HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-17 Virtual Planning and Zoning Board/Local Planning Agency MinutesDANIA BEACH
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VIRTUAL MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF DANIA BEACH
PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD/LOCAL PLANNING AGE14GY
CONDUCTED USING COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA TECHNOLOGY"
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021
7:00 PM
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I. ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:OOPM by Chair W. Quin Robertson. Board
Clerk Ibel Larios called the roll.
Chair W. Quin Robertson, PhD, GISP Present
Traian Thomas Popescu Present
Jonathan Thomas Present
Albert C Jones Present
Charlotte Sloboda (Alternate) Present
II. BOARD DISCUSSION
1. Selection of board Vice Chair
Eve Boutsis, Assistant City Attorney
Corinne Lajoie, AICP, Asst Director Comm Dev
Richard Lorber, AICP, Planning and Zoning Manager
IbeI Larios, Board Clerk
Chair Robertson opened tl:e floor for nominations of Vice Cltair. Jonat{ran T/comas made a motion to
nominate Albert Jones as Vice Cltair which was seconded by C/iair Robertson. As tltere were no other
nominations, nominations were closed The motion to nominate was approved (54) and Albert Jones
was elected Vice Chair by acclamation.
III.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Approval of Minutes of the Planning and Zoning Board /Local Planning Agency from the
October 20, 2021 virtual regular meeting.
Motion was made by Jonathan Thomas to approve the minutes of t{te virtual meeting of the Planning
& Zoning Board/Local Planning Agency for October 20, 2021 and was seconded by Vice Cltair Albert
Jones. Motion passed 54 (Traian Thomas Popescu had audio problems but did vote "yes').
IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. VA-085-21: The applicants, homeowners John and Lucette Fitzgerald, are requesting a
variance to permit a boat lifting device to extend seventeen (IT) feet into the II0-foot
wide waterway, where the maximum of fifteen (15') feet is permitted, for property
located at 715 NW 7"' Street.
The Applicant and Staff who were to speak on this agenda item were sworn in by Assistant City
Attorney Eve Boutsis. After the title was read, Planning and Zoning Manager Richard Lorber gave a
PowerPoint presentation explaining the variance request for this single-family home in the Melaleuca
neighborhood. The dock was existing and the boat lift would go in the middle of the dock. The variance
would be to increase projection of the boatlift by two (2'-0") feet. The Planning and Zoning Manager
went through the five variance criteria. He said that Staff was recommending approval and that the
applicant was on the line to answer any questions. The Chair called for Board questions but there were
none and no one from the public wished to speak.
Motion was made by Charlotte Sloboda to approve tl:e resolution for this ageerdrr iterrr (VA-0�5-21) and
was seconded by Jonathan Thomas. Motion passed S-0.
Assistant Director Community Development Corinne Lajoie asked to move the seventh agenda item up so
it could be heard now. There were people logged in who wanted to speak on this agenda item. There
were no objections to her request.
7. TX-065-20R: The applicant, City of Dania Beach, is requesting a text amendment and
map amendment to the City's Unified Land Development Code to make the tree
protection overlay regulation and district permanent for trees in the general vicinity of the
residential lots on SW 36 Terrace, SW 37 Avenue, and SW 37 Terrace.
Assistant City Attorney Boutsis explained that this was a public hearing item but not necessarily quasi-
judicial. It did affect a small area of the City. If anyone had any communication with the public, it
should be discussed now in an abundance of caution and disclosures were made by Chair Robertson,
Charlotte Sloboda, Vice Chair Jones, Traian Thomas Popescu, and Jonathan Thomas who all said they
could remain impartial. Assistant City Attorney Boutsis reminded that the Board approved, about a year
ago, the Ordinance as written. It provided tree and landscape protection for the last old growth hammock
in Dania Beach. Last year there were those that were for and those that were against this and it was
somewhat contentious. Now it seemed that there were just supporters. Last year, the City Commission
approved the Ordinance for one year. Staff was recommending approval to make it a permanent
Ordinance with no expiration date. She asked for Board questions and answered Vice Chair Jones that
the Ordinance was written specifically just for this community and it was not citywide. Jonathan Thomas
inquired about what residents would do if they were having trouble with a tree, and Assistant City
Attorney Boutsis explained.
