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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 6C_3/8/1990 . p 1r a • ''' r 0 .--e VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA o•• Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive • , g Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 • (407) 575-6200 ''��•� FAX: (407)575-6203 N6, . TEQUESTA DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES ` FEBRUARY 2 3 , 1 9 9 0 I . The Tequesta Downtown Task Force held a regularly scheduled meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Friday, February 23 , 1990 . The meeting was called to order at 9:40 , A.M. by Carlton Stoddard, Chairman. Other Task Force members present were: Dr. Stanley Jacobs and Jim Pilz. Edwin Nelson has resigned from the Downtown Development Task Force, due to a potential conflict of interest. Village Officials in attendance were Village Manager, Thomas G. Bradford. Also in attendance was John Steber, Director of Development for Morrisons Custom Management of retirement centers, Mobile, Alabama. Gary Van Brock was in attendance as well. II . APPROVAL OF AGENDA Under "Any Other Matters" , Village Manager Bradford asked that the following subject matter be added: A) St. Jude Catholic Church building activity; and B) Information relative to vacant Kostich land on U.S. Highway One, next to the Cologne Motel. (This land was noted by Mr. Steber as a potential site for Morrisons Cafeteria. ) Mr. Pilz asked that C) Code Enforcement in reference to empty buildings also be added under Item VII , "Any Other Matters" . Dr. Jacobs moved that the Agenda be approved as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pilz . The vote was: Chairman Stoddard- for Jim Pilz - for Dr. Jacobs - for The motion passed and therefore was adopted. The Agenda was approved as amended. Downtown Development Task Force Meeting Minutes February 23 , 1990 Page 2 III . APPROVAL OF MINUTES A) Task Force Meeting of December 15, 1990: Dr. Jacobs moved that the Agenda be approved as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pilz. The vote was: Chairman Stoddard- for Jim Pilz - for Dr. Jacobs - for The motion passed and therefore was adopted. The above- referenced Minutes were approved as submitted. IV. STATUS REPORT RELATIVE TO RESPONSES AND COMMENTS RECEIVED BY VIRTUE OF THE MASTER PLAN MARKETING PACKAGE. Chairman Stoddard explained to the Press staff writers in attendance the importance of honoring confidences regarding potential developers of that Master Plan. He stated the. use of general terms in stating the progress was acceptable, but there was no authorization to release names at this point. Village Manager Bradford reviewed, in general terms, the activity regarding response to the marketing package: There have been a number of responses to the market package that was sent out. The responses can be put into two categories: 1 ) Passive Response - Those who are definitely interested, but will have to get back with the Village since they were currently working on other projects , etc. They will make contact in the near future; and 2 ) Aggressive" Response - Those working actively to do either a portion, or all , of the Master Plan, with or without modifications. There have been a number of comments on the Master Plan from these interested people. One of the most interested parties is very interested in doing the Master Plan as is, and, in fact, has no desire to "reinvent the wheel" since they feel the Planners hired to do the Master Plan are "top notch. " • Some of the comments made by potential developers are as follows: 1 ) .A major concern regarding the price of the land. It is zoned commercial. The Village Council and administration recognize this is a problem and have indicated intentions of changing the zoning as soon as it is Downtown Development Task Force Meeting Minutes February 23 , 1990 Page 3 feasible. The current commercial zoning in the opinion of one of. the interested developers is a'. primary reason for what they consider to be extremely high prices for the land. One of their suggestions was to proceed with the re-zoning as soon as possible to get some reality into the land price factor of the whole scenario. Another comment was that, though the project is highly possible, one of the major points that would serve as a catalyst would be for the Village to take a more active role in initiating the development of the entire Master Plan, or portions thereof. There are many different ways to look at city participation: On one end of the spectrum would be the possibility of creating a Community Redevelopment Agency that would have the power to finance bonding and the power of eminent domain; for example, to condemn Lighthouse Plaza for a civic center, and sell off the portions of that shopping center as needed. The Redevelopment Agency would have the power to provide for infrastructure, and designate the ultimate rights-of-way for all of the roads and streets . At the other end of the