CITY OF JACKSONVILLE

 

                           LAND USE AND ZONING

 

                                COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

                Proceedings held on Tuesday, November 16, 2010,

 

           commencing at 5:00 p.m., City Hall, Council

 

           Chambers, 1st Floor, Jacksonville, Florida, before

 

           Tina Hutcheson, a Notary Public in and for the State

 

           of Florida at Large.

 

 

 

           PRESENT:

 

                JOHN CRESCIMBENI, Chair.

                RAY HOLT, Vice Chair.

                DON REDMAN, Committee Member.

                DICK BROWN, Committee Member.

                REGGIE BROWN, Committee Member.

                STEPHEN JOOST, Committee Member.

 

           ALSO PRESENT:

 

                KEVIN HYDE, City Council Member.

                GLORIOUS JOHNSON, City Council Member.

                JOHN CROFTS, Deputy Director, Planning Dept.

                SEAN KELLY, Chief, Current Planning.

                FOLKS HUXFORD, Zoning Administrator.

                KEN AVERY, Planning and Development Dept.

                JOEL MCEACHIN, Planning and Development Dept.

                DYLAN REINGOLD, Office of General Counsel.

                JASON GABRIEL, Office of General Counsel.

                JASON TEAL, Office of General Counsel.

                CHERRY SHAW, Office of General Counsel.

                MERRIANE LAHMEUR, Legislative Assistant.

                SHARONDA DAVIS, Legislative Assistant.

 

 

                                  - - -

 

                                                              2

 

       1                  P R O C E E D I N G S

 

       2   November 16, 2010                          5:00 p.m.

 

       3                          - - -

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Good evening,

 

       5        everyone.

 

       6             We're going to call the November 16th

 

       7        meeting of the Land Use and Zoning Committee to

 

       8        order.  It's about one minute after 5:00.  And

 

       9        we will begin by having everyone introduce

 

      10        themselves for the record, starting with

 

      11        Mr. Crofts on my far right.

 

      12             Mr. Crofts.

 

      13             MR. CROFTS:  Good evening.  My name is

 

      14        John Crofts and I'm representing Planning and

 

      15        Development.

 

      16             MR. KELLY:  Sean Kelly, Planning and

 

      17        Development.

 

      18             MR. HUXFORD:  Folks Huxford, Planning and

 

      19        Development.

 

      20             MR. REINGOLD:  Dylan Reingold with the

 

      21        Office of General Counsel.

 

      22             MR. HYDE:  Kevin Hyde, City Council.

 

      23             MR. R. BROWN:  Dick Brown, City Council

 

      24        District 13.

 

      25             MR. JOOST:  Steven Joost, City Council

 

 

 

                                                              3

 

       1        Group 3 at-large.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  I'm John Crescimbeni,

 

       3        Councilman at-large, Group 2 and chairman of

 

       4        the committee.

 

       5             MR. HOLT:  Ray Holt, District 11.

 

       6             MR. REDMAN:  Don Redman, District 4.

 

       7             MS. JOHNSON:  Good afternoon.

 

       8             Councilwoman Glorious Johnson.

 

       9             How long y'all be in this place?

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  I'm sorry?

 

      11             MS. JOHNSON:  Are y'all here very long?

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  We're going to be quick

 

      13        tonight, I hope.

 

      14             Welcome, everyone.  I do have an excused

 

      15        absence from Mr. Bishop.  He had a conflict

 

      16        this evening.

 

      17             And here comes Mr. Reggie Brown, who has

 

      18        an early excusal at 6:15, and we've got that

 

      19        noted on the record, Mr. Brown.

 

      20             Mr. Reingold.

 

      21             MR. REINGOLD:  Yes, sir.  Would you like

 

      22        me to get us started?

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  I would.

 

      24             MR. REINGOLD:  All right.

 

      25             Anyone who would like to address the

 

 

                                                              4

 

       1        committee tonight must fill out a yellow

 

       2        speaker's card in its entirety.  The yellow

 

       3        speaker's cards are located on the desk up

 

       4        front near the podium.  Once completed, please

 

       5        return the speaker's cards to the basket on the

 

       6        front desk.

