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Minutes 07-20-90MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1990 AT 6:00 P.M. PRESENT Gary Lehnertz, Vice Chairman Nathan Collins Cynthia Greenhouse Murray Howard Daniel E. Richter Jose' Aguila ABSENT Maurice Rosenstock, Chairman Harold Blanchette, A~ternate Tim Cannon, Interim Planning Director Scott Elk, City Attorney Vice Chairman Lehnertz called the meeting to order at 6:00 P~M. After the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, he introduced the Board members and recognized the presence in the audience of Commissioner Arline Weiner, former Mayors Ralph Marchese and Carl Zimmerman and ~ormer Planning & Zoning Board Chairman Simon Ryder. Commissioner Robert Olenik, Jr. arrived au the meeting a little later. Proposal by City Commission to Abolish the Planning & Zoning Board Vice Chairman Lehnertz thought most of the people present were probably incensed at the concept of dissolving the Planning & Zoning Board. He requested input from the Board members and suggestions on the type of action that might be advisible. Jose Aguila referred to the Mayor's comment that dissolving the PZB would save developers time and money and would speed up the process. If developers' presentations were made only once, it was estimated that 50% of the charges would be saved. Mr. Aguila didn't think time would really be saved because the Commission meets after the PZB anyway. The time length would remain the same. As far as the claim that money would be saved in professional fees, Mr. Aguila was not sure how valid that was. He explained how projects are handled in Ft. Lauderdale. Mr. Aguila didn't have a problem with "saving a step" in the process. He realized there was a certain amount of redundancy in going through the presen- tation with the PZB and the Commission. He was concerned, however, that political decisions might be made by the City Commission on site plans. Trying to save time and speed up the process is a good idea. _Abolishing the PZB, in his opi- nion, would be a terrible mistake and would prove to be a political nightmare for the people who want to develop in Boynton Beach. MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 Cynthia Greenhouse re£erred to remarks made about exorbitant time delays. The Planning Dept. had indicated if the PZB were eliminated from the picture, only one week would be saved. With regard to excessive costsw Mrs. Greenhouse pointed out if the Board is dissolved, the public hearing before the City Commission will end up being twice as long and professional fees will not really change. She noted there is no additional cost to the City when the PZB meets as staff does not receive overtime to attend the meetings. Relative to saving on photocopy cos%s, she Stated the PZB members could review the file material and then turn the paperwork over for the Commissioners to utilize. Mrs. Greenhouse referred to a remark made by the City Attorney to the effect that some of the lay boards might be going to the "wayside" because matters coming before them were becoming too sophisticated for them to handle. She referred to the makeup of the PZB which consisted of two attorneys, an architect, a builder, a developer and an environmentalist. She respectfully pointed out the City Commission consisted of a former postal worker, an accoun- tant, a former legal secretary, a school teacher and the Mayor who is an attorney. She thought the PZB gives appli- cants a "run for their money" and asks "why, where, when, how, etc." She pointed out that because of the PZB's mem- bership, it was not easy to "con" the PZB. She did not think Mr. Cherof's remark held water. Mrs. Greenhouse stated there were three people on the PZB that she felt the Mayor would like to politically "bump off." However, she felt what was going on was far more insideous. Anyone who voted for abolition of the PZB was voting to deny the due process rights and the right to be heard by residents in this City. She referred to the starting time of City Commission meetings and thought it made it difficult for many working people to attend. At the May 15, 1990 Commission meeting a time limit for speakers was implemented. Also implemented was the rule that if you don't get your written reqUest to speak in at the very beginning of the meeting, ~ou're not allowed to speak. Mrs. Greenhouse pointed out at the PZB meetings they take the time to listen to input from the citizens. Presently the citizens have two opportunities to speak, at the PZB meeting and at the City Commission meeting. These Public ~earings are required by Statute. If the Commission ends up holding both in one night, she felt it would further limit the number of citizens who are able to participate. Mrs. Greenhouse thought the Mayor had a tendency to interrupt citizens when they were speaking and this had a censoring effect. She did not think the voice of the public should be censored or silenced. MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, t990 Having a direct line between the developers and the elected officials was a frightening notion in Mrs. Greenhouse's opi- nion. A-~most every large City in the State has a PZB which serves as an impartial buffer and protection for the resi- dents. The potential for developers who miqht have made campaign