Loading...
8-26-13 Special Called Meeting MINUTES OF SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD ON AUGUST 26, 2013 PRESENT: Mayor Mike Borno Mayor Pro Tem Maria Mark Commissioner Mark Beckenbach Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty Commissioner Carolyn Woods ALSO: Jim Hanson, City Manager Donna Bartle, City Clerk Nancy Bailey, Recording Secretary The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Commission Chamber. Item 2 was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time. 2. ORDINANCE NUMBER 90-13-219, Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, COUNTY OF DUVAL, STATE OF FLORIDA, AMENDING A PREVIOUSLY APPROVED SPECIAL PLANNED AREA (SPA) KNOWN AS THE ATLANTIC BEACH COUNTRY CLUB SPA, TO INCREASE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS PERMITTED FROM ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) TO TWO HUNDRED (200), WITH A MAXIMUM OF TWENTY-SIX (26) TO BE ALLOCATED TO LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, AND THE REMAINING ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR (174) TO BE LOCATED ON ADJACENT LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE; PROVIDING FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS OF FACT; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE; REQUIRING RECORDATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Borno read Ordinance No. 90-13-219 by title. Motion: Approve Ordinance No. 90-13-219. Moved by Mark, Seconded by Commissioner Beckenbach stated point of order. He asked that the discussion with Marc Hudson regarding the conservation easement, being the number one item on the agenda, be the first order of business. Mayor Borno stated since he would like to make that request he will back up from the Ordinance and ask Commissioner Mark to recall her motion. Commissioner Mark withdrew her motion. 1. Discussion with Marc Hudson regarding Conservation Easement. Commissioner Mark stated she has a problem with this being on the Special Called Meeting because it is not germane to what the Special Called Meeting is about and there is no action being taken on the Conservation Easement tonight and it is on the workshop agenda. She would agree to move it up in the order on the workshop agenda but she stated she does not believe it is appropriate to be within the this Special Meeting provisions. Commissioner Beckenbach stated then he would ask for a motion to adjourn this meeting and move over to that meeting in order for them to have that discussion on this and then come back to this special meeting. He stated, either way, before they have a vote on this ordinance, he would like to understand where they are on the conservation easement. Commissioner Mark stated the conservation easement has nothing to do with this ordinance and the zoning. Commissioner Woods stated it is on the agenda. Commissioner Mark stated it is on the Workshop agenda and should not be on the Special Meeting agenda. Commissioner Woods stated, but it is on the agenda. Commissioner Beckenbach stated he would like a vote on whether or not to consider it. Discussion ensued. Motion: Hear the Discussion from Marc Hudson regarding the Conservation Easement Moved by Beckenbach, Seconded by Woods Mayor Borno stated taking into effect that this conservation easement is in preparation, the City hired Mr. Hudson to do a review and he has been working with representatives from all the parties working out the parameters. He stated it is a work in progress and is still to be put in another draft to come back and be worked on. He stated it is his understanding it has nothing to do with this ordinance and whether we approve the zoning of this 20 units into a SPA. He stated it is in negotiation at some point and he is sure it will be involved in future negotiations. Commissioner Beckenbach stated he is not very knowledgeable about conservation easements and we have Mr. Hudson as a consultant for the Commission and he has yet to hear from him in a meeting pertaining to Selva Marina Country Club or anything that has been negotiated and, although Commissioner Mark is the liaison, he has not heard what has gone on in the recent past pertaining to the negotiations and his constituents have asked him what is going on. He stated it is very difficult to tell them he has no idea and, as far as the conservation easement, it is very important to him to find out how far along we are with it before we end up voting for 20 more houses. Commissioner Mark stated she appreciates that but the very first draft of the conservation easement has only been vetted this past week. She stated it is not in any kind of form yet to be discussed. She stated it will be coming back again with those recommendations from that meeting. She stated Mr. Hudson was in that meeting. Commissioner Beckenbach stated he would like to have an open discussion with Mr. Hudson pertaining to that. Commissioner Mark stated she is not debating that it can be discussed; she is concerned about where it has been placed on the agenda when it is already on the workshop agenda, which to her is the proper place for the discussion. She stated that is a workshop agenda item, not part of this Special Meeting where action from the Commission is required. Commissioner Daugherty stated it is on the agenda and is the first thing on the agenda and he believes it does have some bearing on Item 2 and would like to hear it before that. He stated he would like to call the vote on the question. -2- Motion: Call the question. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Woods Votes: Aye: 3—Beckenbach, Daugherty,Woods Nay: 2 -Borno,Mark MOTION CARRIED Commissioner Beckenbach asked that Marc Hudson come on up and answer some questions. Mayor Borno stated they are in discussion before they call anybody up and that is his privilege when he is ready. He stated there is a motion and a second on the floor for a discussion with Marc Hudson regarding the conservation easement. He stated as they have said before, it is a work in progress, it is not completed and it is totally wrong to have one party discuss it; if they are getting into negotiations, they should have the other parties involved. He stated they should all be up here and asked why do they have staff and a liaison and the developers in meetings. Commissioner Woods stated that is her point exactly. She stated Commissioner Mark is our liaison and is supposed to be representing what the Commission wants to happen and if she is not having discussions with the Commission about what the Commission wants then she can only be representing her point of view and not the entire Commission's point of view. She stated if the Commission is not aware of issues that have come up with the conservation easement they can't have input to give her to carry on the Commission's point of view. She stated she does not believe they said, by making Commissioner Mark the liaison,that she gets to do all the negotiating and make all of the decisions for the Commission. Commissioner Mark stated the Commission has thoroughly discussed what they want as far as the protection on this green space. She stated her understanding is that they want the green space kept as green space and should it cease to be a golf course that it is protected so it cannot be developed in perpetuity and it will allow some low impact amenities in the event it does become green space where they could put trails, etc. but no major hardscape structures. She stated all the parties have agreed to those restrictions under that conservation easement and all they are doing now is refining that language to ensure those protections are put in the plan. She stated all sides have agreed to those conditions. She stated if Commissioner Woods thinks she is only representing her own interest then she takes offense to that. Commissioner Woods stated that is not what she said. Commissioner Mark stated they have already discussed this and she believes she is carrying out the Commission's desires. Commissioner Woods stated then there should be no issue with Marc Hudson speaking. Commissioner Mark stated she has no issue with Mr. Hudson discussing this at the workshop; she has an issue with where it is. Commissioner Woods stated they have already decided on that question. Commissioner Mark stated the 3-2 vote was whether to call the question. Discussion ensued. City Attorney Alan Jensen stated the question has been called, and as far as the rules for the City Commission it says the Commission sets its own rules and there are no rules on a Special Called Meeting other than who can call them. He stated there is a motion pending by Commissioner Beckenbach, seconded by Commissioner Woods that you proceed with the discussion with Marc Hudson; that is what is on the floor and the question has been called. -3- Votes: Aye: 3—Beckenbach, Daugherty,Woods Nay: 2 -Borno,Mark MOTION CARRIED Commissioner Beckenbach stated Marc Hudson, who is a consultant for the Commission, went to the meeting where there was a conservation easement discussed and asked him to explain what transpired. Mr. Hudson stated the document as set forth was called a conservation easement and was very similar to a conservation easement in many ways but was not a conservation easement. He explained the definition of a conservation easement and the difference between that and a covenant. Commissioner Beckenbach stated the Commission was asking for a conservation easement. Mr. Hudson explained a conservation easement has an implied public benefit where a covenant is a contract that applies to the title of the property between two properties, so there is no necessarily implied public benefit. He stated currently the conservation easement as written is controlled by the master agreement regarding the termination clause. He stated in this draft they are using the term recreation and green space easement at this time which they are hoping clears up the confusion about whether it is a conservation easement or not. He stated normally the only method of termination of a conservation easement is by the entity that holds the easement, which would be the City of Atlantic Beach. He stated typically that is only defined in the situation where the public benefit ceases to exist or there is a greater public benefit to be had. Commissioner Woods stated what the City is looking for is reassurance that what we are getting is a true conservation easement and not a deed restriction, etc. Mr. Hudson stated on his redraft he has tried to capture that the easement can only be terminated in a situation where it ceases to be a public benefit or a greater public benefit can be achieved. Discussion ensued. Mr. Jensen explained this is not a covenant and it is not a restriction; that is not the intent of any of the parties of this easement. He stated it is going to be an