HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes P&Z 080602CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
August 6, 2002
MINUTES
The Special Meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida, was called to order by Chair Craig Kunkle at 6:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the
Municipal Complex, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Betty Laur, Secretary for the meeting, called the roll for the Planning and Zoning Commission and Local
Planning Agency:
Present
Craig Kunkle, Jr., Chairman
Vice Chairman Barry Present
Chairman Pro Tern John Glidden
Dick Ansay
Joel Charming
Dennis Solomon
Steven Tarr
Alternate Ernest Volonte
Alternate Douglas Pennell
Absent
Also present were Growth Management Director Charles Wu, Principal Planners Steve Cramer and Talal
Benothman, City Forester Mark Hendrickson, and City Attorney Len Rubin.
LOCAL PLANNING AGENCY
Workshop
Petition WA V-00-03: Comprehensive Plan Residential Waiver for The Borland Center
A request by Cotleur & Hearing, as agent for The Borland Center and RAM Development, to
waive the vertical integration of residential uses required by Policy 1.1.1.3 in the Future Land Use
Element in the City's Comprehensive Plan in order to allow for the development of a Non-
residential Mixed Use Planned Unit Development on 47.1 acres of land The site is located along
the north side of PGA Boulevard between Gardens Square Boulevard and Shady Lakes Drive.
Planning & Zoning Commission Special Meeting Minutes
August 6, 2002
Principal Planner Steve Cramer presented the petition. Mr. Tarr verified with Mr. Cramer that the
correct use of the property with no waivers was residential mixed; and that under that land use, from
a commercial standpoint the church and cultural center would not be allowed. Mr. Tarr commented
that the canal was used as a barrier under the required criteria; however, the intent was to have
existing buffers off -site. Mr. Ansay asked how the City had designated this property MXD. Mr.
Cramer explained that the City was looking to have the most intense uses at major intersections, and
the MXD zoning had been in place at least five years. Mr. Glidden questioned the major arterial
roadway, which Mr. Cramer verified was PGA Boulevard, that the easement on Shady Lakes Drive
would be considered residential abutting the project, and that on the south, the Commons was partly
residential. Mr. Pennell asked if the proposal to extend Shady Lakes Drive to 117`h Court would
happen if the cultural center were not approved, to which Mr. Cramer responded that the extension
was on the thoroughfare map of the comprehensive plan. Mr. Cramer verified that if vertical
integration was not granted the applicant could come back with no residential at all. Mr. Glidden
asked if the board could approve just the horizontal integration, which Mr. Cramer verified they
could not, and clarified that in a residential MXD they could not have the cultural use, and that the
applicant did not want to put residential on top of retail. Mr. Cramer clarified that there were
minimum requirements for office space. Mr. Tarr commented that there were two aspects of criteria
number 3 —that after meeting the 60 %, there must be greater horizontal integration of uses —which
he felt was a bigger issue than the 60 %; and that the issue for criteria 2 and 3 was if it was
compatible and provided vertical integration as an added benefit. Mr. Glidden asked if the Board
was to look at this as if there were no project. Mr. Cramer indicated this was a land use issue and
consideration should be whether it fit well with the existing uses. Mr. Channing referred to the
shared parking analysis for the master plan and asked if the correct uses were shown on the chart.
Mr. Cramer explained that the 76,000 s.£ of office use included both the cultural center and office.
Attorney for the applicant, Steve Cohen, commented that in the 1980's a much more intense project
was planned for this property and MXD land use had been in place since that time. Donaldson
Hearing, on behalf of the applicant, provided background on the project and explained that the MXD
designation was the most intense allowed in the City. Mr. Cramer clarified that lot coverage could
be 70% and land allocation in neighborhood commercial was 30 %. Mr. Hearing reviewed 4 criteria
required for a waiver, and justification of how the applicant complied with the first three; stated they
did not comply with number 4, and indicated the applicant would be willing to agree to a condition
for construction of a canal along the north boundary and to guarantee that the residential component
would be as proposed and would be a part of their plan. Mr. Tarr asked how much of the cultural
center building was used for theater, church, and cultural center. Hank Gonzales, President of The
Borland Center, explained that all facilities would have shared use with the church and community
and that offices would be the only exclusive use within the overall complex. Mr. Gonzales
explained that The Borland Center would have a joint use agreement with the church and would be
guaranteed an amount of use each year for events for the public. Bourland would program uses for
the community, mainly for Palm Beach Gardens and Northern Palm Beach County. Mr. Tarr pointed
out that the applicant was adding their own barrier, to which Mr. Hearing responded the applicant
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August 6, 2002
believed that met the criteria. Mr. Tarr noted the applicant had eliminated pedestrian access and had
not reduced the vehicular traffic by creating this wide barrier, which Mr. Hearing indicated would be
addressed in the site plan. Mr. Tarr did not agree with the applicant creating their own way to meet
the criteria and commented that the issue was the intensity, in particular the 3,000 -seat theater. Mr.
Tarr indicated that meeting two criteria did not mean the waiver would be granted but only allowed
consideration of approval for the waiver, and commented that for the compatible issue the overall
number of trips should be reduced. Mr. Ansay asked what would be on the tax rolls, to which the
response was the Borland Center was a non - profit organization; however the commercial and
residential components would add several million dollars to the tax rolls. Mr. Hearing clarified that
the Palm Beach Community Church and the Borland Center would own the land. Mr. Solomon
expressed concern regarding the canal on the north side because the criteria for the waiver seemed to
indicate it could not be met by improvements on the site itself, and criteria 3 needed more
discussion. Mr. Solomon commented he had a lot of problems with whether the criteria had been
met. Mr. Glidden asked the audience not to clap. Mr. Glidden commented the real issue went back
to the cultural use and how it would impact surrounding areas, which would be addressed later in the
site plan. Mr. Glidden advised the applicant that the taxable and non - taxable portions of the project
must be delineated. Mr. Glidden commented this building would be used partly for church and
partly for public performances, and asked which was non - profit. Mr. Glidden indicated that
regarding the barrier not being off -site, in the end the site was surrounded so to him the criteria was
met. Mr. Pennell commented that in order to get the cultural center the applicant must get the waiver
but he believed traffic would be a problem when vehicles left an event. Mr. Kunkle asked if the lake
as proposed met the surface water management criteria, to which the response was yes. Mr. Hearing
explained that this property fell within Units 2 and 2A of the drainage district so they had to meet
strict standards. Mr. Channing asked if the waiver were approved what assurance the City had that it
would all get built, to which Mr. Hearing responded the second phase was the cultural center, and the
intent was to build everything else in phase one. Mr. Kunkle requested some guidance from staff.
Mr. Cramer stated that a staff recommendation would be given at the next meeting, which could be
either a workshop or a public hearing.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION
Workshop
Petition PUD- 01 -13: Rezoning and Master Plan Approval for The Borland Center
A request by Cotleur & Hearing, as agent for The Borland Center and RAM Development, for a
property rezoning from Planned Development Area (PDA) to Mixed Use Planned Unit
Development (MXD./PUD) to allow for the development of 218,500 square feet for a cultural
center and church offices; 85,500 square feet for retail space; 12,000 square feet for restaurant
space, 9,300 square feet for office space; and 217 apartments on 47.1 acres of land The site is
located along the north side of PGA Boulevard between Gardens Square Boulevard and Shady
Lakes Drive.
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August 6, 2002
Principal Planner Steve Cramer presented the project. Mr. Tarr asked if there was anything in the
City west of Military Trail that was higher than two stories, and Mr. Cramer responded, only office
buildings. Mr., Cramer verified for Mr. Ansay that the parking garage was proposed to have two
levels. Mr. Present spoke about the traffic operations plan, and that the City's thoroughfare plan was
to extend Shady Lakes Drive to 117th Court. Staff's opinion was the comprehensive plan envisioned
that collector road to relieve traffic. Mr. Present indicated he did not see how traffic could work
without a traffic light. Mr. Cramer advised the county would not grant a light without enough traffic
to warrant a light. The applicant proposed policemen to direct traffic. Mr. Cramer reviewed the
roadway and who owned which portions, and explained that road impact fees could be paid by this
project for the roadway extension. Discussion of traffic lights and warrants ensued. Mr. Pennell
asked if the study done by the City's traffic engineer was still valid, to which Mr. Cramer responded
it was being worked on to convert those trips to the current plan. Mr. Glidden commented that the
developer had had to get a concurrency certificate from the county and asked if that certificate
addressed the issue of peak/off -peak hours. Mr. Cramer indicated the test was peak -hour trips and
that special event trips for this project did not fall into peak hours. Mr. Tarr requested for the next
meeting the differences be shown between traffic trips with the property zoned as residential MXD
versus the current plan, and that by providing a best guess it would be helpful for everyone. Mr.
