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12-07-04 Item 1DRAFT 1 City of South Miami 2 Regular City Commission Minutes 3 November 16, 2004 4 5 CALL TO ORDER: 6 7 The City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida met 8 in regular session on Tuesday, November 16, 2004, beginning at 9 7:30 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers, 6130 Sunset Drive. 10 11 A. Roll Call: 12 The following members of the City Commission were present: 13 Mayor Mary Scott Russell, Vice Mayor Velma Palmer, and, 14 Commissioners Marie Birts- Cooper, Randy G. Wiscombe and Craig Z. 15 Sherar. 16 17 Also in attendance were: City Attorney Eve Boutsis, City 18 Manager Maria V. Davis and City Clerk Maria M. Menendez. 19 20 B. Invocation: The invocation was delivered in silence. 21 22 C. Pledge of Allegiance: 23 The Pledge of Allegiance was led by County Commissioner 24 Elect Carlos Gimenez. 25 26 D. Presentation(s) 7:00 p.m. 27 28 1. Mayor Russell introduced the newly elected County 29 Commissioner, Carlos Gimenez. Commissioner Gimenez then 30 addressed the Commission. 31 32 2. The Police Department to present awards to the following 33 Officers: 34 35 October Officers of the Month: Officers Carlos Alvarez and 36 Eric Pulido. 37 38 Major Mike Mills presented the awards. 39 40 3. Presentation of the `Upcoming Trolley Route.' 41 42 Ms. Davis and Mr. Balogun conducted this presentation. Ms. 43 Davis explained that this project is in an effort to comply with 44 our requirements to provide mass transit with the half -cent 45 transportation tax, and to provide transportation for our 46 downtown promotion endeavors. It will be starting on January 2na, REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 1 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 I and she indicated that the City will be heavily promoting it in 2 the month of December. 3 4 Mr. Balogun then went over the route and schedule of the 5 trolley. He indicated that staff has worked very happy to make 6 this happen and is very excited to see it become a reality as Ms. 7 Davis mentioned. He said that the rides will be provided free of 8 charge. A tentative route has been scheduled which is open for 9 adjustment is according to the needs of the residents, as staff 10 will be monitoring it to make it work. The route will cover the 11 downtown area, with stops at the Metrorail to facilitate shoppers 12 to park in those facilities. There will be two trolleys operating 13 Fridays and Saturdays, with a third trolley that will be 14 operating one Sunday per month; that will be the express trolley 15 that will go from the Metrorail Station right into downtown. This 16 is in an effort to encourage people to park at the Metrorail 17 since we are promoting Sundays on Sunset and therefore we are 18 anticipating the need for a lot of parking. 19 20 Commissioner Birts- Cooper suggested that it will be good if 21 the trolley would also stop at the Community Center. Ms. Davis 22 reiterated that the schedule is flexible and that they are open 23 for suggestions. 24 25 Commissioner Wiscombe said that the seniors usually go 26 shopping early on Fridays and that starting at 4:00 p.m. is not 27 going to help them. 28 29 Vice Mayor Palmer concurred with Commissioner Wiscombe's 30 idea. 31 32 At the conclusion of the presentations Mayor Russell 33 announced a 2- minute recess. 34 35 ITEMS (S) FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION: 36 37 1. a) Minutes of September 14, 2004 38 39 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, Vice Mayor Palmer, the 40 motion to approve the Minutes of September 14, 2004 passed by a 41 5 -0 vote: 42 43 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea 44 Commissioner Sherar: Yea 45 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea 46 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea 47 Mayor Russell: Yea 48 REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 2 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 1 b) Minutes of November 1, 2004 2 3 Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioner Birts- 4 Cooper, the motion to approve the Minutes of November 1, 2004 5 passed by a 5 -0 vote: 6 7 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea 8 Commissioner Sherar: Yea 9 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea 10 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea 11 Mayor Russell: Yea 12 13 2. City Manager's Report: 14 (None) 15 16 3. City Attorney's Report: 17 (None) 18 19 20 PUBLIC REMARKS 21 (5- minute limit) 22 23 David Tucker Sr. addressed the Commission with his words of 24 wisdom. He referred to the new statement at the end of agenda to 25 which certain people have expressed discontent. Mr. Tucker 26 indicated that this new statement has probably been put in place 27 due to the disruptive behavior that has been exhibited by certain 28 people in the audience during the meetings. He urged everyone to 29 behave with respect and civility. 30 31 Jay Beckman concurred with Mr. Tucker, saying that people 32 should show respect towards the City Commission and vice versa. 33 He also said that it does not seem -fair the fact that attorneys 34 for an applicant are allowed plenty of time to present their 35 case, while the residents are allowed only five minutes. 36 37 Rick Herron referred to the necessity for stop signs near 38 his home around SW 58 Street and SW 63 Avenue. He then referred 39 to Brewer Park which he said is becoming an eyesore and wanted to 40 know whether there is a grant in place to improve this park. 41 42 Parks and Recreation Director, Alan Ricke, indicated that 43 the grant funding for the improvements at Brewer Park is still in 44 place. He said that we are in the process right now of having the 45 Park surveyed in order to have an architect draw a site plan for 46 us. 47 48 Sharon McCain thanked Vice Mayor Palmer for bringing back 49 the garbage can fees reimbursement last week for the Commission's REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 3 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 1 consideration. She then referred to the 871 FS statement on the 2 agenda. She also referred to the results of some court cases 3 relating to the 871 FS that she had gathered on this issue, where 4 the Statute in reference has not been able to enforce. 5 6 Yvonne Beckman said that she would like to echo what Ms. 7 McCain had just stated. She then said that Maria Davis was 8 sneakering, looking at Mary Scott Russell, body language is 9 included on that, and that she would like for that to be on the 10 record. 11 12 Thomas Meyer referred to items #10 and #11 on the Agenda 13 relating to the waiver of plat and variance. Attorney Boutsis 14 recommended that he waited for the items to come up later since 15 there would a public hearing on them. 16 17 After there were no more speakers, the Public Remarks 18 section was closed. 