Web Posted: 01/28/2009 12:00 CST
Hollywood Park council
Thursday, 30 October 2008
By Robert Goetz , Staff Writer
The Hollywood Park City Council last week granted a San Antonio development company a special-use permit allowing an extended-stay hotel in a "B" zoning district, but also required construction of a fence as a buffer zone between the facility and a residential community.
Council unanimously approved the special-use permit for a six-story, 88-room Four Points by Sheraton extended-stay hotel on a 3.73-acre tract at U.S. Highway 281 and Pantheon Way. The hotel will be built on the same site as a 120-room Four Points hotel that received a special-use permit last year.
In addition to requiring construction of the fence, the council concurred with the Zoning Commission's stipulation that the extended-stay hotel not exceed the height of the facility that will be built directly east of it on Pantheon Way. The height of the 120-room hotel was an issue because of fire safety concerns when council approved the first special-use permit last December.
Councilwoman Ellen Alkire first suggested that Galo Properties, the development company that requested the permit, rebuild a fence on the eastern edge of the Gardens of Hollywood Park, a garden home community of 88 homes west of the hotel site.
"The fence is falling down," she said. "It is not in good shape."
Mayor Richard McIlveen said the fence is not the developer's responsibility because it is not on the hotel property, but Alkire said, "It's not fair to the homeowners who live there."
Marcus Moreno, Galo's senior vice president of land development, said his company would be amenable to a "better fence."
"It would be in the best interest of your firm and those 88 homes," Alkire said. When McIlveen said he wasn't sure the council could "commit developers to improving someone else's fence," Alkire suggested that the development company build a concrete fence on the hotel site.
Council agreed to add a masonry fence that would match the hotel's architecture and stand at least 8 feet as a condition of the special-use permit.
Councilman Steve Treu expressed misgivings about the project since plans originally called for a mixed-use office building next to the first hotel that would generate sales-tax revenue for the city. Municipalities are restricted in how they can spend receipts from hotel occupancy taxes paid by hotel guests.
"I thought we were moving toward more retail," he said. "I have concerns about hotel funds being limited."
However, Moreno said the 120-room hotel, which will soon enter the construction phase, will feature a restaurant to generate sales-tax revenue. He also said the hotels will serve guests who will eat at restaurants and shop at retail establishments that are close by.
"Hotels and restaurants go hand in hand," he said.
Also during the Oct. 21 meeting, council voted 3-1 to approve a residential lease between the city and David and Tracy Ballard on a property at 104 Sunway next to City Hall. David Ballard is the son of Mayor Pro Tem Ken Ballard, who was not present at the meeting, and he serves as president of the city's Economic Development Corp.
The city bought the lot for future expansion of City Hall, McIlveen said. But Alkire, who cast the dissenting vote, said the couple is paying just $500 a month though the property is appraised at $235,000. She said monthly rent should run between $1,400 and $1,700.
Alkire also said the couple had already moved in before council considered the lease, which runs through February. The couple is remodeling the home they own elsewhere in Hollywood Park.
McIlveen called the lease agreement, which he said will bring in additional revenue for a few months, a "win-win" situation."There is no downside on our part of it," he said.
Alkire said the agreement "doesn't pass the smell test."
"It sounds like a pretty good brother-in-law deal to me," she said.
In other action, the council approved a list of appointments and reappointments to city committees: Zoning Commission members Carolyn Olivera and Nard Tollette and alternates Ralph Shriber and W.D. Scott; Board of Appeals members Jim Heck, Michael Drewry and Howard Godwin and alternates Robert Arias and Mark Wolff; and EDC Board members Richard Steede, Michael Tollette and Nard Tollette.
http://www.clickitsa.com/content/view/24471/476/
Public comments return to Hollywood Park agenda
By Robert Goetz - Staff Writer Hollywood Park residents will again have an opportunity to address their elected officials on items that are not on the City Council agenda.
Mayor Richard McIlveen, after polling council members at the Jan. 20 meeting, said he would restore the citizen-participation segment to the regular monthly agenda, but he also advised residents to think about “your city” and the “reputation of your city” when they make comments.
“Pay attention to what you're saying,” he said.
Open residential participation was last allowed at the Sept. 16 meeting, when a new feature, citizen comments for each agenda item, was added to the agenda. But general residential remarks were omitted the following month – and each month since – denying residents a chance to address topics not on the agenda.
