HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 101702CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS,
CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
October 17, 2002
The October 17, 2002 Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Beach
Gardens, Florida, was called to order at 7:05 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal
Complex located at 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
ROLL CALL: The City Clerk called the roll and the following elected officials were found
to be in attendance: Mayor Jablin, Vice Mayor Sabatello, Councilmember Clark,
Councilmember Russo, and Councilmember Delgado.
ITEMS & REPORTS BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL:
Councilmember Russo reported he had received a call from former Councilmember Lauren
Furtado who recalled that at the time the matter of trees in the swales was originally
discussed, problems had been solved with French drains. Councilmember Russo referred
this matter to the City Manager. Councilmember Russo also asked when a report would be
received on the traffic performance meeting and suggested holding a traffic workshop.
Councilmember Russo indicated he favored settling the Vavrus case but that the individual
lawsuits against himself and former City Manager Herakovich must be dropped. Mayor
Jablin indicated he and others had met and were going to meet again with Mr. Vavrus and
Father Leo to try to work out this matter. Councilmember Russo reported he was being sued
personally because he had attended a meeting with Father Leo and subsequently fines to Mr.
Vavrus had been assessed. Discussion ensued. Councilmember Clark reported that at the
MPO meeting the traffic summit had been discussed, and Commissioner Aarenson, who had
been present, had indicated input should be obtained from the League of Cities on the
Corridor Plan before anything formal was done. Councilmember Clark recalled that the City
had adopted a resolution last year opposing the bullet train, and Commissioner Aarenson had
requested petitions opposing this issue be made available to the public. Councilmember
Clark announced that petitions were available at tonight's meeting. Mayor Jablin
commented that the traffic summit, hosted by the County Commission, had been held this
week, and requested t hat t he C ity M anager s chedule a w orkshop o n t his in atter. C ity
Manager Ferris responded that at the November 7 City Council meeting John Corbitt and
Trela White were on the agenda and they would be able to provide an update on traffic
matters. Mayor Jablin announced that a major piece of art would be installed in the lobby on
October 23.
CITY MANAGER REPORT:
The City Manager announced that LaRue Management would provide a presentation at the
November 7 Council meeting on the Charter Review/Referendum and the Charter Review
Committee status would be discussed. Consensus of the City Council was to hold a 5:30
p.m. workshop on this matter on another date to be determined by a poll of the City Council.
COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC:
Iris Lambert, 396 Lighthouse Drive, asked why there was a site plan review sign at the
ballpark on MacArthur Boulevard. Growth Management Director explained that was for a
future phase of the Banyan Tree Project. Mrs. Lambert asked for information on the traffic
count on Lighthouse Drive and Holly Drive. City Engineer Clark indicated the county held
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REGULAR MEETING, 10/17/02 2
traffic counts twice a year. Mrs. Lambert requested the results of that traffic count. Mrs.
Lambert asked for an update on traffic calming for Lighthouse Drive and MacArthur
Boulevard. Staff reported the matter was on hold until after discussion at the neighborhood
park charrette regarding what would be done with lands bordering MacArthur Boulevard;
and also that this matter had been turned over to the Blue Ribbon Committee. Mrs. Lambert
reported it had been over a year since this started and any help would be appreciated. The
meeting that had been held with the residents was discussed.
ADDITIONS, DELETIONS, MODIFICATIONS:
Mayor Jablin noted that Item G on the consent agenda, Resolution 173, 2002, had been
requested to be deleted. Councilmember Clark made a motion to delete Item G, Resolution
173, 2002 from the consent agenda. Motion was seconded by Councilmember Russo and
carried by unanimous 5 -0 vote.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Councilmember Clark made a motion to approve the consent agenda with the exception of
item (G). Councilmember Delgado seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous 5 -0
vote. The following items were approved:
a. Proclamation - Declaring November, 2002 as National Epilepsy Awareness
Month. Consideration of Declaring November, 2002 as National Epilepsy
Awareness Month.
b. Resolution 175, 2002 — FRDAP Grant Agreement for the District Park
Project. Consideration of approving the FRDAP Grant Agreement for the
District Park Project.
C. Resolution 172, 2002 — Award of Bid for the Lease of a New Fire Engine.
Consideration of approving the lease of one 2004 Fire Engine from Pierce
Fire Equipment, Inc.
d. Resolution 179, 2002 — Establishing a Contract price with Ranger
Construction for Pavement Resurfacing and Swale Restoration.