19 20 At this point Vice Mayor Palmer and Commissioner Sherar both 21 pulled item no. 5 from the Consent Agenda (now no. 13). 22 23 At this time, Commissioner Birts- Cooper moved to reconsider 24 the vote of the parking variance resolution for the property 25 located at 6230 SW 70th Street and to place back on the agenda at 26 the next meeting. Commissioner Sherar seconded the motion. The 27 motion to reconsider passed by a 4 -1 vote: 28 29 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea 30 Commissioner Sherar: Yea 31 Vice Mayor Palmer: Nay 32 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea 33 Mayor Russell: Yea 34 35 36 37 CONSENT rr =. 39 Resolution No. 182 -04 -11961 40 4. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE 41 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO ATTORNEYS' 42 FEES; APPROVING ATTORNEYS' FEES FOR NAGIN GALLOP 43 FIGUEREDO, P.A. IN THE AMOUNT OF $13,767.83; CHARGING 44 $13,767.83 TO ACCOUNT NO. 001- 1500 - 514 -3410, LEGAL 45 SERVICES, NON - RETAINER; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.3 /5 46 (City Attorney) 47 48 REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 4 MINUTES November 16, 2004 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 Resolution No. 183 -04 -11962 S. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE PROFESSIONAL GENERAL ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH MILIAN SWAIN & ASSOCIATES, INC., H.J. ROSS ASSOCIATES AND CORZO CASTELLA CARBALLO THOMPSON SALMAN, P.A.; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (City Manager) Resolution No. 184 -04 -11963 6. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE (LOBBYING) SERVICES; APPROVING FUNDING NOT TO EXCEED $42,000.00 FOR THE FIRM OF GOMEZ BARKER ASSOCIATES, INC. FROM ACCOUNT NUMBER 001- 1315 - 513 -3450; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (City Manager) Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner Wiscombe, the motion to approve the Consent Agenda 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) 7. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO A REQUEST TO AMEND THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE BY CHANGING THE ZONING USE DISTRICT FROM "TODD(MU -4) ", TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (MIXED USE -4) TO `°PUD -M" PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT MIXED USE FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6600 -6640 SW 57 AVENUE AND 5757 SW 68 STREET THE PURPOSE OF THE ZONE CHANGE IS TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A MIXED USE PROJECT CONSISTING OF MULTI- FAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, RETAIL USES AND A PARKING GARAGE; SETTING FORTH CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL RELATED TO THE DETERMINATION OF CONCURRENCY; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 4/5 (City Manager) REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MINUTES - November 16, 2004 5 Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioner Wiscombe to approve this item. Attorney Boutsis at this time explained the procedures for a quasi - judicial hearing. Commissioner Wiscombe said that the contact he had with the main project was before it was even filed and that he has no problem with having an independent opinion on it. Commissioner Sherar said that he had no contact on this with anyone. Mayor Russell said that there was nothing that would have an effect on her decision tonight. Vice Mayor Palmer said that two residents had emailed her telling her that this was coming up. One was Ms. Beckman and the other one was Lori, and did not remember the last name. They both were urging her to examine everything carefully before making a decision. She said she still will be able to make an independent decision tonight. Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that she had been approached by a Mrs. Hall who had urged her to review the application very carefully. Attorney Boutsis then asked any Commissioner that may have a written communication on this matter to turn it over to the Clerk so that it would be on the records. At this time Commissioner Sherar moved to defer item 8 on the Agenda and place it after item 13. The motion died for lack of a second. Vice Mayor Palmer said that she needed a clarification as to whether Commissioner Sherar was making a motion or whether it was just a suggestion. Since he was making a motion, Mayor Russell asked Commissioner Sherar to start his motion again. Moved by Commission Sherar, the motion to defer item 8 on item 13 failed by a 2 -3 vote: seconded by Vice Mayor Palmer, the Agenda and place it after Commissioner Wiscombe: Nay Commissioner Sherar: Yea Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Nay Mayor Russell: Nay REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 6 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 I At this time Attorney Boutsis sworn in the speakers. 2 3 Mr. O'Donniley explained that this is a request for rezoning 4 a seven acre property in order to construct a mixed use project 5 including residential buildings, parking and retail uses with 6 409 dwelling units and 12,476 sq ft of commercial space. 7 According to the information submitted with the application, the 8 dwelling unit density will be 58.4 units per acre. The complex 9 is to be called "Red Road Commons." Mr. O'Donniley went over the 10 staff's report explaining the proposal in detail. 11 12 Commissioner Sherar expressed concern as to how the City 13 would be enforcing the park requirement down the line. Mr. 14 O'Odonniley indicated that this would be stipulated in the 15 development agreement, making it an enforceable contractual 16 arrangement. He added that State Statute permits up to 5 years - 17 that is starting one year after construction —to provide 18 concurrency. 19 20 Commissioner Sherar said that on a judicial proceeding 21 someone has the burden of proof Attorney Boutsis said that here 22 the applicant does. Since the applicant has the burden of proof, 23 they will have to proof that they are going to meet the criteria 24 set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. He then expressed concern 25 as to how this project will be impacting our sewer capacity. 26 27 Ms. Davis said that all of this is subject to a study on the 28 existing system and what the capacity of their usage is going to 29 be, they submit it to WASA and WASA will determine whether the 30 capacity is there or not. 31 32 He then referred to the case of a restaurant on 73rd Street 33 wanting to open sometime in the past; they opened under some 34 cloud because there was not sufficient capacity. 35 36 Mayor Russell explained that the reason the capacity was 37 increased on 73rd Street was due to a safety issue relating to 38 the Fire Department since there was no infrastructure in place 39 in case of a fire. We went to Tallahassee, got some money and 40 addressed that specific issue. It was not specifically done for 41 the benefit of a restaurant or for development; it was a safety 42 issue for the existing merchants. 