwy. 84, Hwy. 350 (College Ave.) and FM 1605 (37th Street between College Ave. and U.S. Hwy. 180).
The commission voted 5-1 to recommend a measure that would eliminate most of the provisions in an ordinance already tentatively approved by the city council, but referred back to the commission. The recommendation back to the council eliminated requirements for property landscaping and maintenance.
The ordinance the council sent the commission for review included, among other things, requirements that new metal buildings constructed along the corridor have no more than 75 percent of the street frontage building fascia to be exposed ribbed steel panels or corrugated steel panels, with the remainder consisting of surfaces with a contrasting color, texture or finish. Additionally, developments of a half-acre or more would be required to install and maintain acceptable landscaping and property owners in the area would be required to maintain their property “in a manner consistent with the degree of care as the neighboring properties.”
However, the wording in several sections of the ordinance did not distinguish between new and existing buildings or property, which led several business owners to express their concerns about the ordinance during recent council meetings.
Commission member Bill Crist shared some of those concerns about the proposed ordinance.
On the section mandating that owners maintain their property, Crist said it was unnecessary.
“We already have ordinances on the books requiring owners to maintain their property,” Crist said. “Nothing that has been proposed improves the existing ordinance. This is an enforcement issue. It isn’t a Planning and Zoning issue and it isn’t really a city council issue. It’s an issue for (City Manager) Merle Taylor and his staff.”
Turning his attention to the landscaping requirements, Crist said they would be burdensome and, in some cases, harmful for business owners.
“There’s a lot of businesses here where their pavement is their showroom, businesses such as car lots, auto repair and truck yards,” he said. “Take away their working space, and you limit their ability to do business and earn a living.”
Crist also said that even with a “grandfather clause” the future sale price of the property could be adversely affected if a new owner faced a potentially large landscaping bill.
Turning to facade requirements, Crist said they should only pertain to new metal buildings, that they shouldn’t apply to renovations or repairs and that any “grandfather clauses” should stick with the building and property, not the owner.
He initially advocated limiting the ordinance requirement to new construction to established Tax Increment Financing (TIF) development zones, but said he had no objection to including the through-traffic corridors.
The commission’s recommended draft of the ordinance, which only member Henry Ramos voted against, eliminates the landscaping and property maintenance requirements and places facade requirements on new metal buildings only.
The recommendation would also designate the through traffic corridor.
Snyder Mayor Tony Wofford was somewhat philosophical about the proposed changes to the ordinance.
“It’s a start,” he said. “All this was, was an initial ordinance to get the conversation started. Was it perfect? No. But all this will get us ahead of the game, so that when people come in, they will build something that will add to the city’s appearance.”
The city council will consider the commission’s recommendations within the next few weeks, officials said.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the commission re-recommended several changes to Chapter 14 of the city code.
Recommended changes include:
• Carports shall not exceed 360 square feet.
• Garden home and town home development in Residential One zones may be allowed on a location-specific basis, pending review of the development plan by the zoning administrator and review and recommendation by the planning and zoning commission.
• Minimum lot areas in Residential Two zones will be reduced from 6,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet and not exceed 32 percent of the total lot area. Development planned for a greater number than six units shall be submitted to the planning and zoning commission for review and recommendation.
• Minimum lot areas in Residential Three zones will be reduced from 6,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet and the building footprint shall not exceed 40 percent of the total lot area. Garden home and town home development in excess of six units will be subject to planning and zoning review and recommendation.
• Existing structures in Commercial Two zones could be repurposed for use as residential rental property, as long as the developments conform to all construction, safety and fire prevention requirements
In addition, the commission clarified the section of the ordinance covering carports to allow carports behind residences may exceed the ridge line height of the primary structure.
Also, the commission added language changing the acceptable amount of parking spaces allowed for residential units and businesses.