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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_08/30/1995VILLAGE 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 AUGUST 30, 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, August 30, 1995. The meeting was called to order at 7:33 P.M. by Mayor Ron T. Mackail. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, Recording Secretary. Councilmembers present were: Mayor Ron T. Mackail, Elizabeth A. Schauer, Carl C. Hansen, and Joseph N. Capretta. Also in attendance were: village Manager Thomas G. Bradford, village Clerk Joann Manganiello, and Department Heads. Vice Mayor Burckart arrived at 7:49 P.M. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Schauer moved that the Agenda be approved as submitted. Councilmember Hansen seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Ron T. Mackail - for Elizabeth A. Schauer - for Carl C. 8aasea - for Joseph N. Capretta - for The motion was therefore passed aad adopted aad the Agenda was therefore approved as submitted. flecycled raper Village Council workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 2 ------------------------------- III. OVERVIEW OF VILLAGE COIINCIL INTENTIONS RELATIVE TO VILLAGE CODES AND ENFORCEEBNT At the request of Mayor Mackail, members of the audience introduced themselves and identified the Homeowners Association they represented, if any. The Mayor then introduced the Village Councilmembers to the audience, as well as Code Enforcement Officer Davis, Village Manager Bradford, Village Clerk Manganiello, Police Chief Roderick, and Assistant Police Chief Allison; and explained that the village and the Council had been looking at developing a strategy within the Village for which the help of the residents was requested. Mayor Mackail explained that the Village had not grown much and did not have much room to grow and that a slight decrease had been experienced in some of the existing property values. An area that could be developed was identified as the downtown area. The appearance of the village was of prime concern, and the Mayor stated his belief that money had to be put back into the community in the form of streetscapes, bike paths, landscaping, parks and recreation areas, etc., to help create a better quality of life within the Village. The Mayor explained that the Village was considering a code enforcement plan similar to the Lantana Plan which would target areas within the community that need a facelift, and stressed the need for support of the residents. Councilmember Capretta explained that the Village Council wished to reverse the momentum toward decline of certain properties which was just beginning; and to remedy the serious tax problem of the Village created by the assessed value of the town staying relatively flat for a number of years so that no money for growth was available. Councilmember Capretta stated that the assessed value of the village had remained approximately $344,000,000 for a number of years, and that the Village could establish $400,000,000 Village Council workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 3 ------------------------------- as their goal to be reached in the next few years. Councilmember Capretta discussed the two ways in which the assessed value of the town could be increased. The first was by new construction, and the second was by reversing the trend toward declining values of existing properties. Councilmember Capretta discussed putting money back into the village as an investment in the future, and listed projects such as the library, renovations to Tequesta Park as a place for teenagers to play, intentions to renovate Constitution Park for smaller children after the current lawsuit was over, median improvements on U.S. Highway One, new bike paths, new curbs, implementation of Ordinance 377 whereby businesses and condominiums would upgrade their landscaping, and obtaining an option on some land to provide a place for cultural organizations to build facilities so that they will stay in Tequesta. Councilmember Capretta commented that the big issue was how to accelerate development in the downtown area and that under consideration was temporarily waiving the Village' s impact fees and to get the County to waive their impact fees to save developers money if they promised to start building in 1996. Another strategy under consideration was to streamline and accelerate the approval process for development, basically creating a one-stop shop, which would save a developer a lot of money. Councilmember Capretta requested input from the residents regarding how to increase the assessed value of existing homes, and explained that complaints were received about eyesores and that Code Enforcement Officer Davis had the job of enforcing the village Ordinances which required cutting grass, etc., and that the Village was seriously considering doing what Lantana had done, which was to expand the Ordinances involving Code Enforcement to include items such as paving driveways, cleaning roofs, etc. to get the appearance of the Village to improve, which would be voluntary as much as possible. Village Council workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 4 ------------------------------- Vice Mayor Burckart arrived at this point in the meeting. Councilmember Capretta discussed finding ways to help residents who could not keep their property repaired because of financial or physical problems. Councilmember Capretta commented that some of the worst homes in the Village that needed facelifts were in the most expensive sections, and were causing the decline of the value of surrounding properties. The makeup of residents was changing from retirees to younger people with children, many of whom had moved into their parent s homes, and a way needed to be found to help them recognize the importance of keeping the property repaired. Councilmember Capretta urged participation by the residents in a program working with their neighbors and neighborhood associations, coupled with the Village, to do something about the problem, and requested ideas to implement the program in a way that would be fair. Councilmember Hansen explained that the purpose of this meeting was to set residents thinking of ways to make Tequesta a good place to live and to make the homes more attractive, since there was no room for new homes to be built to increase the tax base. Councilmember Hansen commented that the village gave back curbs, bike paths, etc., and that the Village knew there were people who were not