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R442CITY OF KENNEDALE RESOLUTION NO. 442 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF KENNEDALE ADOPTING THE SOUTHWESTERN KENNEDALE COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PLAN WHEREAS, the City of Kennedale, Texas, (the "City ") is a home rule city acting under its charter adopted by the electorate pursuant to Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution and Chapter 9 of the Local Government Code; and WHEREAS, the City expects that the Southwestern Kennedale Community Revitalization Plan will revitalize the neighborhood known as the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Number One and address in a substantive and meaningful way the following material factors: 1. Adverse environmental conditions, natural or manmade, that are material in nature and are inconsistent with the general quality of life in typical average income neighborhoods; 2. Presence of inadequate transportation or infrastructure; 3. Presence of blight, such as excessive vacancy, obsolete land use, significant decline in property value, or other similar conditions that impede growth; 4. The lack of local businesses providing employment opportunities; and 5. Efforts to promote diversity in housing. WHEREAS, the City Council posted notices and conducted a public hearing regarding the Southwestern Kennedale Community Revitalization Plan, attached hereto as Exhibit "A ", and; WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it is in the interests of the public health, safety, and welfare to approve and adopt the Southwestern Kennedale Community Revitalization Plan. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENNEDALE, TEXAS, THAT: Section 1. The recitals, findings, and determinations contained in the preamble to this Resolution are incorporated into the body of this Resolution as if fully set forth herein and are hereby found and declared to be true and correct legislative findings and are adopted as part of this Resolution for all purposes. Section 2. The City Council hereby approves the Southwestern Kennedale Community Revitalization Plan, attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein for all purposes. Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its passage. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Kennedale, Texas on the 19 day of January, 2015. ATTEST: Leslie Galloway, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: 41 Brian Johnson, Mayor Wayne Olson, City Attorney Kennedale Community Revitalization Plan Located in the southern /southwestern region of Kennedale and contiguous with Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Number One Adopted by the City of Kennedale 1/19/2015 Kennedale community revitalization plan Overview Kennedale is a city of approximately 7,500 people located immediately southeast of Fort Worth in the Dallas -Fort Worth Metroplex. One of the largest selling points for the City of Kennedale is its location between Fort Worth's vibrant downtown and the booming development of Arlington. The location gives residents and businesses the ability to be somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of the larger cities, while remaining within a "stone's throw" of many major regional attractions. Though it was not incorporated until 1947, Kennedale was founded in the 1880s. Kennedale was known in the late 19th and early 20th century for its agriculture, brickyards, and mineral wells. These elements of the local economy, along with the city's location along the Fort Worth and New Orleans Railway (today the Union Pacific Railroad) and the Mansfield Cardinal Road, led to Kennedale's early prosperity. Most of the city's downtown was destroyed by a fire in 1908 and was not rebuilt, which resulted in few historic structures remaining in Kennedale. As development in Arlington grew out toward Kennedale, business migrated toward this neighboring city, and Kennedale no longer has a strong retail or service economy. Although the city has made good strides in attracting new commercial businesses, it still has not reached its goal to provide a good range of retail and commercial services to residents, and the continued growth in the non - industrial sector of the local economy depends heavily on increasing the city's population in the southern /southwestern portion of the city. In the past, one of Kennedale's greatest challenges has been the presence of sexually oriented businesses within the city. These businesses were primarily located near the intersection of Kennedale Parkway and IH -20 — the city's front door. Over the last year, these businesses have closed or relocated outside of Kennedale. In light of the relocation of these businesses, the City of Kennedale has positioned itself for rebranding and redevelopment. However, the city still faces significant obstacle to development in the southern portion of the city, largely due to the presence of race tracks. Kennedale has also been historically known for its three race tracks. All of these facilities are located in the south - southwest part of the city along Kennedale New Hope Road between downtown 1 and Hudson Village Creek Road. These race tracks have long been a barrier for development within the City of Kennedale. Developers shy away from this area due to the stigma associated with the race tracks. In addition, they are a nuisance to many of the current residents, who have long complained