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Ordinance No. 14,882 ORDINANCE NO. 14,882 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, GRANTING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A PROPOSED RAIL YARD ON APPROXIMATELY 5.77 ACRES, GENERALLY LOCATED NORTH AND SOUTH OF NEEDLEPOINT ROAD AND APPROXIMATELY 6,000 FEET EAST OF SJOLANDER ROAD; AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AND THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST TO SUCH PERMIT; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF. WHEREAS, the property located at 6511 Thompson Road, which is approximately 5.77 acres, generally located north and south of Needlepoint Road and approximately 6,000 feet east of Sjolander Road,(the"Property") is proposed to be used as a rail yard serving logistics and distribution facilities; and WHEREAS, in order for such use to be allowed, a special use pen-nit ("SUP") is required to be issued by the City Council of the City of Baytown pursuant to Section 1.26(e)(5) of the Unified Land Development Code ("ULDC"); and WHEREAS, the Planning and Zoning Conunission (the "Commission") held public hearings on August 17, 2021, and September 21, 2021; and WHEREAS, on September 21, 2021, the Commission voted to recommend approval of the special use permit; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Section 1: The facts and recitations contained in the preamble of this ordinance are hereby found and declared by the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, to be true and correct. Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, hereby grants the Special Use Permit, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes, to Arcanum Infrastructure, LLC, and Nilok Chemicals for a rail yard serving logistics and distribution facilities on the Property. Section 3: That the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager to execute and the City Clerk to attest to the Special Use Permit, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vo f the City Council of he City of Baytown this the 14"' day of October, 2021. Mel NYiOcool/ ND y ON CAPETILL , Mayor ATTEST: m a � ANGELA JGCKSON, City Clerk °" '°'ba ....... eeA° •°`,S�? •��i�epO O F 1 APPROVED AS TO FORM: KARE k-CYRRVIR, City Atta ey R.�Karen Homer Docuntents Files City Council Ordinances'_0'_1 October 14 SUP4RailYard.dacx Exhibit "A" Special Use Permit No. 2021-002 SPECIAL USE PERMIT WHEREAS, an application together with the requisite site plan for a Zoning Special Use Permit ("SUP"), which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes, was completed by Brandon Guillory, Kimely Horn, for and on behalf of the land owner Arcanum Infrastructure, LLC and Nilok Chemicals (the "Applicant"), for an approximately 5.77 acres tract, 9300 Needlepoint Road, generally located north and south of Needlepoint Road and approximately 6,000 feet east of Sjolander Road, legally described as a portion of Tract II, Abstract 4 W Bloodgood, Harris County,Texas,and submitted to the Director of Planning and Development Services (the"Director")on a form prescribed by the Director; and WHEREAS, the Director reviewed the application and prepared a staff report; and WHEREAS, the Planning and Zoning Commission (the "Commission") conducted a public hearing on the application; considered the application, the staff report, the relevant supporting materials, and public testimony given at the public hearing; and recommended approval to the City Council, subject to certain additional conditions; and WHEREAS, the Commission prepared and delivered a report and recommendation to the City Council to approve the proposed SUP subject to the conditions set forth in Section 2 of this ordinance based upon the criteria enumerated in Section 1.26(e) of the Unified Land Development Code ("ULDC"); and WHEREAS, after receiving the report of the Commission, the City Council conducted a public hearing on the SUP application and considered the application, the staff report, the relevant supporting materials, and public testimony given at the public hearing; and WHEREAS, the City Council thereafter made an affirmative finding that there is one additional condition listed in Section 1.26(d)"Approval criteria for special use permits"stating: (1) That the specific use will be compatible with and not injurious to the use and enjoyment of adjacent property or property immediately across the street, and not significantly diminish or impair property values within the immediate vicinity in any material way; (2) That the establishment of the specific use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding property; (3) That adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and other necessary supporting facilities have been or will be provided prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy; (4) That adequate nuisance prevention measures have been or will be taken to prevent or control offensive odor, fumes, dust, light, noise and vibration prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy; (5) That there are sufficient landscaping, screening, setbacks and other land use measures to ensure harmony and compatibility with adjacent property; (6) That the proposed use is in accordance with the comprehensive plan and generally consistent with the ULDC; and (7) That the site plan meets the criteria set forth in Section 1.26(e)of the ULDC; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,TEXAS: Section 1: The