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Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes, May 18, 2010 Page 1 of 3
City of Georgetown
Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting
Minutes
May 18, 2010 at 6:00 P.M.
Williamson Room, Georgetown Municipal Complex
300-1 Industrial Blvd, Georgetown, Texas 78626
Members: Leo Wood, Chair, Tom Crawford, Vice-Chair/Secretary, Dustin Elliott, Ellen Davis,
Ercel Brashear
Staff Present: Elizabeth Cook, Community Development Director; Valerie Kreger, Principal
Planner; Robbie Wyler, Historic District Planner; Candice McDonald, Recording Secretary; Julie
McCartney, Cheif Code Enforcement Officer; John Hale, Code Enforcement Officer
This is a regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the City of Georgetown. The
Board, appointed by the Mayor and the City Council, acts on requests for variances,
interpretations and special exceptions under the Georgetown Zoning Ordinance.
Order of Hearing Process:
Staff makes a presentation of the project to the Board;
The applicant is provided an opportunity to present their project to the Board;
The Board asks questions of both Staff and the applicant;
*The Public Hearing is open, and both proponents and opponents are allowed to speak;
The Public Hearing is closed and the Board deliberates on the merits of the case; and,
The Board generates findings to support their decision, a motion is made and seconded,
and a vote is taken on the motion presented.
Variance approvals require an affirmative vote of 4 members of the Board.
* Those who speak please identify yourselves for the meeting record.
Regular Session - To begin no earlier than 6:00 p.m.
Call to order: 6:00 p.m.
(The Board may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene an Executive Session at the
request of the Chair, a Board Member, the Director or legal counsel for any purpose authorized
by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551.)
1. Action from Executive Session.
No Executive Session.
2. Consideration and possible action on the Minutes of the regular Board of Adjustment
meeting on April 20, 2010.
Motion by Brashear to approve the April 20 minutes with amendments. Second by Elliott.
Crawford abstained. Approved (4-0, 1 abstained)
3. Consideration and possible action on a Special Exception for Setback Modification to
allow a detached carport to be constructed within the required setback for Clamp’s
Addition Revised, Block B (sw/pt), 0.14 acres, located at 601 E. 8th Street. SE-2010-001
(RW) *Public Hearing held and item tabled at the April 20th meeting.
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes, May 18, 2010 Page 2 of 3
Wyler stated that HARC approved the demolition of the previous structure with a vote of 4-
2 with no conditions. At the April 20th meeting, ZBA had inquired about the access
easement, named as Tract 2 on the plat. After further research with the Georgetown Utility
Department, it was discovered that the easement was a utility and access easement which
was going to be turned into a street at one point in time. The City Council later abandoned
the access easement but maintained the public utility easement for possible future lay out of
utilities. If ZBA were to grant the Special Exception, the applicant would still need to
complete one of two processes. The applicant can either apply for a License to Encroach
over the utility easement or the applicant can apply for an Abandonment of the easement.
Brashear discussed that there are two concerns with the application. The first is the
application is imminently practical but does not fit any rules. The building encroaches into
a setback, which is a title problem and a technical issue that must be addressed. The
property cannot be conveyed without the City’s blessing and that blessing does not come
from the Board of Adjustments. The Board of Adjustments does not have the ability to
approve the Special Exception because the UDC states that one of the limitations on the
board is it may not grant a variance when the effect of which is the establishment of a use
not otherwise permitted in the applicable Zoning District or to extend physically a
nonconforming use of the land. ZBA shall consider these criteria, but if it’s solely a matter
of convenience no Special Exception may be granted. It is rational to say let the applicant
build the structure, but the rules the board has to uphold won’t allow approval. The Special
Exception provisions state that if there is adequate room on the site to allow the proposed
addition or new structure without obtaining a Special Exception, no Special Exception shall
be granted.
Wood questioned whether or not an application needed to be submitted and approved for
the release of the Utility Easement. After and if the application is approved, can the Special
Exception be brought back to ZBA.
Wyler stated that is up to the applicant if they would like to apply for the Abandonment or
the License to Encroach. One solution is to table the item and have the applicant look into
this matter. The City would then issue the License to Encroach, which would give the City
the right to tell the applicant to move the structure in the event it needed to lay utilities.
Brashear stated that the structure is an encroachment and in violation of zoning rules.
Davis stated that there is still adequate room on the property to place a garage and be legal.
If the applicant is granted a Special Exception, it would strictly be a convenience and that is
not what ZBA is permitted to do.
Crawford questioned whether, if the City was to approve an encroachment on the easement,
this would have to go back to ZBA.
Wittie discussed that if the building has to be torn down it would not be rebuilt anywhere
on the property due to finances.
Wood asked what would be the next process if there are no finances to demolish the
structure, whom would be responsible for the demolition.
McCartney discussed that the course of action would be to take the owner of the structure to
court if not removed. The judge would then decide if a violation had occurred. If a
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes, May 18, 2010 Page 3 of 3
violation did occur then the judge would order the structure to be removed. The City
would then remove the structure and put a lien on the property.
Wood stated that a solution would be to tear down and rebuild the structure to where it
would be a conforming structure.
Elliott discussed that this is a matter of a zoning issue and is convenient to the applicant.
The matter of convenience is not the purpose of the Board.
Cook requested the Board to go into an Executive Session per the Open Meetings Act, Texas
Government Code Chapter 551.
Wood states that there will be a recess to have an executive session.
There was no action taken at the Executive Session.
Regular session convened at 6:28.
Motion by Davis for denial of the Special Exception application based on UDC Section
4.09.040.B.1 stating if the proposed setback modification is solely a matter of convenience,
no Special Exception shall be granted. Second by Brasher. Approved (5-0)
4. Training and discussion regarding the role of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Kreger discussed the role and the by-laws of ZBA. Chapters 2, 3, and 14 of the UDC were
also presented to the Board.
5. Adjourn.
Motion by Brashear to adjourn. Second by Crawford.
Approved, Leo Wood, Chair Attest, Tom Crawford, Secretary