Minutes 04-20-78MINUTES OF SPEC~L CIT~~ COUNCIL ~ETING OF THE CIT~ OF BOYNTON
BEACH, FLORIDA, ~ELD IN CITY HALL, THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1978
PRESENT
Emily M. Jackson, M~yor
Edward F. Harmening, ~ice ~ayor
Richard D. Caldwell, Councilman
Joseph DeMarco, Councilman
David Roberts, Councilman
Frar~k Kohl, City Manager
Tereesa Padgett, City Clerk
Gene Moore, City Attorney
Mayor Jackson welcomed everyone and called the meeting to
order at ?:00 P. M. She annomaced it was a Special Meeting
in accordance with Sectio~ 56 of the City Charter ef the
City of Boymton Beach ts discuss ~e Agreement with the
Montreai~E~os~ ~end Re~olu~ion,~e~ent~for~the Re~oca-
tion of Utilities on S~acr&st B~mlev~d, a~d the Jarvis
P~hlic Hearing.m
~. K~hl i~formed the Council that the Expos agree to enter
!to~a Se~e with the City of Boynton Beach for the use of
ne zacilSt~.fro~ Fsbruar~ I through April 20 9f each year
n an exc±usmve ~asis, anm will make p~yments mn the follow-
ing manner:
$t5,000 guarantee or 10%' of the sum of the gross
admission seats less State~ City and Federal Taxes,
and of the concession and advertising sales, less
sales tax, whichever sum is greater.
The Expo~· will play a minimum of ten e~hibition games each
spring. The Expos will sell admission to games and operate
the stadium for e~hibition games. The Expos will have food,
novelty, and advertising rights in the stadium except for
the electro~ic scoreboard, on which the City of Boynton Beach
has exclusive rivets to sell advertising. ~ne ~xpos wilt
ha~e tryouts and clinic rights on ~ates to be agreed upon
with the City other than do~ing the spring trai~ing period.
This lease will be for a period of five (5) years with the
option~ the club to renew for two (2) additional periods of
five (5) years at an increase of 10~ on the guarantee during
each option period,
Mayor Jackson ascertained there were no questions about
this agreement. Mr. Moore clarified that it was his uoder-
standing that t~is prooosed agreement incorporates the terms
M~'~E~~orate~ on and will be forwarded to the
~T°h~r~l--~o~s~a'ttorney tomorrow for review.
BOND RESOLUTION
~. Moore read propose~ Resolution NO. 78-W. Mr. Roberts
referred to Page 13, ten lines down, and pointed out that it
reads one-twelfth, but ~/2 is in parenthesis and ~. Moore
replied that it should be 1/12.
M!~'GTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
~ayor Jackson clarified that this does not affect the taxes
and is by the Guaranteed Entitlement Funds.
~. Caldwell stated that he is 10~ behind this entire con-
cept. He knows this whole bond issue is for the betterment
of every citizen. It will help basi~uesses, the City, fami-
lies, etc. by generating proper revenues. He sees nothing
negative about this entire concept of developing this 55
acre tract into this beautiful park. He is 100% in favor of
the hondso He thinks this is the most realistic and most
economical way to go. The only thing nagging in the back of
his mind is something he said two years ago with regard to
this same type of situatien. He realizes there is a differ-
ence between purchasing acreage and developing a second
story on the ~olice station and realizes these two ~rojects
are ~ompletet~ ~ifferent. ~ However, he made a statement and
pledged to bhe people at that time that any time the City
pledges to ~n~ $1,000,000 or better, he feels it is hi~
mor~I o~g~ion te give the people a saY in what to do.
H~s problem,s we ha~e gotten this opportunity to pat this
City on t~e ~p and sec~e prosperity for years to come,
but he ~m wave a pledge to let the people have a say.
H? is convinced the people would overwhelmingly support
this concept. The only problem, because of the tLming in-
volved, we ars not allowing the people an adequate oppor-
t '
un~t~ 'to come b~fore this Council and State all their facts.
He th~r2~s t~s is ~j~st as important as the zonin chan es in
1975 when ~s dl~tde~ !n~o sectlon~on separate
nights and ~e o~nion of-the people was heard. He feels
~ w~f~l~ ~h~ ~gt~a~m~t~h~l~h~er~:
~e t~e ~eopte, hemr the p~iople, obtain the bonds and build
zn t!me~ The biggest issue in the 1976 campaign was the
9n~ ~s~ue an~ we sa~d sm~ time we float bonds of this mag-
nitude ~hat the people need to be heard. He really fee~s
we need to give all the peiople an opportunity in an un-
biased, wide open manner to come before us and tell as they
are in ~avor of this conce~t.
Mr. De~arco agreed, but stated that time is of the essence
on this contract. If we don't do it now, we probably will
have to forget it as it could not be built in time to get
the Expos here in Februaryl.
