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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_12/20/1995VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 357 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 (407) 575-6200 Fax: (407) 575-6203 VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 1995 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Village Council held a workshop meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Wednesday, December 20, 1995. The meeting was called to order at 4:31 P.M. by Mayor Ron T. Mackail. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, Recording Secretary. Councilmembers present were: Mayor Ron T. Mackail, Vice Mayor William E. Burckart, Elizabeth A. Schauer, Carl C. Hansen, and Joseph ~„ N. Capretta. Also in attendance were: Village. Manager '" Thomas G. Bradford and Department Heads. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Hansen requested the addition of discussion of the Lantana Plan. Vice Mayor Burckart moved that the Agenda be approved as amended. Councilmember Schauer seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Ron T. Mackail - for William E. Burckart - for Elizabeth A. Schauer - for Carl C. Hansen - for Joseph N. Capretta - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the Agenda was approved as amended. Recycled Pager Village Council ~~ ~iorkshop Meeting Miautea December 20, 1995 Page 2 III. REVIEW OF PROCEDURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEW EXPEDITED SITE PLAN REVIEW PROCESS WHEREIN A JOINT MEETING OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL AND CObflrlUNITY APPEARANCE BOARD IS HELD. Mayor Mackail reviewed the purpose of the meeting, which was to review how the joint meetings for expedited site plan reviews would be conducted, and explained that the Village Council had felt it prudent to expedite development in the blighted uptown/downtown area. Mayor Mackail commented that Councilmember Capretta had met with local developers, who had favored an expedited approval process in order to reduce their development expenses, and that the goal of the Village Council was to promote and entice development within the community, Village Manager Bradford stated that the reason this meeting had been called was that the changes made by the Village ,,, Council to facilitate development in Tequesta included an expedited site plan review option that a property owner or developer could now exercise by paying an extra $1,000 fee, which would consolidate the Village Council meeting and the Community Appearance Board meeting into a single meeting and allow a developer to obtain their approval within 30 days as opposed to the 60-day traditional process. Village Manager Bradford reported that the Village had received the first application for expedited site plan review of a 42-unit Extended Care Facility on Village Boulevard just to the west of K-Mart and the little house still standing on Village Boulevard. The Village Manager explained that it was important to establish procedure before the first joint meeting so that learning time would not be taken at the expense of the applicant. Village Manager Bradford commented that because the ECF was a special exception use that a special exception use public hearing would be the first step, wherein the Village Council would determine whether or not the proposal was in keeping with special exception use according to criteria in the Village Code. If the special exception use was approved at the hearing, the second step would be the site plan review to determine whether the proposal met all details of the Code of Ordinances for proposed development. The third step Village Council `ter Workshop xeeting Miautes December 20, 1995 Page 3 would be review for aesthetics, i.e., landscaping, paint colors, and architectural style of the building by the Community Appearance Board. The Village Manager explained that in the past, a site plan was first reviewed by the Community Appearance Board without their knowing whether the project would receive approval by the Village Council, but that a change in procedure had been made by the Village Council in response to the input received from developers which caused site plan reviews to now go first to the Village Council for conceptual approval and then to the Community Appearance Board for review of the details required by Ordinance. The Community Appearance Board review would be the final step in the process unless the applicant did not agree with their decision, and in that situation the applicant had the option to appeal to the Village Council. Village Manager Bradford explained that a, this new process would allow applicants a one-stop shop, and that expedited site plan process did not mean expedited site ~9'~ plan approval, only that applicants would receive a decision more quickly. Vice Mayor Burckart suggested that the site plan package be distributed to the members of the Village Council and to the members of the Community Appearance Board well before the Friday prior to the meeting so that if anyone saw something they did not like there would be time to notify the developer before the meeting. Village Manager Bradford stated he had received the packets that day from Building Official Scott D. Ladd, so that they could be distributed one day ahead of the traditional Friday distribution. The Vice Mayor stated that in the future it would be incumbent upon Building Official Ladd to review an application and to get the packets out as quickly as possible in order to