[00:00:01]
I, I NOW CALLED THE NOVEMBER 11TH, 2025, PLANNING AND ZONING.COMMISSIONER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER AND ASK LESLIE TO CALL RO YOU.
AND DONNA HERE WE HAVE A QUORUM ITEM ONE A ON THE AGENDA AS CITIZENS' COMMENTS.
THE PURPOSE OF CITIZENS' COMMENTS IS TO GIVE ALL INTERESTED CITIZENS THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS.
EVERYONE DESIRING TO SPEAK SHOULD HAVE EITHER SIGNED THE APPROPRIATE LIST IN THE FOYER OR EMAILED THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT PRIOR TO THE POSTED TIME OF THIS MEETING.
EACH CITIZEN SHALL GIVE HIS OR HER NAME AND ADDRESS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A PROPER RECORD OF THESE COMMENTS.
THE RULES ALLOW EACH PERSON ONE MINUTE TO SPEAK.
THE CITIZEN MAY PASS HIS OR HER TIME TO ANOTHER PERSON WHO HAS REQUESTED TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
HOWEVER, NO CITIZEN'S REMARKS SHALL EXCEED THREE MINUTES IN TOTAL.
EITHER THE ONE MINUTE OR THE THREE MINUTE LIMIT MAY BE EXTENDED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THE COMMISSION.
I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO BE AS BRIEF AND TO THE POINT AS POSSIBLE.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THE COMMISSION CANNOT DISCUSS OR DELIBERATE ON ITEMS FOR WHICH PUBLIC NOTICE HAS NOT BEEN GIVEN ON THE AGENDA.
ISSUES THAT CANNOT BE REFERRED TO ADMINISTRATION FOR ACTION MAY BE CONSIDERED FOR PLACEMENT ON THE AGENDA OF A FUTURE PLANNING AND ZONING AGENDA.
MAY I PLEASE SEE THE SIGNUP SHEET FOR CITIZENS COMMENTS? LESLIE, JUST GET THANK YOU.
AND WE WILL NOTE THAT COMMISSIONER LAREDO IS HERE.
COME BACK, EXPLAIN WITH NO ONE DESIRING TO SPEAK ON, UH, AGENDA ITEM ONE A.
THIS CONCLUDES THE CITIZEN'S COMMENT PORTION OF OUR AGENDA.
[a. Consider approving the meeting minutes of the October 21, 2025, Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting.]
A, WHICH ARE THE MINUTES.CONSIDER APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 21ST, 2025 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
ANY DISCUSSION OF COMMISSIONERS? MOVE APPROVAL.
I'LL READ THE FOLLOWING ONE TIME, AND IT APPLIES TO ALL PUBLIC HEARINGS.
THE PUBLIC HEARINGS TODAY ARE BEING HELD FOR THE PURPOSE OF GIVING ALL INTERESTED PERSONS THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS REGARDING THE SUBJECT OF THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
EVERYONE DESIRING TO BE A PART OF TODAY'S HEARING SHOULD HAVE EITHER SIGNED THE APPROPRIATE LIST IN THE FOYER OR EMAILED THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT PRIOR TO THE POSTED TIME OF THIS MEETING.
EACH PARTICIPANT SHALL GIVE HIS OR HER NAME AND ADDRESS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A PROPER RECORD OF THIS HEARING.
THE RULES ALLOW EACH PERSON THREE MINUTES TO PRESENT INFORMATION.
HOWEVER, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO BE AS BRIEF AND TO THE POINT AS POSSIBLE.
IF YOU ARE A GROUP OF PERSONS WISHING TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION ON THE SAME SUBJECT, PLEASE SELECT A SPOKESPERSON TO PRESENT THE INFORMATION.
AND IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS, PLEASE DIRECT THEM TO ME.
[a. Conduct a public hearing and consider a request for a proposed text amendment to Chapter 111, Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) of the Baytown Code of Ordinances to revise Divisions 2.21, 2.31, 2.32, 2.33, 3.22, 3.42, 7.210 and 10.2 of the ULDC, regarding garage offsets, shipping containers, and general corrections in consistency with the previous code and the 2025 code.]
A IS ZONING.CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR THE PROPOSED TEXT.
AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER ONE 11 IN THE UNIFIED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, THE ULDC OF THE BAYTOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES TO REVISE DIVISIONS 2.21, 2.31, 2.32, 2.33, 3.22, 3.42, 7.210, AND 10.2 OF THE ULDC REGARDING GARAGE OFFSETS, SHIPPING CONTAINERS, AND GENERAL CORRECTIONS IN CONSISTENCY WITH THE PREVIOUS CODE AND THE 2025 CODE.
IT IS NOW 5:06 PM AND I CALL TO ORDER THIS PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE ITEM.
THANK YOU, MARTIN, FOR SUMMARIZING THIS ITEM.
MARTIN SCRIBNER, PLENTY OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
SO, UM, I, I WAS TRYING TO SEE IF I COULD SQUEEZE IN A FEW MORE, UH, RANDOM NUMBERS IN THERE JUST TO CONFUSE EVERYONE.
UH, BUT I DECIDED TO TO QUIT RIGHT THERE.
SO, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE DID, UH, ADOPT A NEW ULDC LAST YEAR THAT WILL DO EFFECT ON JANUARY 1ST.
WE HAVE SINCE MADE THREE AMENDMENTS TO THAT.
WE KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE AN ITERATIVE PROCESS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS TO GET IT WHERE WE NEEDED TO GO.
UH, WHAT WE ARE, UH, STAFF IS PROPOSING TONIGHT.
THESE AMENDMENTS ARE, UM, MORE OF THAT SORT OF CLEANUP.
SOME OF IT'S CLEANUP, SOME OF IT'S THINGS THAT, UM, SHOULD HAVE BEEN
[00:05:01]
IN THERE ORIGINALLY.AND A COUPLE OTHERS HAVE THINGS THAT ARE THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP SINCE WE'VE BEEN USING IT AND HAVE DETERMINED EITHER THIS DOESN'T WORK OR THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH THE, UM, WITH THE BUILDING COMMUNITY OR SOMETHING.
SOMETHING WHERE WE, WE DECIDED THAT THIS WOULD BE WORTHWHILE TAKING, UH, THROUGH THE PROCESS TO SEE IF WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE TO THIS.
SO THAT SAID, UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL THOSE 'CAUSE WE'LL HIT THOSE AS WE GO.
IN YOUR STAFF REPORT, THEY ARE LISTED IN ORDER OF WHERE THEY SHOW UP IN THE CODE.
I'M GONNA PRESENT THEM TONIGHT AS SORT OF THE LOW HANGING FRUIT.
SO THE EASIEST ONES TO THE MORE COMPLICATED ONES THAT I ANTICIPATED WE'LL HAVE MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT.
SO THE FIRST COUPLE WILL BE PRETTY EASY, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL GET INTO MORE CONVERSATION AND I'LL GET INTO MORE PRESENTATION ON DETAILS AS WE GO.
THAT SAID, I THINK BECAUSE THERE'S ENOUGH HERE, IF, IF ANYBODY HAS A QUESTION AS I'M GOING, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO, TO STOP ME AS I'M PRESENTING SO THAT WE CAN, CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WE GO, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'LL BE, UH, SIMPLER TO, TO DEAL WITH.
ALRIGHT, SO LET'S GET INTO, UM, AGAIN, A COUPLE OF THE EASIER ONES.
UM, WE WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE REMOVE THE FOUNDATION PLANNING REQUIREMENTS FROM THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONES.
FOUNDATION PLANNING REQUIREMENTS ARE APPROPRIATE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? CAN YOU H OVER THE REST OF THE MEETING? YES.
UM, SO, UH, AGAIN, WHAT WE THINK IS THE FOUNDATION PLANNING REQUIREMENTS ARE APPROPRIATE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT COMMERCIAL, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MULTIFAMILY, BUT THEY'RE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR SINGLE FAMILY.
AND RIGHT NOW THERE ARE FOUNDATION PLANNING, FOUNDATION PLANNING REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY, UH, DISTRICTS.
SO WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE REMOVE THOSE.
OH, SOMEBODY, UM, SOMEBODY BEHIND ME.
UM, CAN WE TURN THE VOLUME UP? IS THAT, IS THAT, CAN YOU TURN THE VOLUME UP? NOT FROM HERE.
OH, RYAN, CAN YOU TURN THE VOLUME UP A LITTLE BIT? THANK YOU.
THE NEXT ONE IS, UH, AMENDING THE, UH, TABLE IN DIVISION 7.210 THAT GIVES THE AUTHORITY FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF A REPL TO STAFF THIS.
UM, WE'VE HAD SOME CONFUSION OVER KIND WHAT THE APPROVAL PROCESS IS, AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, THE, THAT'S MUCH BETTER.
AS YOU KNOW, THE, UM, PLATTING PROCESS HAS GONE THROUGH SOME CHANGES.
AND SO WHEN WE GET TO FINAL PLAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COMES, THAT DOES NOT COME TO THIS BOARD.
SO REPL OFTEN IS, UM, JUST LITTLE KIND OF TWEAKS OF A, OF A PREVIOUS PLAT.
UH, AND SO THE EXCEPTION, SO THIS WOULD GIVE THE, UM, APPROVAL OF THE REPL TO STAFF, WITH THE EXCEPTION BEING IF IT NEEDS VARIANCE AND NEEDS A PUBLIC HEARING.
SO SHORT OF THAT, WE WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT ADMINISTRATIVELY.
THAT'LL BE QUICKER FOR THE APPLICANTS, BUT ALSO IT DOES, UM, KIND OF CLEAR UP SOME OF THE CONFUSION ON HOW THAT GETS PLATTED.
UH, WE'D LIKE TO ADD A FEW DEFINITIONS.
SO FIRST OFF, WE'D LIKE TO EDIT THE DEFINITION OF TOWNHOUSE.
UH, THE NUMBER OF UNITS SHOULD BE IN THIS DEFINITION, AND IT'S NOT CURRENTLY.
SO THE DEFINITION OR THE, THE NUMBER OF UNITS IN A TOWNHOUSE IS SIX TO EIGHT.
WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT THAT INTO THE DEFINITION JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR.
WE'D ALSO LIKE TO ADD A DEFINITION FOR MOBILE HOME.
UM, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, WE HAVE A DEFINITION FOR MANUFACTURED HOME IN THE CODE NOW, BUT, UH, SOME OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT MOBILE HOME ACTUALLY FALLS UNDER A DIFFERENT DEFINITION LEGALLY, UH, THAT RELATES TO THE HUD RULES THAT WERE PUT INTO PLACE IN 1976.
SO WE'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT DEFINITION IS IN THERE SO EVERYBODY KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MOBILE HOME AND A MANUFACTURED HOME RIGHT WITHIN THE CODE.
AND THEN THE THIRD DEFINITION WOULD BE TO ADD A DEFINITION OF CONTAINER OR SHIPPING CONTAINER.
THAT IS, UM, I'M GONNA COME BACK TO THIS ONE A LITTLE BIT AND YOU'LL SEE WHY THIS IS MORE, UH, RELEVANT ONCE I GET TO THAT, THAT SPOT.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THERE IS NO MENTION OF CONTAINER OR SHIPPING CONTAINER IN THE CODE AT ALL.
SO WE DO NEED TO CLARIFY THAT.
AND THE FIRST STEP WOULD BE ADDING A DEFINITION.
REALLY, WE'RE PULLING THE DEFINITION FROM THE 2014 CODE AND POPPING IT IN THERE BECAUSE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THAT BEFORE.
SO, AGAIN, I'LL COME BACK TO THE SHIPPING CONTAINER STUFF HERE IN A, IN A COUPLE MINUTES ONCE I GET THROUGH SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS. UM, THAT'S THE MAIN EASY ONES.
UH, THE NEXT WOULD BE, UM, AND I THINK THIS IS THE NEXT TWO RIGHT NOW IN THE, UH, IN THE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT DIMENSION STANDARDS AND IN THE USE CODE OR THE USE TABLE WE HAVE AS A DWELLING UNIT TYPE AS A SINGLE UNIT ATTACHED.
UH, IF ANYBODY CAN TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE OFF THE TOP OF THEIR HEAD BETWEEN THAT AND THE TOWNHOUSE, UH, I'LL BUY YOU DINNER BECAUSE IT DOESN'T, IT, IT'S VERY, VERY CONFUSING IN THE CODE.
UM, AND THAT'S ONLY IN THE CODE
[00:10:01]
DEFINITION.SO, UM, BUT SO WE BELIEVE THAT TOWNHOUSE COVERS EVERYTHING OR TOWN, YEAH.
TOWNHOUSE COVERS WHAT WE NEED IT TO COVER.
AND SO SINGLE UNIT ATTACH IS NOT NECESSARY IN OUR CODE.
SO THIS IS A, AN EFFORT TO REMOVE THE SINGLE UNIT ATTACHED FROM THE CODE ENTIRELY.
UM, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, IN THIS, UM, IN THIS TABLE, WE WOULD INC INCREASE THE DUPLEX LOT WIDTH TO 50 FEET.
RIGHT NOW IT'S 45 FEET, BUT A SINGLE FAMILY IS 50.
SO WE'D LIKE TO INCREASE THAT TO 50.
WE'D LIKE TO ADD PER DWELLING UNIT, UH, TO THE LA WIDTH, UH, FOR TOWNHOUSES, BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS JUST TO CLARIFY, IT'S, UM, IT DEPENDS IN, SOME OF IT'S 20 OR 25 FEET, THEN WE WANT TO SAY IT'S 25 FEET PER UNIT, NOT FOR THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
UH, WE'D LIKE TO ADD SOME TABLE NOTES THAT WOULD CLARIFY HOW WE CALCULATE THE LOT AREA AND, UH, THE NUMBER OF UNITS FOR MULTIPLEX AND TOWNHOUSE USES.
AGAIN, THIS IS FOR CLARIFICATION'S SAKE.
THIS IS SO THAT YOU'VE GOT IT ALL RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU WHEN YOU'RE READING THE CODE.
IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, IT'LL BE MUCH EASIER TO FIND MINE.
YES, BECAUSE YOU SAID INTERRUPT.
THE, UM, WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL NUMBER AGAIN FOR THE TOWNHOUSES? THE UNITS? YOU SAID 6, 8, 6 2, 8, 6 7 OR EIGHT.
IF IT'S, IF IT'S FIVE, IT'S A MULTIPLEX, WHICH HAS A DIFFERENT SET OF REGULATIONS.
IF IT'S TOWNHOUSE, IT'S SIX, SEVEN OR EIGHT.
IF IT IS MORE THAN EIGHT, THEN IT'S MULTIFAMILY AND AGAIN, FALLS INTO A DIFFERENT SET OF REGULATIONS.
WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY ISSUES WITH THAT.
WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE BEING CONSISTENT.
AND THE MORE WE CAN PUT INTO THE CODE TO MAKE IT CONSISTENT, THE BETTER.
THE SAME REASON WE'RE TAKING OUT THE SINGLE UNIT ATTACHED.
UM, IT JUST CREATES CONFUSION.
NO, I WAS JUST THINKING, AND I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE PER UNIT VERSUS PER BUILDING BECAUSE I'M, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF IT'S 50 FOOT FOR A SINGLE HOME, HOW WOULD A TOWNHOUSE, I'M NOT, I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT.
SO IT, THE, THE TABLE NOTES DON'T CLARIFY, OR ACTUALLY ANYWHERE IN THE TABLE DOES NOT CLARIFY HOW WE ARE, UM, HOW WE'RE CALCULATING LOT WIDTH AND SO LOT WIDTH FOR A TOWN HOME, IF IT'S, LET'S SAY SIX UNITS WOULD BE 120 FEET, BUT IT SAYS 20 FEET PER UNIT.
I'M, I'M JUST, I DON'T, I THINK IT'S 20 FEET, OR IT DEPENDS ON THE, THE, THE DISTRICT.
BUT IF IT SAYS 20, 20 FEET, WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO THINK YOU CAN DO SIX UNITS IN 20 FEET OF AOT WIDTH.
SO WE JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR, WE'RE CALCULATING THIS PER DWELLING UNIT.
SO IF YOU HAVE SIX UNITS, IT WOULD BE 120 FEET.
IF YOU HAVE EIGHT, IT WOULD BE 160 FEET.
YOU CAN DO MORE THAN THAT, BUT YOU CAN'T DO LESS THAN THAT.
UM, IT, IT BECOMES A LITTLE BIT MORE CONFUSING WHEN IT'S ALL ONE LOT LIKE A TOWN HOME USUALLY IS, AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING ELSE THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY SPLIT UP THE UNITS BY PROPERTY LINES.
SO, UM, SO AGAIN, JUST CLARIFYING, UM, HOW IT'S, HOW IT'S DONE.
UM, AGAIN, THIS IS, UH, REMOVING THAT SINGLE UNIT ATTACHED DWELLING.
UM, THIS IS REMOVING IT FROM THE USE TABLE.
SO IT'S THE SAME CONVERSATION AS BEFORE.
IT'S JUST ANOTHER SECTION OF CODE.
SO IF WE HAVE A, A SINGLE STORY ATTACHED AND IT'S NOT A TOWNHOUSE, 'CAUSE THE TOWNHOUSE IS TWO STORIES.
TOWNHOUSE, DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER IT'S, IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT DEFINED.
IT'S NOT DEFINED AS ONE, ONE STORY OR TWO OR THREE.
IT COULD BE NOT HERE, IT COULD BE FOUR.
IF IT MEETS THE, THAT THERE'S A HEIGHT REQUIREMENT FOR A DISTRICT, IT'S USUALLY 35 FEET FOR SINGLE FAMILY, UM, OR FOR SOME OF THE DIFFERENT ONES.
AND SO, UH, THAT WOULD NOT, THAT WOULD NOT COME INTO THE DEFINITION.
SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO GET, GET INTO USE SPECIFIC STANDARDS.
IF YOU REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS BACK IN MAY, UM, WE CHANGED A, SOME USE LIMITATIONS ON THE, UH, VEHICLE AND BOAT SALES.
AND IT WAS BASICALLY WE HAD THAT 13,000 POUND LIMIT, EXCUSE ME.
AND, AND WE HAD LAST YEAR, THE YEAR BEFORE, WE HAD TAKEN THAT OUT OF THE DEFINITION IN THE OLD CODE BECAUSE WE HAVE NO PRACTICAL WAY TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT'S UNDER OVER 13,000 POUNDS.
SO, UM, WE CHANGED IT TO BE MORE ABOUT THE SIZE OF WHAT THEY WERE DEALING WITH AND THE USE THE INTENDED USE.
SO WE CHANGED IT UNDER VEHICLE AND BOAT SALES BACK IN MAY, BUT WE DID NOT CHANGE IT UNDER SAIL OR RENTAL OF TOOLS, TRACTORS, OR EQUIPMENT.
AND WE FEEL THAT THOSE REALLY KINDA LINE UP TOGETHER.
SO WE JUST WANT TO TAKE THE SAME LANGUAGE AND USE IT UNDER THIS SECTION OF THE CODE AS WELL.
UH, AND THEN WE WOULD ALSO UNDER USE SPECIFIC STANDARDS.
WE LIKE TO ADD CONDITIONS TO SHIPPING CONTAINERS WHERE THEY'RE ALLOWED IN INDUSTRIAL ZONES.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS MIRROR THE CONDITIONS THAT WERE IN THE 2014
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CODE.SO AGAIN, I'M GONNA GET INTO THOSE NOW.
UM, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, SHIPPING CONTAINERS ARE NOT MENTIONED IN OUR CODE ANYWHERE, SO THEY'RE JUST NOT ALLOWED.
SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE THAT, THAT'S UNREALISTIC FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
WE DO WANT TO GO AHEAD AND ALLOW THEM IN INDUSTRIAL AREAS, BUT LET'S, I'LL, I'LL KIND OF TALK THROUGH THAT.
SO AGAIN, WE WANT TO ADD SHIPPING CONTAINERS TO, UH, THE CONSOLIDATED USE TABLE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO AGAIN, MIRROR WHAT WAS IN THE OLD CODE, WHICH PROHIBITS SHIPPING CONTAINERS IN YOUR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL ZONES, AS WELL AS THE DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT AND SAN JACINTO DISTRICTS, EVEN THOUGH THOSE ARE NEW DISTRICTS, BUT THEY'RE MAINLY COMMERCIAL AND, AND, UH, RESIDENTIAL FOR ANY REASON.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO ALLOW THEM IN LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AND HEAVY INDUSTRIAL AGAIN, BECAUSE THE OLD CODE DID.
AND IT ACTUALLY, THAT'S A REASONABLE USE FOR, FOR THOSE DISTRICTS.
UM, AND THEY WOULD HAVE SOME CONDITIONS.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE PODS ARE NOT GONNA BE ALLOWED IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS FOR SHORT TERM STORAGE? NO.
A POD IS LISTED UNDER, SO IT'S NOT LISTED AS A POD.
BUT WE LOOK AT THOSE DIFFERENTLY.
THAT IS, UM, YOU'RE ABLE TO, IF YOU GET A BUILDING PERMIT, THEN YOU'RE ABLE TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE ON YOUR PROPERTY FOR UP TO 30 DAYS.
AND THEN IF YOU NEED EXTENSIONS ON THAT, YOU COME INTO STAFF.
WHAT ABOUT A REGULAR OR SHIPPING CONTAINER WHEN THEY'RE BUILDING A NEW HOUSE WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL AREA? UH, THAT IS, THERE'S PLENTY OF THOSE AROUND, UH, IS ORDINARILY NOT ALLOWED.
THERE'S ONE ON MARRELL STREET RIGHT NOW, BEEN THERE FOR FIVE MONTHS.
THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED UNDER THIS.
THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW.
BUT WE'RE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WAS AN OVERSIGHT, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE NOT BEEN BUGGING PEOPLE ABOUT IT.
SO WHERE DO WE EXPECT THE CONTRACTORS TO KEEP ALL THEIR EXPENSIVE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND GENERATORS AND VARIOUS THINGS.
WE EXPECT 'EM HAUL 'EM OFF SITE AND EVERY DAY AND OR, OR KEEP 'EM IN THE GARAGE OR INSIDE THE HOUSE.
UM, THAT, THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD'VE DONE UNDER THE OLD CODE.
AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT OUT THERE POLICING IT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, IT, IT, IT IS.
SO I WASN'T HERE WHEN THE, WHEN THE CONVERSATIONS WERE HAD AROUND SHIPPING CONTAINERS.
THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED IN LIKE 20, MAYBE 2015 OR 16, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, THERE WAS, I THINK, AGAIN, I'M, I'M TAKING MY BEST STAB AT THIS.
I THINK THERE WAS CONCERN ABOUT PEOPLE USING SHIPPING CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE ON A REGULAR BASIS, JUST DROPPING ONE IN THEIR YARD AND, AND STORING STUFF IN AND LETTING IT GET RUSTY.
UM, SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND HERE DO ALLOW FOR THAT.
I THINK THERE WAS A, A CONCERTED EFFORT BY OUR CITY COUNCIL TO SAY, WE DON'T WANT THAT HERE.
SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS MEANT TO, UM, TO PREVENT.
NOW LET ME ALSO LET YOU KNOW THAT STAFF WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION ABOUT SHIPPING CONTAINERS AND BEING ABLE TO USE THEM IN TO MAKE BUILDINGS OUT OF, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
SO WE ARE, UM, PLANNING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH CITY COUNCIL, UM, AND SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME DIRECTION FROM THEM ON WHETHER THEY'RE OPEN TO THAT.
BUT WE'RE JUST, WE'RE NOT UP TO THAT POINT YET.
SO I'M HOPING IN THE SPRING WE WILL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION OR, OR EARLIER, UM, AS A POLICY, UH, TYPE OF CONVERSATION AND THEN STAFF WOULD BRING SOMETHING BACK THAT WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC.
THIS, THIS IS A BANDAID TO GET US BACK TO WHERE THE OLD CODE WAS.
'CAUSE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CARRIED OVER.
MARTIN, WHAT ABOUT, UM, THOSE SHIPPING CONTAINERS THEY USE AT WALMART BEHIND THE STORE AND TARGET BEHIND THE STORE? ARE WE NOT GOING TO ALLOW THOSE ANYMORE? UM, WE, WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE UNDER TEMPORARY USE.
YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING.
SO WE'RE GONNA SUGGEST A TEMPORARY USE AND ALSO HIDDEN, TECHNICALLY HIDDEN.
IT, IT WOULD BE A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
I I HAVE A A I'M GLAD THAT YOU SAID Y'ALL ARE GONNA TAKE IT TO THE COUNCIL BECAUSE THERE'S, I'VE BEEN IN COMMUNITIES THAT WHERE THEY USE MM-HMM.
SHIPPING CONT CONTAINERS NOT ONLY TO BUILD HOMES, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT THEY USE 'EM AS BUSINESSES.
I HAD TO GO TO A CONFERENCE AND THEY HAD THIS REALLY NEAT, THEY HAD TURNED INTO A COFFEE SHOP AND IT WAS NICE CLEAN.
LOOKED GOOD IN THE, AND, AND THE AREA WAS IN THE PARKING LOT, YOU KNOW, AND IT, AND I DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, WITH THE SITUATIONS THAT WE'RE WALKING INTO WITH TRYING TO FIND DIFFERENT WAYS TO ALLOW FOR BUSINESS TO PROSPER, I DON'T SEE WHY THAT WOULD NOT BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR OUR TOWN.
WHAT I'M AFRAID OF IS THAT SOMETIMES WE, NOT SAYING YOU, BUT IN GENERAL, WE PRESENT THINGS LIKE WHEN WE USED TO HAVE THE FOOD TRUCK, NO FOOD TRUCK ORDINANCE, BECAUSE TWO COUNTS OF PEOPLE WERE AGAINST THEM.
AND THEN WE REALIZE THAT NOW THEY'RE KIND OF, IF YOU KEEP 'EM CLEAN, THEY'RE KIND OF COOL AND PEOPLE HAVE THESE FOOD TRUCK PLACES.
BUT FOR A LONG TIME YOU COULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING.
AND, AND I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE A, A DIFFERENT VISION AND ENDS UP BEING A GOOD THING BECAUSE THEY WANT
[00:20:01]
TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX DID.SO, YOU KNOW, I HAD, UM, MAYBE LIKE FOUR YEARS AGO I ATTEMPTED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH, WITH COUNSEL ABOUT THIS VERY TOPIC.
AND IT WAS CLEAR THEY WEREN'T REALLY OPEN TO THE CONVERSATION.
WE HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COUNSEL NOW ALMOST.
AND SO, UH, THAT'S WHY IT'S BOOT THE NEW CODE.
IT'S TIME TO BRING IT BACK IN AND, AND KIND OF DISCUSS, UH, WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE NOT THERE TONIGHT.
SO AGAIN, ALL WE'RE DOING TONIGHT IS PUTTING A BANDAID ON THIS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CODE IS CLEAR AND THAT IT DOES ALLOW THEM IN LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AND HEAVY INDUSTRIAL.
WE CAN GET TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT PART OF IT, UM, AT A LATER DATE.
BUT FOR NOW, THIS, THIS IS THE CODE THAT THAT WAS IN PLACE.
WE'RE JUST PUTTING IT BACK IN PLACE.
SO LET ME PIGGYBACK ON AUGUSTINE'S COMMA, I, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN HAVE BOTH ENACTED, UH, CODES TO, FOR HOME STORAGE CONTAINERS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE PRETTY STRINGENT, BUT THEY HAVE SOME PRETTY DANG NICE ONES THAT ARE IN THEIR CODE.
I MEAN, THEY JUST DON'T ALLOW YOU TO STACK THEM CUT HOE AND LIVE.
I MEAN, THEY GOT SOME PRETTY STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE OUGHT TO BE, WE ALREADY LOOKING AT, LET ME GO BACK TO THE STORAGE CONTAINERS ON PROPERTIES WHERE CONSTRUCTION'S GOING ON.
SO WHEN WE GIVE A A A BUILD, WE GIVE A BUILDER A PERMIT FOR BUILDING, HOW LONG IS THAT PERMIT GOOD FOR BEFORE THEY GET A HOUSE OPEN? SIX MONTHS.
SEEMS TO ME IF THEY'RE BUILDING A HOUSE THAT WE OUGHT TO HAVE SOME VARIANCE IN THERE THAT THEY CAN PUT A STORAGE CONTAINER OUT THERE ON THE PROPERTY WHILE THEY'RE BUILDING THE HOUSE FOR THE LENGTH OF THEIR PERMIT.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS KIND OF ONEROUS TO ME, PARTICULARLY FOR SOME OF THESE BUILDERS NOW THAT ARE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE, THAT ARE BUILDING THESE THINGS, UH, COMING IN THAT WE OUGHT TO ALLOW, HAVE SOME ALLOWANCE FOR THESE GUYS, UH, TO NOT HAVE TO HAUL THAT HEAVY EQUIPMENT BACK AND FORTH AND BACK AND FORTH AND BACK AND FORTH EVERY DAY.
AND FOR THEM TO STORE SOME SUPPLIES IN THERE THAT THEY HAVE COME IN SO THEY DON'T GET STOLEN OFF THE PROPERTY ALL THE TIME.
'CAUSE THAT'S A BIG ISSUE OF THEFT ON THERE.
SO IT JUST SEEMS TO ME THAT WE MIGHT, WE NEED TO LOOK AT A VARIANCE, THESE GUYS.
UM, I I'M, I'M OPEN TO LOOKING AT THAT FOR WHEN WE BRING THE WHOLE CONVERSATION BACK.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT AT THAT POINT FOR NOW, BUT, BUT I'M, I'M OPEN TO THAT CONVERSATION.
SO I I HAD A QUESTION ON THAT TOO THOUGH.
UM, YOU MENTIONED WHEN WE WERE DOING THE, I THINK IT WAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE NEW ULDC AND WE HAD DISCUSSED STORAGE CONTAINERS, PODS, THOSE, UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS 90 DAYS, MAYBE IT WAS.
AND, AND THEN WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO RENEW IT AND, AND CONTINUE.
AND I MEAN WITH THAT, AND, AND KIND OF TO PIGGYBACK WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING WHEN IT COMES TO STORAGE, I MEAN, I PERSONALLY HAVE WORKED WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND WE HAVE TO KEEP THIS STUFF IN A STORAGE LIKE THAT CONTAINER WHILE IT'S BUILDING IN, ITS NOT FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE FOR A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT'S TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO DO.
I, I THINK TYING IT IN, I I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE, IF, IF WE COULD BE MARRIED TO ANYTHING SO MUCH RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN YEAH, BRINGING IT BACK, I THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, HOWEVER, FOR RESIDENTIAL USAGE IN, IN A PINCH FOR STORAGE, IT, I, I REALLY THINK THAT THAT THAT SHOULD BE OPENED UP THE CONVERSATION UNDER, UNDER THE CURRENT CODE.
THE, AGAIN, STORAGE CONTAINERS OR SHIP SHIPPING CONTAINERS ARE NOT MENTIONED ANYWHERE IN THE CODE.
THEREFORE, MY INTERPRETATION WOULD BE THE STRICTEST INTERPRETATION, WHICH IS IT'S NOT ALLOWED.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT MENTIONED IN THERE.
UM, BUT IF I SAY THAT I, I HAVE TO SAY IT'S NOT ALLOWED IN INDUSTRIAL, WHICH IS UNREASONABLE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN THE INDUSTRIAL IN THIS TOWN, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY USE SHIPPING CONTAINERS AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A COMMON THING.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS MEANT TO BE A BANDAID, NOT, AND, AND YOU'RE RIGHT, THE, THE PODS OR ANY KIND OF STORAGE THAT'S RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION DOES HAVE ITS OWN SET OF RULES.
SO THERE'S A TEMPORARY USE THERE THAT I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
AND THEN IF YOU WANT TO EXTEND THAT, THEN YOU JUST COME IN AND TALK TO STAFF AND YOU WE'LL EXTEND IT AS LONG AS YOU'RE STILL MAKING PROGRESS.
THE PROBLEM WITH KIND OF LEAVING IT WIDE OPEN IS THAT CODE ENFORCEMENT TAKES TIME.
AND WE ARE VERY LIMITED IN OUR AUTHORITY WHERE IT COMES TO CODE ENFORCEMENT.
AND IF YOU JUST WANT TO PUT ME THROUGH THE RINGER, UH, AS A CODE ENFORCEMENT DIRECTOR TO SAY, WELL, YEAH, WE GOT OUR SIX MONTHS DOWN, I'M JUST GONNA LET IT GO FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS, AND CHANCES ARE GOOD THAT IN THAT SIX MONTHS I'M GONNA BE ABLE TO ISSUE A FEW CITATIONS.
THEY'LL GO TO COURT AND THEY'LL SAY, WELL, I GOT IT OFF THE PROPERTY NOW.
AND SO IT, IT'S ALL KIND OF A WASH, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
I JUST THINK MAYBE THIS CONVERSATION AND AN AMENDMENT TO THAT SHOULDN'T TAKE 10 YEARS BEFORE I'M
[00:25:01]
NOT PLANNING ON OH, I KNOW, I KNOW.BUT IF IT WAS 10 YEARS, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, BEFORE THE LAST CONVERSATION WAS HAD ABOUT THIS, I THINK YOU SAID THE SPRING, RIGHT? SPRING, YEAH.
SO I WAS SAYING TO SAY, WE'RE GONNA REVISIT THIS AND THIS CAN TAKE MANY YEARS.
WE'LL HAVE ALL OF OUR SUGGESTIONS.
THAT'LL BE THE NEXT, THAT'LL BE THE NEXT ROUND OF AMENDMENTS THAT'LL BE IN THERE.
THE OTHER THING IS, IF IT'S IN LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALL THESE NEW WAREHOUSE UNITS SET UP THAT FACE THE FREEWAY.
WE WOULDN'T WANT STORAGE OR NOT STORAGE CONTAINERS, BUT SHIPPING CONTAINERS OUT IN FRONT OF THESE NICE NEW BUILDINGS.
IS THERE SOME WAY TO REGULATE THAT? UM, THE NEXT SLIDE.
OKAY,
UM, SO IT WOULD BE LOUD AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AND HEAVY INDUSTRIAL.
I MENTIONED THAT THEY WOULD, AGAIN, WE'D PULL IN THE, THE RESTRICTIONS FROM THE OLD CODE.
SO THERE ARE HEIGHT STACKING LIMITATIONS, THERE ARE SCREENING AND BUFFERING REQUIREMENTS AND LOCATION REQUIREMENTS ON, IN THE, ON THE PROPERTY WHERE YOU CAN PUT THEM.
SO I THINK, I HOPE THAT COVERS WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO IT'S PLACING THEM BEHIND THE BUILDING AT WALMART CONSIDERED SCREENING BUFFERING.
THERE'S THAT, IT'S NOT EXACTLY, I MEAN, HERE'S THE ROAD.
THERE'S A PUBLIC ROAD THAT GOES, IT'S NOT LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, BUT IT'S NOT LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.
WELL, IT'S COMMERCIAL, SO THEY NO, IT DOES THIS HERE.
YEAH, THIS IS LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, UM, OR HEAVY INDUSTRIAL.
BUT WALMART IS A, IS MORE OF A TEMPORARY USE TYPE THING.
SO WE WOULD TREAT THAT, UH, ON GETTING CASE BY CASE.
A LOT OF PLACES IN TOWN THAT ARE USING THOSE, THE STORE MERCHANDISE.
SO WE, WE DEAL WITH THOSE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING IN THE CODE RIGHT NOW AT ALL TO TALK ABOUT IT.
SO, I MEAN, AGAIN, THERE IS A TEMPORARY, TEMPORARY USE PERMIT FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO WE WOULD, WE WOULD HANDLE IT UNDER THAT, BUT WE KNOW WHO THOSE PLAYERS ARE.
WE KNOW THAT HEB WANTS ONE AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
WE KNOW THAT WALMART WANTS ONE AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
WE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE COMMON.
WE'VE DEALT WITH THOSE IN THE PAST, SO THANK YOU.
HAVE WE HAVE WE, UH, PUT THIS ONE IN THE DIRT? CAN I MOVE ON? WE'RE GOOD CHIEF.
I GOT ONE OTHER ITEM, BUT IT IS THE MOST CONFUSING.
SO STICK WITH ME HERE AND I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
OH, UM, ALSO, UH, THIS IS, UH, THIS IS A TAG ON FOR THE CONTAINERS, SHIPPING CONTAINERS.
WE HAVE A USE CATEGORIES UNDER DIVISION 2.32.
IT LISTS OUT THESE HEAVY INDUSTRIAL CATEGORY WAREHOUSING CATEGORY, UM, WHOLESALE TRADE.
THIS WOULD JUST ADD UNDER THE LIST OF ACCESSORY USES THAT WOULD LIST A CONTAINER OR SHIPPING CONTAINER UNDER THOSE.
THESE ARE ALL ONLY APPROVED UNDER, UH, OR PERMITTED UNDER HEAVY OR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.
OKAY, NOW WE'RE DONE WITH THAT.
SO, UM, THE NEXT ONE IS REALLY ABOUT, UM, GARAGE ORIENTATION AND WHERE THE, YOUR GARAGE DOORS ARE IN RELATION TO THE FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE.
OKAY, EVERYBODY FOLLOWING THAT, I'M GONNA SHOW YOU PICTURES SO IT'LL BE VERY CLEAR, UM, OR AS CLEAR AS MY, UH, MY SKETCHUP, UM, DRAWING SKILLS WILL ALLOW.
SO IN THE OLD CODE, YOU COULD HAVE YOUR GARAGE DOOR OUT IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE AS FAR AS YOU WANTED, AS LONG AS IT MET THE 25 FOOT GARAGE SETBACK.
THE HOUSE ITSELF ONLY HAS A 15 FOOT SETBACK, BUT YOU COULD KIND OF MOVE THAT UP AND DOWN WHEREVER IT NEEDED TO BE, AS LONG AS IT HIT 15 FEET AND THE GARAGE DOOR IS AT 25.
OR YOU, YOU'RE, BUT MANY TIMES WHAT WE SEE, AND, AND YOU GUYS WILL ATTEST TO THIS, YOU GO DOWN A NEIGHBORHOOD STREET AND YOU'LL SEE THE GARAGE DOORS ARE WAY OUT IN FRONT.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE GARAGE OUT IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE.
UM, THE CODE THAT WE ADOPTED, UH, FOR THIS YEAR, AND I'LL GET MORE INTO THIS REQUIRES, STILL REQUIRES THE 25 FOOT SETBACK FOR GARAGE.
STILL REQUIRES 15 FOOT SETBACK FOR THE HOUSE, BUT ALSO REQUIRES THAT THE GARAGE BE AT LEAST FIVE FEET BEHIND THE FRONT WALL PLANE.
I'M GONNA SHOW YOU WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO WE, WE, UM, SO WHAT THAT, AND THAT'S FOR FRONT LOADED AND FOR, UM, ENTRY, OOPS, I'M SORRY.
UM, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS TO LET IT TO BE FIVE FEET IN FRONT FOR BOTH FRONT LOAD AND SIDE LOAD GARAGES.
AND THERE'S ALSO A 40% MAXIMUM, UH, GARAGE DOOR WIDTH FOR THE, FOR FRONT LOAD GARAGE.
SO IMAGINE YOUR HOUSE IS THIS BIG, YOU CAN ONLY HAVE THE GARAGE BE 40% OF THAT, OF THAT FACE.
UM, FOR SOME OF THE OLDER HOMES OR, OR REDEVELOPMENT, UH, REBUILDS.
THOSE LOTS ARE VERY, UH, UH, ARE VERY, VERY NARROW AND THAT IS NOT REALLY A REALISTIC EXPECTATION TO BE ABLE TO HOLD THEM TO THAT IN CERTAIN AREAS OF TOWN.
SO, UM, SO WE'D LIKE TO REMOVE THAT 40% MAXIMUM FOR GARAGE DOOR WIDTH.
UH, OKAY, SO NOW WE'LL GET BACK INTO THE GARAGE OFFSET.
SO AGAIN, CURRENT ELDC REQUIRES THAT THE GARAGE BE AT LEAST FIVE FOOT BEHIND THE FRONT HOUSE FACE.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PICTURE, THAT STILL HOLDS THEM TO THE 25 FOOT GARAGE SETBACK.
AND LET ME, I'LL REMIND YOU, IN NO CASE DOES THE 25 FOOT GARAGE
[00:30:01]
SETBACK, UH, UH, GO AWAY, THAT IS GOING TO STAY.THAT IS SOMETHING COUNSEL WAS VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHEN WE UPDATED THE, THE CODE LAST YEAR.
SO THAT'S GOING TO STAY WHERE IT'S AT, SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, HOW THE CODE IS NOW.
UM, THIS IS ROUGHLY WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UH, OUT IN THE WILD.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S MUCH LESS FOCUS ON THE GARAGE DOORS AND THERE'S MORE FOCUS ON SORT OF THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE AND THE FRONT DOOR.
IN THE PREVIOUS CODE, YOU COULD HAVE THE ENTIRE GARAGE OUT IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE AS LONG AS IT MET THE 25 FOOT SETBACK.
THAT LED TO SOMETHING THAT LOOKED A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE THIS, WHICH AGAIN, YOU GO DOWN A A CERTAIN STREETS IN TOWN OR, OR ANY TOWN, REALLY ANY SUBURBAN TOWN.
ALL YOU SEE ARE GARAGE DOORS LINED UP.
YOU DON'T SEE PORCHES, YOU DON'T SEE PEOPLE REALLY INTERACTING WITH ONE ANOTHER, UM, BECAUSE THEY JUST DRIVE INTO THEIR GARAGE AND, AND YOU DON'T SEE 'EM AGAIN UNTIL THEIR CAR COMES OUT FOR THE NEXT TIME THEY GO TO THE STORE.
SO, UM, NOT, NOT THE BEST KIND OF OF PLANNING A BUILDING IN THE WORLD.
UM, SO SOME OF THE, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE WENT IN THAT DIRECTION WITH THE NEW CODE, UM, REALLY IT'S ABOUT AESTHETICS.
IT'S ABOUT VISUAL APPEAL, NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER.
UM, THIS PROMOTES WALKABILITY, THIS KIND OF DESIGN WHERE THE GARAGE IS NOT OUT FRONT PROMOTES WALKABILITY AND SAFETY.
UM, IT REDUCES THAT GARAGE DOMINANCE.
SO WHAT WE WOULD CALL THE SNOUT HOUSES, UH, AND REALLY ENCOURAGES THOUGHTFUL, HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF THAT ONE BEFORE?
WE WANT THEM TO BE FLEXIBILITY, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR GREEN SPACE, AND THEN THERE REALLY IS, UM, THERE'S AN ARGUMENT TO BE MADE THAT THE PROPERTY VALUE AND THE MARKET APPEAL GO UP WHEN YOU HAVE, UH, SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
IT'S A LITTLE MORE, UM, ENTICING AND MAKES A BETTER FIRST IMPRESSION.
