CenterPoint Energy filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the cities in its service area for a rate increase for delivery charges. The rate increase for delivery charges is about $76 million for retail electric providers. There is also an $18 million increase for wholesale transmission customers, CenterPoint Energy representative Diane Hasell said.

If CenterPoint Energy’s rate increase is passed by the Public Utility Commission, customers who use 1,000 kWh a month are looking at an increase of $5.53 a month, or a 5 percent increase.

The Public Utility Commission could come to a decision this year, Hasell said.

If council approved the rate increase during last night’s meeting, the rate increase would go into effect immediately.

Council denied the request but residents could still see a rate increase if the Public Utility Commission approves the case.

The next city council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers on July 26.

Council’s discussion of the agenda item may be held in a closed executive session.

During its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m., council will discuss CenterPoint Energy rate increases.

West U city staff met with representatives from CenterPoint Energy to discuss rate increase and the impact to the city’s revenue.

Staff is recommending that council denies their request for a rate increase.

The council meeting will be held in the council chambers, 3800 University Blvd.

City Manager Michael Ross said over 10 people have complained about leaf blowers starting up too early in West U. Council discussed whether or not quiet hours need to be looked at or changed. They plan on putting the issue on a future agenda.

Currently, quiet hours are Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

One resident told council that leaf blowers working at 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday are too early.

“They fire up at 7 a.m. and go steady all morning,” Mayor Bob Kelly said.

Councilmember Steven Segal suggested quiet hours be changed to Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“I’d like to see it really discussed,” Segal said. “If we don’t feel it’s popular, we’re not going to do it.”

Councilmember George Boehme said every council goes over and over quiet hours. He asked his council members if this was really something they wanted the police to enforce.

“I’m not going to follow any sort of direction on this,” Boehme said. “I really have no sympathy for people waking up at 10:30 on Saturday.”

Council also discussed the protection of trees in the right-of-way during its special session.

Segal said he would like council to look at the language regarding the city’s tree protection ordinance. The building and standards commission is going to look into the tree ordinance to see if they have a recommendation.

Residents can get a permit from the city to cut down a tree if it causes an impediment on the property.

Boehme said he has never heard of someone cutting down a tree for no reason.

“A tree has value and I don’t think people do it unless there’s an overwhelming need to,” Boehme said. “Going and chopping down mature trees is like ripping up $100 bills. You just don’t do it.”

City attorney Alan Petrov brought up the issue of regulating door-to-door soliciting and advertising during council’s special session.

West U has an ordinance banning door-to-door soliciting and advertising.

Petrov said he’s seen several cases where the line for commercial speech is not clear. He said some advertisers have implied that they would take legal action against the city because commercial speech is a constitutional right.

Advertisers think that the government should not put judgment on what a homeowner should or shouldn’t receive.

Petrov said the city needs to have a way of updating their no soliciting list, so that if people move, new homeowners will be able to get on the list.

Councilmember Bob Fry said he wanted to have an executive session to discuss the city’s ordinance on soliciting.

During council’s regular session, Henry Stelzig, a resident who lives in the 4200 block of Byron, addressed council regarding parking on both sides of Byron.

The block where Stelzig lives is a two-way street with parking on both sides. When there is an event going on at Colonial Park Pool, parking is an issue.

Stelzig said his car was sideswiped during an event at Colonial Park Pool on June 27.

He said he would like council to take action and limit parking to one side of the street.

The next city council meeting is July 12 and will be held in the council chambers.

Council will also discuss matters related to noise and solicitation during its special session.

During its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m., council may approve a contract with Loftin Equipment Company for annual maintenance of emergency backup generators.

Loftin Equipment had the lowest bid for maintenance costs, totaling $34, 475 for a five-year contract.

Council may also approve a contract with Cypress Creek Pest Control for mosquito spraying and municipal facility pest control services.

Cypress Creek Pest Control had the lowest bid, totaling $76,560 for a five-year contract.

Cypress Creek will provide pest control on a quarterly basis and mosquito spraying will be done on a weekly basis from April to the end of October.

They will provide other services, such as termite control, bee control and storm sewer inlet treatment, for an additional cost, as needed.

The public will have the opportunity to address council during its 6:30 p.m. regular meeting tonight.

Council voted four-to-one to approve the second reading of the ordinance to rezone 5800 Kirby from a townhome district to a commercial district during last night’s meeting.

