HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 01_02/10/2011 . , ��
MINUTES
VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA
LOCAL PLANNING AGENCY
January 13, 2011
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Pat Watkins at 6:00 p.m. A roll call
was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Pat Watkins,
Vice Mayor Tom Paterno, Council Member Vince Arena, Council Member Jim
Humpage and Council Member Calvin Turnquest. Also in attendance were:
Viflage Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Attorney Davis, Village Clerk
Lori McWitliams and Department Heads.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
M4T{ON: Council Member Turr►quest motioned approval of the agenda; '
seconded by Council Member Humpage, motion carried unanimously 5-D. ,
NEW BUSINESS II
Public Hearing to consider and make recommendations to the Viltage Council ,
with regard to the fotlowing:
1. Ordinance 1-11 Amending the Village Code of Ordinances at Chapter 78.
Zoning. At Article f. In General. Sec. 78-4. Definitions. By Creating an
Entirely New Definition for "Rehabilitation Facility" and by Amending the
Definition of "Residential Use"; at Article VI. Schedule of District
Regufations. Sec. 78-180 MU Mixed Use District. By adding
"Rehabilitation Facilities" as a Special Exception Use, by Creating
Conditions to be met by all Rehabilitation Facitities and by Limiting the ',
Density for such Special Exception Use to 10 Units per Acre; and at Article �I
X. Off-street and On-Street Parking and Loading Regutations. By Adding
"Rehabilitation Facilities" as a Category and Requiring Rehabilitation
Facilities to Provide One Off Street Parking Space Per Patient Bed
Attorney Keith Davis offered a synopsis of Ordinance 1-11.
Council Member Turnquest referred to a letter received Navember 11, 2010 and
questioned verbiage he felt was vague. Fire Chief Weinand, A�ting Director of
Community Development responded that Council had added stronger language
on December 2, 2010. Attorney Davis noted the specific changes and additions.
Gouncil Member Humpage questioned outpatient short term care. Chief Weinand
and Village Attorney Davis confirmed that too had been addressed.
, , Local Planning Agency
January 13, 2011
Page 2 of 4
Vice Mayor Paterno questioned assessing fines for noncompliance issues and
monitoring the facility fior conformity within the Village Code. Attorney Davis
stated that a monitoring component could be added into the Code and pointed
out that Code Compliance could assess fines on violations if need be. Vice
Mayor Paterno voiced concern with privacy rulings whieh could obstruct
monitoring. Attorney Davis responded that the medical privacy rules could
regulate some enforcement requirements and that all occupancies were ,
regutated by zoning and had the potential for abuse. He pointed out that yearly
inspections through Fire and ca11s through the Potice Department woufd
authorize investigations which assisted with monitoring.
Vice Mayor Paterno voiced concern with moving too quickly with this, running
into problems and remedies becoming too difficult. Mayor Watkins believed the
Village could only offer so many restrictions to businesses. Chief Weinand stated
that the text amendment to the code should be the focus at present and
conditions on the project woutd be imptemented during the special exception
process. Manager Couzzo confirmed thafi the dialogue was not appropriate untit
a special exception application was submitted. Vice Mayor Paterno responded
that penalties and rules should be appiied in advance to avoid issues and
amendments which would add unwanted chaos in the Village.
Mayor Watkins reiterated that the decision at hand was for Council to allow or
deny rehabilitation as a use under "special exception use" in the mixed use
district and agreed that fine tuning would need to be done. Gouncil Member
Humpage felt the Village was well protected through their code and noted any
change of ownership must return to Council for approval. He pointed out that
there were several hurdles relating to this endeavor which would need to be
negotiated following tonight's assessment.
Council Member Arena suggested requesting data several times per year from
the facility. Attorney Davis responded that information could be obtained without
breaking patient/client confidentiality. Manager Couzzo suggested expanding the
special exception definition to incorpo�ate additional conditions regarding
monitoring and regulations and recommended beginning the process before
making a final commitment.
Mayor Watkins opened the hearing to the Pubiic for comment. There being
none, she brought it back to Counci{.
Local Planning Agency
January 13, 2011
Page 3 of 4
Council Member Tumquest questioned p�ivately owned and funded rehab
facilities and the receipt or use of grant monies. Attorney Davis responded that
the facility could not receive government funding and the enforcement of such
was a focus. Council Member Turnquest felt the verbiage offered an option for a
non-profit to apply for grant funding and utilize if for research, which he believed
was a loop hole and offered his experience with the process. Manager Couzzo
stated that a not for profit could not be created for this facility because qf its
designation. Chief Weinand confirmed that the facility would not be licensed for
research.
Council Member Turnquest questioned the difference befinreen dwelling units and
residential living units. Chief Weinand stated the finro were synonymous. Vice
Mayor Paterno asked if each dwelling was limited to one person. Chief Weinand
responded that the units were defined to one person per bedroom and
considered different from patient beds. He noted room minimums and square
footage requirements and that there could be more than one bedroom in a unit. �
Vice Mayor Paterno questioned acreage and persons allowed. Attorney Davis
explained what was permissible. Chief Weinand responded that some units were
dual occupancy. Vice Mayor Patemo felt the rooms correlated with the number of ,
people allowed and stated his concerns regarding crowding. ''
Nilsa Zacarias, Planning Representative for Tequesta, suggested placing
minimums and maximums on room sizes to avoid rooms being too large and �
overcrowding along with persons allowed in correlation with square footage.
Mayor Watkins felt the verbiage now did not preclude the units from an extra
bedroom. Manager Couzzo felt it did since he believed the word private meant
one. He felt it may need to state single occupant (in parentheses) for clarification
and agreed with Ms. Zacarias and listing specifics.
Mayor Watkins suggested careful consideration be made when placing
restrictions as she believed too many constraints precluded suites and other ,
desirable options. Manager Couzzo recommended a not to exceed number be
specified as well. Chief Weinand stated the square footage per occupant could
be addressed since rooms would differ in size and noted the limit concern.
Mr. Larry Smith, GMH Tequesta Holdings, LLC Attorney, stated he understood
Councils concerns and asked that they, while sitting as the Local Planning
Agency, they recommend moving forward and felt there was ample time for '
conditions to be negotiated and Council decisions. Vice Mayor Paterno
questioned the maximum number of persons in the group's ultimate model. Mr.
Local Planning Agency
January 13, 2011
Page 4 of 4
Smith responded that 117 beds, at build out, were outlined in there
specifications. He added that that he felt the draft ordinance was fair and his
concern with placing too many conditions tonight could conflict with what they
were looking for in the long term and reiterated that a recommendation to Council
was desired for tonight with modifications thereafter.
Mr. Harold Taylor, 13 Chapel Court, voiced his concerns with placing specifics on
persons per square foot which could result in having to gut the building entirely
as he believed the existing floor plan offered one and finro bedroom units that
would not be conforming to such a rule.
MOTION: Council Member Humpage motioned recommendation for Council
consideration of Ordinance 1-11; seconded by Council Member Tumquest. The �
motion carried unanimously 5-0.
ADJOURNMENT �
MOTION: Council Member Tumquest moved adjoumment; seconded by Council �I
Member Humpage. The motion to adjoum carried unanimously 5-0; therefore,
the meeting was adjoumed at 6: 56 p. m.
RespectFully submitted,
,
Lori McWilliams, MMC ,
Village Clerk I
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. i