about the elevated noise levels. In July 2012, the City of Kennedale City Council adopted a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone ( "TIRZ ") as a way of targeting assistance to the designated area to encourage new development and redevelopment. The establishment of the New Hope Road TIRZ is expected to aide in transitioning the race track properties and other obsolete uses to more suitable uses, and the Community Revitalization Plan ( "Plan ") is expected to encourage redevelopment in the TIRZ and Plan area. Community Revitalization The Southwestern Kennedale Community Revitalization Plan provides a framework for planning for the portion of Kennedale within the recently- adopted TIRZ located in the southwestern part of the city. The Plan also provides a framework for designation as a Community Revitalization Plan under the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Qualified Allocation Plan. Additional planning specific to this area will use this Plan as a guide and foundation for more detailed work. As part of encouraging a transition from incompatible uses to residential and mixed - use /small -scale and appropriate commercial uses, one purpose of the TIRZ and of the Community Revitalization Plan is to remove barriers to development. In the case of the TIRZ, lack of public infrastructure has been a barrier to redevelopment, which will be address through use of TIRZ revenues to build the needed infrastructure. This Plan addresses another barrier, which is hesitation on the part of developers to provide much - needed housing in this area. The City of Kennedale has already worked with property owners in the area to remove some land uses that are incompatible with residential use and to rezone some small properties to residential use. The City intends to continue working to transition the land uses in the TIRZ and Plan area by paving the way for additional housing opportunities for Kennedale residents, and for the City's growing senior population in particular. 2 Plan Goals This Plan provides for action items to address specific goals in support of the TIRZ project plan and in support of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Qualified Allocation Plan's Revitalization Factors. The factors to be addressed are as follows. 1. Environmental Conditions: adverse environmental conditions, natural or manmade, that are material in nature and are inconsistent with the general quality of life in typical average income neighborhoods; 2. Transportation: presence of inadequate transportation or infrastructure; 3. Presence of blight: this may include excessive vacancy, obsolete land use, significant decline in property value, or other similar conditions that impede growth; 4. Employment: the lack of local businesses providing employment opportunities; and 5. Diversity: efforts to promote diversity, including multigenerational diversity, economic diversity, etc., where it has been identified in the planning process as lacking. With these factors in mind, the primary goals of this Plan are as follows. 1. Improve housing quality and variety, with a focus on providing affordable and market -rate housing for the community's senior population. 2. Improve adverse environmental conditions and blight by eliminating potentially damaging land uses and obsolete land uses, and by providing access to public waste water facilities through the extension of public sewer lines. 3. Improve access to and quality of the roadway network within the Plan area. 4. Increase accessibility to adequate social and recreational facilities, including the public library and senior center. 5. Increase job opportunities for existing residents. 6. Improve the quality of public infrastructure. 3 Plan Objectives The following objectives may be used to address Plan goals and the revitalization factors. (1) EXTEND WASTE WATER LINES TO THE SECTIONS OF THE PLAN AREA NOT ALREADY SERVED. The lack of adequate waste water infrastructure is an impediment to development and, over time, could become an environmental hazard and /or health hazard. Providing public sewer facilities will encourage development and avoid potential environmental problems stemming from use of septic /aerobic systems. The City will use funds generated through the TIRZ to install waste water facilities in the Plan area. (2) IMPROVE THE MAIN ROADWAY IN THE PLAN AREA (NEW HOPE RD). New Hope Road provides the main access - -and in some cases, the only access - -to many of the properties within the Plan area. The road was built as a rural county road some years ago and has one lane in each direction, with no shoulder, sidewalk, turn lanes, or curb and gutter. The lack of better access is a major impediment to development of this area. The City is therefore proposing to use money generated by the TIRZ to improve the roadway so that it has sidewalks, curb and gutter storm water conveyance, and a landscaped median. The improved road is proposed to be one lane in each direction, but the width of the travel lanes and design of the median will allow for vehicle passing in an emergency situation. (3) ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING FOR SENIORS. Kennedale suffers from a lack of housing diversity. The current housing stock is somewhat homogenous in size and price. Moreover, there are no housing options designed specifically for the needs of senior residents who do not need full -time nursing care. The City of Kennedale is aware of the need to provide the means for residents to remain in Kennedale as they age, and this may include coordinating with developers to encourage the development of senior housing, including affordable senior housing. 