contributions to seek favors from Commissioners existed. The appearance of possible corruption was there. She didn't think the City needed that potential. She asked interested citizens to rai.se their voices to the elected officials because the citizens are the ones with the power. Mrs. Greenhouse proposed the Board write a letter to the Governor as he had the power to conduct inquiries into actions by local government. She would like the Governor to conduct an inquiry and render a determination as to lega- lity, intent and the ultimate effect of the action by the City Commission. She believed there was a conflict with the rules as set down by the Commission with regard to the public's right to speak and the public's right to have two he~rings. Reference was made to Florida Statutes, Section 163.3181 under "Public Participation in the Comprehensive Planning Process." She noted public participation was the key to development in this State. Mrs. Greenhouse cffered to draft such a letter for the Board's review. Murray Howard was very concerned about rapid growth in Bo~nton Beach and felt the PZB ke~t close watch to ensure the Fire and Police protection, streets, schools, medical facilities, etc. are able to keep up. If growth explodes, he felt we would experience serious problems. He thought the reins have to be pulled in at some point. He was in favor of the continuance of the PZB. Nat Collins thought sometimes citizens are apprehensive about attending City CommiSsion meetings because so much is considered. The Planning & Zoning Board zeros in on speci- fic issues. To take this step away would be counter- productive, in his opinion. Mr. Collins noted that prior to his becoming a teacher, his college major was building construction. He thought the PZB makeup was excellent. Mr. Collins hoped the community would gee involved and perhaps the City Commission might change its direction. He was not in ~avor of abolishing the PZB. Dan Richter stated he wanted to see the PZB continue. He pointed out if the City Commission decides to be the planning agency for the City, they would be required by law to conduct a Public Hearing as the planning agency and a Public Hearing as the City Commission. If they did this on :one night, citizens would have a right to speak twice. Mr. Richter referred to the need to plan ahead for streets, uti- MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 lities, etc., prior to development going in. Mr. Richter referred to a comment made earlier in the meeting about citizens worrying that the City Commission might suddenly rezone property next to residential developments. He referred to the Comprehensive Plan and County and State standards outlined in the underlying documents. He pointed out rezoning was a long process. Relative to the comment made about developers having a direct line to the elected officials, Mr. Richter stated he disagreed because the direct line started with City staff. How much City staff would "knuckle under" to any political pressure was another story which they didn't really know. If the PZB took an approach of confrontation, he thought PZB would lose. A superior and calmer approach would be letters from the public to the City Commissioners. the Mrs. Greenhouse felt Mayor Moore had "slid" this topic onto the Agenda without notice to the public at large. When the residents come out "full blast'~ in opposition to this, she thought anyone could change their minds. Vice Chairman Lehnertz ~elt the PZB provides a needed ser- vice to the citizens and developers in the community. The citizens are given a chance to become informed and they are allowed an unlimited, unpressured atmosphere to voice their feelings in. Coming before the PZB affords an opportunity for developers to present their plans and to receive feed- back from staff on how the City feels. Many times a deve- loper will come in with plans and through the feedback and a give and take process the developer will turn around and modify the plans in order to more fully fit in. The modified plans then go on to the City Commission for appro- val. In Vice Chairman Lehnertz's opinion, the developer comes out with a superior project and they have a much better chance of being accepted at the Commission level. Vice Chairman Lehnertz stated the City Commission holds power only by virtue of resident support of the Commissioners. That was the foundation of democracy. He asked the members and audience to talk with their friends and neighbors and ask them to support the PZB at the Public Hearings~ If enough people phoned Vice Mayor Wische and Commissioner Artis to express the feeling that this is not a good idea, he thouqht hopefully this could be stopped at first reading. Former Mayor Ralph Marchese stated he had not always agreed with the PZB, but he felt their track record had been superb. They had permitted people to speak and they had - 4 - MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYI~TON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 listened to the pros and cons. To deprive the people o£ that check and balance system amounted to trying to gag 'people. The City belongs to the people, not the City Commissioners. Mr. Marchese thought Mrs. Greenhouse's idea was a good one. Ha stated he would also be willing to make a financial contribution towards