2004-11-16 (workshop minutes) vMinutes of the November 16, 2004 workshop of the Community Development Board
MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP OF
THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARD
November 16, 2004
A public workshop of the Community Development Board was held on Tuesday, November 16,
2004, in the City Hall Commission Chambers. The purpose of this workshop was to provide
training for the Community Development Board and discuss laws related to zoning and land use,
Florida Sunshine Law, and procedural compliance. Present were Craig Burkhart, Lynn Drysdale,
Robert Frohwein, Sam Jacobson, Carolyn Woods, Steve Jenkins, David MacInnes, Attorney Sid
Ansbacher (facilitator), Community Development Director Sonya Doerr and Recording Secretary
Amber Lehman. Also in attendance were City Manager Jim Hanson, City Attorney Alan Jensen,
Commissioner Dezmond Waters and Commissioner Sylvia Simmons.
The workshop began at 6:02 p.m.
Mr. Ansbacher spoke about notice requirements in the state of Florida, stating that notice for
applications needs to be published with time, date, place, and that description of issues needs to be
substantively detailed. Many notice issues are debated in court due to the incorrect or insufficient
detail of the notice. Mr. Ansbacher also spoke about common failure to post notice for next
hearings if there are multiple hearings on an issue.
Mr. Ansbacher discussed quasi judicial versus legislative decisions and the requirements that
boards and elected officials must adhere to when discussing pending actions with the public and
with each other. When considering a Comprehensive Plan amendments or rezonings, the local
government's final decisions must show that there is a legitimate reason for the denial of a request,
and decisions must be based upon competent substantial evidence that is made part of the record as
provided in the application or during public hearing. He also stated that general testimony
opposing an application may not alone be sufficient reason for denial of an application, and that
expert witnesses must have some basis for their testimony that would be considered as competent
substantial evidence. Mr. Ansbacher also stated that if a board member or an elected official has
previously taken a position on a certain issue before hearing the application and the facts as
presented during a public hearing, the board member needs to abstain from the voting process.
Mr. Ansbacher stated that this, however, can sometimes be a "grey area."
Mr. Ansbacher also spoke about the importance of the Comprehensive Plan. He stated that if there
is a final denial of a project or application (such as a rezoning), there generally needs to be a
reason or a policy in the Plan to support the denial. He also stated that when making
recommendations for approval or denial, it is good to refer to the specific Comprehensive Plan
sections. Mr. Ansbacher also addressed the need for findings of fact, and acknowledged that the
need for very detailed findings of fact may depend of the type of application being considered.
Mr. Ansbacher also spoke about variances and stated that variances cannot be granted for financial
impact, and a variance cannot be personal to the applicant. Also, variances cannot be granted for
personal hardship reasons, but sometimes can be granted to provide compliance with federal laws,
such as ADA, Fair Housing Act or religious rights.
Minutes of the September 21, 2004 meeting of the Community Development Board.
Mr. Fiore stated that he wanted to amend his request. Mr. Fiore requested to move structure
90 degrees so that afive-foot setback was provided from the rear yard and ask for a storage
structure that exceeds the 150 square foot size limit.
Sam Jacobson stated he felt that the City of Atlantic Beach has some responsibility in this
situation, which has created and an exceptional circumstance related to this variance request.
Carolyn Woods made a motion to approve the original request to allow the shed to stay in its
current location; motion seconded by Sam Jacobson. Ms. Woods requests that a finding of
fact stating that the need for this variance was partly due to the City's negligence in not
enforcing building codes be added. Motion fails to carry.
Mr. Frohwein stated that since there were exceptional circumstances surrounding this
variance, and noting that one Board member was absent, he suggested that the Board might
reconsider its action, and allow Mr. Fiore to consider again deferring his request to the next
meeting. The Board agreed, and Mr. Fiore requested to defer his request until the October
meeting.
5. New Business. None.
Other Discussion.
Carolyn Woods stated that Johnston Island would be going back before the City Commission on
September 27, 2004. Ms. Woods also stated that she would be attending the City Commission
meeting and that she wanted to relay to the City Commission that the Community Development
Board would like Johnston Island to come back to the Community Development Board for further
recommendations.
Mr. Frohwein stated that since Johnston Island was not on the Community Development Board
Agenda for this evening, the Board could take no action related to this application. Ms. Doerr
advised that any comment made to the City Commission by an individual member of the
Community Development Board related to the Johnston Island items, other than the recommendation
as provided by the CD Board at the February meeting, should be represented as an individual
opinion. Mr. Frohwein suggested that further discussion relate to the Johnston Island applications
should be discontinued since this matter was not on the agenda.
6. Adjournment.
The ein er business, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
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igned
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Attest
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WORKSHOP AGENDA
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARD
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
City Hall Commission Chambers, 800 Seminole Road
1. Introductions.
2. Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law and ex parte communications.
3. The Fifth Amendment and landmark United States Supreme Court Decisions.
• Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, Supreme Court of the United States, 1987.
• David H. Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992). U.S. Supreme
Court
4. Important legal decisions related to Growth Management and Zoning in Florida and the
legal weight of the Comprehensive Plan.
• Burritt v. Harris, 172 So. 2d 820, 823 (Fla. 1965)
• Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County v. Snyder, ~~~'~~ C~,;~:~(; ~~-'~~ ~-L
627 So.2d 469 (Fla. 1993)
• Shidel v. Pinecrest Lakes, Inc., 795 So.2d 191 (Fla 4th DCA 2001)
5. Legislative or Quasi-judicial?
• Martin County v. Yusem, 690 So. 2d 1288 (Fla. 1997)
• City of Jacksonville Beach v. Coastal Development of North Florida, Inc., 730
So. 2d 792 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).
6. Property rights in Florida' ='The Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act,
Chapter 70, Florida Statutes
7. Vested rights.
This educational workshop for the Community Development Board is open to the public. No
formal actions or decisions will occur at this workshop. Members of the City Commission may
also attend this workshop.
Notice to persons needing special accommodations and to all hearing impaired persons: In
accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons needing special accommodation
should contact the City of Atlantic Beach (904) 247-5800, 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach,
Florida 32233 prior to the date of this workshop.
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