spectrum would be a .positive action by the Village to obtain a piece of land, whether it be for a public building on the south end near Tequesta Drive, or facilitate or purchase or lease the cultural center. Do something to let the development community know that the city is not just playing some paper games with the Master Plan, but they are truly, whole-heartedly committed to taking the initiative and are "putting their money where their mouth is. " Another comment received from interested developers was that, in their opinion, one of the best alternatives to get something going in terms of development, would be to simply side-step Lighthouse Plaza altogether. The down side of that is, would the Village really want a beautiful cultural center, or a senior housing facility adjacent to a run down shopping center? The problem this develpor sees with Lighthouse Plaza is that it will take a long time for that issue to be resolved, since K-Mart and Winn-Dixie still have active leases there. The Task Force asked if Mr. Bradford could find out when those leases expire. He answered he would try. Chairman Stoddard stated the asking price for Lighthouse Plaza is $6 . 5 million, and their indebtedness is a commensurate amount. totaling in effect $13 ,000,000 asking price. That' s just too far away from the current actual taxable value of $8 million. Downtown Development Task Force Meeting Minutes February 23 , 1990 Page 4 It was discussed as to whether it would be a good idea to invite land owner, Ernest Dorner to meet with the Task Force, because of his interest in the Tequesta area. He would be invited to talk about the possibilities of his participation in any part of the Master Plan venture. Mr. Van Brock' s response was: "I'm here to represent Mr. Dorner, but you do what you want - you're welcome to invite him. " Chairman Stoddard stated he had asked for advice from Mark Schimmenti . His suggestion was that a Village Architect is needed to carry out this project. Schimmenti recommended taking the "bull by both horns" : 1 ) Solve the biggest problem which is to avoid years of delay concerning Lighthouse Plaza by taking measures that are necessary, even considering condemnation; 2 ) If there is an impasse because of acquisition of the land at a reasonable rate, avert the Plan for a civic center west and north of Lighthouse Plaza, making Canal Street a major cross artery. Mr. Bradford suggested another variable to address: Go to Lighthouse Gallery, discuss with them their situation and their plans and negotiate with them - get that down firm. If they do not have the money to do what they desire to do, perhaps the Village could strike a deal with them. Jim Pilz suggested the next couple of meetings of the Task Force should address the Committee' s recommendation to Council regarding what to do when the Task Force dissolves and what the next phase should be. Chairman Stoddard stated he liked Mr. Bradford's suggestion of a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) as well as retaining a Village Architect on a part-time retainer basis. March Schimmenti would be interested in this assignment. Mr. Steber pointed out that the Master Plan probably will not begin to come to fruition until the Village obtains control of the lands in question, and then appointing one person to be the 'ring leader' . Mr. . Bradford responded that that is why a CRA would be good. Chairman Stoddard stated he had talked with Mr. Ballard, Director of Redevelopment in Ft. Pierce, and suggested that Mr. Bradford contact Mr. Ballard to extend an invitation to him to attend the next Task Force meeting. (Mr. Ballard has accepted this invitation. ) V. CONSIDERATION OF COMMENCING WITH THE PREPARATION OF MAILING LIST FOR THE SCHEDULED SECOND-PHASE MAILING OF THE MASTER PLAN MARKETING PACKAGE. Mr. Bradford stated that 50-55 marketing packages have already been sent, with enough money left to send out 25-30 more, if the Task Force desires to have another mailing. Downtown Development Task Force Meeting Minutes February 23, 1990 Page 5 Mr. Pilz stated Palm Beach Life Magazine, for a small charge, or perhaps even for free, has offered to do a glossy page reprints of Tequesta's ad, with a headline "Watch For This Announcement in Palm Beach Life" and the issue dates . The thought is to use the reprints in the next packet mailing, along with an update of what is taking place, to the same list as before, as well as being mailed to any others who might be interested after seeing the ad. Chairman Stoddard stated that Mark Schimmenti is checking on the Urban Land magazine article on the Tequesta Master Plan project to see what its status is . Mr. Stoddard pointed out that Mr. Steber's presence at the meeting today was a direct result of receiving Tequesta's Master Plan marketing packet. He came from Morrison's Mobile, Alabama headquarters to confer with developers interested in a retirement center as part of the Master Plan. VI . OVERVIEW OF MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS BEING REVIEWED IN RESPONSE TO DECLARATION OF ZONING IN PROGRESS . Mr. Bradford stated there are a handful of options. 