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2020 10 08 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN October 8, 2020 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Regular Work Session on Thursday, October 8, 2020, at 5:33 P.M., in the Council Chamber, Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Laura Alvarado Council Member Robert Hoskins Council Member Charles Johnson Mayor Pro Tern David Himsel Council Member Chris Presley Council Member Heather Betancourth Council Member Brandon Capetillo Mayor Rick Davis City Manager Karen Horner Interim City Attorney Leticia Brysch City Clerk Keith Dougherty Sergeant at Anns Mayor Capetillo convened the October 8, 2020, City Council Regular Work Session with a quorum present at 5:33 P.M., all members were present. 1. DISCUSSIONS a. Discuss the Towing and Storage Services for the City of Baytown. Discuss the Towing and Storage Services for the City of Baytown. City Clerk Leticia Brysch presented the item and stated that staff would tag team the item and she would be going over the first few slides of the presentation today. She noted that she would speak to what has been done in regards to the tow truck permit and contract, the Police Chief would then take the lead in describing the efficiencies of the contract system as well as his perspective on the tow agreement that is currently in place, and City Attorney Karen Horner would answer any questions regarding the legalities of the process should council have any. Mrs. Brysch stated that the city started looking at becoming market participants in 2018, if the Council remembered, in 2015, the Tow Truck Committee made a recommendation to the Council to go to a market participant system and not regulatory as it had been for the last ten plus years. This recommendation was brought forth to the Council and at that time, the Council directed staff to undertake an RFP. Staff went in that direction and in 2018 that transition happened, specifically on October 25, 2018, when Council approved Ordinance No. 13,932 for the regular towing services and storage contract and Ordinance No. 13,933 for the heavy-duty City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 2 of 14 towing services and storage contract. Mrs. Brysch further noted that as it related to the regular duty contract, the City entered into an agreement with Baytown Wrecker Services Inc. and for the heavy-duty agreement, the selected contractor was Dan Wheeler Wrecker Services Inc. Mrs. Brysch noted that prior to having the market participation system, the City's towing services system was regulatory in nature and was managed by the City's tow truck ordinance; i.e. Chapter 102. This system required the City to permit any towing company that met the minimum requirements of the ordinance, and allowed to function within our city, on the city's behalf. The old system was very administratively tedious for the staff, in the sense that, there was a Tow Truck Committee made up of citizens to hear complaints, the Municipal Court was there to hear all appeals, the City Clerk's Office handled the administration of the pennitting and the regulation of the ordinance and then of course, because there were substantial complaints and legal issues with the system, the Legal Department was a part of every step of the process in order to ensure that everything that staff was doing was within compliance with City codes and with state law. Lastly, at the core of this system, is the Police Department, which is the main end -user for the towing system, in both the regulatory and market participation systems. Mrs. Brysch noted that as far as the complaint and violation processes, staff completed a black belt project or process improvement project as it related to the differences between the two systems. In the regulatory process, when dealing with a violation or a complaint, staff had up to 45 steps and at any given time, if an error occurred or an issue happened, staff would have to start over, so a complaint from beginning to end, could take anywhere from six to nine months to get a final answer where staff could actually deal with the issue at hand. She noted that through the new market participation process, staff has gone from 45-plus steps to 5-steps when dealing with a complaint with all of those being handled within the Police Department who is again the end -user and customer. Police Chief Keith Dougherty stated that he would be presenting some statistics to show the success of the program. In the first slide he showed the number of violations or complaints that were generated under the old system in comparison to the new system. The new system, had three complaints; they were operational and at the first part of the contract and those are going to happen any time you have something new, there are going to be some issues and concerns and those are the founded complaints. There are some other issues that came up, but most of those were from people that just kind of wanted the system to fail and they were unfounded complaints. Chief Dougherty noted that the complaints were really kind of minor and were resolved very quickly. One of them was related to the Fire Department that put kitty litter down on a Hazmat spill and the record wrecker or the wrecker driver was unsure that they were supposed to sweep that up because it was a Hazmat material. This was resolved right away and the driver was educated about the City's expectations. This was pretty much the same thing with the other couple of complaints - there was a brief education and problem was resolved. It was not a nine -month process to try to get some resolution. The PD was able to take care of these issues immediately. Chief Dougherty also stated that in 2019, there was that one complaint and considering the number of tows, you can see that they remain fairly consistent over that period of time and the regular tows are going to be the taller and larger number so, even with that amount of tows, there City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 3 of 14 were very little issues or problems. Chief Dougherty stated that it has been a dream to go to this new system versus having to deal with the problems