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Minutes 09-24-03MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY WORKSHOP HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, 208 SOUTH SEACREST BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2003 AT 6:00 P.M. Present: Larry Finkelstein, Chairman Jeanne Heavilin, Vice Chair Alexander DeMarco Charlie Fisher Douglas Hutchinson, CRA Director Annette Gray, Administrative Assistant City Absent Don Fenton Michelle Hoyland Henderson Tillman I. Call to Order Chairman Finkelstein called the Workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Workshop A. RMPK Group Presentation of Boynton Beach Boulevard Corridor Plan Jody Rivers, Russell Moore and Corey Malyszka were present on behalf of the RMPK Group. Ms. Rivers stated that Mr. Malyszka has been doing urban planning for RMPK and will be working on the project. Ms. Rivers reported that they have done the site inventory, the analysis and have begun the concepts. Also a public meeting was held recently. The project location is 1-95 to Seacrest Boulevard. Ms. Rivers presented a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office, and she reviewed the salient points of the presentation. Inventory When they looked at the inventory, they looked at zoning, vacant lots, bus stops, transportation, parks, access points, pedestrian paths and the usual items people look at when doing an inventory. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Workshop Boynton Beach, FL September 24, 2003 Zoninq There are four zoning categories: C-1, C-2, C-3 and R-lA. There are some vacant parcels of land. The largest one has already been sold and there are plans to develop this land. There are also two parcels north of the Boulevard that could be used as open public space that could act as a pedestrian enhancement to get people from the neighborhoods to the Boulevard. · Barton Park is located on the northwest side of the Boulevard. There is no access to Barton Park from Boynton Beach Boulevard. There are two stoplights; one at 1-95 and one at Seacrest. There is no pedestrian crossing between those two points. There are two existing medians towards the west end of the Boulevard and three bus stops. Slides of the existing buildings were viewed. With regard to the private and residential portion of the inventory, they looked at infrastructure, lighting, landscaping, bike lanes, lack of pedestrian amenities and lack of neighborhood access. There is no sidewalk access from Boynton Beach Boulevard into most of the neighborhood streets. Therefore, people going from the neighborhoods to the corridor have to walk in the street. There is a major hotel on one side and a Church and Post Office at the other end of the Boulevard. Signage is a hodgepodge. There is a variety of architecture and physical structures and each property has its own vehicular access. There is no on-street parking. Boynton Beach Boulevard is the main corridor to downtown and is the first impression people get of the City when they exit 1-95 to get to downtown Boynton Beach. The Boulevard should be an easy access to the Marina, parks, City Hall and downtown. Input gathered from the public meetings indicated that traffic is too fast and pedestrians do not feel safe crossing the Boulevard. The Boulevard lacks amenities such as landscaping, benches, trashcans and pedestrian friendly streetlights. Also, it would be a benefit to the area if there was direct access to Barton Park that could become a nice amenity. Mr. Hutchinson noted that from the public input, residents wanted to make their neighborhoods stronger and do not want to lose their identify. They do not want to see Boynton Beach Boulevard become merely an access to downtown. Chairman Finkelstein pointed out that one of the original CRA goals was to consider adding medians to Boynton Beach Boulevard, but the businesses were opposed. Now, they would like to see medians. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Workshop Boynton Beach, FL September 24, 2003 Mr. Moore said that it is critical to the future mix how Boynton Beach Boulevard is developed. It can either become a condo area where people just zip through, or it could have some uses that would slow the speed of the traffic. B. Question & Answer Vice Chair Heavilin inquired about the area on Boynton Beach Boulevard that is east of Seacrest. Mr. Hutchinson responded that eventually the districts would be realigned once the entire area is studied. Chairman Finkelstein thought that they would do the entire area and then do an overlay for the entire Corridor Plan. Mr. Hutchinson said that this area has been approved by staff to be included with the Ocean District area. It is the City's intent to get the Boynton Beach Boulevard Plan done. After that, The RMPK Group would do the LDR and the design guideline ovedays to configure the areas so that they would match up. When the Boynton Beach Boulevard Plan is done, The RMPK Group would put everything together to create a "Vision 20~20" update so that everything ties into the LDR and the design guidelines. Chairman Finkelstein felt that the Boynton Beach Corridor should have some consistency as it navigates, and Mr. Hutchinson agreed with this. Chairman Finkelstein noted that this is a corridor plan and not a district plan. Therefore, he felt that an entire overlay of the entire corridor would be done, i.e. from 1-95 to Federal Highway. Mr. Moore noted that from the public's perception the roadway would go all the way through, but the land use districts would be totally different. Whatever theme the CRA develops for Boynton Beach Boulevard should continue all the way through. This could be addressed through the design guidelines. Mr. Hutchinson stated that once this plan is complete, they would come back to the Board with Land Development Regulations and design guidelines that would match, as well as a consolidation of all the plans. Mr. Hutchinson also noted that there is provision to do a traffic study as well, which will be done when this plan is done. Chairman Finkelstein asked why only part of the corridor was being done without doing the entire corridor so that the entire corridor would match the re-write. Mr. Hutchinson said that this was not necessary because the Ocean District has been done. Mr. Hutchinson noted that the Boynton Beach Corridor plan actually involves three different planning areas, and he would like to get this small piece done first and then look at the rest of the plans. Mr. Fisher questioned why they would have to write the language in two phases, i.e. 1-95 to Seacrest and then Seacrest to Federal. Mr. Hutchinson said that when this is complete, it will fit into the new language, which is why they chose to remain with The RMPK Group. Mr. Moore pointed out that The RMPK Group will be taking all the pieces to come up with a uniform design for zoning, economic development, housing and urban design treatment. Mr. Hutchinson noted that by doing it this way it would not be necessary to Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Workshop Boynton Beach, FL September 24, 2003 rewrite the District Plan because it will match the new formats. This is the last piece needed for the 1983 Plan update. Vice Chair Heavilin inquired if the traffic studies would involve the entire corridor, and Mr. Hutchinson stated it would encompass the entire CRA. Mr. Fisher asked about the Federal Highway Corridor Study that was done awhile back. Mr. Hutchinson responded that the studies would be coordinated. Chairman Finkelstein wanted assurances that the Corridor would be done because it is very important that this be consistent with the rest of the plan. Mr. Hutchinson noted that they are working on this. Ms. Rivers explained that the current land use regulations on Boynton Beach Boulevard do not allow for a great deal of redevelopment and prohibits a big development push as well as a variety of uses. Also, parking and access are an issue and there is inconsistency in the landscaping and architecture. Ms. Rivers next discussed concept plan elements that they have developed. In the private sector they looked at mixed-use buildings and redevelopment of the Holiday Inn site. The issue of the U.S. Post Office has also been addressed, as well as connections into the neighborhoods. Considerations for on street parking, streetscape and signage for the area were also looked at. Members were referred to the Concept Plan contained on Page 45 of the report and the significant points were: · On the west end of the project there would be some kind of signage, with landscaping, welcoming people to Boynton Beach. · The FDOT property in front of the Holiday Inn needs to be addressed and spruced up. · The cyclone fence in front of the Holiday Inn could be changed to an iron fence. This could also be done for the school across the street. Chairman Finkelstein stated that the chainlink fence in front of the Holiday Inn actually belongs to the FDOT. · The Holiday Inn could become the hospitality center for the downtown. · They are recommending a mixed-use with Iow density. The first floors of buildings could be retail/commercial and the second floors could contain housing. Mr. DeMarco wants to make sure that developers are aware of what the CRA's uniform concept for Boynton Beach Boulevard is. He would like to see some kind of brochure developed that would show the developers what the CRA wants to see on Boynton Beach Boulevard. He felt that there are a lot of people that would be interested in developing this area. Mr. Moore pointed out that the diagrams in the report address the first step of what Mr. DeMarco brought up. Mr. Moore stated that if some of the lots were combined, they would be able to come up with development and design concepts that were discussed Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Workshop Boynton Beach, FL September 24, 2003 where the buildings would be closer to the street and parking would be in the back that could be accessed through alleys. There would also be parallel parking on Boynton Beach Boulevard. If the Board agreed, this is how they want to proceed. The next step would be to take the concept plan and turn it into a development project. Mr. Fisher wanted to make sure that there would be sufficient room for landscaping and Mr. Moore stated that there would be landscaping along the street. Mr. Moore pointed out that currently they were only looking at a zoning diagram. Mr. DeMarco was not in favor of having the buildings placed right up to the sidewalks without any landscaping. He felt that landscaping was very important so that people would enjoy walking down Boynton Beach Boulevard. Mr. Moore said that there should be a code that would dictate how the private sidewalks should be built to match the public sidewalks. These are things that they will be addressing in the near future. Mr. Fisher inquired what types of businesses would the redesigned Boynton Beach Boulevard attract. Mr. Moore stated that it could attract offices, medical clinics, professional offices and neighborhood services. Mr. Hutchinson noted that at the time of public input people were optimistic that the buildings could be rented. Mr. Fisher inquired if three story buildings would be appropriate. Chairman Finkelstein noted that this was possible since 45' is permitted. Ms. Rivers next addressed the Post Office. She envisions taking the full block and the concept for this site was contained on Page 49 of their report. A service center Post Office would remain, but there would be no trucks. Ms. Rivers noted that there are appropriate small size service center Post Offices that would suffice and there is still the need for a Post Office downtown. They are recommending a 60' tall building on the corner, and Chairman Finkelstein stated that if 60' were used, he would like the stair- step effect employed. Ms. Rivers said that they are recommending four floors on the neighborhood streets and six floors along Boynton and Seacrest Boulevards. Also, the steeple of the new Church across the street will be quite tall. Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that the height east of Seacrest to the railroad is 75' and then it goes to 150'. Ms. Rivers pointed out that these are conceptual drawings without any architectural features, and they will come back with new drawings that will display the recessed buildings being recommended. Chairman Finkelstein did not think it would be appropriate to have a tall massive building on the corner of Seacrest and Boynton Beach Boulevard. Mr. Moore pointed out that this is a key intersection in an employment area and this would be a good opportunity to bring in some neighborhood related commercial. He feels this is an important node. They are also proposing a parking garage as well. Vice Chair Heavilin said that she was not opposed to the building being close to the sidewalk as long as there was adequate landscaping. Discussion ensued about introducing some type of caf~ with tables outside. Mr. DeMarco noted that if verandas were added, this would provide shade over the sidewalks. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Workshop Boynton Beach, FL September 24, 2003 Vice Chair Heavilin inquired why the bike lanes were not officially noted as bike lanes. Ms. Rivers pointed out that they are not identified as bike lanes because they do not meet FDOT's official standards, which is 5'. Ms. Rivers questioned if the Board wanted to have bike lanes on Boynton Beach Boulevard. Ms. Rivers was in favor of bike paths, but felt they should be located elsewhere. Sometimes the straightest route is not always the safest route. Chairman Finkelstein asked if the northern corridor boundary was correct as noted on the drawing, and Mr. Hutchinson stated this is where the Heart of Boynton ended. Chairman Finkelstein did not think that this was the correct boundary. Ms. Rivers agreed and said that they will be looking at this. Chairman Finkelstein suggested that members take the Plan home and review it. Ms. Rivers said that she would need comments as soon as possible because they are working on the final plan. Chairman Finkelstein requested that the comments be provided to Mr. Hutchinson by Monday. Ms. Rivers noted that they would be coming back to the Board with the final Plan. III. Other Items None IV. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting propedy adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary September 30, 2003)