06-07-05 Item 1bis
1 City of South Miami
2 Regular City Commission Minutes
3 May 3, 2005
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CALL TO ORDER:
The City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida met
in regular session on Tuesday, May 3, 2005, beginning at 7:02
p.m., in the City Commission Chambers, 6130 Sunset Drive.
A. Roll Call:
The following members of the City Commission were present:
Mayor Mary Scott Russell, Vice Mayor Velma Palmer, and,
Commissioners Marie Birts- Cooper, Randy G. Wiscombe and Craig Z.
Sherar.
Also in attendance were: City Attorney Luis Figueredo, City
Manager Maria V. Davis and Deputy Clerk Nikki Payne.
B. Invocation: The invocation was delivered by Commissioner
Birts- Cooper.
C. Pledge of Allegiance:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
At this time Ms. Davis requested that item no. 11 on the
Agenda relating to ad valorem tax exemptions for improvements to
historic properties be pulled. This was per Commissioner
Wiscombe's request to allow staff to do further research on this
matter.
D. Presentation (s)
a) City Attorney to speak on Decorum in accordance with
Robert's Rules of Order.
At this time Mr. Figueredo addressed the Commission
regarding parliamentary procedure and decorum in general.
ITEMS (S) FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION:
1. Minutes of March 10, 2005
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1 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioner
2 Sherar, the motion to approve the Minutes of March 10, 2005
3 passed by a 5 -0 vote:
4
5 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
6 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
7 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
8 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
9 Mayor Russell: Yea
10
11 2. Minutes of March 28, 2005
12
13 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
14 Wiscombe, the motion to approve the Minutes of March 28, 2005
15 passed by a 5 -0 vote:
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17 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
18 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
19 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
20 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
21 Mayor Russell: Yea
22
23 At this time, Mayor Russell announced for those arriving
24 after the meeting had started that the item on the agenda
25 pertaining to the ad valorem tax exemptions for improvements to
26 historic properties has been pulled to be heard at a future
27 meeting.
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29 3. City Manager's Report:
30
31 Ms. Davis said that she was very pleased to announce that
32 the County Commission had approved today a 15 -year extension of
33 the CRA with the provision that we come up with a bond plan
34 within two years. She then introduced and welcomed a new member
35 of staff, Joanna Revelo who will be our grant writer.
36
37 Vice Mayor Palmer referred to the EAR process and suggested
38 that conducting a survey in the City might be helpful in getting
39 input from the residents and what they want. She said that most
40 of the people are not able to come to the meetings and that a
41 survey would be helpful.
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43 Mayor Russell said that she has forwarded some emails with
44 various requests regarding that matter to Mr. O'Donniley. Staff
45 is going out and meeting with people in order to get feed back.
46 She suggested to Vice Mayor Palmer that she might want to put
47 together a group of people that have expressed an interest on
48 this regard so that staff may meet with them at some point. She
49 added that any resident can go to our website and make additional
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1 comments there; these will be monitored and responded to and will
2 be brought back to the Commission for further discussion.
3
4 Mr. O'Donniley said that they have met with the EAR
5 consultants and one of the things that they will be bringing in
6 their packet for public input is a written comment form which
7 will be available for anybody after that point for making
8 comments, not just at that meeting; therefore, there will be a
9 continuous feedback from that point forward. This will also be
10 available at the City's website. He said that staff has looked at
11 the past survey and some of the questions, as well as some of the
12 circumstances, have changed; therefore, some of those questions
13 may not be quite as relevant. Also, the last survey had a very
14 heavily related response from one geographic area; it did not
15 really show a representative sample across the community.
16 Therefore, he continued, if we are going to do surveying again
17 this time, we think that we need to make sure we have a
18 professionally designed survey so that we know that the feedback
19 that we are getting is representative and not just from one small
20 area.
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22 At this time, Ms. Davis asked Mr. O'Donniley to explain
23 briefly what the EAR process entails.
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25 Mr. O'Donniley explained that as prescribed by the Growth
26 Management Act, every seven years each jurisdiction is called
27 upon to re- evaluate its plan and determine whether they met their
28 goals and objectives, identify which ones are still relevant, or
29 add new goals and objectives. We are currently in that process
30 which is called Evaluation Appraisal Report (EAR) . A number of
31 input sessions will be done, working with our boards and with the
32 City Commission, and we are having an upcoming meeting with the
33 public which is designed for that purpose.