SO THAT SAID, WE HAD SOME OF THE LOCAL BUILDERS COME TO US, UH, STAFF AND THEY SAID, LOOK, WE DO A LOT OF INFILL DEVELOPMENT AND IT'S REALLY HARD FOR US TO, UH, TO DO ANYTHING WITH THIS NEW CODE.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO? AND WE SAID, THE CODE IS THE CODE, BUT LET'S LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF THERE'S A, A COMPROMISE THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH.
SO WE MET WITH THEM AGAIN AND WE SAID, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT WE CAME UP WITH.
THERE'S A COMPROMISE FROM OUR STANDPOINT WHERE WE DON'T WANNA ALLOW PEOPLE TO PUT THE GARAGE WAY OUT IN FRONT, BUT HOW ABOUT A LITTLE BIT OUT IN FRONT? THAT WAY IT DOESN'T OBSCURE THE FRONT FACE OF THE HOUSE AS MUCH.
SO THIS WAS THE COMPROMISE, AND WE THINK THIS STILL KIND OF MEETS THE INTENT OF WHAT, WHAT IS IN THE CODE NOW.
BUT THE LOCAL BUILDERS WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THIS AND SAID, THIS TAKES CARE OF 95% OF THEIR, UH, OF THEIR CONCERNS.
SO THIS WOULD ALLOW THEM TO BE UP TO FIVE FEET IN FRONT OF THE, THE FRONT, UH, THE FRONT HOUSE FACE.
UM, AND THEY, THE 25 FOOT GARAGE SETBACK STILL HAS TO BE OBSERVED.
THE 15 FOOT FRONT SETBACK STILL HAS TO BE OBSERVED.
SO, UH, AGAIN, THEY SAID THAT THIS, UM, THIS TOOK CARE OF THE MAJORITY OF THEIR ISSUES AND WE FELT PRETTY GOOD ABOUT IT FROM STAFF STANDPOINT.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL WE CAN, UM, UH, WE CAN GET BEHIND AND BE ABLE TO ENFORCE.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING.
DO YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF THAT HOUSE? EXCUSE ME, IN THE WILD
UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S STILL THE GARAGES OUT FRONT, UM, BUT IT'S NOT QUITE AS PROMINENT.
UM, WE, WE WOULDN'T PUT THIS INTO THE SNOUT HOUSE, UM, CATEGORY NECESSARY NECESSARILY.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS AN AESTHETICS THING FOR THE MOST PART, AND IT, I DON'T THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT GOT A LOT OF ATTENTION WHEN WE BROUGHT THE ULDC THROUGH THE APPROVAL PROCESS.
SO THIS IS US TRYING TO KIND OF ADJUST FOR BAYTOWN, UH, AND, AND WHAT WORKS BEST HERE.
BUT MARTIN, I MEAN, THIS SHORT SNOUT IS BASICALLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
IF I'M DRIVING THE THE STREET, YOU'RE STILL NOT GONNA SEE YOUR NEIGHBOR OR YOUR HA OR YOUR DOOR OR THE, OR THE DOOR.
AND, AND HONESTLY, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM AESTHETICALLY, TO ME THIS DESIGN LOOKS A LITTLE DANGEROUS BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN HIDE BY THE DOOR VERSUS THE OTHER ONE.
IT GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE, I THINK, I DON'T, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE, THE DIFFERENCE, BUT I KNOW THAT WHY THE, THE BUILDERS WOULD SAY THIS IS SO MUCH EASIER TO BUILD THAN SOMETHING ELSE.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE WE'RE BUILDING A LOT OF HOMES AND THEN THEY'RE NOT GONNA STOP BUILDING IF THEY DON'T WANT TO BUILD SOMEBODY ELSE TO COME BUILD IT.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD COMPROMISE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO MAKE OUR PLACE BETTER, OUR TOWN BETTER BY ADDING JUST A LITTLE SHORT SNOUT, YOU KNOW, OR WHATEVER YOU WANT CALL IT.
I, I PERSONALLY, IT JUST ME, I, IF WE'RE GONNA CHANGE IT, LET'S CHANGE IT.
IT'S NOT, GIVE THEM THE, IT'S THE SAME THING.
IT LOOKS THE SAME THING WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING BY.
WE'RE ALSO GETTING MORE GARAGE THAN WE ARE IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE.
NOT WITH THIS THOUGH, RIGHT? THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW.
IT LOOKED LIKE IT WHEN YOU SHOWED DOWN.
CAN YOU GO BACK? BECAUSE EQUALLY AS WIDE,
[00:35:01]
NOT THE PHOTOGRAPH, IT'S, IT'S 10.ARE WE LOSING 10 GARAGE OFF THE FRONT? WELL, YOU, I MEAN ESSENTIALLY YOU'RE LOSING 10 FEET BECAUSE IT'S, IF IT'S FIVE FEET BEHIND OR FIVE FEET IN FRONT, THE DIFFERENCE IS 10.
SO YES, THE QUESTION THE, THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE, ARE YOU CONSIDERING THAT THE ENTRANCE TO THE AREA BEFORE THE FRONT DOOR? SO LOOK, WE WERE TRYING TO PICK ONES THAT SORT OF MATCHED UP TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO I COULD SHOW YOU SOMETHING.
SO YEAH, SO, SO I'M SAYING IF WE USED OUR IMAGINATION, WOULD THE FRONT DOOR THEN BE WHERE THE THE ENTRANCE I, I WOULD, I WOULD IS OR ARE YOU CONSIDERING THAT THE FRONT IN THIS PARTICULAR
IT'S THE KIND OF THE FRONT OF THAT LITTLE ENTRYWAY.
THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LOOK AT AS THE, IT'S NOT WELL DEFINED.
SO, UM, BUT YOU WOULD CONSIDER THAT THE FRONT FOR THIS CONVERSATION? YES, BUT AGAIN, I COULDN'T FIND A PERFECT EXAMPLE.
NO, NO, I THINK THAT IT ACTUALLY IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE.
GO BACK TO WHERE, LIKE THE ONE THAT Y'ALL WERE PROPOSING, PLEASE.
UH, THAT WAS, THIS IS THE ONE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING? NO, NO, THE ONE BEFORE WITH THE GARAGE.
THE CURRENT, THE PREVIOUS CODE.
NO, NO, THE ONE BEFORE THAT, THAT, THAT THIS IS THE CURRENT CODE AGAIN, ROUGHLY MM-HMM
BECAUSE I THINK THIS ONE WAS PROBABLY PERMITTED AND STARTED BUILDING BEFORE THAT BETTER THAN, SO THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH HOW EVERY HOUSE IS BUILT IN THESE NEW SUBDIVISIONS.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF VILLE, I'VE GOT KIDS THAT LIVE OVER THERE AND THAT'S EXACTLY HOW EVERY HOUSE IN THEIR STREET IS WITH THAT GARAGE FLUSHED TO THE BUILDING INSIDE.
AND THE HOUSES THAT ARE GOING IN MOUNT BELLEVUE NOW, AN AREA GOT KIDS OVER THERE THAT, THAT'S THE WHOLE STREET, THAT'S HOW THEY'RE BUILDING THESE HOUSES IS WHERE THEY'RE NOT FLUSHED.
THEY'RE NOT BUILDING 'EM OUT FRONT NOW, I SUSPECT JUST, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I SUSPECT PART OF THE BUILDER'S ISSUE IS, IS THAT THEY KEEP CRAMMING MORE STUFF ON A SMALLER LOT.
SO THEY WANNA BUILD A BIGGER GARAGE AND PUT IT OUT FRONT INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY INCREASING THEIR LOT SIZES ABOUT 10 FEET OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
FIRST PHASE OF FRIENDSWOOD ARE BUILT WITH THOSE GARAGES OUT.
SO ALL YOU SEE IS ABOUT THIS MUCH FRONT WITH A DOOR AND A WINDOW AND THE GARAGES OUT FRONT.
SO IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE AN APARTMENT WITH A GARAGE ATTACHED.
IT'S NOT THE LENNAR AND THE KB HOMES AND, AND THOSE GUYS THAT ARE, ARE THROWING, THAT ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS DESIGN.
IT'S THE LITTLE GUYS THAT ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE DESIGN, WHICH IS WHY WE TRY TO WORK WITH THEM.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO BE DEVELOPER FRIENDLY.
WE, THIS, THESE ARE INFILL LOTS THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND THEY'RE PRETTY SMALL HOMES.
WE'RE TALKING 12 TO 1500 SQUARE FOOT MAXIMUM.
THEY'RE ON SMALL LOTS, VERY NARROW LOTS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SAID, AND I'M NOT SURE, LEMME SEE IF I'VE GOT, IF UH, COULD THEY BRING A PUT TO US IN THAT SITUATION? UM, FOR ONE LOT NO, NO.
FOR THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THEY'RE WANTING TO DO A VARIANCE.
THAT THAT WOULDN'T IT, IT DOESN'T FUNCTION LIKE THAT.
SO NO, THAT, THAT'S NOT A GOOD OPTION FOR THEM.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY TOLD US, AND I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A GOOD UM, EXAMPLE OF THIS, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THEY TOLD US IS WHEN THE, THE, LET'S IMAGINE THAT IT'S, UH, LET'S IMAGINE THAT IT'S THIS HOUSE AND THAT DOOR ON THE, LET'S SAY, SO THE BOTTOM RIGHT PICTURE DOWN HERE, AND YOU SEE THIS DOOR RIGHT HERE IS PUSHED UP FIVE FEET IN FRONT OF THE GARAGE.
AND THEN WHAT IS THE, ALL THIS SPACE, IT'S JUST A HALLWAY AND IT'S REALLY KIND OF WASTED SPACE FOR THE DESIGN OF THE, OF THE, UH, HOUSE BECAUSE IT'S A NARROW LOT.
YOU'RE REALLY LIMITED ON WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THAT.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN, UM, I THINK ARGUMENTS AND THE HOUSES THEY SHOWED US THAT THEY'RE SAYING, WELL THIS IS MY DESIGN AND REMEMBER THE LITTLE GUYS ARE USING ONE OR TWO DIFFERENT DESIGNS AND THAT'S IT.
THAT'S THE DESIGN THEY USE EVERYWHERE.
AND THE LOTS ARE NOT LIKE, HEY, I JUST GONNA REZONE MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT'S A LOT HERE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, A LOT OVER HERE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND IN ORDER TO GET SOMETHING LIKE THAT HA HANDLED, YOU HAVE TO GO TO ALL THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND SAY, WE WANT TO DO REZONE, WHICH NINE TIMES OUTTA 10, THEY'RE GONNA GO, UH, NO.
SO, UM, MY FIRST HOUSE THAT I BOUGHT MANY YEARS AGO IN HIGHLAND WOODS LOOKED JUST LIKE THAT.
THE GARAGE WAS OUT FRONT AND OUR ENTRY DOOR WAS ON THE SIDE AND THERE WAS A SIDEWALK ALL THE WAY OUT TO THE FRONT OF THE GARAGE.
WE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH WALKABILITY OR PEOPLE VISITING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR COMING.
WE HAD PLENTY OF TRAFFIC IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND ANYWAY, I'M OKAYED THE WAY, IT JUST SEEMS TO ME THAT WE'VE KIND OF PRESENTED, WE'VE KIND OF CREATED THIS PROBLEM OURSELVES BY, BY UH, KEEP SMILING THESE LOTS DOWN AND KEEP ALLOWING 'EM TO CRAM MORE STUFF
[00:40:01]
ON THEM THAT WE'RE GIVING THESE BUILDERS LESS OPTIONS OF WHAT THEY CAN DO IN THE PROPERTY.SO I THINK THE CITY, WE'VE KIND OF GENERATED THIS MONSTER IN THE PROCESS AND IT SEEMS TO ME WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE TOO PICKY
AND IF THEY BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S NOT AESTHETICALLY NICE TO THE CONSUMER, CONSUMER'S NOT GONNA BUY IT AND THEY'LL QUIT BUILDING.
THAT'S JUST, AND I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN LETTING THE MARKET PUSH.
SO THE, THE DESIGN IN THE CURRENT CODE, SO WHICH IS THIS ONE? THIS IS THE FIVE, IT'S GOTTA BE FIVE FOOT BEHIND THAT IS SOMETHING FROM A, UM, NATIONAL PLANNING TRENDS ARE WE WANT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF GARAGES THAT ARE OUT FRONT.
AGAIN, THAT FIVE FOOT GARAGE OUT FRONT TO US WAS A COMPROMISE.
SOMETHING THAT WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ALLOW IN CERTAIN AREAS OF THE TOWN, BUT WE DECIDED IF WE'RE GONNA ALLOW IT IN ONE PLACE, WE GOTTA ALLOW IT EVERYWHERE.
SO, UM, I I, I'M NOT MARRIED TO THE COMPROMISE, BUT IT'S REALLY UP TO YOU GUYS IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT THE WAY IT IS.
UH, STAFF IS, IS OKAY WITH THIS ONE, KIND OF ANY WAY YOU CUT THIS, BUT OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT SO THAT WE'RE NOT GIVING 'EM THE FULL, YOU KNOW, 20 FOOT OF GARAGE OUT FRONT, BUT WE'RE GIVING THEM SOMETHING.
SO, UM, AGAIN, TRYING TO UM, BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DEVELOPER FRIENDLY AND MAKE SURE THAT THE LOCAL GUYS HAVE A, HAVE A CHANCE.
SO, UM, SO AGAIN, IF EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE U DC UPDATE THAT I'VE PRESENTED TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD, BUT FOR SOME REASON YOU EITHER CAN'T AGREE OR DON'T LIKE THIS ONE, YOU CAN MAKE THAT A SEPARATE, UH, PIECE OF THE MOTION TO SAY WE'D LIKE TO APPROVE ALL THESE OTHER ONES, BUT MAYBE, UM, RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THIS ONE E.
EITHER ONE IS, IS FINE WITH STAFF.
SO, MARTIN, DID YOU SAY EARLIER THAT THE GARAGE DOOR IS 40% OF THE FRONT OF THE HOME? THAT IS THE MAXIMUM ALLOWED? SO IF I HAVE A HUNDRED FOOT, UM, I'LL, I'LL SAY A HUNDRED.
'CAUSE THAT'S PRETTY, THAT'S PRETTY COMMON.
I'VE GOT A 50 FOOT WIDE HOUSE ON THE FRONT.
I CAN'T MAKE UP MORE THAN, THAT'LL BE 20 FOOT OF THE GARAGE DOOR, WHICH IS ABOUT RIGHT.
BUT SAY I'VE ONLY GOT A 40 FOOT, THEN I CAN'T HAVE A FULL TWO CAR GARAGE BECAUSE IT TAKES UP TOO MUCH OF THAT FACE.
SO THE PICTURE OF THE HOUSE YOU SHOWED JUST A SECOND AGO, YOU COULDN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF HOUSE.
SO DON'T POINT OUT IF THE DOOR WAS, DON'T POINT OUT WHERE I MESSED IT UP.
UM, I MEAN, WHY THEY HAVE ROOM FOR MORE THAN A HALLWAY.
UM, AGAIN, THE, SOME OF THE EXAMPLES AREN'T EXACT AND I WAS HOPING THAT ONE WOULD CATCH THAT.
UM, SO I MEAN THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 40% FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, BUT I DIDN'T GO OUT AND MEASURE IT.
SO LET'S PRETEND THAT IT'S 40%.
JUST FOR ME, THERE'S NOT TOO MANY BUSINESSES, THERE'S NOT TOO MANY HOMES RIGHT NOW THAT ACTUALLY HAVE A TWO CAR GARAGE IN THEIR HOUSES THAT YOU CAN PARK TWO CARS IN.
BUT THE TWO TWO CAR GARAGE WIDTH BEING 20 TO 22 FEET, THAT'S, THAT'S THE STANDARD DEFINITION.
EVERY NEW HOUSE THAT'S BUILT IN TOWN IN A NEW SUBDIVISION WILL HAVE THAT 20 FOOT WIDE GARAGE DOOR THAT IT'S JUST, IT JUST IS IN THE OLDER HOMES, IN THE OLDER PARTS OF TOWN.
UM, THE REBUILDS, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT, WHAT THEY'VE GOT, UM, WHAT THEY'VE GOT ROOM FOR.
UM, I MYSELF WOULD RATHER SEE DETACHED GARAGES IN THE BACK, BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN, THAT'S NOT, UM, THAT'S NOT AN OPTION FOR, FOR SOME OF THESE LOTS.
SO AGAIN, SOME OF THESE LOTS I COMMISSIONER BEARD AS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, WE SORT OF CREATED SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS REMEMBER TOO, THAT IN THE OLDER PARTS OF TOWN, THESE LOTS WERE PLATTED A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
I MEAN, IN SOME CASES THAT'S NOT FAR FROM THE TRUTH AND THAT'S STILL PLATTED.
WE STILL HAVE TO HONOR THAT AND THEY STILL HAVE TO MEET THEIR SETBACKS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF SO THEY CAN COME IN AND GET VARIANCES FOR THOSE THINGS IF THEY CAN SAY, HEY, THIS IS A LOT THAT I BOUGHT THAT DOESN'T MATCH WHAT THE NEW, WHAT THE NEWER CODES HAVE BEEN.
UM, BUT SOMETIMES THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ISN'T GONNA BE EASILY SOLVABLE.
SO LIKE I SAID, WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO FIND SOME MIDDLE GROUND FOR THE, FOR THE LOCAL BUILDERS TO TRY AND HELP 'EM OUT.
AND SO AND SO IT'S NOT THE MAJOR BUILDERS THAT ARE COMING IN BUILDING WHOLE SUBDIVISIONS, IT'S OUR SMALLER BUILDERS THAT ARE COMING IN.
WHAT ABOUT, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS EVEN A SOLUTION TO, UM, LET IT BE FOR INFILL HOUSING AND BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GUYS FEEL ABOUT THIS, BUT WE WANT A WHOLE SUBDIVISION OF HOUSES WITH THE FIVE FEET IN FRONT OR 10 FOOT IN FRONT, 25, 15 FEET IN FRONT.
AND REMEMBER THAT'S, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THEY CAN PUT IT BACK FURTHER THAN THAT.
THAT'S JUST THE MAXIMUM THEY CAN PUT IT UP.
SO AGAIN, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LENNAR OR KB HOME THAT COMES IN AND THEY HAVE THEIR DESIGN ALREADY AND THEY'RE GONNA KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
AGAIN, THESE ARE NOT THE ONES WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR CODES.
THEY COME IN AND GO, WHAT DO WE GOTTA DO? OKAY, THEN WE'RE GONNA PICK FROM THIS HUGE BOOK
[00:45:01]
OF, OF HOUSING MODELS.WE'RE GONNA PICK THESE 20 BECAUSE THEY MEET YOUR CODE.
UM, IT'S THE GUYS WHO, AGAIN, I GOT TWO DIFFERENT MODELS THAT I BUILD IN TOWN AND I DO 'EM ONE LOT AT A TIME.
I MAYBE BUILD THREE HOUSES A YEAR.
THOSE ARE THE GUYS THAT ARE STRUGGLING.
SO COULD THIS APPLY TO AND FILLED LOTS ONLY? YEAH.
AND NOT TO TOTAL SUBDIVISIONS? NO, NOT TO SUBDIVISIONS OF MORE THAN 20 HOMES.
LET'S SAY WE STAFF DISCUSSED THAT AS AN OPTION.
AND I'M, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT WE CAME UP WITH ON THAT.
I THINK, UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CODE, CERTAIN STANDARDS THAT REALLY HAVE TO APPLY ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO IF IT APPLIES ON THIS PROPERTY, IT APPLIES ON THIS PROPERTY, WE GET INTO A FUZZY AREA AND THAT MADE ME UNCOMFORTABLE.
BUT IF, IF YOU MAKE THAT CHANGE, THEN ANYBODY COULD DO IT.
I MEAN THEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN WHOEVER DECIDES TO COME AND DO US DEVELOPMENT AND THERE'S 25 HOMES OR 50 HOMES IN IT, THEY COULD DEVELOP THAT WHOLE THING THAT WAY THEY COULD.
SO THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE MEAN.
WE NEED TO BE, THEY COULD DO IT UNDER THE OLD CODE TOO.
THEY, THEY COULD DO THE GARAGE ALL THE WAY OUT FRONT IN THE OLD CODE.
AND THAT'S JUST AS, I MEAN THAT'S ONLY 11 MONTHS AGO.
BUT ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT NOT BE THE BIGGER DEVELOPERS THAT ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT AND ASKING ABOUT IT, I THINK TO COMMISSIONER WHEELER WHEELER'S POINT IS THAT WE, IF THIS OPENS IT UP THAT WAY, THEN THEY WOULD COULD JUST WALK RIGHT IN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT SITUATION.
AND, AND SO ALTHOUGH WE DON'T HEAR THAT FROM THEM, IT DOESN'T MEAN IT WOULDN'T.
UM, I GUESS I'M GETTING LOST IN THE SAUCE HERE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE 25 FOOT, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE 15 FOOT.
IT'S JUST, I MEAN, AND FOR ONCE WE'RE ACTUALLY LISTEN TO LOCAL DEVELOPERS FOR ONCE WE SIT DOWN AND SAY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ASSIST YOU INSTEAD OF THESE BIG CONGLOMERATES COMING IN AND TAKE GOBBLING UP ALL THE BUSINESS AND THEN WE SIT HERE AND ARGUE ABOUT IT.
SO I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED RIGHT NOW.
I FEEL LIKE I WANNA COMMEND YOU AND STAFF FOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO SIT AND TALK TO LOCAL DEVELOPERS.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO PAY ATTENTION TO THE LITTLE GUYS 'CAUSE THE LITTLE GUYS GET SWALLOWED UP IF NOT, SO I THINK WE'RE TALKING POTATO POTATO HERE GUYS, AND IT'S REALLY NOTHING MAJOR IS CHANGING HERE.
SO, SO LET ME, LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET, UM, I, I'M GETTING A ROUGH READ ON THE ROOM, BUT I'M STRUGGLING A LITTLE BIT HERE.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IS CONSENSUS.
CONSENSUS ON, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THE CODE THE WAY IT IS, IT REQUIRES IT TO BE FIVE FOOT BACK BEHIND THE, THE FACE.
ARE YOU OKAY WITH IT? UM, BEING THE OLD WAY, WHICH IS 20 FOOT OUT IN FRONT OR THE COMPROMISE IS A GOOD IDEA.
OR MAYBE THE FOURTH OPTION IS I DON'T REALLY CARE.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT I'M COMPROMISE IS.
CAN YOU GO ONE BY ONE SO WE CAN JUST, AND WITH NO CONVERSATION, EVERYBODY'S KIND OF HEARD THE CONVERSATION YEAH.
JUST ONE BY ONE HOW WE FEEL ABOUT IT.
WE'LL START WITH YOU COMMISSIONER BEARD.
I, I PERSONALLY, I DON'T CARE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
WE HAVE A LOT OF SUB, WE HAVE A LOT OF HOUSES IN THE OLDER PART OF BAYTOWN, PARTICULARLY IN RE PARK THAT ARE BEING BULLDOZED AND REBUILT AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE GARAGES.
AND THEY BARELY HAVE 25 SET BOOK IN THE FRONT.
IN FACT, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY'RE GONNA PARK CARS.
OH, I KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GONNA PARK CARS FOR.
I'M REALLY, IT, IT DOESN'T MAKE MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE TO ME.
I DO PREFER THE, THE WAY THAT WE HAVE IT NOW.
HOWEVER, I DON'T WANT TO LIMIT SMALL INFILL EXACTLY.
SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LIMIT SMALL LIMIT SMALL INFILL, WOULD YOU GO WITH THE, THE, THE SMALLER SOUT OR THE LARGER NO, I, I'M SAYING I I PER, I PREFER THE WAY THAT WE HAVE IT NOW.
HOWEVER, IF THAT MEANS THAT WE WILL NOT LIKE IT IS THE END ALL BE ALL TO BE ABLE TO PREVENT INFILL DEVELOPMENT, THEN I DON'T WANT IT THAT MUCH.
WE SHOULD CHOPPA THE COMPROMISE IS FINE WITH ME.
MY CONSENSUS IS TAKING TO THE COMPROMISE.
I ALSO PREFER TO HAVE IT THE WAY IT IS NOW.
UH, I I THINK WE'RE OPENING UP A CAN OF WORMS IF WE DO ANYTHING ELSE.
I'M OKAY WITH THE, THE CONSENSUS.
MY CONSENSUS IS I'M OKAY WITH, WITH THE, WITH THE CHANGE TO THE FIVE FOOT.
I'M OKAY WITH THAT TO HELP OUT LITTLE
COMPROMISE, COMPROMISE, COMPROMISE.
COMMISSIONER CARROLL GOOD WITH THE COMPROMISE.
MOST OF US ARE OKAY WITH THE COMPROMISE.
[00:50:01]
AS PRESENTED TODAY AS PRESENTED.AND, AND IT'S PROBABLY WORTH POINTING OUT THAT NOWHERE IN THE CODE ARE YOU REQUIRED TO HAVE A GARAGE.
SO THERE IS ALWAYS THE OPTION.
JUST NOT HAVE ANY GARAGE AT ALL FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T HAVE CARS, WHICH IS NOBODY.
SO WHERE YOU PARK ON THE STREET, OH, YOU CAN PARK ON THE STREET.
THAT'S CHURCH GRASS, NOT ON THE GRASS.
ALL OF THAT SAID, THAT'S ALL OF IT.
MARTIN AND STAFFER RECOMMENDS APPROVAL.
I HAVE MARTIN, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE EARLIER THING THAT YOU, THAT YOU BREEZED THROUGH.
SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME YOUR COMMENT ABOUT, UM, THE FOUNDATION PLANNING REQUIREMENTS? SURE.
FOR RESIDENTIAL REALLY AREN'T APPROPRIATE TO GO FORTH AS THEY ARE.
SO, UM, I'M TRYING TO THINK WHAT, UM, LAMI, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FOUNDATION PLANNING REQUIREMENT IS FOR RESIDENTIAL? UM, IT'S ACTUALLY A REQUIREMENT FOR, IT'S ACTUALLY A REQUIREMENT FOR A COMMERCIAL.
SUPPOSED TO BE A COMMERCIAL REQUIREMENT FOR FOUNDATION PAINTING.
IT'S ABOUT SIX FEET ON THE SIDE, UH, WHERE NO DOORS OR EXIT DOORS ARE, UH, ON THOSE AROUND THE STRUCTURE.
AND, UH, TWO FEET, 10 ON THE FRONT.
BUT THERE, THERE IS SOME INCONSISTENCY IN THE, IN THE CODE AS IT IS RIGHT NOW.
AND IT SHOWS, UM, A REQUIREMENT FOR FOUNDATION PLANTING FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
SO THIS DOESN'T INVOLVE THE SLAB AND PICKING ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF? NO, IT BASICALLY SAYS YOU HAVE TO HAVE SO MANY TREES OR SO MANY SHRUBS OR SO MANY PLANTS OF WHATEVER KIND AROUND THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR STRUCTURE.
WE DO FIND THAT'S NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE FOR COMMERCIAL, FOR MULTIFAMILY.
IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR SINGLE FAMILY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AWAY WITH.
BECAUSE IF YOU OWN YOUR HOUSE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT CALL TO SAY, I WANT TO PUT PLANTS HERE, BUT I DON'T WANNA PUT PLANTS OVER HERE.
SO I WANT TO, THE THE OTHER THING I HAVE IS MORE OF A COMMENT THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
I WANT TO GO UP TO THE REQUIREMENT WHERE YOU'RE TAKING AWAY THE SECOND HEARING ON PLA IF IT'S MINOR STUFF.
SO, UM, MANY MOONS AGO, EVERYTHING REQUIRED TWO HEARINGS AND THEY WERE SET 30 DAYS APART.
WE DIDN'T HAVE THESE TWO HEARINGS AT THE SAME TIME IN ANY AGENDA.
AND I WAS ON CHARTER REVIEW, THREE OR FOUR OF 'EM.
AND FOR TWO SERIES OF CHARTER REVIEW, I THOUGHT THAT TOOTH AND NAIL, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT TAKES AWAY THE CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO, TO BE MADE AWARE OF.
BUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COMING AND, AND COMMENTS.
SO WE SHORT STAFFED THAT ALREADY AT MOST THINGS THEY HAVE TWO HEARINGS, SO NOW WE'RE TAKING AWAY THE CITIZENS.
IF THEY DIDN'T CATCH IT ON THE FIRST TIME AROUND TO HIT IT FOR THE SECOND TIME AROUND.
AND I JUST PERSONALLY THINK THAT'S WRONG.
SO THIS IS ONLY ACCORDING TO, THIS IS ONLY FOR RELAS.
NOW KEEP IN MIND A PLAT DOESN'T GET A PUBLIC HEARING.
IT GETS A PUBLIC MEETING, WHICH MEANS YOU GUYS HAVE TO REVIEW IT AND SAY, YES, WE'RE GOOD WITH IT, BUT IT DOES NOT GET A PUBLIC HEARING, SO WE DON'T NOTICE IT TO THE NEIGHBORS FOR AN ACTUAL HEARING.
SO, UM, BUT PLAT, BUT IT'S AN AGENDA ITEM.
IT GOES, IT DID GO ON, IT DOES GO ON AGENDA ITEM.
AND AGAIN, WHEN YOU, AND, AND I, I'VE GONE OVER THIS, BUT THE, WHEN YOU DO A PLAT, A PLAT IS WHAT WE CALL MINISTERIAL ACTION, WHICH MEANS IF IT MEETS THE CODE, YOU HAVE TO APPROVE IT.
YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, CHOICE, UM, AS A BOARD.
SO STAFF IS GOING TO TELL YOU IT EITHER MEETS THE CODE OR DOES NOT MEET THE CODE.
UM, WHEN, AGAIN, WHEN IT COMES TO A PLAT, THAT'S SOMETHING WHERE WE WANT SHOW YOU THE PRELIMINARY PLAT, 'CAUSE IT SHOWS THE BIG PICTURE AND IT GIVES YOU AS A BOARD AWARENESS OF WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE.
THAT SAID, WHEN IT GETS TO THE FINAL PLAT, THOSE ARE, WE'RE NOT GONNA BRING 'EM TO YOU UNTIL WE KNOW THEY'VE, THAT THEY'RE READY TO BE APPROVED.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING WHERE WE WERE REGULARLY FOR A WHILE, WE WERE DOING 12, 14, 15 OF THESE A MONTH.
WE PUT 'EM ON A, A CONSENT AGENDA.
THEN LAST, UH, TWO YEARS AGO, THEY CHANGED THE LAW AT THE STATE LEVEL TO SAY, YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO TAKE PLATS TO YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION AT ALL.
EVEN THE PRELIMINARIES DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A PLANNING COMMISSION.
WE DECIDED, UM, AS WE TALKED THROUGH IT, IT MADE SENSE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THE BIG PICTURE STUFF.
BUT THE FINAL PLATS ARE REALLY NOT THAT, UM, THE, THE AWARENESS IS ALREADY THERE.
THE FINAL PLATS ARE AGAIN, JUST LIKE, IT'S JUST PART OF THE PROCESS.
SO ANOTHER STEP, AGAIN, IT'S NOT A PUBLIC HEARING.
IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT NEEDED A PUBLIC HEARING, THEN, THEN WE WOULD NOT HAVE REMOVED THAT.
SO EVEN A RE PLATT'S NOT GONNA GET A PUBLIC HEARING UNLESS, IF YOU NOTICE IT SAYS THIS WOULD GIVE YOU AUTHORITY FOR FINAL APPROVAL TO THE DIRECTOR, EXCEPT WHEN IT REQUIRES A PUBLIC HEARING.
SO THE EXAMPLE IS, I NEED A VARIANCE FOR THIS, OR WAIVER, A SUBDIVISION WAIVER.
THEN IT WOULD COME TO THIS BOARD, AND THIS BOARD WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE BOTH THE WAIVER AND THE REPLANT ITSELF.
OTHERWISE WE WOULD DO IT ADMINISTRATIVELY, WHICH SAVES THEM TIME AND KIND OF CLEARS UP THE, THE WHOLE THING.
[00:55:01]
A, UM, A MAXIMUM TIME LIMIT AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT WE HAVE TO HOLD ONTO.UH, I BELIEVE IT'S 45 DAYS OR THEY REDUCED IT TO 30.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WHEN WE'RE DOING IT ADMINISTRATIVELY, THAT'S A LOT EASIER FOR US TO, TO HIT THOSE TIME MARKERS.
SO, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES.
CAN I MAKE A MOTION? UH, HOLD ONE SECOND PLEASE.
WE'RE GONNA, ARE YOU WAIT FROM MARTIN? ARE YOU DONE? OOPS, SIR, CAN WE MOVE A LITTLE FORWARD? OH, I'M MY PRESENTATION'S COMPLETE.
THERE BEING NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
I CLOSE THIS PUBLIC HEARING AT 5:57 PM AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CONCERNING THE PROPOSED TEXT AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER ONE 11 OF THE ULDC.
YOU HEARD ALL THE NUMBERS? I NEED A MOTION.
ANY DISCUSSION? ANY MORE DISCUSSION? A MOTION PLEASE.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE FOR ALL THE REASONS STAFF EXPLAINED.
AND WE HEARD A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER LAREDO.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? THE MOTION? MOTION CARRIED.
[b. Conduct a public hearing and consider a request for a Special Use Permit (SUP) on approximately 9.0 acres located at 1010 Bob Smith Road to allow for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in a Suburban Residential (SR) Zoning District.]
B, WHICH IS ZONING.UH, CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A, A SPECIAL USE PERMIT, AN SUP ON APPROXIMATELY NINE ACRES.
LOCATED AT 10 10 BOB SMITH ROAD TO ALLOW FOR BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM BESS AT A SUBURBAN RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT.
IT'S NOW 5:58 PM AND I CALL TO ORDER THIS PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING ITEM THREE B.
HE'S PART OF OUR STAFF TO SUMMARIZE THE ITEM.
SO, GOOD EVENING, UH, MAD CHAIR AND THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, TIM CHI HERE WITH THE CITY'S PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
SO BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING, WE HAVE THIS, UH, SPECIALIST PERMIT APPLICATION.
THE PROPOSED PROJECT LOCATION IS ZONED SUBURBAN RESIDENTIAL SR.
AND IS COMPOSED OF FOUR PARCELS.
THIS IS LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF BOB SMITH ROAD AND THE WALKER ROAD.
ALLOW ME TO SHARE WITH YOU ON THE, UH, PICTURES OF THE STREET VIEWS.
SO THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE OUT THERE.
ALL THESE FOUR PARCELS CONTAIN RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
SO THIS IS THE 10 10 BOB SMITH SITE.
HERE'S A VIEW ACROSS STREET FROM 10 BOB SMITHS.
HERE'S ANOTHER VIEW ACROSS THE STREET FROM 10 10 BOBSMITH RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
ANOTHER VIEW ACROSS STREET FROM 10 10 BOB SMITH.
SO HERE'S ANOTHER VIEW, UH, ON BOB SMITH FACING EAST TOWARD, UH, WALKER ROAD.
LAST, WHERE THE, UH, VEHICLE IS COMING OUT LAST WALKER ROAD.
HERE'S A PICTURE TAKEN ON WALKER ROAD FACING SOUTH TOWARD BOB SMITH ROAD.
SO WE SEE THE STOP SIGN LAST INTERSECTION OF BOB SMITH AND THE WALKER ROAD.
SO THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT, SUP TO ALLOW THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF A BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM, BESS ON APPROXIMATELY NINE ACRES OF LAND.
IT SHOWS YOU ALL THESE ARE SHADED AREA.
THE SUBJECT SIDE IS ZONED SUBURBAN RESIDENTIAL.
HERE'S THE CITY'S FUTURE LAND USE MAP.
THE CITY'S FUTURE LAND USE MAP DESIGNATE THE PROPOSED SUBJECT SIDE ALONG WITH MOST OF THE SURROUNDING AREA AS LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL.
LET ME GO BACK TO THE VIC MAP.
SO THERE'S A SUBSTATION LOCATED ON THE ADJACENT PARCEL IMMEDIATELY TO THE NORTH OF THE PROPOSED, UH, PROJECT SITE, WHICH HAS BEEN UNDER THE OWNERSHIP OF CENTER POINT ENERGY, HOUSTON ELECTRIC SINCE JANUARY, 2003.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS A SITE FOR THE, UH, SUBSTATION.
[01:00:01]
THE SURROUNDING AREA CONTAINS RESIDENTIAL UNITS AND RV PARK AND THE ONE OLD, UH, WAREHOUSE TYPE OF FACILITY.SO HERE IS AN IMAGE OF THE PROPOSED SUBJECT SIDE AND SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT.
AND YOU CAN SEE LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE MORE THAN 200 FEET FROM THE ADJACENT RESIDENTIAL AREA AND THEIR PROPOSED, UM, UH, BATTERY CONTAINER UNITS ON THE EAST SIDE.
AND, UH, AS OF 3:00 PM TODAY, STAFF HAS RECEIVED SIX LETTERS OF OBJECTION AND TWO LETTERS OF SUPPORT.
SO THE CONCERNS OF LOW OBJECTIONS INCLUDED SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, AND THE POTENTIAL, UH, DE DE APPRECIATION IN PROPERTY VALUES.
SO LOW IN SUPPORT CITED THE PROPOSED SAFETY MEASURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT, POTENTIAL LOWER ENERGY RATES AND ROBUST RESERVES TO REDUCE OUTAGE.
SO BASED ON THE SUBMITTED APPLICATION MATERIALS, STAFF CAN RECOMMEND APPROVAL WITH CONDITIONS OF THE PROPOSED SPECIALIST PERMIT FOR THE SITE LOCATED AT 10 10 BOB SMITH ROAD TO ALLOW FOR THE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.
SO HERE ARE THE SEVEN CONDITIONS THE APPLICANT WILL NEED TO, UH, FOLLOW IN ORDER TO GAIN THIS APPROVAL.
AND THE LOWEST CONDITIONS WERE ADOPTED BY THE CITY IN SEPTEMBER, 2025, AND THE LEASE BECAME EFFECTIVE IN OCTOBER, 2025.
SO LEASE IS PRETTY MUCH THE, UH, PRESENTATION FROM THE STAFF.
THIS CONCLUDES THE STAFF'S PRESENTATION IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
I'M GONNA CALL YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME, UH, SO I DON'T MESS UP EVERYONE'S LAST NAME IN HERE,
AND IF THERE ARE TWO OF YOU, FOR EXAMPLE, NAMED SUSAN, I'LL JUST NAME YOUR STREET NUMBER.
WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU TO COME TO THE PODIUM, SAY YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS, AND PLEASE BE REMINDED OF THE THREE MINUTE RULE.
UM, FIRST PERSON IS NICHOLAS DIAZ.
AND COMMISSIONERS YOU HAVE, YOU SHOULD EACH HAVE A PRESENTATION IN FRONT OF YOU.
I DON'T MADAM CHAIR THE LETTERS THEY SAID THAT WE RECEIVED.
DO WE
DIDN'T PRINT THEM THAT ONE BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MANY.
WE HAVE THEM ON THE, UM, WE HAVE, WE CAN SHOW 'EM TO YOU.
WELL, THIS PRESENTATION IS THE SAME ONE YOU HANDED OUT TO US, CORRECT? YEAH.
UH, AND, UH, DONNA, I BELIEVE YOU SAID THREE MINUTES, BUT UH, WE'LL BE PRESENTING.
UM, BECAUSE OF YOUR PRESENTATION, UM, I THINK WE'VE ALLOWED YOU UP TO 10 MINUTES.
WE'LL BE, UH, BRIEF IN JUST 10 MINUTES.
UH, SO AGAIN, NICHOLAS DIAZ, 2 0 0 BAGBY STREET, HOUSTON, TEXAS.
UH, I WANNA START OFF THE PRESENTATION, BUT HONESTLY ACKNOWLEDGING THE DAY TODAY.
HAPPY VETERANS DAY, UH, TO, TO SERVE AND CONTINUE SERVING.
UH, THANK YOU FOR KEEPING OUR COUNTRY SAFE.
UH, JUST A QUICK AGENDA ON TODAY.
I'M GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT BALANCE, ROCK POWER, WHO WE ARE.
GIVE A LITTLE OVERVIEW OF, UH, BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS OR BEST SYSTEMS. GO INTO THE SPECIFICS OF THIS CLEAR BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT.
THAT'S THE NAME OF THIS PROJECT.
AND THEN, UH, UH, BEST SAFETY, UH, JUST TO INTRODUCE THE TEAM AGAIN, I'M NICK DIAZ, THE SENIOR MANAGER OF DEVELOPMENT LEAD, ALL OF OUR ERCOT DEVELOPMENT.
UH, IF YOU WITH ME, SAM MATE, HE'S, UH, BEEN THE LEAD, UH, DEVELOPER ENGINEER ON THIS PROJECT.
AND IC, OUR KIND OF WIZARD OF, UH, BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE, UH, HERE AS WELL.
CAROLINA, I ALSO ADDED HER HERE.
SHE'S DONE A LOT OF THE WORK, UH, BUT UNFORTUNATELY SHE COULD NOT MAKE IT TODAY AS OF LAST THURSDAY, SHE, UH, GAVE BIRTH TO A BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL.
SO, UM, WANT TO GIVE HER A QUICK SHOUT OUT.
AND SAYS THERE ARE THREE OF YOU FROM YOUR COMPANY SIGNED UP.
CAN YOU COLLECTIVELY DO THANK YOU? YEAH, AND I'LL, I'LL SPEAK AND SAM WILL SPEAK, AND THEN AHE WILL BE HERE IN CASE THERE'S ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IN THAT ROOM.
[01:05:01]
UH, WE'RE A RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPER, DEVELOPED BATTERY STORAGE AND SOLAR ACROSS THE US MOST LIKELY HERE.YOU CAN SEE ALL THOSE LITTLE DOTS, UH, IN THE SOUTH TEXAS.
THAT'S WHAT ME AND MY TEAM ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, AS WE'VE BEEN, UH, DEVELOPING THOSE OVER THE LAST, UH, FOUR YEARS.
UM, INCLUDING, UM, OUR FIRST SUCCESS AS A COMPANY, UH, HIDDEN LAKES BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE, BUILT RIGHT OUTSIDE OF LAKE CITY IN GALVESTON COUNTY.
UH, SIMILAR SIZED PROJECT TO THIS ONE.
UM, AND AS OF SEPTEMBER 29TH, IT IS FULLY OPERATIONAL.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THOSE REAL LIFE PICTURES OF ME WHEN I VISITED OUT THERE.
FOR REFERENCE, I'M FIVE NINE ON, ON A GOOD DAY.
UM, SO YOU CAN KIND OF REFERENCE THE, THE SIZE OF THOSE, UH, BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEMS, UH, THAT ARE, AGAIN, ALREADY OPERATIONAL.
SO, UH, I BELIEVE THE COMMISSION HAS SEEN TWO BATTERY PROJECTS COME THROUGH BEFORE, UH, THE PUBLIC IS AWARE, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD TO GET A GOOD REFRESHER OF WHAT THESE ARE.
SO COLLECTIVELY, ESSENTIALLY, BATTERY SOURCE SYSTEMS ARE BEST, ARE A COLLECTION OF SMALL BATTERIES SIMILAR TO THE ONES YOU HAVE IN YOUR PHONE OR YOUR CAR AT A MUCH LARGER SCALE.
UH, AND THEY'RE STRATEGICALLY PLACED NEAR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, LIKE THE SUBSTATION TEAM WAS MENTIONING ON BOB SMITH AND WALKER ROAD, UM, AND USED TO BE ABLE TO DISCHARGE AND CHARGE FROM THE GRID.
SO IN MOMENTS OF STRESS, IN MOMENTS OF EXCESS ENERGY, WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING, THE NATURAL GAS IS FLOWING AND THERE'S EXCESS ENERGY ON THE GRID, THESE BATTERIES CHARGE UP.
AND THEN WHEN PEOPLE GET HOME, 5:00 PM 6:00 PM SUN IS COMING, COMING DOWN, PEOPLE TURN ON THE AC AND THE GRID IS AT STRESS AND NEEDS ENERGY, IT GETS RELEASED BACK INTO THE GRID.
UH, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN BENEFITS THAT IT HAS.
IT'S REALLY LIKE THE GRID RELIABILITY AND SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN PUSHING, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW, UH, YOU MAY ASK SO, WELL, WHY IS THIS NEEDED? UM, IF YOU GUYS RECALL BACK IN 2021 WHEN WINTER STORM URI CAME THROUGH, UH, A LOT OF US LOST POWER, INCLUDING MYSELF FOR OVER A WEEK.
UH, FROM THAT ERCOT CAME OUT AND PUBLICLY SAID, WE NEED MORE OF THESE BATTERY PROJECTS ON THE GRID, UH, TO BE ABLE TO AVOID THESE ISSUES GOING FORWARD AND KIND OF KEEP THAT STABILITY.
UM, I DO GET A QUESTION ON, UH, WHY, YOU KNOW, IF THIS BA IF THIS ELECTRICITY WILL BE GOING DIRECTLY TO BAYTOWN.
SO THE WAY I LIKE TO EXPLAIN ELECTRICITY IS ASSUMING YOU TURN A WATER FAUCET ON, THE WATER GOES DIRECTLY TO THE SINK OR TO THE FLOOR, TO THE SOURCE IT FIRST HITS.
ONCE IT HITS THE GROUND OR HITS THE SINK, IT KIND OF GO IN ANY DIRECTION.
SO DOES THE SAME WAY THIS ELECTRICITY WORKS, SO IT'S CLOSE TO BAYTOWN.
SO WHENEVER IT'S NEEDED AND IT'S DISCHARGING, IT'S GONNA GO TO WHERE THE LOAD IS DEMANDING IT.
BUT ONCE IT'S ON THE GRID, IT CAN GO TRAVEL ANYWHERE, UH, WITHIN THE STATE, OBVIOUSLY WITHIN THE ERCOT GRID.
UH, SO NOW JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF, OF CLEAR BATTERY INJURY STORAGE, UH, AGAIN, CLEAR THE NAME.
IT'S, UH, BECAUSE OF OUR ANCHOR LANDOWNER WHO'S ACTUALLY HERE.
UM, WHEN I FIRST CONTACTED HER THREE YEARS AGO, SHE WAS 90, SO WE'RE AT 93 NOW.
AND SO IT WAS FITTING THAT I HAD TO NAME THE, THE PROJECT AFTER HER.
UM, JUST A QUICK HIGH LEVEL POINTS HERE.
UM, THE INTERCONNECT POSITION WITH, UH, CENTER POINTS FOR UP TO 400 MEGAWATTS CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE ON THESE TEND TO BE RELATIVELY SHORT, SIX TO NINE MONTHS, AND THEY WILL GENERATE CONSTRUCTION JOBS ONCE IT'S OPERATIONAL.
UM, IT'S OVER NINE ACRES, AS I MENTIONED.
UM, AND THE LIFESPAN CAN BE 20 YEARS BEYOND THAT.
UH, ONE THING I DO WANT TO MENTION, UH, THE BIGGEST THING FROM THIS PROJECT IS THE PROPERTY TAXES IT WILL REGEN, UH, GENERATE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, AGAIN, WERE CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES THAT WE HAD.
UM, ASSUMING A CAPITAL INVESTMENT OF $155 MILLION IS GONNA GENERATE OVER $40 MILLION OF PROPERTY TAXES, UH, OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
A LARGE CHUNK OF THAT WILL BE GOING TO GOOSE CREEK, ISD, WHICH, UH, I, IF SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO THE GALA NEXT FRIDAY, HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.
UM, AND THEN CLOSE TO 11 MILLION WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE CITY OF BAYTOWN.
UM, ANOTHER THING TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THAT THESE PROJECTS DON'T REALLY REQUIRE ANY LITTLE TO NO SERVICES FROM THE CITY.
YOU DON'T NEED TO BUILD SCHOOLS FOR THEM.
YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD DRAINAGE, SEWAGE, PUBLIC UTILITIES.
UH, THEY'RE KIND OF JUST, THEY OPERATE ON THEIR OWN AND DON'T NEED ANY ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE CITY.
SO IT'S MORE, UH, GENERATING REVENUE AND NOT COSTING ANY, HAVING ANY COSTS ON THE DESIGN.
AGAIN, UM, STARTED THIS PROCESS THREE YEARS AGO, TWO YEARS AGO ACTUALLY, WAS WHEN I FIRST SPOKE TO LAMIA.
SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ITERATIVE
[01:10:01]
GOING BACK AND FORTH.UH, AND THE MAIN THING I WANNA SAY WE'VE DONE IS INCREASE THE SETBACKS ORIGINALLY FROM 40 FEET TO 200 FEET FROM ANY RESIDENTIAL USES OR, UH, ANY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES OR USES.
UM, AND SOMETHING I'M LIKE REALLY PROUD OF HERE IS THE HORSESHOE DESIGN YOU SEE AROUND THE BATTERIES.
IT'S ACTUALLY A RETENTION BASIN.
SO WE LIVE IN HARRIS COUNTY, WE'RE ALWAYS PRONE TO FLOODING.
UM, SO THAT'S ESSENTIALLY MADE THERE TO FIT THAT CODE IN CASE WE HAVE A HIGH RAIN WEATHER EVENT.
UH, BUT IT ALSO PROVIDES LIKE AN ADDITIONAL SCREENING, UH, MAKING IT, YOU KNOW, EVEN MORE SET BACK AND MORE INSIDE, UH, THE, THE PROPERTY LINE.
UH, AS TIM MENTIONED, ONE OF THE CONDITIONS, UH, IS TO INCLUDE A SIX FOOT MASON WALL AND VEGETATION SCREENING.
SO THAT'S ALSO BEEN ADDED TO THE DESIGN, WHICH YOU'LL SEE IN THESE NEXT PICTURES.
SO THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW FROM A BIRD'S EYE VIEW.
THAT'S WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE ONCE THE PROJECT IS BUILT.
UH, RIGHT AGAIN, NEXT TO THE SUBSTATION.
THIS IS THE CORNER, BOB SMITH AND WALKER ROAD NOW.
UM, AND THEN THIS IS THAT SIX FOOT MASONRY WALL, UM, THAT I'VE MENTIONED IT LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO SECOND TO LAST SLIDE HERE ON PUBLIC OUTREACH.
UH, BACK IN MAY WE SENT OUT LETTERS TO NEIGHBORS WITHIN 650 FEET.
THESE WERE INFORMATIONAL AND KIND OF GIVING MY CONTACT INFORMATION, LETTING 'EM KNOW ABOUT THE PROJECT OFFERING TO MEET ONE-ON-ONE WITH AS MANY FOLKS AS THEY WERE INTERESTED.
WE DID HEAR A LOT BACK SINCE THEN.
WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH A LOT OF FOLKS, ADDRESSING CONCERNS, HEARING WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY.
UM, THROUGH THAT, LIKE THE MAIN CONCERNS.
AND AS TIM MENTIONED, ONE OF THEM WAS LIKE PROPERTY VALUES.
SO WHEN I KIND OF GOT THAT BACK, I KICKED, WE AS BRP KICKED OFF A PROPERTY VALUE STUDY.
UM, THERE'S BEEN ENOUGH BATTERY PROJECTS ALREADY WITHIN TEXAS TO SHOW EVIDENCE.
UM, AND SO THAT STUDY SHOWED THAT THERE'S BEEN NO EVIDENCE OF AFFECTING PROPERTY VALUES.
A LOT OF ALSO FOLKS QUESTION ABOUT NOISE.
THERE'S ALSO A NOISE STUDY THAT WAS DONE.
UH, AND AGAIN, ALL THESE STUDIES I'M REFERENCING WERE INCLUDED IN THE APPLICATION THAT THAT WAS SUBMITTED.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THIS, WE DID HOST AN OPEN HOUSE ON SEPTEMBER 30TH AT BAYTOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
I THINK IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD TURNOUT.
HAD ABOUT 50 PEOPLE, UH, SHOW UP AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A GOOD DIALOGUE.
GOT SOME GOOD SNACKS, UM, AND GOOD CHATTING.
UH, AND THEN, UH, WHENEVER WE, UH, HAD THE MEETING SCHEDULED ORIGINALLY IN OCTOBER, UH, WE SENT OUT NOTICES TO FOLKS AT THE 500 FEET, 72 TO BE EXACT.
AND THEN WHEN WE RESCHEDULED FOR, UH, TODAY AND ON THURSDAY, UH, WE SENT OUT NOTICES AS WELL.
SO IT'S KINDA ALWAYS BEEN OUR GOAL TO BE TRANSPARENT, UM, AND OUT, OUT FRONT WITH THAT.
UM, I'LL JUST ALSO MENTION ALL THE STUDIES THAT WERE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY, UH, ARE IN PART OF APPLICATION, INCLUDING A ROAD USE AGREEMENT WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, CAN, WE'RE COMMITTING TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVING THE ROADS AND EVEN IMPROVING THE DRAINAGE, UH, BECAUSE THERE WILL, DURING CONSTRUCTION, THE ROADS WILL BE, UH, SIGN, YOU KNOW, WILL MAY HAVE SOME DAMAGE.
LAST THING, AND THIS IS KIND OF JUST, I, I TOOK THIS AS A TANGENT.
UM, ASIDE FROM THE PROPERTY VALUES AT THE, SORRY, THE PROPERTY TAXES THAT WOULD BE GENERATED, UH, THERE'S SOME FUNDS ALLOTTED, UH, WHENEVER THIS PROJECT STARTS CONSTRUCTION, TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITY.
SO THIS IS JUST KIND OF LIKE SOME IDEAS I HAD.
UM, THERE'S NEWCASTLE PARK IS A PARK, THE CLOSEST PARK TO IT, UH, FROM BEING OUT THERE.
ACTUALLY, WHEN I WAS OUT THERE, PARKS, PARKS AND REC WAS OUT THERE AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT COULD POTENTIALLY SOME MORE BENEFIT OF MORE, UM, MORE PLAYGROUNDS OR SENSORY AMENITIES.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, AS I WAS THERE, UM, I GOT STUCK BEHIND THAT TRAIN.
UM, I TOOK, UH, RIGHT THERE ON BOB SMITH ROAD.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY THOUGHT WAS, IF FURTHER BACK YOU WOULD'VE KNOWN THAT THERE'S A TRAIN COMING HERE AND THERE'S SOMETHING TO ALERT, UH, WOULD'VE MAYBE POTENTIALLY TAKEN A DIFFERENT ROUTE.
SO, UH, THIS IS JUST AN IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN POTENTIALLY OUT THAT MONEY TOO.
UM, AND THEN JUST KIND OF STAYING IN THE THEME OF BACKUP POWER AND BACKUP GENERATION.
UH, FIGURED, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY WITHIN 300 FEET, WE'D BE OPEN TO GIVING A THOUSAND DOLLARS REIMBURSEMENT FOR GENERATORS OR, OR BACKUP BATTERIES.
UM, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUES, SAM, FOR FIRE SAFETY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.
FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS SAM MATE.
I'VE COME TO YOU REPRESENTING BOUNCE TRACK POWER FROM MY HOME IN DENVER, COLORADO.
TO BE SPECIFIC, UH, FIRE SAFETY IS CERTAINLY, UH, ON A LOT OF PEOPLE'S MINDS, I'M SURE THIS EVENING.
AND SO I WANTED TO ADDRESS, UH, THE STORY THAT CAN BE TOLD IN THIS PICTURE.
ADMITTEDLY, I'M AN ENGINEER GRAPHS AND DATA.
[01:15:01]
UNDERSTAND NOT EVERYBODY FEELS THE SAME WAY WHEN THEY SEE A GRAPH WITH A LOT OF NUMBERS ON IT.SO I WANT TO BE EXPEDIENT FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYONE'S TIME HERE, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE THAT I'M DOING JUSTICE WITH THE DATA THAT IS RELEVANT TO THIS CONVERSATION.
SO LET'S START WITH JUST THE RAW FIGURES THAT THIS, UH, GRAPH CAN TELL US.
IN 2018, THERE WERE 17 GIGAWATT HOURS OF BATTERIES THAT WERE DEPLOYED.
THAT HAS GROWN TO OVER 300 SINCE, UH, THE NUMBER WAS CAPPED IN 2024.
THAT REPRESENTS OVER A THOUSAND PERCENT INCREASE WORLDWIDE.
HOWEVER, IF WE LOOK AT THE, UH, THE NUMBERS ON THE ACTUAL BAR CHART THERE, REPRESENTING THE TOTAL FAILURE INCIDENTS GLOBALLY, WE CAN SEE THAT IN 2018 WE HAD 16 INCIDENTS.
SO WHILE WE HAVE A 1500% INCREASE IN THE BATTERIES THAT WERE DEPLOYED GLOBALLY, THE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS PER YEAR CUT IN HALF.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS PER GIGAWATT HOUR, A PER CAPITA FAILURE RATE, IF YOU WILL, WE'RE DROPPING BY OVER 98%.
NOW, 2020 OBVIOUSLY SEEMS LIKE A BIT OF AN OUTLIER YEAR.
IF YOU LOOK AT HOW THAT YELLOW BAR DROPS, THAT'S SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN THE MARKET WIDESPREAD ADOPTED TO SHIFT FROM NMC OR NICKEL, MANGANESE COBALT BATTERIES TO THE LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE CHEMISTRY, NICKEL, MANGANESE, COBALT, THAT'S THE BATTERY YOU HAVE IN YOUR CELL PHONE.
LITHIUM, IRON PHOSPHATE, THEY ARE MARGINALLY LESS ENERGY DENSE, DRAMATICALLY MORE STABLE, ESPECIALLY IN A THERMAL REGARD.
SAFETY, ESPECIALLY AS A POWER PLANT DEVELOPER, THIS IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
WE TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY IF THERE'S A SAFER PRODUCT ON THE MARKET THAT IS THE CLEAR AND OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
THE OBVIOUS BEING SAFETY OF THE COMMUNITY, SAFETY OF OUR WORKERS, O AND M RESIDENTS IN THE AREA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
BUT ALSO, WHEN IT COMES TO THESE PROJECTS, AS NICK MENTIONED WITH THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, THEY'RE DRAMATICALLY EXPENSIVE THINGS TO CONSTRUCT TO GET THE MONEY AVAILABLE, TO BE ABLE TO BUY THOSE.
YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO GET INSURANCE TO GET INSURANCE.
YOU USE THE SAFEST PRODUCT AVAILABLE.
THAT'S REALLY THE, THE CLEAR AND OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR EVERY METRIC THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
MOVING ON, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT COME UP ABOUT HOW THESE, UH, TECHNOLOGIES WORK.
OBVIOUSLY, UH, FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, I WON'T DIVE TOO DEEP.
IF YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ACTUAL FUNCTIONALITY OF THESE BATTERIES, THE THE STRUCTURE THAT GOES INTO THEM, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
WE ALSO HAVE ASHA KI WHO IS, AS NICK MENTIONED, EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THESE TECHNOLOGIES IN GENERAL.
WHAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THAT THESE, UH, ARE ARE COMPOSED OF MANY VERY SMALL HERMETICALLY SEALED COMPONENTS WITHIN A LARGER ENCLOSURE.
THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE STRUCTURE, BUT WHAT I REALLY WANTED TO POINT OUT HERE IS THAT THE LFP BATTERIES ARE LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERIES.
THESE ARE WHAT YOU FIND IN YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLES, IN YOUR E SCOOTERS AND WHEELCHAIRS, LAWNMOWERS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
WE HAVEN'T QUITE GOTTEN THE CELL PHONE COMPANIES ON BOARD WITH THE SAFER AND MARGINALLY LESS ELECTRICALLY DENSE ONES.
SO FOR ALL RISK PURPOSES, THESE BATTERIES THAT WE ARE PROPOSING ARE SAFER THAN THE ONES THAT WE ALL CARRY AROUND IN OUR POCKETS EVERY DAY.
WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE OF THESE, IF YOU'LL DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE IMAGE ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT THERE, YOU CAN SEE THAT YOU HAVE THE OVERALL BATTERY ENCLOSURE.
WITHIN THAT ENCLOSURE, THERE ARE RACKS OF BATTERIES AT INSIDE EACH OF THE RACK.
THERE'S DIFFERENT KIND OF, OH, EXCUSE ME, UH, DRAWERS WITH MODULES, AND THEN THOSE MODULES HAVE DIFFERENT BATTERY CELLS.
THE REASON I'M EXPLAINING WHY THERE ARE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SAFETY FEATURES LOOKING AT THE TEMPERATURE AND THE VOLTAGE AND THE CURRENT AND EVERY METRIC THAT WE CAN MEASURE AT EACH ONE OF THOSE LEVELS SO THAT IF ANYTHING LOOKS OFF THAT ENTIRE ENCLOSURE IS SHUT DOWN.
NICK MENTIONED THAT THERE AREN'T PEOPLE ON SITE 24 7.
AND WHILE THAT IS TRUE, THESE ARE MONITORED DIGITALLY AND REMOTELY 24 7.
THE POWER IS NOT DISPATCHED UNLESS REQUESTED BY THE UTILITY.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, STORM COMES DOWN, KNOCKS DOWN A TRANSMISSION LINE.
THIS BATTERY IS NOT TRYING TO DUMP POWER INTO A GRID THAT IT'S NOT ATTACHED TO ANYMORE.
IT WILL NOT DISPATCH POWER UNLESS IT IS REQUESTED ALL OF THE CONTAINERS ACROSS ANY MANUFACTURER FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES AS WELL AS JUST PRACTICALITY AS A DEVELOPER, THEY HAVE TO PASS ALL OF THESE SAME STANDARDS AND TESTING UL 95 40 A FOR FIRE, NFP 55 FOR ALL OF YOUR FIRE SAFETY AND EXPLOSIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TESTED RIGOROUSLY AGAINST TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS NOT AN OPTION.
THE REGULAR MONITORING PERIODIC INSPECTIONS,
[01:20:01]
THAT MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, EVEN A BRAND NEW CAR NEEDS AN OIL CHANGE FROM TIME TO TIME.SO THOSE INSPECTIONS WILL MAKE SURE THAT IF ANYTHING LOOKS WRONG, IT CAN BE ADDRESSED BEFORE IT BECOMES AN ISSUE.
WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING FOR SUCCESS LONG TERM.
I DO WANNA MENTION THAT WE, UH, HAVE PARTNERED WITH FIRE AND RISK ALLIANCE.
THEY'VE BEEN A GREAT PARTNER IN THIS, UH, FOR PROJECTS ACROSS THE HOUSTON AREA, AS WELL AS WITHIN BAYTOWN, SPECIFICALLY MEETING WITH FIRE MARSHAL JD HERBERT, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE A COLLABORATIVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN THAT'S GOING TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE ACCESS ROUTES, THE PROCEDURES TO ADDRESS ANY SORT OF FAILURE INCIDENT ON SITE, AND ANY OTHER PIECE OF INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO THE PROJECT THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO KNOW.
MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DESIGNING THIS PROJECT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PEOPLE THAT SHOULD HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO HAVE A VOICE IN THIS.
LET ME ASK THE COMMISSIONERS, THEY'VE GONE BEYOND 10 MINUTES.
DO YOU WANT TO LET THEM FINISH? YES, YES, PLEASE.
YES, I'LL DO MY BEST TO KEEP IT BRIEF.
UM, THE, THE LAST KIND OF MAJOR POINT I THINK THAT IS REALLY WORTH MAKING HERE IS WITH REGARDS TO TRAINING ON ONSITE TRAINING FOR ANY, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE AREA.
THEIR STANDARD PRACTICE IS FOR THAT TO OCCUR BEFORE ENERGIZATION OF THE SITE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA GET THE CALL KNOW WHAT THEY'RE WALKING INTO BEFORE ANYTHING IS TURNED ON.
AND THEN PERIODIC TRAINING RECURRING AFTER THAT, DURING OPERATIONS FOR NEW HIRES FOR REFRESHERS, WE ALL NEED A LITTLE REMINDER OF HOW THINGS WORK FROM TIME TO TIME.
SO THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE AS WELL.
THAT CADENCE WOULD BE DETERMINED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AS NEEDED.
AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, SAFETY IS TREATED IN THE MANNER THAT IT SHOULD BE.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S A A LOT GOING ON ON THE IMAGE AS WELL.
THIS IS JUST A KIND OF EXAMPLE OF HOW THESE STRUCTURES WORK WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT SENSORS AND THINGS GOING ON.
