VOL 9 No. 20
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2016
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Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
P & Z commission says ‘no’ to city Woman’s Council of Missouri City names Woman of the Year council resolution on apartments By SESHADRI KUMAR Sugar Land’s Planning and Zoning Commission last week unanimously decided to reject City Council Resolution No.15-37 which directed the commission to consider repealing the changes to Development Code regarding Planned Developments (PDs); Replace with the previous PD Code language and add a new regulation capping the number of multi-family units within PDs to 200 units. Upon review of multi-family related data and research,the Planning and Zoning Commission said it is not necessary to replace the PD regulations of the Development Code because: “Much like the citizens that expressed concerns about quality of development and growth within the City, the Commission takes its role of ensuring quality development and growth seriously. “Multi-family housing serves a purpose in our community, such as providing alternative housing options for different generations and stages of life and also helps to support local retail and employment. “In comparing Sugar Land to other peer cities, Sugar Land has a low percentage of multifamily. “The PD process provides flexibility, helps to ensure quality development and is the best weapon against poor development quality. The Commission encourages the City to educate the public about the PD process and its benefits. “The Land Use Plan update process is ongoing and that process should be completed before considering any changes. A citywide target or ratio may be appropriate but should be incorporated at a policy level, such as through the Land Use Plan, rather than as part of
development regulations. “The Commission has not found a compelling reason to place a 200 unit cap on this type of use within a PD. The number of units in a multifamily development does not determine the quality of the development. “The updated PD regulations provide a stronger baseline for staff, Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council to review PDs and ensure high quality development in general and when multi-family is requested as part of a PD application. However, there are additional design elements/criteria that could be considered for multi-family such as requiring structured parking wrapped by buildings and access to units through internal closed corridors to further drive quality of development.” The commission essentially agreed with those not in support of any cap on apartment units and any change to the Development Code. Those not in support of the city council resolution said: “Density is not keeping pace to compete for and support employers/retailers; Commercial investment helps keep taxes low; Need for housing for workers; Favor the new generation of multi-family in mixed use centers; A cap of 200 is arbitrary; and PD process already provides a process that creates restrictions on development.” On November 3, 2015 City Council unanimously passed Resolution 15-37 directing the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider an amendment to the Sugar Land Development Code to repeal Chapter 2, Article 2, Part 5 Titled “Planned Development District” as adopted by Ordinance 2014. The resolution was presented to City Council in response to significant concerns from the
Zimmerman, Jajoo differ on capping apartment units
Sugar Land mayoral candidate Joe Zimmerman issued a public statement to Sugar Land residents on May 11, explaining his position on the development of apartments. “As we head into the runoff, I will be sharing my vision and positions on issues that are important to our community. Citizens’ concerns about apartments being built or capped have grown due to untruths and misinformation. “Here’s my view and my solution: My position is simple - There will be no apartments in Telfair South. No apartments in Telfair South means exactly that. No apartments. “Let us talk about the rest of Sugar Land. Because apartments cause concern for several different reasons depending on the resident, neighborhood or community. But I want to address those concerns now. There can be a 200-unit cap on the number of apartments IF and only if ALL of the following conditions are met: “•NO children from an existing neighborhood should lose access to any school where they are currently zoned; •A Congestion Analysis must prove that existing roads can handle the additional traffic with NO net impact on the current service level; •Structured parking is required; no surface-level parking will be permitted; Any apartments must be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood(s). If these requirements are not met, then there will be no apartments.” Even as Zimmerman is ruling out apartments in Telfair South, this paper has learned that the developer of Telfair Tract 5 has submitted a proposal which includes “a four-story, age-restricted” residential (apartments) up to 300 units. The proposal also includes a 7-story hotel, and several 4, 5 and 6-story structures, fitting the urban development specifications. Harish Jajoo, who is in the runoff for mayor, said: “Right now, our city has no set regulations on the books when it comes to multi-family in a planned development (PD) zoning. I proposed a resolution in council to place a reasonable, responsible 200unit cap on rental housing in any new development and rescind new development code regulating multi family structures to be minimum of four story under urban classification. This resolution was approved unanimously by the council. This allows predictability and consistency throughout the city. This has been my position from the start. “My opponent has recently shifted his position on this issue with an eye toward the election. My stance has always been consistent, with an eye toward our city’s future.”
community regarding development of multi-family units within the community. In October 2015, the City received a petition including 1,480 signatures from people expressing opposition to a proposal for 900 apartments as part of the Tract 5 development as well as the ongoing Land Use Plan update. The city administration and city council cited the concern expressed by 1,480 signatories against the proposed apartments in Telfair, but the primary reason that triggered Councilmen Joe Zimmerman and Harish Jajoo to propose a cap on apartment units was a Referendum Initiative in progress at that time by the Sugar Land Votes group, which had gathered more than 3,000 signatures asking the city to place on the ballot a referendum amending the Development Code. The day after the City Council adopted the resolution, Sugar Land Votes decided not to proceed with the Referendum Initiative. A month later, the P & Z Commission, in its very first meeting showed its opposition to the city council resolution. Realizing that the city is dragging its feet on the proposed resolution,Sugar Land Votes group then submitted the petition with the required number of signatures. The city, based on legal advice that the ballot initiative seeking to amend the zoning ordinance is against state law, rejected the petition. The P & Z Commission continued its consideration of the resolution for six months and finally gave its negative recommendation on May 10, three days after the city council election.