Kirby Retail Fund, Ltd. has been seeking the zoning change from council to rezone 5800 Kirby.

The property has been zoned as a townhome district since 1974, but has been used as a commercial property as a “prior non-conforming” property.

Council expressed concern about the broad application of the zoning category during previous meetings; once the property is rezoned anything can be built there, such as an office building or a liquor store. Many council members said they would vote for the zoning change if Kirby Retail Fund agreed to deed restrictions prohibiting a liquor store or a two-story office from being built there.

The developer agreed to restrict the property to prohibit employee on-street parking within 750 feet of the property, as well as the liquor store land use and structures more than one story in height.

Council approved the first reading of the ordinance to rezone the property four-to-one at their May 24 meeting despite opposition from several residents.

Many residents were concerned about issues with parking, trash and wanting a buffer or green space between the commercial property and their homes.

Councilmember Steven Segal urged his fellow council members to vote against the second reading of the ordinance last night.

“I’m still opposed to it. I would ask you to reconsider it,” Segal said. “It’s premature.”

Segal said Tangley residents purchased their homes because they knew it was a townhome district. He urged his council members to postpone the ordinance because once they approve it, it is irreversible.

“We’ve done a poor job of zoning it,” he said. “If we make this lot commercial we’ve killed the rest of the block.”

Segal was the only councilmember who voted against the ordinance.

“I wish we had a better way to do this, but we don’t,” Councilmember George Boehme said.

Boehme said Segal made some good points but he supported approving the ordinance.

“I have to agree with Steve, but like George said, we have to be more practical about it,” Councilmember Chuck Guffey said.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Fry did not comment but voted to approve the ordinance.

Mayor Bob Kelly said he found it hard to believe the land use would succeed as a townhome district. He said it came down to whether or not they believe it would be a viable townhome district.

“It’s going to be a very attractive commercial development,” he said.

Kirby Retail Fund, Ltd. has been seeking the zoning change from council to rezone 5800 Kirby.

The property has been zoned as a townhome district since 1974, but has been used as a commercial property as a “prior non-conforming” property.

Council expressed concern about the broad application of the zoning category during previous meetings; once the property is rezoned anything can be built there, such as an office building or a liquor store. Many council members said they would vote for the zoning change if Kirby Retail Fund agreed to deed restrictions prohibiting a liquor store or a two-story office from being built there.

The developer agreed to restrict the property to prohibit employee on-street parking within 750 feet of the property, as well as the liquor store land use.

Council approved the first reading of the ordinance to rezone the property four-to-one at their May 24 meeting despite opposition from several residents.

Twelve residents addressed council during the meeting, all opposed to the property being rezoned as a commercial land use during the May 24 meeting.

Many residents were concerned about issues with parking, trash and wanting a buffer or green space between the commercial property and their homes.

Councilmember Chuck Guffey voted for approval of the first reading of the rezoning ordinance and said “no matter what we do tonight it will continue.” Guffey has voted in favor of rezoning the property at previous council meetings.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Fry was silent during the discussion of rezoning the property and said “I have no comment.” Fry voted for approval of the first reading of the rezoning ordinance. Fry has voted in favor of rezoning the property at previous council meetings.

Councilmember Steven Segal said the rezoning ordinance was premature and voted against the first reading. Segal has always voted against rezoning the property.

Councilmember George Boehme voted for approval of the first reading of the ordinance.

“I think this is a good land use and I plan to support it,” he said.

Boehme expressed concerns about the zoning category during a public hearing on May 10 and told Kirby Retail Fund Ltd. he would vote for the rezoning if they deed restricted the property.

Mayor Bob Kelly also voted for the first reading.

“A green space is just not going to happen. We need to strike now,” he said during the May 24 meeting.

Kelly said during the May 10 public hearing that council was “blindsiding” Kirby Retail Fund Ltd. with a request for deed restrictions.

Council will consider the second reading of the ordinance during their meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday in the council chambers.

West U City Council approved the first reading to rezone Shipley's Donuts from a townhome district to a commercial district.

Despite opposition from several West U residents, city council voted to approve the first reading of the ordinance to rezone Shipley’s Donuts from a townhome district to a commercial district.

Kirby Retail Fund, Ltd. has been seeking the zoning change from council to rezone a former Shipley’s Donuts location at 5800 Kirby.

The property has been zoned as a townhome district since 1974, but has been used as a commercial property as a “prior non-conforming” property.

