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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 - MINUTES - CRA MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING CITY OF DANIA BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006 — 5:30 P.M. 1. Call to Order Chairman Flury called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Present: Chairman: Patricia Flury Vice-Chairman: Robert Anton Commissioners: John Bertino Anne Castro Paul Fetscher City Manager: Ivan Pato City Attorney: Tom Ansbro Deputy Clerk: Miriam Nasser CRA Consultant: William Salim 2. pproval of Minutes of November 1, 2006 Commissioner Castro motioned to approve the Minutes of November 1, 2006; seconded by Vice-Chairman Anton. The motion carried unanimously. Item #4 was heard after Item #2 Item #3 was heard after Item #4 3. Discussion of Draft CRA "Use" and Parking Regulation Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, advised the Iler Group was requested to prepare new Design and Zoning Regulations for the CRA. The City's contract with them deals with several issues, except for two important things: the CRA Use Matrix and the parking regulations designed specifically for the CRA area. He explained that the current Zoning Code dates back to 1976, and although it has been changed over the years, it no longer meets the City's needs. Director Leeds commented that most of the cases turn into Special Exceptions and developers do not like to go through that process and simply decide not to proceed any further. He indicated that he has taken these uses and included some of the districts contained in Iler's report to create a CRA Use Matrix, copies of which were distributed to the City Commission. Director Leeds noted the CRA is divided into three Zoning Districts: the Downtown TOD District; South of Stirling District; and the Dania Beach Boulevard District. He commented one of the recommendations made by the Iler Group was to require a minimum building height of two stories in the area north of Stirling Road, with the objective to generate more pedestrian activity. Mr. Iler also recommended having a maximum density of 75 units per gross acre along US 1, north of Stirling Road and east Dania Beach Boulevard; and up to 50 units per gross acre along US 1, south of Stirling Road, subject to the availability of LAC and flex units within the CRA. Chairman Flury confirmed with the rest of the Board that bringing the building height to two stories was consistent with the downtown look and its architectural style. Director Leeds commented the typical high density residential on the beach, built within the last ten years is about 60 units per acre, excluding downtown Fort Lauderdale and downtown Hollywood, which is much higher. Director Leeds clarified for Chairman Flury that the 109 Park project represents about 70 units per gross acre and the front part of the Modello project is about 74 units per gross acre, which are both consistent with the downtown look. He noted the Casa Beni project is over 100 units per gross acre, and it looks like a large box because of its higher density. Vice-Chairman Anton asked if we should go lower than Iler's recommendation. Director Leeds thought 75 units per gross acre was a reasonable density. He further noted that if we ever want to bring it lower, he would like to create a Special Condition Use, rather than a Special Exception. Chairman Flury and Commissioner Castro were both agreeable to the 75 units per gross acre recommendation. Commissioner Castro felt that if we were trying to improve some areas of the City, like the antique district, it had to be marketable. Commissioner Bertino asked City Attorney Ansbro if he could vote on this issue, since he is in the real estate business and has clients who would be involved in a project in the City. City Attorney Ansbro indicated he could vote until we have a law on the books or a contract with an individual. Commissioner Bertino thought the City should have a reasonable density and would agree to 75 units per acre, if the experts think it is logical. He also asked Director Leeds to make sure that we still have control of the site plan, and the look and architecture of the building, if the developers meet density and all other requirements. Director Leeds explained that if the requirements of the Code are met, in terms of parking, landscaping, setbacks, etc., the City would still have some control over traffic and safety issues. He clarified for the record that we are not doing away with site plan review. Chairman Flury remarked she would like to see the site plan come back to the Commission for final approval. Minutes of Regular Meeting 2 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6, 2006—5:30 p.m. City Attorney Ansbro commented we should give developers the certainty that they do not have to deal with waivers or variances, but still retain control as to the appearance of the building. Commissioner Castro thought the City Commission should review the site plan, and if we are not comfortable with it, we would offer suggestions and ask them to bring it back. Director Leeds indicated he would discuss with the City Attorney the possibility of including requirements for everything, and make the design criteria subject to review by the City Commission. Commissioner Bertino asked if we could limit the amount of land to be sold, to avoid having buildings on a small piece of land. Director Leeds noted that Iler establishes minimum lot sizes based on height, and if the piece of land is less than one-half acre, they have to