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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