 

       7             Any person who lobbies the City for

 

       8        compensation is considered a lobbyist and is

 

       9        therefore required to register their lobbying

 

      10        activity with the City Council secretary.  If

 

      11        you are a lobbyist and have not registered with

 

      12        the City Council secretary, you will not be

 

      13        permitted to address the committee.

 

      14             Because a verbatim transcript of this

 

      15        meeting will be prepared by a court reporter,

 

      16        it is important that you speak clearly into the

 

      17        microphone when you address the committee.

 

      18        It's also important that only one person speak

 

      19        at a time.

 

      20             Any tangible material submitted with a

 

      21        speaker's presentation, such as documents,

 

      22        photographs, plans, drawings, et cetera, shall

 

      23        become a permanent part of the public record

 

      24        and will be retained by this committee.

 

      25             As a courtesy, please switch any cell

                                                             5

 

       1        phones, pagers or audible devices to a silent

 

       2        mode.  Additionally, there shall be no public

 

       3        displays of support or opposition, so please

 

       4        refrain from applause or speaking out of turn.

 

       5             Items are generally addressed in the order

 

       6        in which they are listed on the agenda.  Copies

 

       7        of the agenda are located on the front desk

 

       8        near the podium.  On occasion, items may be

 

       9        heard out of order for the sake of efficiency

 

      10        or to accommodate scheduling conflicts.

 

      11             Unless there is a formal hearing on a

 

      12        particular item, each member of the public is

 

      13        limited to a single three-minute presentation.

 

      14        Presentations should be focused, concise and

 

      15        address only the items pending before the

 

      16        committee.

 

      17             Prior to addressing the committee, please

 

      18        state your name and your address for the court

 

      19        reporter.

 

      20             Decisions on rezonings, including PUDs,

 

      21        are all considered quasi-judicial in nature,

 

      22        and certain protocols will be followed for

 

      23        these proceedings.

 

      24             First, council members or committee

 

      25        members must disclose on the record any

 

                                                              6

 

       1        ex-parte communications they have had with any

 

       2        members of the public prior to the hearing on

 

       3        each applicable item.  This includes a brief

 

       4        statement of when the communication took place,

 

       5        who the communication was with, and what the

 

       6        subject matter of the communication was about.

 

       7             Second, the normal format is to allow the

 

       8        applicant or agent thereof to make their

 

       9        presentation first, followed by members of the

 

      10        public who wish to speak in support of the

 

      11        item, then members of the public who are in

 

      12        opposition will be allowed to speak.  After all

 

      13        of the public comments have been received, the

 

      14        applicant will have a brief opportunity to wrap

 

      15        up or present a brief rebuttal.  The wrap-up or

 

      16        rebuttal shall be limited to the issues brought

 

      17        up by the speakers.

 

      18             In some instances, the Chair may permit a

 

      19        concise surrebuttal or response to the

 

      20        applicant's rebuttal, which will be followed by

 

      21        a brief final response by the applicant.

 

      22             Finally, all quasi-judicial decisions must

 

      23        be based on substantial competent evidence,

 

      24        which means the committee's decision must be

 

      25        supported by fact-based testimony or expert

 

                                                              7

 

       1        testimony and not generalized concerns or

 

       2        opinions.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Reingold.

 

       4             Ms. Johnson, are you here on any

 

       5        particular item?

 

       6             MS. JOHNSON:  Yes.  Thank you,

 

       7        Mr. Chairman.

 

       8             The item that I'm here on is on Page 4.

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  The cemetery?

 

      10             MS. JOHNSON:  Number 8.  Yes.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I have Mr. Hyde

 

      12        here, and we're going to take up something that

 

      13        we couldn't deal with last time.  So we'll take

 

      14        up Item 1, and then we'll take up your item --

 

      15             MS. JOHNSON:  Thank you.

 

      16             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- so you don't have to

 

      17        stay unless, of course, you want to.

 

      18             So with that said, Item 1, we normally

 

      19        begin with a Planning Department report,

 

      20        although when we took this up last week, I

 

      21        think I mentioned that we would start with a

 

      22        summary of how we got to where we are tonight.