Council expressed concern about the broad application of the zoning category; once the property is rezoned anything can be built there, such as an office building or a liquor store. Many council members said they would vote for the zoning change if Kirby Retail Fund agreed to deed restrictions prohibiting a liquor store or a two-story office from being built there.

Kirby Retail Fund needed council approval for a zoning change to tear down the existing property and build a Potbelly Sandwich Works. Once the building is torn down, it will lose its “prior non-conforming” status.

Bob Orkin of Kirby Retail Fund, along with his attorney Reid Wilson, agreed to deed restrictions for the property, addressing council’s concerns prior to last night’s public hearing. They declined to make any additional comment during the last night’s meeting.

Kirby Retail Fund agreed to restrict the property to prohibit employee on-street parking within 750 feet of the property, as well as the liquor store land use.

Twelve residents addressed council during the meeting, all opposed to the property being rezoned as a commercial land use.

Cherie Lindley, a Tangley Street resident, said many residents felt council was already on the side of the retailer and were not listening to what the residents had to say.

“It will change the complexion of our entire neighborhood,” Lindley said. “This is nothing personal … it sets a precedent.”

Lindley urged council to protect the quality of life in the neighborhood by voting against the proposed zoning change.

“This is my home. I want to enjoy life there and I don’t want to deal with the headaches,” she said. “I hope you will put yourself in my shoes, our shoes.”

Many of the residents brought up issues of parking, trash and wanting a buffer or a green space between the commercial property and their homes.

“I understand where you’re coming from, believe me, I sympathize with you,” Mayor Bob Kelly said. “There are merits on both sides of this issue.”

Councilmember Steven Segal said he didn’t think council should be tampering with residential zoning and that the zoning change is premature.

“West U is a zoned city. We’re proud of that,” Segal said. “We face issues with our zoning code.”

Segal said he would vote against the rezoning request.

“This here that we’re talking about is child’s play compared to what can happen,” Councilman George Boehme said. “The options aren’t very good.”

Boehme said it was council’s fault the city doesn’t have a better zoning code; it’s not Bob Orkin’s fault. He said Orkin has offered to make deed restrictions for the property and he supported rezoning the property.

Council voted four to one in favor of passing the first reading of the ordinance.

This was the first of two readings needed for approval.

Council will consider the second reading during its June 14 meeting.

West U City Council voted to leave the public hearing open for the rezoning of Shipley’s Donuts, 5800 Kirby, from a townhome district to a commercial district on May 10. Shipley’s has been considered a townhome district since 1974, but has acted as a commercial property. The application for rezoning the property to a commercial district would allow any kind of commercial property to be built there, such as a liquor store or an office building. The owner of the building has plans to tear down and rebuild for a Potbelly Sandwich shop. The broad assessment of the zoning category bothered many city council members at the May 10 meeting.

Council’s main concern with rezoning the property is that anything, such as an office building or a liquor store, can be built there.

Bob Orkin of Kirby Retail Fund Ltd. along with his attorney Reid Wilson will address council’s concerns at tonight’s meeting.

West U residents are welcome to address council with their opinions on the rezoning request during the public hearing.

West U City Council voted to leave the public hearing open for the rezoning of Shipley’s Donuts, 5800 Kirby, from a townhome district to a commercial district. Shipley’s has been considered a townhome district since 1974, but has acted as a commercial property. The application for rezoning the property to a commercial district would allow any kind of commercial property to be built there, such as a liquor store or an office building. The broad assessment of the zoning category is what bothered many city council members last night.

Reid Wilson, an attorney working with owner Bob Orkin of Kirby Retail Fund Ltd., said the concerns city council addressed in the public hearing held last night, hadn’t come up as an issue before.

“The only issue that’s really come up is parking. This is not a strong townhome site,” Wilson said. “It’s highly unlikely that you’d have a tall building or a liquor store. We believe it’s going to be built.”

Councilman George Boehme made the point that if they approved the zoning district as commercial, anything could be built there.

“They’re more than hypothetical. They’re very real,” Boehme said. “It can be a liquor store. It can be a two-story office building. You’re asking council to pass a whole lot more.”

Boehme said he is all for the proposed plan, but he wishes the council had a lesser zoning category.

“I thought the public hearing was premature,” Councilman Steven Segal said. “It’s all part of a bigger issue.”

Mayor Bob Kelly was in favor of approving the zoning changes at last night’s meeting.

“We owe these people a decision tonight,” he said. “It’s kind of blindsiding these guys with these problems.”