43 44 Attorney Boutsis recommended that a provision be included 45 within the development agreement that would cover any potential 46 scenario if the property becomes tax exempt. 47 48 Mr. Proctor, attorney representing the applicant, addressed 49 the Commission. He said that they are in full agreement with 50 staff's conditions and requirements, such as concurrency, unity REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 7 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 of title, and submitting a development agreement. He said that as part of their rezoning application, they have issues relating to housing, traffic, recreation, and schools. He indicated that they do comply with the City's requirements for parking, which is two spaces per unit, with ten percent visitors' spaces. They have onsite 1,002 parking places; 923 in the garage, 79 on surface parking, either in the middle of the project or along the boundary along the SW 66 Street side. He said that they have many more parking spaces than they have bedrooms. At this time Mr. Proctor introduced Traffic Engineer, Tim Plummer. Mr. Plummer said he is a registered professional engineer with the State of Florida and has been practicing transportation planning and traffic engineering for fifteen years. He then explained the findings of his traffic study, copy of which was submitted to the Commission. The main concern expressed by the Commission had to do with the traffic impact of the project in the area and specifically on the flow of Red Road and Ponce. Mr. Proctor then continued to speak about the proposed improvements for the median on Red Road. He also indicated that they have been working with the First United Methodist Church on some issues. Mr. Proctor then introduced Rev. Gay of St. John's Church, who spoke in favor of the project. Mr. Proctor continued, speaking about affordable housing indicating that they will comply with those requirements as set forth in the Comp Plan, which provides that at least five percent of the units will be rented to individuals or family in the moderate income segment of the affordable housing group. He then said that this development has proposed to generate to the School Board approximately $500,000 in impact fees; if the project is approved and built, that payment will be required before occupancy of the first residential unit. In addition, the applicant will donate $1,200 per additional student generated over and beyond the existing zoning. Mercy del Rey, South Miami Hospital Human Resource Site Director, spoke in favor of the project. She said that this will be beneficial for hospital employees who are forced to commute from far away due to lack of affordable housing in the area. She said that one of the challenges that the Hospital faces is that less than ten percent of their employees live within the five zip codes surrounding the Hospital. Mayor Russell opened the floor for public hearing. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 8 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 Yvonne Beckman requested that this item be tabled because in her opinion there is not enough time to discuss it. David Tucker Sr. said that he would like to see the process moving forward. Tim Merker asked if there is a Publix Supermarket coming in this project. Cathy McCann said that she felt very disappointed that the Commission did not hold a public workshop. She said that the way this item has been presented gives the appearance that something is being hidden and that they have already made up their mind. She then asked as to whether this application is for PUD rezoning. She said that if that is the case, then the discussion should be about the reasons for requesting the change. She said that according to what she has heard tonight this request to increase the density four times over. She then said that before the Commission votes she wants to know why they think that this change should be made. Mr. O'Donniley clarified that the proposal is not for four times the existing density. The proposal is for 407 units versus 260. Ms. McCann thanked Mr. O'Donniley for the clarification. However, she said that her question stands. Mr. O'Donniley then went over again to-the portion of his presentation to answer Ms. McCann's question, and that is Policy 1.3.6 under Affordable Housing: The City and the County will jointly support development to the Rapid Transit Zone in order to encourage mixed - use /residential multi - family projects containing affordable housing units. Then, going to the larger reasonable consideration, he referred to the Land Use Policy 2.1.4: To discourage urban commercial sprawl by promoting growth in the core area surrounding the Metrorail transit station by creating a district for the new growth which is contained and transit- oriented, thereby relieving the pressure for commercial re- zonings outside of this core area. Attorney Boutsis said that, in short, this means that for any land designation change you need to comply with the LDC and be consistent with the Comp Plan. She said that even though that is not the specific answer to the question, it is the answer under the Code. Sharon McCain asked if Commissioner Birts- Cooper had any contact with the Codina Group. The answer was no, she did not have any such contact. Ms. McCain said that the reason that she asked is because at the time this item came for first reading, she spoke to Commissioner Birts- Cooper after the meeting was REGULAR CITY COMMISSION g MINUTES - November 16, 2004 adjourned and they were cut short because somebody said that Mr. Dodson wished to speak to Commissioner Birts- Cooper. She then said that this evening Commissioner Birts- Cooper made a motion to bring the request from Dr. Colsky whose attorney is Mr. Dodson. (She said that she wanted this on the record) Commissioner Birts- Cooper asked Commissioner Sherar to say that he had the idea of bringing back Dr. Colsky's request before she did. Commissioner Sherar said that she was correct. Ms. McCain said that she just wanted to have on record that Commissioner Birts- Cooper had voted to bring the item back and that she had voted no when the item was first presented. In reference to the item being discussed, she said that according to the information given relating to parking, there will be 21 spaces left over; not counting retail, employees, etc. She said that she was in favor of this project in the beginning but not anymore because she feels that it is being rushed through. She also said that we need a workshop. She said that she would have liked to attend the October 12th meeting that Rev. Gay had. She said that Rev. Gay's only concern is about jobs, but that there is more to it than that. This is a major