give the Village Council and the Community Appearance Board more time so that their comments could be taken back to the developer. Councilmember Capretta questioned why Building Official Ladd was not present at this meeting and was told he was conducting an emergency electrical inspection. Councilmember Capretta stressed that it was important that { Mr. Ladd participate, since he was an important part of this village Council ~orkshog ~eetiag Minutes December 20, 1995 Page 4 ------------------------------- procedure. Councilmember Capretta commented that the $1,000 fee to expedite the process could save the developer thousands of dollars, and if Mr. Ladd did not operate differently than in the past the developers would not receive approvals in 30 days, no matter what actions were taken by the Village Council or the Community Appearance Board. Community Appearance Board Chair Leslie Cook commented that she believed the new process was a good idea as long as everyone could review the application packets ahead of time. Village Manager Bradford commented that this new process removed one of the checks and balances in the process, since in the past Building Official Ladd or any plan reviewer reviewing an application could do a less than thorough job because it went first to the Community Appearance Board whose discussion could bring things to light to cause that reviewer to realize that there were things which had not been considered. Also, it had been perfunctory for the Village Council to approve a site plan since they could assume that all of the details had been taken care of. Ms. Cook commented that the Community Appearance Board had always operated under the assumption that the Village Council might not agree with them and had given direction to the applicant to make changes before the application was forwarded to the Village Council, therefore, the suggestion made by Vice Mayor Burckart was very important. Councilmember Hansen commented that the Village Council always looked at how the Community Appearance Board had voted, and that if there had been a unanimous vote for approval the Village Council felt more confident in their approval. Mayor Mackail commented that the Community Appearance Board had done an admirable job over the years. Mayor Mackail stated that downtown development was really the last chance the Village had to make Tequesta unique with an overall theme, and expressed concern that a hodgepodge of site plans where side-by-side projects would not be compatible must be prevented. The Mayor commented that he was not so concerned with landscaping as with drainage, and Village Council workshop ffieetiag ~iautes December 20, 1995 Page 5 pointed out that the Council had recently learned that the drainage at K-Mart was so poor that gas and oil, etc., had been destroying plants, which should have been picked up on by a plan reviewer or engineer. Village Manager Bradford commented that landscaping maintenance had not been up to par at K-Mart, and that it was not fair to blame Mr, Ladd when the Code allowed drainage in that fashion. Building Official Ladd arrived at 4:50 P.M. Ms. Cook commented that many Tequesta residents who had gone to live at the Waterford ACLF who would have preferred to stay in Tequesta, and that if the applicant for the ECF made it a really nice facility that it would be a place where Tequesta residents could live. Councilmember Schauer explained that this facility would not be like the Waterford since the residents at the ECF would not be mobile. Village Manager Bradford stated that an ACLF would be more conducive to what the Village wanted since it would provide walking, paying customers on the streets to boost local businesses. Councilmember Capretta agreed that the town needed more shoppers, and commented that nursing homes were not allowed under the Village Code while both ACLFs and ECFs were allowed, and that he had heard that the ECF applicant, Sterling House, had an option on land from the Dorner Trust to build three more facilities similar to the proposed 42- unit facility. Councilmember Capretta said he was thinking of changing the Village Ordinance so that ECFs would no longer be allowed, which would prevent Sterling House from building additional facilities. Councilmember Capretta commented that the side of the building proposed to face Village Boulevard was unattractive, while the side facing Old Dixie was fairly attractive, and expressed concern that if a second facility was constructed next to this one that this one would lose visibility. Councilmember Capretta discussed the fact that a theme had not been developed far the Village. Ms. Cook commented that she believed the Village had a Mediterranean look. Village Manager Bradford stated that Ms. Cook had always been in favor of establishing a formal theme for the Village and """"° that it could be done by ordinance. Councilmember Hansen village Council workshop Meetiag Minutes December 20, 1995 Page 6 commented that he understood Sterling House was a part of a chain so that the architecture was already established. Councilmember Capretta questioned whether the mini-Mizner Park architectural style chosen by Mr. DiVosta for his new development would receive conceptual approval, to which Ms. Cook responded that it would since it was a Mediterranean look. Councilmember Capretta stated that Sterling House did not have a Mediterranean look. Ms. Cook commented that small changes could easily be made from the Tudor style proposed to make the building look Mediterranean, and stated