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8-21-24 CDB Adopted MinutesMINUTES Community Development Board (CDB) Meeting Wednesday, August 21, 2024 - 6:00 PM City Hall, Commission Chamber 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Present: Kirk Hansen, Chair Jennifer Lagner, Member Angela Farford, Member Harold Gear, Member Richard Arthur, Member Ellen Golombek, Vice Chair Gregory (Greg) Beliles, Alternate Member Absent: Jeff Haynie, Member Also Present: Amanda Askew, Planning & Community Development Dir. (PCDD) Abrielle Genest, Planner Robert Graham, Acting City Attorney Valerie Jones, Recording Clerk 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chair Hansen. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Approve minutes of the June 18th and July 16th regular meetings of the Community Development Board. The minutes were approved. 3. NEW BUSINESS A. 801 Paradise Lane ZVAR24-0009 (Allen J. Hall) Request for a variance from Section 24-271(c)(2) to allow the installation of artificial turf within the required 25 foot wide natural vegetative buffer from jurisdictional wetlands. STAFF REPORT: Director Askew presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Mr. Arthur asked if the wetlands buffer would have been on the survey, then Staff wouldn't have allowed this home to be built where it is. Director Askew said that was correct, the home encroaches into the upland buffer. She said there were several homes encroaching the buffer in this subdivision. They encroach because the survey didn't put the 25 foot upland buffer on the survey. Director Askew said a friendly letter has gone out to homeowners who are cutting the buffer. Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 1 of 9 APPLICANT REPORT: Allen Hall introduced himself as the applicant. He said he wanted to make a change to his request by taking a 4 -foot stretch by the pony wall and leave it natural using pine straw and native Florida plants. He said the City has never enforced the buffer until now. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. There were no public comments. BOARD DISCUSSION: Ms. Lagner said she went over to the applicant's residence so that she could understand the photos. She said the applicant just wants to replace the lawn with artificial turf. Ms. Farford said she is a neighbor and is on the Association Board. Ms. Golombek asked Ms. Farford if the HOA had taken a position on this. She said they had not. Mr. Hall said he did submit an application to the HOA. Mr. Arthur asked if they could have a natural St. Augustine grass there. Director Askew said it is supposed to be undisturbed so that wouldn't work since the grass would need to be cut on a regular basis. Ms. Farford asked if the area with the buffer line was from the St. John's Water Management District. Director Askew said when you have a survey done and there are wetlands then you have a separate person come out and flag the wetlands. She said the original survey from the 90's did show the line for the wetlands. Mr. Arthur asked if the wetland line can move. Director Askew said yes, the line can change. Mr. Hall said he thought that the line was just a line on the plat since the beginning of the PUD. He said he didn't think that anyone has checked on where the wetlands are. Mr. Hall said there would be 15 homes that wouldn't be able to have a back yard and 6 that couldn't have a house. Mr. Gear said that it is like putting the genie back in the bottle. He said that he walked back there, and it was very dry for wetlands and there was a fence running across the line. Mr. Hansen said that at least if turf was put there instead of grass at least it would alleviate any chemicals or fertilizer. Ms. Lagner said she doesn't have a problem with the request because the applicant would be taking up existing lawn and replacing it with the turf. MOTION. To APPROVE ZVAR24-0009 based on the amendment of the 4 -foot buffer including native plants adjacent to the property as presented by the applicant. This decision was based on grounds for decision #2 which reads "Surrounding conditions or circumstances impacting the property disparately from nearby properties". Motion: Harold Gear Second. Gregory (Greg) Beliles Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner For Angela Farford For Harold Gear (Moved By) For Richard Arthur For Ellen Golombek For Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 2 of 9 Gregory (Greg) Beliles (Seconded By) For Motion passed 7 to 0. B. 0 Beach Avenue ZVAR24-0010 (Dana and Shelley Leonard) Request for a variance from Section 24-151(b)(1)(d) to allow two (2) detached garages on one property and to reduce the front, side, and rear yard setbacks required for a detached garage up to 25 feet in height. Request from Section 24-82 (c) to reduce the min. distance for mechanical equipment and section 24-15 1 (b)(1)(o) to reduce the min. setback for exterior stairs. STAFF REPORT: Director Askew presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Director Askew reminded the Board that there were 3 emails received regarding this request and there were all forwarded to the Board via email. Mr. Arthur asked if there were other non -conforming buildings on other sub -standard lots that would have had to have the same process. Director Askew said the older buildings were built in a time when the setbacks were different. She said the ones built since 2010 have met Code. Director Askew said she didn't have a exact number. APPLICANT REPORT: Mr. Leonard said that unless a variance is granted then the property can't be improved at all. He said they bought it at the end of 2020 with the plan of putting a garage on it because they have 4 vehicles in their family. Mr. Leonard said there are other similar sub -standard lots that were allowed to be build non -conforming buildings and he is asking for the same courtesy. Ms. Golombek suggested the applicant build just a garage without the livable space above and at least meet the front and back setbacks. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen said that the emails that were received were not in favor of this request. Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. Charles Cromer of 1778 Beach Avenue introduced himself. He explained that he lives in the house south of the lot and has lived there for 30 years. Mr. Cromer said he was not in favor of approving this request. He said the garage would be right up against his personal residence being only 3 feet off the property line. Mark Anderson of 1839 Ocean Grove Drive introduced himself. He said he is concerned that emergency services and fire fighters wouldn't be able to get behind the garage with less than 2 feet of access. BOARD DISCUSSION: Ms. Farford said she thought it would be better to have a building on the lot than to just use it for parking cars. Mr. Arthur said that other similar properties have been built on so it's a question of how far of a variance should be granted in comparison to what has been granted up and down the street. Chair Hansen said he would not vote for this request. He said it's too small a lot and it doesn't make sense to reduce the side yard setbacks to several feet and affect the neighbors. Mr. Gear said that Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 3 of 9 the applicant already has a garage in his home which they turned into living space. He said the applicant bought the lot knowing it was substandard. Ms. Lagner agreed. MOTION. To DENY ZVAR24-0010 due to it not meeting any of the criteria for approval. Motion: Ellen Golombek Second. Jennifer Lagner Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner (Seconded By) For Angela Farford Against Harold Gear For Richard Arthur Against Ellen Golombek (Moved By) For Gregory (Greg) Beliles For Motion passed S to 2. C. 317 8th Street ZVAR24-0011 (Cynthia Calland) Request for a variance from Section 24-172(c)(4) (Old Atlantic Beach requirements) and Section 23-30(1) to delete the required shade trees. The applicant is proposing to plant two (2) crape myrtle trees instead of two (2) shade trees. STAFF REPORT: Planner Genest presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Ms. Golombek asked if the original house was torn down, if a new home was rebuilt, were 2 shade trees put in and now the trees are gone without a permit to remove them? Planner Genest said that was correct. Mr. Arthur asked if this was relevant to today. Planner Genest said yes because in the tree code it states that you have to maintain the mitigation that is planted on your site for 3 years so if the house was built in 2017 then after 2020 they removed the trees without a permit so there is no record of whether the trees met the minimum for a tree permit. Mr. Arthur asked if the City gives any credence to the arborist letter and if there was a place in the yard where the shade trees could go. Planner Genest said that the City is held to the restraints of the Code and they didn't see where this request was suitable to give an exception to the Code. She said there is room in the front yard to shift a tree closer to the driveway but recommended the Board ask the applicant. Mr. Beliles asked if the tree was 8 inches, and the applicant had a tree permit could the trees have been removed. Planner Genest said that if the trees were removed in the 3 -year timeframe the City would have Code Enforcement reach out to them. If it was after the 3 years it would have to meet the minimum for a tree permit. APPLICANT REPORT: Cindy Calland introduced herself as the applicant. Ms. Calland said that she learned from a plumber doing maintenance on the sewage pump in the front yard that she shouldn't have a tree anywhere near the pump, anywhere from 20- 40 feet. She said that he said the tree roots would grow toward the pump and damage it. Ms. Calland said that's when she had the trees removed. She said the tree removal company told her she didn't need a permit since the trees were smaller than the Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 4 of 9 requirement. Ms. Calland said she was caring for her husband who had dementia and figured she would deal with the trees later. She explained that she applied for a pool permit which led to the City's discovery of the tree's being removed. Ms. Calland said she planted the crepe myrtles because they have shallow roots. She said the builder went too low to connect to the city sewer, so the holding tank was installed in the front yard to catch the sewage and pump it into the City pipes. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. John Finotti of 391 8th Street introduced himself. He said he has lived in Atlantic Beach for 34 years and asked for the Board to approve this request. Mr. Finotti explained that Mr. Calland was navy seal, served in the CIA and was a hero. James White of 329 8th Street introduced himself. He said the crepe myrtles look beautiful. Mr. White urged the Board to approve this request. Marisa Carbone of 391 8th Street introduced herself. She said it is important to know the person behind the request and shared a little about Cindy and her husband. Ms. Carbone spoke in favor of approving this request. Deb White of 329 8th Street introduced herself. She spoke in favor of the approval of this request. Bruce Andrews, ESC Tree Subcommittee Chair introduced himself. He explained the intent of the Tree Code and said they have worked hard on incentivizing people to plant trees. Mr. Andrews was disappointed in the arborist letter that stated infrastructure, which every homeowner in the City has, would be compromised (pipes, electrical and outgoing sewer). He said there are trees that can be planted that have smaller root systems. Mr. Andrews said he is not in favor of the approval of this variance. Ms. Calland said she looks up every tree on the list to see what kind of root systems they had. She said the manufacturers of various pumps all recommends trees be 30 plus feet away from the pump. Ms. Calland felt like she did ask all the right questions. Anastasia Houston of the ESC Subcommittee introduced herself. She felt like this was an easy fix and couldn't understand why at least 1 shade tree couldn't be planted. Ms. Houston encouraged the Board to look at the reasons to approve or deny. She said she didn't see a reason for approval of this request. BOARD DISCUSSION: Ms. Lagner said that she has dealt with tree roots, the damage they cause, and the cost incurred. She spoke in favor of the approval of this request. Ms. Golombek said she was torn due to the pump issue but thought there were some trees that could be planted. She wasn't sure of how she would vote. Mr. Gear agreed that at least one shade tree should be planted. Mr. Arthur asked if the variance request was to not have to plant 2 shade trees. Planner Genest said it was for both. Ms. Farford asked if there was an exception for threat to property or life and if that would apply. Planner Genest said that Staff found the arborist letter did not meet that section of the Tree Code that speaks about diseased or dead trees and that is why they told the applicant to apply Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 5 of 9 for a variance. Director Askew reminded the Board that there are grounds for approval in Chapter 23 and Chapter 24 since the applicant is applying for a variance from both. Mr. Arthur said that he was taking into consideration the arborist letter and the pump in the front yard. Chair Hansen said the arborist letter was important to him because he didn't want to do something that the arborist stated could be a problem. MOTION: To APPROVE ZVAR24-0011 based on Chapter 23 grounds for approval #2 "Existing electrical lines or utility easements that prevent or restrict the preservation or planting of landscape materials" and Chapter 24 grounds for approval #3 "Exceptional circumstances preventing the reasonable use of the property as compared to other properties in the area". Motion: Jennifer Lagner Second. Richard Arthur Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner (Moved By) For Angela Farford For Harold Gear Against Richard Arthur (Seconded By) For Ellen Golombek Against Gregory (Greg) Beliles For Motion passed 5 to Z D. 25 Sailfish Drive UBEX24-0006 (David Wood) Request for a use -by -exception for a tattoo studio to replace an existing tattoo studio within the shopping plaza at 25 Sailfish Drive. STAFF REPORT: Planner Genest presented the information as explained i n the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. APPLICANT REPORT: David Wood introduced himself as the applicant. He explained that he has been working at the tattoo shop for 15 years. Mr. Wood said the previous owner is moving and he was going to take over the shop. He said there weren't going to be any changes. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. Shawn Roden introduced himself as the previous owner. He spoke in favor of Mr. Wood and would like to see the request approved. Terri Derkum introduced herself as the accountant for the business. She is in favor of the approval of this request. BOARD DISCUSSION: There was no discussion. Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 6 of 9 4. MOTION. To APPROVE UBEX24-0006 based on all 3 conditions for approval. Motion: Ellen Golombek Second. Harold Gear Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner For Angela Farford For Harold Gear (Seconded By) For Richard Arthur For Ellen Golombek (Moved By) For Gregory (Greg) Beliles For Motion passed 7 to 0. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. Brinkley Harrell, 260 6th Street, introduced himself. He said that he had spoken to the City Commission regarding the stormwater requirements in Chapter 24 in previous meetings. Mr. Harrell said he watched the CDB video from July 16 and saw that they had voted on 3 of the 4 stormwater topics. He explained that some people are using the term pervious, and some are using permeable. Mr. Harrell said that professionals told him to use the word permeable, but that word doesn't show up in any of the Code. He thought the Board should clarify which word to use and its meaning. Mr. Harrell went through the different items in the minutes regarding Chapter 24 and went over them one by one. He said that the CDB voted to remove the one-time exemption, but it wasn't showing up in tonight's recommendations. Mr. Harrell questioned the change from 4 1/2 inch to 7 inch pool freeboard as discussed in earlier meetings. He thought the credit for pools should be 100% and is being listed as 75%. Mr. Harrell said the percentages are arbitrary unless relating to infinity pools or pools with covers. He said there were recommendations from the CDB that were stormwater in the minutes but are not reflected in the redline portion of 24-68 or 24-17. Sarah Boren, Chair of the ESC introduced herself. She said ESC ruled that there is zero environmental benefit with artificial turf, and they hope it is banned from usage. Ms. Boren spoke about the 8th Street tree variance request that was previously approved earlier on the agenda. She said 8th Street has little shade and is a very hot street. Ms. Boren said there were options to move the trees around, move the shed and other solutions to consider. She said that the ESC Board is waiting for Chapter 24 to pass so they can move forward with Chapter 23. Ms. Boren said they are looking at removing a couple loopholes, one being the loophole that you can remove a mitigation tree. Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 7 of 9 5. REPORTS A. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Presentation and Report (Bruce Andrews, Chair of ESC tree subcommittee) Bruce Andrews expressed his disappointment in the approval of the 8th Street variance request stating that there were other trees that could have been planted on the other side of the driveway. He provided a PowerPoint presentation with an overview of Chapter 23. Mr. Andrews explained that the ESC previews tree permit applications, educates the public, makes recommendations to Staff and Commission in an effort to prevent the destruction of the tree canopy. There was discussion about regulated and unregulated trees, tree appeals, mitigation, etc. The Board asked how many trees are being lost each year without permits. Sarah Boren said they don't really know the exact number but based on the arborist letters they are losing about 100 trees a year without arborist letters. She said they get about 50 permits a year but they don't know how many are lost in storms or how many are taken down without a permit. Ms. Boren said it's the mature trees that they worry about since it takes about 25 plus years for a planted tree to develop. She asked the Board to think about ways to incentivize people to keep their trees when doing a new build or a rebuild. 6. OLD BUSINESS A. Chapter 24 update (Formal recommendation from CDB on Sept.17th & First Read by Commission on Sept. 23rd) Chair Hansen asked why the pool percentage changed and whether it was recommended by the City Commission. Director Askew went over the history of meetings regarding Chapter 24. She said that at the last Commission meeting they discussed the stormwater recommendations listed in the proposed changes. Director Askew presented the recommendations from the ESC regarding permeable pavers and artificial turf. She went over the proposed redlined changes in Chapter 24. The Board was conflicted on who made what recommendations. It was concluded that Staff would provide the Board with a document that lists their recommendations as listed in the minutes of the July 16 meeting. Mr. Arthur asked if Staff had recommendations. Director Askew said she was waiting for an updated stormwater master plan study to draw from. She said there are concerns regarding the long-term permeability of permeable pavers if they are not maintained properly. Mr. Arthur was still concerned that Atlantic Beach is the only city in the State of Florida that requires stormwater retention. There was further discussion about having Staff bring back a document that has everything that the Board agreed upon at the July meeting. Ms. Lagner said she was frustrated with the stormwater process after hearing residents bring it up time and again, but the can just gets kicked down the road and it doesn't get addressed. She said that the City has had the same stormwater fee calculation for 20 years and asked if that was going to be addressed. Director Askew said there are discussions regarding increasing the stormwater fees. She said that Staff agrees that there are stormwater problems, sea level rise and frequency of flooding. Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 8 of 9 7. Attest: ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, Chair Hansen declared the meeting adjourned at 9:13 p.m. MMA,- A, -.� Kirk Hansen, Chair Community Development Board (CDB) August 21, 2024 Page 9 of 9