League City Area News: Local Event

Palomino Lane is Still a Hot Topic in League City - an excerpt from the July 29 City Council Workshop Minutes

March 8, 2005

Palomino Lane Discussion

"Mr. Dill asked when was this put up?

Mr. Tidwell said this just popped up here. They are talking about building the High School back there.

Mayor Harrison said in 2008 I think is when they talked about it.

Mr. Tidwell said I really wish that this City as a whole that we would have a workshop with the school district and lets try to convince them of maybe possibly swapping some land with them or something, but moving that High School somewhere else. That is going to be a travesty of a traffic issue. I drive that in the morning during school, just at Creekside Intermediate you have got cars lined on FM 518 sometimes for a quarter of a mile trying to get into that school. Kids are getting out of the cars, running down the side of the road. If you put a High School right behind it it is going to be a nightmare. Personally if the school creates the traffic we should make them build the road. Do we have to issue them a permit to build the school a Special Use Permit?

Ms. Benoit said no, according to zoning they can build it anywhere that they want.

Mr. Peifer said and you will notice if you recall on many times especially 2 years ago when we tried to get contributions from CCISD they pulled out a rather unique section in their code that said they are not allowed to improve roadways per State law and that they would not contribute. So we have gone through this rodeo once before and I just wanted to make particular attention to Palomino. If indeed they do build this keeping in mind that part of this project is for the bridging of Clear Creek and option “A” which would eventually go up and connect to what would be the future Nasa By-Pass, on the west side of the freeway. And also in current negotiation with CCISD and the landowner north of the creek is to purchase approximately 100 acres for a support facility.

Ms. Benoit said I hope that we have told those neighbors over there that we are going to build a bridge over and a road through.

Mr. Peifer said we haven’t told them anything.

Mr. Keeney said actually we told them we weren’t going to.

Mr. Dill asked what does this $7 million get us? Does it get us a bridge?

Mr. Peifer said that bridges the creek. And keep in mind you have got option “A” and option “B”. They don’t want it behind their neighborhood. Option “B” takes it on the other side of the neighborhood. Of course you miss your connectivity with the future bypass. Either that or you are going to build a loop all the way around that neighborhood which is Clear Creek Shores Section 2.

Ms. Benoit said and Palomino is on our Master Transportation Plan?

Mr. Peifer said it went no where and wasn’t anticipated.

Mr. Keeney asked when was that land zoned Public Facilities or whatever it takes for being a school?

Mr. Peifer said I think schools don’t require special zoning. I think schools by our zoning ordinance are allowed in any neighborhood.

Mr. Tidwell said have we ever thought about sitting down with the school and saying listen, lets try to do a good fit for the whole entire City and look at some other options.

Mr. Dill said I remember that on churches but I don’t remember that on schools.

Ms. Kohlenberg asked isn’t that land that they already own?

Mr. Hembree said they just acquired it.

Mr. Tidwell said they can always sell it.

Mr. Keeney said I think we need to discourage them and by putting that road on, Ms. Benoit asked if that was on our Master Transportation Plan.

Mr. Lothrop said it is on the Comprehensive Plan.

Ms. Benoit said since the school was going to go there, when they discussed the Comprehensive Plan.

Mr. Dill said but prior to the school it never showed up on anything.

Mr. Tidwell said it is just showing up.

Ms. Benoit said it is a dead end road. I am definitely against the bridge.

Ms. Tidwell said why don’t we move Palomino back? Really as a whole body here we need to meet with the school and talk to them and just say hey listen guys, lets have a working partnership here and lets look at some other options.

Ms. Benoit said the road is one thing but the bridge I think is way beyond our duty.

Mr. Peifer said I just wanted to make you aware of that other school of thought that has been brought up, crossing the creek, putting sound wall on the west side of the neighborhood.

Ms. Benoit asked who would pay for that?

Mr. Peifer said that would be our cost. Sound walls are expensive because they have pretty substantial foundations.

Mayor Harrison said one thing people forget though is if you don’t pay it on the City side you are still going to pay it on the school tax side.

Mr. Peifer said the school thought is to have connectivity to the Nasa By-Pass and I-45 and once again take cars off of FM 518 and give them another way to get to I-45 than rather the FM 518 I-45 interchange.

Mr. Tidwell said but what I am trying to say here is we are going to spend $8.7 million to accommodate the school when we haven’t even sat down with them and asked if we could look at some other options. To me that is just good business.

Mr. Peifer said right, but I am just bringing up the transportation side of that regardless of the school. That was the thought, even if the school wasn’t there would you want to make Palomino an alternate to I-45?

Mr. Tidwell said well I think that once we see the Brittney By-Pass and you connect all of those neighborhoods to Brittney Bay I think you will see a tremendous amount of relief there.

Ms. Benoit said a majority of Council may not know but a couple of years ago we did a land swap with Friendswood in order to facilitate emergency vehicles over to that side of the creek as well as water and sewer line. And Palomino was never discussed at this time and the whole reason we did this land swap and agreed to having this developer come into League City was that we provide these services for the other side of the creek. So if we had talked about it at that point and said we were going to do Palomino we probably never would have done that because it wouldn’t have made any sense.

Mr. Peifer said it was almost to avoid the Palomino situation. One other thing, we are trying to be proactive also in these different schools of thought because at the present time you do realize that almost 100% of your undeveloped area anymore is going to be west side. You have 30,000 cars on FM 518 right now and you were looking to alleviate some of that traffic with the Brittany Bay and FM 96 item. But even if we go and there is no more development tomorrow, if the economy stay steady we have an inventory of about 10,000 lots that potentially could be built that are not yet built.

Mr. Keeney said but we could put that off.

Mr. Peifer said 10,000 lots are already platted.

Mr. Tidwell said but there is rumor that Friendswood is going to annex the west side of League City.

Ms. Benoit said the whole point is to put that amount of money, I understand it hooks it into the Nasa Road One By-Pass but it doesn’t even connect through south. If we are talking about us contributing to other roads I would pick one of these other ones that goes clear through the City first.

Mr. Peifer said I am just trying to give you all of the different schools of thought that are out there and not applicating one or the other.

Ms. Kohlenberg said which year do you want to move it back?

Mr. Tidwell said take it off and let’s meet with the school.

Mr. Keeney said I would like to take it off, it could always be put on in the next year.

Mr. Nelson said after we have talked with the school district. They are not going to start building out there until 2007 or 2008 for that High School so why are we rushing to build that road out there.

Mr. Dill said take it off.

Ms. Kohlenberg said we will take the whole thing off."

Source: City Council Minutes