Filling Station SUP on Monday April 13 P&Z Meeting

There is a public hearing for public input on the Specific use permit application for the 7-Eleven. The application for a specific use permit is in this case, fairly routine. The 7-Eleven wants to have gas pumps (that is, operate as a gas station) at the proposed store on the south west corner of 2181 and 2499. The lot in question is already zoned C-2, commercial 2. Commercial 2 parcels allow the gas station use with a specific use permit. A commercial 3 or industrial zoning allows a gas station use by right.

There are some additional differences between the C-2 and C-3 zoning classifications. The building setbacks are larger for the side yard on a C-3 lot. The minimum lot area, width, and depth dimensions are also larger for the C-3 Zone. Generally, the idea here is that more intense usage needs more space and a larger setback from other uses.

The gasoline station component of the uses is the most intense: flammable liquids are stored and dispensed on the premises. The rest of the store's usage is essentially as a grocery. Groceries are permitted in any commercial zone, so there is nothing out of the ordinary in locating such a store in a C-2 zone. The requirement for a specific use permit for the gasoline filling station is about the hazards of that use. The C-3 dimensions and sizes help alleviate those hazards somewhat, though certainly not entirely. Rather than allowing a filling station by right in the C-2 zone, having a specific use permit process allows the P&Z commission and the city council to review each such request in light of the surrounding zones and uses, ultimately providing greater flexibility to land owners, developers, and the city, while ensuring the health, safety, and well being of the city's residents.

Individuals at the public hearing could bring up issues with having a gas station here - that's the reason for the hearing. Absent those currently unknown issues, there doesn't seem to be any particular reason to not allow the SUP - the lot is ideally situated for such a use, and is well away from any residential uses.

The applicant is asking for some regulation changes, specifically that they have an ice machine and the storage for portable propane tanks outside the building on the west side. It seems to be reasonable to keep the propane tanks on the outside of the building for fire safety - any leaks are much less dangerous outside. Having the ice machine outside, away from the two major roads isn't unreasonable, and would allow customers to load the ice they've bought more easily. The main reason for not allowing out side storage is to avoid the clutter that can easily attend a convenience store/filling station. This follows the vision of our comprehensive plan, keeping the city and its businesses aesthetically pleasant and clean. However, safety trumps aesthetics for the propane storage, at least in my opinion. An ice machine is a classic outdoor appliance at this type of store, and hidden from easy view on the west side of the store, it doesn't violate the spirit of the comprehensive plan and the UDC.

I am, of course, very interested in anyone's thoughts on this subject. Anyone interested in this development and the requested SUP should come to the meeting tonight and consider speaking during the public hearing.

Understanding the Effective Tax Rate

The Effective Tax Rate is an important concept in both property taxes in general, and in the Texas Truth in Taxation act. The truth in taxation act basically requires that a taxing jurisdiction (any one levying property taxes) publish an effective rate each year, so that people have a way to tell if the entity is raising property taxes or not.

How Ad Valorem Taxes Work

Ad Valorem taxes are what people commonly know as property taxes. Property taxes in Corinth represent about half of the City's total revenues in any given fiscal year. You can see that knowing how ad valorem taxes work is important.

The actual tax levied on any single property is based on the appraised value of that property and the tax rate. If the tax rate stays the same from one year to the next, the actual tax levied goes up only if the property value goes up. Likewise if the property value goes down, the actual tax levied also goes down.

Garbage and Recycling service in Corinth

The City of Corinth provides garbage and recyclables collection services for its residents. The City currently contracts for this service with Waste Management, a company that provides waste collection services to many communities in Texas. The current contract with Waste Management expires at the end 2012. The City has contracted with Waste Management since about 1996 for this service.

Several months ago, the City issued a request for proposals to provide solid waste and recyclables collection for the City of Corinth. As of the deadline for submittal of the proposals, the City received three proposals. The staff is currently evaluating the proposals, and preparing them for presentation to the Council. With only two regular sessions and one workshop left for the year, it seems very likely that the proposals will be agenda items very soon. The remaining regular sessions are on December 6 and 20, 2012, and the workshop date is December 13, 2012. Unless there is a special called session, the latest date to select and approve a proposal is December 20, 2012.

To date, I have not received any significant complaints about the garbage collection service provided by Waste Management. In general, they seem to be doing a good job. Of course in the last 16 years much has changed with waste collection and disposal, the most obvious of which is the increased emphasis on recycling. It is important to evaluate the service we will request for the next 10 to 15 years based on possible and probable changes in the future as well as on the service we have received in the past. Certainly, the cost of the service is also very important.

Some items specifically mentioned in the request for proposals included larger recycle bins, large and bulky item removal, emergency cleanup (after major storms for example), and hazardous materials collection.

If you have concerns, questions, or suggestions about garbage collection for the future in Corinth or comments about the current garbage collection process, please let me know by commenting here, or contacting me directly at bhanson@cityofcorinth.com.

