With the two most hesitant members absent and another voluntarily recusing himself for conflict of interest, those remaining on the West University Place Zoning and Planning Commission on Thursday voted 4-0 to give preliminary approval on a rezoning application for the Shipley Donuts site on Kirby Drive.
The commission’s recommendation to approve the rezoning application is a significant victory for Bob Orkin, whose company Kirby Retail Fund Ltd. owns the tract at 5800 Kirby Dr. But final approval must come from the West U. City Council.
“I think the Planning and Zoning Commission is a reasonable group of people,” Orkin said. “I feel like it was the right decision.”
Orkin began the arduous rezoning process in November 2009, asking the city to turn his tract into a commercial zone to allow him to demolish the Shipley Donuts store and construct a new building for Potbelly Sandwich Works. Right now the land is in a townhouse district, but it has prior non-conforming status for a commercial use. That status would not carry over if Orkin constructs a new building, making rezoning mandatory to achieve his goals.
After considering West U. residents’ comments at a public hearing on Feb. 8, Commissioners Bob Higley and DeDe DeStafano lead an extensive debate at last month’s Zoning and Planning Commission meeting about whether the city should grant the rezoning application. The two-hour discussion stalled a decision until the March meeting.
But Higley and DeStafano were absent on Thursday, and Vice Chair Bruce Frankel, who has voluntarily abstained from voting for the entire process, decided to leave the room. Frankel is Orkin’s brother in law, and he helped negotiate the deal with Potbelly Sandwich Works.
Residents near the Shipley Donuts raised concerns on Feb. 8 that the sandwich restaurant would bring more traffic, parking problems, noise and trash into their lives. They said they purchased their properties knowing the tract and others adjacent to it were zoned for town homes, and they always hoped one day the townhouse-district strip would turn residential.
“I’m very disappointed,” said West U. resident Rosemary Beauvais, who attended the Feb. 8 public hearing and both subsequent commission meetings. “I think that it is setting a precedent, and I think the other properties will end up going commercial. And I think that’s not what the residents expected.”
Orkin and his associates have shown a willingness to work with residents to allay their concerns. They agreed to install sound abatement walls and landscaping, and approached neighboring businesses to secure parking spots for restaurant employees. Most recently at Thursday’s meeting they announced another measure to stop employees from parking on West U. streets.
“The property is going to be restricted so employees can’t park within 500 feet of the property,” said acting City Attorney Josh Golden, interpreting a declaration letter from Orkin’s attorney. “This is bound to the property itself … The consequence of the violation would be up to the city to determine.”
The offer has one catch: If the city doesn’t grant final approval to the rezoning application by May 30, the employee-parking safeguard will expire. Now that the commission gave its thumbs-up to the rezoning request, the application is headed to city council.
Why would West U City Council:
Vote against expressed wishes of residents?
Bail out a real estate investor who paid, apparently, much too much?
Undermine resident’s confidence in zoning stability?
Set a poor example for other jurisdictions?
Reward a serving city official with zoning change?
Why should I, a resident of Bellaire, care?
Although they will not admit it, West U sets a standard for Bellaire Council.
This could give zoning poor press, even with the Ashby controversy.
Good government might be catching, and we could use it!