City Council Meeting of Feb. 9, 2022 - Recap by Councilmember Hines

Received by City Staff on February 15, 2022.

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Mayor Pro-Tem LeBrun not in attendance due to illness.

Regular Agenda

Item 3: Presentation from Wimberley Fire Rescue Chief Carroll Czichos established the following:

• Our local fire department responds to calls in Woodcreek with about 2500 gallons of water each time and they bring about 900 feet of hose on each engine to tap into flush valves as needed.
• Extra trucks and hoses can be brought in quickly since they have 3 engines, 1 quick attack truck, 2 tinder trucks, and 5 brush trucks. These range in the amount of water they carry from 300-2000 gallons. Additionally, they can call back up from Dripping Springs if the need arises.
• The Wimberley Fire Department periodically comes to fill up their trucks in Woodcreek and they alternate flush valves each time; this helps check the function and pressure of valves. If they find one that does not work, they bag it.
• Their firefighters are full-time employees and not volunteers. They work 48/96 shifts which is 2 full days on and 4 days off.
• Aqua will report on the status of their flush valves to the Fire Chief upon request, but they do not provide regular annual reports to them per their memorandum of understanding.
• Woodcreek has an insurance rating of 5, meaning that we are within five miles of a station and hydrants are located within 1000 ft of most (if not all) houses.
• The street markers are important for the fire fighters to find the flush valves and they rely on valve location maps as well; they are updating these systems in their trucks this year.
• HELPFUL TIPS FOR RESIDENTS: Check alarms regularly! You can call the fire department for assistance with this if you need. Keep your propane tanks outside and away from the house and out of the garage; this will help save lives in the event of a fire. It is recommended you keep a functioning fire extinguisher in your house and that you place it in a location you are likely to see and check it regularly. Keep a working hose on all sides of the outside of the house so you can quickly put out brush fires. Do NOT attempt to fight a fire in your house on your own; call for help!
• PLEASE HELP KEEP BRUSH AND GRASS TRIMMED AND AWAY FROM FLUSH VALVES SO THAT THEY ARE VISIBLE AND EASY TO FIND FROM THE STREET.
• Note from the item Summary and cover page: Mayor Rasco, Councilmember Hines, and Councilmember Grummert have mapped the flush valve locations for the city and noted which of the street markers are missing. These findings will be presented to Council and added to the website.
• NO ACTION TAKEN. Presentation only.

Item 4: Suggest the first task for the newly formed Ordinance Review Committee be that they review the entire code in depth and make recommendations to Council; passed unanimously by all Councilmembers present. Discussion on this topic centered around looking over the code at macro and micro levels: does the structure and outline make sense, are there sections the City should consider adding or removing entirely, is the code aligned with State Code or are there sections that need updates, are there redundancies or contradicting passages? It was established that our codification system does not automatically update when new State laws are passed, but you can find where it has been linked to state code previously in a subsection at the bottom of the table of contents. While there have been several whole updates of the City code and full recodifications performed in the past, there are not regular “autopsies” of the code to check for issues. When a new ordinance is passed and then codified, Municode will link it with State code at that time, but they do not go back and review for the City. A recodification process entails a full line-by-line audit with the City lawyer and Municode Codification team. Councilmember Hines mentioned regular audits of this nature by the Ordinance Review Committee every couple of years would be important for the Committee to consider since some sections of the code could be out of alignment with the current State code. Applications for the Ordinance Review Committee are available online here: https://www.woodcreektx.gov/forms

Item 5: Recommending that the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Work Group Review the Subdivision and Zoning ordinances as they apply to lot sizes to remove contradictory language and update the language under specific zoning designations passed with 3 ayes and 1 nay. With this vote, the Workgroup has been tasked to review and make recommendations for changes to Planning and Zoning for review. Discussion centered around the fact that lot sizes are typically stated under Zoning Designations and while minimum structure and setbacks are listed in City code, the minimum lot sizes are not mentioned there but under subdivision alone. It was noted that the city planner who works for K.Friese remarked that this was unusual for a City during a meeting with City Manager Lewis and Councilmembers Grummert and Hines. Changes suggested in that meeting prompted this agenda item.