 

      23             And I understand, Mr. Hyde, you're going

 

      24        to do that summary.  So if you would like to

 

      25        just kind of walk us through the introduction

 

                                                              8

 

       1        of -326 and how it's morphed, where it is

 

       2        today.  And then we're going to hear from

 

       3        Mr. Killingsworth from the Planning Department.

 

       4             MR. HYDE:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  And

 

       5        I'll be brief.

 

       6             I know many of you have heard this

 

       7        explanation.  We had a -- really, I appreciate

 

       8        the opportunity that all of you gave me

 

       9        yesterday in our noticed meeting.  A lot of

 

      10        good questions were asked and we really hashed

 

      11        it out a lot there.

 

      12             My original concern about this topic came

 

      13        about by looking at the proliferation of

 

      14        internet cafes which run sweepstakes operations

 

      15        throughout the county, as well as some of the

 

      16        practices and activities that I saw in there,

 

      17        and some constituent complaints that I had

 

      18        received.

 

      19             As you know, when I introduced the bill, I

 

      20        believe it was in April, it would have proposed

 

      21        an outright ban on these machines in terms of

 

      22        the type of display they could use, anything

 

      23        that would have mimicked what we would

 

      24        typically see as a slot machine or casino

 

      25        gambling.  The idea being that I thought it was

 

                                                              9

 

       1        deceptive to the public as to what they were

 

       2        receiving.  And frankly, we don't have approved

 

       3        gambling in Duval County, nor do I want

 

       4        anything that simulated that.

 

       5             As we worked through this legislation, it

 

       6        became apparent to me that there were a number

 

       7        of groups involved in it, a number of people,

 

       8        and that frankly, this industry employs a lot

 

       9        of people in Duval County at a time that we

 

      10        know our joblessness is such a high rate that I

 

      11        was concerned about the impact of losing that

 

      12        number of jobs as well as the impact on the

 

      13        properties that are currently being leased for

 

      14        these establishments.

 

      15             So in conversations with representatives

 

      16        of the operators of the Internet cafes, one of

 

      17        the things that we talked about was because it

 

      18        is an otherwise lawful activity, how could we

 

      19        regulate it so that the consumers of this

 

      20        service and product would know exactly what

 

      21        they were going to receive, and also to address

 

      22        some of the concerns that had been raised

 

      23        regarding security for the employees who work

 

      24        there as well as the patrons.

 

      25             That then led to the conversation which we

 

                                                              10

 

       1        are now -- the bill we have before us, in one

 

       2        of the sections with a very tightly-regulated

 

       3        prescription for these activities.  It also led

 

       4        to the proposal of saying that let's limit the

 

       5        number of these establishments within Duval

 

       6        County and ultimately decrease them from the

 

       7        level that we are at, and through natural

 

       8        attrition get down to a level of 20.

 

       9             I will tell you there is no magic in the

 

      10        number 20, but it seemed to be a fair and

 

      11        workable number given the amount that we

 

      12        currently have in the county and where we think

 

      13        that we might go to.

 

      14             There was also issues brought up with

 

      15        regard to the part of the bill dealing with

 

      16        what are called adult arcades.  And, again, in

 

      17        an attempt to limit that type of activity, one

 

      18        of the proposals that you see in the overall

 

      19        bill is to allow those types of activities only

 

      20        on otherwise licensed pari-mutuel facilities.

 

      21        Currently, we have in Duval County two of those

 

      22        licensed pari-mutuel facilities.

 

      23             So it creates a division between where

 

      24        those adult arcade activities can be

 

      25        maintained, very limited there, as well as the

 

                                                              11

 

       1        restrictions on the Internet cafe.

 

       2             As many of you know, we have worked

 

       3        extensively on various proposals that deal with

 

       4        the regulation, the security, and, now before

 

       5        this committee, some of the zoning issues, and

 

       6        the idea here is to provide very tight

 

       7        regulation while there's still time allowing

 

       8        them to operate.

 

       9             Since we last met two weeks ago, a couple

 

      10        of things have occurred.  One, Mr. Crescimbeni

 

      11        both yesterday and previously had some

 

      12        questions about the permits, how new permits

 

      13        were going to be obtained when there was this

 

      14        attrition.  And I think, Mr. Crescimbeni,

 

      15        correct me wrong (sic), you've seen language on

 

      16        that and will entertain that in amendment.  The

 

      17        language I have seen, which was proposed to

 

      18        you, I am perfectly acceptable with.  And if

 

      19        there's any further tweaks that you have, you

 

      20        know, certainly look at those.

