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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes P&Z 022889CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 28, 1989 REGULAR MEETING The Regular Meeting of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida was called to order by Chairman Don Vogel, at 7:30 P.M. in the Assembly Room at the Municipal Complex, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. The roll was called by the secretary, and present were: Don Vogel, Chairman; Robert Hamner, Mike Rosen, Jeffrey Ornstein, Members; Domenick Lioce, Alternate Member. John Toshner, Vice Chairman was not in attendance. Vice Mayor Mike Martino, Council Liaison, was also present. • The minutes of the meeting of February 14, 1989 were unanimously • approved as submitted. Items by the Planning & Zoning Director Mr. Rich Walton stated that a copy of Ordinance 3, 1989 was included in the Commission packet. This Ordinance was adopted by the City Council on February 16, 1989, providing that a land- scape strip of 15' in depth shall be required on lands along frontage which is contiguous to public street rights -of -way. The code previously required a 5' landscape strip. 1 WORKSHOP: PUD -89 -03 - Recommendation to City Council re: Re- quest approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and a concep- tual plan for a high school in the underlying zoning district of AG - Agricultural district. Located south of Donald Ross Road between Military Trail and Central Boulevard (60 Acres). Mr. Bristol Ellington, City Planner, addressed the Commission stating the proposed high school is to be located on a 60 -acre site .5 miles south of Donald Ross Road. The ultimate capacity is projected to be 2,400 students. Mr. Ellington stated there are concerns regarding alleged wet- lands on the vacant site. The applicant has submitted letters from the Department of Environmental Regulation indicating the site is not a part of their jurisdictional determination. However, staff is requiring documentation to determine who does have jurisdiction. Mr. Ellington advised that some of the items listed as deficien- cies in the staff report were submitted this date. However, • staff was not afforded sufficient time for review of the mat- erial. Mr. Ellington stated additional concerns have been expressed by the City Engineer, as well as by David Plummer's office. Mr. Ellington referenced a February 22, 1989 letter from Mr. John Orr, City Manager, to Mr. Thomas Mills, Superintendent of Schools, requesting information that will assist in a study the Planning & Zoning Department wishes to conduct, in conjunction with the high school and middle school applications. As of this date, the information has not been submitted and staff cannot continue its review until the information is received. Mr. Ellington advised that schools currently in the City are zoned GU, Government Use, and for consistency, suggests the • 2 applicant consider amending the application request to PUD with the underlying use of GU. •Mr. William Hukill, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, ad- dressed the Commission discussing the growth that is occurring in the County, its impact on the school system, and the school site selection process. Mr. Hukill advised that the anticipated opening of the school is the Fall of 1991 and in terms of the number of students, will be approximately the same size as Palm Beach Gardens High School. Palm Beach Gardens High School was originally built on 27 acres, increased to 38 acres with the recently acquired adjacent land. Mr. Hukill stated the applica- tion for this school was originally submitted to Palm Beach County, prior to annexation of the property into the City. Mr. Hukill stated he feels the major issue yet to be addressed is environmental. A wetlands does exist on the site and consists of • approximately 5 acres. Mr. Hukill has been advised that the Is wetlands cannot survive and that tortoises are nesting on the site. Since they nest in dry, sandy areas, Mr. Hukill believes the wetlands is not wet. Mr. Hukill advised that the permitting authority for drainage on the site is the South Florida Water Management District and the School Board has submitted a proposal to them, currently under review, involving mitigating the wetlands. Mr. Hukill stated the School Board has agreed to provide addi- tional land along Central Boulevard for a green belt. To the extent possible, the plant material on site and within the green belt will be relocated. 