that occurred under the old pen -nit system, especially as it related to the services that we are able to provide for the citizens of Baytown, on the scene. Chief Dougherty noted that the runtime violations have also decreased, and per the chart, there is only one runtime violation under the new system at the very beginning. He also noted that the time frame to respond to a callout had changed from thirty minutes in the old system to twenty- five minutes under this new system, which was done in order to provide a little bit better service. Chief Dougherty also stated that pretty much, all the service providers arrived at the scene under twenty-five minutes, so it really was not a huge issue, but it just kind of gets them on the ball of getting there on time and we did have many runtime violations under the old system. Chief Dougherty also noted that the number of passes in the old system was significant and that was a nightmare because drivers would pass for what he considered unimportant or, I guess, insignificant reasons; such as, passing because they had to go to the grocery store or because they had to take somebody to the doctor. So, wreckers would pass quite often by, staying on the rotation list and thinking they could get their chore done before they had to get to the scene, which resulted in the PD waiting for about twenty-five minutes to then be told they were passing, and then having to wait thirty -minute window for the next wrecker to be called out by dispatch and arrive at the scene. Chief Dougherty noted that this was an issue for the police officers who are out there on a wreck or a scene of some sort where vehicles are blocking a roadway, waiting an hour for the roadway to get cleared is a safety issue, and one that PD does not have at all right now. Chief Dougherty then noted that in regards to dispatch errors, there were issues created due in part to the confusing rotation system, there are no longer any errors through dispatch because there is only one service to call and they send the number of wreckers that are needed. Under the old system, the confusion was when a wrecker company would pull themselves off the list and then they would be want to put back up on the list, which was difficult to track all the different companies that are on the list and make sure that they were in the right order, figuring out which one to call on the list because it was pretty confusing but this new system, it is just really a joy to work on that with the one system. Chief Dougherty stated that the workload that the other system created, can be seen in the number of calls from the wrecker companies wanting to be removed from the rotation list or added to the rotation list; over 6,700 calls to the 911 Center to be removed from the list or added to the list, which added to the confusion of who was on the list. Wreckers would call to check their placement on the list, how much more or companies are up before them; how many more before I go? I am up for a rotation? Do I have time to go do something? Am I going to get called before ten o'clock and other weird calls like that which staff has not had to deal with any of that in the new system. Even the other night, when I was driving for the National Night Out, another assistant chief and I rolled up on a major accident at Cedar Bayou Lynchburg, and I was able to just get on the radio and say, "Send me the two wreckers." So, I had the wreckers in route and then the officers were in route, the ambulances in route. We did not have to worry about pulling City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 4 of 14 people off of rotations or putting them back on and in the old system, we would have gotten multiple companies showing up at the scene. Chief Dougherty also stated that initially there was concern about whether the company would have enough tow trucks to handle the work load and there have not been any issues with that as they have had plenty of wreckers. Chief Dougherty noted that there have been multiple vehicle accidents in different parts of the city; there have been weather -related anomalies going on and people seem to like the crash before the storm so when it is inclement weather they will start crashing early. But in all seriousness, the company has been able to meet all of the PD's needs, towing prisoner's vehicles or whatever we have needed them to do. He noted that he had verified this information with his communications staff and they love this wrecker contract system. Then with the heavy-duty tows, it has been working great for that too so, PD is really pleased with the system and he recommended the renewing the contracts. Mayor Capetillo stated that the Council had heard from the city clerk and the police chief and opened the floor to questions or comments regarding their presentation or any material. Council Member Hoskins asked the location of the storage facility. Chief Dougherty noted that the storage facility is located on North Main, at 5222 North Main in Baytown. Council Member Hoskins inquired about the status of the Tow Truck Committee. Chief Dougherty stated that there is no committee and noted that with the new system, if there is a complaint, a concern, or an issue, it goes to Corporal Yznaga and he just picks up the phone and gets things resolved at that point in time. If there is a disagreement, then they would appeal to me and I would be the final word in that situation. Council Member Hoskins responded that this is what the Council wanted and thanked the Chief for his comments. Council Member Himsel stated that he remembered all the pain and agony Council went through on this deal and lie remembered all the people who went up to the podium and spoke. How wrong they all were, and I just want to say that publicly, they got it wrong and we got it right, 100%. Council Member Himsel stated that he has never seen a flip like this in his career in business or on the council, and he wanted to say that he is amazed at the difference and the council needs to renew that thing absolutely, it needs to reward that company that did this right. Mayor Capetillo stated that his perspective a little bit different but he did like the comments from dispatch because obviously, staff is not having to go through the whole rotation and all the multiple calls that come in to go figure out who is on the list, and to be taken me off. Mayor Capetillo asked the following questions/comments: We know that we reduce the response time from thirty minutes to twenty-five and we know that as express, we know that they are getting there in other than one time or something like that. That they are getting there under the twenty-five minutes. Were we measuring that or we continue to measure that? Is that a metric in this contract? Chief Dougherty stated that staff does continue to measure it, yes. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October R, 2020 Page 5 of' 14 As it relates to passes, which it was noted that there are zero, but obviously if this is a monopoly with only one provider, who would they pass to? Chief Dougherty noted that if the company could not provide the service, they would say, they could not be here and they would need to contact another company to come in their place which they can do, as it is part of the contract, but they have not had to do that. Council Member Himsel asked if the company has not had to use a backup, they have truly been able to handle workload 100%. Chief Dougherty responded that his statement was correct. So, that alludes to his last question which would be mainly on the vehicle storage facility. So last year, and he will say he has dealt with tow trucks since 2005 and believe me, it has been certainly challenging, with the Tow Truck Committee and so on. He stated that his concern is from a little bit of a different perspective. When this contract was approved in 2018, he heard from the attorney at the time that was handling it and they talked about a reserve contract maybe, having an additional layer, if for some reason this provider cannot either meet contractual obligations or anything happened, because he would hate for the city to be in a situation where it could not provide immediate assistance to an accident or whatever the case may be for city -initiated tows. Mayor Capetillo stated that his concern is that last year, he thinks, he looked today on TDLR, and this specific vehicle storage facility is under probation since last year and they are on probation for a year and they are still currently under a three-year probation. He noted that this is what his concern would be, if this provider, if for some reason, TDLR revoked their license of the vehicle storage facility, they could not pick-up vehicles for the City of Baytown. City Attorney Karen Horner responded that in that case if the company could not store the vehicles, the city would have to find somebody else to handle tows, and because it would be considered an emergency situation, the city would be able to go out and find somebody to handle its tows, and then staff would go out for bids and find a storage facility. In looking at TDLR, anybody can go just like he did and look at these violations or administrative orders from TDLR to the vendor that the city us using. In particular last August, they were put on probation and what concerns me more is the basis of that order, what it specifically says that respondent was perfonning operations without honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity. Now, that may not be a city -initiated tow, but for TDLR to make that type of statement is concerning to tne. He thinks previous to that there was a nearly a $4,000 fine on that particular order. Then in February 2019, there is an additional $4,000 fine. He thinks it had to do with vehicles owner's authorization to transfer the vehicle to an unregulated body shop, which that was always the biggest fly in the ointment between tow trucks and body shops. He noted that this really was the root cause of issues and is what they call steering; i.e., when a tow truck operator will pick up a vehicle from a city -initiated tow, take it to their storage facility, sometimes break it down, maybe sometimes justified, sometimes not. Then our citizens would get this bill, not just for the tow but for the additional work that may have been done. So that is what really gave the whole program a really bad reputation. Chief Dougherty stated that the city cannot control tows that are beyond its contract and as far as City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 6 of 14 they were aware, there had not been any problems with the tows that are within the scope of the city's contract. Mayor Capetillo noted in response that he did not know if these comments are specific but for TDLR to make those type of statements, he just want the council to be aware that this is the regulatory agency for all agencies in Texas. Chief Dougherty stated that he understood, but, as previously mentioned, tows that are beyond the city's contract, are not controlled by the staff, and if for whatever reason, the company is not able to fulfill the teens of the contract, then city will have to go another route. Mayor Capetillo stated that he appreciated it and that was fine and he had just wanted to put that out there. He noted that he would totally agree that it was night and day, as far as complaints and call volume to dispatch, and lie liked the idea. Because there is nothing easier than having one number for our officers on the scene to say, "just send me four, send me three," or whatever. Mayor Capetillo noted that they were on the scene with the chief the other night and it was simple to say send me two, but anyway, that is what he wanted to put out there. Obviously, it is council's decision on how to handle this contract moving forward. Council Member Johnson noted that based off of what the Mayor had just said, it seems like the city was probably going to end up looking for a back-up plan when it comes to a storage facility. He noted that if he remembered correctly, every tow truck operator that came in had some type of violation against them statewide; the state was saying something about every last one of them. So, if we are going to hold them accountable for what we see on TDLR, he would like to see, if the city does look for another storage facility, that we will not be able to find one that has no