Stafford explains conditional use
Conditional use permits have been a hot topic in Navasota recently. Navasota City Manager Brad Stafford explains what conditional use permits are and what the responsibility of the city is.
Stafford answers community-submitted questions asked by Navasota Examiner Publisher Ana Cosino and Willy 98.7 FM Radio Personality Kenny Graves.
Highlights from Grilling Stafford – episode 68
I saw two people riding horses on a neighborhood street. There was a car with emergency flashers driving behind to warn of slow traffic. It was a very pleasant and calming sight, but is it legal to do that if you’re not in a parade? “They can ride their horse, we are in Texas. You should be allowed to ride your horse anywhere except in someone’s front yard. Yes, you can ride your horse on the streets. People need to pay attention to everything. We have people on bicycles, children on skateboards etc. Share the streets. We don’t have sidewalks everywhere, but we are trying to solve that issue. When we were building City Hall and even redoing Railroad Street, I picked up horseshoes and wagon parts that were under the dirt of those paved streets. I know the next question someone is going to ask is what I found, where I found it and where I kept it. It’s all in my office and belongs to the city.”
Does Navasota have any “pooper-scooper” laws that require a person to pick up their pet’s feces if it’s on property they don’t own? I couldn’t find this on the city website. If yes, has the rule ever been enforced and what is the fine? “I don’t think there is a specific ordinance that talks about that, but maybe there should be because we have a lot more people walking dogs. I see people on my street and around city hall, and most of them carry a bag with them. Now I found out some don’t because I found evidence in my front lawn. Council approved a dog park which gives you a place to go but you still need to clean up after your pet. I’ll research the question further.”
What is a conditional use permit? “A conditional use permit is a use in a certain zone that is allowed if certain criteria are met and is approved by planning and zoning and city council. It varies in different zones of the city. For instance, churches are conditional use. They have to go through the process. If it affects traffic or the quietness of a neighborhood, those are considered. I’d like to clarify something. Last week there were a lot of emotions running high over a conditional use and a lot of misinformation that was out there. When someone comes to the city staff and makes a request for a zoning change – a conditional use permit, we have a duty and responsibility to those individuals to follow through with their request. That doesn’t mean city staff or council members pursued that. It doesn’t mean they are pushing for that, it means we have a responsibility. I’m going to clear that up because I’ve heard all the talk and seen the emails and I know people get very passionate. We get passionate too, but we have a responsibility. Our responsibility is also do what the majority want to do. We answer to the desires of city council. Please understand when those things come up that doesn’t mean the city recruited it or pushed for it. It means we did our job and proper work talking to visitors, talking to new people and talking to people who want to have these permits issued. We explain to them what they face either way. They make that choice and we follow through. I wanted that out there and I’m glad whoever asked the question because it gives us a chance to talk.”
To view the full video of Grilling Stafford – Episode 68, or to watch archived episodes, visit The Examiner website, www.navasotaexaminer.com. If you would like to submit a question for Grilling Stafford, email news@ navasotaexaminer.com. New episodes of Grilling Stafford are released every Thursday.