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535 Atlantic Boulevard 15-CVPR-2411 Citizen Presentation Thank you for the opportunity to address you. I live in the Saltair neighborhood at 116 Poinsettia Street —I am invested in your decision on whether to allow a service station to be put at 535 Atlantic Blvd. I am not here to dispute whether or not a convenience store/automotive gas station is permitted in the Commercial General zoning district. I am here to continue the dialogue as to whether a service station, much less a service station with 14 fueling positions, is the appropriate use for that parcel of land. And I am here to encourage you , as the City Commission, our City Leaders, if you haven't already done so to learn and develop the facts. Just because a particular business use is permitted in the Commercial General zone does not make it a de facto result of what is to be allowed on a particular parcel of land. I say that because our City Charter and Ordinances give you the authority to exercise and uphold development and dictates that no commercial development shall have an adverse impact to surrounding neighborhoods. I can assure you that a 14 fueling position 24x7 convenience store/gas station will most definitely have an adverse impact on my Saltair neighborhood. So, I offer you these facts for your consideration: City of Atlantic Beach Commissioners Meeting November 23,2015 B.Cosgrove 1 The Atlantic Beach City Charter serves as a guide on how we should move forward with development to promote a healthy and aesthetically pleasing built environment. The Charter calls for development which retains the high quality of life and residential character of the City. And, it requires that development has no adverse impact to surrounding neighborhoods. Atlantic Beach Charter Key Points • Charter Comprehensive Plan calls for development that encourages and maintains a healthy and aesthetically pleasing built environment(Goal A.1) • The Charter-Comprehensive Plan calls for development which retains the high quality of life and residential character of the City(Objective A.1.3) • The Charter Comprehensive Plan requires that development has no adverse impact to surrounding neighborhoods(Policy A.1.3) Policy A.1.3 specifically relates to applications for Future Land Use Map Amendments.This policy has no relevance to this project. • The Charter-Comprehensive Plan specifically states that land use categories shall not include"uses that have the potential for negative impact due to excessive noise,light or extremely late hours of operation(Policy A.1.11.I General Commercial) This policy specifically relates to prohibited and permitted uses.It is stating that permitted uses shall not include uses that could have negative impacts.This policy is used when determining what uses are permitted or prohibited in a zoning district when the City is amending its Land Development Regulations.Or to determine whether something that is not listed as permitted or prohibited is allowed. 2 The Land Development Regulations further form a cornerstone to guide in development. They call to protect the value of property, promote health and safety encouraging the most appropriate use of land. And, they lean on you, the city commission to enforce them and give you guidance to create an environment that is visually appealing and safe for pedestrians, bicycles and vehicular traffic. Land Development Regulations Key Points • To help accomplish the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan.(Sec 24-2) • Encourages the most appropriate use of land (Sec 24-2) • To protect and conserve the value of property(Sec 24-2) • To promote,protect and improve the health,safety,comfort....and general welfare of the public(Sec 24-2) • It is the responsibility of the city commission to enforce(Sec 24- 46) • The intent of the the commercial corridor development standards is to create an environment that is visually appealing and safe for pedestrians,bicycles and vehicular traffic.(Sec 24-171) 3 The regulations do, in fact, list as a permitted use in the Commercial General District, "automobile service station with minor automotive repair with accessory car wash". However, that section which lists permitted uses, also states that Such uses shall not include uses that have the potential for negative impacts to surrounding neighborhoods due to excessive traffic, noise, light or extremely late hours of operation. Land Development Regulations Sec 24-111 Commercial General District (CG) • Uses permitted: • (a) (9)Automobile service station with minor automotive repair and with accessory car wash ■ Sec 24-111 (b)Permitted Uses ...Such uses shall not include uses that have the potential for negative impacts to surrounding neighborhoods and properties due to excessive traffic,noise,light or extremely late hours of operation