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Minutes 02-19-04 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2004 AT 6:00 P.M. Present Larry Finkelstein, Chairman Douglas Hutchinson, CRA Director Jeanne Heavilin, Vice Chair Susan Vielhauer, Controller Alexander DeMarco Henderson Tillman Absent James Baretta Don Fenton Charles Fisher Call to Order Chairman Finkelstein called the workshop meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. Presentation - Urban Desiqn Guidelines for the CR.~ Chairman Finkelstein explained that the purpose of establishing guidelines for the CRA is to provide developers and individuals guidelines on what they can and cannot build in the various zoning districts within the CRA area. Present on behalf of RMPK Group were Jody Rivers and Corey Malyszka. M.s Rivers explained that their firm has been hired to do two different projects that must be done concurrently. One is to rewrite the City's Land Development Regulations (LDR), which are a set of rules that allow certain development within certain places. Mr. Hutchinson explained that the City currently has Land Development Regulations, but they are in the process of being changed. Ms. Rivers noted that the second project is the Design Guidelines. While addressing the Board and citizens in the audience, Mr. Malyszka gave a PowerPoint presentation. Items to be discussed would be facades, balconies, height of buildings and setbacks. Mr. Malyszka explained that before Design Guidelines can be established, they must establish the new LDR. The Design Guidelines will deal mainly with the major corridors and the downtown development districts. The rewrite of the LDR contains 13 specific districts. Mr. Hutchinson explained that the rewrite of the LDR is Citywide. The CRA felt that since there is so much new development coming in that it was necessary to establish Design Guidelines so that people know what the City (CRA) is looking for. Mr. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida February 19, 2004 Hutohinson pointed out that there would be copies of the Design Guidelines at the CRA offioe for viewing. Mr. Malyszka stated that by going through planning and development for the guidelines, it would oreate better developments. It is important that the land be used oorrectly, while preserving opening spaces, and oreating distriots throughout the City. Mr. Malyszka reviewed the various rezoning that would apply to the planned downtown development distriots. Distriots that would apply to the Urban Design Guidelines are- . Mixed Use- Low- MU-L; · Mixed Use- Moderate - MU-MO; · Mixed Use- Medium - MU-ME; and · Mixed Use- High- MU-H ~> Mixed Use-Low is located on Boynton Beach Boulevard from 1-95 to Seacrest Avenue. ~> Seacrest Avenue to Federal Highway is Mixed-Use Moderate. ~ The Intersection of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Federal Highway, which is in the CBD, is Mixed-Use High. ~> Some sections along Federal Highway will be Mixed-Use Low and Mixed-Use Medium. ~* The MLK area is Mixed Use-Medium. Mr. Hutchinson explained that currently the City only has Mixed Use-Low and Mixed- Use High. Breaking the districts into four separate districts will help soften the transition of the districts. Heiqht Limits > Mixed-Use Low goes to 45', > Mixed Use-Moderate goes to 60' > Mixed Use-Medium goes to 100', and > Mixed-Use High goes to 150'. There will be no restrictions on the architecture of the buildings and they are trying to create pedestrian friendly areas for shopping and working. Mr. Hutchinson explained that the guidelines also deal with edges and setbacks for various neighborhoods. Districts are residential, commercial, light industrial, public usage and the CBD. There will also be guidelines for developers who do not want to do certain projects that are designated for certain areas. By having these guidelines it will help enhance the environment in these districts, while creating certain setbacks and certain edges. Parking would be placed either along the side or in the rear, depending on the location and the district. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida F=bruary 19, 2004 Also, there are guidelines for newer residential development that would go into the MLK and Ocean Districts to ensure that the new residential is appealing and would match the community. Mr. Malyszka next presented examples of all the mixed-use districts. The difference between the mixed-use districts is height and setbacks. Topics discussed were - Heights Setbacks Placement of the building Parking Vehicle circulation Mr. Malyszka noted that it was not desirable to have multiple access points along Federal Highway or Boynton Beach Boulevard; it would be better to have them along the cross streets. This would avoid traffic congestion. Various drawings of how neighborhoods could look were displayed. Chairman Finkelstein inquired why RMPK was not recommending residential on the back streets that would face other residential, instead of a parking lot facing residential. Mr. Malyszka said that the size of the lot would determine this. Chairman Finkelstein did not think it would be desirable to have people looking out into a parking lot, which would be unattractive. He also pointed out that the frontage guidelines state that the rear setback would face the residential street with no frontage. Ms. Rivers said that these guidelines could be adjusted. Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that the guidelines should state what they mean. He said that he had problems all the way through the report. He wants to make sure that the CRA has the tools that developers will understand exactly what they can and cannot build. Mr. Hutchinson would also like the roads identified in the report. His intent is to maintain the current neighborhoods as great places to live. Elizabeth Pierce, 637 Oak Street, Boynton Beach, lives in one of these neighborhoods and would not like to look at a parking lot or the buffer of a parking lot, nor would she like people using the neighborhood roads. She felt that this would greatly impact traffic. Mr. Malyszka explained that egress and ingress would not extend back into the residential areas. They are not trying to put access points onto Federal Highway in order to create more safety for pedestrians. Also they are including shared parking that would cut down on parking spaces. By creating mixed-use areas, people could park in one area and walk several blocks to other areas. Mr. DeMarco inquired if the design displayed was an established concept and if so, was it successful. He would like the Board to be able to look at it to see if it is working. Mr. Malyszka responded that the design was created as a result of their research and is not site specific to a particular city. They did look at other cities' Design Guidelines, such as West Palm Beach and cities on the West Coast of the United States. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida F;bruary 19, 2004 Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that on page 10 of the report there is no mention of height in the mixed-use Iow category. Mr. Malyszka stated that this is included in the LDR. Mr. Hutchinson would like it included in the report for ease of reference. Chairman Finkelstein pointed out that this information is contained on page 7. Ms. Rivers stated that they would include the heights where appropriate. Chairman Finkelstein stated that there were inconsistencies in the report regarding the mixed uses. Tonight was the first time that he heard about "planned downtown districts" pointing out that there are no districts in the downtown. Mr. Malyszka stated that this would be addressed in the overlay in the LDR. Ms. Rivers stated that they would redo this language. Chairman Finkelstein felt that the report contained a great deal of information to address in one night. Mr. Malyszka said that they would only be reviewing the mixed use-low district and will show how the guidelines were set up for this district. Mr. Hutchinson said that he would like to meet with the Board members individually to go over the report. He also invited any citizen to come into the CRA office to provide input. Mr. Hutchinson also pointed out that the guidelines cannot be done in one try. Mr. Hutchinson explained that the CRA is being asked to contribute language to the re- write of the LDR, and he asked City staff for their viewpoints so that everything matches up. Chairman Finkelstein stated that he had a lot of questions and pointed out that there is mixed use-low backed up to mixed use-high and across the street is medium. He noted that there were a lot of changes in the report from what had been previously approved during the re-write. Mr. Hutchinson recommended doing another workshop. John Alvaroe, 680 NE 15th Place, Boynton Beach asked if the mixed use-low areas have been established. Mr. Hutchinson responded that the Board has been considerate about having mixed use brought into the neighborhoods and those neighborhoods are not in the mixed-use districts being looked at. Mr. Hutchinson requested that when RMPK reprints the report that they use a larger print size for legibility. Vice Chair Heavilin pointed out that when the first five districts were created under the Federal Highway Corridor Plan, the whole point was to step it down and she felt that this was not happening in the report. Chairman Finkelstein stated that they need to know where the boundaries are and what is being recommended. Vice Chair Heavilin inquired if the geographical parameters of each district are contained in the report and Mr. Malyszka said that these are still being established. Mr. Hutchinson requested that they be furnished with a larger map as well. Mr. Maiyszka stated that the mixed use-low has not changed that much from what the Board had seen in December. Mr. Malyszka displayed drawings of interior and exterior plazas, front streetscapes, and internal walkway locations contained on pages 13 and 14 of the Design Guidelines. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida February 19, 2004 Next reviewed were shared access points and parking. This arrangement would create less interaction between pedestrians and vehicles and would encourage walking from one square to another. Mr. Hutchinson felt that the drawings presented what the CRA was looking for in the neighborhoods; however, he had a problem with the way some of the parking lots were laid out. He did not like having parking lights shining throughout the back of the projects. Mr. Malyszka said that they would work on this. On Page 16 urban context/building design was displayed and Mr. Malyszka pointed out how buildings would relate to other buildings and the street. He also discussed how new buildings should relate to historic structures. Chairman Finkelstein questioned why a developer would have to build a new building that would