maintaining their houses since Officer Davis had been hard at work enforcing codes. Councilmember Hansen encouraged Tequesta Country Club and The Pines to continue their refurbishing, and requested input from all of the residents. Councilmember Schauer stressed the importance of feedback from the residents at this meeting regarding additions to the draft ordinances, and assured the residents that the village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 5 ------------------------------- Council would listen to their comments. Mayor Mackail explained that the Code Enforcement Board was set up to parallel the Homeowners Associations and their deed restrictions and covenants, etc., so that when problems arose within a Homeowners Association that the Village would be able to parallel those problems and resolve problems that a homeowner could not. Mayor Mackail complimented Code Enforcement Officer Davis on the job he had done, and commented that he had searched for ways to resolve problems and to make the process faster. Vice Mayor Burckart commented that Tequesta was now in a transition situation--that homes on the river were being torn down and replaced by new ones, and that would also happen inland eventually--and that this program would help the Village through the transition stage. IV. REVIEW OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMSZdTS: A. VIDEO PRESENTATION Code Enforcement Officer Davis explained that he had taken a video of a cross section of homes in the Village to illustrate the beginnings of deterioration and how the proposed ordinances would allow Code Enforcement to be able to deal with these situations. The video was shown accompanied by comments of explanation from Officer Davis. B. MINIMUM PROPERTY STANDARDS Officer Davis commented that the Mayor and Councilmembers had discussed this earlier in the meeting. village Council workshop Meeting Miautes August 30, 1995 Page 6 ------------------------------- C. FSS 162, PART II (SPECIAL MASTER) Officer Davis explained that the current Ordinance would be amended to add Chapter 2 of the Code Enforcement Statute, that a system involving summons and a Special Master would be used to speed up the current process which now requires two to three months for notice to be given and appearances to be scheduled before the Code Enforcement Board. The new process was meant to be proactive rather than reactive, and would allow the Code Enforcement Officer to deal with renters, which he could not do under the present Ordinance. Officer Davis explained that under the proposed program he would issue a summons, or citation, for violations, which would require appearance before a Special Master, who would be a practicing attorney who would act as a judge. Possibly meeting twice a month with only the Special Master, the Code Enforcement Officer, and the Recording Secretary, many more cases could be handled than at the present time. The first offense would be handled by written notice that the resident was in violation and allow a time period for compliance. If not in compliance within the specified time period, then a second summons would be issued requiring appearance before the Special Master, which would reduce the time for cases from approximately three months to two weeks, and would eliminate the overwhelming amount of paperwork required under the current system. Officer Davis stated that out of 1,451 Code Enforcement cases handled this year that only two remained in non-compliance, and explained that the Special Master system would also allow him to deal with matters that he could not deal with now because of the need for advice from an attorney. The draft ordinance amendments were reviewed, pointing out the proposed minimum property standards. Mayor village Couacil Workshop Meetiag Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 7 ------------------------------- Mackail stated that the future of Tequesta was up to the residents, that goals could be created through the ordinance, and that the Code Enforcement Officer could implement the ordinance. V. DISCUSSION/INPUT, H.O.A. REPRESENTATIVES Mike Meder, Chapel Court, questioned that there was no definition in the draft ordinance amendments for animals. Officer Davis responded that another ordinance would be drafted as soon as possible to deal with problems occurring within the Village regarding animals. Village Manager Bradford explained that a situation had existed in the Village where residents had sequestered numerous animals for retail or wholesale sale to the point that the number of animals on the property was a nuisance in terms of odors and other problems. Therefore, the people of Chapel Court wanted an ordinance which would limit numbers and types of animals on any one property, and the Village Attorney had been requested to draft such an ordinance. Geese Robbias suggested addition of the word Lessee to the ordinance section referencing the owner and operator of all real property. Neil Vanderwalt, Tequesta Country Club, commented that it might be difficult to determine who lessees were, and stated that the property owner should be responsible. Mr. Vanderwalt stressed the need for cookie cutter property standards to make code enforcement easier. Mrs. Hal Hutchinsoa suggested that 12 inches was too high for grass, and that the height limit for grass should be lower. Mrs. Hutchinson questioned whether charts would be available to select paint colors, and was referred to the Village Couacil gPorkshop Meeting Miautes August 30, 1995 Page 8 ------------------------------- appropriate section in the draft ordinance. Officer Davis responded to Mrs. Hutchinson's inquiry that people whose yards were covered with rocks would not be required to remove them. Hal Hutchirisoa explained that weeds which grew laterally were a problem in yards covered with rocks, and they would never reach a height of 12 inches. Mr. Hutchinson recommended a common sense ordinance that required fixing anything unsightly, questioned how language could be placed into an ordinance to cover all situations, and stated he did not want to be told that he had three colors he could paint his house and two colors he could paint the trim, and that this might lead to not being able to have a certain color car because it would clash with his house. Mayor Mackail explained that the program would parallel homeowners associations' deed restrictions and covenants and that peer pressure would play a part in encouraging upkeep of property. Mr. Hutchinson stated that in his case there was no peer pressure, merely pride of ownership, and commented that the assessed value of his property had gone up by 10~ last year. Michael Laughraa questioned whether the Code Enforcement Officer could spot problems on his own or whether he would only be able to respond to complaints, and was told that the Code Enforcement could act on his own initiative. Mr. Laughran commented that this program could affect annexation, since he had heard comments from people who lived in areas proposed for annexation who were against annexation because they considered the Village a police state. Mayor Mackail explained that those areas were under County codes which paralleled those of the Village, however, the County did not enforce them, and that requests were being made to the County to start enforcing their codes. village Council workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 9 ------------------------------- Floss Russell, Whitehall Condominium, commented that some things such as cracked stucco would be very difficult to enforce. Officer Davis responded that problems must be visible from the street. Ms. Russell inquired whether the Special Master would be a paid position, whether vacant lots would be covered, whether consideration would be given to the cost of irrigation, stated that Ordinance 377 did not consider financial situations and she hoped that would not be included in this ordinance, that the Village needed to fix up their own downtown area, and that the Village needed to keep PR in front of the residents. Answers provided to Ms. Russell were that volunteers would be sought for the Special Master position but it would probably be paid, that another ordinance covers vacant lots, that xeriscape would conserve irrigation water and that the Village would be very sympathetic to hardship cases. Mayor Mackail Capretta provided an update regarding the downtown area, stating that the DiVosta Corporation had acquired the old K-Mart and Winn Dixie and had plans for a development; that the village hoped to obtain an option on 7.7 acres south of the library to give the cultural organizations an opportunity to do a feasibility study and keep those organizations in the Village. Councilmember Capretta commented on the fact that Mr. Van Brock was the stumbling block preventing the village from obtaining that option and that the Village must find a way to divorce the Dorners from Mr. Van Brock and to be able to deal with the Dorner Trust. Councilmember Capretta stated that he would like the Lantana Plan to be more voluntary, and that the Council needed to know what the residents would support and requested that those present talk of this program positively. Mr. Jacobs suggested that the village consider a Special Master plus two laymen rather than only one person, and suggested that an alternative to speed the process would be to have the current Code Enforcement Board meet twice a Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 10 ------------------------------- month instead of once a month. Gene Robbias observed that the idea of the Special Master was very good, but stated that a more specific plan was needed regarding help for hardship cases; and stated that this program must be sold positively, starting with dispelling the police state perception, and that the way this program was sold was very critical. Michael Laughraa inquired whether Lantana had provided ideas how to sell this program positively. Mayor Mackail explained that they had started by conducting meetings such as this one being held tonight, and that the entire Village staff must understand the ordinance, and that Lantana's mayor had spent two years talking to all of the people. Tom Sleppo stated he did not care for the Special Master concept since his taxes were raised approximately 30~ last year and he had gone before a special master who did not provide any relief in his situation. Mr. Sleppo expressed the opinion that although the state and federal governments were looking at less government, the Village seemed to be looking at more regulations, and he was in favor of making the current system work instead of adding more rules. Mayor Mackail commented that the Palm Beach County appraiser applied the same procedures throughout the county when annual assessments were conducted. Mfke Mader commented that Jupiter had recently entered into a contract with Palm Beach County to enforce their zoning and planning rules in the unincorporated areas and would receive a rebate of taxes from the County to cover the cost of doing that, and Jupiter code enforcement rules would apply to the unincorporated areas around Jupiter. Mr. Mader commented that the proposed Lantana Plan seemed to be making one giant homeowners association called the Village of village Council Workshop Meeting Miautes August 30, 1995 Page 11 ------------------------------- Tequesta and proposed entering into a contract similar to the one between Jupiter and the County. Village Manager Bradford suggested that the Village first focus on Tequesta proper, and after that was accomplished to then go into the unincorporated areas. John Cunningham, Shay Place, inquired what had happened to Lantana's tax base as a result of the Lantana Plan. Mayor Mackail replied that he could obtain that information for Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham reported that a drainage problem on Seabrook had discouraged a prospective home purchaser, and inquired whether this program would encompass that type of problem. Mayor Mackail responded that curb and gutter and drainage problems must be addressed, and required money to fix, and that the money needed to be generated through taxes. Village Manager Bradford reported that money had been included in next year's budget for a design to address the drainage problem on Seabrook Drive. Mayor Mackail announced that another meeting would be held Wednesday, September 6 at 7:30 P.M. to address the proposed Lantana Plan, and urged those present to tell other residents so that they could attend and provide their input and questions. VI. ANY OTHER MATTERS There were no other matters to come before the Village Council. VII. ADJOIIRNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 P.M. upoa motion made by Councilmember Schauer, seconded by Vice Mayor Burckart and Village Council workshop Meeting Minutes August 30, 1995 Page 12 ------------------------------- unanimously carried. ATTEST: Joann Manganie to Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: Respectfully submitted, C~~L~~ Betty Laur Recording Secretary