4 (4) ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF A SMALL -SCALE MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDING JOBS AND SERVICES WITHIN THE PLAN AREA THROUGH ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW ZONING REGULATIONS TO ALLOW FOR CREATION OF AN URBAN VILLAGE. The City of Kennedale intends to develop new zoning regulations over the next two fiscal years, including zoning codes to require or permit a mixed -used development within the Plan and TIRZ area. Kennedale's Future Land Use Plan has already designated an area within the Plan area for this kind of land use, and the City's next step is to create zoning regulations that permit a mix of uses on a small scale. A mixed -use development within the Plan area will provide jobs and can also provided needed services for residents living within the Plan area. (5) WORK WITH OWNERS OF RACE TRACKS AND OTHER POTENTIALLY ENVIRONMENTALLY - HARMFUL BUSINESSES AND/OR OBSOLETE LAND USES TO TRANSITION THEIR PROPERTIES TO OTHER USES. The City has already begun negotiations with several land owners who have environmentally - harmful or obsolete land uses within the Plan and TIRZ area. One race track owner has signed a development agreement with the City to transition to residential uses, and the City is in discussions with several other land owners in the area. As part of the Community Revitalization Plan, the City may act as facilitator, connecting current land owners with potential buyers or developers in order to encourage redevelopment and revitalization. (6) ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAILS ALONG NEW DEVELOPMENT TO PROVIDE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS. As part of the zoning code updates described above under Objective 4, the City is considering adopting additional regulations to require trails as part of development near creeks within the Plan and TIRZ area. In addition, the City intends to develop trail standards and a trails master plan within the next several years. Having these documents in place will make it easier for developers to include trails as part of their projects, and it will ensure consistency and accessibility of the trail system throughout the Plan area. This will eventually connect residents in the Plan area to parks 5 and to civic buildings, such as the library and senior center, as well as to retail and services available in the TownCenter (downtown). Role of Housing The role of housing is crucial to the success of the TIRZ district and to the Community Revitalization Plan. Additional residents will provide much needed customers for local businesses, and higher property taxes generated through housing development will add to TIRZ revenues. But while any housing development would help with these two factors (customers and property taxes), development of only single family subdivisions would not meet the City's housing goals. Kennedale needs a variety of housing options, but by far the majority of the City's housing is large lot single family housing, and very little of this housing could be considered affordable, nor is it suitable for the community's older residents who do not need nursing care or assistance but can no longer maintain a single family home or a large yard. The establishment of senior housing facilities would greatly assist the City in meeting its goal of providing a range of housing options for residents of varying income levels. To this end, the City is prepared to consider proposals from developers of senior housing, affordable and market -rate, and to leverage its resources to assist quality developers in building in Kennedale. Public Input & Plan Implementation The City of Kennedale has gathered input on development and concerns in the Plan area through several processes. The strategic plan, Imagine Kennedale 2015, was developed through a year -long community input process and was adopted in 2009. This plan identified the project area as an area of concern in terms of obsolete land uses and desire for redevelopment. The goals of the comprehensive plan, adopted in 2012, were created based on input from public meetings and from an advisory group made up community members. This plan calls for development of housing in the Plan area and for establishment of a mixed -use, "Urban Village" district. The Community Revitalization Plan is an extension of these public input efforts. The Plan was posted on the City's website for public review and input, and a public hearing on the Plan was held by the City Council prior to the Plan's adoption. The Plan will be implemented through two means. First, C. the zoning code updates will take place over the next two fiscal years after the City has selected a consultant to assist with developing new regulations. Second, the infrastructure improvements will be provided on the same timeline as the TIRZ project (see TIRZ project plan) as funding is generated through the TIRZ. Budget The Plan budget shall be the same as the budget for the City of Kennedale Reinvestment Zone Noncontiguous Geographic Area Number One, as described in the Project Plan for that zone. Plan Area The Community Revitalization Plan boundaries are identical to the TIRZ boundaries (see map below). 7