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Minutes 10-27-94MINUTES OF THE CITY COH#ISSION WORKSHOP HEETING HELD IN C014HISSION CHAHBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1994, AT 6:00 P, 14. PRESENT Edward Harmening, Mayor Matthew Bradley, Mayor Pro Tem Jose Aguila, Commissioner David Katz, Commissioner Carrie Parker, City Manager Sue Kruse, City Clerk CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harmening called the meeting to order at 6:02 P. M. In addition to the above, also present were the Assistant City Manager, Dale Sugerman, the Director of Development, William Hukill, the Planning and Zoning Director, Tambri Heyden, and Senior Planner, Mike Rumpf. I, Overview of the Land Development Regulation Amendment Process See below. II, Platting A, Development Director to Review Plattlng Process Mr. Hukill reviewed the platting process and gave an overview of some of the areas that appear to be difficult to deal with. He said he has gone through the platting process in detail and has come to the conclusion that it is a technical review and a due diligence search. He pointed out that the Commission sees the master plan (often two to four times) and then sees developments at the site plan review stage (often two to three times, or more). Therefore, he felt it is not necessary for the Commission to see the plat. He stated that the way it is currently set up, it takes anywhere from eleven to sixteen weeks to get through the process. To get into the platting process, an applicant*has to go through the master plan process first. To get into the final plat, an applicant has to have the construction documents done. It seemed to Mr. Hukill that this is an unnecessary burden on the applicant. Mayor Harmening asked if he would have to go through a master plan if he wanted to plat twenty-five acres R-l-AAA (110 by 160 foot lots) and connect up with any existing streets, etc. Mr. Hukill answered affirmatively. Mr. Hukill felt the process is too long. He stated that the issues that arise all relate to things that have already occurred over time and are recorded, or things that are going to occur during a particular activity on the site, such as boundary, lot sizes, easements, cross access agreements, and sewers. He feels staff are the technical experts and if the Commission does not feel that way, then they need to change staff. He did not think the Commission can perform this review. He pointed out that ultimately, the whole process has to be approved by the Commission. He would like to change the process so that the Commission sees a plat at the same time as the final site plan, so that the com- ments could all be tied together. - 1 - HINUTE$ - CITY COHHI$$IOH WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 Mr. Hukill advised that it is a problem to bring anything to the Planning and Development Board because they only meet once a month. To get to the Planning and Development Board, one has to go through the Technical Review Committee. Therefore, timing is important. You may or may not be able to go through the TRC and get to the Planning and Development Board the following Tuesday. You may not get there for three weeks. Then you have to wait two weeks between City Commission meetings. Commissioner Katz asked if the Planning and Development Board should meet twice a month, on the Tuesdays that the City Commission does not meet. Mr. Hukill did not see any need for the Planning and Development Board to review plats. He said it just extends the process. However, he suggested that it be set up so that the Board could meet twice a month, if necessary, to avoid a waiting period. Mr. Hukill requested that staff be allowed to study the process to try to make it more expeditious by eliminating some of the approval steps and having it occur simultaneously with the site plan process. Mr. Hukill felt it would be in the City's interest to have everyone go through this process because it gives the City a better record of what is going on. He advised that there currently are ways of avoiding the process. For example, a plat can be approved by staff in certain instances, under certain conditions, or it can go to a variance board and be waived. Mr. Hukill also advised that the fee structure drives people out of the process. It costs developers substan- tially more in fees to the City to go through the platting process than to stay in a regular subdivision and not plat. Therefore, developers are not entering the process. Time and money keep them out of the process. Mayor Harmening stated that the exceptions to platting have usually been very small pieces, such as outparcels, etc. Mr. Hukill stated that there may be exceptions, but he felt it is better to have a plat even on those parcels. Mr. Hukill's goal is to change the process to reduce the time, to get people in the process, and to make the fee structure more equitable for those that do enter it. He would like to come back to the Commission