3 Mr. Ornstein asked why 60 acres are needed for the site when 38 acres is sufficient for Palm Beach Gardens High School. Mr. Hukill responded that Palm Beach Gardens High School does not have adequate parking /bus situation. The proposed school will have more athletic fields, practice fields and ultimately hopes to expand the school. Mr. August Hernandez, agent, addressed the Commission presenting a site plan of the proposed high school. Mr. Richard Walton, City Planner, stated that staff has spent many hours with the School Board working on the application submittal and that there is still information needed to give a thorough review, including the information requested in Mr. Orr's letter to Mr. Mills. A tree survey has also been requested. Staff would like to have this information prior to making a recommendation. • Mr. Hernandez stated the site has ideal access, with Military Trail on the east and Central Boulevard on the west. Military Trail will serve as access for the student parking lot and stu- dent drop -off point. The bus circulation will be from Central Boulevard. Mr. Hernandez stated the bus loop has been expanded to create a mitigating area inside the loop. Mr. Hernandez stated meetings have been held with Palm Beach County, Traffic Engineering Division, to review the traffic situation. Improvements to Military Trail will be made, includ- ing deceleration /acceleration lanes from the appropriate access points. The existing work will be done to accommodate stacking. The School Board is working with Seacoast Utilities to establish a means of acquiring water service and is proposing to provide an • 4 on -site plant for sewer. The Health Department has approved the proposed sewer and water systems. • Mr. Hernandez stated that extensive work has been done with South Florida Water Management on the on -site mitigation proposal and a drainage agreement will be entered into with the northern Palm Beach County Water Control District. Mr. Hernandez reviewed landscaping and stated that approximately 40% of the area will be impervious. Mr. Hernandez stated a team has been hired to study the wetlands. Mr. Hernandez presented a survey and advised that South Florida Water Management District has suggested several mitigation alter- natives including: 1) leave it as is, 2) on -site mitigation at a ratio of 1 114 - 1 112 acres for every acre relocated, 3) off - site mitigation. Mr. Hernandez stated the outfield of the ball diamond is proposed • as a preserve area. • Mr. Ornstein suggested relocating the sewer plant in order to expand the wetlands area and questioned the necessity of the proposed number of practice fields. Mr. Hukill stated there will be probably 180 faculty parking spaces and 868 student parking spaces. Mr. Ornstein questioned if the ratio was one parking space for every three students. Mr. Walton stated the parking requirements were based on classrooms. Mr. Ornstein questioned what size parking spaces were proposed to be used. Mr. Hernandez replied the spaces will be 91X 201. Mr. Ornstein expressed concern for the wetlands area stating that if some of the basketball courts, tennis courts and a whole bay of 5 parking were removed, there would be more space to lower the entire facility to the south and gain more in the wetlands area. Mr. Ornstein is also concerned about the uplands areas. Mr. Lioce asked where the expansion space was that goes from 1700 to 2400. Mr. Hukill showed him on the plans and explained that a portion of the classrooms was left out but the remainder of the facility was designed for the full load. Mr. Ornstein asked if the School Board provided a traffic impact study. Mr. Hukill responded they did provide a traffic impact study. Mr. Walton stated the Commission received the comments back from Kahart Pinder with the staff report. Mr. Hukill stated there were basically three different approaches; one was the School Board, and the City came back with two alternatives. Mr. Hukill stated the School Board has submitted to the City their traffic engineers comments to the traffic study. • Mr. Ornstein asked Mr. Hukill if he had met with any of the environmental organizations, such as the Florida Audubon Society, commenting that some of the organizations were repre- sented at this meeting. Mr. Hukill stated that he had not met formally with the Florida Audubon Society but has talked briefly with some of the members and has offered them both orally and in writing that they would be happy to meet with them. Mr. Ornstein stated that he would like Mr. Hukill to meet with them before the Public Hearing to get their input. Mr. Rosen commented he thought the site was fantastic and the mitigation plan for the wetlands was nice. He asked if the parking lot run -off flows into the wetland area. Mr. Hernandez • replied that it was not; it was being taken care of through the N drainage system, with the eventual outflow going out to the northern canal, owned by North Palm Beach Water Control • District. WORKSHOP: PUD -89 -04 - Recommendation to City Council re: Request approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and a con- ceptual plan for a middle school in the underlying zoning dis- trict of AG - Agricultural district. Located north of shady Lakes Subdivision; to be accessed from Central Boulevard (± 39.53 Acres) . Mr. Ellington stated the applicant for this petition was Mr. Hernandez but said he is not the agent for the School Board but for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He fur- ther stated the department is now going through condemnation procedures for the site. The applicant proposes to construct a 127,672 square -foot middle school with related