News

Charter review today involved a lot of discussion, which should set us up for future success and agreements. Minutes from last meeting were in need of revision, so we postponed accepting them. We adopted our committee procedures, based on the City Council’s.

We decided what an affirmative vote would be: 7. not a simple majority, but 7, regardless of quorum size (7 to 13). 7 affirmatives will be required to make recommendations. We reviewed Article 1 and decided that we’d streamline the Charter by recommending the removal of redundancies, especially to state law.

We moved our 9/30 meeting to 10/3 due to a conflict with City Council and we were made aware of our timelines by Chairman Jordan.

All in all, I think the committee is beginning to understand each other and make some philosophical agreements on how we can tackle the charter.

Video can be found on the website. As can the agenda and agenda packet (includes documents).

My unofficial notes:

1. Call to Order at 6:34PM and Announcement of a Quorum
2. Citizens to be Heard
   1. 6:35 open/close (no one wanting to speak)
3. Consent Agenda
   1.  Notes for Charter Review Committee – Regular Meeting – Sep 16, 2019 6:00 PM
      1. ACTION: Postpone acceptance until updates can be made
4. Discussion Items
   1.  Discussion and Action on the Adoption of Meeting Conduct and Decorum Guidelines Set Forth in Ordinance No. 2019-48 Adopted by the City of Leon Valley City Council
      1. ACTION:
         1. All references to council/councilor to be changed to Committee/Member
         2. Section 1
            1.1. change Citizens to be heard to only “items pertinent to charter review committee”
            1.1.1.1 Email change to Crystal Caldera, so that citizens watching live can provide comments.
            1.2.1.1 change Citizens to be heard to only “items pertinent to charter review committee”
            1.2.3.2, 1.2.3.3 Strike in favor of discretion in managing comment during meetings, due to timing
            1.4 In reference to setup for presentations: Strike “ceremonial items and”, Strike “at 6:00 PM or”
            1.6 Strike whole section. In favor of informal rule that discretion is used for research/ phone conversations are taken out of chambers.
            1.7.2 the presiding officer MAY warn about disruptions
         3. Section 2,3,4,5 no changes (other than conversion to Charter review from council)
         4. Section 6,7,8 strike due to unnecessary legal language.
   2. Discussion and Action on Voting Requirements for Recommendation for Charter Amendment to be Placed on the Ballot
      1. ACTION: I motioned to have 7 votes required to make recommendations. So if there is a quorum of 7 or of 13, both need 7 votes to make a recommendation.
   3. Review, Discussion and Action on Proposed Amendments to the Home Rule Charter Articles I Through III
      1. ACTION:
         1. We will have a glossary of terms
         2. I motioned that “The City” be the official reference of Leon Valley (instead of “City) and that it be updated throughout the document. Based on a majority vote of council. VOTE:  Unanimous
         3. The city manager “Has a duty to answer” to city council instead of “shall answer to”. VOTE: unanimous
         4. We generally decided to strive to remove redundancies and requested Mr. Zech to review the code for such. Make it easier to read. (Sections 1.02 B&C and 1.03 are likely to be stricken, since 1.02 A is clearer/suffices)
         5. The rest we postponed
   4. Review, Discussion and Action on Proposed Amendments to the Home Rule Charter Articles IV and V
      1. ACTION: Postponed
   5. Review, Discussion and Action on Proposed Amendments to the Home Rule Charter Articles VI Through VIII
      1. ACTION: Postponed
   6. Discussion and Action on Meeting Date Change from September 30, 2019
      1. ACTION: Moved to 10/3 Thursday, due to conflicting Council meeting.
5. Chairman Announcements
   1. Home rule charter timeline:
      – Preference to have it presented at Jan 7th council meeting
      – So that it can go to town hall in Jan
      – Last day to call election on items is Friday Feb 14th
6. Adjournment 9:42pm

The First Charter Review meeting commenced at 6:03 pm 9/16/19.