or other factors that may adversely affect existing commercial uses or any nearby residential uses. 4 So that begs for us to explore what is a negative impact? What is excessive traffic? What is excessive noise and light? Does 24x7 operational hours qualify as extremely late hours of operation? We certainly don't have time today to explore all of those in depth. But maybe this little bit of information from the Florida Department of Transportation — which is immensely concerned with traffic and safety — can spark the discussion and your quest in understanding how to quantify those negative elements on a surrounding neighborhood. What is a negative impact? ■ Excessive traffic ■ Excessive noise ■ Excessive light ■ Extremely late hours of operation 5 There is a standard, portable traffic counter that is located 175 feet west of 3 rd street on Atlantic Blvd. The FDOT has similar devices for Sherry Drive and Seminole Road. What you see here is that according to the FDOT, 25000 cars travel daily on Atlantic Blvd going east and west — approximately 12,500 going east and then coming back going west. Daily. Now, I don't know how many of those cars are going to stop in at the new gas station 1500 feet down the road from this counter, but the FDOT has an opinion about traffic visits to gas stations. Florida Department of Transportation Average Daily Traffic Rate (AADT) for Atlantic Blvd is 25,000 Measured from 175'west of 3rd Street Site Information re ;,1 ia3 Site 725091 Description SR 10 175'W.OF 3RD ST. Section 72100000 Milepoint 15.493 AADT 25000 Site Type Portable Class Data No K Factor 9 D Factor 55.5 T Factor 2.1 TRAFFIC REPORTS(provided In T- format) 6 In fact, they have a new study that was published in October 2014. It talk about trip generation for large gas stations. It's an important subject because many municipalities use it as a way to charge businesses. As you would expect, as the size of convenience store has increased, there is more likelihood of increased visits. The same is true about more pumps. Based on the formula that I saw, we can expect 2700 cars DAILY to visit a 6400 square foot gas station with 14 fueling positions. 2700 cars Daily. Florida Department of Transportation Trip Generation ■ New study in October 2014 focused on Trip Generation for Large Gas Stations. Suggests using blended formula which results in lower numbers than ITE estimates ■ As the size of convenience stores have increased,traffic to that location has increased(more services) ■ More fueling positions mean more traffic ■ Blended formula suggests 2700 cars DAILY will visit a 6400 square foot gas station with 14 fueling positions(average 250 visits per fueling position). ITE formulae go as high as 5000 cars daily. 7 Does that qualify as Excessive traffic? I don't know if all of those cars will exit back onto Atlantic Blvd...It's going to be a little tight based on the plans I imagine that a reasonable number will probably look to exit out the back of 535 Atlantic Blvd onto Sturdivant Road —30% would be about a thousand cars using the back way on Sturdivant Does that promote safety for pedestrians and bicyclists? Is than an aesthetically pleasing environment? An influx of possibly 1000 cars a day on Sturdivant Road... Sturdivant Road which is 20 Mother-May-I giant steps from my property where my twin 3-year old grandsons play. Does that qualify as a potential negative impact to a surrounding neighborhood? What is a negative impact? ■ Excessive traffic-2700 cars DAILY into a 200'x400'lot??? ■ Excessive noise ■ Excessive light ■ Extremely late hours of operation-Does 24x7 qualify? ■ Or other factors 8 Lady and Gentlemen, you comprise our City Leadership. I applaud your courage to serve as our City Commissioners. It takes courage to fulfill the trust the City Charter and Ordinances has placed in you. Those guiding regulations repeatedly state that permitted development shall not include those uses that have the potential for negative impacts to surrounding neighborhoods. They don't say "may not'; they say "shall not". Thank you, in advance, for upholding our Charter and for your courage to do the right thing even if to a proposed business it is an unpopular message. Final Comments ■ The City Commission has the obligation to enforce land use regulations in concert with the Comprehensive Plan ■ The Land Use Regulations in Sec 24-111(b)specifically states that commercial uses ... Shall not include...Such uses that have the potential for negative impact to surrounding neighborhoods and properties due to excessive traffic,noise,light or extremely late hours of operation • An influx of 2700 cars daily and 24x7 operational hours have the potential to negatively impact surrounding neighborhoods and properties. • An automotive gas station/convenience store is not an appropriate land use at 535 Atlantic Blvd. 9