1 ) An overlay zoning approach, which would overlay the concepts of the Master Plan to amend existing zoning; 2) Do an entirely new and different zoning district to implement the Master Plan; 3 ) Or, modify the existing PCD and PRD zoning options in the Village Zoning Ordinance to facilitate residential and neighborhood .. commercial urban design in the Master Plan area. Mr. Bradford explained the traffic impact was discussed at the last Council meeting and that is being worked on. The staff was authorized to proceed with working on the Right-Of-Way Protection Ordinance that would provide the major "T" arteries in the Master Plan. Chairman Stoddard that the options concentrate on the residential aspect. Mr. Bradford informed . the Task Force that Council requested him to reduce the commercial footage by up to 50%, not only to reduce the commercial factor, but to also reduce the traffic impact, to avoid a DRI, and avoid the complications of Palm Beach County Traffic Performance Standards. Chairman Stoddard commended the Village Council for their cooperation with the Downtown Development Task Force. J ` Downtown Development Task Force Meeting Minutes February 23, 1990 Page 6 VII. ANY OTHER MATTERS. A) St. Jude Catholic Church Building Activity: Mr. Bradford . informed the Task Force that the Catholic Church is proceeding with selection of an architect for new church construction. Mr. Bradford was asked for a copy of the computer graphics for the St. Jude's area generated by Mark Schimmenti so the Architect could see what is envisioned for the future. St. Jude's Church is leaning towards re-orienting their building as the Village envisioned, towards the west. They are looking for a commitment from the Village to do exactly what is shown on the Master Plan. St. Jude' s is not about to build a church structure facing west and then not have the Master Plan provide a suitable street frontage. Mr. Pilz stated that an inner street may not. be a main artery. His thought was that St. Jude' s was going to utilize the flow of traffic from Village Boulevard. Mr. Pilz suggested the Church be told the Village will work with them on everything, but can't guarantee an exact north-south road. An access road is the only question mark that has really come up. Canal Street could provide an east-west artery reaching the new church structure. The Church may feel that the road linking them should be at the south end of their property. The Church is merely looking for some assurance concerning the road network. B) Information Relative to Vacant Kostich Land on U.S. Highway One, next to the Cologne Motel: The Kostich family lives in Galveston, Texas, and they have a condominium in Sandpointe Bay and own a parcel of land located on U.S. Highway One, next to the Cologne Motel. Mrs . Kostich contacted Mr. Bradford to inquire as to what is going on in the downtown development of Tequesta. They are having a hard time determining why they are having such difficulty in selling their property which is zoned commercial. Mr. Bradford gave her a status report regarding the Master Plan potential, and Mrs. Kostich became excited about the idea. She stated she will wait until the end of March, when the marketing effort is over, and will then meet with her real estate people. There is a very strong possibility that she will approach the Village to have her property included in the Master Plan. (Mr. Steber of Morrisons has requested further information about this land as a potential site for Morrison's Cafeteria. ) a • Downtown Development Task Force Meeting Minutes February 23, 1990 Page 7 C) Code Enforcement in Reference to Empty Buildings Mr. Pilz was concerned the the old Publix location is still deteriorating and nothing is being done about the outside to keep it presentable. He wondered what kind of code enforcement could be used to encourage the upkeep of the outside of this facility and bring it back to the proper quality of maintenance. Mr. Bradford suggested the Code Enforcement Officer be asked to review the property on a regular basis to be certain the property does not go below the properly maintained level . D) Chairman Stoddard extended his appreciation to Mr. Steber for his attendance at today's meeting, and informed Mr. Steber that Tequesta residents have stated in a two city-wide surveys that they would love to have a retirement center in Tequesta. Mr. Bradford added that not only do the residents want a retirement center in Tequesta, but specifically requested Morrisons . Mr. Steber asked for a copy of that survey so that he might take it to the appropriate people. VIII . ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Task Force, the meeting was adjourned at 11 : 15 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Fran Bitters Recording Secretary ATTEST: Bill Kascavelis Finance Director/ Village Clerk Date Approved: