Amended Item 10A- Public Hearing- 17-SPPR-501Amended Item 10A
March 12, 2018
AGENDA ITEM:
SUBMITTED BY:
DATE:
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
17-SPPR-501 Public Hearing
Request for re-plat approval as required by Chapter 24, Article 4 of
the Code of Ordinances at RE # 172027-0100.
Derek W. Reeves, Planner /A--
March 1, 2018
BACKGROUND: The owners of the 7.21 acre vacant property at the northeast comer of 11th
Street and Linkside Drive , known as Selva Preserve, are requesting to plat the property creating
eleven lots. Included in the plat are the eleven lots, a private gated road and a conservation area.
Surrounding the property is are single-family residential uses with the Atlantic Beach Country
Club the northwest. Please review the attached staff report to the Community Development Board
for more detailed information.
The proposed plat has been reviewed by staff from various departments and meets all code
requirements with the exception of one issue. The one outstanding issue at the time of writing this
staff report is the measurement of a buffer from water bodies. Section 24-272( c )(1) of the code
requires a minimum 50 foot buffer from the mean high water line of water bodies . The plat
currently shows this buffer starting at the top of bank of Sherman's Creek. The applicant is working
on a resolution to this issue . The Community Development Board did consider this issue and
recommended that the applicant seek a waiver allowing them to measure from the top of bank if
they increased the buffer to 60 feet.
The Community Development Board reviewed this plat at their January 16 ,2018 meeting where
they recommended approval to the City Comm ission in a unanimous vote.
The Commission discussed this item at their February 12 , 2018 regular meeting.
BUDGET: None.
RECOMMENDATION: To hold a Public Hearing and consider item 17-SPPR-501.
ATTACHMENTS: 17-SPPR-501 app lic at ion, CDB StaffReport
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER: --*~=---__:_~-~=----·~L__ ________ _
Amended Item 10A
March 12, 2018
Mentioned earlier is t he prese nce of wetla nd s o n th e s it e . The app li cants do have permits from the St.
Johns River Water Ma nagement District and t he Army Co rp of E ng in ee rs for filling and re sto ration
activ iti es o n the s ite. T h ose p e rmits ca ll for 1.12 acres of wet land s to be fi li ed . At th e same time 0.48 acres
of wetlands wi ll be created and 0 .7 acres w ill be resto re d for a total of 1.18 acres of new wetland s.
A dditi o nally , 2 .07 ac re s of wetlan d s w ill be e nh a nced. T he app li cant's team an d th e C ity 's own
co ns ultants have stated that the exist in g wetlands on site are d egraded. No c hanges are p roposed to the
ex istin g waterway of S herman 's Creek. While staff a nd it s cons ultants have rev iewed preliminary
eng in ee ring plan s for t he proj ect, a ll activ iti es de sc ribed w ill ha ve to be permitted sepa ratel y of th e plat
approval proce ss .
Secti o n 24-272(b) of th e code and Policy A.l.2.l (d) of th e Co mprehen sive Pl an , both call for no ne t loss
of wetlands within the C ity. They both a lso call for d eve lopm e nt projects to miti gate , restore , enhance or
recover wetlands w he n im pact in g wetlands . T he proposed creation , restoration and enhancement of
we tland s is be in g d o ne to offse t the dev e lopm e nt s impacts a nd to meet th e code require ment.
T he St. J o hn s Riv e r Water Manage ment Di strict has required that the appli cant s pl ace the previo us ly
mentioned conservation easeme nt o n th e post d eve lo pm e nt wetla nd areas. T hi s is a permanent deed
restriction th at w ill protect th e wetla nd s a nd preve nt f uture deve lo pme nt o n th ose areas.
In add iti o ns t o the no net loss of wet land s , Sect io n 24-272( c) requires buffers from water features and
wetl ands. A 50 foot buffer is required from water bo di es , including Sherman 's C reek . Cod e requires thi s
buffer to be meas ured from th e mean hi g h water lin e . H owever , this line has not been estab li s hed so th e
app licants are s howing the bu ffer from the top of bank . This is th e on ly outstanding co mm ent on the plat.
