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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1732 - MINUTES - City Commission MINUTES DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 24, 2001 7:00 P.M. 1. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Flury. 2. Roll Call: Present: Mayor Pat Flury Vice-Mayor Robert Chunn Commissioners: John Bertino C.K. McElyea Bob Mikes City Attorney Tom Ansbro Acting City Manager Jason Nunemaker Acting City Clerk Charlene Johnson 3. Growth Management Issues a. Signs i. Downtown Dania Beach Signs ii. Principal Arterial Sign Regulations Acting City Manager Nunemaker asked for guidance from the Commission on the above Growth Management issues as they relate to the establishment of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). He mentioned that the City was in the middle of the budget process and certain infrastructure items and building height restrictions in the downtown corridor need to be addressed. Laurence Leeds, Growth Management Director, displayed a map of the Downtown Dania Beach Redevelopment District, which was created many years ago to expedite and improve downtown development. He explained that the downtown district sign regulations are the only thing that applies to the map. The area is bounded on the south by Stirling Road and SE 2"d Street, on the north by the Dania Cut-Off Canal, on the west by Third Avenue and on the east by Fronton Boulevard north of Dania Beach Blvd and by Third Avenue south of Dania Beach Blvd. He advised that the criteria was much more strict in the downtown area than anywhere else in the City. Mr. Leeds gave the example that a typical monument sign can only be a maximum of 25 square feet in the downtown area; in other parts of the city, a monument sign could be anywhere from 40 square feet and larger, depending on the area. MINUTES 1 MAY 24, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING Mr. Leeds mentioned that another issue was the principal arterial sign criteria which applies to businesses on main roads such as Griffin, Stirling, Federal Highway, Sheridan & Dania Beach Boulevard. One of the requirements is that window signs are prohibited, with the exception of two square foot neon open signs, and small window signs advertising credit cards accepted by the vendor. He advised that small business merchants feel that their principal avenue for advertising is the window of the store, and they have also expressed displeasure with the strictness of the sign code and the sign adjustment process because the minimum cost is $700. Mr. Leeds suggested that the sign code be changed to be made less restrictive or that the sign adjustment process be changed by eliminating the requirements for advertising, public notice and review by the Planning & Zoning Board. If the sign adjustment requests went directly to the City Commission for action, the cost would be reduced to approximately $200 and the process would take less time. Mayor Flury agreed that the prohibition of window signs was an issue with many business owners. Commissioner Mikes made the comment that some business owners have more of a need for window signs than others and felt that the City should encourage as much glass area as possible and possibly set a percentage of window area that would;be allowed for signage and include criteria for acceptable signage. He would still like the sign adjustment to be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning .Board for recommendation. He suggested that advertising and mailings be eliminated but that a notice be posted on the business-front. Commissioner Bertino agreed that $700 was very costly to the business owner, but felt that the Planning & Zoning Board should review the sign adjustments for recommendation to the City Commission. Mayor Flury suggested that a workshop meeting be held with business owners to discuss the signage. Commissioner Bertino felt that input should be received from representatives of Mainstreet and the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Leeds explained that a meeting was held last week with representatives of Mainstreet and the Chamber of Commerce which was very productive. Attorney Richard Seay explained that Mainstreet's suggestion would be to not change the code but to refine the sign adjustment process by limiting the process for window signs to the businesses in the historic downtown core, where most of the antique stores are located in a two block area and also that the cost be reduced. MINUTES 2 MAY 24, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING Commissioner McElyea felt that the cost for applying for a sign adjustment was too high and could cause a burden on the merchant. He was in favor of reducing the cost and eliminating some of the process. Mr. Leeds advised that he would work with the City Attorney to revise the sign code by limiting sign adjustments to the downtown district only and to refine the sign adjustment process. b. Dumpster Ordinance Mr. Leeds advised that existing residential developments in the annexed area ranging from 2 units and up are using dumpsters that are located along the residential streets. After discussing the matter with the Public Works Director, he recommended that existing residential developments with 8 units or less be required to construct a dumpster enclosure, or be limited to one 96 gallon roll-out container per unit. The Commission generally