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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes P&Z 021103CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2003 MINUTES The Regular Meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was called to order by Chair Craig Kunkle at 6:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Meeting minutes of January 28, 2003: Mr. Pennell made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 28, 2003 meeting as submitted. Mr. Hansen seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 7 -0 vote. ROLL CALL Betty Laur, Secretary for the meeting, called the roll for the Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning and Zoning Commission, and Land Development Regulation Commission: Present Absent Chairman Craig Kunkle Alternate Dick Ansay Vice Chairman Barry Present Chairman Pro Tern John Glidden — arrived at 6:40 p.m. Joel Channing Dennis Solomon Douglas Pennell Randolph Hansen Alternate Michael Panczak Also present were Principal Planner Talal Benothman, Planners Brad Wiseman and Natalie Wong, Senior Planner Mike Sanchez, Planning Technician Autumn Sorrow, City Forester Mark Hendrickson, and the City Attorney. SWEARING IN OF SPEAKERS The City Attorney swore in all those intending to speak. EX -PARTE COMMUNICATION Mr. Hansen reported he drove by the site, and in order to get into Frenchman's Creek had spoken to the Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 owner of the house. Mr. Present commented that he had mentioned before that it would be nice to get a City letter or card for commission members, stating they were a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission, for identification purposes and to save time when they wanted to visit a gated community. Mr. Present requested this be revisited. Mr. Solomon commented he knew a Robert Shulman, but did not know if it was the applicant. Public Hearing: (BZA) (Quasi- Judicial Proceeding) Petition VAR- 02 -04: 13941 LeHavre Drive — Frenchman's Creek Mr. Joseph Black of Omega Builders as agent for Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shulman, is requesting a variance from Sec 78 -141, Table 10 of the City Code, which requires a 25 foot front setback for residential properties located within Residential Low -3 (RL -3) zoning districts. The petitioner is seeking a variance to allow for a proposed second -story addition to encroach 4.5' into the front setback The subject property is located at 13941 LeHavre Drive within the Frenchman's Creek PUD. Planning Technician Autumn Sorrow presented the staff report. Joseph Black was asked if there was another way to do this and make the overhang shorter, to which he responded there was not. Mr. Glidden arrived at this point in the meeting and Mr. Panczak, who had been seated in his place, stepped down. Mr. Black showed a sketch and described the proposed plan. Chair Kunkle asked if Frenchman's Creek had given approvals in the past, to which the response was yes. Chair Kunkle declared the public hearing open. Howard Goldsmith, next door neighbor, objected to the variance, stating the properties were on a cul -de -sac and the addition would further block his view, that he believed Mr. Black could have what he wanted without blocking the view, that members of the architectural committee should have given an opinion, and he felt this should be delayed a month in order for that committee to do its duty. Owner Robert Shulman was sworn in and advised that because of Mr. Goldsmith's high shrubbery he had to come out of his house and go past the shrubbery now in order to see the lake view. Mr. Shulman reported Mr. Goldsmith had requested he cantilever the second story, but explained that would not allow enough space in the garage for a car. Chair Kunkle questioned why there was no position by the POA. Mr. Benothman commented staff preferred to have a position, but their official communication said nothing. Hearing no further comments from the public, Chair Kunkle declared the public hearing closed. Mr. Hansen reported he went by the home, and noted that a number of other residences in this area had a second story built on. Mr. Hansen suggested placing the second story on the other side over the bedrooms or cutting the garage back 4' to its original dimension in order to minimize the effect. Mr. Pennell asked if Mr. Goldsmith's second story had been added on, to which the response was it had been added before he purchased the home, and the lake views from both houses were similar. In response to Mr. Solomon's questions, Mr. Black explained that the side over the garage had been picked because it was inexpensive space and had a place for a staircase, and that placing the second story over the bedrooms would be difficult and more costly. Mr. Glidden asked to see the letter from the POA. Mr. Glidden commented the hedge precluded the view, but could be cut down. Upon receiving the letter from the POA, Mr. Glidden confirmed that no opinion had been voiced. Mr. Benothman commented the 2 Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 POA had approved similar variances in the past. Mr. Panczak questioned the space behind the laundry room and discussed the plan. MOTION: Mr. Solomon made a motion to approve Petition Var -02 -04 as requested. Mr. Present seconded the motion. During discussion of the motion, Mr. Hansen expressed his opinion that the variance effect could be lessened by reducing the garage 4'. Mr. Pennell indicated he was in favor of approval, commented it appeared this change was no different than others had done, including the next door neighbor, and he did not believe it was a view problem. Mr. Present commented the whole view was oriented toward the back and this was the streetscape, and he was in favor because of this and because no opinion had been given by the POA. Mr. Solomon commented the POA did not take a position, which would have been preferred, and he believed it was a reasonable use, and several other properties had similar additions. Mr. Channing commented he believed the commission was losing sight of what a variance should be and he thought this was a self - inflicted hardship and there was another way this could be designed, and if everyone on the street wanted to do this it would change the character of the street. Mr. Channing stated he did not think the commission should consider this if the POA did not consider it. Mr. Glidden agreed with Mr. Present that the street side was not where most of the houses opened up, and he understood Mr. Hansen's position. Chair Kunkle requested in the future that applications within master planned communities be deemed incomplete until a position was stated by the POA. Motion carried by 5 -2 vote, with Mr. Hansen and Mr. Channing opposed. Public Hearing and Recommendation to City Council (P &Z) Petition PUD- 01 -11: Mirasol Walk — Planned Unit Development A request by Audrey Huggins of Gee & Jenson, Inc., on behalf of North American Properties - Investors, Inc., to develop a Commercial Planned Unit Development named Mirasol Walk. The proposed development consists of]] 7, 695 square feet of retail space. The 24.57 -acre site is located at the northwest corner of PGA Boulevard and the Ronald Reagan Turnpike. Planner Brad Wiseman presented the project. It was confirmed for Chair Kunkle that the Royal palms were proposed at 16' overall height. Sean Macintyre presented the project on behalf of the applicant and noted the concerns raised at the workshop had been addressed. Mr. Macintyre noted the four outparcels were not included in this phase, and provided a booklet of guidelines that would be given to each outparcel user and advised that they must also abide by the covenants and conditions of the shopping center. Each outparcel would come back to P &Z for approval. Mr. Macintyre indicated the trees in the buffer would be staggered at 5' apart. Architect Dale Hafley described the architectural changes made since the workshop to the back of the building facing the turnpike. Other changes were to the grocery store columns, and changes to the roof pitch to match the Mizner architectural theme and those used in the Mirasol community. The architect described the architectural features that would be required of the outparcels. 3 Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 Chair Kunkle declared the public hearing open. Hearing no comments from the public, Chair Kunkle declared the public hearing closed. Mr. Panczak suggested the shopping center could have been designed parallel, questioned parking and was advised that the area he referred to would be mainly for employee parking, and received clarification that the entrance was designed where it was because more traffic would come from PGA Boulevard than from Jog Road. Pedestrian walkways were reviewed. Mr. Glidden disclosed he had met with the applicant's architect a week or so ago to review changes he had suggested at the workshop and his concern regarding the architecture facing the turnpike. Mr. Glidden noted that elevations just received during this meeting reflected changes in response to his comments. Mr. Glidden thought the colors should be lightened up more, and commented the rendering was done from a point up in the air so the tree mass blocked the service area, but on the ground the landscape would not block the view. Mr. Glidden indicated a roof plan was needed that clearly showed the areas. The applicant provided a rendering showing how it would look from the turnpike. Mr. Glidden stressed that accurate drawings were needed and noted the renderings were not accurate to the buildings. Another rendering was shown, which Mr. Glidden stated was more accurate. Mr. Glidden commented the view approaching the city would be the back of the shopping center and at the very least 5 -6 feet of ground landscaping was needed. Mr. Glidden commented he would have liked a little different orientation of the building, wanted more accurate drawings, and thought more work was needed on the back of the building. Mr. Glidden discussed the "on the run" building and that it should be 4 -sided architecture shown plainly on the elevation, and indicated