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Minutes 04-20-06 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND THE BOYNTON BEACH PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD JOINT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP/CITYWIDE PROJECT PRESENTATION HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON TUESDAY, APRIL 20,2006 AT 6:00 P.M. CRA Present: Henderson Tillman, Chair Jeanne Heavilin Marie Horenburger Stormet Norem, Vice Chair Alex DeMarco Lisa Bright, Executive Director Vivian Brooks, CRA Planner Planning and Development Present: Roger Saberson Woodrow Hay, Vice Chair Lee Wische, Chair Sergio Casaine Diana Johnson Shirley Jaskiewicz 1. Welcome Remarks - Henderson Tillman Chair Chairman Tillman opened the workshop at 6:18 P.M. and welcomed the attendees. 2. Overview of the Development Approval Process - City Staff Mike Rumpf, City of Boynton Beach Planning and Zoning Director, gave comments and brought an array of materials used in the development process. Additionally, he indicated there are special or technical aspects that are addressed during the technical review process, may influence development or have an effect on the magnitude of development. Mr. Rumpf explained Development is responsible for providing as much information as possible to the applicant and the process is approximately three to four months long. If there are any major issues or a condition of approval that would lead to uncertainty in the design, the process will take longer. He indicated the applicant is provided with the Land Development Regulations, various schedules, applications, a list of standard review comments, a fact sheet, and the Arts Information Form. The applicants are required to follow the submitted design and follow the schedule. The first review (or staff comments) are received within 20 or 30 days after submittal of the application. After plans are revised as necessary, staff brings those comments to the Technical Application Review Team (TART) meeting. The second review comments follow the TART meeting. If the application is then ready to go forward, the comments are entered into the Development Order or are listed as conditions of approval. Mr. Rumpf explained it was appropriate for both boards to discuss development and factors that can affect the development. Meeting Minutes CRA and P&D Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida April 20, 2006 3. Factors Affecting Development a. Concurrency - City Planning Staff Mr. Rumpf explained traffic concurrency would impact a development the most. b. Redevelopment Plans - CRA Planning Staff Mr. Rumpf indicated the redevelopment side of concurrency is a whole different area. The redevelopment plans are being tweaked and amended. One plan that is being adopted is the Boynton Beach Boulevard Corridor Plan. He explained there are developers waiting for staff to amend the development plans and change the zoning districts to accommodate the mixed-use vision, contained in the redevelopment plans. There is a group that wants to develop a project along Boynton Beach Boulevard that would require a small-scale mixed-use project. The corridor plan is being completed, the mixed use districts are being converted from mixed-use high, (the Marina Project, 500 Ocean, the Promenade) A second tier south of Woolbright, called a mixed-use low will be converted. The two-district system is being converted into a four- district system to tailor those districts into different corridors and streets. Vehicular traffic is significant. The County governs traffic concurrency because the majority of the roads are County roads that fall within the Palm Beach County Traffic Performance Standards Ordinance. Development should not proceed unless there is appropriate capacity to proceed. This capacity would include traffic, schools, and other infrastructure. The application for site plan approval includes a traffic study, trip generation rates or a full-scale analysis. The studies are given to Development staff and then forwarded to the County for review. There can be exceptions to those studies contingent upon where the development occurs, according to the adopted standards. East of 1-95 is the Residential Exception Area which is motivated to influence redevelopment, infill and other initiatives downtown. The older roads are east of 1-95. Residential projects are exempt from the full traffic review in those areas. Mr. Rumpf explained the County was proposing an amendment to the residential exception taxable provision by attaching it to an affordable housing requirement. The Traffic Concurrency Exception Area (TCEA) downtown is different. Mr. Rumpf clarified the residential portions of the three projects in process are exempt from concurrency review; however, the commercial portions are subject to the requirements. There was discussion regarding the transportation concurrency area and density. Mr. Rumpf explained development takes place in accordance with two avenues: concurrency maximums! management, and what the Comprehensive Plan says. Mr. Rumpf explained the plans need to be balanced by being representative of what the community wants and whether the growth is in keeping with the plans and requirements. Congress Avenue and the high-density projects on the corridor are reported to have roads able to support the traffic, but it was noted as a quality of life issue. It was noted Boynton Beach has two-ended density occurring: one on the west side of the Congress corridor and the other occurring downtown. There was concern these areas would be "disconnected". Mr. Rumpf explained the TCEA is downtown and is separate from the residential concurrency exemption area. One is geographically separate. The TCEA in downtown Boynton Beach is approved on a case-by- 2 Meeting Minutes CRA and P&D Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida April 20, 2006 case basis. This would expand from residential to a project and this would be a condition of approval. Mr. DeMarco felt the City should have land-banked, specifically for parking years ago, and announced parking still needs to be addressed. Mr. Rumpf explained the TCEA is not project specific, rather it is geographically specific. He explained in the western area, in order to accommodate the Boynton Town Center Village Project on Congress Avenue without significant expansion of a roadway network or segments of roads, a Constrained Roadways at Lower Levels of Service (CRALLS) designation was requested. The request was also made because the improvements to infrastructure would have more disadvantages than benefits. The County typically amends their Comprehensive Plan and approves CRALLS designations if there are mitigating measures. The mitigating