HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 051492V
CITY COUNCIL
WORKSHOP MEETING
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
MAY 14, 1992
The Workshop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm
Beach Gardens, Florida, was called to order by Vice Mayor Russo
at 7 :35 P.M., in the Assembly Room of the Municipal Complex,
10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
ROLL CALL The Administrative Secretary called the roll, and present were
Vice Mayor Russo, Councilman Aldred, Councilwoman Monroe, and
Councilman Kiselewski. Mayor Martino was not in attendance.
BUDGET: There was some discussion concerning the scheduling of budget
meetings with the outcome being that Assistant City Manager Ed
Mitchell would call all Councilmembers on Monday, May 18, 1992,
to attempt to schedule two nights convenient for all. There was
some concern expressed that since Chief Frazier of the Police
Department would be resigning effective August 1 it might be
difficult to review that budget with a different person becoming
involved.
R 9\ 1:: ► 4
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM: Mr. Lenhart Lindahl of Lindahl, Browning, Ferrari, & Hellstrom
stated that since the last workshop meeting he had performed two
tasks as instructed by Council which were: (1) to make inquiries
of the Traffic Division as to how they respond to documentation
on the availability of capacity within County and State roads
as covered by the County's Traffic Performance Standards. He
City Council WorXshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 2
displayed a sample document they use with other cities when a
request is made for a capacity reservation. He stated that the
applicant would have to provide enough information to the County
so that a determination could be made as to available capacity.
They would then fill out a provider report which would be
delivered to the City which would be effective for a year. Mr.
Lindahl had explained to the County the reason for the inquiry
was because some inter- agency coordination was anticipated in
the future concerning this issue. He said the County indicated
they would be willing to cooperate with the City in this regard.
Mr. Lindahl stated he met on April 16, as requested by Council,
with selected individuals interested in concurrency management
and had a brainstorming session with them to review the document.
He stated that Hank Skokowski, Sarah Lockhart, Steve Yohi, staff
from the City, and David Getz were present at the meeting. From
this meeting and written comments received from Kayhart Pender,
Jerry Wilson with MacArthur Foundation, and Bruce Galeta (a land
use attorney), it was decided that two items needed attention,
one being a greater clarification was needed as to available
capacity and its relationship to roadways on the Five Year
Roadway Plan. The other item was the automatic expiration of
a development order and a concurrency certification which might
negate the development order. He distributed the new document
to the City Council. Mr. Lindahl specifically reviewed each
change he had made in the document.
Mr. Kiselewski questioned if it would be adequate under this plan
City Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 3
if someone were to submit in the fifth year just an engineering
study to begin the process. Mr. Lindahl responded no, that if
the facilities are in a five -year budget program and are still
in the f irst three years of that five -year program then they are
considered to be committed and are available for capacity in
accordance with 9.J.5. Mr. Lindahl went on to explain that the
County's Traffic Performance Standards only recognize the first
year as being committed, 9.J.5. and a lot of other concurrency
management systems throughout the state recognize the first
three years because of the Growth Management Act.
Mr. Kiselewski asked to include on page two the phrase "the funds
for construction of new facilities are included in the first
three years of the adopted County Five Year Road Program..."
Councilwoman Monroe asked if an applicant had a concurrency
reservation would they still be able to go forward if they did
not meet the County's Traffic Performance Standards. Mr. Lindahl
responded, "no, if it involved a County or State road ". He
stated that the document recognizes that the City has to comply
with the County Traffic Performance Standards, and the first year
is the only year that constitutes committed funds.
Vice Mayor Russo expressed his concern if funds are not committed
then it is not known if the project will be built. He was also
concerned about coordination with the County and was told by Mr.
Lindhal there would be no conflict and coordination is not
necessary with the County unless County and State roads are
involved. Mr. Lindahl said concern could be eliminated by
City Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 4
including the language suggested by Councilman Kiselewski.
Attorney Brant stated it would be better to leave it with the
9.J.5. language, recognizing that the only funds which will be
available for the County roads are those in the first year.