relate to an old one-story building. Mr. Malyszka said that they were looking at the relationship of one building to another. Chairman Finkelstein did not feel that it was appropriate to have to match a new building with an older, obsolete building that might be torn down in the future. Chairman Finkelstein thought that the report would address specific guidelines for specific areas. He did not think that the guidelines would be lumped into Citywide, mixed-use Iow, because these uses may not be appropriate for certain areas. Ms. Rivers responded that if the guidelines were not appropriate, perhaps the mixed-use designation needs to be changed. Chairman Finkelstein agreed with this..He was not certain from the map if the new borders for the mixed-use categories were in the correct places. Mr. Hutchinson stated that the height and massing issues need to be addressed. With regard to the facades of the buildings, Mr. Malyszka explained that they tried to avoid the "blank wall" effect. If it cannot be avoided, they recommend placing architectural treatments along the building with cornices and columns. Next discussed were the window guidelines. Sixty percent to 90% of the first floor would be window and the other floors would have less window. Vice Chair Heavilin inquired why the guidelines state that there would be no reflective glass or reflective coating and asked what they were proposing. Mr. Malyszka stated that they are recommending that the windows be open so that people can look in. She asked how this would affect the energy needs of the building. Mr. Malyszka stated that they are trying to encourage people to see into the buildings while walking by. Chairman Finkelstein noted that tinting was allowed. They have added texture to the structures and the windows would be setback within the building to create some kind of rhythm in the architecture of the building. Mr. DeMarco was concerned that all the buildings and windows would be square. He would like to make sure that architects would be allowed to design something that would be attractive and Mr. Malyszka responded that they are not dictating the architectural styles; they are just presenting some guidelines. Mr. DeMarco pointed out that Palm Beach County has an architectural manual and recommended that Mr. Malyszka look at it. Mr. Hutchinson explained that this is available on line. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida February 19, 2004 Mr. Malyszka said that they are trying to encourage buildings that would have surface artwork using different materials so that the building would have a lot of texture and is not flat. Mr. Hutchinson referred to the drawings contained on page 23 that addressed these designs and pointed out that they were not consistent. Chairman Finkelstein noted that some pictures show a setback after the first floor and other pictures show no setback on a three-story building, but it includes an arcade. He felt that this was suitable for downtown, but mixed use-low went way too far downtown. Mr. Hutchinson felt that the building did not reflect the suggestions that have been made and said that this would only create confusion. Mr. Malyszka continued his presentation and presented a drawing of a first floor use in relationship to the street that would include cafes and streetscaping. Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that the drawings were not true to scale and it appeared that the right-of- way was around 20' to 30' when they were actually looking for 10' to 15'. If the buildings were set back too far, the idea of a pedestrian walkway is lost. Mr. Malyszka stated that they would look into this. They emphasized street-related entries to improve the convenience for the pedestrian environment and to provide architectural expression. There would be entryways into a building facing a main street every 50'. Building corners would be articulated with various elements as stated. Various building encroachments were introduced that could include roof eaves, open loggias, arcades, trellises, balconies and awnings. Exterior Building Materials could be stucco, brick, concrete masonry units and stone. Plastic siding, corrugated or reflective metal panels, tile, smooth or ribbed-face concrete block and applied stone or faux-stone are prohibited. Mr. Hutchinson inquired if there were usage percentages and Mr. Malyszka stated that there were none. District Wide Guideline-~ Mr. Malyszka stated that these guidelines pertain to streetscape design on primary frontage and who would be responsible for building the streetscape. These guidelines would prevent a developer from putting in an inappropriate material. Mr. Hutchinson requested that when the final plan is prepared that the streetscape guidelines for all the districts be included. Also included in the report were guidelines for secondary streets and internal walkway criteria. They have included using a common material, such as concrete and brick. Mr. Malyszka next addressed external and internal plaza designs that would include artwork, landscaping, and courtyards. Parking layout and design criteria would conform to the City's Landscape Code. Since it was difficult to actually see the parking lot in the picture because of the screening, Chairman Finkelstein recommended using a different photograph of the parking area. Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that the report did not address parallel versus perpendicular parking. He requested that this be addressed in the revised draft, district by district. 