We still need to conserve water this summer

Stage 2 of the City of Corinth drought contingency plan has ended: City of Corinth water utility customers are no longer under a mandatory requirement to water no more than twice a week on specific days. At the May 17, 2012 council session City Manager Jim Berzina announced that the City would moving off of stage 2 water restrictions citing, among other reasons, that the City of Dallas had made changes in their water conservation plans, and that the reservoirs are currently at normal, or 'full', level.

Setting The Record Straight

Joe Harrison is running for reelection to the Corinth City Council, place 4 during municipal elections 2012. Sim Portnoy is challenging him again (he ran against Joe and lost in 2010). Recently Sim Portnoy impugned Joe Harrison's voting record and, by association, my voting record, in a desperate attempt to distract voters from his vacuous and outrageous statements. Now, he's directly attacking my voting record, and that is not going to work.

Be sure to get out and Vote

Early voting for local elections began on April 30, 2012. Early voting for the City of Corinth continues today (May 5) through 5 PM, and resumes Monday May 7 and goes through Tuesday May 8th. Voting Monday and Tuesday will be conducted from 7 AM to 7 PM. Election Day is May 12, 2012, with the polls open from 7 AM until 7 PM.

Corinth MUD #1 Update April 3

There was a Corinth Municipal Utility District # 1 board meeting held on Friday March 25, 2011. At this meeting, after signing some 2009 property tax rebate checks, and signing some more expense checks (without telling anyone what the checks were for, or who they were made out to), a letter was read into the record by the president of the board.

Gas Wells - Business as usual in Austin?

Recently I read an article in the Denton Record Chronicle that described several bills filed by State Rep. Tan Parker affecting residents in communities in the Barnett Shale (and other shale plays in the future). HB 2125 sought to direct the Rail Road Commission of Texas to place a priority on inspections of gas wells (in any phase) in urbanized counties with a large number of wells. HB 2126 would have increased the maximum fine for regulatory infractions by gas well operators in urbanized counties to $20,000. The $10,000 increase would have gone directly to the fund established for setting up and operating air monitoring in these urbanized counties.

Widening 35

A significant issue on the minds of North Texans is the congestion on 35E. All the way from Duncanville to north of Denton there are traffic jams and delays. In our particular neck of the woods we have a particularly nice spot, near Corinth Parkway, that tends to be jammed up most evenings, and often in the morning hours. Many would say that this is due to a lack of capacity on the two lanes northbound from Corinth Parkway. Others, me included, would say that it is the reduction from three lanes to two lanes that is major culprit. Either way it seems logical to want to increase the capacity on 35E in some fashion.

Corinth MUD #1 - no end in sight yet?

Previously the Corinth Municipal Utility District #1 (MUD #1) board had made some vague statements about being able to dissolve by January 24th. Today is March 10th, and they still have not dissolved. As of March 8th it was necessary for the City Council to call the election on the petition received by the city with respect to the ordinance that the council passed dissolving the MUD. In several meetings up to this point, some that I personally attended, it was stated by the board that they would have dissolved the district before the election. In an article written by Tim Glaze of the Lake Cities Sun (titled MUD Writes First Checks), 'Board members believe they will have dissolved the district before the city would need to call an election on the petition and incur the expense'. The Article is several weeks old - yet here we are with the election called...

Cut taxes, but not my benefits

That seems to be the confusing, and untenable, position of many people today. I just read an article in the NY Times and its accompanying poll that asked questions about how to cut the deficit. It seems that most people understand that you can't just keep borrowing money from the future to pay for things today. However, when asked what they are willing to give up to reduce spending, the answer is "not MY benefits".

Budget 2010: On Demand Transit Service

Corinth currently offers an "on demand transit" service to seniors and the disabled of any age. Initially a small low cost program, it has become a small extremely expensive program. From a few thousand dollars a year, it is now projected to be over $55,000 for 2010 serving only 12 residents that use it. Per person served, it is over $4,500, compared to just over $640 per person served by all the rest of the city services (police, fire/ems, community services, etc).

With the current budget issues, reduced revenues from sales tax and property values going down, it is hard to justify continuing this expense in my opinion.

You can find out more at my website.

A Bit of Good News on the Budget - for now

Both the February and March 2010 sales tax receipts were up compared to those months in 2009. This appears to be the first time in a while. Since January 2008 the sales tax had been steadily dropping compared to the prior year (same month), so this is a welcome change from a budgetary point of view. Obviously it would be nice if this change in direction were to continue, even if only by a modest amount.

This change alone will not correct the budget issues we have been monitoring all year - still, every bit helps.

