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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_1/29/2024 9 Y. MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FL MAYOR MOLLY YOUNG VICE-MAYOR LAURIE BRANDON COUNCIL MEMBER PATRICK PAINTER COUNCIL MEMBER RICK SARTORY COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS G. BRADFORD JANUARY 29, 2024 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Molly Young at 6:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Deputy Clerk Mary Ann Grieser. Present were: Vice-Mayor Laurie Brandon, Mayor Molly Young, Council Member Rick Sartory, and Council Member Thomas G. Bradford. Council Member Painter attended via Zoom. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Discussion of an Ordinance Amending the City Code of Ordinances Section 74-82 to Allow a Lien on Property for Unpaid Service Charges Through a Magistrate Rather than Council Utility Director Craig asked Council for permission to have a Special Magistrate to be used for judgements on unpaid utility service charges, instead of going through Council. Last year the Utility Department wrote off approximately $19,000 dollars in service charges/unpaid bills. The year prior $9,000 was written off. Unpaid accounts were currently sent to collections after 6 months, with renters being the majority of delinquencies. Utility Director Craig was asking for a mechanism to assist in this process. Council Member Sartory inquired as to why the collection efforts were not implemented until the 6 month mark. He was agreeable to the Special Magistrate process. Council Member Bradford asked about the property owner being responsible for the account. Attorney Davis was not sure a service charge could be assessed against an account outside of the Village. Additionally, he was unclear on why it would take 2-3 years to write off a delinquent account. Manager Allen assured Council the process would come back for further discussion with date certain parameters. Vice Mayor Brandon was in favor of having the property owner responsible for the account. Mayor Young asked who was responsible for the costs associated with the delinquent accounts. The topic would be placed on another Workshop Meeting agenda with examples of how other municipal water departments handled similar situations. 2. Update on Land Development Regulations Recommended as part of the Commercial Corridor Master Plan Mr. Lance Lilly, Senior Land Planner with Chen Moore and Associates presented a powerpoint on land development regulations as they pertained to the commercial corridor master plan. Mr. Lilly went over the overlay districts , noting the changes from the December 2023 meeting. Some areas he addressed were: formula businesses square footage of 1250 or special exception use, front setbacks of 20 ft. maximum, formula business definition and exemptions, criteria of formula businesses, US1 overlays, drive throughs and formula restaurants, Village Center overlay map revisions, landscape elements, civic open spaces, district overlays, payments in lieu, waivers, rear parking, facade transparency and waiver vs. variance. Council had questions regarding maximum square footage for formula businesses, property appraiser data, waivers, and the appeal process. Manager Allen would have an analysis done on the formula business size. Additionally, Mayor Young asked that the appeal process be more defined. Community Director Jay Hubsch would amend the informational language in the waiver, and bring it back to Council for review. 3. Living Shorelines Presentation and Consideration of Code Updates Mr. Jay Hubsch, Community Development Director provided a power point presentation for Council which included the following information as it related to living shorelines: cost comparisons, bulkheads/seawalls, the Village Comprehensive Plan, Village code, Jupiter code, maps, riprap/mangroves, revertments, unarmoured shorelines and code recommendations. He believed the Village codes could be tightened up by getting rid of loopholes and keeping the shorelines natural. Council Member Sartory had concerns with keeping the shoreline natural due to constant erosion. Mr. Hubsch believed Council could grant fill in certain situations and codify as such. Vice Mayor Brandon would like to see riprap on wide water and was in favor of a natural shoreline. Council Member Painter supported a natural shoreline and questioned repairs to seawalls. Mayor Young did not want to create a hardship for residents with how the mangroves would be impacted when a seawall needs replaced down the road and supported it. Mr. Hubsch would research the hardship element and would speak with a coastal engineer to ensure the Village was headed in the right direction. Additionally, he would research standards for bulkheads and seawalls. The topic would move forward to the LPA (Local Planning Agency) and be brought back to Council. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM MOTION: Vice-Mayor Brandon made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Council Member Bradford seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. Respectfully submitted, m Lori McWilliams, MMC Village Clerk Note: These summary minutes are prepared in compliance with 286.011 F.S. and are not verbatim transcripts of the meeting. A verbatim audio record is available from the office of the Village Clerk. All referenced attachments are on file in the Village Clerk's office.