Loading...
1-21-25 CDB Adopted MinutesMINUTES Community Development Board (CDB) Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2025 - 6:00 PM City Hall, Commission Chamber 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Present: Kirk Hansen, Chair Jennifer Lagner, Member Angela Farford, Member Richard Arthur, Member Jeff Haynie, Member Gregory (Greg) Beliles, Alternate Member Absent: Ellen Golombek, Vice Chair Harold Gear, Member Also Present: Robert Graham, City Attorney (CA) Amanda Askew, Planning & Community Development Dir. (PCDD) Abrielle Genest, Principal Planner 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 November 19, 2024 regular meeting of the Community Development Board. The minutes were approved. 3. ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR A. Chair Hansen opened the floor to nominations. MOTION: To have Chair Hansen remain as the Chair. Motion: Jeff Haynie Second: Jennifer Lagner Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner (Seconded B3) For Angela Farford For Richard Arthur For Jeff Haynie (Moved By) For Gregory (Greg) Beliles For Motion passed 6 to 0. Community Development Board (CDB) January 21, 2025 Page 1 of 7 4. 5. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. NEW BUSINESS A. 91 Ocean Breeze Drive ZVAR25-0001 (Kyle and Caitlin Khadivi) Request for a variance from Section 24-108(f)(1) to exceed the maximum impervious surface area at 91 Ocean Breeze Drive. STAFF REPORT: Planner Genest presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Ms. Lagner asked if the pool permit listed the private road in the impervious calculations and should it have been listed. Planner Genest said yes, it should have been included. Mr. Arthur asked about the private stormwater system. Planner Genest explained that they did have this, but it did not pertain to the variance request to increase lot coverage. Chair Hansen said he is the applicant's neighbor and has lived there for 33 years. He said the homeowners maintain the private road and he explained that since the applicant's property stores water for half of the neighborhood, he considers this a topographic anomaly. APPLICANT REPORT: Kyle Khadivi explained that the property is more pervious than when he purchased it. He said his property provides stormwater storage for half of the neighborhood. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. There were no public comments. BOARD DISCUSSION: Ms. Lagner said she didn't have an issue with this request. Chair Hansen asked her if she would like to make a motion and whether the Board can still discuss further. MOTION: To APPROVE ZVAR25-0001 based on condition #3 "Exceptional circumstances preventing the reasonable use of the property as compared to other properties in the area." Motion: Jennifer Lagner Second. Jeff Haynie Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner (Moved By) For Angela Farford For Richard Arthur For Jeff Haynie (Seconded By) For Gregory (Greg) Beliles For Motion passed 6 to 0. Community Development Board (CDB) January 21, 2025 Page 2 of 7 B. 171 Jackson Road Unit 1 and Unit 6 ZVAR25-0002 (D & L Enterprises LLC) Request for a variance to the rear yard setback to build a screen room at 171 Jackson Road Unit 1 and Unit 6. STAFF REPORT: Planner Genest presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Mr. Arthur asked if the attachment off the back was permitted when built. Planner Genest said it is a legal non -conforming structure, and any new additions do have to meet the current setbacks. Ms. Farford asked about the property behind these units. Mr. Haynie said there was a church behind it and a vacant lot. APPLICANT REPORT: A gentleman spoke on behalf of his father who is the owner of the property. He said they weren't asking to cover any more property but only to put a screened structure on top of the existing patio. The request is for 2 units but eventually they would like to do all 6 of the units. In response to Mr. Arthur he explained that the structures wouldn't be seen from other properties except the units on the end. Ms. Farford asked if a variance was applied for when the units were built. The gentleman said he thinks it didn't need one at the time, but the code has changed. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. There were no public comments. BOARD DISCUSSION: Mr. Beliles asked if the code had indeed changed. Director Askew said that it hadn't and the original rear yard setback when permitted was 20 feet. She said she wasn't sure how it was approved when originally permitted. Mr. Haynie said he didn't see a ground for approval. Chair Hansen agreed. The contractor said the screen enclosure won't exceed the storage unit. He said it will be about 1 foot back and about 2-3 feet from the corner of the unit. MOTION: To DENY ZVAR25-0002 due to the request not meeting any of the criteria for approval. Motion: Jeff Haynie Second: Angela Farford Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner For Angela Farford (Seconded By) For Richard Arthur For Jeff Haynie (Moved By) For Gregory (Greg) Beliles For C. 815 Atlantic Boulevard ZVAR25-0003 (Arly Bluett) Request for a variance from Section 17-29(a)(1) to exceed the maximum square footage of fascia signs at 815 Atlantic Boulevard. Community Development Board (CDB) January 21, 2025 Page 3 of 7 STAFF REPORT: Planner Genest presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. APPLICANT REPORT: Arly Bluett introduced herself as the applicant. She said this is the 3rd location that her and her husband have opened. Ms. Bluett explained the need for additional signage. She said the car wash to the west has palm trees that block the building. Mr. Haynie asked if there were more trees on the east. Ms. Bluett said there are more trees on the bank property to the east. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. There were no public comments. BOARD DISCUSSION: Chair Hansen said he drove to this location and the signage wasn't adequate going east and west on Atlantic Boulevard and thought it could be a safety issue. Ms. Lagner and Mr. Haynie agreed. Mr. Arthur was concerned that the applicant would be doubling their signage, and he said it has taken some time for the City to bring down a lot of the large signage in Atlantic Beach. Ms. Farford said that since the signage would be painted the building, she didn't have a problem with this request. MOTION: To APPROVE ZVAR25-0003 based on condition #2 "Surrounding conditions or circumstances impacting the property disparately from nearby properties and #3 "Exceptional circumstances preventing the reasonable use of the property as compared to other properties in the area." Motion: Jeff Haynie Second: Jennifer Lagner Kirk Hansen For Jennifer Lagner (Seconded BJ) For Angela Farford For Richard Arthur Against Jeff Haynie (Moved By) For Gregory (Greg) Beliles For Motion passed 5 to 1. D. 350 Royal Palms Drive ZVAR25-0004 (Margaret Werner Fiege) Request for a variance from Section 24-162(e)(1) to exceed the maximum number of driveways for a single-family dwelling with less than 100 feet of street frontage at 350 Royal Palms Drive. STAFF REPORT: Director Askew presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Mr. Haynie asked when the 100 - foot provision in order to have 2 driveways was enacted. Director Askew said she thought it has been in the code since 2004 and possibly longer. Mr. Arthur said there are so many circular driveways on properties under 100 feet. He asked if this provision was Community Development Board (CDB) January 21, 2025 Page 4 of 7 a safety thing. Director Askew said that having an additional driveway can be a pedestrian safety concern. APPLICANT REPORT: Ms. Fiege introduced herself as the property owner. She said that traffic on this road has gotten increasingly busy. Ms. Fiege said the sidewalk for pedestrians is on the other side of the street. Mr. Haynie asked if the applicant had looked at other alternatives like a back out. Ms. Fiege said she didn't think it would be aesthetically pleasing to the property. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. There were no public comments. BOARD DISCUSSION: Mr. Haynie asked the Board what they thought about safety issues from these requests, believing there will be more requests like this. Chair Hansen said he thought it was a safety concern. He said that there is no limiting factor to this request. Mr. Arthur said he likes the idea of a circular driveway because pulling out forward would be safer. He didn't see where there was a reference point as to why the 100 feet and what the provision is trying to achieve. MOTION: To APPROVE ZVAR25-0004 based on condition #4 "Onerous effect of regulations enacted after platting or after development of the property or after construction of improvement upon the property". Motion: Richard Arthur Second: Gregory (Greg) Beliles Mr. Haynie said that he understands the questions regarding the code, but it would be up to council to make those changes. Chair Hansen agreed that the code would need to be changed for the Board to abide by different requirements. Ms. Lagner said that Seminole Road is far busier than Royal Palm and she couldn't be in favor of this request. Mr. Arthur asked if the Board could request that this part of the code be looked at. Director Askew said it can be placed on next month's agenda for discussion and if the Board wants, they can provide a recommendation to Commission. Director Askew said that the data shows best practices are to reduce your number of curb cuts specifically for pedestrians and cyclists. She said on this property there could be a pull in for a 3 -point turn. The Board agreed to put this on the February agenda. Kirk Hansen Against Jennifer Lagner Against Angela Farford Against Richard Arthur (Moved By) For Jeff Haynie Against Gregory (Greg) Beliles (Seconded By) For Motion failed 2 to 4. Community Development Board (('DB) January 21, 2025 Page 5 of 7 E. 386 7th Street WAIV25-0001 (Brian Derr) WAIV25-0001 is a request for a waiver from Section 19-1 to allow a landscaping wall in the city right-of-way at 386 7th Street. STAFF REPORT: Director Askew presented the information as explained in the staff report. She also provided a PowerPoint presentation. Director Askew said the Police Department and Public Works are not recommending approval for safety reasons. Mr. Arthur asked how far the right-of-way was. Director Askew said that at a minimum it would be where the neighbors wall is located. Mr. Arthur asked about retaining wall heights. Director Askew said they can go up to 4 feet, but they do require a permit. She said Staff contends that a wall isn't necessary at the street, and it isn't holding any ground in. APPLICANT REPORT: Mr. Den introduced himself as the applicant. He said they removed the existing pavers that were stacked 2 pavers tall and there was erosion going over the pavers and into the street. Mr. Derr said they hired a contractor to build a wall. He said the contractor didn't get a permit. Mr. Haynie asked him if he had looked at any alternatives. Mr. Derr said there are different utility structures in the right-of-way and that was why they hadn't considered going back to the depth that the neighbor had. PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Hansen opened the floor to public comment. There were no public comments. BOARD DISCUSSION: Mr. Arthur thought that going back 10 feet would be extreme and he wondered if the Police Department and Public Works would consider 2-3 feet to put it out of the safety zone. Chair Hansen said that Mr. Arthur could address that in the recommendation. Mr. Haynie said his understanding is that the applicant wants to leave it as in. Director Askew explained that the wall in the right-of-way becomes the City's responsibility if anyone hits it. Mr. Haynie said he didn't think it was up to the Board to determine what would or wouldn't be safe. Director Askew said the Police Department letter recommended 2 feet. MOTION: To RECOMMEND to the City Commission that they approve the request as long as it satisfies the Police Department and Public Works requirement of being outside of the 24" safety zone. Motion: Richard Arthur The motion died without a second. No other motions were made therefore, no recommendation is provided to Commission. The Board raised concerns about lack of approval by the Police Department and Public Works due to safety issues. The Board was also concerned about the liability of the wall right on the street/pavement. Mr. Beliles asked if they could recommend approval as long as both the Police Department and Public Works are in agreement with it. Director Askew asked the City Attorney for his input. Robert Graham said he was having an issue because the City would still have liability regardless of what the Board deems as safe. He said that the Board is then asking the Police Department and Public Works to sign -off on what an acceptable risk is. Mr. Graham said Community Development Board (CDB) January 21, 2025 Page 6 of 7 6. 7. 8. Attest: he didn't think there was an acceptable motion to ask them to accept risk. He said it should be up to the Commission to decide what is the acceptable risk with input from the Police Department and Public Works. Mr. Arthur noted that the Board didn't vote on the Vice Chair. They recommended Ms. Golombek and the Board voted unanimously. REPORTS There were no reports. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, Chair Hansen declared the meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m. " 0" Amanda Askew Kirk Hansen, Chair Community Development Board (CDB) .January 21, 2025 Page 7 of 7