he could not find roof plans or plans for this building by Mark Weiner. The applicant indicated roof plans had not been submitted. Mr. Channing commented this submittal was incomplete, that the large building would read as a huge box, that the city required 4 -sided architecture and this was not the quality he wanted to see along PGA Boulevard, and a berm was needed instead of relying on landscaping. Mr. Solomon commented he had not been present for the workshop but could see the changes were great improvements, agreed with making the roof pitch greater on the towers, and favored anything that would improve the view from the turnpike. Mr. Present thanked the applicant for responding to the commissioners' concerns. Mr. Pennell also expressed his thanks and stated that overall it looked nice. Mr. Pennell commented he did not think landscaping would solve the problem of the back of the building. Mr. Hansen agreed with Mr. Glidden and Mr. Channing, commented there was room for improvement, and suggested taking the retail space on the side adjacent to the turnpike and turning it along the east side of the grocery store and adding a service corridor. Mr. Hansen expressed concern that the service station back faced the road because junk tended to collect at the back of service stations. Mr. Hansen discussed accessibility requirements which could change engineering and grading, and requested consistency in the presentations. Chair Kunkle commented there were 12' trees against a 38' tall building; the buffer needed to be addressed and to turn the corner, and suggested adding color and checking to see if the buffer contained deciduous trees because those would not work in the winter. Chair Kunkle asked if there would be a traffic signal at the PGA Boulevard/Jog Road intersection, to which Mr. Benothman responded that he would discuss that with the City Engineer. Mr. Macintyre explained the timing of construction of road improvements. The City Forester expressed his opinion that 4 Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 the Royal palm height was too short and should be 16' greywood, but if that was not readily available that the applicant should provide options, Mr. Panczak favored an L- shaped building as suggested by Mr. Hansen. Mr. Glidden recapped that he agreed that a 4- 1/2' -5' berm would be excellent, that there was not enough rear landscaping and some could be placed north of the property line if approved in perpetuity by Mirasol, that there were no labels on the site plan to identify the buildings, and the design guidelines for the outparcels were not sufficient but they would be coming back, and requested a change of color in the roof material. Mr. Channing noted a berm needed to be relative to the grade of the turnpike. The applicant explained that each outparcel would probably be submitted separately. Staff advised the public hearing requirements had been met. The applicant requested additional time and to be able to return in a couple of weeks. Public Hearing and Recommendation to City Council. (P &Z) Petition SP- 02 -02A, B & E. Old Palm Golf Club PCD — Parcels A, B, and E A request by Henry Skokowski, Urban Design Studio, on beha f of WCI Communities, Inc., for site plan approval for Parcels A, B, and E within the Old Palm Golf Club Planned Community District (PCD) to allow for the construction of 92 custom single-family homes on one -half (112) to one (1) acre lots. The Old Palm Golf Club PCD is generally bounded by PGA Boulevard to the south, Westwood Gardens to the north, Central Boulevard and Interstate 95 to the east, and the Ronald Reagan Turnpike to the west. Senior Planner Michael Sanchez presented the project. Henry Skokowski spoke on behalf of the applicant, noted these would be $3 to $5 million homes, and requested the staff restriction for no driveway gates be removed to allow driveway gates as an option, noted the Fire Department had no concerns, and suggested appropriate language for a condition of approval. MOTION: Mr. Solomon made a motion to recommend to City Council approval of Petitions SP- 02 -02A, B & E with the three waivers and with conditions of approval as presented in the staff report, with condition No. 10 substituted with the following language: Driveway gates shall be permitted in the fence wall within the front setback with the following conditions: (1) A minimum 12' wide vehicle access is required (2) A Knox key box is required on each vehicle gate (3) The gate shall swing away or roll away from the vehicle entrance; and (4) A call box shall be provided for guest entry at each vehicle access. Mr. Glidden seconded the motion. Mr. Hansen requested an amendment that pedestrian gates within the walls also be encouraged. The applicant agreed. Mr. Solomon and Mr. Glidden accepted the Mr. Hansen's amendment to the motion. Motion carried by unanimous 7 -0 vote. Following a short recess, the meeting reconvened at 8:25 p.m. 5 Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 Recommendation to City Council (P&Z) Petition SP- 02 -26: San Materra/Harbour Oaks A request from