Consideration of a Moratorium on issuing Gas Well Permits in the City of Corinth

At the last council session (May 6, 2010), at the end I requested that discussion of an ordinance to enact a moratorium on Gas Well Permits being issued be added to the May 20, 2010 Council Session agenda. I went so far as to poll the council - if at least 2 other council members agreed it would have to be put on the agenda per City Code 30.085(B). However, I was unable to get even one other council member to throw in on it - so it was up to the mayor and/or city manager to decide if that would be on the agenda.

Apparently one (or both) did decide to place it on the agenda - which I believe is very important for us to at least discuss. After the last month of discussions on the XTO request for a gas well permit, I felt that we should review our well permitting ordinance. During that review, it would be in the city's (and the residents') best interests to not allow any new permit requests.

The moratorium would be temporary and would have an appeals process in place. During the moratorium, council and staff would be working on any revisions necessary to the Gas Well Ordinance. We obtained a tremendous amount of technical information related to Gas Wells during the recent application process. It is very possible that this new information could have an impact on what our ordinance needs to say.

This moratorium would only apply to new gas well permits - the permit that XTO requested (and was denied) would not be subject to the moratorium. You might remember that we denied without prejudice, such that they (XTO) could reapply in light of what they learned in the original permit process.

Disc Golf Proposal for Corinth

At the Corinth Parks and Recreation Commission regular session on May 18, 2010, Aaron Quisenberry will present a proposal for creating a disc golf course at community park. Since the commission session packet is not currently posted, we don't have any details on the proposal. However, at a meeting about 2 months ago I believe, the possibility of a disc golf course being installed west of the Community Park South parking lot near the maintenance building was introduced.

This session of the board will consider the plan as subsequently submitted by Quisenberry. If that plan is similar to the plan introduced a few months ago, I would expect it to meet with a favorable review. Both the council and the Parks Commission have stated in the past that Disc Golf would be a desirable amenity for the City. When the course in the North Community Park was rejected, that had more to do with the process (or actually lack of) in getting the plan going, than the plan itself.

This time around, the proper processes are being followed. And, frankly, I think the idea has great merit. It will certainly provide a recreation activity that anyone in the city can use. Today, the bulk of community park is dedicated to baseball, softball and football/soccer fields. You have to be a part of an organized league or other group to have access to these facilities. The addition of a facility that is available all the time to anyone in the city would be, in my opinion, welcome.

for most, the story ends here

Now that the City of Corinth has denied XTO's gas well permit applications, most of the several hundred people who were attending meetings and speaking out will go back to their normal lives and probably pay little or no attention to what is happening.

Just couldn't happen at a worse time. As of now the Corinth Comprehensive plan is scheduled for public hearing and action by the Council on May 6, 2010. As important as it was for the public to come out and speak up at the XTO permit hearings, it is even more important to pay attention, get educated and speak up at the Comp Plan hearing.

The comprehensive plan if enacted will direct overhauls of many of our most important ordinances, including (but not limited to) zoning and subdivision, and will map the direction for our capital improvement projects for years to come. Some will remember the controversy around the Church Street reconstruction project - it was the comp plan from 2004-5 that set that in motion, and the contents of the infrastructure specifications in the comp plan that defined how the road would be built (how wide it would be).

The comp plan could be a significant instrument in defining how land gets used - and that can have a big impact on the Gas well situation. Or not, if no one speaks up about it.

So, where do you want the city to go? Stay involved, get involved with the comprehensive plan for the city of Corinth - read the plan, let us know what you think is important and come to the meetings/public hearings to have your voice heard.

XTO Energy Compressor Requirements Variance Request

XTO Energy is requesting variances to most of the essential requirements of the Lift compressor regulations of 114.15 Corinth City Code. Since XTO has said during the public hearing that they probably won't need the compressor, it may be best to wait on this variance until they decide they do need it.

Some of the most important aspects of quality of life in any city, and certainly here in Corinth, are the sound level at night, and the visual aspects of the streets and building architecture. The variance seems to request a blanket exception that could change sound levels at residences a considerable amount - something that is really not in the public interest, or in the interest of adjacent property owners.

More Information

My thoughts on the City's legal powers to regulate

I have been researching the Texas constitution, Texas Administrative Code, the Local Code, and such case law as I have been able to find, as well as some legal research works in law journals. The short story is that Home Rule Cities have far ranging authority to regulate. Yet they are subject to private property rules that can create takings claims.

I have put together my thoughts on this subject (at least the first part, our authorities) at my gas wells issue page.

Update on the XTO Gas Well Permit

Our council postponed action on the variances and the permits. I made the motion, and it was approved unanimously. I moved to postpone because I needed more time to evaluate all the information. I was in contact with the TCEQ that afternoon before the council session and in discussing the situation, was offered that they could provide technical resources to attend our meeting and discuss the air quality issues.

With that and the many good questions asked by the residents in the public hearing, I was convinced we needed more time to evaluate the situation. The mayor made it easy when he suggested that we postpone.