findings contained in the preamble hereof are declared to be true and correct and are hereby adopted. Special Use Permit, Page 1 Special Use Permit No. 2021-002 Section 2: A Special Use Permit for the extension of a rail spur to increase on-site rail capacity for property located at 9300 Needlepoint Road, generally located north and south of Needlepoint Road and approximately 6,000 feet east of Sjolander Road, as described in Exhibit"A"is hereby granted on property legally described as Tract II, Abstract 4 W Bloodgood, Harris County, Texas (the "Property"). Section 3: Nothing herein shall be construed as to authorize any use other than the uses expressly enumerated on the submitted application and attached site plan. Section 4: This SUP shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by the City Council of the City of Baytown and is subject to expiration and revocation requirements as provided in the ULDC. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Baytown this the 14"'day of October,2021. BRANDON CAPETILLO, Mayor ATTEST: ANGELA JACKSON,City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: KAREN HORNER, City Attorney Special Use Permit, Page 2 Exhibit"A" SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION ZP21070006 CITY OF BAYTOWN App Date: 07/15/2021 District: District 5 Assigned To: Dietrich,Nathan Description: A special use permit application to allow for the construction of rail lines on the subject tract to serve the existing Raven Butene-1 facility immediately north of the subject tract. Parcel: 0401680000162 Address: 9300 Needlepoint Rd Owner Applicant Nilok Chemicals Inc.c/o Evonik Brandon Guillory Corporation Nilok Chemicals 11700 Katy Freeway Suite Inc.c/o Evonik Corporation 800 Use Current Use Vacant Proposed Use Rail Yard Zoninp_ Current Zoning Heavy industrial (HI) Request Describe/Reason for Request Specific Use Permit to allow for a rail yard Applicant Statement Explain how the specific use will be compatible with and not injurious to the use and enjoyment of adjacent property or property immediately across the street, and not significantly diminish or impair property values within the immediate vicinity in any material way The special use permit will be compatible with and not injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity. The proposed development is consistent with the surrounding land uses,the current zoning of the subject site(Heavy Industrial)and the proposed rail will serve to reduce the number of large trucks currently serving the site on a given day. Currently, the Butene-I produced by Arcanum Infrastructure's project company, Raven Butene-1, LLC, located at 9520 East Fwy(directly north of the subject tract), is transported via truck to multiple Butene-1 buyers located around the country. The addition of Arcanum's proposed rail will allow for the Butene-I produced at the Raven Butene-1 facility to be transported via the active Union Pacific Rail Line that is currently located immediately adjacent to both the existing Raven facility and the subject tract for the Arcanum rail project. For reference, during the month of March of this year, 347 truck trailer loads of Butene-1 were trucked out of the existing Raven Butene-1 facility. Once Arcanum's proposed rail is constructed on the subject tract, this will allow for the Butene-1 to be shipped from the Raven facility by rail and it is anticipated that this will be accomplished via approximately 533 rail cars on an annual basis or approximately 45 rail cars per month. The equivalent number of tractor trailers required ship the equivalent of 533 rail cars is approximately 2,104. Further,Arcanum's investment in the proposed onsite rail facilities will allow for cars to be safely stored onsite rather than having to be stored elsewhere on the rail network. This will mean that railcars assigned to Arcanum will not have to make multiple trips through and around the City of Baytown before being loaded at the facility. Explain how the establishment of the specific use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding property The granting of the requested Special Use Permit will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property. The tracts immediately north, east, and south of the subject site are owned by Nilok Chemicals, Inc., from which Arcanum is leasing land for the rail project. The tract directly north of the subject tract is currently developed as the Raven Ethylene to Butene-I processing facility. As stated above, Arcanum's proposed rail on the subject tract will directly support the operations of the Raven facility.The property west and south of the subject tract is currently undeveloped and is shown on the Future Land Use Plan as Business Park.Nilok owns the remaining property east of the proposed rail which is shown on the Future Land Use Plan as industrial and is zoned Heavy Industrial. This property is currently undeveloped and there are no immediate plans to develop the property between the proposed rail and Cedar Bayou. The property located west of the existing Union Pacific Rail Line is owned by the City of Baytown and the Needlepoint Elevated Storage Tank and Northeast Wastewater Treatment Plant are located on the property. The 27-acre tract west of the elevated water storage tank is owned by Nilok and is currently undeveloped.There are no immediate plans to develop the property. Explain how adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and other necessary