I DON'T FOR THE SAKE OF TIME WANT TO DIVE TOO DEEP INTO ANY ONE OF THOSE, BUT IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS, THAT IS WHY WE'RE HERE.
I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANYTHING THAT COMES UP.
UM, IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE IN THE IMMEDIATE ON SAFETY, I'M NOT GONNA WALK AWAY IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT COME UP, BUT I'LL HAND IT BACK TO NICK TO SPEAK ON THE LAST BIT HERE.
AND THIS WILL BE THE LAST SLIDE.
UH, JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, THESE PROJECTS ARE REALLY BEING CONSIDERED AT THE STATE LEVEL.
SO AS OF SEPTEMBER 1ST, THREE BILLS HAVE BEEN PASSED AND THEN CAME INTO LAW THAT ADDRESS A LOT OF THESE ISSUES OR POTENTIAL CONCERNS.
SO THE STATE WANTS THEM, THE STATE ALSO WANTS US TO DO IT SAFELY AND RESPONSIBLY.
UH, AND THESE THREE BILLS ADDRESS THAT INCLUDING, UH, DECOMMISSIONING PLAN, THAT'S ALSO A CONDITION ON THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT.
AND AS SAM WAS MENTIONING, EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING AND ONGOING TRAINING FOR THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
NOT SURE IF THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE TO OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS OR NO, THANK YOU.
WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU THAT YOU STAY AROUND.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, WE'LL, WE'LL BE HERE.
UH, THE NEXT PERSON IS STEVE BROWN.
CAN YOU BRING THE OTHER ONE BACK UP? JUST BRING IT TO THE SECOND.
UM, I, I JUST, UH, YOUR ADDRESS PLEASE, SIR.
WHAT, WHAT DO YOU NEED? YOUR ADDRESS? YOUR ADDRESS? OH, ADDRESS, UH, UH, UH, 43 17.
UM, MY ONLY COMMENT TO ALL OF THIS IS THAT, UH, I MEAN THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE TECHNOLOGY, ALL THIS STUFF, IT'S ALL WONDERFUL AND THIS AND THAT, BUT THE ONLY, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION IS, YOU KNOW, HE SAID THERE WAS 400 MEGAWATTS OF STORED ENERGY, UH, AND IT COULD BE RELEASED OVER APPARENTLY FOUR HOURS OF TIME.
AND I SAID, OKAY, SO MAYBE THAT'S LIKE 1600 MEGAWATTS OF POSSIBLE POTENTIAL ENERGY TO BE RELEASED.
UM, THAT'S AN ENORMOUS, UH, AMOUNT OF ENERGY STORED IN A, IN A VERY CONCENTRATED LOCATION AROUND A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE AROUND IT.
AND, UH, REGARDLESS OF, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NFPAS AND, AND ALL OF THAT, AND THE UL AND THE 95 40 AND ALL THAT, UM, THIS IS, UH, I, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, OTHER THAN THAT, YOU GOT A SUBSTATION THERE AND YOU GOT HIGH TENSION WIRES GOING BY, WHICH IS REALLY CONVENIENT, BUT WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANY COMPANY WANNA PUT THAT RIGHT THERE WHEN YOU, YOU WOULD WANNA PUT IT SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT IS NOT NEAR ALL THESE PEOPLE? BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, MY, MY BACKGROUND IS IN ENERGY AND, AND I MEAN THIS TYPE OF CONCENTRATED ENERGY, AND THIS IS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS AS A CONCENTRATED FORM OF ENERGY, NOT YOU CAN, THERE'S ALL THE, THE, THE ARGUMENTS ABOUT IT, AND IT'S ALL FINE AND DANDY AND ALL THAT, BUT IF THIS THING
[01:25:01]
DECIDED TO GO LOOSE, YOU MIGHT SAY JUST CATASTROPHIC.YOU, YOU'RE TALKING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
AND I JUST THINK IN THIS LOCATION IT'S TOO DANGEROUS.
AND, AND, AND, UH, UH, I MEAN, JUST, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, A TYPICAL, A TYPICAL PRESSURE WATER REACTOR, NUCLEAR REACTOR, WHICH IS THE STANDARD GENERAL ELECTRIC IS 1100 MEGAWATT.
OKAY? SO IT'LL PUT OUT 1100 MEGAWATT FOR ONE HOUR.
THIS HAS POTENTIALLY 1600 MEGAWATTS IS WHAT THEY SAID IN THE WRITEUP.
1600 MEGAWATTS SITTING THERE OVER, OVER, IT SAID IT COULD RELEASE IT OVER A FOUR HOUR PERIOD.
AND THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE RESIDUAL ENERGY THAT'S STILL IN THOSE BATTERIES.
AND IF, IF, IF YOU TOOK THE CATASTROPHIC SITUATION, THIS IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS AND IT'S EXPLOSIVE AND IT COULD CREATE A FIRE.
I I I, I COULDN'T SEE HOW THERE'S NO, UH, ALLOTMENT HERE OTHER THAN THEY, THEY DID SAY IN THE, YOU KNOW, THEIR, UH, YOU KNOW, A TYPICAL ELECTRICAL WOULD BE HOW ON, OR THIS OR THAT, OR TRY TO PUT OUT THE THING.
THERE WAS ONE TESLA CAR ON A FREEWAY AND IT TOOK 6,000 GALLONS OF WATER TO PUT THE FIRE OUT.
THAT'S A HUNDRED KILOWATT HOUR BATTERY.
RIGHT? THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO 20,000 TESLA CARS SITTING RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESIDENTIAL THING.
TIFFANY, I'M GONNA TAKE MY DAUGHTER'S TIME, OKAY.
AND YOUR NAME, SIR? MARK SALT.
AND I'LL ASK YOU TO REPEAT IT AT THE MIC, OKAY? YES, SIR.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE GENTLEMAN THAT JUST SPOKE.
MY CONCERN IS THE VENTING OF THIS.
THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW SAFE SAFETY IS BLACKROCK.
I, THERE'S A CHEMICAL REACTION THAT GOES ON WITH THIS.
WE DON'T KNOW THE REACTIVE AGENT.
MAYBE MR. SAM MAY CAN TELL US WHAT THE REACTIVE AGENT IS, WHETHER IT BE, UH, PROPYLENE CARBONATE, ATHERO CARBONATE, ETHYL CARBONATE, LITHIUM HEXA, FLUORIDE PHOSPHATE, OR DIMETHYL CARBONATE.
THESE CHEMICALS ARE VERY DANGEROUS ACCORDING TO THE MSDS SHEETS, THE SDS SHEETS.
AND I WROTE A LETTER TO THE SIX, UH, COUNCILMEN AND THE MAYOR AND THE, UH, PLANNING DIRECTOR ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS THIS IS WITH THE JENSEN.
UH, HUGE CORPORATION DID A RESEARCH, AND I WISH I HAD Y'ALL EMAIL, I WOULD'VE SENT THIS, BUT THIS STUFF'S QUITE DANGEROUS.
WHERE'S THIS THING GOING TO VENT TO? BECAUSE IT HAS A THERMAL REACTION THAT'S GOING TO HAVE HEAT, HEAT BUILD PRESSURE.
YOU HAVE TO VENT THIS OFF SOMEWHERE.
IS THIS GOING TO BE IN OUR ATMOSPHERE? THERE'S NO FLARE SYSTEM ON THIS SYSTEM THAT THEY HAVE.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS SO MUCH POWER IN A DENSELY POPULATED NE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I MEAN, THIS IS JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE.
YOU HAVE A RAILROAD TRACK ON THE OTHER SIDE.
YOU, UH, OUR FIREFIGHTERS, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY, SO MUCH MONEY INVOLVED IN THIS, THEY'RE SAYING, UH, IT'S SAFE.
BUT IF YOU READ DAMN MSS DS SHEET, IT'S NOTHING SAFE ABOUT THIS PUTTING IT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I, I WISH I HAD Y'ALL EMAIL.
I WOULD SEND Y'ALL SOME OF THESE MS. MSS DS SHEETS TO KIND OF LOOK OVER HOW DANGEROUS THIS IS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
BUT MR. SAM MADE IS HERE TONIGHT.
I'M HOPING THAT HE CAN COME UP HERE AGAIN AND EXPLAIN WHAT CHEMICALS ARE GOING TO BE USED, WHETHER IT'S A DRY CELL, A WET CELL, UH, YOU KNOW, A A, A GEL.
SEE WHAT, WHAT'S IN THERE, AND LET US KNOW WHERE THIS THING IS GOING TO BE VENTING.
THERE'S NO FLARE SYSTEM ON THIS.
THIS IS A, A SMALL MINI INDUSTRIAL SITE OR, UM, UH, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL MEDIUM, WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S AN INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THE STAFFING BAYTOWN STAFFING COMMISSION HAVE CIRCUMVENT TO ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.
YOU COULD BUILD THIS THING ANYWHERE IN THE CITY NOW, BUT THEY'RE NOT TELLING US WHAT CHEMICALS IN THERE, WHERE'S IT GOING TO VENT TO? I JUST READ, MY DAUGHTER JUST PASSED ME A NOTE THAT SAYS, HOME INSURANCE MAY INCREASE DEPENDING ON HOW CLOSE YOU ARE TO THESE THINGS.
MY INSURANCE ALREADY HIGH ENOUGH AS IT IS BEING SOUTH OF I 10.
SO THAT'S A MAJOR CONCERN AGAIN.
SO BEFORE THE COMMISSION VOTE ON THIS, I WOULD LIKE Y'ALL TO LOOK AT SOME OF THESE.
UH, IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN GET ANY OF Y'ALL, UH, EMAIL ADDRESS WHERE I CAN SEND SOME OF THIS TO? NO, SIR.
NOT, NOT FOR THE MEETING TONIGHT.
WE CAN'T, BUT LATER ON, BECAUSE STAFF HAS YOUR EMAIL AND WE HAVE ENTERED INTO THE RECORD.
SO IF ANYBODY FEELS LIKE THEY NEED TO SEE THAT WE HAVE THAT ELECTRONICALLY BECAUSE I SENT IT TO THE COUNCIL, WE CAN COUNSEL.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THE MSS D SHEET ON THAT BECAUSE ALL THIS SAFETY THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT BATTERY'S VERY CORROSIVE, UH, UH, BUSINESS.
AND HE TALKED ABOUT CHECK VALVE.
[01:30:01]
IN THE CHEMICAL AND OIL INDUSTRY.I KNOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, UH, CORROSION IS.
I WORKED WITH H TWO S, THESE BATTERIES, IF YOU HAVE A VALVE, THESE VALVES FAIL.
YOU'VE JUST UNLEASHING A BUNCH OF ENERGY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND DEALING WITH THESE THINGS.
MURPHY'S LAW, WHAT CAN GO WRONG, WILL GO WRONG.
AND WE DO NOT WANT THIS TO GO WRONG IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE LOW DENSITY THAT Y'ALL TALK ABOUT, LOW DENSITY IS VERY GOOD.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE NOT COMING IN AND OUT AND WE WANT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.
MR. DENNIS CHASTAIN, I BELIEVE DENNIS CHASTAIN.
PAULO RUIZ, OR IS IT PAULA RUIZ? P-A-P-A-O-L-A.
SHE'S, I WAS JUST TOLD TO SIGN IN.
YOU DON'T WANNA SPEAK? SPEAK, OKAY.
DID I PRONOUNCE YOUR LAST NAME RIGHT? IT'S CLOSE ENOUGH.
AND THE ADDRESS IS, UH, 3 2 2 3 WALKER.
AND ON BEHALF OF MY MOM, CLAIRE, LOOK AT ME, SAY HER NAME AND I GET CHOKED AT.
UM, UH, ANYWAY, ON BEHALF OF MY MOM AND OUR FAMILY, UM, WE'VE BEEN LEARNING ABOUT THIS FOR THREE YEARS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE STRENGTHENING, YOU KNOW, THE HUGE INCREASE TO THE RELIABILITY OF THE GRID IS HUGE.
UH, NONE OF US WANT TO BE WITHOUT POWER FOR DAYS ON END.
ALONG WITH THE, UM, THE, THE MAJOR INCREASE TO THE TAX REVENUE WITH NO NEGATIVE IMPACT TO THE BUDGET, WITH NO SERVICES BEING REQUIRED, IT'S, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE A, A WIN TO US.
AND, UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY IN FAVOR OF IT.
BART TINDEL, DIDN'T WE HAVE SOMETHING ABOUT THE CONTAINERS HERE? THE CONTAINERS? SIR? SIR, PLEASE, SIR.
UM, MR. TYLE, YOU GONNA PASS? OKAY.
MICHAEL JOHN, JOIN ON, UH, BOB SMITH ROAD.
MS. CROSS YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AT THE MIC, PLEASE.
I CAN'T SAY THAT I OPPOSE THE ENERGY STORAGE.
I CAN OPPOSE IT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUILD IT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF CEDAR BILE WHERE THERE'S TONS OF OPEN, OPEN ACREAGE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY SAY IT WON'T COST THE CITY ANYTHING IF THERE IS A PROBLEM.
AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS CALLED OUT WHO PAYS FOR THEIR LABOR? THE CITY.
DO THEY HAVE THE EQUIPMENT TO FIGHT THIS KIND OF ISSUE? THEY SAID THEY'LL TRAIN THEM, BUT DO WE HAVE TO BUY SPECIAL EQUIPMENT? I CAN'T SEE THIS BEING A GOOD PROPOSITION.
WOULD YOU WANT THIS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? THANK YOU.
AND EXXON IS EXTREMELY DISRUPTIVE AND I DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF THINGS FROM THE INDUSTRIAL PIECE.
SO WE KIND OF LIKE LIVE IN AN AREA THAT IS SUBJECT TO INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND WHATNOT.
AND THE KEY TO IT IS TO HAVE A GOOD NEIGHBOR.
AND WHAT I'M SEEING FROM THIS GROUP, THEY'RE AN EXCELLENT NEIGHBOR.
I'D TRADE IF I COULD, BUT WITH THAT SAID, THE SAFETY ASPECT, THE IDEA THAT THEY'VE COME TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE DONE UP FRONT, ALL THE PIECES THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR, TO REACH OUT TO THESE FOLKS, TO TELL THEM WHAT THEY'RE DOING, TO LISTEN TO THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, WE WANT YOU TO DO MORE.
[01:35:01]
THEY WANT IT 40 FEET.SO THE IDEA THAT YOU HAVE A GROUP THAT IS LIKE BEING SO PROACTIVE AND RESPONSIVE TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR, THAT'S THE KIND OF NEIGHBOR YOU WANT.
AND BE CAREFUL BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THIS ONE, YOU MIGHT LIKE NOT LIKE THE NEXT ONE.
HELLO, MY NAME IS MANDY MORALES AND I LIVE AT 34 33 ANDERSON ROAD.
I AM ONE OF THE MANY RESIDENTS THAT LIVE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE PROPOSED BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM THAT THIS COMMUNITY IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT.
AND I AM HERE TO VOICE MY CONCERNS.
THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE STATED THIS PROJECT IS SAFE AND I'M NO CONCERN.
BUT WE AS A NEIGHBORHOOD DARE TO DIFFER.
THIS BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEM HAS MANY RISKS FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE ALL AROUND THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, SUCH AS THE FIRE AND SAFETY RISKS.
THESE LITHIUM IRON BATTERIES CAN CAUSE RISKS SUCH AS FIRES THAT CAN AND HAVE HAPPENED WITH THESE BATTERIES.
THEY CAN ALSO RELEASE TOXIC SMOKE AND CHEMICALS IN THE AIR, WHICH ARE DANGEROUS TO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA, WHICH ARE MOSTLY SENIOR CITIZENS WHO ARE ALREADY VULNERABLE.
AS IT IS, THESE BATTERIES WILL CREATE NOISE AND INCREASED ACTIVITIES AROUND THE SITE.
I DROVE TO THE BATTERY STORAGE FACILITY THAT IS IN PLACE NOW ON FM 1942, AND I PARKED ACROSS THE STREET AND THAT CONSTANT NOISE, NOISE WHICH WILL RUN 24 HOURS SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, WHICH IS LOUD AND WILL BE TOUGH TO HEAR THIS CONTINUOUS NOISE.
THEY ONLY PUT A FENCE AROUND THE ONE ON FM 1942, BUT IT IS LOCATED IN AN OPEN AREA WITH HARDLY ANY NEIGHBORS HERE.
THIS LOCATION IS SURROUNDED BY MANY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WANT THIS STORAGE SYSTEM TO BE LOCATED IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AT ALL.
NOT TO MENTION WITH THE RAILROAD TRACKS RIGHT NEXT TO IT, THE POSSIBILITY OF A DERAILMENT IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION.
AND THAT WOULD BE VERY DANGEROUS.
PROPERTY VALUES WILL DROP AND RESIDENTS WILL BE FORCED TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
OUT OF THEIR HOMES, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.
THE STORAGE SYSTEM IS NOT SAFE AND NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL NEVER CATCH ON FIRE.
I HAVE A VIDEO OF THESE SAME BATTERIES THAT THE AIRLINES USE AND THEY INDEED HAVE CAUGHT FIRE.
THE V VAPORS OF THESE STORAGE FACILITIES MAY IRRITATE THE THROAT AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AND CAUSE COUGHING AND WHEEZING.
IN SERIOUS CASES, IT CAN CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THE BRAIN AND LIVER.
I AM BEGGING THE CITY OF BAYTOWN TO PLEASE PROTEST, BEGGING THE CITY OF BAYTOWN TO PLEASE PROTEST THE CITIZENS TO PLEASE PROTECT THE CITIZENS OF BAYTOWN WHO ARE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY OF THE, OF THIS PROJECT.
SENIOR CITIZENS HAVE A HARD TIME ENOUGH WITH RESPIRATORY ISSUES, AND THIS WILL ONLY HINDER THEIR HEALTH WITH SO MANY ELECTRICAL SUBSTATIONS ALL AROUND TOWN, WHY PROPOSE THIS ONE SO CLOSE TO SO MANY NEIGHBORS ALL AROUND? THEY WANT TO CHANGE THIS FROM RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL.
WE THE PEOPLE DO NOT WANT THE STORAGE FACILITY APPROVED, AND WE ASK THE CITY OF BAYTOWN TO NOT GRANT THEM THIS PROPOSAL FOR THE SAFETY OF THEIR CITIZENS.
PLEASE, AND THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ME.
CHERYL MOSES, CHERYL MOSES, MM-HMM
YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS PLEASE HOLIDAY COMMISSION.
I LIVE AT 83 0 7 CARAWAY CIRCLE, BUT IT IS IN THE SPRINGFIELD SUBDIVISION.
SO TECHNICALLY I LIVE IN UNINCORPORATED BAYTOWN, SO I AM NOT A VOTER IN THE CITY ELECTIONS.
BUT THE DECISIONS MADE BY CITY COUNCIL STILL SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT MY LIFE AND WHAT I DO.
AND I AM STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF THIS BEST PROJECT.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME, FOR THOSE OF YOU DON'T KNOW ME, I AM A 2005 GRADUATE OF TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND A MINOR IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.
SCIENCE IS MY LIFE HAS BEEN, I CAME TO BAYTOWN TO WORK AT BACK THEN BAYER MATERIAL SCIENCE.
[01:40:01]
SURROUNDED BY IN INCREDIBLY LETHAL CHEMICALS EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT I WENT TO WORK.AND I CAME HOME SAFE EVERY SINGLE DAY BECAUSE PROCEDURES ARE PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE VERY DANGEROUS MATERIALS THAT WE WORK WITH SAFE.
THEY KEEP US SAFE FROM THOSE VERY DANGEROUS CHEMICALS AND ALLOW US TO WORK SAFELY AND GO HOME SAFELY EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I DON'T REMEMBER ANYONE BEING LETHALLY INJURED.
I DON'T REMEMBER ANYONE BEING SEVERELY BURNED BY CHEMICALS WHEN THEY WERE RIGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF PIPE.
IT WAS AROUND US ALL THE TIME.
BUT WE HAD PROCEDURES, WE HAD INSPECTION PLANS, WE HAD MAINTENANCE PLANS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE INCREDIBLY LETHAL MATERIALS WERE OPERATED AND MAINTAINED AND USED SAFELY EVERY SINGLE DAY.
WHEN YOU GET FAMILIAR WITH THE DANGERS AND UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THEM, THE FEAR GOES AWAY.
AND WE MOVE FORWARD AS A SOCIETY.
WE GET GREAT WONDERFUL THINGS.
WE ALL HAVE ELECTRICITY IN OUR HOMES.
THEY ONCE UPON A TIME CAUSE HORRIBLE FIRES UNTIL WE LEARNED HOW TO USE ELECTRICITY SAFELY UNTIL WE LEARNED HOW TO USE BATTERIES SAFELY.
FINALLY, I WANTED TO SAY THAT I LEFT THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO GO WORK IN THE RISK MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY.
I SPENT YEARS VISITING PETROCHEMICAL FACILITIES ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA AND PERFORMING RISK ASSESSMENTS.
WHAT I SEE FROM BALANCED ROCK IS THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE RISKS INVOLVED.
THEY HAVE TAKEN EXTREME MEASURES TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE SET THESE POTENTIAL DANGERS ARE SAFELY MANAGED.
AND I'M FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT.
FOR ANYBODY WHO LIVES AROUND IT WHO'S GOT A FEAR, LET ME KNOW.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN MY BACKYARD BECAUSE WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT, NEXT TIME I WANNA BE RIGHT NEXT TO THE GRID.