putting something in the newspapers to make the people aware of what is going on. He thought teamwork was needed in the City as this is not a "one man show." Lynne Madsen remarked in view of recent City Commission discussion, it was quite possible the Community Appearance Board could also become obsolete. She was deeply disturbed by what went on at the recent City Commission meeting. She too felt that abolishment of the PZB would be very dangerous. It made no sense to take technical issues out of the hands of architects, contractors, attorneys and trades people and to put them in the hands of City Commissioners who are over burdened already. ~ommlssion meetings are already 4 5 ~ours long. She asked how long they would be if planning and zoning issues were not researched before- hand. Ms. Madsen thought this was a slap in the face of citizens who had submitted talent bank forms and who had donated their time and expertise. She thought any Commissioners voting to abolish the PZB should consider their decision the "kiss o~ death" to their political career. Ms. Madsen had spoken to two large developers presently building in the City who are against the proposal. They felt this could possibly pave the way so that politically connected developers could get special considerations. The travesty of the situation is that the majority ts silenced. She thought this dangerous situation must be stopped. Ms. Madsen recommended an open ad in the newspaper from the citizens of Boynton Beach to the City Commission as well as a letter writing campaign to the Governor and Commissioners. If one Board goes, they all could go along the wayside and the citizens would have no one to look out for them. Commissioner Arline Weiner remarked several Boards had been threatened with extinction, namely Planning & Zoning, the Board of Adjustment and the Building Board of Adjustment and Appeal. Members of the audience commented the Community Appearance Board and the CRA-Commercial should also be added. Marvin Greenhut stated the boards in this City offer people who wish to become active in the community a forum to do so. He saw this as a tremendous power play. If there are no - 5 - MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOTfNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 boards, where will future leaders come from? "Big bucks" could come into play in advertising and promotion. Mr. Greenhut requested these forums be kept alive. Ee did not think the voice of the people should be blocked. Mr. Greenhut had been advised by the City Manager's office that the CRA-Commercial was not going to be meeting any more. He was disappointed about that. Frances Cleary~ President of the Board of Directors of Sterling Village stated it was up to the citizens present as to whether the City continued to have a PZB or not. If citizens want to continue to enjoy this community they had better get busy on the telephone and writing letters. She had no use for several members of the City Commission. Shirley Stevens stated she had been very active in community affairs in Boca Raton prior to moving to Boynton Beach. In all her years representing civic groups before Federal, State, County and Municipal entities, she had never seen a more undignified meeting than the one she witnessed on July i7, 1990. She stated the megalomania she witnessed was outrageous. She thought 600 phone calls to Vice Mayor Wische and Commissioner Artis could change the vote. Remarks were made about a federatiQn of homeowners asso- ciations which exists in Boca Raton. Representatives from all major, active homeowners g~oup~ meet regularly in that City to discuss issues. They remain non-political. The City Commission in Boca Raton listened to this federation. She thought it was time the citizens in Boynton Beach thought about forming such an organization as she didn't feel the citizens controlled the City right now. Mrs. Stevens thought the PZB was loaded with expertise. Robert Walshak, former Chairman of the Planning & Zoning Board explained he had worked long and hard toward establishing respect and dignity for the PZB and for the City itself. He thought they might be accused of holding an illegal meeting but he thanked them for having the "guts" to meet. He recommended the members go back over the last few years' Minutes and examine the worthwhile things the PZB had accomplished. As a Board, these facts could be brought to the attention of the City Commission in a dignified fashion. Henrietta Solomon remarked that sometimes it is difficult to bring retirees out to attend a public meeting. She recom- mended Petitions be circulated and asked Mrs. Greenhouse to write the language for the Petition. Mrs. Solomon stated the Board Of Adjustment had recently made an honest and intelligent dec~sion which didn't please one Commissioner. Because of this, Mrs. Solomon stated the Commissioner decided he didn't want the Board of Adjustment to exist. - 6 - MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 She felt the appearance of corruption could exist when a Board doesn't have the opportunity to review something like that. Mrs. Solomon thought the City was moving in the wrong direction. She stated every effort needed to be made to ensure that every Board stays intact and that the Commission allows citizens to have a say