Council decided to give Kirby Retail Fund Ltd. some time to think over what was discussed in the public hearing so they can come back during their next meeting and address their concerns.

“If they come back here with restrictions for these issues, I will be all for building Potbelly’s,” Boehme said.

Several West U residents addressed the council during the public hearing with their opinions about the proposed Potbelly Sandwich Works. Some people were there in support of Bob Orkin, while others were still concerned about parking issues.

“It [Potbelly’s] will add to the West U sense of community,” said Bob Brownfield, a resident and friend of Bob Orkin. “If he says he will do something, he will do it.”

David Kyle, a resident who lives in the 2600 block of Tangley, said he was concerned about people parking in front of their homes.

Kyle told council that property along Kirby is not mostly commercial. He said streets impacted by Kirby run perpendicular. North of Tangley, two homes per street (11 homes) is affected by commercial and over 34 homes on Lake are bound by Kirby property. He said he hopes council will look out for nearby homeowners.

Bob Creager, a resident who lives in the 2700 block of Tangley, is in favor of Potbelly’s getting built but he is still concerned about parking.

“Since we moved to Tangley we’ve been shocked by the amount of traffic,” he said. “I would like to see the property improved.”

Creager told council that they have a tough decision to make.

The public hearing will stay open until the next city council meeting on May 24.

Kelly encouraged all residents to make an effort to be more aware of motorcyclists and to participate in training and educational programs.

To read the proclamation click here.

Members of Born Again Motorcycle Ministry joined Mayor Bob Kelly in proclaiming May as motocycle awareness month.

The property owner submitted a rezoning application to the city on Oct. 23, 2009 to amend the zoning ordinance from a planned development district second townhome district (PDD-TH2) to a commercial district.

The building has been zoned as a PDD-TH2 since 1974 and will lose its prior non-conforming status for land use if it is torn down and rebuilt. The property owner has plans to build a Potbelly restaurant at the 5800 Kirby location.

The planning and zoning commission discussed the rezoning request at their meeting on Nov. 12, 2009 and held a joint public hearing with city council on Feb. 8. The city council may vote to have another public hearing after Monday night’s meeting.

Shipley’s Donuts decided not to renew their lease, which will be expiring in 2011. The property owner may demolish the building once the lease is up and rebuild.

The public will be able to address the council during the public hearing.

The public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the city council chambers.

Construction for the expansion project is scheduled to start May 10 and includes the building of a two-story structure. City code requires a building to not exceed 35 ft. and the council approved a height variance for the new building to be less than 50 ft.

“Maximum height of any part of the structure is 35’. The new addition will exceed this requirement,” City Manager Michael Ross wrote in his variance to city council.

But, the maximum height of the new facility will not exceed the maximum height of 35 ft. It will only be in the 20 ft. range, Ross said.

“We just wanted to make sure we were covered,” he said. With the construction scheduled to begin in early May, the city didn’t want to run into any code problems.

The code for the maximum height requirement applies to any equipment used in the construction of the expansion that makes the building look bigger than it actually is, Ross said.

The new police and fire facility will be two stories and each story is typically 10 ft.

The expansion project costs $5.9 million. The city has a budget of about $400,000 for furniture, fixtures and audio visual equipment for the completed rooms.

The construction of the new facility is expected to take between nine months and one year to complete.

The council will modernize parking requirements for automotive uses and modernize the PNC (prior nonconforming) status.

Councilmember George Boehme said nobody complies with the city’s zoning codes and they need to be rewritten.

Councilmember Steven Segal said he’d like to see West U become a smoke free city, but the council did not vote to add it to their agenda or goals.

“We are essentially a smoke free community,” Boehme said. He doesn’t allow smoking in his restaurant and said most residents will ask people who are smoking to please not smoke in West U.

Monday’s special session was the last session to be held in the conference room until after the construction on city hall is complete. Construction is scheduled to start the first week of May.

They approved all variance requests for the new facilities, which will start undergoing construction the first week of May.

The new police building will be two-stories and the total height will be less than 50 ft. The maximum height of any structure to meet the city’s code is 35 ft.

Council approved the number of parking spaces the new facility will have. There will be an additional 44 parking spaces added for the new facility.

“We will need more parking spaces as they become available,” City Manager Michael Ross said.

The city hall and police facility construction is estimated to take between nine months and one year to complete.

The council will discuss variances to city codes for the expansion, which include parking, building height requirements and fire separations for the buildings, among other things.

