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Friday, July 30, 2010 |
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City prepares for a crop of apartments
Published February 7, 2010
SEGUIN — A new 180-unit apartment complex moved a step closer to construction Tuesday evening when the Seguin City Council approved the developer’s request to fulfill part of the city’s requirement for parkland dedication with a cash payment of $64,000.
Don Smith, the city’s director of planning, said the multi-family housing complex is being developed by Ron Inscore of Hempstead on a tract of slightly less than 10 acres located east of State Highway 123 Bypass and north of the motels and restaurants located at the intersection of Highway 123 and Interstate 10.
The apartment complex is being called the Ranch at State Highway 123.
Smith, in a memo to the council, said the Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 12 approved the developer’s request for private parkland credit for 8,500 square feet of recreational amenities to be included in the complex and a cash payment of $64,000 for the remainder of the parkland requirement.
The recreational amenities fulfill the parkland requirement for 20 units and the cash payment, based on a rate of $400 per unit, fulfills the requirement for the other 160 units.
During the council’s brief discussion of the parkland payment, Smith said the project being developed by Inscore is farther along than two other apartment complexes being planned in the city.
Smith, in a subsequent interview, said an apartment complex of 220 to 230 units is planned on Farm Road 725 near the Chaparral golf course.
A zoning change has been approved for that project, but the plat has not yet been approved. An apartment complex of 180 to 200 units is planned in the vicinity of Barnes Middle School, but it is not as far along in the planning process as the other two projects.
Smith said he had met with an architect planning the project, but no submittals, such as a zoning change request or a proposed plat, had been received.
In other business Tuesday, the City Council postponed a decision on the request of St. James Catholic Church for improvements around the city block bounded by South Austin, Washington, Live Oak and Camp streets.
“Recently, the church purchased this property and demolished the buildings from the site, removing a blighted area on the fringe of downtown,” City Manager Doug Faseler said in a memo to the council.
“We are now requesting the city of Seguin to do the curb, gutter and sidewalks around this entire city block,” Msgr. Dennis Darilek, pastor of St. James, said in a letter to the city manager. Darilek said the project will create some 45 new parking spaces.
“Words cannot describe the improvement that has been done to that area,” Councilman Dan Daniels said in opening discussion of the church’s request during the council meeting. Daniels noted that Guadalupe County has done a lot for downtown and the city should be willing to do its part.
Cost of the work has been estimated at approximately $55,000, and Faseler pointed out that the church’s requested work is not included in the current budget.
He suggested the council could consider the church’s request after the annual audit is received and mid-year budget adjustments are considered. The council agreed to reconsider the request at its second meeting in March.
Also on Tuesday, the City Council reappointed Donna Dodgen and Matthew Chase to additional three-year terms on the Main Street Advisory Board. Another board member, Robert Raetzsch, was not eligible to serve an additional term, and the council agreed to appoint as his replacement Kristy N. Stone, a local attorney.
The City Council approved the Parks and Recreation Department’s request for authorization to submit an application to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for its Texas Paddling Trails Program.
Tim Patek, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said in a memo to the council that no funding is required for the application.
If the application is approved, the city will enter into a partnership with TPWD for the development of a paddling trail from the Starcke Park Dam upstream to Red Mill Dam.
Each public access point will allow canoes and kayaks access to the river, parking and signage/kiosk information.
Proposed access locations are the concrete dock area by the Bowl Pavilion in Starcke Park, the hydro plant and property owned by Mike Claypool at Highway 46 and the Guadalupe River.
“I think it’s great,” Mayor Betty Ann Matthies said. “Y’all have done a good job.”
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