Granite Shoals has a property maintenance ordinance. Sort of.
The council passed the ordinance Tuesday, Dec. 10 after months of gestation. The process involved wrangling over environmental issues and appointment of a special committee charged with coming up with a final wording.
Before that, the council had heard from residents complaining about the ordinance’s wording and saying some sections were too vague while others depended too much on the judgment of the inspector.
The committee met several times and handed its work to the council, who approved it but re- served the right to take another look at it in a few months.
Place 2 councilor Mike Pfister noted that even after the committee finished its work, he’d met with a woman who was concerned about insects and the pollination of native plants.
“She talked a lot about flowers … when they should seed prematurely so to be as productive as possible,” Pfister said.
He was also concerned about residents who want to devote part of their property to sanctuaries for wildlife.
“Perhaps a special case permit could be retained so that you can have a section on your yard to meet sanctuary (requirements),” he suggested.
No suggestion was made that the council would look at the ordinance again at a specific
time but council members discussed the possibility of checking how well it was working in about three months.
Boat Docks
The council also amended the city’s boating a dock ordinance that covers “the construction, alteration, repair or demolition of boat docks, piers, retaining walls, ramps, or any structure on the shoreline or extending into the waterways of Lake L.B.J.”
The ordinance controls what types of buildings constitute a boat dock and what they can include as well as their location.
Fire Vehicle
And Fire Chief Tim Campbell will leave Monday for Iowa, where he’ll do the final inspection of the city’s new fire tender.
A fire tender “provides water backup, similar to a tanker,” Campbell told The Highlander. He said the new truck will hold 3,000 gallons of water and be especially useful in areas of the emergency services district where fire hydrants are not plentiful.
The truck will cost $375,000, Campbell said; of that, the Texas Forest Service has provided grant of $249,000 and the Granite Shoals Fire Auxiliary has kicked in $100,000.
Campbell said if his inspection next week goes well, the truck should be in operation by mid-January.