Vice Mayor Russo asked how much funding is available for capital
improvements for roads. Mr. Lindahl stated most of the City's
roads will evolve through joint agreements, tri -party agreements,
funding coming from impact fees, and developer agreements.
Mr. Lindahl addressed the other major item on page 12 of the
document that deals with concurrency exemptions, and where
previously it had read that the Development Order would
automatically expire if progress was not made in accordance with
conditions of the order and the developer did not request a time
extension. The only change was to eliminate automatic
expiration, and it now reads if progress is not being made with
the development order then it would come before Council for the
purpose of granting or denying a time extension for the
Concurrency Certificate of Exemption. If the time extension is
denied, no further development activity can occur without
obtaining an appropriate Concurrency Certification pursuant to
these regulations.
Attorney Brant commented that it would not be advisable for the
Council to consider extending time for development of a project
and ignore completely the concurrency issue.
Councilman Kiselewski expressed concern about the changes made
to the document by people other than Council. Attorney Brant
Citv Council Workshoo Meetina - Mav 14. 1992 Page 5
responded that he and Mr. Lindahl had obtained public input as
requested by Council at the previous workshop. After discussion
by Councilmembers, Attorney Brant, and Mr. Lindahl it was decided
to reinstate the former language on page 12.
Councilman Kiselewski stated he would prefer that a statement
be included which states that funds have been expended uniformly
or appropriately throughout the life of the development order
and that progress has been made continually.
Vice Mayor Russo asked that the developer also present a
satisfactory plan of action.
A discussion followed concerning the possibility of developers
suffering economic hardship and being unable to continue in a
timely manner with their projects.
Following a question from Councilman Kiselewski concerning
D.R.I.Is, Mr. Lindahl provided an explanation saying the D.R.I.
process is a way to enforce concurrency without yet having the
Growth Management Act in concurrency as required by statutory
mandate. In response to another question from Councilman
Kiselewski, Mr. Lindahl stated that when an analysis with
concurrency is done, the committed trips on the road must be
included even though that D.R.I. might not build out until many
years later; thus, they are put into the computer as though they
exist now.
Mr. Lindahl proposed, and it was concurred by Council, that the
Concurrency Management System document would go to Council for
first reading on Thursday, May 21st, and would feature the
Citv Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 6
changes as requested by Council.
COUNCILWOMAN
Councilwoman Monroe brought to Council's attention a matter
brought up at a recent Code Enforcement Board meeting where Mr.
Jeff Blakely presented a landscape plan different from the one
previously approved by City Council. Attorney Brant elaborated
on this item to Council and received responses from Council to
the effect that possibly the City Forester could approve
substitutions for certain plants. It was decided by Council that
Attorney Brant would get with Assistant City Manager Ed Mitchell
to come up with a solution.
Councilwoman Monroe presented a copy of a Future Land Use Map
of the City of Palm Beach Gardens to the year 2010 which she
believed was being distributed by the MacArthur Foundation. She
voiced an objection that the map is not marked "draft" and asked
that a member of staff contact the MacArthur Foundation and ask
them to no longer distribute the map unless it was marked
"proposed ". Mr. Mitchell will follow up on this.
COUNCILMAN
ALDRED Councilman Aldred stated that he had been approached by the Palm
Beach County Municipal League to propose Mayor Mike Martino for
the Florida League of Cities annual award for the Municipal
Leader of the Year. He then asked the other Councilmembers join
him in this effort.
'7TREETSCAPE Mark Hendrickson referred to the status report which had been
Citv Council Workshop Meetina - Mav 14. 1992 Page 7
presented to Council and asked how they wished to proceed.
Councilmen Kiselewski and Aldred expressed their opinions that
perhaps the Master Plan had been over ambitious from the
beginning and suggested that this be scaled down to something
more realistic.