M~. Earmening stated that we have been trying to acquire
this piece of groun~ for a little over five years now.
Some of our earlier attempts to acquire it did not come
about. We just acquired it recently. Our original plans
were to develop it in much the same way, as a recreation
complex for the City over a period of approximately five
years. The reason we are moving as quickly as we are is
to bring the Expos in and give them a place for spring
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MINUTES - SPE~iAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
practicenext year. If we don't move ahead, w~ will probably
lose it. Time is of the essence in this matter. There is a
short amount left to complete this portion of the facility,
We don,t actually have time to put the thing out to the people
for a vote. He also has to be guided to some extent by the
amount of input he receives from the public on various issues.
He must say the input from conversations, telephone calls,
etc. has been overwhelmingly in favor of this, so he thinks
we are probably on reasonably good ground to proceed.
~, Roberts stated that his first question was whether it
was legal to have revenue bonds issued without a referen-
dum and ~-~. Moore replied that it was. ~. Roberts contin-
ued that his second concern was w~ether this particule~ oro-
ject would benefit the entire City or benefit some special
interest in selling a piece of land to make a profit. The
other proposal would have given 15 owners a place to launch
boats. Also, the other item was a second story on the police
complex for a court which was being phased out. Eventually
extra space which was needed was funded by a Federal Grant.
This other attempt was to float a large sum of money which
did not make good sense. There is no comparison between the
two. We attempted to get these 55 acres i~ 1974. At that
time, a plan was drawn for it to be developed into a park
at a cost of $750,000. Strings were attached at that time
and the result was the loss of the land. This Council was
fortunate in receiving it with no strings and no reverter
clause. Under the circumstances, he does not see any harm
~om ~he ~tandpoint of legality and de~e!o~ing the land to
nef~t the entire City, help business and something that
the people will be proud of. He does not see any connec-
tion between this and the other one.
M2~yor Jack~on stated that the bond two years ago was to buy
raw land ~ud when we were through, it would have no capital
improvements. Here we have 55 acres which we bought for $1
and we must develop it. We have a chance to develop it,
which we probably won,t have again. You do not come by the
big lesgues often! She thinks we would be doing a dis-esr-
vioe to Boynton Beach i~ we did turn it down. Every place
she goes, she as~ks people what they think of this. Many
have asked questions. We have had four meetings on this,
and many expressions were given from the people in favor.
She feels this is something we never will have another
ch~uce at and feels we would be wrong in not accepting
this for the City. It will, make the biggest difference for
the City in all the years sue has lived'here.
Mr. Kohl referred to meeting with the County Commissioners
in reference to obtaining this 55 acres ~ud through telling
them what could happen in Boynton Beach, they know what ac-
tion we received from the County Co~m~,ssioners. ~t took us
MINU~ - SPECL~L CITY COUNCIL ~ET!NG
BOYNT~ BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
fi~e years the other way. We worked and never obtained these
55 acres. Conservatively, it is appraised at $1,000,000. It
was all done within the past few months.
Mr. Caldwell replied that he agreed with all the statements
and could not find one fault. He feels the same way. He
recognized the differences between the 1976 election issue
and this question here. ~e recognizes the expediency needed
in this entire matter. The only thing troubling him is his
gut feeling that perhaps we could have afforded more people
he opportunity to come before this Council and s~y they want
it in a formal way. Would it be possible in any way at all
within the next week or two to have special hearings two or
three nights with d~viding the City and having the people
come in and voice their opinions for or against? This way,
we would not lose time to go to a formal referendum. Pos-
sihly put ads in the paper like we did for the zoning. Can
we ask for two weeks more time, so our consciences can he
absolutely clear %hat we have given the people every oppor-
tunity to be heard on this?
N~. Roberts stated hedid have one person approach him who
objected to it because he could not understand why a sports
complex was needed on Congress Avenue behind the middle
school. He tried to convince him that it was near the in-
dustrial complex and the vocational/technical school against
1-95. ~s. Jackson added that every newspaper but one stated
this wasacross from~ Le~s~ev~lle' ' and many people misunder-
stood as this is way south of Leisureville,~in~act, south of
GolfviewHarbour.
~. Roberts referred to all the Council members voting
their consciences and stated that this has come up so many
times before s~d to wait until the last minute when the re-
solution is read does not make sense. Ee suggests that the
rest of the Council take the appropriate action they feel.
Mr. Moore stated that timewise, they were merely adopting
the enabling resolution. It must be submitted to the court
for a hearing. The hearing cannot be held for a minimum
period of 21 days. Then there is a 30 day appeal period
after that before the bonds can be sold. There is actually
a period of 50 days in which the resolution Could be re-
scinded if they choose.