athletic facili- ties with a capacity to hold 1,200 students. This site contains • two wetland areas which have been observed by South Florida Water 0 Management District, however they have determined that these wetlands are not functional. Mr. Ellington stated Planning & Zoning would like to obtain a letter from the Department of Environmental Regulation describing any concerns they may have regarding jurisdictional rights. Mr. Ellington stated there were several deficiencies, as described in the staff report, and until this information is obtained, further review cannot continue. Additionally, on the last page of the staff report, there are comments from LBF &H pertaining to various concerns on the site. Mr. Walton stated the staff recommended they amend their applica- tion and identify this site as GU rather than AG underlying zoning. Mr. Ellington requested a reply to the February 22, 1989 7 letter from John Orr to Thomas J. Mills. Mr. Hukill stated that the February 22, 1989 letter came to their attention just in the • last 24 hours, but would be able to respond to it quickly. Mr. Lioce questioned where the schools were going to be district- ed. Mr. Hukill responded there were no boundaries set at this time. Mr. Hukill added the completion of this middle school will relieve overcrowding Howell Watkins Jr. High School and consider- ably in Jupiter Middle School. Mr. Hukill stated Watkins School will become a sixth, seventh and eighth grade school upon the completion of this school and because Watkins School is now a seventh and eighth grade school, the population must be lowered in order to get the sixth grade into it. Mr. Rosen expressed concern stating if the middle school is to be created in the city limits and the city's schools have so much crowding, the city's • schools should have first consideration. Mr. Hukill responded, 0 stating many of the students attending Jupiter Middle School are Palm Beach Gardens residents and many of those students will be coming back into Palm Beach Gardens. Mr. Hernandez stated access to the school will be solely from the road that is constructed and off of Central Boulevard. Recogniz- ing the residential area to the south, the proposed school site will have intense buffering to the south with the open space activities to the south with the school as far north as possible. The active recreation areas, such as the football field and track are located to the extreme north. In reference to the comments on the staff report regarding the N jurisdiction of the South Florida Water Management District, the School Board had met with the Water Management some time ago and • had a field investigation done by their investigative review staff. The School Board will provide documentation to the Plan- ning and Zoning staff stating this is not a viable wetlands and there is not significant environmental areas to address. Mr. Hernandez addressed another issue contained in the staff re- port, regarding a certified list of property owners, stating the School Board will provide this to the Planning and Zoning staff as soon as they get it notarized. Mr. Hernandez stated, in reference to the second deficiency of the staff report, they ordered their surveyor to stake the site. The third deficiency, posting a 3' X 3' sign on the property, was accomplished on Monday, February 27, 1989. As to the preliminary schedules of development, Mr. Hernandez • stated the School Board is prepared to begin construction as soon as approval is received from the City. A prototype of the middle school has been submitted and a detailed landscape plan will be made available to staff. Other deficiencies referenced in the staff report, such as open space computation and tabular informa- tion on the site plan will be provided. Mr. Hernandez stated a meeting is scheduled for March 13, 1989, from 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. with homeowners in the middle school area, to be held at the City Recreation Center auditorium. Mr. Hernandez stated that parking calculations will be provided in accordance with the City's Code requirements. Dimensions for parking spaces will be the same as for the high school, 9' x 201, and boundary dimensions will be noted on the site plan. Q Mr. Hernandez stated he has been assured by the architect that the dumpster location, in the cafe area, provides an adequate • service drive. A field investigation will be arranged with DER for the site and a follow -up letter will be obtained, but no significant environmental issues are anticipated. With regard to staff concerns with the location of the baseball fields near the south property line, Mr. Hernandez stated he is willing to work with staff concerning a combination berming/ vegetation to buffer the adjacent residents from noise. The baseball fields are not lighted at middle schools. Chairman Vogel asked if Seacoast services would be available to the site. Mr. Hernandez responded that the School Board has an agreement with Seacoast for water. Drainage will be handled through on -site retention. South Florida Water Management does • not