Councilwoman Monroe stated her concern over the condition of
Alternate A1A and the fact that two separate landscaping plans
had been approved for that area. Mr. Hendrickson gave an
explanation of how this occurred. Councilwoman Monroe also
stated that Military Trail needs attention as well, and stated
her concern about a "patchwork" effect in landscaping these and
other areas. It was brought out by Mr. Hendrickson that this
seems to be more of a funding issue as far as the maintenance
is concerned. Councilwoman Monroe responded that West Palm Beach
is making excellent progress in its landscaping program, to which
Councilman Kiselewski responded that city has a much higher tax
millage rate. A discussion followed concerning the Master Plan
which was prepared by Team Plan in 1987.
Mr. Hendrickson asked Council for direction on where to begin
with the improvements and suggested using groundcovers rather
than elaborate palm trees. Vice Mayor Russo responded that no
matter what is done, it should not be expensive to maintain
because of the economy. Mr. Hendrickson brought out the fact
that it is not the initial installation of plantings which is
costly, but rather the follow --up replacement and maintenance.
Councilwoman Monroe made the statement that she would rather see
Citv Council Workshon Meetina - Mav 14. 1992 Page 8
no trees at all than to see groundcover with weeds.
Council discussed the appearance of PGA Boulevard and all agreed
it is very attractively landscaped but is probably very expensive
to maintain since workers are seen there daily. Councilwoman
Monroe asked if Mr. Hendrickson could contact the maintenance
personnel at the Gardens Mall to find out if anything could be
done to have a similar appearance elsewhere but with less
maintenance. Councilman Kiselewski inquired if Mr. Hendrickson
had looked at what Northern Palm Beach Water Control District
is planning to do with PGA Boulevard to the Turnpike and if it
is in compliance with the Master Plan, and Mr. Hendrickson stated
that it is close to compliance with the Plan. It was suggested
by Councilman Kiselewski that it might be cost effective to
consider landscaping of this type in lieu of more elaborate
undertakings. Mr. Brant brought out the fact that property
owners are not required to maintain public rights of way.
Councilman Kiselewski and Vice Mayor Russo discussed PGA
Boulevard being the showplace of the City and should, therefore,
be used as a guideline for landscaping the other main
thoroughfares. Mr. Mitchell stated costs of landscape
maintenance will be addressed in the upcoming budget.
Councilwoman Monroe asked when the medians would be landscaped
on PGA Boulevard, and Mr. Hendrickson responded there was no time
frame. Vice Mayor Russo asked for a proposal from staff to
complete the process for Military Trail and then between PGA
Boulevard and Military Trail.
City Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 9
Councilwoman Monroe stated where there are areas with no curbing
such as Alternate A1A some up front planning is needed where
staff can work with DOT or the County as to what can be planted
in these areas. Vice Mayor Russo suggested that staff coordinate
with Councilwoman Monroe on this.
Councilman Kiselewski suggested having a professional landscaper
look at all the areas needing landscaping in the City to come
up with a budget figure, including the section of PGA Boulevard
from I--95 to Alternate A1A, Military Trail, Holly, North Lake,
Gardens Drive - -all areas with medians. Vice Mayor Russo summed
up the suggestion by saying that staff should come back to
Council with a plan of what can be done on all the medians
mentioned by Councilman Kiselewski, what it will cost, and what
- it will cost to maintain before getting involved with design
consultants. Councilwoman Monroe strongly urged there be
clusters of at least 10 trees without any sod around them to
avoid having to trim around the trees and to lessen maintenance.
It was decided that signage would be discussed at a later date
after being given more thought by the Councilmembers.
NEWSRACK
ORDINANCE I�NANCE On page 3, item (1) , Councilwoman suggested substituting the word
"contained" for the word "sold" since some of the publications
are free of charge.
On page 3, item (5), 4th line, Councilman Kiselewski asked that
a period be inserted at the end of the words "public property ".
Mr. Brant responded that if this were done, most of the newsracks
in the City would have to be removed which would no doubt result
City Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 10
�- in many lawsuits being filed against the City. Councilman
Kiselewski stated he did not feel it was fair for a for- profit
vendor to set up on the rights -of -way when other vendors were
not allowed to do so. He also expressed concern that
adult oriented magazines might also begin to be dispensed in the
same manner as newspapers. After some discussion, Attorney Brant
said he could make some distinction between miscellaneous vendors
and the newsracks. City Council directed that on page 3, item
(5), 4th line, the word "which" should be changed to "when ".