agreed that existing residential developments with 8 units or less should be limited to one 96 gallon roll-out container per unit and must make the change within one year. c. Animal Regulation Mr. Leeds explained that the proposed amendment to the ordinance would limit a resident to any combination of four adult dogs or cats. Changes were also made to the ordinance relating to vicious dogs. Mayor Flury did not agree with limiting the combination to only four. Commissioner Mikes suggested that dogs be limited to three with no limit on cats. Mr. Leeds advised that the County ordinance still applies in the annexed area; west of Ravenswood Road, which allows up to four dogs with no limitation on cats. Mr. Leeds also requested that the ordinance be amended to not allow pot belly pigs. The Commission generally agreed, but felt that existing pigs should be grandfathered in. d. Discussion of Downtown Dania Beach Height Regulations Mr. Leeds explained that at the present time, most of the property in downtown Dania Beach has either a C-2 or C-3 zoning designation. Both zoning districts allow a building, up to 40 feet in height, but they only allow 3 stories in that 40 feet. In order to build higher, a variance would be required. MINUTES 3 MAY 24, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING Acting City Manager Nunemaker advised that he has been approached by • developers and engineers seeking an increase in building heights to 6 stories, which would be between 72 to 75 feet. He also stated that this would shift the taxing burden more towards the commercial district. Commissioner McElyea was concerned about the lack of parking. Commissioner Mikes was concerned about costs involved in infrastructure and the increase in traffic. Mr. Leeds explained that a parking structure would have to be designed inside a building. Acting City Manager Nunemaker advised that staff was vigorously pursuing hotel and business office development. He mentioned that the developers of the Village Marina Plat are pursuing a Part 77 Study, but there was a limited capacity of 1-95 frontage that would attract that type of development. He stated that the cost estimate for infrastructure for this type of development would be 1.2 million dollars, however there was presently a grant application in process with the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, to help offset $800,000 of that cost. He explained that this would be the second step for implementing a CRA and the City would have to implement a Redevelopment Plan which would be an opportunity to set forth . a vision for the downtown corridor, whether building heights remain at the current footage or at a slightly increased height. Commissioner Mikes felt that a visioning session should be held for the citizens of Dania Beach in order to get public input. Mayor Flury agreed that the citizens of Dania Beach should be involved, but she also had a concern about the infrastructure and water capacity. Commissioner Bertino agreed that the infrastructure was the important thing, but a decision would have to be made, first, on what type of future development would be best for the City. Acting City Manager Nunemaker felt that the most appropriate process to take would be to utilize the establishment of a Community Redevelopment Agency because a CRA is a public participation process. e. Discussion of Downtown Dania Beach Parking Restrictions Mr. Leeds pointed out that when an existing retail business is replaced by a restaurant in the downtown district, the parking requirement increases, however, a parking analysis was never done for restaurants such as the Chocolate Jungle, the Lobster Trap and Grampa's Restaurant and they were r MINUTES 4 MAY 24, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING not required to increase their parking. Mainstreet would like the City to codify • the practice that the City has taken by not performing a parking analysis in the downtown district. Mr. Leeds recommended that the City adopt a process for a trial period of one to three years where the parking requirement is waived, and after the trial period a decision would be made whether to make it permanent or not. Mr. Leeds also recommended that a provision be included that restaurants located within the downtown district who would like to serve beer and wine, not be required to obtain a variance from the distance to a school or church. Acting City Manager Nunemaker stated that this may create a private incentive for people to work together on a parking issue. f. Rezoning of Broward County "Commercial" Districts Mr. Leeds presented a map of the annexed area and recommended that the zoning be changed for certain existing commercial properties from a County commercial zoning designation to a new City commercial zoning designation that would exclude undesirable uses such as pawn shops, check cashing stores, day labor facilities, etc. He also recommended that performance standards be included to insure that a fast food restaurant looks good, is positioned properly and would not become a nuisance. Mr. Leeds explained that the rezoning process would take 12 to 18 months and would cost • $25,000 to $30,000 and could require a moratorium. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Robert H. Chunn, Jr., Mayor ATTEST: ChAIM Charlene Jo on City Clerk Approved: August 13, 2002 • MINUTES 5 MAY 24, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING