HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 103097CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 30, 1997
The October 30, 1997, Special Regular Meeting of the City
Council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens was called to order at
7:30 F.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 roll was called by the Deputy City Clerk and the following
elected officials were found to be in attendance: Mayor Joseph
Russo, Vice Mayor Lauren Furtado, Councilwoman Linda Monroe,
Councilman Eric Jablin and Councilman David Clark.
CONSENT AGENDA A motion was made by Councilman Jablin to approve the Consent
Agenda. The motion was seconded by Councilman CIark and
unanimously carried. The following item was approved on the
Consent Agenda:
1. Minutes of the 10/16/97 City Council Regular Meeting.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ordinance 20, 1997 Mayor Russo declared the Public Hearing reopen open which was
duly advertised on 6/4/97 and postponed from the Regular
Meetings of 6/19/97, 7/2197, 9/8/97, and 10/16/97. Mayor Russo
stated that the purpose of this meeting was to continue the Public
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97 `?
Hearing to the 11/6/97 Regular Meeting of the City Council. A
motion was made by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman
Jablin, to postpone the Public Hearing on Ordinance 20, 1997, to
11/6/97 at approximately 7:30 P.M. The motion unanimously
carried.
ITEMS FOR COUNCIL
ACTION
Municipal Complex Kevin Ratigan of Architects Design Group made a presentation to
the City Council regarding the approval of elevations and building
materials for the proposed Municipal Complex. Mr. Ratigan stated
that they now had all the information they needed to proceed with a
detailed design of the site, but in addition the City now had a
document for the first time that explained exactly what the
holdings were and what the improvements to the property were.
Mr. Ratigan explained that one of the things that slowed down the
progress was that all the legal documents were not in place and the
property could not be tied together. For the first time in the City's
history there is now a legal description of all the holdings. ADG
was now working toward having the project ready to bid in
February, 1998. Mr. Ratigan stated he would be back before the
City Council two more times before bidding of the project. Mr.
Ratigan stated he met with staff today and is now starting to
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97
develop details in terms of what would be needed in legal
documents for the contract to develop the specifications.
Mr. Ratigan showed the Council the survey and stated that in
addition to the model, boards have been prepared showing the
elevations of the project. Mr. Ratigan reviewed the various
elevations and the overall master plan for the site. Mr. Ratigan
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stated that the model and the boards would be left with the City for
presentations to the residents. Mr. Ratigan stated that the intent
was to make the additions to the Fire Department as seamless with
the existing building as possible. The intent was not to build a clay
tile roof, etc., but rather work with what was already there. Mr.
Ratigan stated that the proposed training center in the Fire Station
would be equipped as an EOC and that this section would be the
strongest part of the building.
The site plan was reviewed as well as elevations. In response to
Mayor Russo, Kevin Ratigan stated that his staff had already
discussed design alternatives and once detailed costs are obtained,
he would discuss those alternatives with the City Council. Mr.
Ratigan stated that while structural considerations were still being
made, it appeared at this time that the roof would be made of clay
tile. Mr. Ratigan reviewed comments made by the Planning and
Zoning Commission, and stated that the current configuration
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97
would seat 200 people in the Council Chambers. With the design
of the building, there would be an opportunity to use the lobby for
overflow. It was also suggested that monitors be located in areas
where residents congregate so that they could see and hear the
Council meetings if there was not enough room in the Chambers
for all to be seated. Discussions ensued as to the layout of the
Council Chambers to allow as much space as possible for seating.
Kevin Ratigan stated that he would rather deal with the issues to
make the circulation work rather than make the building bigger
again. Mr. Ratigan stated that he would come back to Council
with Chamber design alternatives. Mr. Ratigan stated that the
Chambers would have mixed theater type seating and would show
samples of recommended seating closer to the time the Council
would be choosing furniture.
Discussing the layout of the site, Mr. Ratigan stated that the
architects would present all turning radiuses to the Engineer with
the basic layout and suggested that adjustments would be made
now before the detailed layout of the site was completed. Mr.
Ratigan stated concerns have been expressed that parking for the
soccer fields did not work and stated this was an opportunity to
make adjustments. Staff suggested a turn- around at the end of the
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parking area and pointed out that the congestion occurred when the
CITY COUNCH- SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97
players were changing games. Mr. Ratigan stated that Burns Road
was a City road, therefore, the City could control the signalization.
Mr. Ratigan stated that signalization options would be researched
and presented to the City Council at a later date.
Mr. Ratigan summarized the comments made by the Council and
stated that he would have most of the issues taken care of by the
next presentation to the City Council.
Fire Dept. Level of Service Peter Bergel, Acting Fire Chief, made a presentation to the City
Council regarding Level of Service and a Departmental Overview.
Mr. Bergel detailed the various types of calls performed by the Fire
Department. Mr. Bergel pointed out that some of the data
presented was received from Palm Beach County Dispatch. Mr.
Bergel presented a map that showed areas of the City that were
accessible within the 6 minute level of service and those that were
not able to be reached within that time frame.
The City Manager was directed to research whether the mutual aid
agreement with the County would be beneficial once the County
closed their fire station on AIA at Cabana Colony. Mr. Bergel
stated that the City responds to approximately 1200 calls a year in
the County, while the County responds to approximately 700 calls
in the City each year.
Mr. Bergel stated that long range plans show that a fire station is
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needed along the Northlake Corridor as well as a station at the
north end of the City. Mr. Bergel discussed depth of coverage,
stating that some stations required more staffing than others
because of the depth of coverage and the amount of calls received
Mr. Bergel discussed the various services offered by the Fire
Department, stating there were 4 basic divisions: Administration,
Prevention, EMS Medical Services and Fire Suppression, and
discussed the major responsibilities of each division.
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Scott Fetterman detailed services and programs offered by the Fire
Prevention division, Chris Brown detailed services and programs
offered by the EMS Medical Services division, and Mr. Bergel
detailed services and programs offered by the Fire Suppression
division.
Kim Glas, Principal Planner, stated that the City's adopted
Comprehensive Plan called for a response time of 5 minutes for the
Fire Department, however, it had been suggested that the trend was
more toward a district response time so that the responses were not
spread out over a wide area. Ms. Glas station this would require
the additional stations that Mr. Bergel cited as future needs. Ms.
Glas stated that the Comprehensive Plan contained a statement that
it was not necessary for level of service standards to be met prior to
the issuance of a development order and this practice has presented
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problems. Ms. Glas stated that the Comprehensive Plan Review
Committee wanted the City to go immediately to a full concurrency
mandate on fire.
Mayor Russo stated that staff needed to research the cost of
whatever path it chose to take, as well as research what
surrounding cities were doing regarding concurrency and level of
service.
Non Conforming Signs City Manager Herakovich stated that Jack Hanson, Building
Official, had prepared a report for Council and it was in their
packet. Several years ago the Council adopted a non - conforming
sign ordinance and as renovation occurs in the City signs are
brought into conformance. City Manager Herakovich suggested
that the City not go to war with the business community, but
suggested that staff work with the business community to bring all
signs into conformance.
Mayor Russo stated that there were laws on the books, and while
he did not want to go to war with the business community, the City
needed to form a plan of action to get everyone to comply with the
sign code. City Manager Herakovich stated that the Council
needed to define what non - conforming meant.
Attorney Acton stated that any law on the books required the
enforcing authority to exercise some discretion as to how strictly
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97
that law would be enforced. Attorney Acton stated that the City
needed to determine that if the law could not be enforced to a
significant degree, then perhaps the deadline should be changed,
however, that was not the only option. Attorney Acton stated that
other options would show that there was a good faith attempt by
the City to not only enforce the ordinance but to give notice to the
business community. Attorney Acton further stated that there was
another 7 year provision buried in the code - a nonconforming use
ordinance that was far more broad than the sign code
nonconforming use. In 2001 the City would experience all types of
nonconforming use problems that needed to be addressed that were
well beyond signs. Attorney Acton stated that he would discuss
this issue with the new Growth Management Director and warned
that however the Council handled the sign issue tonight may set a
precedent that would be happening within the next 4 years on a
much larger scale, Jack Hanson, Building Official, stated that an
opinion he received today from City Attorney Carole Wallace was
that any sign that did not comply with the City's Sign Code was
nonconforming, and read her opinion into the record. Mr. Hanson
stated that he has sat on several sign revision committees and felt
that it was not their intention to cite every sign that was
nonconforming. Mr. Hanson gave examples of various
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97
nonconforming signs.
In response to Mayor Russo regarding selective enforcement of
codes, Attorney Acton stated that as long as the selective
enforcement of the code was not done either in violation of some
constitutional prohibition or done by some malicious or arbitrary
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manner, it may be selectively enforced. Mayor Russo stated that if
the Council agreed with what Mr. Hanson stated, the City Manager
should have staff come back to the Council with a plan on how the
enforcement would be done and encouraged friendliness with area
businesses.
Roxanne Manning, Growth Management Director, stated that a
very constructive way of dealing with this issue was to first take
inventory, as it may be found that the situation may not be as bad
as imagined. Staff would have to set priorities of what types of
nonconforming signs would be cited first and may even find that
business owners and property owners may want to work with the
City to bring their signs into conformance. Ms. Manning stated
that with advance notification, cooperation would be given by
property owners. City Council gave direction to staff to inventory
nonconforming signs in the City. Councilwoman Monroe asked
that staff research whether the billboard sign on PGA Boulevard
across from U.S. Highway One, on the south side was in the City.
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING, 10/30/97 10
ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was
adjourned at 10:30 P.M.
APPROVAL
APPROVAL_ c "
k R J SOH R.RUSSO
v
VYCE MAYOR LAUREN FURTADO
COUNCILWOMAN LINDA MONROE
CILIGIAN hi4t JABLIN
COUNCILMAN DAVID CLARK
ATTEST:
CINDY HARVEY, CMC, ' EPUTY CITY CLERK