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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_BoA_01/22/2007BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT PUBLIC HEARING MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 22o 2007 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Village of Tequesta Board of Adjustment held a regularly scheduled Public Hearing at the Village Hall Council Chambers, 345 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Monday, January 22, 2007. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Chair Vi Laamanen. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Boardmembers present were: Chair Vi Laamanen, Vice Chair Paul Brienza, Ward Bertholf, and Alternate John Brazinskas. Also in attendance were Community Development Director Catherine Harding and Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Boardmembers Jon Newman and Steve Pullon were absent from the meeting. 11. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Vice Chair Brienza moved that the Agenda be approved as submitted Boardmember Brazinskas seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. III. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES Boardmember Bertholf moved that the minutesfor the meeting of October 16, 2006 be approved as submitted Vice Chair Brienza seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. IV. NEW BUSINESS 1. An application for a variance requesting the north side setback to be reduced to 15 feet to enable a retrofit installation of an elevator for handicap accessibility. A) Disclosure of Ex -Parte Communications Chair Laamanen and Vice Chair Brienza each reported they had visited the site and had spoken to no one. Boardmembers Bertholf and Brazinskas reported no ex -parte communications. Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 2 B) Testimony of Witnesses and Cross Examination, if any Community Development Director Catherine Harding explained the applicant's request. The applicant's property consisted of a comer lot with frontage on both sides, and the request was to reduce the setback on the side from 20' to 15' to allow handicap access. Applicant George Williams was swom in by Village Clerk McWilliams and presented his request to reduce the side setback in order to provide handicap access for his wife because of her declining health. Mr. Williams advised that none of his neighbors had any objection to the proposed retrofit for his home and the design would blend in with the existing architecture. Architect Ruck Walsh was swom in by Village Clerk McWilliams, and reported he expected the project to be completed in approximately three months. Chair Laamanen commented the applicant's home was lovely, and the addition on the north side, although it would extend into the setback, was next to a road instead of another house, which was one of the reasons she had no objection; and commented if the plants were brought out farther no one would even know an addition had been made. There was continuity and the addition would not appear to be stuck onto the existing house. Vice Chair Brienza asked if going inside had been considered. The applicant responded that would have been cost prohibitive, and placing the addition on other sides did not work well. The pond in the rear was for drainage and was owned by the homeowners association. Vice Chair Brienza stated no objection. Mr. Bertholf and Mr. Brazinskas both stated no objection. MOTION: Vice Chair Brienza made a motion to approve the application for a variance to the property of George M. Williams and Jeanette L. Williams at 121 Intracoastal Circle, Tequesta, Florida as submitted. Board Member Bertholf seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Vi Laamanen — for Paul Brienza - for Ward Bertholf - for John Brazinskas - for Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 3 The motion therefore was passed by unanimous 4-0 vote. The applicant was asked what a Key West style home was; the response was that it was boxy with a deck and widow's walk at the top, and flat board siding. It was noted that Mr. Walsh was the original builder of the home. Mrs. Williams expressed thanks that she would be able to continue to live in the home. Community Development Director Harding clarified that the variance was for relief from the 20 -foot setback on a comer lot on the street side, to reduce it by 5 feet to 15 feet. V. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no communications from citizens. VI. ANY OTHER MATTERS There were no other matters to come before the board. VIL RECESS Vice Chair Brienza moved that the meeting be adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Board Member Bertho�fseconded the m6tion. The vote on the motion was: Vi Laamanen —for Paul Brienza - for Ward Bertho�( - for John Brazinskas - for The motion was therefore passed by unanimous 4-0 vote. Vice Chair Brienza made a motion to reconvene the meeting at 7:17 p.m. for discussion purposes. Boardmember Bertho�fseconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Vi Laamanen —for Paul Brienza - for Ward Bertholf - for John Brazinskas - for The motion was therefore passed by unanimous 4-0 vote. Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 4 A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Boardmembers present were: Chair Vi Laamanen, Vice Chair Paul Brienza, Ward Bertholf, and Alternate John Brazinskas. Vill. DISCUSSION: Chair Laamanen reported seeing violations occurring around town, and commented she was not bringing it up for anyone's head to roll, but was looking for comments from the board members, and not necessarily tonight, but to think about ways to stop the violations. Chair Laamanen commented applicants would say none of their neighbors had expressed any disapproval, and that did not necessarily satisfy the board for anything brought before them. Secondly, when there was a big argument with people coming in and the board made a decision, the people all went home and had to live next door to each other. The fact they did not openly oppose an application did not necessarily mean they were happy with it. Chair Laamanen commented the worst offenders were across the street, originally small retirement homes in the area of Saturn and Mars streets on the south side of Tequesta Drive. There was one instance where there was a I 0 -foot solid wood wall from the back property line to the front street line, no more than nine inches from the property line, which was not legal, and people living there had to look at it. Ms. Harding commented she did not know how it got there—she had been going through the files and found applications for one thing but something else had been done and nobody picked up on it, or they did not have a permit, or they did have a permit to do exactly what they did, and her department was checking everything. Chair Laamanen stated she was not trying to find fault with Community Development—she felt many people just did these things themselves and she thought that was the problem. She did not know the solution, but thought when something was seen it should be stopped. She also thought that wall should not be left there, and if she had to look at that she would have a fit. Chair Laamanen explained the location of the wall was to go south on Seabrook Road, either the first or second street, and it had been there quite awhile. The retirees had died or moved away, younger families moved in and then wanted to have another child and there was no room, so the area had become cramped, and everyone had fences and hedges and gates to provide privacy, but she felt that fence was outrageous. Chair Laamanen stated she was not saying, this guy should have caught that, but to ask to think about ways to make the situation a little bit better. People were prone to say, this is my property and I will do what I want, which she felt was true up to a point, and not when it disturbed others. Vice Chair Brienza noted he lived in Tequesta Pines and was secretary for the association, Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 5 and Mr. Brazinskas was on the board, and they looked for violations of their own deed restrictions, which were also violations of the Village laws, and although they tried, they could not catch everything. It was asked if Code Enforcement policed the area. Ms. Harding responded she needed the address of the violation, and explained that previously Code Enforcement had been under the Police Department as a part time function. In 2006 a full time Code Compliance Officer had been hired, and he had routinely gone back over things that people had complained about, and they had been giving letters to property owners that when they moved they had to remove whatever the obstruction or structure was, and a lot of things had been corrected. They had removed pools that had been in several years without a permit. Ms. Harding commented code enforcement could only cite things that could be seen from the street up to the front door, but could not look over fences or take pictures or go around the yard, or enter property—they did not have authority to just roam through back yards or through the town, and they did not intend to be a Gestapo. Their goal was to bring about compliance, so where they saw it they addressed it. If someone called them and told them about a fence that had been there for awhile and wanted to be anonymous, then they had cause to write the person to say they would like to look at their property. In almost every case, they had gotten full compliance. If they were told where it was, they could specifically go, but they did not go onto private property. Chair Laamanen stated she had told the Code Enforcement Officer about this a while ago, about three years ago, and as far as she knew the fence was still there. Ms. Harding responded if this was brought to the Department's attention today, there was a form to fill out with the address and one could remain anonymous or not, and she could be contacted with such a request. Ms. Harding explained staff would investigate the files, see if a permit had been issued, and if they had built in accordance with the building permit, and then address the people on the subject; and they had had a lot of things changed that were incorrect. There had been a lot of cases on comers where people felt the fences were too close to the street; they had done a whole study on comers, and in some cases they had permits, in some cases fences had been moved. If people had been given permission they had relied on that permission and the Village could not ask that they take it down, so they were told they were in violation and when they sold the house it had to be removed or if it were destroyed in a hurricane they would not get a permit to rebuild. Anything established as illegal would not get permission to be replaced, and if they wanted a permit to replace part of it they were told the whole thing had to be removed. A system had been developed in the building permit file where a red flag was placed on the lot, so when anything was requested for that lot such as a permit for windows, landscaping, etc., a violation was automatically shown for that site and what it was. This tracking system had been set up during the past year. Chair Laamanen commented Ms. Harding was doing an outstanding job. Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 6 Mr. Bertholf asked about junk vehicles parked beside a house, backed in so one could not see if there was a plate. Ms. Harding responded there had been a couple of those. Violations of pickup trucks and large recreational vehicles and boats had all been addressed and there were none remaining that were parked illegally. If a new one appeared it would be addressed. Chair Laamanen recalled a situation with a person who had two boats, and when he sold that house it would be gone. Ms. Harding explained that person was cited for the violation and he failed to correct it, and he was going to appear before the Special Master. The Special Master hearings were held every month, and there had been 10 to 15 cases every month, and she felt when one drove around now things would look a lot different. One of the issues was homeowners were supposed to maintain the grass and sprinkler systems in the right-of-way, and that had been addressed and enforced throughout the Village. They had been working on one program at a time—the rights-of-way were one program, clearing the line of sight on comers to have visibility from either direction was another program, pickup trucks were another, where everyone was routinely cited. They didn't go for one person unless a specific violation was called to their attention—then it would be researched. Vice Chair Brienza asked about the issue of pickup trucks. Ms. Harding explained they had started enforcing the ordinance which in R 1 A required pickup trucks to be inside a yard or not be seen from the roads. In RI they could be stored in side and rear yards, effectively screened on three sides from the neighbors, and it could be seen from the road. A member of the board noted he would send two addresses where there were junk vehicles. Ms. Harding explained they would check the tag to see if there was current registration to the property owner; if not roadworthy then it could be enforced. If the owner had kept the registration current and the vehicle was roadworthy, there was nothing the Village could do. Parking in the streets overnight was enforced by the police department. Chair Laamanen reported she had visitors two nights, and she had called the Police Department, who said that was all right. Ms. Harding indicated if cars were parked in the swale overnight on a regular basis, Code Enforcement should be called. The criteria was they had to be parked four hours in a row two consecutive times. Parking in the swale disturbed the flow of water. Vice Chair Brienza commented on a car that parked in the swale every night; Ms. Harding asked him to contact her office, and Code Enforcement would let the police know and they would record the presence of the car to legally prove a case. Vice Chair Brienza. noted their Homeowners Association could cite for appearance, but the Village could cite for sprinklers and upkeep of the swale. Ms. Harding commented the Code Compliance Officer, Joe Petrick, was excellent; he was a former police officer and knew the law, and followed procedures and did not step on Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 7 anyone's toes, and had not lost a case yet. Ms. Harding confirmed a complaint could be sent by email, and explained it would take time for compliance, and this was being done full-time, routinely, and pictures were taken and dated for the files, so if a vehicle showed up again, it was a second violation. Ms. Harding cautioned not to think they were not working on something if it were not resolved in two weeks, because it took time. Chair Laamanen commented Ms. Harding was doing an outstanding job and she believed these efforts would make a difference. Vice Chair Brienza also expressed appreciation. Chair Laamanen commented Tequesta County Club no longer seemed to have a hold on keeping properties up, and another issue was that roofs on houses that were concrete were being replaced with shingles, which was hurting insurance rates. Chair Laamanen commented there used to be a deed restriction on the homes in Tequesta Country Club. The cost of concrete roofs was discussed. Chair Laamanen expressed her opinion there was less hurricane damage for concrete roofs, and they lasted 15-20 years. Chair Laamanen reported some new homes in Jupiter had been found to have concrete roofs that were not supported. Ms. Harding explained the department now had a full-time building inspector, Al Blanchard, who had replaced the previous outside inspection service. Mr. Bertholf asked what was happening at 398 Dover Road. Ms. Harding indicated she would check on that. A member of the board commented he had a pressure treated cedar shake roof that was guaranteed for 50 years, and had had no problems during the hurricanes. The fact that Tequesta Country Club was advertising for members was discussed. Chair Laamanen described how the Country Club area had been when her parents moved there, and commented on a nice lot on Fairview West. Another lot that had not been kept up was discussed, which Ms. Harding explained had been taken to the Special Master, and it had now been cleaned up. IX ADJOURNMENT Boardmember Bertholf moved that the meeting be adjourned at 7.53 p.m. Vice Chair Brienza seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: K Laamanen —for Paul Brienza -for Ward Bertho#- for John Brazinskas - for Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 8 The motion was therefore passed by unanimous 4-0 vote. Respectfully submitted, Lori McWilliams Village Clerk