that the window air conditioning units were unacceptable. Councilmember Capretta commented that the applicant proposed to hide the air conditioning units with shrubbery. Councilmember Capretta commented on the asphalt shingle roof and that he understood the applicant could not afford a barrel the roof. Village Manager Bradford commented that these debates were not unique to Tequesta, and that Jupiter was fighting the cookie-cutter approach with Home Depot. Councilmember Capretta discussed the concept of encouraging development to increase the Village tax base and streamlining the approval process to accelerate that development, and the fact that Building Official Ladd must conclude his review more quickly in order to get the packets to the Village Council and the Community Appearance Board members in time for their review and comments to go back to the developer for changes before the joint expedited site plan meeting. Mr. Ladd stated that the packets could be taken home that evening by those present at the meeting. Mayor Mackail commented that the opportunity to discuss architectural style was available for the first time in years. Discussion ensued regarding the study by a planning commission several years ago which had recommended Bermuda, Mediterranean, etc., but had not been implemented since the Village Council had disagreed with the implementation process. It was agreed that the mini-Mizner concept planned by DiVosta was a profitable look which the majority of people probably liked. Ms. Cook cautioned that allowing a developer to build a different style of building could start a trend, and that an attractive town where people would want to live was the goal of establishing a theme. Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes December 20, 1995 Page 7 ------------------------------- Councilmember Capretta questioned the differences between the regular process and the expedited process. Building Official Ladd explained that the main difference was that a joint meeting was held in the expedited process and the time was reduced from 60 to 30 days. Mr. Ladd reviewed the process which would be followed at the joint meeting to consider the Sterling House application, which would be to first hold a special exception use public hearing, then the Village Council would review the site plan for conceptual approval, then the Community Appearance Board would review the site plan for aesthetics, which would conclude the process unless the applicant found it necessary to appeal the Community Appearance Board decision. Mr. Ladd explained that major changes could require the applicant to return with an amended site plan package. Councilmember Capretta commented that if the Village Council did not approve the special exception use, that the process would end. Mayor Mackail stated that Mr. DiVosta's development would set the tone for the downtown area, and commented that the developer of Paim Aire had reported that their stumbling block was Mr. Van Brock. Councilmember Capretta commented .that a game was going on between the developers, and that Mr. Van Brock was only selling to Sterling House because its location was north of Village Boulevard, considered the low- rent portion of the Dorner land. Mayor Mackail commented that the site plan layout suggested future facilities on the west side. Mr. Ladd explained that the plan had been changed so that the front elevation was now on Village Boulevard. Discussion ensued regarding procedure to be followed at the upcoming meeting. Mayor Mackail suggested 5-6 bulleted items which would incorporate concerns discussed at this meeting to be presented by the applicant so that the Council could more efficiently evaluate each item for approval or disapproval. Vice Mayor Burckart stated that the critical factor was the way the ECF would be operated, as a nursing home or as an ACLF. Mr. Ladd explained that the terms ACLF and ECF were considered synonymous by the State. `A Vice Mayor Burckart discussed the timing process for Village Council workshop meeting ~[iautes December 28, 1995 Page 8 expedited review, and requested that Mr. Ladd notify the Village Council and Community Appearance Board when he received an application so that they would know it would be coming up in 30 days. The Vice Mayor conjectured that hypothetically at that time an application might be determined to be a nursing home and could be denied before the process went any further, which would save a developer money since he would not need to continue through the process. Village Manager Bradford commented that a change would need to be made in the Village Ordinances to allow such a procedure. Vice Mayor Burckart suggested that at a Village Council meeting, under Any Other Matters, Mr. Ladd could announce that a project would be Coming for expedited approval and the Council could state whether they wanted the project to be encouraged. Councilmember Capretta agreed, and stated if that had happened with the Sterling House project he would have suggested the Village Ordinances be changed so that an ECF would not be allowed. Village Manager Bradford stated that could not have been done until after this application had been processed, and that an applicant was entitled to go through the process. Vice Mayor Burckart agreed that the Village needed an ACLF first, and that an ECF was an accessory to an ACLF. Ms. Cook commented that the ECF business should have a great future because of the numbers of people moving into ACLFs. Village Manager Bradford summarized the previous