5/2/78
~. Caldwell suggested scheduling public hearings while this
is in the incubation period to have the people come forward
and give a formal presentation of what this whole park devel-
opment will accomplish and then listen to the people. He
feels this is an excellent opportunity to accomplish all
ends. ~e can let the proponents and critics voice their
o~inions on this. ~. Roberts asked how he would arrive at
at conclusion - t~ke a hand count, head count or what?
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MIBrUTES - SPECI3~L CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOY~TON P~CE, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
Mr. Roberts continued that there is only a small segment of
19,000 voters. He referred to the people being haDpy with
having the Council guide the City and stated that %o have a
law people raise their hands to make it look good is not the
proper way to run the Council.
Mayor Jackson stated if we did have a referendum at this time
of year, we would be lucky to have a 20% vote. She would
rather request the people to send in letters instead of hav-
ing hearings. She explained how most people did not attend
hearings. Mr. Caldwell agreed,and clarified that an issue
tike this should no~ he limited to the voters because it
affects everybody in the City. He asked if it was felt they
would receive a fair sampling with letters and M~r. Roberts
referred to the mail being received lately. Mr. Caldwell
suggested possibly having petitions submitted and Mayor
Jackson agreed that more people would probably sign peti-
tions. Mm. Caldwell asked how the petitions would be dis-
trihut~d tD the people and Mm. Harmening replied that if
they~e~d~u~re~s~ they will get them.
Mr. DeMarco stated in view of the fact we have had hearings
and he understands the Mayor and City Manager are due in
Montreal on Monday to complete arrangements, he moves the
adoption of Resolution No. 78-W. ~. Caldwell seconded the
motion. ~o discussion. Mrs. Padgett took a roll call vote
on the motion as follows:
Councilman Caldwell - Aye
Councilman DeMarco - Aye
Vice Mayor Harmening - Aye
Mayor Jackson -Aye
Councilman Roberts - Aye
MOtion carried 5-0.
Fmyor Jackson referred to copies of the agreement being dis-
trihu~ed and stated that we do have to adopt the agreement in
concept. Fm. DeMarco moved to agree to the lease in concept,
seconded by M~. Caldwell. Nod'~scuss~on.' F~s. Padgett took
a roll call vote on the motion as fellows:
Councilman De~rco - Aye
~ice Mayor Harmening - Aye
· Mayor Jackson - ~ye
Councilman Roberts - Aye
Councilman Caldwell - Aye
Motion carried 5-0.
Mr. DeMarce suggested that possibly the City Attorney should
also go to Montreal incase there is some question on the agree-
ment and M~. Kohl agreed and stated he could make the arrange-
ments. ~. DeMarco made a motion that F~. Moore go'~ Montreal
with the~myor and City Manager, seconded by F~. Harmening.
Motion carried 5-0.
--5--
MINU~S - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOYNTON BE_ACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
PUBLIC HEARIN~G - JAR¥IS P~QUEST
Mayor Jackson requested everyone to listen to the presenta-
tion with an open mind. She thinks some conclusions have
been drawn before knowing all the facts. Thishas been evi-
dent by the mail received with some referring to not changing
the zoning in Leisureville. She stressed that the Council
acts for the good of the City. She stated that everyone will
be heard, but requested there not be too much repetition.
Many letters have bean received which have been read by the
Ceuncil. Also, she requests there not be any demonstration.
Mr. Kohl informed the Council that the Planning & Zoning
Board at the~_r regular meeting of Aorlt 11, t978 (after con-
ducting two Public Hearings on this'matter) recommended that
~he rezonir~ requests sub~tted by Mr. Stephen j. Jarvis,
rustee, to rezone two parcels of land located at 900 S. W.
15th Avenue from RI-~A to C-3, be approved subject to the
following:
The Westerly Tract, identified as Parcel 2 on the
survey submitted be rezoned C-1 instead of C-3 as
requested to D~rovide for a low intensity commercial
buffer to the residential areas to the West.
That the developer provide a traffic signal when
traffic oounts warrant said construction, and
That the developer dedicate an
way as indicated on the survey
to the land to the South.
80 foot right-of-
to provide access
This recommendation was based
on the following:
The traffic impact analysis submitted by the appli-
cant which indicated that approximately 25% of the
~oolbright Road traffic would result from this
development (traffic impact analysis made);
The land in question is impacted on two sides by
commercial zoning (C-2 to North and C-~ to West)
and on the East by the Seaboard Coastline Railroad;
The land is located at the intersection of a four
land road and Interstate 1-95. ~nis is important
in ~vaiuating access to a commercial development;
Access to the development will be provided from the
80 foot street thus eliminating dangerous curb cuts
in this area; and
This is not an appropriate location for single
family homes.
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MINUTES - S~CIAL CITY CODICIL ~ETIN~
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1-978
Mr. Kohl continued that the motion to approve was nde by
Areoa and seconded by M~. Lambert. The vote was 6-1 with
Mrs. Huck~e dissenting. A copy of the legal description
the property, as well as a copy of the survey (map/print)
were Submitted for their re~iew. The Traffic Impact Analy-
sis has been available in his office for re~iew and he has
it with him. Nay he have Council,s wishes on this matter
please.