Residents expressed displeasure at the change in November, when some hoped to protest the approval of a residential lease between the city and David and Tracy Ballard, the son and daughter-in-law of Councilman Ken Ballard, as well as the granting of a special-use permit for a Four Points by Sheraton extended-stay hotel.
“We definitely want your opinions,” McIlveen told residents at last week's session, but he also said the forum had given rise to “false accusations.” Council members Bruce Graham and Ellen Alkire, who both questioned why open citizen participation had been removed from agendas at a prior meeting, said they favored restoring it.
Alkire called it a “customer service item.”
“It's good to hear what they've got to say,” she added. “We're an open society.”
Ken Ballard said he did not agree with Graham and Alkire. He said the agenda item gives residents a forum to wage “personal vendettas.”
“We can't respond to you with citizens to be heard,” he said.
Ballard said the current format allowing public comments on each agenda item gives councilors the chance to communicate with residents during a meeting. By law, elected officials cannot respond to comments made by residents in an open format.
Councilman Steve Treu said the agenda should have a forum for public comments, but he also called the practice “very frustrating.”
“It's so hard when you talk and we can't talk back,” he said.
Treu said a “compromise” would be better, a procedure that would allow council members to respond to residents' concerns.
Councilman Bob Moore said a solution is to “meet halfway on this somewhere.” He said residents can contact city officials directly and ask for a topic to be placed on the agenda.
“We definitely need some communication,” he said.
But Moore said some comments at council meetings “make the city look bad.” He said he didn't like seeing the media “blast us.”
City Attorney Ryan Henry weighed in on the discussion, telling the council that open participation can be allowed or omitted or that the current “hybrid” approach – citizen comments on each agenda item – can be used. He also said setting the agenda is at the discretion of the mayor.
Also during the meeting, McIlveen addressed – with the intention of putting it to rest – an issue that has upset some residents in recent months: the future construction of two Four Points by Sheraton hotels on Pantheon Way at U.S. Highway 281.
Last month, the council voted 3-2 – with McIlveen casting the deciding vote in Ballard's absence – to extend a building permit for the first of the two hotels, a 120-room hotel closest to the 281 frontage road.
Both Graham and Alkire voted against the extension, and several residents spoke out against the project, but McIlveen said the council has already approved special-use permits allowing construction of both hotels in a “B” zoning district. He also asked Henry to explain the permitting process.
“When you grant a special-use permit, there's no specified time period on it,” Henry said. “Once you grant it, they have a vested right. You can't change the rules on them afterward.”
He also said the city's building inspector is responsible for granting building permits.
“It doesn't really involve the council,” Henry said.
He said a building permit cannot be revoked as long as the applicant “satisfies requirements.”
Treu said the process for the two hotels, especially the extended-stay hotel adjacent to the Gardens of Hollywood Park garden-home community, pained him because “there was no community input.”
Henry said the council could change zoning provisions to require that notices be sent to nearby property owners when a special-use permit is sought. Now it is only required when a zoning category is completely changed.
In addition, McIlveen said he asked Police Chief Steve Kwiecien to research how extended-stay hotels impact crime in communities.
Kwiecien said he received a response from just one city, adding extended-stay hotels do not appear to be a problem on the North Side. He also said the police department is ready to patrol the area.
“Bad people don't like to be looked at,” he said. “We'll know who you are.”
Comments from Tim McCallum (TEM):
Councilman Ballard says that "Citizens to be heard" has been a venue of personal vendettas. This is only his interpretation. Councilman Moore thinks that the media is making Hollywood Park look bad. Again, this is his interpretation. What I find amazing is that I agree that these comments have been very stinging about the council's behavior but it is not a result of the citizen’s comments.
This is the result of their actions of purchasing a house under the pretence of expanding police and fire services to rent to the President of the Town's Economic Development Corporation, who is also the son of the Mayor Protem Ballard while his home is being remodeled by two other members of the EDC for a rent of $500 a month for a house that would normally rent for around $1700 a month. All of this and taxpayers are paying for his yard maintenance too.
Now Councilman Ballard and Moore since both of you along with the Mayor McIlveen, Steve Treu and Bruce Graham lost your judgment at a minimum and your moral compass at worst, you complain about the reactions? Shame on you! Shame on you!
http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/Public_comments_return_to_Hollywood_Park_agenda.html
City ponders next move with property
By Robert Goetz - Staff Writer/North Central News
Hollywood Park Economic Development Corp. directors last week discussed taking the next step in using a property that has been the subject of public scrutiny the last few months.
