Group forms to tackle junky yards

Granite Shoals is attacking the problem of a landscape ordinance revision by appointing a working group to explore it.

The group, named at the council's June 11 meeting, includes several residents who agreed to serve, as well as three council members. It will meet for the first time Wednesday, June 19, at 5 p.m. at city hall.

It's not clear whether the working group, as it's being called, seeks citizen comment.

Proposed revisions to the landscape ordinance stumbled when, according to city staff, they began getting calls and emails complaining about the ordinance. Some said wording was to vague; others argued that the language in the new ordinance leaned too heavily on subjective judgments.

The ordinance was on two successive council agendas before being sent to the new working group for recommendations.

At the May 28 meeting, resident Robin Ruff brought another matter to the table.

"There's some lots that have been there for 10, 20 years," he said. "They have cactus on them. They have granite on them. They have live wildlife that uses those for protection. How are we going to diversify having them cleaned up versus a regular lot, you know?" The council didn't specify when or how often the group should meet but did limit its life to three months; it will dissolve in mid-September, according to the motion establishing it.

While there's no question that as a working advisory group, the new group doesn't fall under the Texas Open Meetings Law, some confusion seems to exist over whether it must post meeting times. Some suggested that if a meet- ing time was posted it had to comply with the law, which requires governed agencies to post an agenda at least 72 hours before the meeting.

Other advisory groups, such as the Airport Advisory Committee and the Charter Education Committee, regularly post agendas on the city’s web site.

The Open Meetings Handbook, published by the Office of the Attor ney General, states: “An advisory committee that does not control or supervise public business or policy is not subject to the (Open Meetings) Act, even though its membership includes some members, but less than a quorum, of a governmental body.”