discussions as follows: 1. To address Councilmember Capretta's concern about what is taking place at what point in time: None of the Council or Boardmembers would receive anything for approval until Mr. Ladd had reviewed it to be certain that all technical requirements had been met. 2. The Village Council's role in the site plan review process would be different in the future whether the review was regular or expedited since they no longer had the benefit of the Community Appearance Board having reviewed the plan first. Tt was now incumbent upon the Village Council to make sure they were more comfortable with the conceptual aspects of the proposals. «~~..:. village Council Workshop ~eetiag ~iautes December 20, 1995 Page 9 3. The Community Appearance Board should consider the application on their own and not in light of whether the Village Council had already approved it. 4. The applicant had the option of appealing to the Village Council if they did not agree with decisions made by the Community Appearance Board. Village Manager Bradford stated that if the Village Council agreed with the concept of establishing an architectural theme for the Village, his recommendation was that the Community Appearance Board should state what the theme should be and then an ordinance could be written. Councilmember Capretta expressed concern that he did not believe the Community Appearance Board could state the theme, since it was very difficult. Ms. Cook stated that there was already a generic theme in the Village code. ""'"'` Boardmember Coben commented that it would be difficult for a developer to make decisions desired by the Community Appearance Board at a joint meeting. Further discussion was held regarding the new process versus the old procedure. Councilmember Schauer questioned whether if the Community Appearance Board required an applicant to return with an amended drawing another joint meeting would have to be held. Mr. Ladd explained that after the expedited 30 days and the joint meeting had been held that the process then reverted to the traditional process regarding changes which needed to come back. It was agreed that the Village Council would need to remain at the joint meeting through the Community Appearance Board session in order to be available for appeal by the developer. Village Manager Bradford cautioned that the Community Appearance Board could not participate in the special exception use hearing or in the Village Council review of the site plan; and Village Council could not participate in the Community Appearance Board portion of the meeting. ,.. village Couacil workshop Meeting Minutes December 20, 1995 page 10 IV. ANY OTHER MATTERS Councilmember Hansen commented that he had spoken with the Town Manager of Lantana and learned that their plan allowed two basic colors for homes, entry into homes after due process, and a special master system using retired judges. Councilmember Hansen reported that the Town of Lantana believed the special master system was better than a Code Enforcement Board, which placed neighbor against neighbor. One entry after due process was felt to have possibly saved a child's life because of the unsanitary conditions found in the home. Saturday cleanup groups were available for residents not physically or financially able to care for their homes. Councilmember Hansen quoted the Town Manager as saying that after experiencing the plan, the people of Lantana would not want to have it any other way. Councilmember Hansen reported he had also spoken to Christine Murray Phifer of Hollywood, Florida, which used the special master process and had also retained the Code Enforcement Board, had established a limited number of colors to be used for homes, a plan for immediate removal of graffiti, and help for citizens financially or physically unable to take care of their homes; and that the silent majority of residents were in favor of the plan and beginning to show strength. Councilmember Hansen reported the City of Lake Worth was just beginning to explore a similar program. Mayor Mackail thanked Councilmember Hansen for his research and stated that he was personally very much in favor of moving forward with a beautification plan for Tequesta. Ms. Cook commented that it would be nicer to do it without an ordinance. Councilmember Capretta commented that Mr. Ladd had recently provided a status report on Ordinance 377, and questioned whether the Community Appearance Board was still involved in reviewing applications. Ms. Cook reported they had approved several applications, but she had not seen any work on those projects, and that there were a lot yet to be reviewed. Building Official Ladd announced that a second expedited site plan would be coming up very soon, which was Mobile Oil, and that he had talked to them and they had met many village Couacil k,~ Norkshop Me®tiug Minutes December 20, 1995 Page 11 ------------------------------- requirements up front. Mr. Ladd responded to questions regarding Jo-Go's awning that Code Enforcement was now working on the problem. Village Manager Bradford reported that Jo-Go's water issue had been resolved. V. COHIl~JNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no communications from citizens. VI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:07 P.M. upon motion made by Councilmember Hansen, seconded by Councilmember Schauer, and unanimously carried. Respectfully submitted, Betty Laur Recording Secretary ATTEST: __ oD~ J ann~Manganil to Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: // ~ ,~.~R