I WANNA BE RIGHT NEXT TO THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S GONNA GET THE LIGHTS BACK ON FAST AND SAFE.
EVERYBODY REMEMBERS THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.
A LOT OF PEOPLE BOUGHT GENERATORS.
AND THIS WILL STRENGTHEN THE TEXAS GRID.
THANK YOU MR. LEWIS LO LOUIS LOYA.
YES, MY NAME IS LUIS LOA AND I LIVE IN 10 10
AND I THINK IT'S LIKE THE WAY HE TALKS IS, UH, EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY.
SAME THING, YOU KNOW, BACK THEN WE LOST THE, THE LIGHT LAST TIME WHEN THE FREEZE AND IT WAS PRETTY BAD.
SO EVERYTHING APPROVED THIS PROJECT.
DID I SAY YOUR FIRST NAME RIGHT? THANK YOU FOR STATING YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
I LIVE AT, UH, 3 1 1 4 NEWCASTLE.
UM, SO I AM JUST LIKE RIGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RAILROAD TRACKS FROM THIS THING.
AND I DON'T LIKE THE OTHER PEOPLE.
I DON'T HAVE AN OBJECTION TO THE TECHNOLOGY.
I DON'T, BUT I DON'T WANT IT, YOU KNOW, RIGHT THERE BY MY HOUSE, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S GOING TO INCREASE MY, UH, PROPERTY TAXES OR INSURANCE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, OR THE NOISE THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AND THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN AGREEING TO THIS THAT I HEARD ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS WILL HELP WITH OUR GRID, BUT HE SAYS ONCE IT HITS THE GRID, THEY DON'T CONTROL WHERE IT GOES.
SO WE MAY HAVE THE POWER OUT AND THIS THING MAY NOT EVEN AFFECT US AT ALL.
UM, THEY NEED TO ANSWER THOSE KIND OF QUESTIONS TOO.
AND ON THE SAFETY SIDE, THERE'S ONLY EIGHT THINGS GONE WRONG.
I, THAT'S TOO MANY FOR ME NEXT TO MY HOUSE.
I MEAN, I'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THIS THING JUST LOOKING, YOU KNOW, OVER THE FENCE.
UM, THAT EIGHT, EIGHT ACCIDENTS IS TOO MANY FOR ME BY MY HOUSE AND WITH THE RAILROAD TRACK RIGHT THERE.
WHEREAS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRAIN TRACKS THAT TRAIN STOPS ACROSS THOSE TRACKS HOURS AT A TIME, WEEKLY.
WHAT HAPPENS IF, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A LONG SHOT, BUT WHAT IF IT HAPPENS WHEN THAT TRAIN IS STOPPED ACROSS THE TRACKS? HOW DO WE GET OUR FIRE TRUCKS THERE? 'CAUSE THEY ARE, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY ACROSS THOSE TRACKS IS RIGHT THERE.
SO I, I DISAGREE WITH WHERE IT'S PUTTING.
LIKE ONE OTHER PERSON SAID, THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER AREAS THAT YOU COULD PUT THIS THAT WOULD BE MUCH MORE SUITABLE THAN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESIDENTIAL AREA.
[01:45:02]
SHEILA CLARK.SAY YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS TO SIGN IN TOO.
OH, IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT.
I OWNED THE RV PARK STRAIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
YOUR ADDRESS PLEASE? 1105 AND 1103.
I'M SORRY ABOUT MY VOICE, BUT WE CAN HEAR YOU VERY, IT'S, IT'S SINUS PROBLEMS OR WHATEVER.
I'M, I WAS OUT OF TOWN AND THAT'S MY FAULT.
I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN ON A LONG TRIP.
I'M SEMI-RETIRED NOW, THANK GOD.
BUT I DIDN'T GET TO COME TO THE MEETINGS AND ALL THAT.
I DON'T KNOW THE FORUM HERE EXACTLY.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR THE GENTLEMAN BEHIND ME.
IS THIS A FORM TO DO THAT? IF YOU STATE YOUR QUESTIONS, WE'LL MAKE NOTE OF 'EM AND WHEN EVERYBODY SPEAKS, WE'LL ASK THEM TO ANSWER.
WELL, YEARS AGO I WORKED IN A PETROCHEMICAL, THE, THE FIRE AND SO FORTH.
THAT'S A CONCERN, BUT MY CONCERN IS NOISE.
I GOT A HUNDRED AND SOMETHING PEOPLE LIVING ACROSS THE STREET.
I DON'T THINK THEY WANT TO HEAR A CONSTANT NOISE, A HUM OR WHATEVER IT IS.
IF THEY CAN ASSURE ME THAT THAT NOISE IS AT VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTENT, IT REALLY JUST DOESN'T MATTER TO ME.
NANCY, I CAN'T READ YOUR LAST NAME.
IS THAT NANCY? WE'RE ASKED TO SIGN IN.
JOHN, I WAS ASKED TO SIGN IN, BUT UM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK, PLEASE COME UP.
I LIVE AT, UM, 1 0 0 4 BOB SMITH.
UM, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, I'M, I'M IN FAVOR WITH IT.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK ALL AROUND US, WE ARE SURROUNDED WITH ALL KIND OF CHEMICALS AND, AND THANK GOD THAT WE HAVE BEEN KEPT SAFE BECAUSE PROCEDURES ARE PUT IN PLACE TO HANDLE SITUATIONS LIKE THESE.
I'M SURPRISED THERE BEING NO ONE ELSE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT AT 10 10 BOB SMITH ROAD FOR THE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.
I NOW CLOSE THIS PUBLIC HEARING AT 6:49 PM AND WE'RE GONNA ASK FOR A DISCUSSION FROM THE COMMISSION.
UM, AND I, I DON'T MIND STARTING, UM, AND I'LL ASK, UM, THE APPLICANT TO PLEASE STEP BACK UP AND JUST ASK A FEW OF THE CITIZENS QUESTIONS, UM, THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE NOISE, THE BUFFER, THE INSPECTION, AND THE MAINTENANCE.
UH, COMMISSIONER, I'LL START WITH, UM, THE FIRST GENTLEMAN THAT SPOKE, UH, HE MENTIONED 1600 MEGAWATT HOURS.
THIS PROJECT, THE TWO HOUR BATTERY, UM, AND THEN THE INTERCONNECT IS UP TO 400 MEGAWATTS.
SO BEST CASE SCENARIO WILL BE 800 MEGAWATT HOURS.
SO, UH, NOT AT THE, JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, UM, SAM, YOU GOT THE NOISE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, TAKING NOTES ON THESE WITH THE REGARDS TO THE NOISE.
IT'S A VERY FAIR QUESTION, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE LIVING RIGHT NEXT TO IT.
UM, I BELIEVE IN THE APPLICATION PACKAGE THERE WAS A, A DECIBEL RATING AT DIFFERENT RADII FROM THE PROJECT, SPECIFICALLY FROM THE MAIN POWER TRANSFORMER.
THAT WOULD BE THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE SUBSTATION.
THAT IS GONNA BE REALLY THE ONLY MAJOR NOISE CONTRIBUTOR.
THE TRANSFORMERS THAT ARE NEXT TO THE BATTERIES ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN MEDIUM VOLTAGE TRANSFORMERS.
UM, WHAT KIND OF NOISE DOES THAT BOX MAKE? SO BASED OFF OF WHAT YOU HEAR AT THE PROPERTY LINE, UH, IT'D BE EQUIVALENT TO AN EXTERIOR AIR CONDITIONER.
UM, SO IF SO MANY TIMES, I'M SORRY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK, WE ARE GONNA ASK YOU TO, UM, THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED.
UM, SO WE ASK THAT YOU DON'T YELL OUT.
THE, UH, THE SPECIFIC DECIBEL VALUES THAT ARE REPRESENTED IN THAT SIMULATION ACCOUNT FOR EVERY SINGLE BATTERY ENCLOSURE, EVERY SINGLE MEDIUM VULTURES TRANSFORMER AND THE MAIN POWER TRANSFORMER, IT CONSIDERS THE KIND OF DIFFERENT EPICENTERS OF THE SOUND BEING WHERE THEY ARE.
AND THIS WAS DONE BY A THIRD PARTY INSTITUTION.
SO WE CAN, UH, REFER TO THE, THE EXACT SPECIFIC DECIBELS IN THERE AS, UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE FAR MORE ACCURATE THAN
[01:50:01]
JUST INFERENCE IN YOUR PRESENTATION.WHAT PAGE IS IT ABOUT THE NOISE? UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT UNDER THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS A NOISE STUDY DONE BY BOWMAN ENGINEERING AND IT WAS SUBMITTED AS PART OF THE APPLICATION.
UM, I BELIEVE, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU GUYS SAW THAT, BUT IT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE, RIGHT? MARTIN? UH, THOSE PROVIDED AS PART OF YOUR PACKET? YES, IT'S IN THE PACKET.
IT'S IN OUR, IT'S IN OUR, UH, COMMISSION PACKET.
IT'S NOT IN THEIR PRESENTATION, SO LET'S FIND IT.
DO YOU MIND, UH, GOING BACK OVER THE OTHER, THE OTHERS, UM, IS INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE.
UM, AND THEN WHILE ON THAT, I FEEL A LOT OF FOLKS ASK LIKE, WHY HERE? AND THE REASON IS THE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S ALREADY THERE.
SO CENTER POINT BUILT THAT SUBSTATION THERE FOR A REASON TO BE ABLE TO GIVE POWER TO THE FOLKS AROUND IT.
NOW THE BATTERY NEEDS TO BE CLOSE TO THAT SPECIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S ALREADY THERE FOR BE ABLE TO KIND OF HAVE THAT BACKUP POWER.
SO THAT'S A LOT OF THE REASON WHY THIS WAS STRATEGICALLY PICKED BECAUSE OF THAT SUBSTATION.
IT'S ESSENTIALLY AN EXTENSION OF, UH, OF THAT SUBSTATION, UM, ON THE MAINTENANCE PART OF THAT EXAM OR ACROSS IN OUR HANDOUT MAINTENANCE.
AND THEN THE, UH, ONE OF THE, UH, CITIZENS MENTIONED, UM, THAT IT COULD EXPLODE.
HE'S WORKED IN THE CHEMICAL PLAN AND IT COULD COME LOOSE.
SO GOOD EVENING TO THE COMMISSIONERS AND EVERYONE PRESENT HERE.
UH, MY NAME IS EK AND I'M FROM THE CITY OF CAMPBELL IN BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA.
SO I REPRESENT BALANCED ROCK POWER HERE.
SO FIRST, UH, AS FOR THE MAINTENANCE, AS NICK SAID, UH, THE PLAN WILL NOT NEED, UH, CONTINUOUS MANPOWER TO BE MAINTAINED, UH, BECAUSE MOST OF IT IS LIKE AUTOMATED.
UM, AS, AS, AS THE PEOPLE HERE, UH, HIGHLIGHTED.
UM, OUR FOCUS OR THE INDUSTRY'S FOCUS WHEN IT COMES TO BATTERIES IS ALWAYS PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, UM, SO THAT IS WHY LIKE, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF RELYING ON LIKE HUMAN UM, JUDGMENT, UM, ALL OF THESE PROCESS ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW, COM VERY AUTOMATED, LIKE IN A HUNDRED PERCENT AUTOMATED.
AND, UH, THESE SYSTEMS ARE MONITORED 24 7, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES A SECOND.
AND AUTOMATIC ALERTS ARE DISPATCHED TO FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER CRITICAL SERVICES, UH, IN CASE THERE NEEDS TO BE ATTENTION.
UM, UM, AND, UH, YEAH, I, I'D ALSO LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE TO, UM, KIND OF ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS HERE.
UH, THE, THE, THE PRIMARY, UM, POINT THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IS THE WAY THE BATTERIES ARE BEING THOUGHT OF IS WRONG.
UH, I, I WANNA ACKNOW THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF GREAT QUESTIONS HERE AND CONCERNS HERE, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT TREAT BATTERIES LIKE THEY ARE A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WHERE, UH, IF, IF THE CHAIN REACTION GOES WRONG AND IT GOES INTO AN UN UNCONTROLLABLE LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, CASCADE REACTION, IT'S GONNA EXPLORE LIKE A
BATTERIES ARE NOT LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY THE MODERN DAY BATTERIES.
AND ONE OTHER POINT THAT I ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WAS, UH, THAT GOT BURIED, UH, IN THE PRESENTATION, UH, IS THAT THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS THE LITHIUM ION PHOSPHATE IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE OLDER TECHNOLOGIES.
SO THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN WHO ACTUALLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, MENTIONED ABOUT A TESLA FIRE.
I'M NOT DENYING ANY OF THOSE HAPPENED, BUT THOSE ARE THE OLD NMC TECHNOLOGIES.
UH, THE MODERN LFP TECHNOLOGIES ARE LIKE EXTREMELY SAFE.
UM, I'LL JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO I KNOW NONE OF THESE STUDIES CARRY ANY VALUE BECAUSE ALL, ALL WE WANNA KNOW IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW SAFE THEY ARE.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR LIKE A QUICK EXAMPLE, AN AVERAGE AMERICAN HOME USES ONE MEGAWATT HOUR OF ENERGY PER MONTH AND THERE IS ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UM, HOME WORTH OF BATTERIES INSTALLED THE LFP CHEMISTRY.
AND WE HAVE HAD ZERO FIRE INCIDENTS, AND I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP.
UM, SO ALL OF US HAVE GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE JUST GO TO YOUTUBE AND JUST TYPE, UM, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BATTERY, UH, FIRE TESTING, UH, FOR LFP TECHNOLOGY AND YOU WILL ACTUALLY SEE, UH, ALL OF THESE TIER ONE BATTERY OEMS, BATTERIES PROVIDERS, ESSENTIALLY, UH, WHO WE HAVE SHORTLISTED FOR THIS PROJECT.
AND THEY, THEY RUN THIS TEST CALLED A BURN TEST WHERE THEY ACTUALLY TAKE THEIR SYSTEM, EACH OF THAT COSTS $1 MILLION.
THEY PUT FOUR OF THEM TOGETHER, THEY CONNECT THEM TO THE GRID, AND THEY INTENTIONALLY SET THEM ON FIRE AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE SYSTEMS BURNING AND THE FIRE DOES FIRE.
SO THEY MONITOR THE AIR QUALITY FOR LIKE POISONOUS GASES, LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, HYDROGEN FLUORIDE, UM, MERCURY PRESENCE, UH, CARBON MONOXIDE.
AND ALSO THEY MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE.
AND THEY ALSO MEASURE, UH, THERMAL PROPAGATION IN LIKE NEIGHBORING CONTAINERS, WHICH ARE LIKE TWO INCHES AWAY FROM THE CONTAINER THAT HAS BEEN SET ON FIRE.
AND ALL OF THIS IS VIDEO RECORDED AND IT'S AVAILABLE FOR THE
[01:55:01]
PUBLIC TO SEE.AND YOU, YOU'LL SEE THAT WITHOUT EVEN THE INTERVENTION OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE FIRE JUST QUENCHES ON ITS OWN AND IT DOESN'T PROPAGATE.
AND THE SYSTEMS WERE FULLY CHARGED AND THEY WERE OPERATING AT PEAK CAPACITY WHEN THEY WERE SET ON FIRE.
AND THAT SHOWS YOU IT DOESN'T EXPLODE.
UM, FOR ANYONE INTERESTED, YOU CAN JUST LIKE GOOGLE AND, UH, FIND OUT.
CAN I TAKE IN ON THAT REAL QUICK ACTUALLY? YEAH.
UM, JUST ON THE, I KNOW LIKE THE WORD EXPLOSION IS VERY SHOCKING TO MANY WHEN IT COMES TO THESE MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE, THAT THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
UM, TO EK'S POINT, THEY ARE TESTED IN THIS EXACT REGARD.
OFFGASSING IS MEASURED AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THE NFPA AND THE UL CERTIFICATIONS, THAT IS THEIR BASIS OF CERTIFICATION THAT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, IT DOESN'T SPREAD.
WE CAN GET INTO LIKE ALL OF THE SPECIFICS OF THE, THE TESTING PROCEDURE AND THE EXACT METHODOLOGY OF THE TESTING, AND IT IS PUBLIC.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE GOAL OF THE STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION PROCESS IS TO ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY IS AN ACCOUNTABLE AND ATTAINABLE STANDARD.
THAT PROCESS IS DOCUMENTED, IT IS CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL OF THESE MANUFACTURERS FOR THE END GOAL OF EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY IS SAFE WHEN THESE PRODUCTS ARE IN USE.
SO THOSE TESTING STANDARDS ARE, SO WHAT'S THE LIKELIHOOD IT'S GOING TO EMIT SMOKE? SO, UH, TO THE QUESTION ABOUT LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, A FLARE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT DURING OPERATIONS, THERE IS NO EMISSION.
IT IS A FULLY SELF-CONTAINED SYSTEM.
THERE IS NO BYPRODUCT GAS AS A RESULT OF THE CHARGING OR THE DISCHARGING OF THE BATTERIES.
WHEN THERE IS A THERMAL INCIDENT, OR I SHOULD SAY IF THERE IS, ESPECIALLY LIKE DURING TESTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THERE ARE PANELS ON THE TOP OF THE, UH, UH, ENCLOSURES BECAUSE TO A POINT, UH, MADE EARLIER, THERE ARE SOME BITS OF HEAT GENERATED.
THAT HEAT IS JUST VENTED UPWARDS IN A SMALL AMOUNT NO MORE THAN WHAT YOU WOULD GET OUT OF, YOU KNOW, A AN AIR CONDITIONER, HEAT SINK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, DURING AN ACTUAL LIKE TESTING EVENT, THEY ARE MEASURING AIR QUALITY, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO GET THAT DATA.
AND, AND HOW OFTEN DOES THAT TESTING OCCUR? SO FOR THE, UH, PRODUCT TO GO INTO PLACE AND TO BE, YOU KNOW, INSURABLE, UH, DEFENSIBLE, INSTALLABLE ACCEPTABLE IN THE US THEY HAVE TO PASS ALL OF THAT CERTIFICATION PROCESS AND THEN IT'S FUNCTIONALLY THE SAME EQUIPMENT.
IF THERE'S ANY CHANGE TO THE, UH, THE CHEMISTRY, THE FRAMEWORK, OR, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WHEN IT BECOMES A NEW PRODUCT, THEN THAT HAS TO REQUALIFY FOR THAT CERTIFICATION PROCESS AGAIN.
MY LAST QUESTION IS ABOUT THE BUFFER, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO COMMISSIONER BEARD AND GO AROUND THE ROOM.
IS THE BUFFER AROUND THE ACTUAL BATTERY? MM-HMM
IS THERE A SPECIFIC QUESTION OR, YEAH.
IS, WELL, TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW, HOW IT'S BUFFERED FROM AROUND THE PROPERTY, FROM THE HOUSES, THE BUFFER.
THAT IS GONNA BE, BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT THIS, WHAT IS THIS, 110 FEET? NO, IT'S 200.
SO I JUST KIND OF, MAYBE ALL SIDES GIVE A EXACTLY, GIVE A WALKTHROUGH OF WHAT, OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY PROPERTY LINE, UH, IS THE, THE BOX AROUND IT, THE, THE HORSESHOE THAT I WAS DESCRIBING, THAT'S A DRAINAGE BASIN THAT'S INSIDE THE PROPERTY FENCE.
SO THAT'S ALREADY PART OF THE PROPERTY, BUT THAT'S JUST A DRAINAGE BASIN.
UM, AND THEN INSIDE YOU'LL SEE THE, THE BLACK LITTLE BOXES.
THOSE ARE THE BATTERIES, UH, AND ALSO INTERNAL ROADS.
UH, SO IT'S A 200 PLUS FOOT SETBACK ACROSS THE SIZE FACING, UH, RESIDENTIAL USES AND STRUCTURES.
UM, AND THEN THE NORTH SIDE OF IT IS TIED DIRECTLY TO THAT EXISTING, UH, CENTER POINT SUBSTATION.
SO HOW MANY CURRENT PROJECTS IS RIGHT.
OWNED AND, AND ARE OPERATING IN TEXAS? AND I'M NOT TALKING SOLAR FARMS, I'M TALKING BEST UNITS.
YEAH, THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION.
UH, SO BALANCED ROCK POWER, UH, BALANCED ROCK POWER.
SO OUR CORE BUSINESS MODEL IS TO DEVELOP THESE PROJECTS, BRING 'EM CLOSE TO CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN SELL IT TO, UH, AN IPP WHO'S GONNA OPERATE IN LONG TERM, LIKE THE PROJECT I WAS SHOWING YOU OUT IN LAKE CITY.
YOU, YOU JUST GOT MY WHOLE POINT.
SO Y'ALL, Y'ALL BUILD 'EM AND FLIP 'EM.
WE, YOU'RE NOT, YOU BUILD 'EM AND THEN YOU SELL 'EM, SELL IT AT A DIFFERENT POINT DEPENDING ON HOW ADVANCED THE ASSET IS.
SO YOU, HOW MANY DO Y'ALL CURRENTLY OWN AND OPERATE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS? WE DO NOT.
THAT IS NOT OUR BUSINESS MODEL TO OWN AND OPERATE.
SO YOU DON'T OWN ANY THAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY OWNING AND OPERATING IN THE STATE OF TEXAS? CORRECT.
'CAUSE I NOTICED ON YOUR CORPORATE WEBPAGE AND YOUR MODEL IS THAT YOU BUILD AND FLIP.
THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT IT SAYS.
AND YOUR NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE, SIR.