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35 Ms. Davis said that we fully intended to do a survey; that
36 was part of our process.
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38 Commissioner Sherar asked at this time whether the buildings
39 being built across the street comply with the Land Development
40 Code; specifically referring to the fifth floor and whether it is
41 supposed to be setback.
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43 Mr. O'Donniley said that staff will be researching that
44 matter and will be providing the Commissioner with a written
45 answer.
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47 Commissioner Sherar then asked a question regarding the
48 status on the construction of the pool (Community Center).
49
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1 Ms. Davis said that she has not received affirmation from
2 the Commission to not try to get grant money for the pool. The
3 original request was to do a study and to proceed, and that they
4 have tried to get legislative dollars last year, as well as this
5 year. Therefore, if it is the policy of this Commission that you
6 do not want to receive grant dollars for a pool, I just need to
7 be told that, she added.
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9 Commissioner Sherar then said that they need to draw up a
10 resolution on it.
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12 Ms. Davis then asked whether he wants a resolution directing
13 the City Manager to discontinue seeking grant funds for a pool.
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15 Mr. Figueredo said that there is no need for a resolution;
16 that it may be done by motion, because at this junction all the
17 Commission is doing is directing the City Manager to. either
18 pursue seeking funds or not.
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20 Commissioner Sherar then said that since he thinks that the
21 pool is a big issue in the community, rather than just make a
22 decision at this point, he said to go ahead a do a resolution,
23 send it to him to take a look at it, give public notice and we
24 will hear from anyone that wants to come and talk about it. He
25 then referred to the issue of whether or not we can control our
26 streets. He said that he talked to Luis about it and that he
27 wants to look at it some more. He said that this is another issue
28 that he thinks that should be brought up as a resolution for the
29 Commission to decide whether we want to work with the County over
30 the control of our streets.
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32 Mr. Figueredo recommended permitting him an opportunity to
33 analyze the applicable law so that he can assess any potential
34 liability before they bring up a resolution on the control of the
35 streets.
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37 With no further comments, the City Manager's Report
38 concluded.
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40 3. City Attorney's Report
41 (NONE)
NVA
43 PUBLIC REMARKS
44 (5- minute limit)
45
46 Susan Redding presented the Commission with a Community
47 Service Award as part of the final event of "Dade Heritage Days"
48 for the efforts of the Historic Preservation Board in obtaining a
49 Historic Designation for the Cambridge Lawns district. Ms.
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1 Redding is the Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Board.
2 She recognized the Planning and Zoning staff for their hard work
3 and contribution to the award.
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5 Cal Rosenbaum said that Susan Redding has been around for a
6 long time doing good things for the City. He then referred to the
7 issue of the swimming pool saying that even if money comes for
8 the construction there is no guarantee that there will be money
9 for future maintenance... inaudible...
10
11 David Tucker Sr. addressed the Commission regarding the item
12 on the agenda relating to the "assault weapons ban." He said that
13 we must know what the eventuality of such recommendation turns
14 out to be.
15
16 Yvonne Beckman thanked Vice Mayor Palmer for asking that a
17 survey be sent out on the EAR process. She then said that
18 sometimes she reacts to certain actions taken by the Commission.
19 but that she does not consider that misbehaving, it is rather a
20 reaction as the result of frustration... inaudible...
21
22 Dick Ward said that when he came here in 1961 Susan Redding
23 had already been here a while, so she is indeed a historic
24 person. He said that the Community Center is being kept very
25 clean and orderly. He said that the only thing that is
26 unattractive there is a few holes on the upstairs wall that have
27 been patched by staff but still needs to be painted.
28
29 Jackie Alvarez - Gautney thanked the Commissioners for their
30 help for dealing with the commercial RV which was finally removed
31 from the property last Monday. She then continued to appeal to
32 the Commission for an RV code.
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34 Carl Boccuti also addressed the issue of commercial vehicles
35 asking for clarification as to how the City handles these
36 violations.
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38 Joanne Bachford said she is a neighbor of Jackie Alvarez -
39 Gautney and that she supports her efforts regarding the request
40 for an RV code.
41
42 Ms. Davis clarified at this time that staff is working on a
43 resolution to adopt the County code as directed by the Commission
44 at a previous meeting, and that is coming to this Commission very
45 shortly.