~. Bob Griffitk, representing Mr. Stephen J. Jarvis~ ap-
peared before the Council. He advised that N~. Jarvis is
the land owner of ~he parcel of land considered this past
week by the Planning & Zoning Board for consideration of
rezoning which is part of a 60 acre tract Bounded on the
north, byWoolbright Road, on the east by the Seaboard Coast-
line Railroad and on the west by the E-4 Canal. This uro-
perry w~s purchased by N~. Jarvis in 1970. This property
was zoned C-3 at that time and it is the same classifica-
tion he is requesting now for part of the tract. He re-
ferred to the property being shown in the drawings dis-
played and also showed an artist,s concept of the way the
probity could ~e used. He added that it does not have to
be used in this fashion accerding to the rendering, but the
or ~he property to be used for general bus-
present pl~u is f' ~
ineSs du the western section with a chain type motel to the
east. it is felt this would be in proper concept for the
land in question. He pointed out that this parcel was divided
into two tracts with 2.8 acres in one piece ~ud approxi~ately
9.2 acres in the other piece. He then pointed out the vari-
ous co~ercial zonings in this area. Hereferred to the
piece directly west of the E-4 canal being zoned C-4 which
is a lo,er zoning classification permitting types of uses
lower than the parcel in question for the requestsd uses.
It was pointed omt that the property is not adjacent to any
homesites. He ad,ed that the boundary distance between
properties over the E-4 canal is 155 feet. He showed a
photograph of the parcel. It was pointed out that the
p~rcel would be divided by an 80 ft. roadway for public
access. He told about ~. Jarvis dedicating ~roperty for
Woolbright Road s~ud also told how turn-offs had been pro-
vided to accommodate the traffic.
Mayor Jackson asked who would make the decision of when the
traffic signal is warranted and Mr. Griffith replied that
the Planning & Zoning Board made a recommendation that the
developer would bear the expense when it is foundlit is nec-
essary and the City would make this determination. He
added that a traffic impact analysis has been completed
and a s~rvey was submitted to each C~ty Council member and
each Planning & Zoning Board member. He referred to Wool-
bright Road being adequate to support the traffic generated
by this land development and arty in the area. Additional
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MINUTES - SPECIA! CITY COUNCIL ~ETING
BOYNTO~ BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
home sites, additional commercial uses, recreation develop-
ments, etc. will all cause traffic to increase. He added
that commercial propert~ brings revenue into the City at a
much greater and increased amount than residential property.
This was pointed out by M~. Black, an architect on the Indoz-
trial Board of the Chamber of Commerce, and statistical fig-
ures bear out this fact. If Boynton Beach continues to grow
consisting primarily of residences, a high tax base will be
necessary. It is necessary to have a mixture of commercial,
industrial and residential in order to have a rounded-out
community.
?~. Caldwell clarified that the millage on commercial property
is the same as on residential property. The difference in
what ~he City receives is because of the ~alue of the land.
One acre of commercial land brings in more dollars and is
assessed higher than residential. Also, residential proper-
ties have the homestead exemption. Mm. Griffith added that
the cost for construction for commercial oroperty is approxi-
mately double of residential construction]
Mr. Roberts referred to the wells and Mm. Kohl informed him
that M~. Jarvis has already given the City two we~ls. Mr.
Roberts asked if they~ere given regardless how this comes
out and .,Mr. Kohl replied affirmatively. Mm. Kohl added that
~. Jarvis did promise some other wells, but when the plans
were changed our wells went down the drain. Hopefully as
time goes by, Mr. Jarvis will see fit to give us more wells.
~. Griffith clarified that the well sites were not located
in the land in question, but are in the proposed PID area.
Mr. Roberts 9uestioned the width of the canal and Mr. Griffith
informed him that from property boundary to property boundary
as prepared by the engineers, 155 feet is shown between the
two property boundaries, which is the right-of-way for the
E-4 canal. ~. Roberts referred to there being a great deal
of trees and shrubbery and asked if they planned on leaving
some of that or having a perimeter road and ~. Griffith re-
plied that there will be screening along the west. However,
that property boundary backs up to C-4 across the canal, ex-
cept for approximately 72 feet south. The C-4 is of a lower
commerciai use than the C-3 they are requesting.
Mayor Jackson asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of
this request and received no res Donse. She asked if anyone
wanted to speak in opposition to-this and the following ap-
peared before the Council.
