League City Area News: City Council

Vote on Special Use Permit (SUP) for High School #4 on Palomino Road (Lane) Still in 60 Day Countdown Mode

SUP Postponed by City Council for 60 days at July 12, 2005 Meeting

July 27, 2005

At the League City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 27, 2005, a motion was made to reconsider the 60-day postponement of a Special Use Permit for Clear Creek ISD (CCISD) High School #4 on Palomino Road (Lane). The Special Use Permit would allow the construction of the high school in an area zoned for single family residences.

Councilmen Thomas Cones and Jim Nelson voted in favor of reconsidering the July 12 vote to delay. Mike Barber, Kathy Benoit, Jon Keeney, Tad Nelson and Rusty Tidwell voted against reconsideration.

The City Council discussed the Special Use Permit for CCISD High School #4 at length before taking the "vote to reconsider" vote.

Jerry Shults, Mayor of League City, told the large crowd of League City residents that the earlier vote to postpone neither approved nor denied the Special Use Permit.

Councilman Jim Nelson said that he voted to postpone the Special Use Permit vote so that he could bring it back.

Councilman Nelson wanted to have an "up or down" vote on issuance of the permit at tonight's meeting and said that a delay in starting construction could delay the opening of High School #4 by a year - increasing overcrowding at Clear Creek High School and Clear Brook High School.

Councilman Nelson said, "The CCISD board of directors can not wait 60 days. They need to get going now. We need to do an "up or down" vote tonight. If we don't give them the opportunity to get the schools started by tomorrow we are probably going to have to go to court and I don't want to do that."

Councilman Keeney indicated that he thought that a 60-day postponement of a vote on the Special Use Permit for a traffic study was reasonable.

Councilman Barber asked if the traffic study would include both the impact on traffic and a mitigation plan if a school was built on the site.

Mike Clawson, Interim City Administrator (Manager), replied, that the traffic study would analyze how school traffic would affect the existing roadway system.

At a later point in the meeting, Manager Clawson indicated that traffic counts should be done about a week or so after school starts to give traffic time to return to the normal flow pattern when school is in session and yet complete the study within the 60-day time frame.

Mayor Shults stated that he would continue to meet with Dr. Mossman, CCISD Superintendent of Schools.

Mayor Shults added that he would soon begin meeting with CCISD Trustee Bob Davee to start discussions on High School #5.

A procedural problem developed with respect to an immediate "up or down" vote on the Special Use Permit. Mayor Shults and the city attorney explained that the city council was required to first vote on whether or not to reconsider the 60-day postponement of a vote on the Special Use Permit. If the City Council voted in favor of reconsidering the postponement, an "up or down" vote on the issuance of the permit could be taken.

As noted near the begining of this article, the motion to reconsider postponing a vote on the Special Use Permit failed 5 to 2.

Mayor Shults will issue a press release for the city concerning this matter in several days.