measures are initiating public transit, bikeways and other measures in the area. Mr. Rumpf explained it didn't make much sense to receive the designation for one project when others will follow. He explained the CRALLS designation raises the trip capacity to a higher level of service. In relation to schools, outside of staff reviews, the applicant submits a form to the City pertaining to capacity, which is forwarded to the schools for sign-off indicating whether they are at school capacity or not. The School Concurrency System contains a multiplier that equates to a number of different grades of school children. This applies to a cell, or school concurrency area. The applicant can go up to a certain percent, and once capacity is reached, the next cell is used. The current water infrastructure will allow for service, in addition to the approved and vested projects in process, an additional 8,000 units. These agreements for water can be renegotiated. The water supply does not include new wells or deeper wells, it is achieved using the City's own wells and five from the County. 4. The Development Pipeline a. Citywide Projects - City Planning Staff b. CRA Projects - CRA Planning Staff Vivian Brooks, Planning Director for the CRA, explained the CRA Board acts as the Planning and Development Board for the CRA area which is basically along the Federal Highway Corridor and the Heart of Boynton area. The purpose of the CRA is to redevelop an area, and to generate revenues. The revenues are deposited into a trust, which can only be spent within the CRA and have a public purpose. Ms. Brooks explained Florida State Statute 163 defines the CRA as having special roles, as contained in her PowerPoint Presentation which is herein attached to the minutes. Ms. Brooks clarified Vision 20/20 is the CRA's plan. The CRA also has a master plan. She explained the TCEA areas will encompass a broad area of the CRA area, and allows for additional commercial square footage without having to meet roof concurrency, and traffic concurrency. Within the CRA, residential units do not have to meet concurrency per State policy. Ms. Brooks reported the Urban Design Guidelines are being adopted. The Boynton Beach Boulevard Corridor Plan is in process of being adopted by the City. Ms. Brooks clarified the TCEA designation is not given outright. Other measures need to be given. The CRA obtained two trollies that are increasingly being used and they help mitigate the TCEA designation. 3 Meeting Minutes CRA and P&D Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida April 20, 2006 Ms. Brooks reviewed the projects as attached. She explained the CRA is looking for a higher level of architectural excellence due to their mission to eliminate slum and blight and affordable housing initiatives. The presentation concluded and comments were received. In response to the comments, Ms. Brooks, Mr. Rumpf or Ms. Matras responded as follows: The TCEA benefits Boynton Beach because it adds development. Without the TCEA, it would be difficult to add additional commercial development. The designation was given in anticipation of achieving an office market. All downtown areas have TCEA designations. The timetable of site plan to closing, demolition and project completion is lengthy. There is land that individuals or realtors had assembled and vested, and then tried to flip, that still remains vacant. The market could absorb only so much development. Additionally over the last three years, the average price of construction costs rose 25% per year, plus there was a shortage of labor. The Code allows for one extension to a site plan. The lack of office space was discussed. It was noted there is a significant portion of office space and several mixed-use areas. There is about 300,000 square feet of office space in the entire city. Ocean One has about 160,000 square feet of office space in the towers. Additionally, office/condos are being encouraged. Affordable housing is defined at the City and County level as having a maximum value of $280K, which is still high for the majority of workers and residents within the City. Even with the City's down payment assistance program, there is still a significant gap. The CRA Board just passed their homebuyers assistance plan which will provide eligible participants up to $50,000 to match the down payment grant from the City. It would be helpful to learn what the percentage of affordable housing is when reviewing replacement housing. A handout was distributed that corresponded to a map. The handout is available for public inspection in the Office of the City Clerk. The larger tracts were identified as those possibly being used by the City for industrial use. He noted the City is losing space to residential development. Chairman Tillman thanked the CRA and City staff for making the presentation. He asked the board members for final comments or thoughts. Mr. Wische spoke about affordable housing. He commented years ago, homes were taken away. He felt in the past, asking a homeowner to move from one home right into another would have been a better way to proceed. Today, he commented, the City uses eminent domain. Ms. Heavilin thought there should be some consistency throughout the City as it pertained to urban guidelines. Mr. Rumpf explained there may need to be additional discussion about the different environments in the suburban areas, including pedestrian environments, Ms. Horenburger inquired how the process worked with the CRA having a planner and the manner in which the projects are reviewed. It was explained Ms. Brooks meets with the developers early and gives them the CRA vision and guides them through the process. The actual plan review process has Ms. Brooks as part of the team and her comments are 4 Meeting Minutes CRA and P&D Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida April 20, 2006 incorporated into the comments for the applicant. It is a smoother process for the applicant. Early coordination is very important and so far it's been very helpful. Chairman Tillman asked if the system was improving. Ms. Brook indicated she sees the process improving. There is a clear message being sent and overall, more people are understanding the concepts. Ms. Jaskiewicz noted there was no way to determine the positive or negative effects of the development. She inquired about the time frame for development. Ms. Brooks explained a site plan is good for one year with one extension. Ms. Matras explained the City calls every four months regarding projects to determine the build-out dates. 5. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned by consensus at 7:22 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Catherine Che -Guberman Recording Secretary 042106 5