violations or that they have not been put on probation. He is almost willing to bet we would not find one and that is just the nature of the beast in dealing with tow trucks. If they were put on probation for a year and they made it through and they were put on probation for another three years, he likes to see the backstory to what was going on. If we are going to look at into other storage facility, he likes to know the back story of their violations also. If we are going to have to make that decision, he thinks they do need that information so that they can make an educated decision on behalf of our citizens. Council Member Presley stated that he did have a couple of calls a while back granted, long ago actually, and he had not received any in the last six, eight, nine months, maybe even a year, but the couple, just two possibly that he had, it was reported that the towing company was out of room at the facility and they were storing some vehicles across the street at the school or near the school property and they had to take a forklift across North Main, which would shut traffic down. Is there any truth to that or is that just hearsay and not incorrect? Mrs. Brysch responded that the staff was aware that the company prior to the current ownership did have a complaint that dealt with that issue and the Tow Truck Committee revoked them, but only after two appeals was staff able to push the violating company off of the city's rotation list. Mrs. Brysch stated that in conversations and negotiations with the current towing company, Chief Dougherty was very clear about the behavior that would be accepted and not accepted under this new contract. The contractor was told that he was going to be looked at with a microscope for every single thing that was done with the company and as it related to the integrity of the contract. So, if something has happened with this type of situation, it has not been reported to staff as it being City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October R, 2020 Page 7 of 14 related to a police -initiated non -consent tow. Chief Dougherty noted that his staff had not been informed of this type of situation happening since the beginning of this contract period. b. Discuss a proposed residential development south of FM 1942 and east of Garth Road. Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery introduced the item and stated that the city has a number of residential projects that are interested in potentially coming here in the future, so, he wanted to reset the stage as it has been a little while since a project came before the council. Mr. Woolery noted that typically the process for any residential developer looking to utilize a MUD or a PID is that staff has them come in before any negotiations, before any official meeting takes place, and have them present their development plan to council and staff. This process allows for the council to provide comments regarding what you would like to see, where the project stands in their planning, and ultimately provide tine necessary feedback before staff starts working with them. Mr. Woolery noted that in this case, the proposed project is just south of FM 1942, east of Garth and they have what staff considered a paper MUD, which means it was legislatively approved, but they still have to get another level of consent from city council to make it actually happen. Again, the staff has a process that developers have to go through and once this starts to become closer as it related to the official teens of a consent, the city undertakes a development agreement, a utility agreement, and other contractual items. He noted that he wanted to begin this process by just letting the group responsible for the proposed development to come before the council and present the project, and allow for the council to ask questions and kind of talk about the next steps, so with that, he welcomed Ms. Justine Klinke from Forestar Group Inc. who will walk the council through their proposed project. Division President for Forestar Group Inc., Ms. Justine Klinke introduced herself and thanked the council for allowing her to present what she hoped to be is the first of many projects and in turn partnerships with the City of Baytown. She noted that the presentation before the council addressed who they are and what they hope to develop based on several meetings that have happened with staff. She noted that they had put the property in question under contract almost a year ago, and so they have been working through a lien plan, comments, questions, and concerns. She noted that they are looking to hopefully work through the next 90 days to address any potential additional concerns or questions that the council and staff might have and hopefully move forward with the closing in December and ultimately with the development of the property. Ms. Klinke stated that she has been with the company since 2006 and with the Houston Division since 2009. She noted that Forestar develops communities into places that they like to call home; they develop and sell lots for single family homes to national, regional, and local home builders both private and public. She noted that since she has been in Houston, i.e., 2009, they have sold to probably the top 25 builders in the Greater Houston area, again both public and private. Ms. Klinke stated that they do everything from planning, management, land acquisition, titling, development and then sale of the lots to entry-level, first time, and first time move up City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October R, 2020 Page 8of14 home buyers. They obviously do the amenities and at the end of the day, they think that they are selling to the home buyer who is their end customer, and not necessarily the home builder. Ms. Klinke noted that as of June 30, 2020, their fiscal year end is September 30th, they had operations in 51 markets in 22 states. Forestar has been developing in the Greater Houston area for over 20 years and they have always wanted to develop in Baytown. She noted that they have not found the right opportunity until now, so that is why they are before the council and excited about that opportunity. So, thoughtfulness