M~. William M~isinger, 1391S. W. 17th Avenue, stated that
it is only common sense that land lying idle is of value to
no one. He honestly cannot say the recommendation of the
Planning & Zoning Board is in error, but what he is concerned
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MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL ~HETING
BOYNTON BEACH ~ FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
about is that we allo~ the building of hotels$ motels, stad-
i~m~ shopping malls in residential communities. It has been
pointed out hy ~lr. Griffith that traffic will increase, which
he agrees with. The City is growing every d~y. Another con-
cern is water and where we are going to get the water fromm
He read an article from the Nev~JOurnal referring te 34 acres
in this area being used for a well field. He read another
article regarding the digging of two new wells on the property
owned hy N~. Jarvis. He then read an article on the possibi-
lity of a water shortage in Boynten Beach. He then showed a
well map and pointed out the various locations of wells
noted that there were to be wslls on a dedicated strip 25 ft.
x 700 ft. long from ~. Jarvis and stated this did not con-
stitute 34 acres of land. He wants to k~ow where the 34
ac~es of Iand are. How can we sink wells into property still
zoned R-I~A? Mr. Harmening informed him that the City can
sink wells into a~y zoned proper~y as long as the City has
the right-of-way. Mayor Jackson added that the Forest Park
School area is a R-~AA zone. ~. Meisinger state~ that he
did not want a well pump in back of his house. Mr. Caldwell
asked if he did not want more wells put in and~. Meisinger
replied that he believes the balance of ~. Jarvis, property
should be developed for a well field. ~. Caldwell asked if
he was in favor of this project as laid ~ut this evening and
Mr. Meisinger replies that he wants to know where the water
wilt be coming from and ~o Kohl explaine~ how every cit~ was
looking for good wells. M~. Meisinger stat~ tha~ the rest
of this property would be an ideal well field and he suggests
that the City buy it for a well field. He is concerned about
water as without water, we cannot live. Mr. Harm~ning i~-
formed him ~hat there were other locations i~ mind for future
well fields.
Mr. Milt Danielson, 1606 S. W. 16th Terrace, referred to the
exit ramp from 1-95 and explained how traffic movement was
limited. He then pointed out that traffic m~ng a left
turn into this property must cross two active travel lanes.
He explained how there was a grade in ths road in this area
and how stacking lanes could create problems. He referred
to the construction of Woolbright Road at tSth Street and
explained how it narrowed to one lane with the other lanes
having to tUrn. He stressed that congestion would be caused
at a dangerous intersection. He then referred to the 80 ft.
right-of-wa~v propose~ to serve this whole area and stated
that the residential area in the rear could contain as many
as 300 homes. He exolained how there could be the possi-
bility of ~u emergenSy situation with this one right-of-way
being sealed off. He then showed an article from August,
~962, concerning an accident where the access was cut off
for emergency vehicles and told about his experience being
involved in this. He suggests that a second right-of-way
be provided and submitted providing a second left hand
turn lan~ into this property. He continued that he does
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MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL ~ETING
BOYNTOE BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
not think the traffic studies submitted are conclusive and
explained how with 15th Avenue being ~nder construction,
many people were using another route. He then stated there
are two major storm drop inlets spaced 50 ft. apart at curb
cut~ and asked if these would be relocated at City expense?
He referred to the traffic exceeding the 35 mp~ speed limit
and explained how it was possible for cars to be backed up
waiting to turn into this property and with cars coming over
the o~erpass, there was the possibility of an accident.
He referred to Mr. Jarvis stating previously that people
would not want to buy homes under a 22 ft. embankment and
pointed out that there are beautiful homes on 23rd Avenue
by the embankment. Also, the train traffic ismminimal and
no whistles blow because there are not any crossings. The
Jarvis property fronts on the E-4 canal and people have paid
premiums for waterfront property. He does not understand the
insistence for commercial use. He and the people he repre-
~ ~e~uest ~his zoning change b~ denied ~ntil at least a
e~ai±e~ point impact traffic stuuy has been submitted.
N~. Frank Bower, 2008 Roma Way, stated he wanted to completely
refute the testimony made by Mr. Black. ~. Black said that
people in Leisureville that pay taxes whuld have all their
taxes eaten up if they had just one child in school. Doesn't
he know that nobody is allowed in Leisureville under 16 years
of age? Actually the revenue from Leisureville is all a p~us.
He then referred to ~. GrifTith s~ing the traffic would in-
crease bY 25% and stated this was not true. He obtained
figures from the Chairman of the Planning & Zoning Board and
the number of c~s now coming from the east is 7,782 over a
24 hour period, the added number of cars would be 4,578, mak-
ing a total of ~2,360. N~. Griffith questioned where these
figures were coming from and ~. Bower replied they were
from the traffic study and ~. Annunziato confirmed that they
were correct. M~. Bower then explained how the percentage of
increase would be 5~ and not any 25 or 3~. Ne advised that
the figures from the west are 7,782 with a~ increase of 4,022
and a total of 1~,804, which is a 52% increase and not 25 or
30% as quoted~ There will be 8,600 cars going into this
development, but there is no mention of the cars coming out.