easement. He stated when they met with everybody last week they went through the first draft of the easement, paragraph by paragraph, and there were a lot of things they agreed could be changed, added to, things from the statute that may not particularly apply to this situation, etc. He stated this is a conservation easement on private property outside the City of Atlantic Beach. He stated there is public benefit to our citizens surrounding that but this isn't the typical situation where you have public property being preserved. He stated they all had a consensus at that meeting that what it is called doesn't define what it is because what is in the agreement will say what it is and they can build in the language from the statute as far as enforceability, etc., but it is a work in progress. He stated it is being redrafted, taking all of that into consideration. He stated he asked T.R. Hainline,the attorney for the owners and developers, if his reading of the first draft was correct,that the only way it could be terminated by the owners of the property was if the City did not do what they are supposed to do under the agreement and he was told yes. He stated all we have to do is keep our side of the agreement and it is perpetual. Mr. Hudson stated he has not been involved with all of the negotiations and he believes what is important is that they have gotten to this point because there was some confusion about what a conservation easement meant but now they know. Further discussion ensued. Commissioner Woods recapped stating what she has heard is that the Commission really wants this easement to stand up to statute law and what she is hearing from Mr. Hudson is that it is not quite there yet. Mr. Hudson stated it does meet the law; it just doesn't meet the conservation easement statute. Commissioner Woods stated that is a problem for her and it is better to get that out front in the -4- negotiations instead of at the end of the negotiations. Mayor Borno stated that Mr. Hudson said it doesn't meet the conservation easement court of statute and asked if everything in the statute has to be verbatim. Mr. Hudson stated no, it is not verbatim; in fact the way it is written is intentionally in an open manner. He stated certain key things, i.e. those rules by which you are allowed to terminate the easement, is the most significant difference parting from the conservation easement statute. Further discussion continued. 2. ORDINANCE NUMBER 90-13-219, Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, COUNTY OF DUVAL, STATE OF FLORIDA, AMENDING A PREVIOUSLY APPROVED SPECIAL PLANNED AREA (SPA) KNOWN AS THE ATLANTIC BEACH COUNTRY CLUB SPA, TO INCREASE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS PERMITTED FROM ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY(180)TO TWO HUNDRED (200), WITH A MAXIMUM OF TWENTY-SIX (26) TO BE ALLOCATED TO LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, AND THE REMAINING ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR(174) TO BE LOCATED ON ADJACENT LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE; PROVIDING FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS OF FACT; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE; REQUIRING RECORDATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Borno read Ordinance No. 90-13-219 by title. Motion: Approve Ordinance No. 90-13-219. Moved by Woods, Seconded by Mark Mayor Borno explained the ordinance is amending the zoning for the country club to allow an additional 20 units to be built. Mayor Borno opened the Public Hearing. Richard Selby,3 Forrestal Circle North, stated they are going to spend $1 million to build a water reclamation plant just for that area. He stated members of Selva Marina Country Club are going to get the first bid on property over there and we have members of the country club on the Commission so there is a conflict of interest. He asked what is the benefit to Atlantic Beach; there is no fairness here. He asked what the developer is bringing to the table. He stated from reading the paper anybody who is a member of the country club would have first bite at the apple so it would only behoove them to vote for this because if they do they get the first crack at it. He stated that doesn't seem to be a fairness issue there at all. He stated it is not making a lot of sense to move forward with this whole project. He reiterated it doesn't make a lot of sense that they would be voting on something when they have members sitting here on this Commission that will be the first in line. He stated they have the advantage over anyone else because they are a member. Mark Tomaski,448 Snapping Turtle Court West, stated sitting and watching the Commission tonight did not give him much confidence. He stated he is disappointed in this Commission because they are making decisions when they don't have all the facts. He stated for the Mayor to insist they just push forward makes him even more upset. He said for them to make decisions and not know the facts, not see all the details and just go on the idea that we are going to work on good will is not a way to run a City, a corporation, or your home. He stated they are at that point where they need to back up -5- and not feel like they are dealing with a used car salesman; you have to buy it today. He applauded Commissioner Beckenbach for bringing this up tonight and hoped the Commission takes some time to step back a little and see what it is that is really going on and if it is in the citizen's best interest. No one else from the audience spoke so the Mayor closed the Public Hearing. Mayor Borno stated misinformation or lack of understanding the information has been addressed to them. He stated it is not specific to this issue of rezoning they are dealing with and it mixes apples and oranges and confuses things. He stated if anyone wants to speak to him at a later time he will be glad to share everything he has learned. Commissioner Daugherty stated he has heard a lot of concern about how fast this is happening and believes the Commission has bent over backwards to facilitate them in getting this done in time for the golf course to be planted, etc. He stated he is still concerned about traffic and the impact to the five- way. He stated, as Mr. Selby asked about what do they bring to the table,the only thing they have brought to the table is this conservation easement. He stated that is the only reason he voted to approve the SPA and he believes it is time to pause and hold back and see where the conservation easement goes and make sure they have that in writing because that is the main thing they bring to the table. He stated it is not the Commission's job to make sure Selva has the ability to finance a new country club. He stated he is concerned about the impact on the people on Selva Marina Drive. He stated for the developer to say that is just a collateral for this loan; there is nothing in this that says it's collateral and that there is a reverter clause if they pay back the loan. He stated there is nothing that protects the City against those 20 more units being developed and believes it is very irresponsible for them to approve this at this time. Commissioner Mark stated she is shocked and appalled at what Commissioner Daugherty just said. She stated they need to examine what the alternatives could have been on this piece of property. They could have just said they were going to leave it in Jacksonville, develop it to the maximum, highest and best use of that zoning and we would have had very little they could have done or have any kind of influence over what they wanted to do with that piece of property. She stated she believes the developers and the club have done an extraordinary job in assuring they have the least amount of density they could build in order to make the club financially viable, to have the least amount of impact on the City; they have agreed to annexation,to have another entrance in and out of Selva so it doesn't have such an impact on the roads,to put a conservation easement over about 100 acres that is still private property;they have agreed to all the Atlantic Beach zoning requirements even though that property still has not been legally annexed yet into Atlantic Beach; we are getting the benefit of the tax revenue; and we will be getting an increase in our Community Block Development Grant because of the per capita basis, so for Commissioner Daugherty to say the developers are not bringing anything to the table, she is shocked. She stated we are fast tracking it because they are under their own financial strain to get this going and the Commission all knew, going into this, what this timeline was and we went into this wide open and she does not believe there have been any surprises,underhanded deals, or anything they have not been completely upfront with us about. Mr. Hanson stated the Commission put this as a primary item in the previous year's strategic planning after people approached us asking what was going to happen if they went bankrupt and it is sold off and can be developed. He stated it certainly is not something that has raced ahead. He stated the developers of the country club have told the Commission that the timing is dependent on the growing -6- season and if they can't get this done in accordance with that timing it will cost them a year and they may not be able to survive a year. He stated he agrees that it has gone pretty quickly but the timeframe is sort of out of our hands. He stated Commissioner Mark and he have been trying to work with them to get this so it is in a position to get in front of the Commission for some time, based on that timeframe and based on the Commission putting it in strategic planning. He stated it is still one of the top priorities of the current year's strategic plan and he sees it as his goal to get this done. Discussion ensued. Mr. Jensen explained the zoning they are considering does not have anything to do with collateral. He stated the conservation easement is going to be on the golf course property that they have already approved the SPA on. He stated this additional property is not under the conservation easement so it won't be burdened by the conservation easement. Discussion ensued. Mr. Jensen explained about putting a moratorium on the implementation of the zoning. Commissioner Woods called the question. Votes: Aye: 5—Beckenbach, Daugherty, Mark,Woods,Borno Nay: 0- MOTION CARRIED Mayor Borno asked that the roll be called for the vote. Roll Call Votes: Aye: 4—Woods,Mark, Beckenbach,Borno Nay: 1 - Daugherty MOTION CARRIED There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Borno declared the meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. 02(2.., 644,043 Mike Borno Mayor/Presiding Officer ATTEST 4. 34/4-Yee- Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk -7-