in this City. Simon Ryder, former Chairman of the Planning & Zoning Board stated he ~ad served on the Board for 15 years for the bene- fit of the community. He thought the Board should reject the action taken by three members of the City Commission because of the lack of due cause. Mr. Ryder felt employee morale was poor and he referred to numerous key positions remaining vacant in the City. Vice Chairman Lehnertz asked if wished to speak. There was no audience. there was anyone else who further response from the Mrs. Greenhouse stated she had explored what avenues were available to the PZB to reject what the Commission was doing to the Board and the citizenry. She felt the most effective way to proceed was to write to the Governor as he has the power to conduct an inquiry into actions by local government. She encouraged citizens to write to the Attorney General, the Dept. of Community Affairs or other appropriate agencies to request assistance. Mr. Aguila had no problem with writing to the Governor but he was concerned about the length of time it can take for the "wheels of Government" to move. ~e noted an Ordinance like this could be written and ready for first reading in a matter of weeks. By the time they heard from the Governor, it could all be over. He thought the Commissioners should be bombarded with letters from the voters. There was a chance the issue might be postponed a few weeks. The question was raised as to what grounds the Board would present in the letter to the Governor. Mrs. Greenhouse suggested another meeting be called once the letter was writton so the full Board could review and approve it. The Chairman could sign the letter. With the policy presently in effect, limiting the ability of the public to speak on issues, Mrs. Greenhouse thought it was in conflict with Section 161.3181 of Florida Statutes which encourages public participation in the planning process. Mr. Richter pointed out the City Commission can sit legally as the planning board. Whether public participation is limited to conform with limitations set for the convenience of shortening City Commission meetings would remain to be MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 seen. Other remarks were made about items that appear on the Consent Agenda portion of the CommiSsion meetings- M_rs. Cleary didn't think this could be done as an appointed Board but rather should be done by a formal group of citi- zens from the community. Scott Elk, City Attorne~ interjected that as a Board, they should stay within their responsibilities and duties as set forth in Section 19-5 of the Code. If they went outside those duties, they ran the risk of creating liability to the Board. Their responsibility was to look at zoning matters within the City and to act as an advisory Board to the City Commission. Under the Code or Charter, Mr. Elk didn't believe the Board had the authority to request assistance from the Governor on behalf of the citizenry. They could do what they wanted as private citizens. Mr. ~oward thought perhaps they should create a committee and go forward on that basis, rather than as the PZB. Harry Marcus agreed with what the City Attorney said. He pointed out the Board should "walk softly." As a government body they had to work within the parameters of the authority granted. Anything beyond that could work against the efforts they were trying to attain. Mr. Marcus recommended that they get specific direction from the City Attorney in connection with anything they might do. They should not deviate. Mrs. Greenhouse stated she would have to defer to the City Attorney. As private citizens, what the Board members do would be another matter. Discussion ensued. Mr. Walshak thought they needed to get the attention of two City Commissioners. To go beyond that, they might end up being ~hallenged legally. Vice Chairman Lehnertz pointed out Mrs. Greenhouse had indi- cated she would be willing to coordinate a private citizens' effort in terms of publicity. If private citizens wished to individually contact her it would be appropriate and appre- ciated. Commissioner Robert Olenik, Jr. commented he believed it was within the Board's purview to make a recommendation to the City Commission that the Board does not wish to be disbanded but wishes to remain a separate and distinct land planning agency for the City. Commissioner Olenik thought that would be within the purview of Chapter 19. Mr. Elk stated Section 19-5 allowed the Board to recommend to the City Commission any general subject matter pertaining to municipal government within the City. - 8 - MINUTES - SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 20, 1990 Motion Mr. Aguila moved that the Board inform the City Commissioners that the Board strongly feels the Board, as it exists today, should continue acting as the land planning agency ~or the City of Boynton Beac~ and that any change to the Board as ~ar as its existence is concerned, is a mistake against the citizens o~ Boynton Beach. Mrs. Greenhouse seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Interested citizens were thanked for attending the meeting. It was nOted that the next regular City Commission meeting will take Place on AugUst 7,1990. ADJOURNMENT The meeting properly adjourned at Shannon Burkett Recording Secretary (Two Tapes) 7:50 P.M. - 9 -