Solomon questioned the build -out date of December 31, 2003, to which the response was that the
period had been 5 years but it had taken approximately three years to get to this point, and the
applicant might need a time extension. Attorney Steve Cohen noted the applicant had met and
continued to meet with residents and community associations; that they felt it more appropriate to
apply for non - residential MXD and would continue to work with staff on that. Dr. Ray Underwood,
Senior Pastor, Palm Beach Community Church, explained that the church wanted to build something
to share with the City and to meet the City's vision to have gathering places and linkages within the
City. Dr. Underwood provided a history or their plan and advised they had followed suggestions
from City staff and City Councilmembers. They had moved the lake to the back of the property
because residents had requested that location, and it would raise property values in Garden Lakes. A
planned road had been removed as well as other changes made in an effort to do what the residents
asked and to be a good neighbor. Dr, Underwood explained the applicant had tried hard to please all
the neighbors but had not been successful, and the church was ready to build since they had been in
rented facilities for 17 years. Dr. Underwood explained the church would own their property, RAM
would own their property, and Borland would manage the facility and open it to the community.
Hank Gonzales, who had been project manager for the Kravis Center, explained that the Borland
Center would handle the events for community enrichment to as broad an audience as could be
reached. Mr. Gonzales explained that the Red Cross had been contacted about using this facility as a
disaster center, and other proposed programs included joint school programs such as graduations,
ethical training, and arts and culture. Mr. Gonzales compared the proposed cultural building to the
Kravis Center. This facility would have 218,500 square feet; Kravis had 230,000 square feet. This
center would not be acoustical and the Kravis Center was acoustical for operas. Mr. Gonzales
explained that the Kravis Center had been the driver for the downtown - uptown plan and
development of City Place, and gave examples of how these types of facilities had revitalized other
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August 6, 2002
areas. Mr. Gonzales commented this facility would do a lot for the City, that culture attracts
businesses and people, and expressed his belief that this project was a once -in -a- lifetime opportunity
for the City . The project team was introduced. Donaldson Hearing reviewed the site plan, including
location, building placement, architecture, and elevations. Architect Mike Nelson described the
proposed theater. Mr. Hearing described their response to community input and the significant
changes they had made to their plans as a result of meetings with residents. Mr. Hearing described
the density and intensity of the project, and discussed traffic peak hours and requested waivers. Mr.
Hearing summarized the outstanding issues, including a summary of the coalition issues, and
requested City staff decide if the project was consistent with the comprehensive plan and the LDR's.
Kahart Pinder addressed traffic issues and advised that a plan had been submitted to the City and that
the applicant had worked with the Police Department. Mr. Pinder noted that projections indicated
traffic would meet the warrant, but DOT would not construct it until the warrant was actually met.
Peak times for traffic for this project would be outside peak times of traffic on the roadway on PGA
Boulevard. Mr. Pinder advised that worst case scenarios had been considered. Mr. Pinder indicated
that 287 events had been considered -161 performances during the year and 104 religious services.
156 events were anticipated to be held in the small hall and a number of those would be concurrent.
Traffic at events such as school graduations could be controlled by issuing parking passes. Other
traffic impacts were discussed. This project had been granted traffic concurrency from both the City
and the County. Casey Cummings, President of RAM Development Company, commented the tax
assessment would be approximately $50 million, which did not count sales tax and jobs that would
be generated. Mr. Cummings expressed a desire to work with everyone to satisfy as many people as
possible and called for action in order to meet their deadline.
Chair Kunkle commented what needed to be conveyed was the level of impact on what was there
today; he did not think enough information had been presented; and believed that more time needed
to be spent on traffic graphics. Chair Kunkle requested the applicant map out a typical month of
performances, church services, etc., to get a better picture of what would happen and to see if this
would congest traffic to the point of gridlock, which was his concern. Mr. Tarr commented he did
not see a plan for leaving events, to which Mr. Pinder responded by pointing out routes on a graphic.