They also received an earful from the past president of the local homeowners association about the short-term lease of that property at 104 Sunway – which includes a 2,400-square-foot home – to EDC Board President David Ballard.
Board member Richard Steede recommended that the EDC engage architect Jim Heck to come up with a concept and design for expanding the police department's portion of the municipal building on Mecca Drive to 104 Sunway. Heck was the architect for City Hall.
“The first thing we would look at is the concept,” he said.
“We could renegotiate with him through the different phases.”
Steede also said the EDC should present its plan to City Council “at the earlier concept stage.”
Council would have to approve the hiring of Heck.
City Attorney Ryan Henry, who also advises the EDC, told board members they cannot decide what to do with the property, but they can “discuss possible projects.”
He also said EDC funds cannot be used for construction of a municipal building, but they can be used for a project to improve police and fire protection.
“You can't build the building itself,” Henry said.
City Council last April approved the purchase of the one-acre parcel for $228,500 with reimbursement from the EDC through economic development sales tax revenue.
At the time of the purchase, Mayor Richard McIlveen said it was the only property contiguous to City Hall available for expansion.
He also said the property may be used for police and fire services.
EDC directors see purchase of the land as an opportunity to expand City Hall toward the rear, giving the police department more room.
They are looking at other options as well.
But in October the council approved a residential lease between the city and Ballard and his wife that was to expire Feb. 28.
Councilwoman Ellen Alkire criticized the lease, saying it “doesn't pass the smell test,” but McIlveen called it a “win-win” situation.
Tim McCallum, who recently stepped down as president of the Hollywood Park Homeowners Association, revisited the issue at the EDC's Jan. 13 meeting.
“My question is, do you know how bad your actions look?” he asked EDC directors.
McCallum said the lease amount was $500 a month for a 2,400-square-foot three-bedroom, three-bath home and included yard maintenance.
“Your lack of judgment on this issue is an indication of arrogance,” he said.
Directors also discussed payment of taxes that are still owed on the property, but concluded council should address that issue because the city owns the lot.
Council was scheduled to meet this week to discuss previously unpaid taxes on the property, as well as the citizens-to-be-heard part of meeting agendas.
Council members were also scheduled to discuss the two Sheraton hotels planned for construction near Loop 1604 and U.S. Highway 281.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/north_central/City_ponders_next_move_with_property.html
Hollywood Park in review
By Robert Goetz - North Central News
Hollywood Park
Hollywood Park city officials in 2008 streamlined public safety functions by creating a new department and improved safety at City Hall with the installation of a state-of-the-art metal detector.
They also continued to make progress in efforts to redesign the city's baseball field and upgrade city facilities. But the purchase of a property for future City Hall expansion, a street-improvement project and changes to the council's meeting agenda triggered protests from residents.
In February the Hollywood Park City Council approved the expenditure of nearly $4,000 for the purchase and installation of the metal detector following a fatal shooting in the city hall of a St. Louis suburb.
Four months later the Hollywood Park council approved the creation of the Hollywood Park Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, which combined the fire department, fire marshal's office and emergency management sector into one unit.
The council in April approved the purchase of a property on Sunway Drive – with reimbursement from the city's Economic Development Corp. – for future expansion of City Hall. However, Councilwoman Ellen Alkire and other residents later protested when the lot, which included a home, was leased on a short-term basis to EDC President David Ballard and his wife while they were remodeling their home. Ballard is the son of Mayor Pro Tem Ken Ballard.
The absence of an agenda item that would have allowed the council to consider awarding a contract for street improvements at its July 15 meeting and an allegation directed at Mayor Richard McIlveen prompted Alkire to call for his resignation.
McIlveen said the street-improvement project was postponed because it would be further discussed during budget sessions. He called a special meeting a week later to refute an allegation from Alkire that “approximately $300,000” in city funds for street improvements was missing. Council approved the street project in August.
McIlveen also received criticism after he changed the format of meeting agendas by excluding citizens' comments on items not on the agenda. He later said the new format would improve the efficiency of meetings.
In October the City Council granted a San Antonio development company a special-use permit, allowing construction of a six-story extended-stay hotel in a “B” zoning district, but also required installation of a fence as a buffer zone between the facility and a residential community.