project and she wants to have a workshop where everybody will have the opportunity to ask questions, get answers, and then come back to the Commission. She then thanked Commissioner Sherar for asking questions because, she said, nobody, else had. With regard to Rev. Gay's comments about the children being around the bar in that area, she said that children should not be there at that time of night. She said that how do we know if what Codina wants is good for South Miami. Do we need more apartment buildings? Maybe we need something else. She said that she has a problem with certain individuals who live in that area that are being called out, such as Rev. Gay and Levy Kelly. She said that she resents it and that the `way she sees it, they are lobbyist and are not paying the $125 fee. Levy Kelly said that he had planned to be an observant of this process but since he has been accused and attacked falsely that he is a lobbyist. He said that they slam to him like that — we'll see what happens. (He said that he wanted to go on record saying that and that he is through with it and has nothing else to say) William Hornett, a resident of Coral Gables, said that although he is not a resident of South Miami, he is concerned about this particular project. He said that they had just gone through a similar process. He said that Red Road is a historic road and its expansion, even by left turn signals or left turn lanes might be prohibited under the historic roads concept. He said that he has a traffic survey that was produced by the REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 10 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 University of Miami for the University Village project across the street from the University, and will make it available to the Commission if they wish, since the study covers the surrounding area of this project being discussed tonight. He said that Red Road is a very dangerous road, particularly for the students that will be occupying those apartments and who will be crossing Red Road where approximately 17,000 cars move through that road every 24 hours, and that the safety of those students should be a concern. He then said that they should consider that changing zoning and expanding sizes for this area will be detrimental to the health and safety to the citizens of South Miami and its neighbors. Jay Beckman said that since this is such a big project, there are a lot of details and a lot of questions that need answers. He also said that he has a little bit of trouble having the zoning change separated from the site plan, since he does not know how anyone can make a decision on the zoning change without going through the site plan first. He said that we need to revisit what TODD really means. You might get ten percent reduction in traffic from a TODD; yet we allow four times intense development anywhere else in the City which it does not make any sense. With regard to the recreation requirement he said that according to the LDC, no development permit will be given until the recreation requirement is satisfied. He said that paying money is not enough; there must be land to buy. Concurrency means that you will produce park land. With regard to compatibility he said that the number one requirement for evaluating a zoning change in the City is compatibility. The new zoning must be comparable with what is surrounding it. This is the only TODD zoned site in the City that is adjacent to single- family housing. Everywhere else where we have TODD zoning, we have other transition zoning before we get to the single - family neighborhood, which is less intense than TODD. He said that he does not think that the requirements of PUD -R apply, as far as compatibility with the single - family district. Because we are doing a PUD -M, not a PUD -R. A PUD -M is an intense development related to Metrorail and it was never intended to be adjacent to single - family housing. Mr. Beckman then went over some questions that he has as outlined in a report that he submitted to the Commission. He then urged the Commission to defer this item until they have a chance to go over the site plan hearing and to continue working on these details. Charlotte Tyson said that she has considerable background in healthcare, and asked how many units will be devoted to moderate income; the answer was five percent. She said that moderate income workers could be somewhere in the range of $30,000 - $33,000. In conclusion, she said that this project may REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 1 1 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 provide jobs, and that is a good thing, but it may not provide them with a good place to live. Mr. Proctor, in his rebuttal, referred first to concurrency. This is a concurrency exempt area; this is something that has been created and encouraged by the State in order to have development in infill areas to prevent westward growth; to prevent the expansion of the urban boundary westward to Krome Avenue, southward to Florida City and so on. This is a tool that the State has used, but the problem of lack of infill and the problem that this creates has resulted in revision in the Statutes to deal with that and that is the reason for the exemptions, and that is the reason for which this area is an exempt area, Red Road in particular. With regard to other issues such as design, traffic control, parking, they have been given careful consideration to comply with the spirit of those rules from the State and the rules in the City's Comp Plan that really encourage good development in these exempt areas. This property in this area is designated for TODD in both, the zoning category and the master plan. The master plan permits what they call, the 4 +4: four stories of basic height at a minimum, and four stories of additional height if you comply with certain bonuses; if you have mixed uses, certain CRA infrastructure, and a number of other things. That Comp Plan designation exists on this property today and would allow us up to eight stories of development. He said that the thing they heard most, time and time again from residents during meetings, was `please do not do TODD 4 +4.' He said that first of all they do not have an 8 -story project. In addition, they are rezoning the property out of TODD. We are taking this property, Mr. Proctor continued, and we are putting a zoning designation on it that is not TODD, rather, it is site specific, it is design controlled, and it is compatibility controlled. He said that they are proposing residential. He said that they will be the transition between the FP &L facility, the industrial area, and the residential area to the north. He then referred to Mr. Hornett's comments saying that he has a copy of the traffic improvements for the University Village project, indicating that the only proposed improvement on Red Road that they see as a result of University Village is a southbound left -turn lane four blocks north of the northerly boundary for their project. And he concluded his rebuttal. Vice Mayor Palmer said that this is a real major project and that she thought that they should not rush it to get all the changes done. She said that in addition to this, they have about three other projects going: the Valencia, the Miami Gardens and the Metrorail. She said that a more comprehensive traffic study is needed, and that an independent consultant should be sought and selected by the City to conduct this REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 12 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 study, and to please not to select Kimley Horn. When they get that study, along with other information that is needed, then they can have a workshop to discuss all the issues and concerns of the Commission and the residents. She then said that she is not sure about what is the definition of "affordable." Mr. O'Donniley explained that it is a specific federal regulation, and it is a percentage of the average income in the area. Mr. Proctor indicated that the medium income as compiled and computed by the federal government is $45,400; that is the medium amount of income per family in Dade County; half the families in Dade County make more than that, and half the families make less than that. Affordable housing then is based on about thirty percent of that medium income which is what those families will be able to afford. Vice Mayor Palmer said that since this project will be within the boundaries of the CRA, she still does not know how it is going to benefit the CRA. She said that a teacher, a nurse, or any other beginning professional do not start out at $45,400. She then said that a workshop to discuss this project is definitely needed. She said that she does not see all the benefits from this project the way Rev. Gay sees it. Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that they should not be rushed in making this decision. She said that the City had an extensive amount of public input to the Hometown Charette II; this input gave us the present zoning map which includes the TODD. Why should we be so quick to change the zoning now? She asked. She then asked Mr. O'Donniley as to whether this project is consistent with the Charrette II. At this time the Mayor called for a five - minute recess. At the end of the recess the meeting reconvened. Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioner Birts- Cooper, the motion to extend the meeting beyond 11:00 p.m. passed by unanimous acclamation. As she continued, Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that since this project is located within the CRA boundaries, and as per our Interlocal Agreement with Dade County, it stipulates that we must maintain and construct a certain amount of affordable housing in this district. How are we going to comply with this if we make these changes? She also asked as to what kind of mitigation measures are being provided to offset the impact on our neighborhood. She said that she has not attended any meetings related to this project; nobody has asked her what she wants, or what this community needs or anything of the source. She said that she would like to defer this item until they have a public workshop to discuss it. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 13 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Commissioner Wiscombe said that the validity of this project is very important and said to concur with Commissioner Birts- Cooper with the need to do something that will benefit the community. This is a good project and we have an opportunity to make it better; he also said that they have a lot of information to digest and come together and discuss it since they really have not had the opportunity to do that. He said that it is a good idea to defer it, as Commissioner Birts- Cooper recommended. Mr. Dobson indicated that the workshops with the community. He this project is going to provide community and also wanted to ma has not been rushed through, process without public input, meetings that anyone could h Commission Chambers and outside t applicant has held a number of said that for clarification, less than an impact in this ke it clear that this project it is not going through its and there have been noticed ave attended both in this his Commission Chambers. Commissioner Wiscombe said that he does not think that it has been rushed through. However, on its first reading we did not allow public hearing; and foremost, he added, we have the right to protect the citizens of this community, and if we feel that we need more time to make the right decision then so be it. So please don't stand up here and tell us that we are not giving you ample due process, because we are. We are asking you to be even a better neighbor by giving the citizens of this community an opportunity, along with this Board, to digest the information that we have received tonight because this is the first night that we have been able to discuss and listen to what everybody thinks. Vice Mayor Palmer then referred to the need for a traffic study. Commissioner Wiscombe suggested that this be discussed during the workshop. Mr. O'Donniley indicated that the development agreement will be brought before the Planning Board at the next scheduled meeting of that Board. Moved by Commissioner Commissioner Wiscombe, the meeting of 1/04/05 passed by Birts- Cooper, seconded by motion to defer this item to the unanimous acclamation. At this time Attorney Boutsis reminded the Commission not to have any contact with anyone regarding this item. A workshop to discuss this item was then scheduled for Wednesday, December 29, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MINUTES - November 16, 2004 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Ordinance No. 11 -04 -1818 8. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, BY AMENDING SECTION 20 -3.1 ENTITLED "ZONING USE DISTRICTS AND PURPOSES" IN ORDER TO UPDATE THE LIST AND PURPOSE STATEMENTS FOR EXISTING ZONING DISTRICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (City Manager) Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner Wiscombe to approve this item. Mr. O °Donniley explained that this is the second reading of this ordinance which is intended to be a technical amendment since it was found that we had certain districts that did not have a definition. At this time the Mayor opened and closed the floor for public hearing with no speakers. With the 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 RESOLUTION (S) /PUBLIC HEARING (S) 9. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA APPROVING A MASTER SITE PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN PROPERTY IN A "PUD -M" PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT MIXED USE ZONING DISTRICT MORE SPECIFICALLY LOCATED AT 6600 -6640 SW 57 AVENUE AND 5757 SW 68 STREET; SETTING FORTH CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL RELATED TO SITE, TRAFFIC, SIGNAGE, AND URBAN DESIGN ISSUES, AND CONSTRUCTION OF APPROPRIATE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND LANDSCAPING; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 4/5 (City Manager) Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioners Birts- Cooper and Wiscombe to approve this item. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 15 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 Mr. O'Donniley went over staff's recommendation, consisting of fifteen conditions, in adopting the site plan of this development. Said conditions are incorporated in the proposed resolution as well. Mr. Dobson then introduced Architect /Engineer for the project, Aris Garcia who conducted a graphic presentation of the design. Mr. Proctor then referred to condition no. 3 under staff's recommendation relating to signalization of entrance at Levante Avenue. He indicated that it not only requires approval by Miami -Dade County, but also by the DOT. He said that they are committed to that improvement; without it we do not have a project, Mr. Proctor added. With regard to condition no. 10 relating to the over spilling of light, he said that they agree that they should not over spill lighting onto the residential areas; they will though possibly spill some lighting onto the right -of -way of Red Road since they have their retail on that area with awnings and sidewalks. He then referred to comments regarding the Valencia project indicating that they have looked long and hard at that project and have done the same with this project, and that it is important to note some statistics they have been able to compile: Valencia is about 62' high, and they are 15' lower at their highest point, and they might come down perhaps even lower at certain points along 66 Street; Valencia project is 105 units per acre and they are 58, almost half in terms of density; their floor ratio is 2.5 and theirs is 1.5; as for parking, Valencia had a variance for parking, they are providing 48 spaces more than code, providing well beyond one per bedroom. The Mayor opened the floor for public hearing. David Tucker Sr. addressed the Commission by reading from a plumber's list of items required for any building project. Jay Beckman said that this could be a great project after some details have been worked out. He recommended that even though they have to vote separately, the PUD and the site plan be combined for the workshop. He said that what he would like to see as the result of this workshop is a compatibility standard. Cathy McCann said that this is not a project by itself. Therefore, we need to look at the area and how the population has increased in the past four to five years. She said that she would be using City's figures: When the CRA started approximately four years ago the population in this area was 1,649; Valencia has 297 apartments, where you can have from REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 16 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 300 -500 people; the proposed apartments at the Metrorail will have another 250 apartments; South Miami Gardens —CRA is talking about increases; Codina apartments, according to their figures they are talking about a population of 997; the Habitat houses and Madison Square. We have doubled the population in this area. The Codina project is not necessarily bad, but she urged the Commission to "think out of the box if they do not want to permanently harm the livelihood of this area. .Another expansion has been the South Miami Hospital and all of this means an increase in traffic. For instance, she referred to the traffic study done by Valencia which in her opinion has not proven to be realistic, so this is an opportunity to learn from experience. She then referred to Codina' s traffic study saying that Red Road is a four -lane only from US1 to 64 Street;. Red Road is basically a two -lane street. She said that the study at Levante Street should be done around 3:00 p.m. when Levante has the greatest traffic. She said that she hopes that Red Road stays as a historical road. She then referred to Codina's economic study which she said it does not refer to what it will cost the City to provide services. She said that even though she is not against the project, she is extremely concerned with the fact that the City has doubled the population of this area, and has failed to look at the traffic pattern that has to be looked at in order to maintain this area a pleasant place to live and in order to maintain the quality of life of the residents. Sharon McCain referred to Progress and Commerce Lane which have not been notified about this project. She said that she found out when she went to take her car there to the shop. She said that if the traffic from this project is going to be affecting that area they should be included in this. With no more speakers the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Sherar said to the traffic consultant that he will need a detailed cross section for the entrance /exit ramp on 66 Street, and then to drop and go about 50 feet west. Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner Wiscombe the motion to defer this item to the meeting of 1/04/05 passed by a 5 -0 vote: Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea Commissioner Sherar: Yea Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea Mayor Russell: Yea REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 17 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 10. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR & CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO A REQUEST TO ALLOW FOR THE CREATION OF TWO BUILDABLE LOTS AS PERMITTED BY PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN SECTION 20- 4.2(B) OF THE SOUTH MIAMI LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND SECTION 28 -4 OF THE MIAMI DADE COUNTY CODE PERTAINING TO A WAIVER OF PLAT FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 5837 SW 82 STREET, SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA WITHIN AN "RS -3" LOW DENSITY SINGLE - FAMILY ZONING USE DISTRICT; PROVIDING FOR A LEGAL DESCRIPTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (Deferred 10119104) (City Manager) Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioner Wiscombe to approve this item. Mr. O'Donniley explained that this property was previously approved for division into two parcels. At the time, the applicant believed that the property had 75 feet of frontage in each lot. When the property was re- surveyed it was found that the lots are actually about a foot and a half short in terms of frontage. An analysis of the size of the surrounding lots indicates that 87% of the single family home sites are larger than both of the two proposed