If you count the numbsr coming out, it will be 17,200. Also,
he agrees with the previous speaker that there is a danger
of going from one lane into four in a matter of 600 to 700 ft.
F~. Lee Levitow, 2078-S. W. 14th Avenue, stated there seems
to be a question of integrity behind all this. There has
been reference to the C-4 a~jacent area and this was pro-
pose~ by Leisureville to be a marina ~md is shown on the
plot plan. The only area which would allow a marina is C-4.
When this zoning was accepted, it was accepted with the feel-
ing that a marina would go into this particula~ area. Now,
they keep hearing that anything can go in there. First the
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MINUTES - S_=EGIAL CITY COUNCIL M~ET!NG
BOYNTON B~ACH, FLORIDA
APRIL~ 20, ] 978
request for this area was C-3 with PiD in the rear, but then
the PID was dropped out and 12 acres are left. The argument
used is that it is all right to put in business as long as it
abuts another commercially zoned area. If this 12 acres is
put in as business, what is the point going to be after that?
With 12 acres zoned business, they probably will request the
major portion to he changed~with using the same premise they
are using that it is all right to put it in next to other
b. usiness. They strongly object to this kind of change. They
keep hearing about the advantages of business, hut many
northern cities have gone to pot because of going heavily
industrial and business. He hopes Boynton Beach does not
favor business to the residents. One member of the Plan-
ning & Zoning Board argued that having stores next to resi-
dences doss not have a depreciating effect and if that is
the case, we do not need zoning. He does not th~k the mem-
ber represents the views of Boynton Beach. Leisureville
strongly opposes the approval of this zoning request.
Mrs. Elizabeth Todd, 2003 S. W. 18th Street, referred to
there being only two exits from 1-95 in Boynton Beach, one
on 2~d Avenue and the other on 15th Avenue. She referred
to Mm. Griffith commenting that 15th Avenue is more than
adequate for the traffic, but she and her husband are opposed
to rezoning these t2.5 acres for the following reasons. She
advised that five traffic lights are proposed along 15th
Avenue within a distance of t-1/10 miles and stated the loca-
tions. She theh noted that there are ten entrances to 15th
Avenue between Congress Avenue and 1-95. She added that 152
~artments were ~uder construction now on 15th Avenue between
]8th and 22nd Streets. She told about the difficulty to
enter 15th Avenue now from 18th Street because of the traf-
fic. For the past seven to eight years, Leisureville retirees
have been an asset to the City of Boynton Beach. They have
worked hard, saved money and invested it here. The police
and fire departments are ramely called to Leisureville except
when they request that radar be set up along the ]8th Street
speedway. She referred to ~. Jarvis mentioning a Holiday
Inn and stated she is sure they have purchased a site on
2nd Avenue. Could it be that a Day's Inn wants to locate
here with a gasoline station, etc. and low clien~le which
~ould downgrade Leisureville? This is located between High
Point and Leisureville, both of which are zoned R-1A~a.
She referred to Mm. Howell's remarks about spot zoning.
She stated that the stadium, proposed Boynton Beach regional
mall, proposed mall at the intersection of Congress and Lake
Ida Roads, Charterworld, etc. would all incres~e thettraffic.
The Leisureville residents love it in Boynton Beach, but
don,t want to be prisoners in their o~mbeautiful homes.
When the concrete company came before this Council, Mayor
Jackson said she was for the people and she hopes she feels
the same way towards them and will not vote for the rezoning
of this tract of land.
-tl-
MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOY-~TO~ BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
Mayor Jackson ascertained that nobody else desired to sDeak
and opened the discussion to the Council.
Mr. Roberts referred to the miRutes from the Plan~ing & Zon-
ing Board hearing and stated there was a compromise suggested
for a C-1 piece and questioned the location of this.
Jar~is pointed it out on the map adjacent to the canal. Mr.
Roberts asked how many feet in from the C-4 it was located
and ~. Griffith informed him that there is 155 feet between
property lines. Mr. Roberts questioned the depth eastward
aud ~. Jar~is informed him it was 308 feet east and west.
Mr. Harmening clarified that the C-1 piece was 2.68 acres.
M~. Roberts r~ferred to it being a ~uf£er to the C-3 an~
Griffith replied that it will be a ~uffer from the C-4 and
clarified that C-1 was being suggested between C-4 and C-3.
He does not th~W a buffer is needed between these z~nes and
it is ~sually required between residential and commercial.
It woul~ be going from C-4 to something higher and he does
not think it would be necessary to have ~-1 in between.
Mr. Caldwell referred to C-2 being to the Rorth, C-4 to the
west, the railroad and ~-95 to the east, and the south not
proposed for development and clarified that it was surrounded
on three sides by non-residential zoning. Every~ing around
this is already commercial. He does not see where the spot
zoning argument is true in this particular situation. It
would almost seem like reverse spot zoning to make this resi-
dential.
