Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 40, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 3, 2002 Page: 4 of 34
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Hondo Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Hondo Public Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
P*IC* 4, The Hondo Anvil Hr raid, Thursday, Octobrr 3, 20*2
GARCIA'S SHOE REPAIR
Castroville zoning ordinance tabled l^1302 17th st.»Hondo
By William Hoover
A*vn. Hhuld Ci
Castroville City Council tabled cre-
ation of an amendment to the Com-
prehensive Zoning Ordinance to cre-
ate buffer zones between histone resi-
dential districts and commercial
zones. The ordinance was tabled af-
ter a parade of residents expressed
fears of the ordinance not doing
enough to protect histone homes
Opponents also womed some histone
properties would be tujjned into com
mercial establishments.
Council members were miffed the
specific regulations developed in
workshops for the ordinance were not
included in the final draft.
The property next to Castroville
Public Library in the 800 block of
London Street, owned by realtor Tim
Hardt, was the first lot considered as
a buffer zone. The vacant lot on which
Hardt wanted to build an office was
zoned as histone residential property.
To accommodate the historical char-
acter of the area, he proposed build-
ing an Alsatian-style office on the
property, between the commercial
area on Highway 90 and the residen-
tial area to the south, as a buffer zone.
Council liked the idea to separate
historic residential lots from business
districts. Instead of issuing Hardt a
special use permit, they decided to
amend the zoning ordinance.
Public notices regarding the ordi-
nance amendment contained a map
identifying 71 lots that could be eli-
gible for buffer zone status.
Resident Darla Masters, who
thought the amendment had too many
restrictions, was first to speak at the
hearing. “I think council should only
create buffer zones on a case by case
basis, ’ she said. “The person who owns
the property should be allowed to do
what they want with it as long adja-
cent property owners have no objec-
tion. I oppose it the way is written.”
Masters said she had been told only
vacant lots would be eligible as buffer
zones. “The property I own has a build-
ing on it, so do I have to tear my build-
ing down and start over?” she asked.
‘The way it is written affects people
who have buildings or houses they want
to convert to an office and they
wouldn’t be able to do it. Adjacent prop-
erty owners should have a say in it. No-
body else should have anything to say.”
Gloria Kelly, who owns a historic
home at 614 Florence Street also
spoke against the amendment. “We
would prefer it as a residential area
with no mixed or retail or any type of
business use because it is a residen-
tial street and a historical area. We are
not opposed to rezoning in certain in-
stances. But when it affects an entire
street, it should be rethought.”
Homeowner Priscilla Garrett said
she had spoken to Councilman James
Bell and believed there was a misun-
derstanding. “He said the ordinance
only affected residences that faced a
commercial property now, which
means you have to walk out and be
confronted by that residential prop-
erty. Isn’t that correct?”
“That's not correct,” said City Ad-
ministrator Jack Yates. “Which way the
door faces isn’t the determining factor.
> A lot is eligible to be a buffer zone if
the lot is adjacent to the street and on
the other side of that street is a com-
mercially zoned piece of property.”
“Then we are definitely opposed to
the zoning ordinance as it's written.'
said Garrett "We are not opposed to
owners of vacant lots requesting zon-
ing change But to take a street like
Florence Street and identify the num-
ber of already historically identified
properties that could become com-
mercial properties is way beyond
what we think Castroville is all about
It would take a lot of the essence aw ay
from Castroville that people come
here for in the first place. "
Hardt, who had indirectly initiated the
buffer zone debate, asked that the ordi
nance be passed because any change to
histone lots would still require review
and approval of three city organizations
before action could be taken.
T'n in favor of the ordinance as
wntten,” Hardt said. “As 1 understand
it, and I've been involved in the pro-
cess for 10 months, this ordinance will
allow property owners to apply for a
special use permit to have an office
building on what is presently consid-
ered a historical residential lot."