The current facilities require 58 parking spaces and the new buildings will require 102 parking spaces. The proposed plan shows only 51 parking spaces and after side street parking the facilities will be 20 spaces short of the required amount.

Council will discuss the proposed building exceeding 35 feet, which is the maximum height for any part of the building.

The main hallway of city hall, including the renovations of the conference room and break room will be fire sprinkled as well as the dormitory areas of the fire department and the fire apparatus bay.

City council will discuss and possibly approve the variances of city codes for the proposed structures.

Edloe Street Café’ and Deli was the only business to bid on the Colonial Park concessionaire contract. Edloe Street Café’ and Deli is owned by Council member George Boehme, who chose to leave the chamber during the discussion of approving the contract.

Edloe Street Café’ and Deli will be operating from the main concession window facing the pool area and through a walk-up window on Byron, which visitors to the play group can access, once the pool is open. They plan on serving a variety of menu items, including vegetarian items.

The council approved a revision to the contract, which allows visitors to bring their own food to Colonial pool or to purchase food from the Edloe Street Café’ and Deli concession.

The city will receive 28 percent of the gross receipts from the concession.

The council also approved the Friends of West University Place to disperse $250,000 of their funds for the West University Recreation Center playground equipment and Colonial Park pool shade structures and water feature projects.

“The playground equipment in our parks is absolutely amazing,” Mayor Bob Kelly said.

Items at the 6:30 p.m. regular council meeting include a proclamation to proclaim April 24, 2010 as Rotary Group Study Exchange Day in Texas.

The city council will also discuss dispensing funds for the West University Place Recreation Center playground equipment and Colonial Park Pool shades, amongst other things.

The public will have the opportunity to address the city council during the 6:30 p.m. meeting.

With these types of visions in mind, the city today submitted an application to Google, beseeching the technology behemoth to choose the city of West U. for an experimental fiber optic network that would make Internet speeds up to 100 times faster than they are now.

“Those abilities for people do more from home, or more from our recreational facilities or libraries or anything else just has enormous attraction,” Ross said. “I think it could put a city like West University even more so on the map.”

But West U. has a lot of competition. According to the Google Blog, by 10 a.m. pacific time the company had received more than 600 applications from cities, and more than 190,000 responses from individuals. All of them are begging and pleading Google to choose their cities for Google Fiber, a new project that is seeking locations for an experimental communications network.

“The interest has been pretty significant,” said Google spokeswoman Erin Fors.

Google Fiber would transfer information at 1 gigabyte-per-second, which is basically light speed compared to the typical 100 megabytes-per-second speeds available in the majority of the United States. One gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes.

According to the company’s web site for the project, Google hopes eventually there will be universal ultra-high speed broadband networks across the country that will allow people to do previously unimagined things on the Internet.

“Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web, and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York,” the Google Fiber site says. “Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3D video of a university lecture.”

Some cities have resorted to crazy antics to attract the eyes of Google. The mayor of Duluth, Minnesota jumped into 35-degree Lake Superior and posted a video of the stunt on YouTube. In much warmer temperatures, the mayor of Sarasota, Florida went for a swim with sharks. West U. chose a much more tempered approach — The city hired a professional videographer to interview stakeholders about why the community is a good match for the network.

West U. has several characteristics that make it a strong candidate, Ross said. For example, many West U. residents work in fields that require the transfer of large amounts of information: Doctors, university professors, attorneys, and the like. Residents are highly educated, affluent and technologically connected.

Ross said he hopes Google notices the city’s location and high population density. With more than 15,000 people living in only two square miles, Ross said he thinks it’s “logical” for Google to come here.

“The bang for the buck for Google to come into the city and put in this infrastructure, you’re hitting a lot more people for a lot less wire than you would in a Sugarland or some other town in the country where it’s much more spread out,” he said.

Google Project Manager James Kelly wrote on the Google Blog this morning that the company plans to review all the applications and narrow down the choices for locations. Google employees will visit the top candidate cities and meet with local officials to learn more. The company hopes to choose sites for Google Fiber by the end of the year.

“This enthusiasm is much bigger than Google and our experimental network,” Kelly wrote. “If one message has come through loud and clear, it’s this: people across the country are hungry for better and faster Internet access.”

