Avenue A special use permit due another look by council
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

City council members will take another look - the third, for most of them - at a request for a special use permit at property off West Avenue A in Port Aransas when the council meets tonight, Thursday, Aug. 16.

Developer Tom Culp wants to put 21 multi-family homes on the property formerly used by Island One Marine, and he wants them to be available for short-term rental.

The property is zoned for multifamily use, and city officials say if the density were less - for instance, if Culp reduced the number of units to 18 - he wouldn't need a special use permit for the short-term rental.

The other part of the issue is that more than 20 percent of nearby property owners objected to the project. That meant a so-called "super majority," or 75 percent, of the city council had to vote for it. On a seven-member council, that means at least six "aye" votes.

The question first came up at the May council meeting and passed on first reading. But then the staff discovered the 20 percent objection rate; Councilman Rick Pratt was not at either the June or July meeting, but the question only gained four votes at those meetings anyway.

In July, Mayor Claude Brown told City Manager Michael Kovacs to send a second letter to surrounding property owners to see if they still object to the project. Responses to that letter could be a key to the vote at tonight's meeting.

Also due for discussion tonight are the third and final reading adopting the thoroughfare plan part of the city's comprehensive plan; a resolution declaring the Mercer House a historical structure; and a look at the city's utility costs for the Mercer House after it's moved to its future site at Brundrett and Alister streets.

The council will hear from the Art Center for the Islands about a proposal to add to the existing Computer Center building as a new home for the Art Center.

Plat applications for property in the 2000 block of South 11th Street and the 200 block of South 11th Street will be heard, as will a beachfront construction and dune permit application for property at 516 Ocean View Dr.

Finally, the council is scheduled to set a date for a workshop session to discuss plans for a 67-acre tract the city owns at the end of Port Street. The property has been proposed as the site for an additional city marina as well as a second landing for Texas Department of Transportation ferries. The city has a marina permit for the property from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but that permit will run out if no action is taken on the property.

The meeting is set for 5 p.m. at the council chamber, 710 W. Avenue A.