curated throughout, keeping affordability in mind for the homeowner, which has become an increasingly challenged segment, they would like to be able to create communities and value by providing unique places to gather, to play and connect at all different price points. Ms. Klinke noted that she thought that they can do that whether at a S200,000 home, a S300K, a S400K, a S500K and on up. She noted that they like to incorporate certain elements that are consistent throughout all of their communities, some of which include entry monumentation enhanced with landscaping, parks and trails, places to stop, rest, natural playscapes inviting families together, to learn and exercise. She noted that they have found that whether it is an individual, a family, a new family or someone that is later on in their years being outside and having the ability to walk, is particularly important and especially, now more than ever with COVID, just being able to have space, get outside of your house is important. She noted that another thing they do that is something simple is their mailbox covering. She noted that over the last 5 to 10 years, the postal system has deviated from what used to be mail to your house and now there are boxes, they like to do all of their mailboxes covered with benches, so they are places to go and stop and it is not something that is just unsightly. Ms. Klinke also stated that they like to make everything a nice element within their communities and where available and appropriate, they have started installing Wi-Fi stations for outdoor learning in their communities, which has been pretty popular over the last few years in different parks. Ms. Klinke stated that getting to Barber's Hill Creek, which is what they are calling their proposed development, is a proposed 448 single-family lot community with primarily 40', 50', and 60-foot lots. She noted that they started with all 50 and after some comments and back and forth with staff, they have come up with a mix of 40's, 50's, and 60's, which are shown on the slides. She noted that they have found in the last few years through their developments that having a different product type and being able to intennix it actually snakes for a nicer street scene with a focus obviously on maintenance, elevation and quality builders. Ms. Klinke noted that for the millennial generation, it is not so much about square footage, but about finding something that is comfortable, that is really efficient from a layout perspective, that has little maintenance, because a lot of them do not necessarily know how to maintain or they travel quite a bit or at least they used to before COVID. Ms. Klinke noted that they have started incorporating natural playscapes, vibrant spaces, a lot of more multi -functional areas within their reserves and park areas. Barber's Hill Creek will be an inclusive community offering spaces to connect, join, play, promoting long-term connectivity with the adjoining tracts, and pedestrian mobility. Again, the location is south of FM 1942, north of 10, about a mile -and -a -half east of Garth; just east of the Baytown Soccer Complex. The property is currently vacant and it is surrounded by single-family residential developments. Ms. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 9 of 14 Klinke showed a picture of the proposed master plan that included model lots, the park up front along with a section of 36 60's; the detention is 4.1 acres, that will be an amenitized detention pond with a fountain, and a lot of landscaping. The development will include a park in the middle and with linear pathways running through the middle of the project providing mobility. Ms. Klinke showed the council example of Forestar monuments, some of the entries and amenities that they have utilized in the past. She noted that as it relates to the entry concept they have a divided boulevard coming in off of FM 1942. with two access points off of 1942, which is really the most that can be done given the spacing with Texas requirements, but they will have a divided entry coming in. She noted that they are hoping that as they move down into the detailed and the granular piece of the development agreement, they would be happy and willing to commit to these design elements within that agreement. The entry monument would have accent columns, sidewalks coming through, landscape beds, obviously the trees and shrubs, but the overall plan, will also include a recreation center, an event lawn, and other nature play, which is just south of the parking, along with a more multifunctional space. Ms. Klinke showed examples of other developments as it related to parks, picnic areas, nature play, etc. She noted that this is something that they have found has become extremely popular because it incorporates more of nature and studies have shown that the more that you incorporate on the bits and pieces and being able to build with what is there, it is really it gets more utilization, less wear and tear, and it is just enjoyed more. She noted that there are certain things as residential developers that will be the same no matter what, it is just the mechanics and basics of lot development. Where they think they set their communities apart are the areas such as the entry, the recreation centers, the trails, and again just small elements like mailboxes and multifunctional areas. Ms. Klinke noted that as it relates to product overview, she knew there was concerns with the lot sizes and she wanted to note that there are benefits on these smaller lot products, the 40 and 50- foot homesites, particularly the 40-foot homesite. Ms. Klinke showed the council images of their 40-foot homesites to show how well they have been maintained due mostly to what they require of their builders and the governing documents they put in place as a part of their developments. She also showed images of their products in terms of the 50's and 60's and noted that landscaping becomes a very material element of the street scene when doing these homesites, as well as, the maintenance of the front yard. She noted that there are 40's that do not necessarily from a homesite perspective have to mean an inexpensive cheap home, so it is really again