Consideration of approving the Contract price with Ranger Construction for
Pavement Resurfacing and Swale Restoration.
e. Resolution 181, 2002 — Award Bid for Fire Station Number Five to
O'Connor and Taylor Construction. Consideration of approving the Bid
Award for Fire Station Number Five to O'Connor and Taylor Construction.
f. Resolution 182, 2002 — Mirasol Way East entry gate feature. Providing for
the approval of modifications to the East entry gate feature within the Mirasol
PCD, located at the intersection of Jog Road and Mirasol Way.
h. Resolution 185, 2002 — Consider approval of a proposal from LBFH, related
to the roadway improvements project # 2002 -025. Consideration of
approving the proposal from LBFH, related to the roadway improvements
project # 2002 -025.
i. Resolution 187, 2002 — Approving the Frenchman's Reserve Plat "B" Plat.
Consideration of Approving the Frenchman's Reserve Plat `B" Plat.
j. Resolution 188, 2002 — Approving the Frenchman's Reserve Plat "G" Re-
Plat. Consideration of Approving the Frenchman's Reserve Plat "G" Re -Plat.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Ordinance 36.2002 —An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida, relating to roadway beautification; amending the City Code of Ordinances by
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REGULAR MEETING, 10/17/02 3
amending chapter 62, "Streets, Sidewalks, and certain other public places," To create a new
section 65 -215, "Landscaping and Maintenance in public road rights -of- way," And amending
chapter 78, "Land Development," Article V, "Supplementary District regulations," Division
7, "Landscaping," Section 78 -324, "Landscaping in public road right -of- way," And division
9, "Subdivisions," section 78 -488, "Frontage on improved streets," and section 78 -498,
"Road surfacing and Improvements," providing for codification; providing for conflicts;
providing for severability; and providing for an effective date — for consideration of second
reading. City Forester Mark Hendrickson indicated he was available for any questions.
Mayor Jablin declared the public hearing open, held on the intent of Ordinance 36, 2002.
Carol Estrada, Riverside Drive, reported she had read in the newspaper that oak trees had
been given to another city, and asked if those could not have been utilized somewhere in
Palm Beach Gardens. Mr. Hendrickson reported it had not been in the budget to save or
relocate some of the oaks along Burns Road so he had called Commissioner Marcus, who
had taken two for Lake Park. Mr. Hendrickson reported he was also working on the I -95
project, at the Northlake Boulevard and PGA Boulevard areas, where the trees and shrubs to
be relocated were so numerous that a deal had been worked out with the county and some of
the trees would go into county parks. Ms. Estrada requested in the future that trees be
utilized at other locations within the city. It was reported that the trees on Burns Road had
been originally provided by the county, and that trees were rescued whenever possible.
Sherry Woodside, President of Gardenia Gardens Neighborhood Association commented,
speaking on behalf of the neighborhood, regarding the Swale issue in that area. The concern
was the neighborhood had an issue on the work that would be done on the swales because
they would lose most of their oak trees, and asked that the city work with the neighborhood.
Iris Lambert, 396 Lighthouse Drive, noted that every palm tree in the swale area was
removed when the swale work was done on Riverside Drive and asked for them to be
reinstalled. Discussion ensued. Councilmember Russo recalled that the Council had
indicated they would provide trees for Riverside Drive when money became available.
Mayor Jablin noted that this area would be a high priority when money was provided by the
county for landscaping on Lighthouse Drive and MacArthur Boulevard. Hearing no further
comments from the public, Mayor Jablin declared the public hearing closed. Councilmember
Clark made a motion t o p lace O rdinance 3 6, 2 002, o n s econd r eading a nd t o approve
Ordinance 36, 2002. Councilmember Russo seconded the motion, which carried by
unanimous 5 -0 vote. The City Clerk read Ordinance 36, 2002 on second reading by title only.
Vice Mayor Sabatello requested further discussion regarding swales at the end of the
meeting.
Ordinance 28, 2002 — An ordinance of the city council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida, providing for an amendment of section 78 -157, "mixed use planned unit
development overlay district," of article iv "zoning districts," of chapter 78 "land
development," of the city code of ordinances by amending the definition of development;
providing for codification; providing for severability; providing for conflicts; and providing
for an effective date - for consideration of first reading. Growth Management Director
Charles Wu presented the housekeeping matter. Mayor Jablin declared the public hearing
open, held on the intent of Ordinance 28, 2002. Hearing no comments from the public,
Mayor Jablin declared the public hearing closed. Councilmember Clark made a motion to
place Ordinance 28, 2002, on first reading with the amendment to be placed in footnote 3.
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REGULAR MEETING, 10/17/02 4
Councilmember Russo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5 -0 vote. The City
Clerk read Ordinance 28, 2002 on first reading by title only.
ORDINANCES:
Ordinance 39, 2002 — An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida, providing for approval of an amendment to the Prosperity Center Planned Unit
Development, by approving a 9,600 square foot addition of retail space, 18 additional
parking spaces and a re- zoning of .665 acres from Palm Beach County RS -Low medium
residential to Palm Beach Gardens Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay with
underlying zoning of general commercial (CG -1), generally located at the southeast corner of
PGA boulevard and prosperity farms road as more particularly described in Exhibits "A" and
"B" attached hereto: providing for waivers; providing for conditions of approval; providing
for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date — for
consideration of first reading. Senior Planner Edward Tombari presented the project. Staff
recommended denial of the petition. Councilmember Russo objected to considering this
petition when the petitioner had not complied with restaurant use and parking limitations in
the past, and could still be out of compliance. Vice Mayor Sabatello recommended a right
turn lane on PGA Boulevard, looking at options to provide more parking, and not to discuss
this further until the applicant came into compliance. Mayor Jablin offered the petitioner the
option to withdraw instead of being denied. Hank Skokowski, agent for the petitioner,
apologized that he had not known the property was in violation, and requested 30 days to
come back with upgrades to the shopping center and to address the violation. Instead of a 30-
day period it was decided to bring this petition back when staff was ready. Councilmember
Russo advised the applicant that his biggest concern was parking near the Ocean Grill.
Councilmember Clark asked that followup be done on the gas station on the corner.
ITEMS FOR COUNCIL ACTION:
Valet Parking — Vice Mayor Sabatello requested valet parking be addressed when
considering projects, and expressed concern that so many valet parking areas were taking
parking spaces in existing centers. Staff was requested to look at this issue.
Swales — Vice Mayor Sabatello commented swales were an open drainage system and
there was not a lot of room to move the water, and the city must make a hard decision
whether to use costly French drains and save some trees or to clear the areas, and should
not lead people to believe trees could be replaced into swale areas. Vice Mayor Sabatello
stated that the drainage on Lighthouse Drive would not allow trees in the swales. Vice
Mayor Sabatello indicated a decision must be made whether to have standardized swales
or to decide street by street whether to install swales, and to establish a plan for
beautification, so that staff would have proper direction. Councilmember Clark noted it
would be good to identify where large trees were in the swales. Discussion ensued.
Consensus was that a policy that worked must be adopted. The City Manager noted that
anytime a tree could be saved it would be done, but if it compromised drainage then
drainage would be chosen over trees. The City Manager advised the city would work
with each individual resident.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:
Legal Services Analysis — Mayor Jablin reported that at the last meeting, staff had provided
a presentation related to the possibility of having an in -house attorney, and Attorney
Waterson had given his view of the situation. Councilmember Russo, who had been absent
at that meeting, requested looking at how to better manage legal bills whether or not counsel
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REGULAR MEETING, 10/17/02
was in- house. Councilmember Russo favored changing the charter so that the City Attorney
would report to the City Manager and that an RFP for in -house legal services be put out
before a decision was made. Discussion ensued. Consensus was that individual attorneys
should be considered as well as firms. Staff was directed to bring back at the next meeting an
estimate of how long would be needed for this process and explain whether the same process
used ten years ago would work now, which was having both individuals and firms present
proposals to provide in -house and out -of -house legal services.
Workshop Regarding Ordinance 37, 2002 — An ordinance of the City Council of the City of
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, providing for approval of an amendment to the Oakbrook
Square Shopping Center Planned Unit Development (PUD) by demolishing an existing
10,008 square -foot retail building, creating a new 35 -car parking pocket, adding a new 6,000
square -foot retail building alongside U.S. Highway One, and reducing the overall square
footage o f the s hopping c enter, l ocated at the northeast c orner o f P GA B oulevard and
Highway U.S. One, as more particularly described herein; providing for waivers; providing
for conditions of approval; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing
for an effective date. Planner Jackie Holloman advised that the Growth Management
Director on October 14 had granted approval administratively per City Council direction to
demolish an existing 10,008 square foot retail building and create a new 35 -car parking
pocket. It was noted that at that meeting Council had voted 3 -1 to place Ordinance 37, 2002
on first reading. City Council had requested that an update be provided by the applicant at
this meeting. Bruce Arthur spoke on behalf of the applicant and presented architectural
changes to the outparcel building. Direction from the City Council was to enhance the
outparcel building with architectural changes to address all four sides, which were to be
presented at the next City Council meeting.
Workshop Regarding City Enq gy Si rage — City Forester Mark Hendrickson presented
the gateway sign in front of Shoppes on the Green, and showed photographs of the locations
chosen by City Council for other gateway signs. Discussion ensued regarding using the
City seal in the gateway signage, setting design criteria, and how to obtain designs.
Consensus was to accept the City Manager's recommendation to have the staff's Spirit Team
put together a program regarding how to proceed and to bring that presentation back to the
City Council. Staff was requested to clean the current City signs.
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REGULAR MEETING, 10/17/02 6
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:55
p.m.
APPROVAL:
MAYOR JABLIX--'\
VICE MAYOI /SABATELLO
COUNCELM"ER/6LAf(K
1-111
ATTEST
PATRICIA .SNIDER_'
CITY CLETaCz