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2018-189 Use of Utility Billing Information for Development Public Hearing NotificationsDate: December 21, 2018 Report No. 2018-189 INFORMAL STAFF REPORT TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL SUBJECT: Utilization of utility billing information for development related public hearing notifications. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Staff could begin utilizing utility billing information for the 500-foot courtesy notifications for development related public hearings. The major differentiation between current practice and the utilization of utility account information is the notification to individual tenants in multifamily residents who are currently not reached in the notification process. Changes to the notification procedures could result in an increased cost to applicants for the additional notifications. Based on an analysis of four recent developments, the increased cost would be dependent on the number of multifamily dwelling units within the 500-foot radius could be up to or in excess of $500. BACKGROUND: City Council requested information on November 13, 2018 regarding the utilization of utility billing information in the notification to residents of upcoming development related public hearings. Notifications are currently sent for upcoming hearings on zoning changes, specific use permits, planned developments, applications for historic landmark designation, and the creation or alteration of historic districts. The City sends notifications to property owners within 200 feet of the subject property as a requirement of the of Local Government Code Chapter 211.007 and include the notice in the Denton Record Chronicle. Also, based on direction received from City Council on April 25, 2017, staff began sending postcards notifications to addresses within 500 feet. Generally, single family residents receiving the 500-foot notice are also the individual listed in the utility billing system so there would not be a change in practice for these notifications. Since postcards are only mailed to addresses, individual units in multifamily residences are not currently receiving notifications. Utilizing the utility billing information for notifications would allow notices to be sent to individual units within a multifamily complex. Staff has analyzed four recent zoning cases to determine the effect that noticing based on utility billing information would have with data included in Table 1 below: Case Number Notifications Utility Billing Notifications Cost Increase Z18-0024 31 31 - Z18-0017 99 99 - Z18-0006 71 201 $85 Z17-0003 26 760 $477 Table 1. Recent zoning cases notification based on address versus utility billing In both instances of cases with notifications sent to mostly single-family areas, there would be no increases in the number of notifications sent with a change in procedure to utilize utility billing information. Cases Z18-0006 and Z17-0003 both are in proximity to multifamily residences and the increased notifications counts represent the mailings to individual units. All notification fees Date: December 21, 2018 Report No. 2018-189 including public hearing notices, mailing courtesy postcard notices, and publication of legal notices in the newspaper are paid by the applicant, so any increases in the costs would be passed through to the applicant to be paid prior to the public hearing. If direction were given to implement the utility billing notification practice, Development Services and Customer Service staff would collaborate to develop a process to efficiently gather billing information for affected residents on cases coming before Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. It should be noted that all customers with utility billing accounts within the 500-foot may not receive a notice. State law provides utility customers of government-owned utilities have the right to keep their personal information confidential should they complete and return the required form to the utility. DISCLAIMER FROM LEGAL REGARDING NOTICE: State law only requires that we send notice to the “owners” of property within 200 feet a notice of a proposed change in zoning classification. TLGC, Sec. 211.007(c). Only the “owners” of property are eligible to be counted in connection with a protest petition to determine whether the requisite 20% is met to require a supermajority vote. TLGC, Sec. 211.006(d). DDC, Sec. 35.3.4 is consistent with state law. While the City can certainly provide greater notice, in this case to non-property owners (i.e., renters) and to properties beyond 200 feet, these individuals’ protests are not counted towards the 20% protest petition calculation per state law or the DDC. This topic will be included in a future Work Session strategy session with City Council if further policy discussion or research is requested. ATTACHMENT: 1. Memo regarding public hearing notification practices STAFF CONTACT: Scott McDonald Director of Development Services 940-349-8539 Scott.McDonald@cityofdenton.com Department of Development Services  Planning Division 215 W. Hickory St., Denton, TX 76201  (940) 349-8541 OUR CORE VALUES Integrity  Fiscal Responsibility  Transparency  Outstanding Customer Service MEMORANDUM DATE: November 29, 2017 TO: Planning and Zoning Commission FROM: Richard Cannone, Interim Planning Director SUBJECT: Public Hearing Notification Practices This memo is a follow up on information recently provided to the Planning and Zoning Commission regarding implemented public hearing notification practices. Following receiving input from the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Planning Division staff presented recommendations to the City Council on April 25, 2017. As a result the City Council directed staff to implement the following items: 1. Mail out public hearing notices (8½” x 11” full color) to property owners within a 200-foot radius of the subject property via regular mail and certified mail. 2. Mail out courtesy postcards notices (4” x 6” full color) to residents within 500-foot radius of the subject property via regular mail. 3. Post a public hearing notice on the city’s webpage “Notices.” 4. Enlarge the public hearing sign dimension to 4’ x 3.5’ and require the applicant to post the sign on the subject property. The sign shall include contact information and a shortened website URL for more information. 5. Implement an electronic notification system where all city notifications are centralized in a prominent location on the city’s website, and users can subscribe to email notifications when a notice is posted. 6. Revise the notification fee so that all notifications (public hearing notice, courtesy notice, and newspaper publication) will be paid by the applicant based on the actual costs. 7. Standardize notification procedures for public hearings, neighborhood or stakeholder meetings, construction notices, and other informational notices. Practices currently vary by department, and staff is working to standardize notification methods based on activity, rather than the initiating department. Starting June this year, the Planning Division implemented items 1 through 5. The revision to the notification fee described in item 6 was presented to City Council on September 19, 2017. At that meeting the City Council approved an ordinance amending the schedule of fees by amending the public hearing notification fee. Effective October 1, 2017, all projects submitted 2 that require a public hearing notification (public hearing notice, courtesy notice, and newspaper publication) applicant are required to pay notification fees based on the actual costs. In addition, effective October 1, 2017, the applicants are now required to purchase and post signs on the subject property. Applicants were notified in advance of the new notification requirements through a marketing program. Announcements of these changes were and continue to be made verbally to applicants during their Pre-Development Meeting, with their first review comments, posted throughout the Development Services building, and posted online. It is also important to note that all newspaper notices now include the applicant’s contact information and a map of the subject site. Item 7 is ongoing, all departments are working to standardize their notification methods. Please contact Ron Menguita at (940) 349-8328 if you have any questions or require additional information.