Residents who wished to protest the action at the November council session were unable to do so because of the absence of a citizens' comment part of that meeting.
Plans call for the 88-room Four Points by Sheraton extended-stay hotel to be built on a 3.73-acre tract at U.S. Highway 281 and Pantheon Way next to a 120-room Four Points hotel that received a special-use permit in December 2007.
The construction company contracted to build the 120-room hotel received an extension of its building permit despite opposition from two council members and some residents.
Also in 2008, the council:
• Decided not to limit Voigt Drive and Donella Street to one-way traffic to discourage motorists from cutting through Hollywood Park after residents said the change would hinder them.
• Raised the city's tax rate to 38.2261 cents per $100 of appraised value so that residents could continue to pay for disposal of garbage and collection of recyclables through property taxes. The council had considered reducing the tax rate by 5 cents to remove an expenditure of more than $464,000 for Waste Management's solid waste collection services, a move that would have required residents to pay their own monthly bills.
• Approved the permit trapping of up to 50 white-tailed deer for the 2008-2009 season, but also heard from city deer program manager Will Mangum that the city is close to having its deer situation “under control.” In April the 73rd Judicial District Court of Bexar County ruled that Hollywood Park did not violate residents' personal property by trapping deer in 2002 and that its deer-feeding ban was legal.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/Hill_Country_Village_Hollywood_Park_in_review.html
Hollywood Park agenda stymies comments
Thursday, 27 November 2008
By Robert Goetz, Staff Writer
Hollywood Park residents came to their City Council's Nov. 18 meeting ready to voice their concerns about a lease that one council member called a "pretty good brother-in-law deal" and a proposed six-story hotel near a garden home community.
But they didn't get the opportunity. The agenda for the meeting didn't include a forum for public comments on nonagenda items, which has been customary in the past.
"It's another example of government being unresponsive to citizens and their needs," said Tim McCallum, president of the Hollywood Park Homeowners Association. "It's another example of the lack of transparency in government."
McCallum was prepared to read a statement criticizing a lease agreement between the city and local Economic Development Corp. President David Ballard, the son of Mayor Pro Tem Kenneth Ballard, on a property the city bought this year -- with reimbursement from the EDC -- to meet future needs.
Ballard and his wife are living in the home at 104 Sunway for $500 a month -- a property valued at $235,000 -- while their home is being remodeled.
Councilman Bruce Graham raised the first question about the lack of an agenda item for residents' comments.
Both City Attorney Ryan Henry and Kenneth Ballard, who presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Richard McIlveen, said the mayor sets the agenda.
Ballard advised one resident who questioned the council about how he can let his voice be heard to talk to the mayor if he wishes to place an item for discussion on the agenda.
Councilwoman Ellen Alkire, who criticized the deal between the city and David Ballard as a "pretty good brother-in-law deal" after the council approved it last month, said the absence of an agenda item strictly for public comments is a "disservice to the citizens."
"That's their input to the City Council," she said. "We need to have it on the agenda. The mayor and City Council are there at the pleasure of the residents. It's us serving them."
According to the Texas Attorney General's Office, the Texas Open Meetings Act does not require governmental bodies to allow residents to speak at their meetings, but many provide public comment sessions.
Hollywood Park's city code states that "no citizen comment section shall be permitted unless placed on the agenda noting either citizen comments or citizen participation will be heard." But it also includes rules for public comment sections.
Hollywood Park's recent agendas included a section for general public comments until October, when residents' comments were only allowed for agenda items.
McIlveen did not respond to calls by press time about the change in procedure.
Another contingent of residents came to protest the council's approval last month of a special-use permit that allows for a Four Points by Sheraton extended-stay hotel in a "B" zoning district.
Plans call for the 88-room hotel to be built next to a proposed Four Points by Sheraton 120-room hotel at Pantheon Way and the U.S. Highway 281 frontage road south of Loop 1604.
The site for the extended-stay hotel is adjacent to the Gardens of Hollywood Park garden home community.
Alkire said the garden-home community residents are upset about the plans.
"That's what they were there to talk about," she said. "But there was no way for them to talk about it."
However, Councilman Steve Treu suggested that the council conduct a special meeting on the issue.
Treu expressed misgivings about the project because he preferred plans for a mixed-use office building next to the first hotel that would generate sales-tax revenue for the city.