anticipate environment impacts, therefore, on -site mitigation • will not be necessary. Mr. Lioce suggested locating the home plate areas of the baseball fields closer to the school with the outfields near the residen- tial area to mitigate noise. Mr. Hernandez stated this sounds like a good suggestion and it would be considered. A discussion ensued regarding parking. Mr. Ornstein suggested the size of the spaces be reduced to 91 x 18' and the number of spaces be reduced by about 200. Mr. Walton stated the parking requirements are only for the school facility and that one of the site plans submitted indi- cated a football stadium is being proposed. Mr. Walton advised 10 that information regarding the number of seats proposed for the stadium has been requested several times, but the information has not be submitted. Mr. Walton advised that the proposed parking will not be adequate if the stadium is included. Mr. Hernandez stated stadium seating will not be provided on the high school plan. The stadium would be a project undertaken by the high school athletic league, if they deem it possible. Mr. Hernandez stated plans will be presented in the future as to how to accom- modate athletic events. Mr. Rosen stated that water quality has been an environmental concern and asked if the storm water run -off, from herbicide /pesticide treated athletic fields, could go through the retention areas in order to mitigate the nutrients, prior to going into the public waters and then into the ground water. Mr. Hernandez stated that George Gentile, Landscape Architect, has • addressed that issue and will have information available for the Public Hearing. Mr. Lioce requested that a map be available at the Public Hearing indicating locations of all the schools and also requested that a site plan be provided to the Commission prior to the Public Hearing. Mr. Walton stated dimensional site plans have not yet been sub- mitted and that this project was scheduled for workshop under the assumption that the information would have been received. Mr. Walton stated dimensioned site plans have not yet been sub- mitted and that this project was scheduled for workshop under the assumption that the information would have been received. Mr. Ornstein requested that elevations also be provided and 11 stated that when all of the information has been received, staff can then make a recommendation as to whether another workshop is • needed. Mr. Walton stated he takes exception with the excessive amount of time staff has invested in attempting to obtain the requested information, which still has not been submitted. Mr. Walton stated talks with the School Board have been on -going since November and the applications still are not complete. Chairman Vogel stated that prior to scheduling these projects for Public Hearing, staff should be satisfied that adequate informa- tion has been received. PUBLIC HEARING: Recommendation to City Council re: (Northcorp) Rezone M -1 to PCD and discussion of Amend. to the Land Use Ele- ment of the Comprehensive Plan from Industrial to PCD and Devel- opment of Regional Impact and Development Order. Located on 102.7± acre tract east of I -95, west of FEC Railroad and Alt. A -1 -A, north of Burns Road and generally south of RCA Boulevard • (formerly known as the RCA Site) Mr. Ellington, City Planner, stated the item advertised was the rezoning from M -1, Light Industrial to PCD, Planned Community Development. The additional items will require action by the City Council. These items have been placed on this agenda in order for the Commission to have a complete review of the appli- cation. Mr. Ellington stated staff has concerns pertaining to the master plan as well as to proposed Article IX, Land Use, Buffers and Landscaping, of the Declaration of Protective Covenants and Restrictions for Northcorp Center. Comments have been received from David Plummer & Associates, which have been distributed to the Commission. 12 Mr. Larry Smith, authorized agent for the petitioner, addressed the Commission requesting that at the conclusion of this hearing, • the Commission recess the Public Hearing to a time and date certain. Mr. Smith briefly reviewed the project and stated sufficiency comments were received from Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council in October. The information requested from Treasure Coast was submitted approximately a month ago and the second sufficiency comments have been received. Mr. Smith stated a meeting was held with Treasure Coast and all of the consultants earlier today. Mr. Walton also attended. Mr. Smith stated that DER has concerns with discovery of excesses of fluoride, VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) and wishes to have the option of imposing conditions at the South Florida permitting • stage as to methodology of construction, particularly dewatering, to make sure the contamination does not move around on the site. Mr. Smith advised that Seacoast has a wellfield on Lilac Street, which has been determined to have minute traces of contamination. This has not be tied to the Northcorp project, but it was noted in the DER comment letter. Should this be found to be related to the project, RCA has agreed to remedy the condition. Mr. Smith stated another concern is irrigation, and methods are being studied to determine whether to irrigate out of the surface water or shallow wells. South Florida has indicated they want to reserve the right to request information regarding treatment of this issue. 