The ordinance would not change the
zoping status of properties and, under
the amendment, no property would be
rezoned from residential to commer-
cial, according to Hardt. “On a case
by case basis, people could apply for
a building permit, which would be re-
ferred to planning and zoning and then
be referred to the design and review
board,” said Hardt. "If approved by
both of those bodies, it would be re-
ferred to council for approval. The
immediate neighborhood would be
notified of all three meetings. There
is no rezoning being considered-just
the opportunity to apply for a specific
and restrictive special use permit."
Hardt told council he applied for a
special use permit six months ago and
.reached the approval point, only to
find out it was against city ordinance.
“We have to put this in place just
so individual lot owners will have the
opportunity to come forward,” Hardt
said. “If a proposal doesn’t fit in a par-
ticular area, it won’t be received well
by the neighbors and won’t fly. If we
don’t pass this, we have the legal
stumbling block that stops us from
doing what, in some cases, is a very
good use of property.”
P&Z Chairman Louis Romano said
his commission had held its public
hearings on the ordinance and the
residents and the board were evenly
split. ‘The principal concern was the
conversion of historic buildings to
commercial property,” said Romano.
“The people on Florence Street, and
others as well, were adamantly op-
posed to that provision. Other con-
cerns were the excessive straining of
streets by additional traffic.”
Romhno said opposition to the ordi-
nance could be reduced by eliminat-
ing the map designating which historic
properties could potentially be eligible
for buffer zone status and restricting the
buffer zone status to vacant lots in his-
toric areas. “There was almost unani-
mous support for Mr. Hardt’s project
because it met the two criteria, it’s on
a vacant lot and everybody in that area
is happy with the concept,” said
Romano. “That was the basis on which
we sent you our recommendation.”
Conservation Society President
Carole Romano urged council to pro-
tect its historic assets and not let any
be destroyed. She said requests to use
historic lots as buffer zones should be
requested on a case by case basis, keep-
ing the value of the city’s historical sig-
nificance and appearance in mind
"The concern of the society is that
we keep Castroville in perspective
totally," said the society president.
The city is on the national register
of historic properties. Historic
homeowners pay more taxes than
people w ho own a new home of com-
parable size. The tax assessor will
confirm that we are assessed and val-
ued higher because the property sells
for more, the properties look better
because they are kept in better con-
dition, and they are in demand. Let's
keep it limited to vacant lots and
please don't mark histone houses as
a target for business. Remember the
historic homeowners have an enor-
mous amount of time, thought and
interest invested in their homes."
Stressing the importance of protect-
ing Castroville’s historic assets,
Romano said she received a memo
from the city administrator regarding
an award from the Texas Society of the
American Institute of Architects.
“They designated a list of 25 histone
sites from architects throughout the
stdte. Castroville was #5 on the list,”
said Romano. “Boeme, Fredericksburg
and Comfort were not listed.”
Stan Guajardo, of 710 Florence, in-
troduced himself as a new resident.
“I picked Castroville deliberately. I
made a substantial investment in a
derelict historic property that 1 put a
lot of time and energy into. This is a
significant historical community, not
just in Texas, but nationwide. I’ve
been involved with historic preserva-
tion for 30 years in various parts of
the country and I’m affiliated with the
University of Texas School of Archi-
tecture where we have a historic pres-
ervation program. In the past five
years, several masters’ theses have
been written about Castroville.”
Guajardo said Castroville is a his-
toric resource with real potential, but
he warned against it becoming just
another bedroom community of San
Antonio. “What direction do we want
Castroville to take and what values
will guide that? I oppose the ordi-
nance as it is but I don’t oppose a
change to allow creation of a buffer
zone on some of these properties. We
need to look at the issue with a
broader scope and not just rush
through a plan not fully thought out.”
After the hearing, council dis-
cussed the feasibility of adopting the
buffer zone ordinance, as the P&Z
recommended, without inclusion of
a potential site map and restricting
eligibility to vacant lots only.