46
47 Walter Harris again reminded everyone about the upcoming
48 community come together picnic. He then said that there are too
49 many things happening lately in terms of development and urged
50 the Commission to be on the alert.
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1
2 Jay Beckman said that it is very important to have trust in
3 the City administration. About the "assault weapons ban" he said
4 that it is bad legislation and that he does not think that the
5 City should be involved in it. About the EAR process issue he
6 said that the SMHOA is preparing some suggestions with regard to
7 streetscape.
8
9 Sharon McCain referred to "Decorum" saying that it works
10 both ways and that the public should not be treated as if they
11 were school children. She referred to the advertised position for
12 a planner. She then said that she has a real problem with the
13 appointees to the Affordable Housing Committee... inaudible...
14
15 Cathy McCann thanked the Commission for deciding to have the
16 survey for the Comprehensive Plan. She then referred to the
17 affordable issue, urging the Commission to pass a resolution
18 tonight and emailing it to Gov. Bush asking him to veto any
19 legislation that would allow the representatives to take money
20 from the affordable housing fund and use it some place else.
21
22 John Edward Smith addressed the Commission regarding the
23 bike path issue... inaudible...
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25 With no more speakers the public remarks section was closed.
26
27 Mayor Russell asked Ms. Davis to address some of the
28 comments made by the speakers.
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30 Ms. Davis said that the position for a junior planner has
31 been budgeted for the CPA and it is to assist the planner and for
32 administering the CRA.
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34 About the appointments for the Affordable Housing Committee,
35 Mayor Russell said that she is taking recommendations from
36 everywhere. There are a couple of more people that have expressed
37 an interest and who are very well qualified. She said that she is
38 taking direction from the Vice Mayor because this is her
39 ordinance. She said that we will be having this Committee up and
40 running pronto. She said that we are doing all that we can to
41 have qualified people on board.
42
43 Vice Mayor Palmer said that what they had agreed on was that
44 each Commissioner would make a recommendation.
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46 Commissioner Wiscombe said that he has recommended Yvonne
47 because she feels so passionate about serving.
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At this point Commissioner Wiscombe pulled items no. 5 and 7
(now nos. 7 & 9). Commissioner Sherar pulled item no. 6 (now no.
8)
CONSENT
55 -05 -12034
4. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, DECLARING SUPPORT FOR
THE CITY, COUNTY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAW SECTION OF
THE FLORIDA BAR IN PROCLAIMING MAY AS CIVILITY MONTH;
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(Mayor Russell)
56 -05 -12035
5. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA IN RESPONSE TO PETITION
OF ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNERS SCHEDULING A PUBLIC
HEARING ON TUESDAY JUNE 7, 2005 AT 7:30 PM ON THE
VACATION AND ABANDONMENT OF AN UNIMPROVED RIGHT -OF -WAY
PORTION OF SW 60 AVENUE LOCATED BETWEEN SW 79 STREET
AND SW 80 STREET; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(City Manager)
6. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, SCHEDULING A PUBLIC
HEARING ON TUESDAY JUNE 7, 2005 AT 7:30 PM ON THE
VACATION AND ABANDONMENT OF THE UNIMPROVED RIGHT -OF-
WAY PORTION OF SW 50 STREET LOCATED WEST OF SW 63RD
AVENUE; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(Commissioner Sherar)
Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioner
Sherar, the motion to approve the Consent Agenda passed by a 5 -0
vote.
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION
MINUTES - May 3, 2005
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar: Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
7
1 RESOLUTION(S)
2
3 7. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
4 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO BOARDS AND
5 COMMITTEES; APPOINTING RALPH ROSADO AND ALFONSO J.
6 PEREZ TO SERVE ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY
7 COMMITTEE FOR A TERM OF ONE YEAR, ENDING MAY 2, 2006;
8 AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
9 (Mayor Russell)
10
11 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
12 Wiscombe to approve this item.
13
14 Commissioner Wiscombe said that he pulled this item from the
15 Consent Agenda in the spirit of the previous conversation on this
16 issue so that they can defer this. He also said that he would
17 like to have these appointments made by individual resolutions
18 and Commissioner Sherar concurred with Commissioner Wiscombe on
19 that.
20
21 About Ralph Rosado, Mayor Russell said that he has extensive
22 knowledge of the City; he wrote the draft that went to the County
23 on inclusionary zoning; he is extremely bright and it would be
24 nice to have him back in the City.
25
26 About Alfonso Perez, Commissioner Sherar said that banks
27 have CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) requirements, he is
28 connected federally, and those are the programs that we need to
29 get involved with. He will represent a great asset, the
30 Commissioner added. He also said that he agrees that Yvonne
31 should be on this board.
32
33 Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that at this point we really
34 need to have people on the Committee that have the resources and
35 that she does not see anything wrong with these two names. She
36 then said that she thought that they talked about putting Yvonne
37 on the Board. Mayor Russell said that Yvonne has not expressed an
38 interest to her on affordable housing but at such time if she
39 does, she will be happy to bring it forward.
40
41 Vice Mayor Palmer said that what she would like is to defer
42 this item to allow each Commission member to bring one
43 recommendation. Commissioner Wiscombe said that he has
44 recommended Yvonne.
45
46 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Vice Mayor
47 Palmer, the motion to defer this item to the next scheduled
48 meeting passed by a 3 -2 vote.
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1
2 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
3 Commissioner Sherar: Nay
4 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
5 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
6 Mayor Russell: Nay
7
8
9 58 -05 -12037
10 8. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
11 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, JOINING THE DADE COUNTY
12 ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE TO SUPPORT THE
13 ADOPTION BY CONGRESS OF AN EFFECTIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE
14 ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
15 3/5
16 (Mayor Russell)
17
18 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Vice Mayor
19 Palmer to approve this item.
20
21 Commissioner Sherar said that the ownership of citizens
22 having guns is to protect the abuses of government, and he
23 mentioned a few historic examples to illustrate his point. He
24 said that we do a disservice to the people that have been
25 murdered through the last hundred years by the government of this
26 Country, because they have been unarmed, by passing something
27 like this.
28
29 Mayor Russell referred to an article from the December 2004
30 issue of Quality Cities with an opposite point of view from that
31 of Commissioner Sherar's. She then said that this is only a
32 resolution of support asking Congress to look at this again and
33 adopt an effective and comprehensive assault weapons ban.
34
35 Commissioner Wiscombe said that he was here when they did
36 the gun law and he still agrees with that. He said that his
37 position is well known in the community and that assault weapons
38 are made just for one thing, assaulting.
39
40 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
41 approve this item passed by a 4 -1 vote.
42
43 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
44 Commissioner Sherar: Nay
45 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
46 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
47 Mayor Russell: Yea
48
49
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59 -05 -12038
9. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA APPROVING A CONTRACT FOR
LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY CITY ATTORNEY AND LAW FIRM;
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(City Manager)
Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioner Sherar
to approve this item.
Commissioner Wiscombe said that the only reason for which he
pulled this item is to clarify in the event that there is a
decision to end the contract, how is it performed.
Mayor Russell said that our Charter allows for a termination
at will. Ms. Davis said that this is correct.
With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
approve this item passed by a 5 -0 vote.
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar : Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts - Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
ORDINANCE (S) SECOND READING
PUBLIC HEARING (S)
(NONE)
RESOLUTION (S) /PUBLIC HEARING (S)
10. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, RELATING TO A REQUEST PURSUANT TO
SECTION 20-3.4(B) (4) (b) OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE
FOR A SPECIAL USE APPROVAL TO LOCATE TWO GENERAL
RESTAURANTS IN THE "SR (HD -OV)" SPECIALTY RETAIL
HOMETOWN DISTRICT OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT SPECIFICALLY
LOCATED AT 7301 SW 57' COURT; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE. 4/5
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION
MINUTES - May 3, 2005
(City Manager)
10
1 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Vice Mayor
2 Palmer to approve this item.
3
4 Mr. O'Donniley presented the request. This is a request for
5 a special use approval to locate two restaurants on the ground
6 floor at the above - referenced location.
7
8 After presentation by staff, the speakers were sworn in for
9 the public hearing.