InstantNewsWestU requested a copy of the drainage study in mid February after city leaders became concerned that flood restrictors on the Bellaire Boulevard Bridge in Southside Place would stop intense flood waters from fully draining out of West U. The study researches how more flood water from drainage improvements on Bellaire Boulevard would affect down-stream areas like Poor Farm Ditch, a water detention area called the Meyer Tract, and eventually Brays Bayou.

The flood control district refused to release the study, arguing it is exempt from public disclosure because it is an internal draft study the district was using to create public policy, and it was subject to the “deliberative process privilege.”

But City Manager Michael Ross said on Monday that the district told him the study should be finalized by this Friday.

“It’s released everywhere, it’s public,” Ross said. “The draft is taken off.”

The city maintains a positive working relationship with the district, he said, and he doesn’t think administrators are trying to keep documents secret without cause.

City leaders hope the study shows that more water coming from drainage improvement projects on Bellaire Boulevard and within the city of West U. will not negatively impact downstream areas. They want the flood control district to authorize the removal of the flood restrictors on the bridge.

West U. Mayor Bob Kelly said he was not aware the drainage study existed until he learned about it from InstantNewsWestU. He requested InstantNewsWestU send him a copy of the letter and legal brief that Harris County sent to the Texas Attorney General asking that office to exempt the drainage study from public disclosure.

“After looking at this I came to the conclusion there’s nothing we can do,” Kelly said. “We can just wait and see what the Attorney General’s office response is to whether they have to release it or not.”

City Attorney Alan Petrov said part of the drainage study could contain engineering-related factual information, but part of it could contain policy-related information that would be subject to the “deliberative process privilege.”

“Often the A.G. rules in those cases that portions of document can be withheld, put portions must be released,” Petrov said. “Of course, we don’t know without seeing the document.”

However, the attorney general’s decision may be a moot point if the flood control district publicly discloses the final version of the drainage study. If that happens, West U. leaders are likely to examine the document with a fine-toothed comb.

“I’m hoping this will all be resolved peacefully by hurricane season,” Kelly said.

Along the way the council decided to change its procedures on calling and closing public hearings, after the rezoning applicant raised questions because comments continued streaming in after the first public hearing in early February. From now on when the city calls public hearings, officials will not officially close the hearings at the end so that residents can continue providing feedback until the council issues final votes at later meetings.

“The action we just took was to call another public hearing to allow you and your neighbors and anyone that’s interested in the city to come and speak,” said Councilman George Boehme.

In November 2009 the owner of the Shipley property at 5800 Kirby Dr., Bob Orkin of Kirby Retail Fund Ltd., asked the city to rezone his land so he can tear down the old Shipley building and construct a Potbelly Sandwich Works. Although the land is zoned as a townhouse district, Shipley has operated commercially as a pre-existing, non-conforming use. Orkin would lose that exception if he constructed a new building for Potbelly, so rezoning is necessary to reach his goals.

At the first public hearing in February, many residents reacted negatively to the rezoning application because they said they feared the sandwich restaurant would bring traffic, parking problems, noise and trash. Some residents said they bought their homes near the tract because they knew it was a townhouse district, and they held out hope the land would one day be residential.

At the next meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, residents spoke out about similar concerns. City Manager Michael Ross said Orkin’s attorney, Reid Wilson, had questions about whether additional public comment was actually legal, since the city council and the commission had officially closed the public hearings in February.

Ross said after researching the question, City Attorney Alan Petrov found that Wilson was right: Public comment on an issue is not allowed after the official closing of a public hearing.

Because the council still wanted to hear what residents have to say on the rezoning application, they decided to change the city’s procedure and leave public hearings open until a final vote closes the matter for good.

Councilman Steven Segal cast the lone vote against calling another public hearing about the Shipley tract, because he said the city needs to examine its rules on prior nonconforming status first and call another hearing afterwards.

“I feel there may be a domino effect here and if we take action on one property we may find ourselves in a box,” Segal said. “I think it would make more sense to wait until we have a better idea about where we want to go on this issue.”

Two residents of Tangley Road, just blocks from Shipley Donuts, signed up to speak about the rezoning application but the council told them they couldn’t speak until the next public hearing in May. However, both residents chose to comment generally to express themselves instead of specifically mentioning 5800 Kirby Dr.

“I would like to remind city council that the city of West University Place is a city of homes first and primarily, and a city of commercial entities secondarily,” said David Kyle. “I would like to ask city council not to be so quick to rush to judgments, whatever those may be, and to consider at all times, under all circumstances to consider their constituents and their residents.”