 

      21             We also talked to the sheriff.  He had

 

      22        some concerns about his role and did not want

 

      23        to take on the permitting role.  And that's now

 

      24        been placed under Environmental Compliance, and

 

      25        Ebenezer that we've all worked with will be

 

                                                              12

 

       1        handling that.  The sheriff retains the

 

       2        compliance activity and the enforcement

 

       3        activity, which is certainly appropriate for

 

       4        him, and he's willing to take that role on.

 

       5             So I think what we have before us and

 

       6        which was approved by PHS tonight, and today

 

       7        will be the last committee it will go through,

 

       8        it is the result of a lot of compromise.  I

 

       9        think it's fair compromise.  It's fair to say

 

      10        that any number of people who have been

 

      11        affected by this, and you'll recall the evening

 

      12        when we had the, frankly, hundreds of people

 

      13        come down and talk about it, we have reached

 

      14        out to them.  I have met with them personally

 

      15        on numerous occasions.  I know some of you all

 

      16        have met with them.  So while no one agrees

 

      17        that everything about this bill is perfect, I

 

      18        do think that we have addressed all of the

 

      19        industry concerns in meeting my goal, frankly,

 

      20        of limiting this activity as much as we can be.

 

      21             I maintain to this day I'm still not a fan

 

      22        of this industry, but there are many lawful,

 

      23        legal industries that might not be my personal

 

      24        preference.  But I think that we achieved some

 

      25        goals here of the consumers of these activities

 

                                                              13

 

       1        understanding exactly what they are getting,

 

       2        that it is done in a safe environment, in one

 

       3        which leads to a proper business activity in

 

       4        Jacksonville.

 

       5             Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for letting me

 

       6        walk you through that.

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Hyde.  I

 

       8        appreciate that.  That was an excellent

 

       9        summary.

 

      10             And, Mr. Killingsworth, we will hear from

 

      11        you, and then we'll open up for public hearing.

 

      12             MR. KILLINGSWORTH:  Thank you,

 

      13        Mr. Chairman.  Is this on?

 

      14             Bill Killingsworth, director of Planning

 

      15        and Development.

 

      16             2010-326 seeks to establish a new chapter,

 

      17        Chapter 155, to regulate the operation of adult

 

      18        arcade/amusement centers, to establish Chapter

 

      19        156 to regulate the operations of game

 

      20        promotions utilizing electronic equipment, and

 

      21        to amend Chapter 655 to allow for adult

 

      22        arcade/amusement centers and for game

 

      23        promotions utilizing electronic equipment in

 

      24        CCG-1 and CCG-2 by right, and in IL by

 

      25        exception as long as they conform to

 

                                                              14

 

       1        performance standards and development criteria

 

       2        as set forth in Part 4 of -656.

 

       3             This bill furthers the purposes of the

 

       4        comprehensive plan and the zoning code as it

 

       5        promotes the public health and safety by

 

       6        ensuring that these businesses are properly

 

       7        regulated and that they are appropriately

 

       8        located.

 

       9             In particular, Goal 1 of the future land

 

      10        use element is to ensure that the character and

 

      11        location of land uses optimize the combined

 

      12        potentials for economic benefit, enjoyment and

 

      13        protection of natural resources while

 

      14        minimizing the threat to health, safety and

 

      15        welfare posed by hazards, nuisances,

 

      16        incompatible land uses and environmental

 

      17        degradation.

 

      18             Future land use element policy 1.1.7

 

      19        requires that gradual transition of densities

 

      20        and intensities between land uses in

 

      21        conformance with this element shall be achieved

 

      22        through zoning and development review

 

      23        processes.

 

      24             Based upon an examination of the proposed

 

      25        ordinance with respect to the goals, objectives

 

                                                              15

 

       1        and policies of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and

 

       2        the intent of the zoning code, the Planning

 

       3        Department finds that Ordinance 2010-326 is

 

       4        consistent with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and

 

       5        the intent of the zoning code, and therefore

 

       6        recommends approval of 2010-326, subject to the

 

       7        following modifications.

 

       8             I passed out -- or actually, I asked staff

 

       9        to pass out changes to our report which change

 

      10        the modifications that we're requesting.