build a three story building, which is what is permitted today. Director Leeds explained the CRA Use Matrix which is divided into four categories: • Permitted Uses • Prohibited Uses • Special Exception Uses (requires Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission review) • Special Condition Uses (new category: permitted use subject to special conditions). Discussion followed between the Board and Director Leeds regarding the type of restaurants, small family-owned or fast food, and coffee shops allowed in the CRA and the importance of creating a pedestrian area. Commissioner Castro commented we cannot exclude fast food restaurants because Mom and Pop's may not survive, while big corporations will. She suggested asking them to adopt a motif for architectural design. Chairman Flury commented she did not have any objections to having one or two fast food restaurants, but would like to create a minimum distance requirement. Director Leeds agreed we could create a minimum distance requirement. Commissioner Castro suggested creating a mixture of shops, bookstores and restaurants. Commissioner Bertino was concerned about Churches and the fact that they do not have enough parking. Director Leeds advised we have a parking code. He further noted most of the Churches in town do not have enough space and have requested variances. Minutes of Regular Meeting 3 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6,2006—5:30 p.m. • City Attorney Ansbro commented we should be very careful on how we treat Churches, and that staff would look into it in detail. Chairman Flury would like more time to look at the revised Matrix document provided tonight and suggested bringing it back at the next CRA meeting. Director Leeds showed residential parking requirement comparisons with other cities in Broward County. He further noted that the current parking requirement is 1.75 — 2.25 spaces per unit and the proposed requirement of 1.5 —2.0 spaces per unit (including 0.25 designated guest spaces for each unit) is similar to parking standards in other Coastal Broward cities. Director Leeds added he tried to come up with a fair standard where we no longer need to deal with variances because it is very time consuming for staff. He showed the Mixed Use Parking Comparison Table as well as the Casa'Bem proposed parking requirements. Director Leeds clarified for Commissioner Bertino that any type of mechanical parking requires a variance use. Commissioner Bertino pointed out he is against tandem parking. Chairman Flury noted the Casa Beni project is the first one we have seen with tandem parking. She asked Director Leeds if he foresaw any problems. • Director Leeds suggested leaving it as a variance and let them prove to the City Commission that it will actually work. Commissioner Bertino was concerned about the shared parking and thought we should require a minimum of two cars per unit. Chairman Flury had no problem with parking recommendations for condos and asked Director Leeds if single-family homes would be changed. Director Leeds confirmed single-family homes would not change. Commissioner Castro agreed with the parking suggested by Director Leeds. Director Leeds clarified for Vice-Chairman Anton that, based on the proposed parking code, 75% of the people who have a 2-bedroom apartment will get two reserved spaces per unit; while the remaining 25% will get one reserved space per unit. Designated unreserved guest parking will be provided at a rate of I parking space for each 4 dwelling units. Chairman Flury asked Director Leeds if the Aqua Isles project would be affected. Director Leeds indicated they would not be affected because they are not in the CPA. The Board generally agreed to have staff continue drafting the Code changes. Minutes of Regular Meeting 4 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6,2006—5:30 p.m. It was the consensus of the Board to bring this item back to the CRA meeting on January 3, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. Item #4 was heard before Item #3 4. City Library Building Attorney Salim advised his office prepared the Request for Letters of Interest (RLI) for a Master Plan to combine the Library/City Hall site, as well as a proposed Interlocal Agreement with Broward County to split the cost of the study. He noted these proposals are now with the Broward County Library Department who would be preparing an Agenda Item to bring before the Broward County Commission in January, when they hope to get approval to proceed. He explained the City has the option to proceed without the agreement with the County, although at the last CRA meeting the Board did not want to take that approach. He requested direction from the Board. Commissioner Castro confirmed with Attorney Salim that the City would have the opportunity to take the lead and be in control, subject to the County's oversight and input. Attorney Salim advised the City would enter into an agreement with the consultant in response to the RLI, and the County would be contributing with funds. He indicated the Interlocal Agreement with the County would contemplate a long term lease and the City would be in charge of the Construction/Design Development. Commissioner Castro would like to see the process move forward. Attorney Salim clarified for Vice-Chairman Anton and Commissioner Bertino that there would be no obligation until the contract with the County is signed. He further mentioned that if the Board so desired, he could finalize the RLI, submit it to the City Attorney and City Manager for review, and publish it some time next week. Attorney Salim added that he received positive feedback from the Broward County Library Department. Chairman Flury confirmed with Attorney Salim that the City staff would review and evaluate the RLI's and provide the Board with a recommendation. Commissioner Castro motioned to proceed with the RLI process, up to signing a contract With the consultant, in order to move the Master Plan forward for the Library; seconded by Vice-Chair "man Anton. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Bertino Yes Vice-Chairman Anton Yes Commissioner Castro Yes Chairman Flury Yes Commissioner Fetscher Yes • At this time City Manager Pato asked the Board to look at the proposed brochure that was discussed at the November 1, 2006, Regular CRA Meeting. In addition to the brochure, there Minutes of Regular Meeting 5 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6,2006—5:30 p.m. • would be a'CD that includes information on the City. He commented this is a marketing piece intended to attract redevelopment and businesses to the City. City Manager Pato further noted we would be limited in the number of issues we would print. He finally indicated that if the Board was comfortable with the proposed brochure, Atkins and Associates would present the finished product at the Regular CRA Board Meeting in January. Commissioner Bertino requested photocopies of the brochure be distributed to the Commissioners. City Attorney Ansbro noted the Dania Jai Alai sign located on the roof of the Pirate's Inn on Federal Highway was removed today. Item #4.2 was heard before Item #4.1 4.2 Victory Villas City Attorney Ansbro reported Victory Villas has a contract from someone to purchase the entire parcel, which works better for them. They will let us know if the property comes back on the market. Commissioner Castro clarified with City Attorney Ansbro that the interested party would purchase Victory Villas and operate the apartment complex subject to HUD regulations. She further requested that if this issue comes back for discussion, it should be at a regular Commission meeting and not a CPA Board meeting, since this property is not within the CRA boundaries. Item #4.1 was heard after Item #4.2 4.1 Appraisal Report— 109 Park City Attorney Ansbro advised two appraisals were conducted for the 109 Park site. He noted that under State Law, it is a requirement to obtain two appraisals if the price exceeds $500,000. City Attorney Ansbro further explained the Commission had the choice to keep this information exempt from the Public Records Law, read it and bring it back at another meeting, or discuss it now and it would become a public record. It was the consensus of the Commission to discuss the matter tonight. City Attorney Ansbro presented the results of the two appraisals: • $1,768,000 • $1,910,000 He noted that he asked for both properties to be appraised with and without permit approvals which expire in June, and added that these approvals would have no extra value to the owners. • City Attorney Ansbro commented the comparables for these appraisals were based on vacant lots within the City. Minutes of Regular Meeting 6 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6, 2006—5:30 p.m. • Chairman Flury questioned if we would be interested in purchasing the property from the present owner, and if so, what would be the cost. City Attorney Ansbro explained that under State Law the City would need to average the two appraisals and go over that number with a 4/5 vote. Vice-Chairman Anton clarified the current formula for the CRA would allow the City to get funding through the County to purchase the whole property interest-free for a five year period. He further commented that now that we are moving forward with the RLI, we could use these funds for the development of the City Hall Complex and the Library. Vice-Chairman Anton suggested making a decision on this issue as soon as possible. Commissioner Castro thought we could deal with the individual owners, negotiate prices with each of them, and put them together as a package. She asked what the next step would be. City Attorney Ansbro indicated we could submit a contract and start negotiations. He clarified for Commissioner Castro that this matter would not require a referendum ballot. Chairman Flury reminded everyone that if the owners are interested in selling, we have funds set aside. • City Attorney Ansbro noted that 109 Park was purchased for$1,421,000.00 on April 6, 2005. Director Leeds clarified for Commissioner Castro that the architectural and site plan costs were approximately$7,500.00 Commissioner Bertino felt the owner should give the offer a serious thought, considering today's real estate market. City Manager Pato wanted assurance that the Commission was committed to stay within the average of the two appraisals. Vice-Chairman Anton motioned to direct the City Manager to negotiate a price within the average of the two appraisals; seconded by Commissioner Castro. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Bertino Yes Vice-Chairman Anton Yes Commissioner Castro Yes Chairman Flury Yes Commissioner Fetscher Yes 5. Adjournment • Chairman Flury adjourned the meeting at 6:47 p.m. Minutes of Regular Meeting 7 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6,2006—5:30 p.m. • COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ATTEST: PATRICIA FLURY CHAIRMAN - CRA LOUISE STILSON, CMC CITY CLERK Approved: January 3, 2007 • Minutes of Regular Meeting 8 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Wednesday,December 6, 2006—5:30 p.m.