6 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida February 19, 2004 Chairman Finkelstein pointed out that the PDD zones were referred to as MX instead of MU and Ms. Rivers stated that this was a typographical error that will be corrected. Next discussed were the urban landscape guidelines. Mr. Hutchinson inquired if a list of plants that the City used for various areas, including the downtown, would be included. Mr. Malyszka said that the guidelines refer to the City's landscape code, but he would check into this. On page 166 of the report, it mentions certain trees and the required dimensions of the trees, plant material, shrubs and hedges, vines, ground cover, lawn/grass and mulch. Mr. Hutchinson did not think that trees with a minimum of 12' in height would be sufficient to cover the first floor of a parking lot. Mr. Hutchinson stated that the tree coverage needs to be correlated to what it is intended to cover. Chairman Finkelstein felt that this should only apply in a screening situation. Vice Chair Heavilin recommended that the guidelines state that the landscaping must be in proportion to the project. Ms. Rivers felt that when a project goes through the approval process that would be the time to address specific plant material. Mr. Tillman noted that there are no provisions in the guidelines for each mixed-use area for definitions, areas of conflict, and exceptions. Ms. Rivers stated that this is included in the LDR. He would like to see definitions included in the guidelines as well. He also felt that definitions for landscaping should be included. Ms. Rivers explained that definitions are a legal requirement of the LDR, but they could include definitions in the Design Guidelines. They do not want to conflict with the LDR. She said that it could be stated at the beginning of the document that definitions, exceptions, etc. are addressed in the LDR. Mr. Hutchinson would like to have something included as to how it would apply in a particular section. Ms. Rivers said that she would check into this further since there is a clear definition between a legal requirement and a guideline. Mr. Tillman recommended using illustrations as examples of exceptions. Vice Chair Heavilin inquired how these guidelines would apply to existing development. She noted that in the Urban Landscape section it states that: "All existing and newly landscaped properties shall receive an initial landscape/irrigation inspection to ensure compliance with these standards and guidelines." Vice Chair Heavilin asked how these properties could be brought into line with the guidelines. Chairman Finkelstein did not think that this was possible. Mr. Tillman pointed out that earlier it was discussed that a new building would have to conform to an older building, whereas these guidelines require that the existing structure would have to be brought into line. This is a definite conflict. Vice Chair Heavilin did not think that this provision should be included in the guidelines, but the Board needs to address obsolete buildings. Chairman Finkelstein was against having to build a new building that would have to conform to an old or an historic building. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida February 19, 2004 Summary Chairman Finkelstein asked Ms. Rivers how they intended to address the content issues. She recommended that the individual Board members work with Mr. Hutchinson who could compile all the comments and then submit them to RMPK to be addressed. Mr. Hutchinson stated that he would like more time to work with the Board members since they just received the guidelines last week. Ms. Rivers stated that the purpose of the workshop was to present the guidelines and explain the format on how they arrived at what they developed. She felt it was now up to the Board to provide their input. Chairman Finkelstein stated that he would like the Board to go through the document at the next meeting. After that, Mr. Hutchinson would get back with RMPK and then a final workshop could be held after the comments and suggestions have been incorporated into the guidelines. Mr. Hutchinson stressed that it was very important to get the map in a larger size. Chairman Finkelstein recommended that the map be prepared in sections of the different areas. Mr. Hutchinson felt that the Urban Design Guidelines need to be adopted simultaneously with the LDR. Members did not feel that there was an urgency to get the guidelines passed and Ms. Rivers noted that the guidelines do not apply until the LDR is passed. She anticipates that the LDR will be finished in August. Mr. Hutchinson also noted that there is a new master plan and there is a traffic concurrency exemption area that will generate the parking and downtown issues. RMPK will be working on the parking issues. Mr. Malyszka pointed out that when they addressed signage they did not deal with dimensions because they were not sure if the Board wanted this addressed. However, they did discuss positioning, textures and colors. Mr. Hutchinson felt that the Design Guideline for signs should be in the LDR. Chairman Finkelstein requested that Mr. Hutchinson inform the other Board members that they need to provide their comments. Mr. Hutchinson will speak with the individual members at their monthly meeting. There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (February 23, 2004) 8