Councilman Dave Stuart lobbied
for passage of the amendment to the
CZO. “We’ve gone over this many
times in workshops and we tried to
look at all the ramifications this might
have for citizens of Castroville,” said
Stuart. “We tried to ensure the buffer
zone lots would only be used for pro-
fessional offices. The building has to
be something that appears to be a
house, that would maintain historical
integrity and be constructed in a like
manner of other residences around it
so it’s discreet in its look. Consider-
ing it would be reviewed by the de-
sign review board and could be re-
jected by city council and it's done on
a case by case basis, I do support it.”
Councilman Leon Tschirhart ex-
pressed sympathy for Hardt. “The only
problem 1 have is with the time it has
taken Mr. Hardt to do this,” he said.
“Now, it looks like it might be longer
I
1
^ \ X X \ \
Attention: Sterling
Option One Members:
If you recently lost your coverage from Sterling,
you have a small window of opportunity to ob-
tain new coverage with no medical questions
asked. Please call John Britton and find out how.
Vi I I Oil Will'd
INcSUkMNO:
830 7413535
Now Serving the Hondo Area with
Medicare Supplement • Final Expense • Life Insurance • Long-Term Care Insurance
yet He has done everything we
asked "
Councilman James Bell was up-
set council s workshop input was not
included in the ordinance as dis-
cussed "We spent four meetings on
this. I look at this ordinance and
don’t see any of the important things
in here we all agreed about," said
Bell. "There are no ingress and
egress numbers The maximum size
of building was agreed to, but not
included. Parking was supposed to
have six parking spots out front with
12 parking spots total for the entire
property. When you stand outside the
front door and look at commercial
property, that lot would apply to the
buffer zone, not the lot behind me
or the lot next door facing residen-
tial. There were only a handful of
lots Design review was to be man-
datory and it is still voluntary in this
ordinance. This just doesn't hold
water for me.”
"Everything mentioned was dis-
cussed,” said Yates. “I have no idea
why they aren’t in the ordinance.”
“We have an opportunity to
do something nice in this area of
town and we’re not doing it,” said
Bell.
“I have to agree with James," said
Councilman Jerald Foxworthy. “I
pulled my notes and everything we
decided that night is not here."
During the workshops council
identified 10 to 15 lots which would
be appropriate for buffer zone con-
struction status, however,
Foxworthy said the ordinance iden-
tified 71 properties. "I don't know
how we jumped around so much,”
he said.
“Lots on Florence Street or fac-
ing the river are totally wrong to in-
clude,” said Masters. “I’d rather
change specific lots that meet our
criteria. As it is written, I can’t sup-
port it."
Foxworthy made the motion to
table the buffer zone amendment to
the CZO until the specifics agreed to
were included in the ordinance. Bell
seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously. Mayor Robert Hancock
asked the city administrator to bring
the updated ordinance to the next
council meeting for consideration and
vote.
Mon-Sat 7 am - 2 nv • Fr. N 5-3 ’’v
1
l.’(« HM.H
1 h \ Avi' K • Me mill i
GFRONIMO'S CAFE
I Lunch Specials *549
Thursday...Chicken Fried Steak or Baked Fish
Friday...Cheese Pepper Steak or Steak Sandwich
Monday...Baked Chicken Breast or Shrimp Plate
Tuesday.. .3 Beef Enchiladas or Pork Chop Plate/
Wednesday... Meatloaf
Free Tea or Coffee Free Pinto Beans
Get \\\
Li
One mile east of Hondo on
^ US 90 • 426-2220
1//,^ Lunch Specials
Wednesday^, served 11 AM - 2 PM
Beef Fajita Tacosj °ct'8 13
Jk $r
Tuesday*^,^^ Thursday
Pepper Steak MSSsL. • ,
^ JjT hicken Parmesanj
*Friday^ 529
Catfish or
B„ Shrimp Platter- Yankee
Chicken Fried s5.29rhili
Steak or Grilled Chill With
Chicken Breast $5.89 Combread $4.99
10 02. Top
Sirloin $6.95
xCKApo,
CASINO
frieperitna tki
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 40, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 3, 2002, newspaper, October 3, 2002; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth819370/m1/4/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.