N~. Roberts referre~ to the ingress and egress and asked if
the 80 ft. right-of-way was in the center of the property
and Mr. Annunziato explained how it lined up with the median
~eing towards the west on the property. Mr. Roberts referre~
to needing ingress to the rest of the property eventually and
asked if this would be sufficient and Mr. Annunziato replied
affirmatively.
M~. Harmening referred to this property being surroumded
with existing zoning of C-2, C-4, the railroad and 1-95
and stated he could understand the peoples' feelings against
it and objections to it. However, if the City does not zone
this ~roperty for its best and highest use in connection with
what zs existing in the adjacent area, it will cost the City
more paying for attorneys, fees because the developer will
sue us and he feels he will win. We can delay it by turning
it down, but the court, in his opinion, will rule in favor
of the land owner. We have no options or alternatives and
he could even get C-4 out of it through the court. The only
thing gained ~ould be possibly ~½ years and we would be out
our own co~t costs and the plaintiff's court costs, it
would be an exercise in futility.
-12-
MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL ~ETING
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
A man in the audience referred to there being a lot of resi-
dential property around this, but if this becomes commercial,
they will want to rezone the rear portion. M~. Harmening
agreed that it was very possible they will come back and ~yor
Jackson added that would be another case.
Mr. Harmening explained how some of the people present would
probably feel like this is o~t of their neighborhood once
it is built. He has no ide~ what motel isggoing in there and
doubts that the gentlemen here proposing the change know for
sure. He explained how it would probably be a fairly decent
asset and stated again that he did not think the City could
win a law suit in this matter.
Mr. DeMarco questioned the plans for the area closest to the
canal on the west side and Mr. Griffith replied that Mr.
Jarvis has stated that he would not object to a h~$ght limita-
tion, but they must consider the restrictions in the
area adjacent. He referred to the other commercial property
and stated it seems it would have been the normal conclusion
to zone this commercial also. He told about Ramada Inn being
interested, but explained how approximately $~O,OO0 must be
spent in surveys for motels and this has not been done until
the zoning is obtained. He explained how the development
would be limited according to the zoning r~quirements.
~. Roberts referred to Boynton Beach being a nice quiet
village when he moved here, but people kee~ pouring in.
Somebody allowed Leisureville to build houses with 10 ft.
side setbacks, but this is the facts of life. He enjoys
living in LeisurevilIe, but hopes nobody comes a~ong and
gets permission to do anything like it. Since that time,
laws have been changed, densities~ have been changed, e~c.
He pointed out that there was a large canal with a vegeta-
tive buffer separating this property with on~ a few homes
across from it. He exolained how things must change and
growth could not be st~pped. He referred to a city not
being able to survive with residences alone ~d told about
coming from a small village with a few stores and how the
taxes h~d increased. He referred ~o certain areas being
better zoned commercial than residential and stated he would
not want a house in that area against 1-95 and the railroad.
~t must be considered that no homes are abntting this small
piece and there will be a buffer. The building plans must
he submitted to the Planning & Zoning Board and City Coun-
c±l and they can be rejected on the basis of not being com-
patible to the surrounding area.
Mayor Jackson replied that she agrees about the statements
of Leisureville. She told about lively meetings with people
opposing Leisureville when it was planned, but it was granted
and the people are glad they are here and it changed the
whole aspect of the City. ~s M~. Roberts ~aid, just because
MI~UTES . SPEC/AL CITer COUNCIL ~EETING
BOYRTON BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, t 978
we are here, it does not mean we can clos~ the doors. When
she first came to Boynton Beach, there were only 2,500 people
here. Some of the letters received said they wanted Boynton
Beach tQ be~a retirees, City. Boynton Beach is not a retirees,
City. It is a well balanced City with adult condomini~ms,
aps~tments, areas with families, etc. We need a good rou~uded
City. tn reference to 1-95, it changed the aspect of the City.
Wherever Interstates go through, it means people are going to
he hurrying through your town and not stopping. Probably
e~eryone stayed at a motel on their~trip down here suud we
should welcome people to come in and stay at m motel and see
our nice Cit~. Traffic will always increase, if we find we
are having traffic problems, it is up to any governing body
to see they solve any problems. She is sure there will never
be five traffic lights along 15th Avenue. She does listen to
the Deople, but must also consider what is good for the whole
City. We do need jobs for the yo~ug people to help the older
people. We need people living here that havejjobs and need
places where they can work. If there are businesses, we will
keep the ~oung people here. We don't wart to be a City of
retirees. Our lives would be empty if some young people were
not around us. Some of letters received mentioned something
~cret about who owns this property and she explained how Mr.
Jar~is was the trustee in 1970 and previously, there was
another trustee.
