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Minutes 04-30-98 BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1998 AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT A. Malek Abdallah Bulent Kastarlak, Director of Michael Bessell Development Barry Goldman, Chairman John Wildner, Parks Superintendent Richard Kurtz, Vice Chairman Don Johnson, Deputy Building Official Robert Mulroy, Alternate Milton Russell Robert Zimmerman ABSENT Melvin Sternbach A. CALL TO ORDER –Barry Goldman, Chairman Chairman Goldman called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. B. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was declared present. C. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF MEMBERS AND VISITORS Chairman Goldman acknowledged the visitors in attendance and thanked them for attending the third meeting on the item presented on tonight’s Agenda. D. APPROVAL OF AGENDA & MINUTES of the APRIL 22, 1998 MEETING Vice Chair Kurtz moved to approve the minutes of the April 22, 1998 meeting. Mr. Mulroy seconded the motion. Motion carried 7-0. E. OLD BUSINESS MOTION Vice Chair Kurtz moved that the matter of PETITION OF: Richard E. Walesky, Director, Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources, SEEKING RELIEF FROM SECTION 401.2.2 and Table 407, Standard Plumbing Code, 1994 Edition; PROPERTY REFERENCE: 3400 S. Seacrest Boulevard tabled at the April MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 22, 1998 Meeting be moved from the table and presented to the Board. Motion seconded by Robert Mulroy. Chairman Goldman called for a vote of the motion. All members having voted, the motion carried 7-0. Present and Representing Palm Beach County: Richard E. Walesky, Director Department of Environmental Resources Management Heidi Juhl, Assistant County Attorney SWEARING IN OF WITNESSES Assistant City Attorney Pawelczyk swore in all persons who would be testifying this evening. Chairman Goldman introduced Richard Walesky, Director of Environmental Resources Management for Palm Beach County. Mr. Walesky thanked everyone for being present this evening. Mr. Walesky handed out materials that were presented at the April 22, 1998 meeting to Messrs. Russell and Zimmerman who were not present at that meeting. Mr. Walesky stated that in 1991 the voters in Palm Beach County approved a referendum that would set aside $100,000,000 of bond funds to purchase environmentally sensitive land. At this point, Mr. Walesky handed out the vote that spells out the actual language that was voted upon at that time. Mr. Walesky pointed out that the purpose of setting aside this land was for preservation and maintenance of environmentally sensitive lands and to protect wildlife and endangered species on such lands. This issue presents a different view, because this is conservation land and was bought for preservation purposes, wildlife and endangered species and there is no mention as to how the public might utilize the land. The focus is on conservation lands, not parks. Since public access facilities are being built on these facilities and people are encouraged to enter on these lands, the restroom issue needs to be dealt with. Mr. Walesky stated that this site has been open for four years. Since March 26, 1994, when the property was bought, it has been open and available to the public. There has been a lot of activity on the land over the past four years, including clean-up efforts, 2 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 community activities, and tours by school children. The County arrived at the point of obtaining building permits for the purpose of installing public facilities on these sites. The types of public facilities being installed at these sites are what the County believes is the minimum necessary requirements to provide access to the public. This site was designed with these minimum requirements, it being a 53-acre site, situated in a highly urbanized area, surrounded by development. There is a cross trail, which was built as a management road, and there are four different zones that have to be burnt regularly and are fire managed systems. Mr. Walesky further stated that with regard to the parking facilities, there is an educational kiosk, which is a sign system that informs the public that they are entering conservation, sensitive lands, and the restrictions placed on the lands. With regard to the fencing, Mr. Walesky said fencing is intended to keep off-road vehicles out of the property and to prevent people from entering the site for dumping purposes. The parking lot and the handicap accessible trail are 1,000 feet of hardened surface in order to meet ADA accommodations in providing handicap access. A hardened trail was prepared for accommodating wheel chairs. Parking spaces were created to keep order to the parking and minimize the impact on the resources by keeping the parking down to 10 parking spaces and two buses. The site is being managed for the resources and is not being built to attract masses of people, but people’s needs have to be considered also. Mr. Walesky informed the members that at the last meeting he spent a great deal of time reviewing the documents that the County presented up to this point. Mr. Walesky said that the County was in partnership with the City and that the City has paid in part for the site. There is also a contract with the City. The City is managing the site together with the County and the County has relied on this entire process to move forward in seeking bids on the site. Mr. Walesky stated that at the last meeting, Chairman Goldman said that there should not have been any element of surprise when a building permit process is applied for, unexpected results can occur. Mr. Walesky stated that this only applies to single family property owners. In fact, the County was surprised, as it had spent five years in the process of preparing the site with the City and it was not until the construction process was to begin, that the issue of bathrooms surfaced. The bathroom addition doubled the cost of the project. The cost went from $100,000 to $200,000 and this additional cost is a real concern to the County. Mr. Walesky felt the bathroom policy had been established and that the Board of County Commissioners had already approved five different plans and was working on a sixth. Also, the restroom issue had previously been debated. Material regarding this issue was included in the packet previously furnished by the County. The policy coming out 3 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 of these debates was that portalets would be on the very large sites. Royal Palm Beach Pines, a 750-acre site, and Jupiter Ridge, a 275-acre site had portalets planned. The other sites were smaller and were not intended to have portalets. The County feels that installing a bathroom on this site would be precedent setting and is a reversal of public policy and would have to apply to 16 different facilities. If you consider $100,000 per facility, it would come to $1.6 million in additional costs and would have a significant impact on the program. Mr. Walesky also stated that bathrooms that are located in unsecured sites, open during the day and closing at dusk at these types of facilities can attract nuisances, such as vandalism and loitering. The County does not feel bathrooms are needed. Mr. Walesky asked the Members to look at the list of City Parks that was handed out at the prior meeting, which indicates that ten of the City Parks don’t have bathrooms. This site should not be compared to a Park. Since the land is conservation land, only a few people will use the back lands at the site for photographing, hiking and are looking for a wilderness experience. Most people will only be stopping at the site briefly. The interpretive trail is only 1,000 feet long. This trail can be traversed in four minutes since it is only one-fifth of a mile long, and a person can walk a mile in 20 minutes. The Seacrest Srub will probably not be a final destination site and most people visiting the site will be going to other sites. Mr. Walesky referred to a letter from Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School that was given to the members at the last meeting which stated the School felt bathrooms were not necessary on the site. Mr. Walesky handed out a pamphlet that had been prepared by the students of Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School promoting the Scrub. In summary, Mr. Walesky stated the County felt bathrooms are too expensive, are not necessary, would create more problems, are not consistent with existing County policy, and, lastly, that they are not required by Code. Chairman Goldman asked to address some issues that Mr. Walesky raised before public testimony begins. Mr. Goldman said that since the last meeting, he has had an opportunity to review all of the material the County presented at that meeting. Chairman Goldman stated that from the materials furnished, he determined that the bathroom issue has been going on for years and the articles that were furnished to the Board dealt with the bathroom issue. Therefore, Chairman Goldman stated that there should be no element of surprise in this matter. Also, Chairman Goldman referred to the letter from Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School, in which the School states that “our students have use of the campus bathrooms”. Chairman Goldman inquired if the School was going to allow the public access to their 4 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 bathrooms? Mr. Walesky answered that could not reply to this question. Therefore, Chairman Goldman stated he did not see the relevance of the School having bathrooms, if they were not going to open them up for use by others. Discussion continued regarding the intent of the School’s letter and whether school children would be in need of a bathroom while at the site. Chairman Goldman quoted a teacher from Boca Elementary School who stated she did not feel students could do without restroom facilities. In quoting the article, Chairman Goldman read that “lack of restrooms won’t keep her elementary schoolers from visiting the scrub, it will require more planning to get them there - and some good luck once the children get there. County staff is suggesting that restrooms be addressed on a ‘site- by-site basis’. Chairman Goldman further stated this is the issue at hand this evening, a site-by-site basis. Mr. Bessell inquired if questions could be presented to Mr. Walesky at this point? Mr. Johnson asked if Mr. Kastarlak could be heard at this time since Mr. Kastarlak indicated he had a 7:00 meeting and would like to make his statement first. Mr. Bulent Kastarlak thanked the Board for letting him speak and informed the Board Director of Development for the City of Boynton that he is the recently appointed Beach . Mr. Kastarlak stated that the Department of Development has five divisions, with Building being one division with Mr. Johnson as the Deputy Building Official of that division. With regard to the building code, the Building Division is the department that enforces the codes, and Mr. Johnson is obligated to examine the code and determine if restrooms are needed and this is within Mr. Johnson’s realm. When an issue is looked at in the Development Department, it is looked at for economic planning, and the Development Department looks at issues in a different perspective. As you know, the City of Boynton Beach is in the process of developing various destination areas for tourism for economic development. One of these areas is the downtown marina district. It is anticipated that this downtown marina district will draw great numbers of tourists from all over the County, so that this area becomes an economic generator. If the visitors are distracted, the economic impact can be lessened. The addition of restroom facilities to the Seacrest Scrub could distract visitors from the downtown area being developed for economic purposes. Because of the economic and financial consequences that