T he fundamenta l qu estion is if th e mean hi g h water lin e can be above the top of bank . T hi s may req uire a
wa iver fro m th e Comm issio n, if it can not be se ttled .
T he seco nd required buffer is a 25 foot upland buffer from we tland s . The upland buffer is to remain in it s
natural state . This buffer prov id es an area for c he mical s s uch as fert ili zers and pesticides from th e
deve loped area to filte r out of s urface water befo re reachin g the we tland s. As permitted by the code, th e
a ppli cants are propos in g an average 25 foot buffer. T hi s buffer is shown o n the pl at west (deve lopme nt
s id e) of t he conservation easement.
T he a pplicant a nd th e C it y 's consu lt ant have questioned the log ic in p rov idin g a n upland buffer in a reas
that have been fill ed as thi s basica ll y requires them to fi II more wetlands just to provide th e buffer. If th e
Board finds the concept agreeable , the applica nt would li ke to see k a wa iv e r fro m th e Commission that
wo uld a llow th e m to co nstruct a swa le and berm syste m o n t he d eve lopment s id e of the proposed 25 foot
buffer an d allow the remainder of the buffer to be wetla nd s o r upland s depending on the si tuati o n. T he
swa le an d berm system is s p ec ifi ca ll y permitted in the code w ith a waiver. U ltimatel y, thi s wo uld resu lt
in more wet lands and less fi ll , whi le s till accomp li s hin g the necessary filtration .
T he fill , creatio n, restoration a nd e nh a ncem ent of wet la nd s o n s it e wi ll require extens iv e tree remova l.
T he app licant has acknow le d ged a nd agreed to fo ll ow the C it y 's tree re mova l a nd miti gation requirements.
Permitting for tr ee remova l w ill be don e se p a rate ly of t he pl at approva l process .
With the proposed private road p a rall e ling a p ort io n of Linkside Driv e , the a pplica nt s have inc lud ed a I 0
foot wide landscap e buffer o n th e p lat between the two roads to serve as a v is ua l screen.
T he plat it se lf ha s been rev iewed by staff and meets code requi re me nts. Pre li minary eng ine e rin g draw in gs
have a lso been rev iewed by staff. T he re a re coup le of min or c han ges expected here and there, but nothing
that wo uld impact the plat.
Page 2 of 3
Amended Item 10A
March 12, 2018
SUGGESTED ACTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL
The Community Development Board may consider a motion to recommend approval to the City
Commission ofthe requested plat (File No.17-SPPR-501) as required by Chapter 24, Article 4 ofthe Code
of Ordinances within the Residential Single-Family (RS-1) Zoning District at RE# 172027-0100
provided:
1. Approval of this plat is co nsiste nt with th e intent of the Co mpre hens ive Plan, an d
2. Approval of this plat is in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 24, Article 4 of the Code of
Ordinances.
SUGGESTED ACTION TO RECOMMEND DENIAL
The Community Development Board may consider a motion to recommend denial to the City
Commission oft he req nested plat (FileNo. 17-SPPR-50 1) as required by Chapter 24, Article 4 of the Code
of Ordinances within the Residential Single-Family (RS-1) Zoning District at RE# 172027-0100
provided:
I. Approval of thi s plat is not cons istent with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan, or
2. Approval of this plat is not in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 24, Article 4 of the
Code of Ordinances .
Page 3 of3
Amended Item 10A
March 12, 2018
GEOMATICS CORP.
"Where Service, Quality, and Professionalism Com e Together"
Fe bruary 27,2018
To whom it may concern:
Based upon wate r level m eas urem ents taken betwee n Fe bru ary 13, and Februa ry 19 ,2018
it is my opinion that the portion of Sherman Creek that is adjacent to the propose d Selva
Preserve Subdiv ision in th e City of Atlantic B eac h, Duval Co un ty, F lorida is not s ubject
to tidal influ e nces and therefo re do es not require a mean hi g h water dete rmin atio n.
Si ncerely,
/o~
Terry M. Durd e n
Professional S urveyor and Mapper
F lo rida License N umb er 526 1
A DB E CERTIFIE D FIRM
Geomati cs Corp ., 2804 N . Fifth Stree t, St. Au g usti ne, FL 32084, pho ne 904-824-3086 , fax 904-824-575 3