Dodi Glas of Urban Design Studio on behalf of Kolter Property Company to allow for an amendment to a previously approved site plan of a portion of the San Matera (f/k/a The Grande at Palm Beach Gardens) within the Regional Center DRI. The proposed plan is for 317 single- family attached 3 -story units on 25.71 acres. The site is located at the northeast corner of Gardens Parkway and Valencia Gardens Avenue. Planner Natalie Wong presented the project. Dodi Glas spoke on behalf of the petitioner. In response to Mr. Hansen's question of why the courtyards were in a hole, Ms. Glas explained it had to do with the drainage system. The landscape architect for the project commented that five steps down would be the worst case, and it would vary from 2 to 5 steps. The applicant explained that the pocket parks were to make the project better for kids and dogs, and there would be a lot of people within a small area. There was also a large play area the size of two tennis courts and a tot lot. The project had originally been approved for 382 units and had been reduced to 317. The units would be fee - simple, not rentals. Ms. Glas advised there were extra guest parking spaces scattered throughout the site, the number of units within buildings varied from 4 to 11. Mr. Solomon commented the project had mostly straight lines with too many units in one row and it would have been better to break them up with green spaces in between. Ms. Glas responded that in the rear there were some buildings that were turned and some green areas to provide variation. The number of buildings to be constructed for the grand opening was discussed and pointed out on the plan. The applicant indicated to Mr. Solomon that there was a littoral planting plan within the landscape plan. Mr. Solomon suggested light fixtures on the garages on either side of the doors. Distance between buildings was clarified for Mr. Channing, and landscaping between buildings was discussed. Mr. Channing suggested using pavers in the alleys. Mr. Channing requested a section perspective of one of the streets. Mr. Glidden observed there was not a legible site plan and requested color 11 x 17 copies, and that buildings be identified with their sizes. Mr. Glidden indicated front architecture was pretty nice; the rear was not so good but would not be viewed by the public; but on the 13 highly visible end elevations architectural enhancements were needed, and he could not tell how many had towers because there was no roof plan. Mr. Glidden noted there were only two different building plans, and there were 5 or 6 different building types. Mr. Glidden commented he would back off a little on the need for architectural elements on the 13 end elevations if he were shown a lot of landscaping there. Mr. Glidden indicated the hip and gable roof elements did not mix well and suggested removing the dormer elements. The color board was presented, and Mr. Glidden indicated he was okay with the colors. Mr. Panczak agreed the urban concept was exciting, however, with the lack of affordable housing this would attract young families and he was concerned there was not enough green space for children. Mr. Panczak was concerned with the amount of cars using the one entrance. Chair Kunkle commented the landscape was depicted accurately at 5 -year growth, but suggested the landscaping not be so repetitive, and expressed concern with teenage drivers speeding down the straight stretches of roadway, and noted pavers might help. Chair Kunkle recommended Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 the covenants contain language preventing conversion of garages to living space to lessen future parking problems. Chair Kunkle requested that trees proposed to be planted near water mains be reviewed. Mr. Present questioned if there would be a problem with the name since there was a project in the city called Oak Harbor. Ms. Glas indicated no concern had been expressed by emergency services. The applicant indicated this was a different product type than others in the city, with a different market. Ms. Glas indicated the comments would be taken to heart, such as pavers and lighting in the rear, but she was not sure some comments could be addressed because of the product type. Ms. Glas indicated she believed this product would attract young professionals and people without children rather than families. More information was requested by the Commission. Ms. Glas indicated more graphics would be provided. OLD BUSINESS Mr. Solomon requested the status of the design guidelines. Mr. Benothman reported that Mr. Wu had started working on them and would probably be finished by the end of this week. In response to a request for an update on the Borland Center, Mr. Benothman explained that they were not yet certified. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business to come before the Commission. 7 Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes February 11, 2003 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held February 25, 2003. APPROVF.D- Alternate Dick Ansay Alternate Laur, Wretary for the