Mr. Tarr requested in the next workshop package that a map be included showing how traffic would
come out and go in for a specific event. Mr. Tarr commented he believed everyone agreed this
would benefit the City but the whole issue here was the size of the 3,000 seat theatre; that he did not
want a Kravis Center here; and that Palm Beach Gardens was not an urban center. Mr. Tarr
commented that the benefit was regional, not just primarily for Palm Beach Gardens, and he would
like to see a smaller church. Hank Gonzales discussed the sizing of the theater. Dr. Underwood
explained that the church had done two economic feasibility studies, and both indicated the theatre
should be a minimum of 3,000 seats in order to attract a certain level of events. Chair Kunkle
commented the next workshop would focus primarily on traffic. Mr. Tarr commented this project
would bring in regional people, not just City residents, and recommended a scaled down version.
Mr. Tarr asked staff if this project would comply even if it was residential MXD, and asked staff to
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provide an opinion on this. Mr. Tarr advised the applicant he did not consider things they had done
to please the residents to be concessions since the project was never approved; that he considered the
project a Kravis Center, that he would like the main street and landscaping reinstated, that he did not
like the 4 -story residential height; and that he considered the architecture very institutional looking
and wanted to see 3 -D color drawings. Mr. Tarr commented this was a compatibility issue and asked
if it was compatible to put a Kravis Center so close to residents. Mr. Ansay questioned how this
facility would be different from the acoustically correct Kravis Center, to which the response was
that microphones would have to be used. It was clarified that The Bourland Center was not religious
based, that Palm Beach Community Church was religions based, and a set of by -laws and
programming values would be written. Mr. Present commented he did not expect buildout by
December 2003 but would rather the project be done right and the completion date pushed back. Mr.
Present indicated one meeting was not enough; if the cultural center was removed then the road still
needed to be extended to 117`h; that focus at the next meeting should be on traffic; that he wanted to
see how traffic would impact Military Trail and Garden Lakes, and would like to hear more about a
future traffic light. Mr. Present commented this was not a DRI and would not have the regional
impact of a DRI. Mr. Solomon commented the presentation had been very impressive and he
thought there was enough land, but if the Bourland Center was there without the rest of the retail and
residential he thought it would be fine Mr. Solomon noted not everyone would be pleased, that this
was an important site for the City and a potential opportunity for the City. Mr. Solomon indicated he
was not overly concerned about the waiver of vertical integration; that he understood projects must
be a certain size to be financially viable; and there might be too many buildings on this plan. Mr.
Solomon suggested placing a smaller water body in the front and adding another floor to the parking
garage, and indicated 9' parking could be acceptable. Foundation planting was desired to soften the
hardscape, but he would wait for the street scenes. Mr. Solomon agreed with eliminating wheel
stops but did not favor grassed parking. Mr. Solomon discussed height limitations west on Military
Trail. Mr. Solomon expressed his opinion that traffic ingress and egress were the most important
thing that would affect nearby residents, commented Shady Lakes Drive should be widened, that
Gardens Boulevard looked like an alleyway and should be changed, and deceleration lanes should be
added. Mr. Channing asked where parking for residential was located, to which Mr. Hearing
responded and explained that the residential was rental built to condo standards. Mr. Channing
asked that it be demonstrated that traffic worked satisfactorily and properly, and stated that was very
important. Mr. Channing commented that only one main street was not enough to handle traffic and
he was interested in seeing line -of -sight studies looking east or west from the theater. Mr. Channing
requested plans for buildings in the next package. Mr. Channing noted the other important thing was
that the PGA Corridor Overlay be followed, and commented the public realm was almost non-
existent. Mr. Channing did not like the residential architecture but did like the theater design. Mr.
Channing compared this project with the La -Z -Boy project on PGA Boulevard. Mr. Channing
commented if those things plus traffic could be worked out then this would be a great asset to the
City, and financial concerns were not of concern to this Commission but traffic was their concern.
Mr. Glidden commented you could not please everyone. Mr. Glidden agreed that traffic was the
foremost issue, and he agreed with Mr. Channing that the architecture had lacking areas. Mr.