more about efficiency within the layout of the home itself and they have seen a lot of popularity and a lot of demand for this product just by virtue of the type of buyer. Ms. Klinke noted that in one of the things in their meetings with staff, they went through some of the concerns in other developments, either developments that were approved here on the ground but have not necessarily been executed the way the city would have liked to see theirs or just concerns over the last decade or two and what is existing, so some of the things that they would be again willing to incorporate in their development agreement with the city are their community guidelines and their minimum standards. Ms. Klinke noted that they believe in minimum design standards and governing documents across communities for builders and homeowners to protect and create long lasting value. She noted that these guidelines and architectural standards include but are not limited to the following: recorded builder design guidelines, a minimum square footage and width requirements based on the lot size, which varies on the community and who the buyer is that they City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 10 of 14 are targeting, minimum setback, so, 25-foot front yard setback to help with potential on -street parking issues, a plan for repetition governance, and requirements for spacing between the number of lots and the intermixing the various lot product and homesite types, material requirements, a minimum 75% of the exterior wall area front facade has to be bigger masonry and 100% masonry on the first story rear elevation if backing up to a common area or it is visible, roof pitch and materials, fencing standards, garage style, and other design standards; landscaping and irrigation standards, street trees, front yard trees, ground and yard planning, sought an irrigation required in front and side yards; the creation of HOAs with an ARC that is independent third party to review, approve, and ensure all builder plans meet design guidelines and CC and R's. That is for each specific house on each specific lot, pre and post construction inspections, all things that can be included in the development agreement. Ms. Klinke noted that other items that can be included in the development agreement to ensure that quality of the development include: on -street parking discouragement, a prohibition of on - street parking overnight which would be applicable and enforceable by the HOA, a minimum 18- foot driveway widths, the inclusion of front yard maintenance, which is included in the HOA dues. Ms. Klinke stated that that is her presentation in a nutshell if who they are, how they like to develop, and she thought that they do things a little bit differently. She noted that this particular project does have a paper MUD, and they are looking to bring to council a utility agreement, a development agreement, as well as, the request to activate that district. Mayor Capetillo opened the discussion for questions and comments from the council members. Council Member Alvarado stated that typically these types of developments usually just have one entry and exit point, so is that the same with this one as well. Ms. Klinke stated that this development would have two access points, both crossing the pipeline, as well as, out to FM 1942. Council Member Alvarado noted that she is not very familiar with the area, but she was thinking of the issues that the city has at West Meadows where they had some major issues because of setbacks onto I-10 and they only had one entry and exit point off onto the feeder. So, obviously when there is a lot of traffic or back up, they are kind of locked in. So, she was glad to see that they have a second one, but it still goes onto the same street. Ms. Klinke noted that for at least this property, that is from an access perspective, that is the only way to access the site because there is a canal that is running along the eastern boundary that they do not control, so the only access into the property, as well as, for the existing owner is FM 1942. She noted that they would be doing a TIA to figure out what traffic improvements may or may not be needed as a result of the development of the site. Council Member Hoskins noted that Baytown has hundreds of acres of this same product here that, for the most part, has been very disappointing, and the fact that they are bringing problems with them because they are the 40-foot and the value of the home and things such as that; he noted that she lost him at the 40-foot, as well as, with the name of Barber's Hill. Ms. Klinke said that this is not the project name and it will change depending on the feasibility. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 11 of 14 Council Member Hoskins stated that he could see the value of the home and the price range that they are looking at and he would not be in favor of this at all because that is not what the council is looking for in Baytown. Ms. Klinke asked, just so she had clarity, when looking at this project, she is aware that the 40's because there are a lot of questions or there are a lot of concerns, so she wanted to show that this could still have a clean street scene, but from a price point perspective, they could not focus on the 50's and 60's. When looking at this, what price point is the council thinking they are targeting? Council Member Hoskins answered that for Baytown, they have plenty of homes available, brand -spanking -new homes in the 200 to 300-thousand-dollar range; the price range missing in the market is the half a million dollars on up and they are not getting that, and this is not the first developer to come in here and proposed the same type of home. He further noted that a couple of miles east of here, they are building those homes and they cannot build them fast enough, but for some reason Baytown draws in this stuff, the 40-foot homes a 50-foot frontage homes. He noted that he had seen enough of it and was not in favor of the proposed project at all. Council Member Presley stated that Ms. Klinke had mentioned that they like to do different product types, so within that spirit, why did they not consider 65-foot lots or 70-foot