10
11 Tony Recio, representing the applicant, addressed the
12 Commission regarding the applicant's request. He explained that
13 the Hometown District Overlay requires a special use approval to
14 locate a restaurant in that portion. The applicant is proposing
15 to convert a portion of the retail component into a restaurant
16 space. The property has an eleven -foot arcade within their
17 property line, with an additional five feet of setback from the
18 sidewalk. Staff is recommending approval of this request with
19 conditions. He said that the applicant already agrees to
20 conditions 2, 3 and 4 and proceeded to address condition number 1
21 with which they have an issue. He said that the staff
22 interpretation at this time is that they do not qualify for the
23 15 percent reduction. This reduction was granted back in 1999 as
24 part of resolution no. 91 -99- 10715, providing for a 20 percent
25 reduction in required parking. Mr. Recio said that the
26 interpretation by staff is contrary to what they got in 1999,
27 which led the developer to actually build this building; they
28 relied upon an interpretation, and they built excess parking in
29 order to serve their uses and basically to serve the downtown
30 area. Now they want to convert some of those uses into other uses
31 that are more attractive to the downtown area, in their
32 estimation, and they want to be able to use those parking spaces.
33 He finally urged the Commission to vote in favor of this
34 application to be consistent with what the Commission ruled in
35 1999 and what staff interpreted also back in 1999.
36
37 Mayor Russell said that what was approved in 1999, the two
38 stories or greater, was what allowed for the 15 percent
39 reduction.
40
41 Mr. Of Donniley said that there is a reduction if you do two
42 stories. And the intent of that is to encourage people to only do
43 two stories. When you go higher, the next incentive says that you
44 must demonstrate a mixture of 30 percent of all the uses to get
45 the next reduction; and the logic there is, if you are going to
46 go more than two stories, we are granting an incentive only if
47 you produce a mixture of uses that will result in overlap of use
48 of spaces. In other words, some residents who are gone during the
49 day will make spaces available for office or retail; some offices
50 who are gone at night, and some retail that may be both present
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 1 1
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1 partly during the day and partly at night will make spaces
2 available for residents. So the second incentive is only earned
3 when you produce that level of mixture.
4
5 Mr. Figueredo said that his interpretation on this issue is
6 consistent with the Planning Director's. It was a different
7 project that was analyzed back then. It was 75 percent office, 25
8 percent retail. The applicant is bringing a different project
9 today.
10
11 Commissioner Sherar referred to pages 155 -157 of the LDC
12 relating to permitted uses. He said that the problem is with the
13 difference between a mistake of fact and a mistake of law. If
14 there was an incorrect interpretation of the LDC, that does not
15 mean that we cannot go back and fix it. The law is as written in
16 the book but not as somebody has interpreted it at some point.
17
18 Mayor Russell said that she is not for giving up nine
19 parking spaces, not under the current situation downtown, not
20 with what we are about to undergo downtown.
21
22 Commissioner Wi.scombe said that he recalls that he was on
23 the Planning Board when this project went through back in 1999.
24 He said that even then they talked about possible restaurant use
25 and that is why the extra parking was put in, and that he thinks
26 that part of the problem was that the applicant was working with
27 certain amount of space to deal with the ramping and everything
28 else for the parking.
29
30 Mr. O'Donniley said that there is some material in the file
31 that substantiates what Commission Wiscombe is talking about
32 because there was a discussion about ramping.
33
34 The public hearing was opened at this time.
35
36 Sharon McCain said that they do not want to give up nine
37 parking spaces, but that she is thinking about the four
38 restaurants facing each other with the bank project, which she
39 thinks is a good idea. On the other hand, we have Casa Larios
40 that their employees are not parking in their parking lot. She
41 said that how they can penalize this applicant if others are not
42 following the rules. She said that maybe valet could be an
43 option.
44
45 Yvonne Beckman said that the applicant already got a special
46 exception approval back in 1999 for increased lot coverage. Mr.
47 O'Donniley explained that there is a difference between a special
48 exception and a special use, they have different criteria and
49 regulations; special use is more stringent. She said that it is a
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1 good idea to make the restaurant a little smaller and have the
2 parking spaces that are allowed.
3
4 Jay Beckman said that you need to remember the history of
5 this district, going back all the way to the Shops at Sunset
6 which do not have enough parking; the new developments after that
7 were given reductions in parking. He said that they can build the
8 restaurant a little smaller, have adequate parking and make the
9 district better.
10
11 David Tucker Sr. said that when this plan was initiated he
12 asked the developer how he was going to account for the mobility
13 of the traffic with so many new restaurants in the area. He said
14 that they will have a good patronage during the midday for their
15 meals. There will be a lot of traffic congestion, he added.
