BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL OKs CLUSTER HOUSING PROPOSAL

  

The Brenham City Council gave the go-ahead today (Thursday) for a cluster housing project to proceed with development. 

After an hour and a half of discussion, the council voted unanimously to grant a Planned Development District designation for 5.73 acres at 708 Seelhorst Street.  Jeremy and Chelsea Bowie of Chelsea Build, LLC plan to build 32 single-family residential units as part of a development called “The Cottages Downtown”, which will incorporate several community amenities and provide right-of-way dedication for the eventual widening of Seelhorst Street.

City of Brenham Development Services Director Stephanie Doland noted that these types of housing projects are normally allowed by right, and with four fewer homes, council approval in this instance would not be needed.

The features planned in “The Cottages Downtown” include a retention pond with a water fountain, a walking trail, dedicated green space, bike racks, a pavilion, community storage buildings, a fire pit area, a central trellis sitting area, and a community garden or dog park.  It will also accommodate 64 parking spaces.  The two-story cottages are expected to price in the high $400,000s to low $500,000s; the rules of the homeowners association will not allow the homes to be rented out. 

The council’s vote followed a lengthy public hearing, which included comments from citizens who were supportive of the project in general, but had concerns about its location and how nearby roads would be affected, as well as the type of materials used to build the homes.  They also wanted to ensure that the agreements reached with the developer to respect adjacent property owners would themselves be respected by councilmembers and planning and zoning commissioners. 

Ultimately, the council agreed to step back from some of the planning and zoning commission’s recommendations laid out during a meeting last week.  The council motioned to reduce the required minimum of brick or stone for each home from 80 percent to 40 percent, remove the stated requirement for masonry-like materials, get rid of the stipulation that homes be built with 30-year asphalt shingles or equivalent, and no longer necessitate the relocation of the dumpster 30 feet from the west property line.  The council upheld the commission’s recommendation to increase the height of privacy fence along the west property line from 6 to 8 feet. 

Jeremy Bowie said this has been a passion project for him and Chelsea, and that they have sought to be good neighbors while designing this development, saying they hope to add needed housing variety to Brenham.

A timeline for when the project is expected to be complete was not provided at the meeting.

Also at today’s meeting, the council:

• Accepted a bid from 5 Star Electric, LLC in the amount of $248,323 for bad power pole change-outs and a line upgrade project on Old Chappell Hill Road.  The scope of work includes replacing 34 existing electric poles, as well as the upgrade of an existing two-phase, overhead power line by replacing conductors and 16 poles along Old Chappell Hill Road. 
• Approved a professional services agreement with Public Management, Inc. for application and administration services.  The agreement, which is not to exceed $169,500, pertains to the Texas Water Development Board’s Water Supply and Infrastructure Grant Program and the city’s project for an elevated storage tank along Highway 36 South.
• Approved a change order adding $56,700 to the cost for the project to rehabilitate the wastewater treatment plant and process aeration blowers.  The city says the change order is to reflect repairs not included in the original scope of the project.
• Accepted a proposal from Vortex Services for $128,310 for lift station rehabilitation at Henderson Park.
• Held an executive session for discussion regarding the appointment, employment, evaluation and duties of a new city manager.  No action was scheduled to be taken.

Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.