with the specifics. Commissioner Katz asked how long the platting process takes in neighboring municipalities. Mr. Hukill advised that it depends on the municipality. Boca Raton has a similar process to Boynton Beach. Mr. Hukill felt the process can be reduced by as much as seven or eight weeks and that it can be reduced even further if meshed with other processes. It cannot be reduced any further than this because review by the Health Department takes thirty days and we cannot do anything about that. Commissioner Aguila was in favor of Mr. Hukill returning with some recommenda- tions on how to let the technical staff deal with the technical issues of the plat and help people get through the process quicker and easier. Mr. Hukill stated that the City requires an applicant to pay all fees when they enter the final plat process, including the bond for the improvements. He -2- HINUTES - CITY COHHIS$IOH WORKSHOP BOYNTOH BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 advised that this is not necessary. He felt the applicant should not have to pay the fees five or six weeks before the plat'is recorded. Mayor Pro Tem Bradley felt a review of the platting process is a good idea. He asked if it should include the permitting aspect. Mr. Hukill advised that this is a bigger job than the platting process. He wants to get some consistency in the permit phase and some simplicity in calculating the fees because right now, staff cannot tell the applicants what it is going to cost them to do a particu- lar thing. Mr. Hukill's ultimate goal is to give the applicants a handbook that they can work through or have staff help them go through. However, the platting process needs to be dealt with immediately. Mayor Harmening was not in favor of throwing impediments in the way of everyone. However, he pointed out that the process can be made a little more difficult if we want to discourage development. commissioner Aguila explained one weakness he found in the process. He stated that recently, a man called and asked if he could take the existing timber retaining wall, which was five feet away from his property line, and build it in a concrete block foundation on his property line. The person who answered the telePhone told him he had to get the property surveyed, have some plans done and brought in, and then he would be told whether or not he could do it. The man did not want to spend $500 to have the City tell him that he cannot do it. Commissioner Aguila advised that this happens often, where the clerk who answers the telephone passes off the easy answers. Mr. Hukill was aware of this problem and is trying to correct it. Revision of Subdivision Regulations (Appendix C) The Commission reviewed the proposed ordinance. Commissioner Aguila wanted to eliminate Section 10 on page 2 because he read it as stating that the City can take a chunk of land to put in a big utility facility without compensating the owner for it. He did not think this is morally right or legal. Commissioner Katz felt this paragraph is broad and perhaps should be more spe- cific. City Manager Parker pointed out that if it is large enough, the City would have to go through the condemnation process and have property appraisals done. Therefore, the property owner is legally protected. Commissioner Aguila felt that the terms "major utility" and "public facilities" in this section should be defined. Mayor Harmening felt a site should be furnished for a new fire station, for example, if there is a 2,000 acre development. Commissioner Kat~ did not think a particular development should be required to provide the land for a new fire station because they would not be the only reason for the need of a new fire station. Mayor Harmening said they would be a major portion of the need for a new fire station. He pointed out that 2,000 acres, depending on the density, -3- HINUTE$ - CITY COMIII$$IO~ WORKSHOP BOYHTOH BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 will give you lots of little bungalows. Commissioner Aguila pointed out that if there is growth in that particular area, everybody would benefit from a fire station, not just that particular development. Therefore, that particular de- velopment should not be singled out to pay for or provide the land. Commissioner Aguila said he will support Section 10 if the terms "major utility" and "public facility" are replaced with a phrase such as "utility and other related services." Ms. Heyden will discuss the rewording of this language with the City Attorney. She pointed out that staff wanted to keep it broad and that right now, there is nothing in the Code regarding adequacy of sites. Commissioner Aguila referred to the first sentence in the second paragraph on page 3 which states, "The developers shall be required to control blowing sand..." He would like that changed to read, "The developers shall make reason- able efforts to control blowing sand..." His reasoning was that developers have no control