parcels. The Planning Board recommended denial of the application, and staff also recommends denial. At this time speakers were sworn in by Attorney Boutsis. Mayor Russell opened the floor for public hearing. The applicant, Mr. Thomas Meyer addressed the Commission. He said that they purchased this property years ago with the security of knowing that they had 150 feet of frontage, so they went ahead and had the property divided during Mayor Robaina's tenure. As the result of the lot split, he now has two separate folios and two separate tax bills. He said that he has run into a total of $20,000 in expenses relating to this ordeal with his property. He then said that he would really appreciate the Commission's support. Jay Beckman said that when you own a piece of property it is your responsibility to know where the property line is. He said that this case has to be decided based on the provisions of the Land Development Code. Cathy McCann said that this is a tough story and you have to feel for it, but unfortunately the request to do it was made after the changes were made to the Land Development Code; and REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 18 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 one of the reasons for these changes was due to the fact that there was so much lot splitting in the neighborhood. She asked the Commission to deny the request on the basis of what the administration has said under no. 4 of staff's observations. Yvonne Beckman also urged the Commission to deny the application for the reasons stated above. She then thanked the Mayor for taking part in the changes to the LDC. Charlotte Tayson spoke against the application. She indicated that she owns large lots and is keeping them that way for the integrity and quality of the area. She said that although she feels empathy for Mr. Meyer, they need to look at the bigger picture. Maria Isabel Caderas spoke in favor of the applicant. She said that while everyone has been looking at the legal requirements, it is also important that one looks at the fairness of the issue. These people already have their lots divided, only to f ind out that they do not have such a thing . She said that in working with contracts everyday, she knows that reasonable people can disagree on what is considered legal /fair. She said that as far as she is concerned she sees no harm in what they are proposing to do with their property. She urged the Commission to reconsider in favor of the applicant. Sharon McCain said that she feels for them also but that it will set a precedent. She said that she is really proud of the way that those who live in the TODD district near the Codina project are sticking up for the neighborhood, as well as Yvonne's neighborhood. I live in the downtown area, she continued, and I would appreciate it if all the Commissioners would think about us and all the townhouses that they are allowing in that area, because we are the forgotten ones; the ones that put up with construction and never say a word; but I'm asking that the extra money that we pay Mr. Sprovero, that they all take a ride out there, individually, in their own cars and see what is going on in our neighborhood because it is getting like a mini Manhattan. She urged the Commission to deny the application. Tim Merker also said that he feels for the applicant and all that he is going through; however, he concurs with the other speakers in terms of the lack of compatibility with the size of the rest of the lots in the neighborhood. Eric Johnson read a letter from Martin and Rosario Schrier, the next door neighbors to the applicant, urging the Commission REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 19 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 to vote against the application. Mr. Johnson also spoke against the application. Elaine Paddor spoke against the application saying that the neighborhood is beautiful the way it is and it should be kept that way. The applicant in his rebuttal said that the property was subdivided prior to the rule change and they have two separate folios and two tax bills. He said that he feels that they are grandfathered in since this is a hardship, and gracefully thanked everyone for their time. Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that she really feels for the applicant and that if she lived next door to him she would give him the 1.5 feet he needs to complete his parcel. However, she said that they have to be consistent with the code and for that she would have to deny this request. Vice Mayor Palmer concurred with Commissioner Birts- Cooper, but unfortunately she said, they have to abide by the rules of the code. Commissioner Wiscombe also said that he really feels for the applicant but that he was the one that years ago met with the applicant's neighbors and helped to put a stop to the lot splitting and he was really instrumental on that as well as on the setback issue. This was just put in place to protect the quality of life in that neighborhood and throughout the City; because of what they saw happening in the neighboring cities such as Coral Gables, the Grove and Pinecrest . He said that he is afraid that by approving this request they would be setting a precedent for future applicants. Commissioner Sherar said that he has a property just like this one and that he is going through the same situation; however, the more lot splitting the more developing that will impact the community. He also said that they have to stick to the code. Mayor Russell also concurred with the rest of the Commission. She said that if it were a unique parcel, the situation would be different; but because it is going to produce two lots smaller than 87 percent of the surrounding properties, she said that she would not be comfortable supporting it either. With no further comment approve this item failed by a s or discussion, 0 -5 vote: REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 2 0 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 the motion to 1 Commissioner Wiscombe: Nay 2 Commissioner Sherar: Nay 3 Vice Mayor Palmer: Nay 4 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Nay 5 Mayor Russell: Nay 6 7 8 11. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR & CITY COMMISSION OF THE 9 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO A REQUEST FOR 10 A VARIANCE FROM SECTION 20- 3.5(E) OF THE LAND 11 DEVELOPMENT CODE TO ALLOW THE LOT FRONTAGE OF A 12 BUILDING SITE TO BE 73.47 FEET, WHERE A MINIMUM OF 75 13 FEET IS REQUIRED ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 5837 SW 82 14 STREET, SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA WITHIN AN "RS -3" LOW 15 DENSITY SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONING USE DISTRICT; 16 AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE 4/5 17 (Deferred 10119104) 18 (City Manager) 19 20 No motion. The applicant withdrew this request as the result 21 of the denial of the preceding item. 22 23 Resolution No. 185 -04 -11964 24 12. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE 25 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, RELATING TO A REQUEST PURSUANT TO 26 SECTION 20-5.19 (E) (3 ) OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR 27 A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS TO PERMIT EXTERIOR 28 RESTORATION TO A PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6234 SW 56 STREET 29 WITHIN THE CAMBRIDGE LAWNS HISTORIC DISTRICT; AND 30 PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 31 (City Manager) 32 33 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner 34 Wiscombe to approve this item. 35 36 Mr. O'Donniley explained that this property is located 37 within the Cambridge Lawns Historic District, and the 'owner is 38 replacing windows; he has presented his request to the Historic 39 Preservation Board (HPB) for a Certificate of Appropriateness 40 and the final determination is made by the City Commission. The 41 HPB recommends approval. 42 43 Mayor Russell opened and closed the public hearing with no 44 speakers. 45 46 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to 47 approve this item passed by a 5 -0 vote: 48 REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 2 1 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 1 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea 2 Commissioner Sherar: Yea 3 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea 4 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea 5 Mayor Russell: Yea 6 7 Mayor Russell, to clarify for the records, said that the 8 quick decision was not made strictly because of the hour, or 9 because they are tired but because it was a "no brainer." She 10 said that she does not want to hear at the next meeting that 11 because it was late we rushed through the end of the agenda. We 12 are taking our time and we are committed to getting the agenda 13 completed this evening. 14 15 16 RESOLUTION (S) 17 18 Resolution No. 186 -04 -11965 19 13. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE 20 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO BOARDS AND 21 COMMITTEES; APPOINTING DR. ANNA PRICE TO SERVE ON THE 22 COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CRA) BOARD FOR AN 23 UNEXPIRED TERM ENDING MARCH 15, 2006; AND PROVIDING AN 24 EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 25 (Mayor Russell) 26 27 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Vice Mayor 28 Palmer to approve this item. 29 30 Mayor Russell explained, to answer Vice Mayor Palmer's 31 concern, that the reason for this appointment is because one of 32 the members has resigned and that she wanted to continue with a 33 full board so that they would not lose the current momentum. 34 She said that she did it so quickly because she had received a 35 letter of resignation from CRA Member Viola Brian. Attorney 36 Boutsis explained that the reason for bringing this resolution 37 before this Commission and not before the CRA Board is because 38 the Commission appoints the members to the CRA Board. Ms. 39 Boutsis explained that then they are sworn in at the CRA Board. 40 41 Commissioner Sherar said that he is concerned with this 42 appointment because even though Dr. Price was instrumental in 43 the creation of the CRA, she has not been here to support the 44 Work Study Program, for instance, which was something that 45 would be affecting the community directly, and with little 46 effort, a lot could have been accomplished and she was not here 47 to support it. Commissioner Sherar had another concern relating 48 to the diversity of the board since there are now residents REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 2 2 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 1 that come from different ethnic backgrounds. He said that 2 according to the Interlocal Agreement, the make up of the board 3 is to have the composition of the agency by the addition of two 4 additional members that shall be ethnically and racially 5 diverse, all in accordance with the applicable law. The board 6 should be a reflection of the CRA as it exists. For these 7 reasons he said that he would not support this appointment. 8 9 Mayor Russell said that Commissioner Sherar has a point and 10 that maybe it would be a good idea to make available some 11 applications to the new developments. 12 13 Commissioner Wiscombe said that Dr. Price was not in office 14 long enough after the CRA began to institute the Work Study 15 Program. He said that he has known her for years; she is a 16 talented individual and has been one of the starters of the 17 CRA, working and understanding it. She will be bringing a 18 wealth of experience to the table and I am going to support 19 her, he concluded. 20 21 With the further comments or discussion, the motion to 22 approve this item passed by a 4 -1 vote: 23 24 Commissioner "Wiscombe: Yea 25 Commissioner Sherar: Nay 26 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea 27 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea 28 Mayor Russell: Yea 29 30 31 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING PUBLIC HEARING (S) 32 (NONE) 33 34 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING 35 36 14. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE 37 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA AMENDING THE CITY OF SOUTH 38 MIAMI PENSION PLAN, PROVIDING FOR ELIGIBILITY AT DATE 39 OF EMPLOYMENT FOR POLICE OFFICER EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY 40 OF SOUTH MIAMI; PROVIDING FOR A MINIMUM RATE OF BENEFIT 41 ACCRUAL FOR POLICE OFFICER EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR 42 SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; AND PROVIDING 43 FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 44 (City Manager) 45 46 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner 47 Wiscombe to approve this item. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 2 3 MINUTES - November 16, 2004 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 This ordinance was prepared by the City Pension Attorney in order to improve the pension plan benefits for the City's police officers. Mr. Oshikoya explained that part of the money that we will be getting from the state is going to be used to pay for these improvements. Mr. Oshikoya then introduced Pension Attorney David Robinson, who further explained the purpose of the proposed ordinance. With the 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 COMMISSION REMARKS Mayor Russell thanked everyone for staying until the end of the agenda. There being no further business to come before this Body, the meeting adjourned at 1:13 a.m. Approved Attest Maria M. Menendez City Clerk REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MINUTES - November 16, 2004 24 Mary Scott Russell Mayor