Item 6: Q&A led by Councilmember Grummert with City lawyer, Bud Wymore, over possible legal issues concerning the Brookmeadow Overlay requiring one-acre lot minimums resulted in the following discovery:

• State law allows cities to set minimum lot size requirements.
• Setting minimum lot sizes is common practice and Woodcreek already has code speaking to minimum lot size requirements
• It does not impact or change existing plats
• It does not prevent future subdivision from seeking variance requests
• It does not impact adding a second home on a single lot as this is already prohibited under another section of Woodcreek city code.
• It does not prohibit an owner from selling off additional lots they may own that are adjacent to one another and platted separately
• The procedure for setting or changing minimum lot sizes is to pass an ordinance and the Brookmeadow Overlay District is in line with the required process for making these types of changes.
• Chapter 245 of State Code says that there are no limits on the size of lots that cities can require
• There are NO existing potential legal issues concerning this overlay that Mr. Wymore is currently aware of at the time of this meeting.
• In the “Whereas” section of this ordinance, Mr. Wymore citied supporting Supreme Court cases giving legal precedence to this overlay
• It is common for cities to recognize neighborhoods through the use of districts, but not always to establish a minimum lot size.

Item 7: Updating a recent ordinance that Council passed regarding the building code and permit process passed unanimously by all Councilmembers present. Additional language was suggested and added by Councilmember Pulley to further clarify when a permit is needed and align some of the terminology used directly with the IRC. An amendment passed to add suggestions made by a local contractor to Councilmember Pulley in sections C and E of the ordinance. These were not present in the packet, but made minimal changes and Council moved forward with these additions. A copy of these changes can be produced upon request with the City and the ordinance will once again pass through the formal public notification process.

Item 8: Recommending that the City Staff create a packet for the Platinum Panel addressing walking trails passed unanimously by all Councilmembers present. The plan is for staff to outline the process for implementing walking trails, options for placement, types of trails or paths possible (including road stripes), and potential funding options like grants. City Manager Lewis explained that TXDOT does a 20% match with cities to put in pedestrian mobility and that along our roads we have a 50ft (total) easement that includes the width of the road and reaches into the surrounding landscape. Use of this easement could be possible and Councilmember Hines inquired as to what the next steps would be and if K.Friese could help in the planning. Support for walking trails and addressing safety for pedestrian mobility came from a petition submitted and from the Comprehensive Plan Survey.

Item 9: An ordinance to enact the previously approved changes to the impervious coverage rating from swimming pools back to 100% passed unanimously by all Councilmembers present. After much discussion, an amendment was suggested and passed to change the language to match the International Swimming Pools and Spas Code. This removed the word inground and added spas, hot tubs and aquatic facilities and cited that code for reference. It was noted by Councilmember Brizendine this should address above-ground pools and City Manager Lewis noted this does not include temporary kiddie pools.

Item 10: The ordinance to amend the budget passed unanimously by all Councilmembers present. Concerns were expressed over current legal expenses and Mayor Rasco assured that measures will be taken to reduce those moving forward. Additionally, City Manager Lewis suggested that the City begin breaking down the usage by Staff or Councilmembers of legal services. Councilmember Hines requested that future budget amendments include the most recent financial statements.

Item 11: The following appointments were made to Planning and Zoning:

• Andy Davenport, recommended by Mayor Rasco and unanimously approved
• Kathy Maldonado for alternate, recommended by Mayor Rasco, but failed for lack of a second to the motion made by Councilmember Brizendine
• Carson Bledsoe for alternate, recommended by Mayor Rasco and approved 3 aye and 1 nay

Reports:

Item 12: A training workshop to address policies and procedures for all elected and appointed City officials will occur on Feb 23rd at 2pm during the Special Council Meeting. This is open to the public.

Item 13: City Manager reported that 56 residents participated in brush pick-up. Councilmember Hines attempted to collect information on behalf of citizens regarding why they had to register and why some brush was not picked up after rain delays. Mayor Rasco answered that registration was needed so that Waste Collection could bring the right size truck and equipment. City Manager Lewis expressed concerns over discussion occurring during a report section of the agenda and no further questions were answered. A city email went out the next day letting residents know that any remaining registered brush piles would be picked up by the end of the day February 10th 2022. Anyone still experiencing issues should contact the City directly.