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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 062101 and P&Z WorkshopCITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING June 21, 2001 The June 21, 2001 Workshop Meeting of the City Council & Planning & Zoning Commission of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was called to order at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex located at 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ROLL CALL: The City Clerk called the roll and the following elected officials were found to be in attendance: Vice Mayor Eric Jablin, Councilmember David Clark, and Chair Pro Tem Carl Sabatello. Mayor Joseph R. Russo and Councilmember Lauren Furtado were absent. The following members of the Planning & Zoning Commission were in attendance: Chair Dennis Solomon, Vice Chair Craig Kunkle, Jr., Chair Pro Tem. Barry Present, Joel Channing, John Glidden, Steven Tarr, Alternate Ernest Volonte, and Alternate David Kendall. Dick Ansay was absent from the meeting. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STANDARDS: Growth Management Director Charles Wu thanked the Planning & Zoning Commission for their work, and explained that a draft of architectural design guidelines had been prepared by the consulting firm of Glatting, Jackson, Kercher, Anglin and Lopez. Mr. Wu requested direction from the two boards on implementing and enforcing these guidelines, whether they would be guidelines or zoning regulations, whether they would apply to the whole City or only certain areas, and what style was desired. Mr. Wu explained that the consulting firm had used the original budget and direction was needed before new funding was requested. David Cutner, of Glatting, Jackson, reviewed the guideline principles, which had been divided into two categories: land use and site design principles and building design principles. Mr. Wu explained that the guidelines should not stifle creativity and that style should be discussed. Mr. Solomon indicated that many areas of the guidelines were vague, and he preferred they be applied initially as guidelines rather than regulations so they would be flexible, that they apply to a specific area, and that they should not include micro - management. Mr. Glidden expressed his opinion that the present system worked well and that the guidelines were needed only for two areas: smaller projects that were now scrutinized less than larger projects, and to give developers a sense of the direction their projects should take during their planning stage so that a great number of workshops would not be needed. Mr. Glidden agreed with Mr. Solomon that the guidelines should not include micro - management or specifying good and bad design. Mr. Glidden expressed his opinion that the guidelines should apply along PGA Boulevard rather than to the whole City, and should strive for quality design with creativity. Vice Mayor Jablin agreed the guidelines should encourage creativity and should not be requirements. Mr. Tarr expressed his opinion that the City was really not a pedestrian friendly community and the City worked the way it was laid out, but walking could be encouraged within projects and a pedestrian friendly downtown core area could be developed. Mr. Kunkle agreed with the previous comments, stated variety made the City good and a common theme for the whole City should not be imposed. Mr. Solomon suggested that staff work on the guidelines to bring them along, and present them in another workshop, with the consultants playing less of a role to save money. Mr. Channing described buildings in Paris created by micro - management, and favored the guidelines because the MacArthur Foundation was no longer guiding quality of development. Mr. Channing indicated the City was beautiful, and a lot of it was due to landscaping, that the guidelines should be applied City -side, and that he would rather make it harder for new projects in order to assure a better City in the future. Mr. Present agreed with Mr. Channing that the guidelines should be applied Citywide, and that the draft guidelines should be polished and some of the micro- management removed. Mr. Sabatello favored the guidelines, indicated that the City needed to develop a consistent direction knowing it would change over time, and that the guidelines should apply City -wide because older buildings would be torn down and the guidelines would be needed for the upgrades. Councilmember Sabatello suggested upgrades to parcels be consistent with the newer nearby projects, that guidelines should enhance creativity, and that clearer direction as to what the City did not want was needed. Mr. Sabatello questioned whether staff had enough direction to work on this, and complimented the Commission for their work. Councilmember Clark also complimented the Commission for their work that had saved the City Council so much time. Councilmember Clark indicated these should be guidelines rather than regulations, should enhance creativity, should include different types of architecture, should be Citywide, and should be pedestrian friendly. Councilmember Sabatello noted the City Council had been working on connecting existing corridors to enhance them with pedestrian walkways. Mr. Channing commented strict code enforcement and new infrastructure had been used to start the redevelopment of Miami Beach, and cautioned that the City should not forget the older neighborhoods. Mr. Glidden noted that most of the City Council and the Commission seemed to favor making the guidelines City -wide and if that were done hard core formulas and specifics must be eliminated, suggested considering different project types by looking at examples, and considering a stricter standard on PGA Boulevard. Mr. Glidden acknowledged the need to fund additional monies for the consultant, but suggested an open volunteer brainstorming session that could provide written ideas to the consultant for review and presentation at another workshop, recommending that focus could be on special concerns such as power lines, covered parking, etc. Mr. Wu suggested the Chair be authorized to appoint a subcommittee to meet every other week and work with staff on these issues. Consensus of the City Council was to proceed with appointment of the subcommittee. It was clarified that the meetings of the subcommittee would be noticed and that anyone could attend. Mr. Solomon noted that a recent project had contained two buildings that were mirror images and the Commission needed direction on such items. Mr. Channing indicated the recent practice of holding more workshops to review project concepts had been good. Vice Mayor Jablin thanked everyone for his or her good work. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to discuss, upon motion by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilmember Sabatello, carried/-0 /fhe uAetin�fvas adjourned at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL: MAYOR SO C CH AN PRO TEM SABATELLO COUNCILMAN DAVID CLARK COUNCILWOMAN LAUREN FURTADO ATTEST :' c CAROL GOLD, CITY CLERK