Members present: Geraldine Rodriguez-Smith, David Jordan, Edward Alonzo, III, William Johnson, Michelle Alonzo, Abraham Diaz, Sarah Smart, Adam Castillo, and Erick Matta.

First order of Business was to elect the Chair and Vice-Chair. A motion was made to delay election, but it failed. David Jordan was elected Chairman and I was elected Vice-Chairman.

We then proceeded to: Discussion on Meeting Schedule and Other Organizational Matters.

Decisions made were:

• Have an attorney, not being a committee member, and employed by Leon Valley present at all meetings, but if attorney is unable to attend, the committee shall continue the meeting.
• Have the assistant City Manager present at all meetings to manage some research and take notes.
• The City Manager asked to be distant from the process (except when required/requested by the committee), so as to not appear an undue influence.
• Meetings will be every Monday 6:30pm with a preference for ending at 9:30pm.
  • Due to holidays, this will be adjusted.
• The Committee will due interim reports to city council to allow city council to weigh in on any changes, prior to submission to council for vote.
• The Zoning commission procedural rules will be submitted as the basis for the committee’s.
• Citizens to be Heard will be included in the Committee’s meeting.

Denise Frederick, Leon Valley City Attorney, reviewed “Presentation on Charter Process and Discussion on Charter “.

Bill Johnson suggested that all committee members bring a list of items to address, so that we could better gauge the depth needed in each given area.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m.

City council tonight was lengthy and I’ll write a more comprehensive report soon. But of great importance to the city, my wife, and me was the Park discussion.

Full park discussion begins 59:43, my wife’s part begins at 1:06:50; and my speech occurs at 1:51:25.

Preface: my wife as part of the Parks commission designed a new park that incorporates a splash pad, large chess set, new bathrooms, local plants, history, and a small amphitheatre . Below is a written version of my speech in support of the park (instead of a parking lot).

I studied Architecture and when my wife presented the plans to me, I was surprised and extremely impressed with the thought, design and community centeredness of this park.

This is indeed a city wide issue, it is adjacent to two major city parks: the pool and Raymond Rimkus.

Today, I talked with a Community organizer from San Antonio. He told me that the only way for us, as Leon Valley, to succeed was to take on the identity of San Antonio. He said we didn’t have enough people, enough to offer. How many times have we and our citizen said “I live in San Antonio” when describing where we live?

And when I look at numbers like 854 and 7.6% I wonder. If you don’t recall those numbers they’re from the election. About 854 people or 7.6% of our population voted.

Why? Why do we have such low turnout?

Perhaps it comes down to identity. We have a rich history, but few places to learn about it. We have a rich culture, with Folklorico, folk dance, and off-road RC racing.  

We need more monuments to our history, more cultural exhibitions, more places to meet, more art to see, and more, well, Leon Valley.

We need to build “Leon Valley” not just as a business hub but also a cultural hub.

This park is one step towards encouraging our citizens to say proudly: “I live in Leon Valley.”

Zoning Regular Meeting

TLDR Summary:

We tabled two Evers Car wash items in favor of allowing more time for City and Applicant to complete requisite tasks. We also were reviewing a “Planned Development” district (PD) which would allow specific development for non-conforming structures, so long as they meet various criteria including architectural consistency with use.

Concerns I voiced were possible abuse of PDs and revocability/expiration of a PD if the planned project fell through or did not meet the original timeline. A similar item followed that one, but focused on allowing a building that is in the overlay district (which limits its use beyond the base zone) to be used for a select few more purposes. This item would allow staff to make those decisions. Though I’m in favor of expediting the process, I requested that we look into legislative recourse for applicants, since discretion could be highly involved. Currently the only recourse would be the Board of Adjustments.
Zoning Dad joke at 2:55:50 in the video.

We then reviewed upcoming topics and made some minor suggested changes to our Commission Rules. Closing at 10:26pm.

Full Summary

Note this is an unofficial summary and is not comprehensive of all the discussion and applicant/city/commission/council actions/responsibilities. For official and comprehensive coverage view the video.

1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
   a. 6:40 pm
   Present: Chairman Smith, Vice Chair Alonzo, Commissioner (4) Profitt, Commissioner (6) Pfau, Commissioner (7) Blackmore.
2. OLD BUSINESS
   a. ZC-2019-02 (Zone Change) – Discussion and Possible Action on a Request by Adolfo Garza, Granting a Zone Change to Remove the Sustainability Overlay District Classification at 6617 Evers Road; Generally Located on the East Side of Evers Road, Approximately 400 feet South of Huebner Road; and Public Hearing on Said Request.
   Comments: Actions are still needed by Commission, City, and Applicant. Commission is to review new “PD” district, City needs to complete reviews, and applicant needs to complete requests.
   Result: Tabled till September 24^th meeting, with a staff update on the 10^th that does not require the presence of the applicant. (Motion by Vice Chair Alonzo, Second by Commissioner Pfau.)
   b. SUP-2019-01 (Specific Use Permit) – Discussion and Possible Action on a Request by Adolfo Garza, Granting a Specific Use Permit for a Self-Service Carwash, Full-Service Car Wash, and Auto-Detailing at 6617 Evers Road; Generally Located on the East Side of Evers Road, Approximately 400 feet South of Huebner Road; and a Public Hearing on Said Request.
   Comments: Based upon previous item move to table.
   Result: Tabled till September 24^th meeting, with a staff update on the 10^th that does not require the presence of the applicant. (Motion by Vice Chair Alonzo, Second by Commissioner Pfau.)
   c. CA-2019-06 (Code Amendment) – Discussion and Possible Action Regarding the Establishment of a “PD” Planned Development Zoning District and Associated Use and Development Standards within Chapter 15, Zoning Code of the City of Leon Valley Code; and a Public Hearing on Said Amendment.
   Comments: Planned development zoning district discussion was lengthy. They are ordinances to provide flexibility in our current zones, especially for preexisting (compliant before Dec 1 2009) structures that are non-conforming to current standards/district. The flexibility has limits and requires several things, but essentially consistency with the surrounding area and current standards. A PD could also include a zone change within the ordinance that establishes it.
   One of my concerns was ensuring that a PD was not able to be abused by an applicant who went through the process, but chose not to comply with the intent. Staff will review “expiration/revocability” of a PD if the given project was not complete within a set time.
   Check and balance for abusing the PD would be Council and Commission.
   Result: Tabled till September 10^th meeting. (Motion by Commissioner Blackmore, Second by Commissioner Proffitt.)
3. NEW BUSINESS
   a. CA-2019-09 (Code Amendment) – Discussion and Possible Action on an Amendment to Section 15.02.381, Permitted Use Table of the City of Leon Valley Code of Ordinances, Regarding Commercial and Manufacturing Uses Including But Not Limited to Cabinet Shops, Assembly and Packaging, and Repair Shops in the B-3 Zoning District, Sustainability Overlay District, Gateway Overlay District, and Commercial/Industrial Overlay District; and a Public Hearing on Said Amendment.
   Comments: Similar to a PD, but this would expand the uses that pre-existing (compliant before Dec 1 2009) structures could be occupied for. So long as they are consistent with the way the building was intended to be used. Excluding properties abutting Bandera, Heubner, Evers, Wurzbach or Eckhert. Primarily (existing) B3 properties in the Poss/Grissom loop. Part of idea is to provide occupancy while growing property values and desirability of the area.
   Zoning Dad joke at 2:55:50
   Currently, Hospitals, Ambulances, Convenience stores, Manufacturing (SUP), Motorcycles servicing (SUP), and universities are amongst those businesses that could occupy/build on those lots.Cabinet/carpentry shop, Air Conditioning, Assembly/packaging, Automobile accessories, Contractors, Machine tools/construction equipment, and Sign Shops are amongst the proposed additions to uses.
   I have a concern about recourse for applicants. As written the decisions would be made by staff and non-legislatively. Which means the Board of Adjustments would be the only recourse for applicants. Though I think moving to more administrative decisions is a benefit in general, I believe there should be legislative oversight prior to the Board of Adjustment, allowing more discretionary interpretations of the code. Staff will review with legal: appeals of staff decisions to the Zoning Commission.
   Result: Tabled till September 10^th meeting. (Motion by Commissioner Pfau, Second by Vice Chair Alonzo.)
   c. Discussion of Upcoming Zoning Commission Meetings and Tentative Cases.
   Comments: (Switched with b. to remain on meeting schedule topic)
   September 10^th, essentially a code amendment meeting. Also update on State legislative decision on building materials.
   I made a request/reminder to arrange agenda so that higher citizen interest items are front loaded (which in general Chairman Smith and Brandon already do).
   Brandon noted that he has considered proposing bringing in Consultants to help update our zoning code. I suggested that this would be a great time to do so and have a couple workshops with the consultants/ commission/ council. And generally the commission affirmed their similar support.
   b. Discussion and Clarification on the Utilization of Alternate Members on the Dais In the Absence of Regular Members.
   Result: Decided that Alternate members expected to attend each meeting (unless excused) to ensure continuity of context, have as large a commission voting as possible. Alternates fill vacant positions. They would be unseated by a full member’s arrival, but not by the arrival by a more senior alternate. Proposal of new commission rules will be written up and reviewed at next meeting.
4. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY COMMISSIONERS AND CITY STAFF
5. ADJOURNMENT 10:26

“Before the vote, a resident asked that the council also consider Edward Alonzo III, the vice chair of the Leon Valley Zoning Commission, and former councilor David Jordan for the seat.

Both addressed the council. Jordan said he respectfully declined the nomination. Alonzo said he was interested in the seat but that Hodde would make a good councilor, too.

In the end, the council voted for Hodde.”

Full Article: Leon Valley gets new councilor after the San Antonio suburb’s council ousted one of their own

I was present today to participate in a few items:

• 2.1 Presentation of the Zoning Commission’s Annual Report
  a. ZC Annual Report 2019
• 8.2.Discuss and Consider Possible Action on an Ordinance of the City of Leon Valley, TX., City Council Adopting Rules of Conduct and Decorum for Public Meetings and Hearings Held by The City Council and Any Board or Commission of The Council
• 8.3. Discussion and Action Regarding Filling A Vacancy for Place 4 On the City Council Created by Benny Martinez’s Forfeiture of Office

The order of the items was switch around to allow the new Councilor to take his seat and participate in the rest of the agenda.

During 8.3, A motion to appoint Mr. Hodde started the section. I was “nominated” by Mr. Blackmore as “well versed, moral, ethical.” He also nominated David Jordan with similar praise and requested that we be considered before a final vote.

David declined the nomination and I responded:

“I am very honored to be nominated by floor, not officially nominated, obviously. And from what I’ve heard from Mr. Hodde, he sounds like an amazing man. And I don’t know him well. I do think, I as well, would be a good addition to your council, to our council as a city. I try to be unbiased, I try to be fair and equitable. But I think you have a great candidate, in my opinion, in either of us. Thank you.”

During “8.2.Discuss and Consider …Adopting Rules of Conduct and Decorum for Public Meetings and Hearings Held by The City Council and Any Board or Commission of The Council” I spoke several times requesting the council to ensure that any Ordinance be aware of other commissions and boards and not be too strict on how we do business. David Smith, Chair of Zoning, also spoke passionately, and council is now considering making rules solely for themselves, allowing commissions to make rules that are consistent with their needs, and potentially codify some basic decorum rules.

For “2.1 Presentation of the Zoning Commission’s Annual Report,” I was present to support Chairman Smith and be available for any questions.

Video: http://leonvalleytx.iqm2.com/Citizens/SplitView.aspx?Mode=Video&MeetingID=1205&Format=Agenda