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August 6, 2002
Glidden noted FAR would allow .4 and the code needed to be changed to 2.5 if the Commission
thought it was too intense. Mr. Glidden asked that the applicant demonstrate a traffic light at Shady
Lakes and also traffic control, and suggested deleting one turn to Shady Lakes and making the other
wider. Mr. Glidden suggested opening the north road at peak hours to let people get out; and noted
there were public spaces but the applicant had not followed the PGA Corridor Overlay. Mr. Glidden
suggested adding 1 or 2 levels to the parking garage, stated he agreed with grass parking and
suggested it be tried to see if it worked and, if not, then it could be paved. Mr. Glidden requested 3-
D sketches of a number of the buildings, and roof plans on the commercial buildings. Mr. Glidden
indicated he thought this was a mixed use project and he would like to approve the vertical
integration waiver by adding a requirement that there be a certain amount of residential in the project
and also requiring the lake. Mr. Glidden agreed with structures in the 55' buffer, agreed with no
wheel stops, discussed foundation landscaping, agreed with changing the buildout date, and
suggested that parking spaces per building be addressed at the next meeting. Mr. Glidden
commented that traffic management and architecture were big issues. Mr. Channing also agreed
with changing the buildout date.
Mr. Gary Fields, PGA Corridor Residents Coalition commented this would be a regional center, not
just for the City, and disagreed with a panel setting artificial community standards as to who could
perform. Mr. Fields introduced Dr. Richard Orman and Bulent Kastarlak, speakers on behalf of the
PGA Corridor Residents Coalition. Dr. Richard Orman indicated residents were very concerned
about this project and felt the project was inconsistent with the comprehensive plan. Dr. Orman
advised the Commission they needed to make a decision on the 4 criteria to let the applicant know
whether they could proceed. Dr. Orman commented that the project was not compatible with the
character of the surrounding areas which had single family residences, and not consistent with the
LDR's or the PGA Corridor Overlay District land use criteria. Dr. Orman commented it was the
Commission's fiduciary responsibility to the residents to find these issues were the reality. Dr.
Orman indicated the coalition handout had provided definitions of terms such as compatibility, hours
of operation, contiguous, intent of mixed use development, sensitive to surrounding land use, etc.
Dr. Orman indicated the coalition thought it was protected by the comprehensive plan, that four
communities had legal standing, and all had gone on record with City staff that they objected to this
project. Regarding the waiver for land use, Dr. Orman commented this was not a permitted land use
and had no business being on this site; that this was not a community- serving facility but a regional
facility, and if it became a strictly religious facility for only Christian performances it would be the
largest in the nation. Mr. Kastarlak commented he and the coalition had no quarrel with the intent of
Dr. Underwood's proposal and felt the country needed a multi - cultural, multi -faith understanding
and this could be one of the facilities to undertake this. Mr. Kastarlak commented it appeared
several code terms had been misinterpreted, such as infill. Mr. Kastarlak indicated similar uses
placed together worked well. Mr. Kastarlak indicated it was the Commission's duty to make this
work, and suggested the cultural center could be placed elsewhere and it was the Commission's duty
to be proactive and find where it should go. Mr. Kastarlak expressed his opinion that the waiver
issue must be decided first and the decision made whether this was residential or non - residential.
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Mr. Kastarlak noted site planning issues were not the main focus until that decision was made in
order not to waste time and money. Mr. Kastarlak noted several things must be worked out
including traffic ingress and egress, and the theater was to be 3,000 seats when the traffic study only
covered 2,500 seats. Several things, therefore, had the wrong conclusions. Mr. Kastarlak indicated
that such a cultural center should be encouraged somewhere else in the community, and the land use
and determination of residential or non - residential mixed use must be made first. Dr. Orman pointed
out the 4 conditions that must be met in order to grant a waiver and the coalition's interpretations.
Dr. Orman asked the Board to give the applicant direction about whether this was a go or not, and
advised he felt a public hearing should be held on that issue and then go to City Council, and only if
the City Council agreed there should be a huge performing arts facility on this site only then should
the site plan be presented to this Commission.
Mr. Tarr commented his comments paralleled the coalition but he had never met or talked to anyone
from the coalition. Mr. Present expressed appreciation for everyone's input on this and other
projects. Mr. Glidden commented the Commission needed to focus on the waiver and asked for
help from staff. Mr. Wu indicated the waiver issue would be decided at City Council level. Chair
Kunkle noted it was the applicant's decision to proceed simultaneously.
A letter submitted at the meeting by residents Ken Kaneski and Claire Holmes, 11232 Thyme Drive,
has been attached to and made a part of these minutes.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business to come before the Commission.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business to come before the Commission.
Planning & Zoning Commission Special Meeting Minutes
August 6, 2002
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 p.m. The next regular meeting will
be held August 13, 2002.
APPROVED:
Craig Kunkle, Jr., Chair
Steven Tarr
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