supporting facilities have been or will be provided prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy The proposed development on the subject tract consists only of a proposed rail yard that will currently serve the existing Raven Butene-I facility immediately to the north. The proposed rail yard will not require wet utilities of any kind so there is no anticipated impact on the existing utility infrastructure in the vicinity. City requirements for erosion control during construction will be complied with and all required storm water permitting will be obtained from the City prior to the start of construction.The proposed development is consistent with current zoning. Explain how adequate nuisance prevention measures will be taken and maintained to prevent or control offensive odor, fumes,dust,light,noise and vibration prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy The proposed use for the subject site is not anticipated to generate offensive odors, fumes, or excessive noise or dust during normal operations. Arcanum will comply with industry standards for the operation of rail such as proposed, including mitigating the noise generated by the proposed rail yard. In addition, the fact that the site is bordered on the west and south by an existing main rail line means that the trains that would be entering and exiting the proposed rail yard are utilizing an active rail line rather than introducing an new route for rail to the area. The proposed rail will provide an alternative option for transporting goods out of the existing Raven Butene- 1 facility, which will decrease daily large truck traffic into and out of the facility that currently utilizes I-10 north of the subject site. The following is a brief description of the daily operations of the proposed rail facility. • Inbound railcars will be delivered to the facility by UPRR and/or BNSF. • Arcanum's own trained personnel will move the inbound empty railcars using a small locomotive from the interchange tracks to the loading track to be filled.The railcar loading track is located immediately adjacent to the existing truck loading rack. • When railcars are being moved, they will be connected to the locomotive's air brake system for safety. • Railcars will remain connected to the locomotive air brake system for the complete duration of any movements. "Kicking" or free-rolling of cars will not be permitted. This eliminates most of the noise generated by the railcar switching operations. • Once railcars are loaded, they will be returned to the interchange tracks for pick-up by UPRR or BNSF. • Arcanum anticipates loading approximately two(2)railcars per day. • All movement of railcars by Arcanum will occur during daylight hours. In addition to the benefits of reducing truck traffic at the site, existing conditions surrounding the site provide for significant existing buffers Explain how there are sufficient landscaping, screening, setbacks and other land use measures to ensure harmony and compatibility with adjacent property The subject tract is currently set back from the south right of way line of Interstate 10 by approximately 2,600'. This setback along with the fact that the property between the subject tract and Interstate 10 is developed as the existing Raven Butene-I facility provides a significant buffer between I-10 and the subject tract. There is an existing vegetative buffer of approximately 1,500' between the portion of the subject tract to be impacted and the east side of Cedar Bayou.There are existing rail lines bordering the west and south side of the subject tract and the property on the opposite side of each is owned by the City of Baytown and Nilok, respectively. The closest existing development to the subject tract is approximately % mile away. Per the conditions set forth in the original SUP for the adjacent property, the required 200' buffer between Cedar Bayou and the developed area will be maintained. Explain how the proposed use is consistent with the comprehensive plan and is generally consistent with this ULDC The Comprehensive Plan states that truck traffic is a concern due to the continued wear to roadways as well as the safety concerns as truck volumes on roads increase. Arcanum's propose rail will allow for Raven Butene-1 to ship its product by rail using approximately 45 rail cars per months compared to the 347-truck trailer loads that were shipped from the site in the month of March. In addition, the City's Mobility Plan acknowledges that "freight rail is a critical component of the transportation system that serves the industrial areas of Baytown and the ETF. The proposed improvements on the subject tract propose to not only utilize the rail infrastructure already in place but to also reduce the number of large trucks serving the Raven site daily. Explain how the site plan meets the criteria set forth in subsection(e)of Sec. 1.26 See the attached site plan Exhibit 2. INTERSTATE 10 =--CURRENTINGRESS,EGRESS FL'i TRUCKS TRANSPORTINO PRUE!- F ROM RAVEN RUTENE-I • �—ExISTING RAVEN B VTEt:E-t FAC11I NEEDLEPOINT ROAD TO BE % ABANDONED 6ETV.'EErI / v,P,RAIL AtJD CEDAR CREEK t1r / p CAR CAPA IL PROJECT OLII NEEDLEPOINT AO T RO IFtT z35A1 - __ E h LEPOIN - a a NuoK otS•:eC TRACT w � S NEEDLEPOINT Esr— � F �e $ NILOK OWNED TRACT � --- MINIMUM 20B'VEGETATIVE BUFFER WILL RE MAINTAIIIE9 ALONO CEDAR BAYOU 4 t - NILCK OWNED TRACT NORTHEAST LS'ASTEV:ATER i TREA—ErIT PvSNT i L NILOK BAYTOWN SITE ' VICINITY MAP Kimley*Horn