Council approves ordinance and variance

The New Prague City Council unanimously approved an ordinance and a variance at its Tuesday, Sept. 6, meeting. The ordinance was to vacate existing easements for the Eastland Development and the variance was for Picha Electric in the city’s Industrial Park.

Ordinance City Planning Director Ken Ondich presented the ordinance that was proposed by Witt Development. The local business was asking to replat a portion of Eastland Development, on the southeast side of town, as Eastland Third Addition. It would accommodate a 25-unit townhome development where each unit would be on its own lot. The re-platting of the land does not vacate the existing easements, so Witt Development made an application to vacate the easements that are no longer needed. The land was originally platted in 2007 and has not been improved since then, and city staff does not believe there are any public or private utility lines. One letter was received from CenterPoint Energy stating it had no objection to the request.

A public hearing was required for the ordinance, which was held during the September 6 meeting, and no comments were received.

Ondich noted that the ordinance was introduced at the council’s August 2 meeting. Mayor Chuck Nickolay asked if the presentation at the September 6 meeting would be considered the second reading and Ondich said it would.

Variance Ondich also presented the variance for Picha Electric, which is in the I-1 light industrial area of the community. Mike Picha, owner of the business at 503 Sixth Ave. NW, is proposing to build a 20-foot addition on the east side of the building. Picha built the existing structure, which is currently 46- by 60- feet in size, in 2001. Ondich said Picha wants the addition so he can store all his equipment under one roof. He is currently renting space to store some of the materials. Ondich noted there is already screening in the form of a fence and trees on the land’s south side, which faces a residential property.

Ondich explained the layout of the lot is unusual. At one point the rear lot line moves 30 feet to the west. Ondich noted this makes an addition on the north side of the building not very economical or practical from a construction perspective. It also may cause the loss of valuable parking on the north side of the building. The city’s Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the variance. The council granted the variance.

Extensions Under the consent agenda, the council unanimously approved requests from....

To see more on this story pick up the September 8, 2016 print edition of The New Prague Times.

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