As there were no other Board questions, Chair Robertson asked the public if they wished to speak. Jirrr
Rizzio thanked the Board for recommending the Ordinance last year which seemed to go well and did not
cause neighborhood problems. He suggested asingle-subject flyer to remind residents in this
neighborhood about the tree and landscape rules. He felt that in Dania Beach, there were no buildings or
other structures older or more revered than these majestic Oaks in our Oak Tree Hammock, except maybe
our beach. Making this Ordinance permanent, branded Dania Beach as a City that respected and
preserved its natural heritage. He would like to see some kind of notice that the City Commission and
Planning and Zoning Board adopted a permanent Oak Hammock Protection Ordinance. Stephanie Jofe
was so grateful that the Ordinance would now be permanent and listed all the reasons why this was so
important to both her and her husband to include but not be limited to shade, noise protection, buffered
against strong winds and sea level rise. She wanted to make sure everyone understood that this Ordinance
did not preclude anyone from removing hazardous trees or trimming hazardous branches. It just did its
best to have homeowners and developers leave the hammock intact. Gabriella Hirschrnann said that she
was very much in favor of the Ordinance. She explained that there was a dangerous tree limb hanging
over her house and she contacted the City Arborist who explained what had to be done. She felt that
unique was hard to find but that was what the hammock was to her. Her husband, Elias Bichachi, added
that the Ordinance did not affect buying and selling homes negatively in the neighborhood. This was also
a great lesson for their children to learn. Anthony Benedict said that trees were poisoned so they could be
removed and a bigger building could be constructed. He wanted to know if the Ordinance could contain
language with punishments for anyone harming trees. He said that the arborist could do a soil sample to
see if a tree was harmed. There could be fines or mandatory replacements for trees in equal sizes.
Assistant City Attorney Boutsis explained about the City's mitigation process/fine process in the City's
code. Dr. Michael Jofe said that this Ordinance would improve the health and safety of our children and
the community which should take precedence. He explained how hazardous limbs should be removed.
He reminded that this Ordinance did not preclude site improvements it was just for our Oak Tree
Hammock protection and in turn, Dania Beach garners many of the advantages from having a majestic
Oak Tree Hammock. Harvey Sepler said that Staff crafted a way to preserve the trees, foster families to
Virlteal Planning anrt Zoning BoarrULocnt Planning Agency Minutes 2 November 17, 2021
move in here, and that the City recognized what distinguished it fi•om all the other cities. He thanked
them all. There were no other requests from the public to speak.
Motion was made by Cltair Robertson to recommend approval of this agenda ite»t (TX-065-20R) to the
City Commission and adopt the Ordinance as part of the LDC and was seconded by Charlotte
Sloboda Motion passed S-0.
2 TX-080-21: The applicant, City of Dania Beach, is requesting a text amendment to the
City's Code, to adopt amendments and refinements to the Land Development Code.
Planning and Zoning Manager Richard Lorber gave a PowerPoint presentation explaining that there were
14 sections of the Land Development Code (LDC) they were proposing to amend. It would include
correcting omissions, text, formatting, inserting clarifications, fixing language, and other minor
adjustments to the existing regulations. He went over the amending details proposed in each of the
fourteen sections (E-1 District, Regulations for Kennels and Veterinarians, Hotel Shuttle Vehicles
Parking, Mobile Food Vending, Distance Separation Measurement, Setback Encroachments for Single -
Family Districts, Setback Encroachments for Apartment Districts, Air Conditioning Unit Setbacks for
Mobile Homes, Rules for Rooftop Solar Panels, Landscape Requirements for Parking Lots, City Center
District Map, Public Notice Requirements, Permitted Administrative Variances, and Rules for Temporary
Uses and Special Events). The Planning and Zoning Manager requested questions as they went along and
said that Staff recommended approval. There were no Board questions but a member of the public, Eli
Bichachi, asked about what was said regarding Houses of Worship and Plamiing and Zoning Manager
Lorber explained that an application would not be required for asingle-day event for a religious
institution. Then Vice Chair Jones asked a question regarding the City Center District Map which was
part of Mr. Lorber's PowerPoint presentation. The Vice Chair wanted to know about encompassing part
or all of 6t'' Avenue and Mr. Lorber explained that there was really no policy change and no zoning
changes. He made the slide depicting the map bigger on the screen for clarity and understanding that it
encompassed all of 6'�' Avenue. There were no other Board questions or comments and no public
questions or comments.