over certain things unless they concrete it over. He did not want developers to be required to do what is physically impossible. He stated that we would know when developers are making reasonable accommodations to control the blowing sand. Mayor Harmening disagreed. Therefore, Commissioner Aguila changed the wording to "reasonable accommodations, in the opinion of the City, to control blowing sand". City Manager Parker reminded the Commission that the City wanted Mr. Morton to put a fiber cover over the sand on this property because it was blowing into Leisureville and was causing problems. We went back and forth for quite some time as to what was a reasonable method to control blowing. She pointed out that the language regarding blowing sand is only contained in the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Harmening pointed out that if it is in ordinance form, a person could be cited for a Code Enforcement violation. Discussion ensued and it was the consensus of the Commission to leave the language as is in the proposed ordinance. With regard to the same paragraph, Mayor Pro Tem Bradley questioned why we would want to allow Melaleuca, Florida Holly, and Australian Pine to remain on a site. Ms. Heyden cited an example. An ACLF on Woolbright Road added ten beds to their existing facility and, therefore, was required to upgrade their landscaping. However, there were a lot of very tall, mature Australian Pines on the site and a variance was obtained. Otherwise, the owner would have had to remove them and the site would have been denuded. Mayor Pro Tem Bradley felt Australian Pines are the least invasive and cause the least amount of problems. However, he did not like the Melaleuca and Florida Holly. He said the birds spread the Florida Holly seeds. Commissioner Katz pointed out that the Australian Pines are the most dangerous in terms of high winds. They have a shallow root system. He agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Bradley and felt all three species should not be allowed to remain. -4- #ZNUTE$ - CITY CONNI$$ION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 After further discussion, it was the consensus of the Commission that a11 three species would not be allowed to remain. Commissioner Katz referred to 5(a) on the same page. He stated that if a devel- opment is 100 acres and has a 10 acre parcel of natural resource land, only 2.5 acres are required to be saved. He felt the entire natural resource parcel should be saved, not to exceed 25 percent of the gross acreage. He felt we need to try to save what little natural resource land there is. City Manager Parker advised that 25 percent is the current Comprehensive Plan Policy and if the Commission wanted to increase it, the Comp Plan will have to be revised. Commissioner Katz felt this should be done. Commissioner Aguila felt 25 percent was reasonable because there are not many of these parcels in the City. In that case, Commissioner Katz felt we should ask for 50 percent. Mayor Harmening felt 50 percent might be considered a taking. Commissioner Katz asked why 25 percent is not considered a taking, but 50 percent would be. Ms. Heyden thinks 25 percent is standard and is also what the County's Comprehensive Plan requires. She felt 50 percent would be considered unrea- sonable. Commissioner Aguila suggested that the Commission move forward with codifying this and in the interim, Ms. Heyden will identify the areas that would be affected. Mayor Harmening referred to page 4 and asked what, "Natural Resource Protection above {1) acre in size : 1.00" means. Ms. Heyden explained that there is a table in the subdivision regulations that sets forth all the different types of recreation amenities that one can provide to meet the requirement. It lists the type of amenity and acreage. In order for a natural resource area to get cred- it, it has to be a minimum of one acre in size. Mayor Pro Tem Bradley inquired about water-based recreation. Ms. Heyden advised that water-based recreation would be such things like a fishing pier. Mayor Harmening referred to the sentence in Section I2 which states, "In addi- tion, road construction and/or impact fees shall be in accordance with Palm Beach County Ordinances." He was not sure what the County requires. He pointed out that we have not been requiring the same fees as the County and have been requiring a better street than the County has been requiring. He was not in favor of lowering that standard. City Manager Parker thinks the intent was that the road construction traffic generation numbers be done, and the impact fees be calculated, in accordance with the Palm Beach County Ordinance. However, this is not what that paragraph states. Commissioner Aguila stated that this section deals with design and construction and that impact fees should not be mentioned. Mayor Harmening agreed. Ms. Heyden stated that sometimes when Palm Beach County reviews traffic statements for us, they will make courtesy comments in terms of when they feel a turn lane would be a good idea for safety reasons, or when they feel an inter- section should be lighted. City Manager Parker stated that at that point, City -5- NINUTE$ - CITY CONNIS$ION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 staff should either agree or disagree with that comment and if we agree with it, it becomes a part of the City's criteria. In response to City Manager Parker, Ms. Heyden advised that impact fees were mentioned in this section because they do not appear anywhere else. Mayor Harmening suggested they be put in a separate subsection. On page 5, Mayor Harmening felt stormwater treatment is somewhat inadequate and lacks a degree of specificity in terms of requirements. He pointed out that it is hard to put requirements in and force somebody to do something that is not specifically called for. However, we can always waive requirements. Mayor Harmening felt that the exclusion of building roofs should be amplified. He stated that it is likely that the water comes off onto a paved surface, not grass, and that it should be specified where it goes from there. He was referring to large buildings, not single-family homes. He felt the stormwater needs to be directed somewhere and it needs to be spelled out where it is to be directed. If not, it will go into the storm system. City Manager Parker advised that this ordinance does state that runoff from roads, parking lots, roofs and other impervious surfaces should be directed over the grassed area prior to going into the storm sewer. She stated that you can have a shorter distance than fifty feet if it is a grassed area. The fifty foot requirement is not applicable to the building roofs, sports fields, or the gut- ters, before going into the storm sewer. This satisifed Mayor Harmening. On page 6, Commissioner Aguila referred to paragraph number 2 and felt the word "right-of-way" should be inserted so that it reads, "2. Roads within sub- divisions that collect local streets shall be dedicated as public streets with a right-of-way width of eighty feet..." III, Revtew of Proposed Group Home Ordinance Ms. Heyden stated that staff has been struggling with group homes, foster homes, and ACLF nursing homes for a long time because those words are not used in the Code. Staff has had to decide if they fall under multi-family homes, ACLF nursing homes, or boarding homes. Therefore, this is something that is really needed, and staff relied heavily on the definitions that are used by Florida Statutes. Commissioner Aguila referred to page 5 and asked why we are requiring a copy of the applicant's General Liability Insurance Policy. Mayor Harmening stated that the City issues the Occupational License and in so doing, could be held liable if something goes wrong. Mayor Harmening referred to page 3, under Group I Homes, where it says "all single family". He felt we should limit it to R-1-A and R-1 and not degrade R-l-AAA and R-1-AAB. City Manager Parker advised that a recent State law prohi- bits us from discriminating between residential categories. -6- HINUTES - CITY COHHISSIOH WORKSHOP BOYHTOH BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 In response to the question why Group I Homes are allowed in different zoning districts than Group II Homes, Ms. Heyden explained that Group I Homes are licensed for not more than six residents and Group II Homes are licensed for not more than fourteen residents. Mayor Harmening pointed out that we jump all the way from R-l-AAA clear down to R-2. With regard to intensity of use, Mayor Pro Tem Bradley pointed out that a Group I Home of retarded children would probably have more of an impact on a community than a Group III Home of elderly. Mayor Harmening would like to see Group I Homes more limited, if possible. In response to Commissioner Katz, Ms. Heyden stated that the distance require- ments for a Type I home versus a Type IIi home are different. Between any two Type I Homes, there has to be a minimum of a 1,000 foot separation. The dis- tance requirement is increased to 1,800 feet for Type III Homes. City Manager Parker will have the City Attorney review this to see if Group I Homes can be limited. Commissioner Katz asked how we can address single family homes that have groups of people living in them, but they are not group homes. Ms. Heyden advised that this is addressed in the Zoning Code. Mayor Pro Tem Bradley would like the Codes strong enough so as not to encourage too much of this. He felt it would have a negative impact if there are too many of these kinds of homes in the community. In response to Commissioner Katz, Ms. Heyden advised that we might be able to increase the separation distance. Mayor Harmening suggested increasing it to 10,000 feet. In response to Mayor Pro Tem Bradley, Ms. Heyden advised that day care centers are not considered group homes. IV, Historic Preservation O~lnance - Consultant's Draft (Staff is recom- mending none of these changes be implemented,) Commissioner Aguila agreed with staff's recommendation that none of these changes be implemented. He felt it made sense to do a survey of historically significant structures, as City Manager Parker had mentioned, to see if we have a historic district. If we find we have a historic district, Commissioner Aguila felt we need to establish a Historic Preservation Board and set guide- lines on how to preserve it. Ms. Heyden advised that this ordinance has some merits. When the Comprehensive Plan was done, a historic preservation area was designated. Two surveys were done. One was done by a consultant, after which a more thorough one was done by staff. Seventy-five homes were identified as having some sort of historical looking features. She stated that she worked with Jim LaRue on this and both of them were confused as to whether a Certificate of Appropriateness was required only for those who seek assistance for improvements, or for all types of work, including demolition and removal of structures. -7- HIHUTE$ - CITY COHH[S$IOH ~RKSHOP BOYNTOH BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 Mayor Pro Tem Bradley asked what the benefit is of having historic preservation areas as opposed to having certain houses designated historic preservation. Mayor Harmening stated that it has become fashionable to create historic areas out of nothing. Commissioner Aguila stated that there are areas that have a number of historic buildings. There are also several vacant lots that somebody might build a house on that looks like it was built fifty years ago. Mayor Harmening said if he owned a building or house in an area designated as historic, he would be furious if the City told him he had to obtain a permit to change his rusted out awning. Ms. Heyden advised that when those structures were identified, surveys were sent to each owner. Less than 10 percent of the owners responded. Their basic atti- tude was that unless the City is going to give them some kind of grant assistance, they were not interested in this. Ms. Heyden believed that when this ordinance was written, the intent was to require a Certificate of Appropriateness for those types of projects where assistance was being sought. Ms. Heyden will apply for the grant. The deadline is December 15, 1994. However, once the historic properties are identified, the Commission has to decide if the property owners are required to come before the Commission for a review. Commissioner Aguila asked if this is a matching grant. Ms. Heyden stated that depending on the type of services being sought, some aspects are matching. However, some are not. Commissioner Aguila asked what kind of services we can get without investing any money. Ms. Heyden thinks a grant can be obtained without matching the funds. However, she has to get clarification on this. Commissioner Aguila suggested trying to obtain a grant without having to match the funds. Then we can determine what to do, if anything. City Manager Parker advised that the survey work that the consultant and staff did is not sufficient to qualify any home for any IRS tax credits under the Historic Program. However, the survey we anticipate getting would be sufficient for the property owner to use to apply for IRS tax credits. Mayor Harmening asked why this matter is before the City Commission. City Manager Parker explained that six ordinances, including the ones before the Commission this evening, were done by a consultant in 1990/1991 to implement the Land Development Regulations. They went to the City Commission on first reading, but were then pulled from the agenda and never adopted. Staff recom- mends moving forward with the Group Homes ordinance, with some amendments, and deleting the historic preservation ordinance and revising our policy. The other four ordinances will be brought to the Commission as part of these workshops. -8- NINUTE$ - CITY COI4MISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 27, 1994 It was the consensus of the Commission, except for Mayor Harmening, to apply for the grant, without matching funds. The next meeting is scheduled for November 7, 1994 at 6:00 P. M. City Manager Parker hoped Treasure Coast has the downtown code revisions ready for this meeting. Ms. Heyden felt it would be a good idea to invite the members of the Planning and Development Board to these workshops so that they get to know the Commission's goals and would be able to promote them when an item comes before them. The Commission had no objection. Commissioner Katz pointed out that these meetings are open to the public. V, ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Commissioner Aguila moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 P. M. Commissioner Katz seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. ATTEST: Ci ty~C1 erk Recording Secretary {Two Tapes) THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH Mayor Vice Mayor ~Commi ss i oner Commissioner -9-