restrooms in the Seacrest Scrub area could represent, the Department of Development does not support the addition of restrooms to this area. This presentation should assist the Board is differentiating between building and planning and that planning takes precedence over building. With the consent of the Division Director, Mr. Johnson and the City Manager, Mr. Kastarlak said he was 5 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 authorized today to state that the City’s position in this particular issue is not to favor restroom facilities at the Seacrest Scrub location. The City is concentrating on installing restroom facilities in the downtown area where people can be better accommodated and entertained. Mr. Kastarlak thanked the members for letting him speak and expressed his desire that the decision they make will be beneficial to the City. John Wildner, Parks Superintendent for the City of Boynton Beach , spoke next. Mr. Wildner stated that the area in question is a conservation area, not a park. As Park Superintendent, Mr. Wildner said he felt qualified to make this judgment. Mr. Wilder also stated he was aware that the County was in the process of petitioning the City for the Seacrest Scrub facility and had been aware that no restroom facilities would be installed. Mr. Wildner said he was not in favor of having restrooms at this site. He further noted that many City Parks do not have restrooms and this has not presented any problems. These facilities were built prior to the plumbing code being enacted. More recently, when restrooms have been installed at Parks, they have presented problems including vandalism. Recently, a park bench was ignited under an alcove in a restroom building and burnt a major portion of the building down. Mr. Wildner further stated that not having restrooms at the Seacrest Scrub site would not deter visitors to the area. Mr. Wildner thanked the Board for giving him an opportunity to speak. th Stacy Stephens, 715 NW 4 Street, Boynton Beach addressed the Board. Ms. Stephens stated she is an employee of the Palm Beach County School District and a Girl Scout Leader in Boynton Beach. As a Girl Scout Leader, Ms. Stephens said that her Girls (fourth through sixth graders) have been taken through the Seacrest Scrub without any problems. Before embarking on any field trips, they plan ahead of time with the understanding that there are no restrooms. Usually, the Troupe will stop at McDonalds, both before and after the trip, so that the needs of the Girl Scouts can be accommodated. Ms. Stephens stated that she has not had any problems with taking girls out on trips into these areas, and she knows of younger students being taken out on trips without any problems. Ms. Stephens stated that the students really enjoyed the wildlife aspect of these trips and they present a good learning experience. Ms. Stephens hopes that this Board will not change the area and leave it as it presently exists for everyone to enjoy. th Mark Behar, 298 NW 11 Street, Boca Raton, Florida spoke next. Mr. Behar stated he was a member of the Sierra Club. Mr. Behar further stated that when the Bond issue to purchase conservation lands first was raised, there was a great deal of scrub in the County. There is too little remaining. Installing restrooms will give the wrong 6 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 impression to the public that is appreciation for the natural areas. Mr. Behar stated he is against bathrooms being installed in these passive recreation areas. Also, Mr. Behar believed that the word “premise” which surfaced at last week’s meeting, meant a building and questioned the code’s interpretation of “premise” to mean land. Mr. Behar urged the Board to vote against installing restrooms at this site. Stella Rossi, 625 Whispering Pines Road, Boynton Beach . spoke nextMs. Rossi thanked the Board for giving her another opportunity to address the Board. Ms. Rossi stated she was Chairperson of the Coalition for Wilderness Islands that was formed 15 years ago to save these lands and is not in disagreement with the City Codes. However, she feels that these ecosystems do not fall in this category. Ms. Rossi further stated that the site had been approved by the County’s Natural Area Advisory Committee without any types of restrooms, water fountains or electricity being installed. Further Ms. Rossi stated that the intent of the 1991 Bond issue was to purchase, preserve and protect ecosystems. The voters of Palm Beach County approved this concept. Ms. Rossi informed the Board that Boca Raton has its own $12 million bond issue to preserve their wildlife sites, including the Yamato Road site, so that people from Boca probably will not becoming up to the Seacrest site as they have their own sites. Ms. Rossi hopes that this Board would give relief from the building code. Rosa Durando, 10308 Heritage Farms, Lake Worth, Florida. Ms. Durando stated she is one of the original members of the Environmental Land Selection Committee that became the Acquisition Committee and that these sites were purchased to save and preserve what lands are left. Further, Ms. Durando stated the bond funds were not to be used for capital improvements, but are intended for clean up, fencing and biological restoration. Ms. Durando stated it was too bad that the reason for denial of restrooms would include vandalism and loitering, which can result in policing problems. These lands were not purchased as a tourist attraction and asked that restrooms not be installed on this site. th Mike Fitzpatrick, 101 SW 4 Avenue, Boynton Beach. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated he served on the City’s Code Enforcement Board in 1989-1991 and is currently a member of the Park’s and Recreation Advisory Board. At Monday night’s meeting of that Board a resolution was passed that the Park’s and Recreation Board does not endorse having a restroom on the site. Also, Mr. Fitzpatrick felt this could start a precedent for other sites which will cost a great deal of money. Also, if a restroom is installed, nesting sites, as well as land on the site, will be lost forever. Chairman Goldman asked if there were any other persons who wished to speak. There were none and Chairman Goldman closed the public hearing portion of the meeting and asked for comments from the Board. 7 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 Mr. Bessell asked Mr. Walesky what other sites are open and are there any requirements for restrooms? Mr. Walesky stated there are 15 sites open in Palm Beach County accessible to the public and none of them yet have constructed facilities on them. Mr. Walesky further stated that the County has not been through the process to ask for public facilities, but permits have been obtained for Royal Palm Beach Pines, which is undergoing construction, which is a 750 acre site that has portalets on the site. Mr. Bessell asked if the County had a projected number of visitors. Mr. Walesky stated they are trying to limit visitors by limiting the number of parking. Mr. Bessell also stated that since the site is being made handicap accessible, a one-fifth of a mile walk is a long walk. Mr. Bessell asked Mr. Johnson if the County could seek relief from any other governmental agency? Attorney Pawelczyk stated he did not know of any State agency and that the City has jurisdiction over this issue. Mr. Bessell stated he did not feel this Board should have to make this decision and that it should be the responsibility of the Building Official to further research the issue and make the decision. Mr. Mulroy stated that the City Commission should be the entity to make these decisions. Discussion continued on how an appeal process could be handled. Vice Chairman Kurtz stated that the site is in the middle of an urbanized area and he cannot visualize that any emergency could not be handled in a propitious manner and that the issue has been blown way out of proportion. Vice Chair Kurtz further stated that this Board has granted relief from bathrooms in much more needed facilities than in an environmentally sensitive area like Seacrest Scrub. Vice Chair Kurtz said this Board should support relief from the building code in this instance. Mr. Abdallah stated he was in agreement with Vice Chair Kurtz and suggested that signs should be displayed throughout the area advising people that there are no restroom facilities. Chairman Goldman stated that as a grandparent he is concerned about children exiting and boarding a bus, which puts the child in danger in each instance. Just because we 8 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 don’t want to spend the money to put a restroom on this site, children will have additional exposure by constantly exiting and boarding buses. Further, Chairman Goldman felt no one on the Board was against preserving natural areas. The area is ADA accessible, there are fences, parking lots and there are concerns expressed about this issue. Chairman Goldman stated that these areas are intended for children to learn about natural environment, every time a child needs a bathroom, they will be forced to board a bus again, as opposed to having a facility at the area thus exposing a child to constant danger. Also, Chairman Goldman questioned the figures presented at the meeting with regard to the monthly maintenance fee of $1530 for maintaining a bathroom to be extremely inflated. Mr. Zimmerman asked if there was any mention of installing portalets on the site. Vice Chair Kurtz responded that the issue was discussed at the last meeting and that this is a possibility. Mr. Zimmerman stated that many state and federal parks do not have restrooms. Mr. Russell said that although he did not attend the last meeting, he did attend the prior meeting and does not feel that restroom facilities are needed on the site. Also, Mr. Russell stated that Environmental Resource Management said that if restrooms became a problem, they would readdress the issue at a future time. However, at the present time, Mr. Russell did not feel restrooms was an issue that had to be addressed. Chairman Goldman asked if a bathroom would be required in a scrub area at a future time who would bear the cost of installing the restroom at that point? Attorney Pawelczyk stated that the City does not own the property and could not make a determination on this issue at this time. Vice Chair Kurtz at this point said that the issue is not economics. The issue before this Board is the Petitioner’s relief from the Southern Building Code Plumbing requirements and not an economic issue. Motion Mr. Mulroy made a motion that this Board grant relief from Section 401.2.2 and Table 407, Standard Plumbing Code, 1994 Edition to the Petitioner. Motion seconded by Vice Chair Kurtz. Chairman Goldman asked for any discussion. 9 MINUTES BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 30, 1998 Mr. Abdallah requested that the motion be amended to include that adequate signs be posted on the site informing the public that no restroom facilities are located on the site. Mr. Mulroy amended his motion to include Mr. Abdallah’s request. Amended motion seconded by Mr. Kurtz. Chairman Goldman asked for further discussion. Chairman Goldman also stated that he wanted it to go on the record that he felt without proper restroom facilities, children will be exposed to more boarding and exiting buses than needed, which can cause danger to the children. There being no further discussion, Mr. Goldman called for a vote of the motion, as amended. Chairman Goldman asked the Recording Secretary to call the vote. A. Malek Abdallah Yea Chairman Goldman Nay Richard Kurtz Yea Michael Bessell Nay Milton Russell Yea Robert Zimmerman Yea Robert Mulroy Yea Motion carried 5-2. Relief is granted to the Petitioner. Mr. Johnson thanked the Board for their hard work over the past three meetings. F. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was properly adjourned at 7:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ___________________________ Recording Secretary (one tape) 10