lots'? Ms. Klinke noted that they always do a market study and canvassed the area from a third party to take a look at what is: one, it is a market study and then two, the land size; what is the yield and what are the total numbers needed in order to develop the property to make it feasible; they look at what is the demand and what makes the deal feasible. She noted that right now and this is everywhere, the largest home buying segment is the 225 to 400 thousand, period, there is obviously a home buying segment north of 400 and she would really say 225 to 450 is kind of the sweet spot, so, for something like this project, they would be focused on a 250 to 425 on base pricing before options and what ends up happening over time is that this is your base pricing and within two years, people can go on a builder's website and see that the homes start selling from the 250s and the least expensive home is 287 or 290 with the options. She noted that she believes that they are targeting probably what they would like to see on those 50's and 60's are high threes and by virtue of purely lot product type and size, that is where the demand is and then it comes down to the house and then what options are included in the house. Ms. Klinke noted that the demand has dwindled quite a bit from a large lot in square footage because of the maintenance associated with it; there is a lot of folks that really want lock and leave. hence, these 40's and 50's that have come about with the 50-foot lot is the most popular lot and what you are going to see across the Greater Houston area. Ms. Klinke also noted that if they see that with their first home buyers coming in, there is increasing demand for a larger home, a higher price point home, then what they end up doing, it is particularly the 60's, if these start selling really, really well and there is demand and there is requests from those home buyers for a bigger lot and a bigger house, then after their first phase they would realign the plan and every new section is a blank slate, so they can start with 40's, 50's, and 60's as a minimum, and then they would just go up from there if there is a demand to convert it to 60's and 70's or 80's. From a development and approval standpoint, she noted that they need basically have their base plan that they are asking for approval from the city, and that City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 12 of 14 is how, from an economic perspective, they take it up to their committee to get approved. She noted that if they can do more, great, but it is about more value for the city, more value for the district, and really a win -win for everyone. Council Member Himsel stated that he could also not support the project, not only the 40's and the 50's but the 25-foot setback really sets him off because if they put a sidewalk in there and there are two cars side by side on a narrow driveway with the burden of enforcement on an HOA it will be an enforcement issue and people will park on the streets because they cannot fit the three cars in a driveway with a 25-foot setback. When you narrow those homes down and then you push them out against the street, the 25-foot setback, then you put the cars in the street and one will probably be a narrow street as well. All of a sudden, when you look down that street, it looks terrible. It just looks terrible and you can take pictures and all those things are great that you showed, but you never back up and see what is left. When you look at the 40-foot houses on these pictures, I see a picture of a house and the picture is clipped to the right and the left of that 40-foot house. Well, I cannot see the relationship between this house and this house and this house and that is what I need to see as a councilman to know how it looks because it does not show me anything. Ms. Klinke stated that she would be happy to send some videos or as in ordinary circumstances, they could put the council on a bus and drive them through some of these communities where they could see the product, that streets are clean and it looks nice. She noted that again, it is just about the elements that are included in the product that are required of the builders and the homeowners. She noted that they do have videos that could be sent or brought to a future council meeting. Mayor Capetillo stated that he shared in the sentiments of what the council had expressed as they have seen builders come and produce less than what they presented, with the exception of one that they had recently who wound up where council wanted them to be. He noted that the council keeps elevating the expectation on standard, anything that comes in underneath that, which he thought that they had come in a lot better than what the council has seen in the past. This is the new bar for the city and the bar does not go this way; now, they can always work with some stuff, such as setbacks, and he agreed with the comments on the 25-foot setback, and he would ask that they go and reconsider something different. As it relates to the 40-foot lots, and with his quick math and the mix of product presented, he believed the average lot size is still pretty much 50-foot. Ms. Klinke noted that he was correct and that their average was 50-foot. Mayor Capetillo also noted that he knew that there is a market sometimes for the smaller lots as there are some individuals, they may be retired and do not want a large lot, which is fine. He did not want to say absolutely no to 40's; it is not something that they encourage, but it has to be a very small percentage, and again, the market drives that. He noted that they make get people who want 80-foot lots, who knows, but the council will certainly want to set some kind of either percentage or something of that magnitude, as there will be a mix of product. As it relates to the street width, he noted that he was surprised that basically, they would not allow any overnight on -street parking, and the council would probably share in that as they are also trying to avoid that scenario for safety reasons. Also, as it relates to the smaller lots as Council Member Himsel expressed, where do these cars go? There may be guests, overnight guests, where do these go, where can they park and how would that be managed. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 13 of 14 Mayor Capetillo further noted that his major question besides kind of the specifications is that I would ask that you and maybe get with your folks and revisit either lot width, street width, setbacks. He noted that he likes a lot of what he sees a little bit off the top of my head with the masonry standards and so on, also the trails, the amenities, are all, on the right path to all of the quality of life expectations that the council would like to see. So again, just leave here knowing that the council is going to tell you what the bar is of what they expect for any new housing. He noted that the council wants to make sure that they get it right and that the bar keeps going up, and not back. Mayor Capetillo then noted that the one questions he asks all developers that are going to come here, and sometimes, he understands it comes down to economics but why an out of city MUD versus an in in -city PID. Ms. Klinke noted that as it relates to the MUD, so they have done a lot of valuations of MUD and PID and different jurisdictions are going towards PID; however, some jurisdictions prefer the MUD traditional financing district. So, for them with the MUD and with the homeowners, the tax rate, - it is something that they would know up front. She noted that they could show the council the products that they have done in a district and how quickly, number one, they do not ever raise the tax rate, so they always know what it is and it is the highest when they buy their house with phase 1. Over time the rate just goes down but it also allows for greater amenities and recreation center package by virtue of the benefits in tenns of park and recreation bonds and it rewards increased value and increased home prices. For the developer obviously from putting aside time because time is money, right? So, if a lot sits on the ground with a PID, you are carrying the assessments regardless if you are selling it or not, the district and the MUD is something the developer knows they can control. Ms. Klinke further noted that they can look at a homeowner and say here is what your mortgage payment will be and this is what your all -in rates are going to be and it is never going to go up. It is only going to go down and it will continue to go down, but it will also provide services as there is someone that you can call immediately and they will fix it. Ms. Klinke also noted that this also helps them to know when they can sell bonds, how it is going to work, the cash flow and all of this helps them to expedite the rec center and other amenities because they can start looking at what the AB projection are, so for them, a district is what makes this deal work. She noted that she felt that without a district, it obviously just does not work for them and she noted that this has been one of the hurdles for this particular parcel. She noted that generally, you need 150 to 200 acres for a district and this parcel has gone through a number of different hands. She noted that they have had it under contract for over a year and they have worked on this for a really long time because they like this deal. She noted that they would obviously like to expand it, but just given the status of the adjoining land, that is not an option right now so, this is where they would like to start and the district again is how they get there within their own economics. Council Member Johnson asked what would it take for the city to set the standard at 55, like that of Chambers County because if people are going there and meet that standard, why not do the same. Mr. Woolery responded that in this case, when dealing with a MUD, especially an out of city MUD, the council has its your policy, so, the council could have that requirement in the policy, which is the council's way of stating how it wants things to be, but not every development is the best to have only 55-plus, so, not sure if that is the way it should be for every development, across the board. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 14 of 14 Ms. Klinke noted that for this project, the property is not in the city limits but in the ETJ and so for this one, it would have to be annexed into the city to even be eligible for a PID. She noted that right now, the district is the only option for them given that it is in the ETJ and the 40's, 50's, and 60's, are allowed because there are no minimums because the city does not regulate this but is the reason why they are even looking at a development agreement because they need the city's consent as it relates to the activation of the district, even though, the council has already consented to the creation. She further noted that just by virtue of what council had done with other developments, the development agreement has been that vehicle by which the city has required certain things from developers in return for the needed consent. Now, somebody can come in and just go put in a bunch of 40-foot lots if they do not want to utilize the district because there is no governance from the City of Baytown on this tract. Council Member Presley asked the developer why did they not forego the district and do all 40- foot lots. Ms. Klinke responded that they do not do this because they want to create a thoughtful community and are not going to go put something out there that is not to their standards. She further noted that they are a publicly traded company and they have respect for what they do. She also clarified that they could not be annexed into the city for a PID because the tract is not contiguous to the city and there is no way to feasibly annex up to the tract. Mayor Capetillo thanked the developers for their presentation and asked them to work with the staff on this project based on the comments received by the council. C. Discuss any or all of the agenda items on the City Council Regular Meeting Agenda for October 8, 2020, which is attached below. This item was not taken. 2. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Capetillo adjourned the October 8, 2020, City CMuncil Regular Work Session at 6:34 P.M. Leticia Brysch, City City of Baytown