 

      11             On Page 38 of the ordinance as filed, Line

 

      12        10, the department would request that the word

 

      13        "any" be inserted between kk, close

 

      14        parentheses, period, and game promotions

 

      15        utilizing electronic equipment.  And that

 

      16        "operated by a licensed permit holder" be

 

      17        stricken.

 

      18             We would also request that after "distance

 

      19        limitations" that "for game promotions

 

      20        utilizing electronic equipment operated by a

 

      21        licensed permit holder or de minimis activity

 

      22        facility" be inserted.

 

      23             As well as on Line 23, the map shall show,

 

      24        and insert "existing zoning and all locations

 

      25        of schools, churches, military installations

 

                                                              16

 

       1        within a radius of 750 feet of the proposed

 

       2        location."

 

       3             And with those modifications, the

 

       4        department can support this bill.

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you,

 

       6        Mr. Killingsworth?

 

       7             Any questions for Mr. Killingsworth?

 

       8             All right.  Stand by.  May have some in a

 

       9        minute.

 

      10             All right.  We have a public hearing on

 

      11        this matter scheduled for this evening.  The

 

      12        public hearing is open.

 

      13             Do we have any speaker cards?

 

      14             No speaker cards.

 

      15             No one wants to address the committee?

 

      16             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing no one,

 

      18        then the public hearing is closed and we are

 

      19        back at committee.

 

      20             Now, before us we have, Mr. Reingold, is

 

      21        this document that Mr. Killingsworth

 

      22        referenced, is it incorporated into this master

 

      23        amendment that was adopted by Public Health and

 

      24        Safety earlier?

 

      25             MR. REINGOLD:  To the Chair, partially.

 

                                                              17

 

       1        And Mr. Killingsworth can get up and explain if

 

       2        I'm wrong.

 

       3             There are three aspects of their proposed

 

       4        amendment, one of which is actually addressed

 

       5        in the PHS amendment, and that is on

 

       6        656.401(kk)(1) where it says "distance

 

       7        limitations for game promotions utilizing

 

       8        electronic equipment operated by a licensed

 

       9        permit holder or a de minimis activity

 

      10        facility."  That issue has been resolved

 

      11        through the PHS amendment.  So that does not

 

      12        need to be amended.

 

      13             It is my understanding through my

 

      14        discussions with Mr. Killingsworth he still

 

      15        would like the word "any" to be included at the

 

      16        beginning at 656.401 KK, and he would also like

 

      17        that the provision that the map shall show

 

      18        "existing zoning and all locations."  Those

 

      19        were the two points that I believe

 

      20        Mr. Killingsworth wanted included if the PHS

 

      21        amendment was adopted.

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you.

 

      23             Mr. Gabriel, do you want to come and sit

 

      24        up here so we can see you?  Yeah, you can sit

 

      25        right over next to your colleague there,

 

                                                              18

 

       1        Mr. Reingold.

 

       2             All right.  So everyone should have a copy

 

       3        of what Mr. Killingsworth was referencing, the

 

       4        one-page document.  And everyone should have a

 

       5        copy of the -- I'll call it the master

 

       6        amendment that Mr. Hyde has been working on for

 

       7        a number of days.  What is it, 14 pages, 15

 

       8        pages.

 

       9             So with that --

 

      10             MR. REDMAN:  I move the amendment.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  I have a motion on the --

 

      12             MR. JOOST:  Second.

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- master 15-page amendment

 

      14        with the Killingsworth or the Planning

 

      15        Department's recommendations as well.

 

      16             Second by Mr. Joost.

 

      17             Any discussion on that amendment?

 

      18             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I have one question,

 

      20        and through the Chair -- as the Chair,

 

      21        Mr. Hyde, I had a conversation with Mr. Mathis

 

      22        and Mr. Duggan and Mr. Mann earlier, and I had

 

      23        two points that I wanted to clarify on the

 

      24        latest -- I'll call it is Hyde amendment with

 

      25        regard to the drawing of a new permit.  I was

 

                                                             19

 

       1        hopeful that that would be conducted in a

 

       2        public forum, a public venue, something similar

 

       3        to when we open RFPs or bids, et cetera.

 

       4             And my other question I think was relating

 

       5        to -- I got to look.