Motion was made by Vice Cltair Jones to recommend approval of this agenda ite»t (TX-080-21) to the
City Commission and was seconded by Chair Robertson. Motion passed 5-0.
3. TX-082-21: The applicant, City of Dania Beach, is requesting a text amendment to the
City's Code of Ordinance, to provide a process for allocating Regional Activity Center
(RAC) dwelling units.
Assistant Director Community Development Corinne Lajoie gave a PowerPoint presentation explaining
that at the request of the City Commission, Staff was proposing a text amendment to the City's LDC to
create a process to allocate RAC dwelling units when the unit count falls below 15% of the originally
allocated units. At the present time, RAC dwelling units have fallen to 11% of the originally allocated
units. Obtaining additional units would take about 12 to 18 months. Two thousand eight hundred ninety-
nine RAC units have been allocated but not yet built. Therefore, on September 28, 2021 the City
Commission established a Zoning In Progress and that was where we were right now. She explained to
the Board the six criteria that Staff was proposing and why (e.g., developers must provide an agreement to
not ask for extensions and to return any unused RAC units at the end of the agreement's term which
authorized period shall not exceed 30 months) when the available RAC dwelling units fall below 15%.
She said that the Board must give their recommendation to the City Commission tonight and that Staff
was recommending approval. The Chair asked for Board questions and Vice Chair Jones commented that
for a number of years, developers kept extending and extending their projects. He was glad to see
proposed language that developers must be ready and could not request any extensions. He
complimented and thanked Ms. Lajoie and Staff. The Chair agreed with what the Vice Chair just stated.
There were no other Board questions/comments and no public comments.
Motion was made by Cltair Robertson to recommend approval of this agenda ite»: (TX-082-21) to the
City Commission and was seconded by Charlotte Sloboda. Motion passed 5-0.
Virlunl Planning nnrl Zoning BonrrULocal Planning Agency Minutes 3 November 17, 2021
4. LU-087-21: The applicant, City of Dania Beach, is requesting a Comprehensive Plan
Amendment to add a Property Rights Element to the document.
Assistant Director Community Development Corinne Lajoie read from her PowerPoint presentation
which would not show on the screen. She said that they were adding an element to the Comprehensive
Plan and explained that an element was essentially a chapter which would now be added to the
Comprehensive Plan. The Property Rights Element was a new requirement of the State. The City was
initiating this Property Rights element now because the State would not accept any amendments to the
Comprehensive Plan without the required Property Rights language included. They were going to
incorporate soon into the City's Comprehensive Plan a Water Supply Plan update and the State would not
accept it without the Property Rights language in the Comprehensive Plan. The purpose of the Properly
Rights Element was to respect the judicially acknowledged and constitutionally respected right of the
property owner. She said that the Board must give their recommendation to the City Commission tonight
and that Staff was recommending approval. The Chair asked for Board questions and there weren't any
and there weren't any public questions/comments.
Motion was made by Vice Clrair Jones to recommend approval of this agenda item (LU-087-21) to the
City Commission and was seconded by Charlotte Sloboda. Motion passed S-0.
5. TX-090-21: A recommendation in support of creating a reasonable accommodation
hearing process in the City's Land Development Code, to be presented to the Special
Magistrate.
Assistant City Attorney Boutsis explained that she brought this item forward and gave a little background.
She said that a reasonable accommodation was to accommodate someone with a disability that affected a
major life activity of a person in compliance with federal law. Without procedures in place to authorize
an accommodation, the City could face a legal challenge relating to disability discrimination, or a fair
housing complaint. With no process in place, the City would not be able to impose a process or a hearing
on the applicant. To date, the City has never received a request for reasonable accommodation. The City
proposed to adopt a reasonable accommodation process in order to safeguard the City and protect the
rights of the disabled. She gave a few examples and one was in regard to a drug rehab center in the
middle of a residential area. The process would entail having the person requesting a reasonable
accommodation go before the Special Magistrate and, if need be, to appeal a Special Magistrate's
decision would be handled in circuit court. A decision would be made on a case -by -case basis. The
concept was an attempt to balance a local government's right to control land uses through neutral
regulations and its duty to make reasonable accommodations for the disabled under the Fair Housing
Amendments Act.
Chair Robertson asked how there could be no costs associated with this process. Assistant City Attorney
Boutsis said that there were costs like paying the Special Magistrate which they did monthly but there
would be no cost for a disabled person to go before the Special Magistrate. There would also be no cost
to the City for attorneys fees, if our decision was overturned. There were no other questions from the
Board and no one from the public wished to speak.
Motion was made by Chair Robertson to recommend approval of t/iis agenda item (TX-090-21) to the
City Commission and was seconded by Vice Cltair Jones. Motion passed S-0.
6. TX-091-21: To amend and update, consistent with changes in Federal and State law, the
City's telecommunications ordinance.
Assistant City Attorney Boutsis gave a PowerPoint presentation explaining that there have been a lot of
changes to Federal and State laws regarding telecommunications and they were trying to make their
ordinance consistent with these Federal and State law changes. In 2014 and 2021, the state continuously
revised requirements relating to telecommunications providers, further limiting the powers of local
governments to regulate this industry. Telecommunication companies could now be in a municipality's
right -of --way and use it. What the ordinance was trying to do was regulate, as much as we were allowed
to, how the right -of --way was used under the State's restrictions. She explained, among other things, the
Virtual Planning and Zoning Board/local Planning Agency Minutes 4 November 17, 2021
limit of the Ciry's authority in the placement and amount of telecommunication equipment and poles
(street furniture) in its right -of --way. She showed a picture of one of the telecommunication boxes and
explained that all that technology inside the box could be put inside a light pole. This was done in Miami
Beach and she was trying to have that done in Dania Beach. We could get rid of those boxes for small
cell technologies and our light poles would still have its light fixtures and now contain the technology that
was in the boxes (on a one-to-one swap out between boxes and light poles) while still giving us the
services that we needed. The Ciry was trying to navigate through all these regulations and simplify our
processes, as much as possible, while ensuring the protection of our community. Under Federal law, we
could not consider health risks as the FCC controlled that. The FCC did not conduct measurements of
radio frequency (RF) radiation from conventional cellular antenna sites and they could reverse a zoning
decision if there was evidence depicting concern over radiation as the basis, in part, for the decision. She
explained how the Federal and State governments shortened the Ciry's review time of applications, etc.
and spoke about the modifications that would have to be done to the Ciry's code. For larger types of
communications, they removed from the Code lattice type towers and to only use stealth poles (with
technology inside the poles) and enhanced landscaping around it to be more aesthetically pleasing.
The Chair called for Board questions and Vice Chair Jones wanted to know when this would take place.
Assistant City Attorney Boutsis answered him that it would be when the Ordinance was adopted. She
could not do anything about existing boxes, but she could preclude more from coming in. He asked if she
could reach out to the telecommunication providers with the existing boxes in the City and she said she
could try reaching out to them. Jonathan Thomas wanted to know why we were doing this now and did it
have to do with any anticipated requests coming in. The Assistant City Attorney answered that she
wanted to make us consistent with the law. However, we use our cell phones a lot and the need for the
installation of more boxes was apparent and having standards in place protected our community. There
were no other questions from the Board and no one from the public wished to speak.
Motion was made by Chair Robertson to recommend approval of this agenda item (TX-091-21) to the
City Commission and was seconded by Vice Chair Jones. Motion passed S-0.
V. BOARD ITEMS
1. City Commission actions on items previously heard by the Board.
Assistant Director Community Development Corinne Lajoie said:
10/26/21 Seawall Text Amendment passed on second reading
11/9/21 Street Renaming Regulation passed
11/9/21 Rezoning for Academy Bus on Ravenswood Road and 42"a passed
2. Upcoming Meeting Date: December 15, 2021
VI. MEETING ADJOURNED
Motion was made by Cltair Robertson to adjourn at 8:24PM and was seconded by Charlotte Sloboda.
Motion passed unanimously.
W. QUIN ROBERTSON, CHAIR
PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD
��l (Q �?j ( (Date) � � I � �y
For more details regarding this meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board/I,ocal Plamiing Agency, please
request a file of the meeting by calling Ibel Larios at (954) 924-6805 X3792 or emailing
ilarios@daniabeachfl.gov.
Virtunl Plnfti:ing nnrl Zo�:ing BoarrUlocal Planning Agency Minutes 5 November 17, 2021