FBISD policy on transgenders
Last week, the federal departments of Education and Justice notified public school districts nationwide that they are obligated not to discriminate against transgender students. FBISD Superintendent Charles Dupre says: “Our District does not, and will not, have an “open door” policy that allows students to use the facilities of their choice. Instead, we have found it possible to successfully balance the rights of all students by having our campus administrators work closely with transgender students and their families to accommodate special requests for access to facilities while respecting other students’ privacy. Because our existing policies and practices have served us well in meeting the needs of transgender students, we will continue to follow them. The safety and well-being of every student is of paramount importance to us. I want to stress to our parents and community that we value each of our nearly 74,000 students, and we are committed to ensuring they all feel welcome and safe in the District’s schools. The District has done considerable work in the area of bullying and harassment prevention in the past several years. At the start of the school year, we provided training for our administrators and campus staff members about non-discrimination policies and shared best practices for preventing bullying and harassment of any student for any reason.”
The Woman’s Club of Missouri City nominated Jean Shelledy as its 2016 Woman of the Year at the club’s May meeting. Shelledy was recognized as a role model for the club’s theme- TEAM “Together Everyone Accomplishes More” (theme created by Jean). Since 2007, Shelledy has been committed to the Woman’s Club of Missouri City. She has served as the club’s president for the past two years and is determined that the organization will thrive and continue to be successful. WCMC is the oldest social and civic club in Missouri City and recently was presented a Proclamation by Mayor Allen Owen in appreciation for the club’s 60 years of service to the Missouri City community. Among the WCMC charitable donation recipients are the Butterfield Education Foundation, Historical Dew House, Habitat for Humanity, Friends of the Missouri City Animal Shelter and yearly legacy scholarship awards to Missouri City high school graduates. (L-R ) Jane Thompson, Jean Shelledy and Jo Butterfield.
Texas Supreme Court finds School Finance system constitutional; FBISD disappointed
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday, May 13, issued a ruling upholding the state’s public school funding system as constitutional, while also urging state lawmakers to implement “transformational, top-to-bottom reforms that amount to more than BandAid on top of Band-Aid.” “Our Byzantine school funding ‘system’ is undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement. But it satisfies minimum constitutional requirements,” Justice Don Willett wrote in the court’s 100-page opinion, which asserts that the court’s “lenient standard of review in this policy-laden area counsels modesty.
In short, it appears the Supreme Court has overruled Judge Dietz on all of the plaintiff school district claims in finding the system constitutional, but “undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement,” according to the Court’s opinion. Fort Bend ISD in a statement said, “the District will plan to work within the current funding framework and continue to compel our elected officials to make the much needed improvements to the system. “Fort Bend ISD leaders are in the process of reviewing the Court’s decision right now, and will share more information in the near future. Obviously, the
District is very disappointed in the apparent ruling by the Court. “However, based upon even a quick initial review of the Court’s opinion and concurring opinions by attorneys close to the case, no one should read this outcome as an endorsement of the current finance system. “In particular, Justice Guzman’s concurring opinion, makes clear that the outcome in this case in not based upon any notion that the Texas finance system is doing what it should do, but rather that, in the Court’s view, the Texas legislature has passed the minimum constitutional standards.”
By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend ISD Police Chief David Rider on Monday debunked reports that the police department was wasting a lot of time in pursuing counterfeit currency cases in school cafeterias and targeting minority students in referring cases to the district attorney’s office. In 2014, FBISD police had 2,440 case reports and only two were referred to the DA. In 2014, again two cases referred to the DA out of 2,287 case reports. In 2015, three cases were referred to the DA out of 2,266 case reports. In the last three years, 28 forgery cases were reported in schools and only 7 of them were referred to district attorney, Rider told the school board. All counterfeit cases were not related to incidents in school cafeterias as forged checks have been presented to both students and adults in many cases. Three out of four cases have nothing to do with counterfeit money in the school cafeteria, Rider said. In one case, counterfeit bills were printed at home and distributed, he said. The police officers arrest anyone for alleged crimes only as a last resort and before filing a report with the DA supervisors
thoroughly vet the report. Again the DA’s office reviews the case with another set of eyes before accepting a case for prosecution. A TV station recently reported the arrest of a middle school student and claimed that the police treated the 13-year-old as police’s “public enemy number one.” Rider said the incident occurred 18 months ago. A cafeteria worker noticed a $2 bill as unusual and reported it . The girl’s parent explained where he got the bill and the police verified the authenticity of the bill with the bank. After ascertaining that the bill was received from a grocery store and that the currency was not a counterfeit, the police officer gave the bill back to the parent and drove him back home. The student was never arrested. The whole case was solved in one afternoon. “The presentation on counterfeit currency was “to bring awareness and information to students parents and community. Our officers are committed to perform their duties for all of our students, regardless of the issue or concern,” Rider said. Most of our district’s counterfeit or forgery cases have been solicited for investigation by a
victim and not through a schoolrelated transaction...Often in counterfeit cases, our officers are the first people that students turn to for help, if they become a victim,” Rider said. Earlier, some school board trustees expressed concern over the perceived inconsistency in detecting and filing charges in counterfeit currency cases. One of the trustees suggested that the counterfeit currency is not an epidemic in schools and the procedure of checking the currency may be eliminated to avoid potential discrimination. If banks identify counterfeit bills, then the school district can resume the investigation. The police chief said his department will educate students on the issue of counterfeit bills next school year. Meanwhile, a November 2015 case involving an alleged $10 counterfeit bill in Elkins High School is pending in Fort Bend County Juvenile Court. Sources said the DA’s office is still gathering some additional evidence and the case may be dropped on the basis of new evidence. The case reached the DA’s office because the student’s mother did not allow the police to speak to her son, school officials said.
Media exaggerates police role in counterfeit cases, says FBISD police chief