~. Harmening stated that originally this property was zoned
0-3 before the rezoning in 1975. The Council at that time
adopted the policy that any acreage within the corporate
limits of the City ~ould be put into a holding zone which
~as the highest classification. That is the reason the
property is listed presently at
Mr. Roberts referred to the shopping mall mentioned and told
about plans being submitted in 1974 which went to the County.
Mayor Jackson added that a shopping mall was planned in 1968
south of the iTV Center which was a selling point of Leisure-
ville. ~. Roberts told about the other shopping mall ori-
ginally wanting to remain in the County ard stated that we
hope that this mall will be in the City. Many situations
are being worked on and there will be water. He would be
the first to suggest a moratorium if we were faced with a
problem like Delray. It must be realized if we ~_re going to
have a shopping mall and traffic, we should collect the taxes.
We ~happen to be the only City holding the line. We happen to
be one of the lowest taxed communities around e~d we do not
have any high rises, which bring in 9~ite a bit of revenue.
He personally does not feel this will pose a hardship. It
is a tough decision to make, but we must accept a little bit
of business in the proper spot.
~yor Jackson referred to many of the letters stating that
this is going to ruin property in Leisureville and she would
like to ask how many of the people have had the value of
MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
~_PRIL 20, 1978
their houses go down? Nobody has in the City of Boynton Beach.
There are even places in the north end which have sold for more.
Me. Caldwell made a motion that the City Council approve the
recommendation in its entirety of the Planning & Zoning Board
to rezone the Jarvis property taking into consideration the
C-1 and C-3 zones with all the stipulations and recommenda-
tions as presented this evening. Mr. Harmening seconded the
motion. Under discussion, Mr. Caldwell stated that commercial
prgpert~, esp?cially when laid out like this, has put less of
a Geman~ on City utilities while bringing in more revenme for
the City. He suggests that the people involved open their
hearts to this concept. If residences were built here, there
would be ~ greater demand on ~ity services and would require
expansion of our acllltles. As requeste~, ~s. Padgett took
a roll call vote on the motion as follows:
~ice Nayor Harmening - Aye
Ma~or Jackson - Aye
Councilmsm Roberts - Aye
Councilman Caldwell - Aye
Councilman DeN~rco - Aye
Motion carried 5-0.
~GREEME~ FOR THE Rm~LOCATi0N OF UTILITIES ON S~CREST BL~D.
F~. Kohl referred to being requested to check on this and
advised that there is no chance this year that the State
Legislature will pass the bills mentioned by Me. Harmening.
F~. H~mening agreed.
Mr. Caldwell moved to remove from the table the discussion
of the utility easement on Seacrest Boulevard, seconded by
N~. Roberts. Motion carried 5-0.
Pk~. Harmening moved the adoption of Resolution No. 78-X,
seconded by Mr. Caldwell. No discussion. M~s. Padgett
took a roll call vote on the motion as follows:
Nsjor Jackson Aye
Councilman Roberts Aye
Councilman Caldwell Aye
Councilman DeMarco - Aye
~ice Mayor Harmening - Aye
Notion carried 5-0.
OTS~R
M~. Roberts referred to usually at a Special Meeting the
items ~re listed, but the law provides that if the Council
agrees another item can be added which will not affect the
MII~UTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
APRIL 20, 1978
City. He would like to clea~ up one item which was in refer-
ence to the Community Relations Board. In view of the con-
tinued publicity and continued harangue by a member we voted
to dischs~ge, he thinks we should clean it up at this parti-
cular moment so we can start with a clean slatel He asked
if the Council members were in agreement to complete this
matter. Mr. Caldwell replied that the only objection, he
really feels regardless what was said in the newspaper, we
should afford the man more time than two days to calm down.
Mr. Roberts clarified that the member was asked to make a
statement and if he doesn't, he would be removed from the
Board. Ee thinks this small item can be straightened out.
~. Eutlin has said in no way will he appear before the
Council.and he will,not resign.
Mayor Jackson asked who was
agenda and the vote was 4-1
senting.
in favor of putting this on the
in favor withMr. Caldwell dis-
~. Roberts stated that he thinks Mr. Kutlin should be noti-
fied that the Council discussed the racist remarks which he
presented to the press and the items contained in the Commun-
ity Relations Board minutes recently, which are not in con-
formity to the facts, and as far as he is concerned this
conduct is detrimental to the Board and Cit~ and he moves to
~erminate Mr. Mutlin,$ services. ~. Harmening seconded the
motion. No discussion. Motion carried 4-I with ~. Caldwell
dissenting.
ADJOS~A~NT
N~. DeMarco made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Caldwell.
Motion carried 5-0 and the meeting was properly adjourned at
9..5 P. M.
~ ~~City Clerk
Recording Secretary
(Three Tapes)
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
Y Councilm~
~/// Councilman
Councilman