16
17 Cathy McCann said that she does not see any logic for
18 excusing the nine parking spots or nothing in the ordinance that
19 would allow it. She said that there has been a trend lately with
20 developers choosing to put more restaurants than retail and said
21 that she would like to have someone from the City that could tell
22 what the ratio is now of restaurant to retail in the downtown
23 area. She urged the Commission to get this information before
24 they vote on this so that they can make an intelligent decision
25 as to whether this should be allowed.
26
27 Bob Welsh said that he has a concern with big pick -ups and
28 other big vehicles such as the Hummers. He said that he drives a
29 small car and when these big vehicles park they encroach on the
30 adjacent space.
31
32 The public hearing was closed at this point.
33
34 Mr. O'Donniley said that we have a minimum of nine feet
35 requirement for the size of the parking space.
36
37 Commissioner Birts - Cooper asked about compact parking
38 spaces. Mr. O'Donniley said that we do not discount for compact
39 cars. Our current code does not provide for compact space
40 discount.
41
42 Mr. Recio said that in response to the restaurants versus
43 retail, he said that the code does not distinguish between
44 restaurant and retail; it is all retail according to the Hometown
45 District. He also said that even though they are reducing the
46 original retail component, they are still providing more retail
47 than they are for restaurant; about 9,000 -7,000 ratio. He said
48 that if they reduce the square footage of the restaurant by 300
49 square feet, then their analysis jumps from nine down to nine up,
50 so they will then have nine extra spaces at that point.
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1
2 Mr. O'Donniley said that in that case it will still require
3 a special use approval.
4
5 At this time the Mayor announced a ten - minute break, after
6 which the session reconvened.
7
8 Mr. O'Donniley referred to page 47 of the LDC which provides
9 that small restaurants must be located within two hundred linear
10 feet of a municipal parking lot.
11
12 At this time Mr. Recio said that they are satisfied with
13 staff's recommendations.
14
15 Mayor Russell said that is what the community has spoken in
16 favor of, and it is what the Planning Board and staff recommend.
17
18 Vice Mayor Palmer said that she has some concerns and that
19 her observation is that each time there is a new body here, the
20 interpretation is different, because she was looking at the Comp
21 Plan, the zoning and everything and it seems that interpretation
22 is if not one of the biggest, it is no doubt one of the problems
23 and concerns that they face. She said that this is why they have
24 told the consultant that in the future they have to have a
25 language that is consistent with everything.
26
27 Commissioner Wiscombe referred to the issue of
28 interpretation. He said that in the number of years that he has
29 been involved with this —over six, and two on the Planning Board -
30 there have been about six directors of Planning, and as the
31 projects go through the process from the Planning Board to the
32 Commission, it is very hard to find that level of consistency in
33 terms of interpretation that the Vice Mayor is looking for. He
34 added that he actually thinks that of all the planners that we
35 have had, Don has been pretty much the clearest of those people
36 involved.
37
38 Mr. O'Donniley said that one of the recommendations that he
39 intends to bring to the Commission is that questions asked about
40 interpretation should be in writing, and answers should be in
41 writing, because most of the interpretations that have been made
42 in this City, little is found that supports how they were
43 reached. The language in the code has not changed, he said to the
44 Vice Mayor. The language has always been here. What we try to do
45 when we read this is that we try to read it very carefully; then
46 if we develop a question, we do what we did in this case, we ask
47 the City Attorney and we try to get his input to make sure that
48 he concurs that we are reading that language correctly, if there
49 is a question. We thought that there was a question here because
50 a past staff, in a report, not in any official action, seemed to
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1 interpret it differently. Based on that, it was important to go
2 to what did the law say. That is what we try to do with every
3 project, read the law and apply it. We are not always perfect and
4 we may make a mistake, but basically we try to read what is in
5 the book. There are contradictions within the book and at that
6 point we try to resolve those contradictions and give you the
7 best advice about what is good for this community, Mr. O'Donniley
8 concluded.
9
10 Commissioner Sherar then pointed out to the definition of
11 arcade under the Hometown District in the LDC. The discussion
12 then centered on said definition and its interpretation.
13
14 Commissioner Wiscombe interjected at this point since he was
15 a member of the Planning Board at the time that his project came
16 forward. He said that one of the things that they dealt with was
17 the issue of arcades because of the Florida Building Code and
18 because it was not clearly defined. Other municipalities are
19 dealing with the exact same thing, and he mentioned Panama City
20 and Naples among others. One of the issues was how to develop the
21 arcade and how you define it in terms of the setback and so on.