Councilwoman Monroe had a question relating to items (7) and
(13) d, page 4. She believed the boxes should be set back
farther than three feet because of a sight /distance problem they
could present to small vehicles at intersections. Councilman
'~ Kiselewski stated he felt 54 inches was too high for a newsrack,
and suggested staff may want to measure the three major
newspapers' boxes and use those dimensions as the standard to
be incorporated in the ordinance.
It was agreed under item (13), page 4, to add a new item which
would state how far back the newsracks should be set from the
edge of the pavement.
Regarding item (13) d, Councilman Kiselewski stated he believed
three feet was too close to a driveway.
Councilman Kiselewski stated that a definition for a newspaper
needs to be included, and Attorney Brant said he would insert
criteria for a publication to be deemed a newspaper.
Regarding item (11) , page 4, Councilwoman Monroe stated she would
Citv Council Workshoo Meetina - Mav 14. 1992 Page 11
prefer that the newsracks be placed together without any space
between, and Councilman Kiselewski agreed with this.
Councilman Kiselewski brought up the subject of landscaping and
screening around the newsracks. Attorney Brant cautioned against
adding more restrictions and requirements to the ordinance
without any reasonable basis other than aesthetics. Vice Mayor
Russo asked staff to determine if other cities such as Boca Raton
and Palm Beach require landscaping around newsracks.
Attorney Brant recommended the three major newspapers be
contacted before taking final action.
Regarding all items under item (13), page 4, it was agreed that
these would be reviewed.
On page 5, item (14), last sentence, Councilwoman Monroe stated
that the word "predominately" was a grey area. Mr. Brant
responded that he felt the word "majority..." would be more
definitive.
Under item (15), page 5, handicap accessibility, Councilman
Kiselewski questioned if this is a Federal or State law
requirement. Attorney Brant said he preferred to eliminate this
item, and Council agreed.
Regarding (d) on page 6, Councilwoman Monroe questioned the City
having the responsibility to notify the newspaper distributors
in the event of an emergency, it was suggested that a new
paragraph would be added entitled "Standards for Installation ",
which would include a specific type of base, landscaping
standards, if any. Mr. Mitchell said inquiries would be made
Citv Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992 Page 12
of other cities to see if they have such a provision in their
codes.
Councilwoman Monroe asked if the parties should be given a
certain amount of time, possibly six months, to comply with the
ordinance. Attorney Brant said the periodicals would be
notified.
MINIMUM HOUSING
CODE , Councilman Kiselewski commented that the Standard Housing Code
was written by the Southern Building Code Congress International
and is revised continually, and he was in favor of adopting this
in its entirety. It was noted that one addition had been made
to page 6, 106.6 Decisions, which was to include the Code
Enforcement Board.
Vice Mayor Russo stated this item could now be put on the agenda
for second reading.
NEXT WORKSHOP It was noted that the next workshop meeting would be on May 28th
to discuss development regulations.
Councilman Kiselewski requested Council receive a list of pending
items which had been circulated previously for discussion.
There was some discussion concerning upcoming workshop meetings
with the outcome being Council will workshop every other Thursday
through June. Councilman Kiselewski mentioned he will not be
present at a couple of the meetings, and Councilwoman Monroe
stated that if less than four members are able to attend the
meetings, then they should be cancelled.
G.I.S. Councilwoman Monroe suggested sending a staff member to a seminar
on June 4 concerning Geographical Information Systems, and Mr.
City Council Workshop Meetinq - May 14, 1992
ADJOURNMENT
Page 13
Mitchell stated he would check with Ms. Kim Glas concerning the
upcoming meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at
10:05 p.m.
APPROVAL
Mayor M4rtino
V�CeA -Mayor Russo
-7�A
Ja 'e Holloman
Adm' istrative Secretary
I>
Councilman Aldred
Councilwoman Monroe
r
CounC man Kiselewski