[02:00:01]
UH, IN THE PROCESS, HOW MANY OF THESE Y'ALL CURRENTLY HAVE RESIDING INSIDE CITY LIMITS OF OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS? OH, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT.UH, ALL OF OUR ERCOT ASSETS ARE WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
WE HAVE A FEW OTHER ONES WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UM, AND THEN ALSO IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, IN THE CITY OF HOEN, CITY OF EDINBURG, UH, WHICH ACTUALLY HAS BEEN PERMITTED AND IS, UH, ABOUT TO BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
AND TO YOUR POINT, SOLD TO COMPANIES LIKE GRIDSTORE WHO ARE BACKED BY GOLDMAN SACHS, WHO IS THEIR, UH, THEIR BUSINESS MODEL IS TO BUILD AND OPERATE THESE THINGS LONG TERM.
UM, WE'RE JUST A KIND OF THE EARLY PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE THREE TO FOUR YEAR LONG RANGE OF BEING ABLE TO DEVELOP THESE, UH, PROJECTS.
SO SINCE YOU GUYS DON'T ACTUALLY OPERATE 'EM IN, IN TOWN, YOU DON'T, YOU'RE, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ACTUAL MONITORING EMPLOYEES THAT ARE IN THE AREAS.
THOSE ARE PART OF THE COMPANIES THAT ARE BUYING THESE UNITS, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
HOWEVER, ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE STATED ON THE PERMIT GOES WITH THE PROJECT.
JUST LIKE ANY CONTRACTS WITH LEASE AGREEMENTS, UM, OFF TAKE, ALL THAT IS TIED TO SPECIFICALLY THE PROJECT THAT GETS SOLD TO, AGAIN, AN IPP LIKE GRID STORE, JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY.
AND YOU GUYS LIVE NEXT TO ONE OF THESE THINGS.
UM, I LIVE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH THERE'S A LOT OF, I LIVE PRETTY MUCH RIGHT NEXT TO THE SUBSTATION.
UH, I WOULD SAY IF THERE'S OPEN LAND NEXT TO ME, I WOULD'VE ALREADY PROBABLY TRIED TO BUILD A BATTERY PROJECT YET.
BUT YOU DON'T LIVE NEXT TO A BEST UNIT? CORRECT.
SO MY POSITION IS PRETTY WELL KNOWN ON THIS PANEL THAT I DON'T LIKE THESE THINGS NECESSARILY.
I DON'T OPPOSE THE TECHNOLOGY AT ALL.
UH, AND I'D BE GLAD TO SUPPORT YOU TO BUILD ALL THAT YOU WANNA BUILD OUT IN THE RURAL AREAS AND OUTSIDE THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, BAYTOWN, I DON'T BUY THE ARGUMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO BE NEXT TO A SUBSTATION BECAUSE IN FACT, CENTER POINT WILL BUILD THE SUBSTATIONS AS THEY'VE ALREADY DONE.
AND THE AREAS OF THE PRICE WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT IS, IS GOOD.
THEY'VE DONE THAT IN OTHER AREAS OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS.
UM, AND I PARTICULARLY DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT WE'VE NOW, WE'VE SEEN TO BE THE GREENHOUSE OPPORTUNITY FOR THINGS THAT COME IN REALLY CLOSE TOGETHER.
AND IT'S EVIDENT FROM HERE TONIGHT THAT THE RESIDENTS DON'T WANT THESE THINGS LIVING NEXT DOOR TO 'EM.
SO I WON'T BE VOTING FOR THIS IF I, IF I MAY JUST ANSWER THAT.
UM, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU CAN BUILD THEM ANYWHERE, UH, CORRECT.
YOU CAN BUILD 'EM ANYWHERE WHERE THEY'RE CENTER POINT, HIGH LEVEL, HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION LINES OR SUBSTATIONS.
IF WE WERE TO TAP IN A TRANSMISSION LINE, THAT WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT.
CAUSE TO GO OUT AND BUILD A NEW SWITCHY YARD.
THERE'S ALREADY AN EXISTING SWITCHYARD HERE.
THAT WAS THE REASON OF GOING THERE FOR, TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE IF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE.
YEAH, I KNEW IT WAS A COST ISSUE.
MY POINT WAS THAT YOU COULD BUILD 'EM SOMEWHERE ELSE.
COMMISSIONER COSTA TO INCREASE THE PROFIT MARGIN.
SO THE FIRST POINT ACTUALLY I LIKE TO MAKE IS OUR, UM, OUR FIRE MARSHAL'S NAME IS PRONOUNCED A BEAR.
AND, UM, SO I TOOK THE LIBERTY AS I DID BEFORE RESEARCH, UM, BUT THEN WENT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AND THROUGH THE FIRE SAFETY TRAINING COUNCIL IN THE UL AND THEIR, THEIR TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE FOR FIRE DEPARTMENTS, I ENROLLED, APPARENTLY YOU CAN DO THAT AND GO THROUGH A CERTIFICATION PROJECT.
'CAUSE I WANTED TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE FIRE.
AND I REALLY DID HEAR SOME DISCREPANCIES OVER THE TRAINING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND FEMA PAYS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENTS TO TAKE BASED OFF OF THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL SAID, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SMOKE OR, UM, UH, RUNAWAY EVENTS AND, UM, THE RISKS AND HOW MANY EVENTS ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
THE STATISTICS SEEM A LITTLE OFF, BUT ONE BIG CONCERN IS THAT ANY EVENT REQUIRES HAZMAT RESPONSE PERIOD.
FIRE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES A HAZMAT RESPONSE AND THE CHEMICALS, UM, THAT ARE IN THE AIR.
AND I DID IN THE TRAINING, IT TEACHES ABOUT THE VENTING AND THE DIFFERENT, UM, EXPLOSION.
AND THAT REALLY DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL MUCH BETTER AFTER WHAT I LEARNED.
UM, AND TO COMMISSIONER BEARD'S POINT OF WHICH I BROUGHT UP PREVIOUSLY IS THAT THE FLIPPING THAT YOU DO NOT MAINTAIN, THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES ME SLEEP A LITTLE BIT BETTER ABOUT THE LAST ONE THAT PASSED IS KNOWING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO SEE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT
[02:05:01]
20 YEARS IN TAXES OF WHAT IT RECEIVED, BUT YET THESE WOULDN'T LAST 10 YEARS BEFORE THERE'S BREAKDOWNS AND REPLACEMENTS OF PARTS.UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF CONCERNING.
AND I KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A DECOMMISSIONING PLAN.
HOWEVER, I, THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL RELATIVELY GOOD ABOUT THIS EVENT, THIS OR ANY FUTURE ONE, IS IF THERE'S A BOND THAT PROTECTS THE DECOMMISSIONING OF THEM, STANDARDS ARE GETTING UPDATED.
I DO NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE NUMBERS THAT Y'ALL GAVE TO 2024 AND WHAT HAVE YOU, BECAUSE THERE'S ACTUALLY MORE THAT ARE OUT THERE.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE RECORDING OF THEM, UM, AREN'T, THE EVENTS AREN'T NECESSARILY MONITORED, UM, OR REPORTED SMALL EVENTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU THAT HAPPENED THAT DON'T NECESSARILY MAKE THE BIG NEWS.
UM, BUT ANOTHER REALLY BIG CONCERN IS THE, THE FIRE SUPPRESSION.
AND THERE REALLY ISN'T A GOOD ONE NO MATTER WHICH WAY THAT YOU GO.
ALTHOUGH IT DID SAY THAT IMMEDIATE WATER DID WORK A LITTLE BIT BETTER FASTER.
NO, IT'S NOT IMMEDIATE WATER, BUT IT DOESN'T MAINTAIN LONGER.
I'M VERY MUCH, LIKE I SAID, AWARE.
I WANTED TO GET MYSELF VERY FAMILIAR WITH THESE THINGS.
UM, BUT NO WATER LONG TERM AND WHAT HAVE YOU.
NO, IT'S NOT THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT IT TAKES.
YOU HAVE TO LET 'EM BURN OUT AND, AND THE PALMS THAT COME OUT OF IT, UM, AGAIN, HAZMAT SUITS ARE REQUIRED WITH ANY RESPONSE, PERIOD.
FULL HAZMAT AND NOBODY'S TALKING ABOUT THAT.
IT'S NOT JUST OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT SHOWING UP.
UM, AND SO, I MEAN, REALLY IT DOESN'T FEEL TRANSPARENT.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY ASKED ABOUT THE DECIBELS.
I I WASN'T GONNA DIG THROUGH ALL OF THAT WHILE I'M UP HERE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM AN ANSWER.
BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE A LITTLE RESPECTFUL IF SOMEBODY DID AND GIVE THEM AN ANSWER INSTEAD OF IT'S IN THE PACKET THAT IS NOT BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR, IN MY OPINION.
SO I THE CONCERNS YOU'RE NOT GONNA MAINTAIN IT.
WE WILL SELL IT TO SOMEBODY WHO IS CAPABLE AND HAS THE TRACTOR.
YOU'LL, THE, THE HIGHEST BETTER THAT FITS YOUR THING.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S FINANCES AND THESE ARE PEOPLE'S HOMES.
AND, AND I, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT THERE IS IN WANTING TO DO WITH THE PROPERTY AND FUTURE PLANS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY AT THE EXPENSE, THE SAFETY EXPENSE.
AND OF, OF WHAT OUR COMMUNITY WANTS.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF PLACES AND I, I WOULD CONSIDER, AND THE 200 FOOT, THE 60 FOOT OR 40 FOOT THAT WAS INCREASED TO 200 FOOT, IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED.
NOW ANYWAYS, MS. DONNAR WHEAT, CORRECT QUESTION.
I HAVE THE, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I'VE SAID THAT IS INCORRECT? IF I MAY, UM, I'LL LET THEM ADDRESS SOME OF, UH, YOUR QUESTIONS AND SLASH COMMENTS.
UM, BUT THE ONLY THING I'LL MENTION IS YOU SAID EVERY 10 YEARS, SO THESE BATTERIES GET FINANCED.
LIKE I, AND IT'S A HIGH CAPITAL INVESTMENT FOR 20 YEARS.
SO THEREFORE THAT IS THE, THAT'S WHY THAT SPECIFIC NUMBER WAS THERE FOR THE LIFESPAN OF IT.
SO, SO THE FIRST TWO YEARS OR THE RISKIEST CORRECT.
WHEN, WHEN YOU, THE, THE RISK OF FAILURE RUNAWAY EVENTS THE FIRST TWO YEARS AND THE LAST THREE, I'LL LET SAM SPEAK TO IT, BUT THERE'S ACTUALLY NO RUNAWAY EVENT RISK.
SO THIS TECHNOLOGY AGAIN, UH, COMMISSIONER IS THE LITHIUM ION PHOSPHATE CHEMISTRY.
IT DOESN'T HAVE THERMAL RUNAWAY EVENTS AT ALL.
SO NOW TELL ME THIS, WITH YOUR MONITORING, RIGHT?
[02:10:01]
AND WHEN WITH THE CHEMICALS THAT YOU'RE MONITORING, IT TELLS YOU IF THE CHEMICAL IS PRESENT, BUT NOT THE CONCENTRATION OF THE CHEMICAL.BOTH IT TELLS WHETHER THE CHEMICAL IS PRESENT.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S WHY I SAID, UH, THEY HAD CONDUCTED A BURN TEST WHERE THEY SET THESE THINGS ON FIRE AND THEY MONITOR THE AIR QUALITY FOR THE RELEASE OF POISONOUS GASES LIKE HYDROGEN, FLUORIDE.
CAN YOU MEASURE THE CONCENTRATION YES.
OF THE CHEMICALS REMOTELY? YES.
SO THERE ARE GAS SENSORS THAT DOES START.
AND EVEN, UH, COMPANIES LIKE HONEYWELL, OTHERS MAKE, TH THOSE SENSORS, THOSE ARE LIKE COMMERCIALLY EVEN AVAILABLE.
AND, UH, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM FIRE RISK ALLIANCE HERE.
SO THEY WOULD'VE GIVEN YOU FIRSTHAND INFORMATION ON HOW THEY DID THESE THINGS WITH LIKE VERY SPECIFIC MODEL NUMBERS OF THESE THINGS IF YOU WANTED.
BUT IS IS, IS IT, AND THAT IS WHAT Y'ALL WILL HAVE IS BE ABLE TO YOUR YES.
WILL MEASURE THE CONCENTRATION YES.
I'M JUST MAKING SURE WE DON'T GET, EXCUSE, EXCUSE.
COMMISSIONER, YOU ASKED THE QUESTION THREE TIMES.
AND THEY ANSWERED, THEY ANSWERED YOU EACH TIME YOU ASKED THE SAME QUESTION THREE TIMES.
DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? NO.
I'M ENSURING THAT WE'RE NOT GETTING LOST IN SEMANTICS.
I THINK, AND I THINK EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTIONS AND THE COMMENTS THAT YOU HAD.
ANYTHING ELSE MA'AM, CALL THE QUESTION.
CAN WE, CAN WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT COMMISSIONER? NO, THANK YOU.
BECAUSE ANYTHING ELSE, MA'AM? THANK YOU.
COMMISSIONER CHAPPA? I HAVE NOTHING.
I, I JUST WANT TO TALK, BUT CIRCLE BACK TO THE NOISE AND IT DON'T GO AWAY.
BUT TIM, I MEAN, AS A BUSINESS OWNER IN THIS CITY, I HAVE REGULATIONS ON WHAT DECIBELS I CAN EMIT.
THEY HAVE THE SAME REGULATIONS THAT I HAVE, CORRECT? THEY YES.
YOU ACCORDING TO UTC AT LEAST.
SO THERE IS NO EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.
I KNOW THAT WAS A BIG THING AND WHAT WASN'T MENTIONED IS THE EARTH UNDERNEATH.
AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT, IT BURNS OUT? 'CAUSE I, I TRUST THAT IT IS A SAFE BURNOUT.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE EARTH UNDERNEATH? DOES IT LEAK INTO OUR BAYOU AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE? IS THERE A LINER? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS THERE? SO AS SAM SAID, THERE ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BATTERY CELL.
AND THAT IS HERMETICALLY SEALED.
SO A GENTLEMAN ACTUALLY POSTED A QUESTION ABOUT THE ELECTROLYTES IN THERE.
SO THE INDUSTRY AS SUCH IS EVOLVING.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT, UH, IT HAS A LOT.
SO THE ELECTROLYTE COMPONENT IS NOT VERY SIMPLE.
IT IS EXTREMELY COMPLEX, AND IT IS HERMETICALLY SEALED INSIDE A CELL THROUGH COMPLEX MANUFACTURING PROCESSES.
AND THESE CELLS ARE INTEGRATED INTO STRUCTURES CALLED MODULES, WHICH ARE AGAIN, HERMETICALLY SEALED.
AND THESE MODULES GO INTO THESE ENCLOSURES, WHICH ARE LIKE OUTDOOR RATED.
AND THEY ARE AGAIN LIKE, YOU KNOW, SEALED.
SO ESSENTIALLY THERE'S LIKE THREE LEVELS OF PROTECTION FOR ANY POTENTIAL LEAKAGE.
UH, AND UH, YEAH, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY IN THIS BURN TEST THAT THEY CONDUCTED, THERE WAS NO LEAKAGE INTO THE GROUND BELOW.
AND SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT ADDRESSED HERE, BUT IT WAS ADDRESSED VERY LOUDLY IN OUR COMMUNITY EVENT, WAS THE FACT THAT THIS WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE IT'S AN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY, AND I JUST WANT THE PEOPLE STICK IT TO YOUR MIC.
SORRY THAT I TALKED LOUD ENOUGH THAT I DIDN'T NEED ONE OF THESE
SO I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MR. MARK AND I SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, ET CETERA.
AND I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT, SIR, I DID TAKE THAT VERY, UM, DEEPLY.
AND I DID GO RESEARCH WHERE THESE ARE PLACED AND I FIND NO EVIDENCE THAT THESE ARE PLACED IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
SO I DID WANT TO, I DID WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I DID THE RESEARCH THAT I PROMISED YOU THAT I WOULD DO.
AND, UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I'M GOOD.
I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING OTHER THAN TO RESPOND TO SOME THINGS.
THERE IS A BOND THERE, THERE IS A TEARING DOWN OF THE FACILITY AFTER 20 YEARS IN CLEANUP.
AND, UM, AND YOU HAVE MET ALL OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
AND YOU'VE MET ALL YOUR COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS ALSO REQUIRED IN THIS SUP.
COMMISSIONER LAREDO? NO, I, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, THERE WAS, UH, SOME HOMES THAT WERE THERE AND, AND IF THEY'RE GONNA BE REMOVED,
[02:15:01]
I GUESS THE PROPERTY GOT BOUGHT, THE ONES THAT WERE ON BOB SMITH, CORRECT.AS, AS TIM MENTIONED, THERE'S FOUR PARCELS AND WE HAVE THEM ON THEIR, UH, PURCHASE OPTION.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CARROLL.
UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY, UM, LIKE THE ONE LADY SAID, WE LIVE IN AN ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE LIVE VERY CLOSE TO EXXON.
I LIVE LITERALLY ACROSS THE FREEWAY FROM EXXON.
UM, AND WE LIVE IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE HAVE PIPELINES, GAS LINES, YOU WALK OVER THEM EVERY DAY.
THEY ARE MAINTAINED, THEY ARE MANAGED.
THEY'RE, THEY ARE TAKEN CARE OF.
AND AS LONG AS THE BATTERY SYSTEMS ARE TAKEN CARE OF AND MANAGED, THEY WOULD BE SAFELY TRANSMITTING ELECTRICITY TO EVERYBODY.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
ANY ABSTENTIONS? THIS MOTION CARRIES.
ITEM NUMBER FIVE A IS THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
I CAN'T RECEIVE A REPORT FROM, UH, FOUR A.
[a. Receive a report from the Planning Director.]
DIRECTED.UM, SO EVERYONE KNOWS, OOPS, I JUST TURNED SOMETHING OFF.
UM, SO EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IS GOING TO CITY COUNCIL ON THURSDAY.
THAT THE ITEM THAT WE JUST HEARD TONIGHT.
SO IF ANYBODY IS PLANNING TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL, THAT WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK.
THE, THE MEETING ITSELF WAS RESCHEDULED.
SO WE MOVED THIS TO, UH, COINCIDE WITH THAT MEETING SCHEDULE.
SO IT WILL BE AT CITY COUNCIL IN THIS ROOM THURSDAY NIGHT AT SIX 30.
AND ALL THE CITIZENS YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME TO CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THE FINAL SAY IN THIS AGENDA ITEM.
AND WE, WE WILL PROVIDE, UH, PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIONS, UH, UH, RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL SO THAT THEY'LL HAVE THAT FOR THEIR DETERMINATION.
UM, I'LL KEEP MY DIRECTOR'S REPORT REALLY QUICK.
UM, LAMI, CAN YOU MOVE THAT AHEAD ONE FOR ME? THERE SHOULD BE ONE MORE SLIDE.
SO, UH, WELL, I THINK YOU KNOW THOSE PEOPLE.
SO YOU, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE 'CAUSE I MEANT TO MENTION THIS LAST MONTH AND, AND SPACED IT.
UM, OCTOBER IS NATIONAL COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH, AND IN THE PAST WE'VE ALWAYS ASKED FOR A, UM, A PROCLAMATION FROM THE MAYOR TO PRONOUNCE THE, UM, COMMUNITY NATIONAL COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH AS OUR PARTICIPATION IN THAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND, UH, THIS YEAR WE'VE KIND OF CHANGED THE WAY WE DO INTERNAL PROCLAMATIONS.
SO INSTEAD, UH, THE MAYOR CAME BY AND CITY MANAGER CAME BY AND, UM, UH, DID THE PROCLAMATION, UH, AT ONE OF OUR, UM, STAFF MEETINGS.
UM, WE ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE WANTED TO DO, BUT NEVER REALLY DONE IN THE PAST IS DO SOMETHING TO SORT OF HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE PLANNING ACTIVITIES THAT HAPPEN IN OUR COMMUNITY OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR AS PART OF COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH.
AND SO, UM, CALVIN, OUR NEW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR THIS YEAR, TOOK ON DOING SOMETHING TO, UM, RAISE AWARENESS.
AND SO, UM, HE AND THE PLANNERS ACTUALLY MANNED A BOOTH AT THE BUSINESS EXPO, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY CENTER BACK IN, UH, OCTOBER.
AND, UH, WHICH WAS, THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD EVENT FOR US.
UH, NOT SOMETHING WE'VE DONE BEFORE.
AND THEN, UM, HIS PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR IS TO, UH, RAISE THE STAKES A LITTLE BIT.
HE'S ALREADY STARTING ON WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO FOR NEXT OCTOBER, AND, UH, HOPEFULLY IT'LL INCLUDE SOME VISITS TO SOME OF THE SCHOOLS.
UH, AND AGAIN, UH, SORT OF RAISE AWARENESS, MAYBE RECRUIT SOME PLANNERS FOR THE FUTURE.
AND, UH, AND SOME OTHER ACTIVITIES.
WE'LL, WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT IS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
UM, WHEN WE DO THAT, WE WILL ALSO INVITE PLANNING COMMISSIONERS TO, UH, BE A PART OF THAT AS WELL, BECAUSE YOU'RE PART OF THE PLANNING EFFORTS HERE.
A VERY BIG PART OF THE PLANNING EFFORTS HERE IN THE CITY.
UM, WITH THAT, I HAD, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.
THERE WERE NO ITEMS THAT WENT TO CITY COUNCIL FROM THIS BODY LAST MONTH, SO WE'RE MM-HMM
ITEM SIX IS ITEM FIVE ACTUALLY.
AND WE ADJOURN AND WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING.