Agenda Item 8B- Recreational Vehicles in Front YardsAGENDA ITEM:
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AGENDA ITEM # 8B
FEBRUARY 10,2014
AGENDA ITEM NO. ___ _
DATE: ______________ __
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
Recreational Vehicles in Front yards
Michael Griffin, CBO, CFM, Building and Zoning Director~
January 16, 2014
N/A
This item is being discussed in follow-up to the November 19, 2013 Community
Development Board decision to recommend to the City Commission to keep the
current regulations regarding recreational vehicles as written. The current
regulations in City Code Section 24-163 (b) require boats, trailers and campers to
be located at least fifteen (15) feet from the front yard property line.
At the December 9, 2013 meeting the commission tabled this item in order to
consult with staff.
BUDGET: Noimpact
RECOMMENDATION: No action needed per Community Development Board
recommendation.
ATIACHMENTS: Excerpt of Draft minutes from November 19, 2013
Community Development Board meeting. City Code Section
24-163 (b) Storage and parking of commercial and
recreational vehicles and equipment and repair of vehicles in
residential zoning districts .
..
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER:--L't ?a_,~-(.,(
Dmfl Minutes n{/111' Orwlu:r IS. 20 13 I'C',I{ttlur mcJcllng f!{'/111 ' lr/1111111/lllly Dl'I'C'Inpmt:tll Boord
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEET ING OF THE
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARD
November 19,20 13
1. CA LL TO ORDER.-6:06 pm
ACiHN IM ITHM //XU
FEUR U/\RY 10,20 14
Chair Brea Paul verified the presence of a quo r um with the attendance of, Ke l ly Elmo r e,
Harl ey Parke s, Patrick St ratton and Sylv ia Simmon s. The m eeti ng was ca ll ed to order at
6:0 6pm. Also present wa s the Building and Zo n ing Di recto r, Michae l Griffin,
Redevelopment an d Zo n ing Coo rd inator, Je remy Hub sc h and Recording Secretary Jemw
Walker. Kirk Hanson arr ived at 7:00pm, Ja son Burge ss was abse nt.
2. ADO PTIO N Of MEETING MINUTE S -October 1 5, 2 013 .
Brea Paul called for a motion to appro ve the minutes of the Octob er 15, 2013 regul ar
meeting. Kelly Elmore moved that m i nutes be approved as written. Patrick Stratton
seconde d the motion an d it carried by a vote of 7·0.
3. OLD BU S INESS. Non e.
4. RE PORTS.
A. Boats a nd TraiJers. Brea Paltl asl<ed f or a v o te by s h ow of h a n ds to tal<e t h e
Agenda out of order a nd discu ss Boats and Tra ilers a h ead of New Business
based on the number of citizen s in attendance to s p ealc on thi s topic. Brea
Paul stated the Boats a nd Trailers Ordinance was discussed at the Octo b e r 1511•
meeting and the Board had ast,ed staff for s ome addi ti o n a l details to in clude
the actu a l numbe r of violations t h a t were actually present. Mic h ael Griffin
s poke stlting the Board asked for s ome sit e b o undary information, Code
Enforcement information and staff did a s urvey of 80% of Atlantic Beach a nd
f ound that there were 21 boat viol.:1tion s , 13 o f the violations the boats could
be relocated on the properly a nd b e f ound in compliance. 28 boats were
found in com pliance. Five trailers and campe rs were f ound tn violation a nd 9
a ·a ilers a nd c:a mpe r s wet·e found in co mpli a n ce. On the Code Enfo r cement
issues we ave r age 10 complaints per montb for boats and trailers or
r ecreational vehicles i n th e front ya rd. Mt : Griffin refr esh e d the boa rds
m e mory that Jack son ville, St. Augustine, Neptune Beach a nd St . Johns County
has the same regulations of no boats o r tra i lers in the fron t 2 0 ft fro nt yar·d
setb ack. )acl,s onviiJe Beach a lk>w s o n e 2 0 Jt boat in t h e front yard setbacl<.
Atlanti c Beach is less res trictive than Ja clcsonv il le, Neptune Beach, St .
Au gustine and St. Johns Co unty by a lk>win g the boat to be 15ft from the front
property line. The Board a lso aslced for s ome boundary information. Mr.
Griffin showed a plat of the Park Terrace s ubdiv is ion stat ed that w.hen plats
a r e set up hou ses are set up on the lot with g enerally a 2 0ft: setbacl,, a nything
Pa ge I o f 2
Draft Minutes of the October 15, 2013 regular meet ing of the Community Development Board
AGE NDA ITEM# 8B
FEBRUARY 10, 2014
beyond that 20ft setback is in the right of way. He then showed several
examples of compliant Jots and noncompliant Jots boats, trailers and campers.
Kelly Ebnore questioned how long time wise can a boat or recreational vehicle
be in the right of way before Code Enforcement will ticket it. Mr. Griffin
responded stating Code Enforcement will leave a courtesy notice first giving a
reasonable time. Mr. Elmore asked and if the homeowner states that it is a
visitor and it will be removed in a few days ? Mr. Griffin stated the City will
work with them before taking any code enforcement action. The firstspeaker
was Mr. Paul Gunsaulis, 780 Begonia Street. Mr. Gunsaulis stated that because
everyone in Atlantic Beach has different Jot lines, he feels the only way the City
can uniformly enforce the Boats and Trailers· Ordinance is to change the
wording on b (2) from stating "15 ft setback from the Jot line" to read "15ft
setback from street pavement:' He states that would put him in compliance.
The second speaker was Michael Hampton, 651 Begonia Street. He stated
someone from the City came out to his property yesterday and told him he
could take down 2 trees on the Jot and move his boat back and be in
compliance. He said it is absurd for him to remove trees and that too many
trees have been removed in Atlantic Beach already. He states again that "he
will not remove his boat, the City can fine him all they want, he will not move
his boat". The third speaker was Linda Spencer, 282 Magnolia Street. She
agrees with homeowners having home rights but her neighbors have their
boat parked right underneath her bedroom window. She is in favor of the
Ordinance the way it is. Final speaker is Chris Lambertson, 357 12th St.
Believes the issues with Boats and Trailers started because of the lack of Code
Enforcement on this ordinance in the past. Mr. Lambertson believes that our
codes are too lax for boats aesthetically and the noise factor and that the City
should increase the setback for boats, trailers and recreational vehicles. Kelly
Ebnore stated that this ordinance is in place for a reason and we do have the
most lax ordinance compared to surrounding municipalities. He feels the
ordinance should be left just as it is. The ordinance withholds the standard
aesthetic. throughout the City. Harley Parkes stated that he agrees with Mr.
Ehnore. Sylvia Simmons stated that she drove all over the City and was
surprised at how few .violations she saw. Ms. Simmons stated reducing the
· requirement may result in creating more boats and trailers. She doesn't think
the Ordinance should be changed at aiL Brea Paul says she concurs with all
the other board members, we have the most lax code already.
Kelly Ehnore made a motion to keep the Boats and Trailers Ordinance as
written in place, unaltered Harley Parkes seconded the motion and it carried
by a vote of 6 -0.
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