13 Mr. Smith stated another major item with the sufficiency response is traffic. Treasure Coast has indicated the project is suffi- cient up to 1,300,000 sq. ft., but beyond that amount, further documentation would have to be provided to support the fact that the roadway system would work at the appropriate level of service. Mr. Pete McDonough, with Team Plan, addressed the Commission and presented calculations demonstrating that under the existing zoning, which allows office, industrial and some commercial use, approximately 2,600,000 sq. ft. would be allowed on the site. Mr. McDonough advised that this has been scaled down to 2,000,000 sq. ft. Mr. McDonough stated the reason for reducing the square footage to 2,000,000 is due to traffic concerns and also to reduce overall building height. Mr. McDonough presented concep- tual site plans for Parcels 9 and 12. Parcel 9 would be desig- • nated as "office ", consisting of 71,656 sq. ft. The building would consist of seven stories, at grade, and a 1 112 story park- ing garage would be provided. There would be no entranceways on Burns Road and buffering would be provided to help screen the parking garage. Parcel 12 would consist of a 7 story office building with partial parking underneath. There has been a proposal for a bank at this location and drive -up facilities are proposed on the eastern side. The 20,000 sq. ft. of commercial that is proposed would be at grade, and surrounding that would be a 1 112 story parking garage. The surface parking that is not used for commercial could backflow to the parking garage. The first floor of the parking garage would go down five feet and the second floor would go up five feet and would be used for the 14 overflow from the eight story office tower on the other side. Mr. Ornstein stated he believes that these parcels have been • discussed before and he does not recall seven and eight story buildings being proposed. Mr. McDonough stated setbacks for any office /commercial will be 25' minimum all the way around and 21 for every story in height, beyond three floors. Mr. Ornstein stated he has requested that the applicant submit site plans for what is proposed on each parcel, not conceptual plans. Mr. Rosen stated site specific plans have been requested many times. Mr. Smith stated he did not understand that the Commission was requesting a site plan for each parcel, only examples of what could occur on a site, which is being presented. • Mr. Lioce stated the problem is that he cannot determine, from LI the information presented, what the project will look like over- all. Mr. Ornstein stated he does not like the look of the parking garage on Parcel 12 as it is 200' - 300' of concrete, and sug- gested a roof with landscaping be provided. Mr. Rosen stated he feels the traffic concerns should be ad- dressed prior to discussing densities. Mr. McDonough presented parcel by parcel tabulations of the types of uses proposed /excluded, taken from Map H of the ADA. Mr. Ornstein asked for information as to what can be developed on Parcel 11. Mr. Smith stated staff has expressed concern with the 15 configuration of Parcel 11 and the City Engineer has stated there is a potential need for a 50' drainage easement on the inside of the Northcorp property line. There is an existing ditch and the FEC railroad tracks, but no easement. Mr. Smith stated Parcel 11 will be reviewed. Mr. Walton stated a Development Review Committee meeting was held with Mr. Smith and Mr. McDonough and at that time areas of staff concern were pointed out. Since then Mr. Bills has been out of town and has not had an opportunity to respond to these concerns. Mr. Smith stated an overall open space of 30% will be provided, 28% in each parcel as a minimum. The 2% discrepancy is due to the lake systems, which make up the balance of the 30 %. Mr. Rosen pointed out that 144,000 sq. ft. of retail is proposed, and yet 5% of 2,000,000 sq. ft. is 100,000. Mr. Smith stated the reason for the additional retail goes back to the original con- 49 cept of attempting to capture trips on site. Mr. Walton stated staff is concerned with seeing minimum amounts of green space, particularly with the 12 - 15 story buildings that are being proposed, and suggested establishing a percentage of green space required for each parcel. As it is currently proposed, it could all consist of drainage area. Ms. Mimi Howard, with Resource Engineering and Planning, ad- dressed the Commission presenting a map of the site. Ms. Howard stated the area has been surveyed and the results indicate that there are no threatened or endangered species. There is a good stand of Pine flatwoods, consisting of 9.8 acres. As requested by Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, 25% of the upland areas will be held for preserve. Other possibilities include 16 locating comparable land off -site, or establishing a land bank situation with monies being deposited. • Mr. Smith stated another option would be to restore habitat at fairly consolidated areas on the site. Ms. Howard stated that air quality modeling was done based on the latest traffic data and no problems were found with Phase I. However, Phase II began to show air quality exceedences. Mr. Don Donaldson, with Shalloway Engineering, addressed the Commission stating the site is in a drier elevation, being close to I -95, and in an area that traditionally has had good drainage. The conceptual drainage will come into the lake management system and then be discharged through an outfall into the adjacent canal next to Burns Road. Another option would be to discharge into the adjacent ditch along the FEC Railroad, however, the rights to that usage have not yet been obtained so at this time, the first • option is proposed. The water management system is designed so • that all the roads are above the 25 -year storm event and all building pad elevations will greater than the 100 -year storm event. Irrigation is proposed from either the proposed lake sys- tem or a series of wells. However, this will be determined at the time of permitting through South Florida Water Management District and a determination will be made as to whether or not any migration of contaminants has occurred. Mr. Rosen asked what would happen if there is migration. Mr. Donaldson responded stating there would be many small wells rather than one large well so the water will not flow more rapidly to that area. Mr. Joe Pollock addressed the Commission stating a report was 17 submitted to the City regarding a traffic analysis for Burns Road. Mr. Pollock discussed the proposed relocation of the east • entrance to the development, stating it would be moved further west to alleviate some of the congestion at the intersection of Ironwood Road and Burns Road. Mr. Pollock also discussed pro- posed five- laning of Burns Road, as addressed in the report and he stated there are three different possibilities for crossing Burns Road at the ballfields and recreation facility. The first possibility is to raise Burns Road and have a tunnel underneath. Another possibility is an overpass, and still another option is signalization at a crosswalk point. Mr. Martino, liaison for the Commission to the City Council, expressed concern regarding the expense and work involved in widening Burns Road at the I -95 overpass. Mr. Martino also expressed concern that there would be a safety problem for pedestrians and bicyclists in getting from • the east side of A -1 -A on Burns Road to the ballfields and recre- • ation facility. Mr. Martino stated he would like Mr. McDonough to interface with the Planning Department in regard to a bicycle network in that area and to Loahman's Plaza because this was an issue discussed at the City Council Comprehensive Plan Meeting. Mr. Rosen asked if all the costs associated with the improvements proposed for the Burns Road area will be paid by the developer. Mr. Smith responded stating he spoke to Mr. Orr about this issue and Mr. Smith would like to see a mechanism whereby a developer, such as Northcorp, could contribute its fair share contribution depending upon its degree of impact on the particular network. Mr. Martino expressed concern about the possible impact on Riverside Drive resulting from these changes. 18 Mr. Rosen asked Mr. Pollock if he has responded to the October 28, 1988 deficiency letter from Treasure Coast Regional Planning • Council. Mr. Pollock responded he has replied to those remarks. • Mr. Pollock continued stating the Planning Council said with minor cleanup on some items in the document, Phase I traffic, from their prospective is sufficient for their review. Mr. Walton verified that statement and added the Planning Council had problems going past that point. Mr. Walton stated the major problem with getting into Phase II was funding. Mr. Pollock summarized Phase I improvements listing turn -lane improvements at RCA Blvd. and A -1 -A, four - laning of RCA Blvd., three - laning of Burns Road from I -95 to A -1 -A and turn -lane improvements at this intersection, and improvements on Military Trail in this area. Chairman Vogel opened the public hearing. Mr. Martino voiced his concern over the height of the project stating his opinion was the buildings that have height should be against the I -95 corridor and then work themselves down. Chairman Vogel recessed the Public Hearing to the next Regular Planning & Zoning Meeting on March 14, 1989 at 7:30 P.M., and asked Mr. Smith if he could bring a conceptual drawing of the site indicating the location and the height of the multi -story buildings. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss the meeting was ad- journed at approx. 10:30 P.M. The next meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission will be held Tuesday, March 14, 1989. • • 20