I don't have time right now to say all I would like about this but plan to update or add to this over the weekend. If you have a point of view or more to add, please feel free to add comments.

I noticed on the agenda for the upcoming City of Glen Rose meeting on Monday, Oct 12, 2009 that there are a number of people who are asking for zoning changes. Presumably each one of them has been to the P&Z board asking for these changes and there will be a chance for the public to speak up again about their request, before the City of Glen Rose City council votes on it.  I'm addressing here only the request by Dorothy Osborn about the Rivercrest property on Barnard Street.  Here's what the agenda says.

 1.       REQUEST FROM DOROTHY JO OSBORN to rezone her property located at 905 SW Barnard Street, from R-1 Single Family to B-1 Restricted Commercial, to allow for renovation of existing cabins and allow her to build seven (7) new cabins.

 

 2.       REQUEST FROM DOROTHY JO OSBORN for a Special Use Permit for her property located at 905 SW Barnard Street, to allow her to operate her new and restored cabins as an accommodations facility.

I had some questions about just how precise this action can be and was conferring with a couple of friends. Because we're not attorneys, I think we all still wonder and the place to resolve this is probably in a city code book or Texas handbook of some kind. Specifically, does the property have to be zoned commercial B-1 restricted or could they have what they want with the R-1 designation, particularly since where this camp is is in a residential neighborhood?

Why would anyone be concerned about moving the zoning designation from residential to commercial, particularly when the current owners of the property say that they would not abuse the designation? Well, one reason is that a person saying that he or she won't abuse a zoning change doesn't make it legally so. For example, suppose the owners decided to sell the property the day after the zoning change is made-the zoning designation would move with the new property owner, who then could decide what, commercially, he or she (or they) want to do with that property. A good example of how nebulous this is is what happened with the Still Waters retirement home on Barnard. The property in between the museum and where the retirement home was built was to remain empty, upon the word of the developer who requested the change. But within a few months some carports were put on that property-the developer didn't go back to City Hall to ask for any changes or revisions.

The only way to ensure that statements made about the use of a property in the future would be enforceable would be if those statements were listed in a contract... but contract zones are illegal in Texas. So how does the city make sure, besides just somebody saying so, that the property would not be used for a myriad of commercial purposes?

 I heard that at the P&Z meeting, which was held last night (on a Friday football night!)  someone presented a petition to ask that the property not be rezoned to B1.  Here's what that petition said (I wasn't there, so don't know how many signatures it contained).

      We Residents of SW Barnard Street petition the City of Glen Rose Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council grant a Special Use Permit only for the Osborn property, 905 SW Barnard, and maintain the R-1 zoning.

 

       This choice of action would allow the Osborn’s to operate new and restored structures as an accommodations facility while maintaining the character of the adjacent residential neighborhood. 

 

      The welfare of all properties owners must be considered. B-1 zone is totally incongruent with neighboring properties and would negatively impact property values.

 

ALLOWABLE USES FOR B1 PROPERTIES

 

Townhouse/Condominiums, Child Day Care Home, Private Swimming Pool, Produce Stand, Sewer Lift Station, Cable TX Lines, Telephone Exchange, Telephone Poles and Lines, Utility Mains and Lines, Water Pump Station, Water Storage Tank, Auditorium or Amphitheatre, Church or Rectory, College or University, Community Center, Fire Station, Library, Museum or Art Gallery, Park or Playground, Post Office, School, Government Office

 

Antique Shop, Apparel/Clothing Store, Appliance Repair Shop, Appliance Store, Arcade, Art Supply Store, Athletic/Fitness Club, Auction, Bakery, Bank, Bed & Breakfast, Barber/Beauty Shop, Bicycles Sales/Shop, Book Store, Bowling Alley, Bus Terminal, Business Office,  Camera Store, Carpet Store, Child Care Facility, Christmas Tree Sales, Computer Store, Contractor Yard (outside storage), Dental Clinic, Department Store, Electrical Sales & Service, Electronic Store, Employment Agency, Florist Shop, Fraternity/Sorority Lodge, Furniture Store

 

Gift Shop, Grocery Store, Gunsmith Shop, Hardware Store, Heating/AC Sales & Service, Hobby Shop, Insurance Sales Office, Jewelry Store, Laundry/Dry Cleaners, Leather Goods, Lithograph, Locksmith, Medical Clinic, Movie Theatre, Musical Instrument Store, Newspaper Office, Newsstand, Office Supply, Optical Clinic, Paint Store, Pet grooming, Pet Store, Drug Store, Photography Studio, Picture Framing, Plumbing Sales & Service, Print Shop, Private Club, Professional Offices, Racquetball Court.

 

Rental Store, Restaurant, Drive Inn Restaurant, Second Hand Store, Shopping Center/Mall, Skating Rink, Snow Cone, Tanning Salon, Video Store, Washateria

 

ALLOWABLE USES & (S) WITH SPECIAL PERMIT FOR R1

 

Single Family, Industrial Housing, Child Day Care, guest House or Quarters, Accessory Building, Private Swimming Pool, Farm, Public Swimming Pool (S), Orchard, Private Stable, Public Tennis Court (S), Religious Camp (S), Bed & Breakfast (S), Golf Course (S),

 

 

Clearly the R-1 Zone with a special use permit is the only choice that would benefit all concerned. Remember that a zone change goes with the land, and future owners might not be as caring of the neighborhood as the are the Osborns.