22 He said that several people tried to come up with an
23 interpretation and they could not.
24
25 The discussion continued relating to the definition of
26 arcade and the allowable parking spaces.
27
28 After extensive discussion, Commissioner Sherar said that he
29 was going to defer this item because he is not really comfortable
30 with the numbers and how many we are short; he thinks that there
31 is a real problem with the five percent on the arcade; and, he
32 wants to know where the dumpsters are and how they are going to
33 get there. The motion to defer died for lack of a second.
34
35 Vice Mayor Palmer said that at the time when the arcade was
36 approved was at a time when the County and other people decided
37 what an arcade means. Whatever that meant, it was being accepted
38 at that time, and out of fairness, if it was accepted at that
39 time, we should consider the situation. She said that as far as
40 she is concerned, she would accept what they have because we are
41 talking about 1999; I don't know the legal implications, but the
42 mere fact that we did say yes, I think that we should accept what
43 they have because we had agreed on it.
44
45 Mayor Russell said that our City Attorney said that as long
46 as we only approve one restaurant, that it is ok to move forward
47 tonight.
48
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1 Mr. O'Donniley said that he concurs with the City Attorney
2 and Commissioner Sherar that we need to establish a maximum
3 square footage.
4
5 Commissioner Sherar said that just because some people did
6 it wrong a few years ago it does not mean that we have to live
7 with it.
8
9 Mr. Recio reiterated that the developer built based on the
10 original interpretation.
11
12 Mayor Russell then proposed to defer the item so that all
13 the issues may be clarified.
14
15 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Vice Mayor Palmer,
16 the motion to defer this item passed by a 5 -0 vote.
17
18 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
19 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
20 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
21 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
22 Mayor Russell: Yea
23
24
25 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING PUBLIC
26 HEARING S)
27 (NONE)
28
29 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING
30
31 11. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
32 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA RELATING TO AMENDING THE
33 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI CODE OF ORDINANCES, BY REVISING
34 CHAPTER 11 (GARBAGE & TRASH) , SECTION 11 -21(B)
35 ENTITLED "EXTENT OF SERVICE AND POINTS OF COLLECTION -
36 DOMESTIC TRASH" IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE PLACEMENT OF
37 LAWN AND YARD CLIPPINGS AT THE CURB FOR COLLECTION
38 MORE THAN TWENTY -FOUR (24) HOURS PRIOR TO THE
39 SCHEDULED PICKUP DAY; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;
40 PROVIDING FOR ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; AND PROVIDING AN
41 EFFECTIVE DATE. (Deferred 3110105) 3/5
42 (Commissioners Sherar and Wiscombe)
43
44 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
45 Wiscombe to approve this item.
46
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MINUTES - May 3, 2005
1 Commissioner Wiscombe said that one of the things that they
2 have been talking about for some time now is the way the code is
3 written in regards to trash pick up because it is not user
4 friendly. It does not allow for people who want to work on
5 weekends around the yard.
6
7 Mayor Russell said that then the trimmings will be out there
8 for four days in some cases waiting to be picked up the next
9 Wednesday and that would be 72 hours. She said that she cannot
10 support it unless it gets picked up within 48 hours.
11
12 Ms. Davis said that we could go to alternate shifts so that
13 we can pick up on Sunday, and go to ten -hour days.
14
15 Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that she thinks that we
16 should work with the residents on this, and not fine them.
17
18 Vice Mayor Palmer said that she must commend the City
19 Manager, the Director of Public Works and staff because they are
20 always cleaning and picking up in order to keep the streets
21 clean.
22
23 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
24 approve this item passed by a 5 -0 vote:
25
26 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
27 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
28 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
29 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
30 Mayor Russell: Yea
31
32
33 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING PUBLIC
34 HEARING S)
35 (NONE)
36
37
38 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING
39 (NONE)
40
41
42
43 COMMISSION REMARKS
44
45
46 There being no further business to come before this Body,
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1
3
4
5
6
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8
the meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m.
Attest
Maria M. Menendez
City Clerk
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION
MINUTES - May 3, 2005
INK
Approved
Mary Scott Russell
Mayor