 

       6             MR. HYDE:  Mr. Gabriel told me there was

 

       7        two issues, the public, I think that makes

 

       8        sense, and I've asked him to incorporate

 

       9        language to that effect.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  And the other one

 

      11        was with regard to the list of things to prove

 

      12        that you were open before August 9th of 2010.

 

      13             MR. HYDE:  Right.  It was to clarify

 

      14        language that would show and strengthen that

 

      15        they really were in existence and operating,

 

      16        not some shell.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.

 

      18             MR. HYDE:  And I think that would be --

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  So we can assume that's

 

      20        part of this master -- okay.

 

      21             And then the only other thing I had, and

 

      22        I'll work on something maybe between now and

 

      23        Tuesday, was helping to clarify that 14-day

 

      24        cessation period, but I don't have as much

 

      25        trouble with that.  I know you've taken a stab

 

                                                              20

 

       1        at that, so it's much more comfortable for me.

 

       2             So with that said, any further discussion

 

       3        on the amendment which incorporates those two

 

       4        minor changes, Mr. Killingsworth's comments and

 

       5        everything that Mr. Hyde has been working on

 

       6        for the past couple of weeks?

 

       7             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  All those in

 

       9        favor say yes.

 

      10             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Yes.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Opposed say no.

 

      12             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, you've

 

      14        adopted the omnibus amendment.

 

      15             MR. R. BROWN:  Move the bill as amended.

 

      16             MR. HOLT:  Second.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion on the bill by

 

      18        Mr. Joost (sic).  Second by Mr. Holt as

 

      19        amended.

 

      20             Any discussion?

 

      21             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, open the ballot,

 

      23        vote.

 

      24             (Committee ballot opened.)

 

      25             MR. CRESCIMBENI:  (Votes yea)

 

                                                              21

 

       1             MR. JOOST:  (Votes yea)

 

       2             MR. REDMAN:  (Votes yea)

 

       3             MR. R. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

       4             MR. D. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

       5             MR. HOLT:  (Votes yea)

 

       6             (Committee ballot closed)

 

       7             MS. LAHMEUR:  Six yea, zero nay.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, you've

 

       9        approved Item 1, 2010-326.

 

      10             Thank you, Mr. Hyde.  You've certainly got

 

      11        a ton of hours in this, as do a lot of the

 

      12        folks in the audience, and we appreciate it.  I

 

      13        think we've come a very long way since April,

 

      14        and I hope everybody's happy and has some skin

 

      15        in the game at this point.  So thank you.

 

      16             MR. HYDE:  Thank you.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  We'll see how it goes.

 

      18             All right.  Ms. Johnson, your item number

 

      19        was item -- was it Number 4?

 

      20             MS. JOHNSON:  I'm sorry.  On Page 4,

 

      21        Number 8, 2010 --

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  Right.  Number 8.  Let's

 

      23        skip ahead to Page 4, Item 8, 2010-770.  And we

 

      24        have a report.

 

      25             Ms. Shaw, are you going to give the report

 

                                                              22

 

       1        or Mr. McEachin, are you going to give the

 

       2        report?

 

       3             MS. JOHNSON:  I'm giving it.

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  We have to get it from them

 

       5        first, then we'll come to you.

 

       6             MS. JOHNSON:  Oh.

 

       7             MS. SHAW:  Through the Chair, Cherry Shaw,

 

       8        Office of General Counsel.

 

       9             As you recall, two weeks ago this bill was

 

      10        continued in order to allow the committee

 

      11        members to review the application and

 

      12        supporting materials.  Mr. McEachin also had

 

      13        additional information that we can also provide

 

      14        to the committee.  And I am just going to let

 

      15        Mr. McEachin provide that additional

 

      16        information.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you,

 

      18        Ms. Shaw.

 

      19             Mr. McEachin.

 

      20             MR. MCEACHIN:  Yes.  Through the Chair to

 

      21        the committee, this landmark application was

 

      22        requested by Councilmember Glorious Johnson.

 

      23        The Preservation Commission then charged the

 

      24        Planning and Development Department to develop

 

      25        the application and make a report back to the

 

                                                              23

 

       1        Historic Preservation Commission.  After a

 

       2        public hearing and proper notification, that

 

       3        was done.  The commission accepted our report

 

       4        and recommendations.  The Old City Cemetery is

 

       5        qualified for local landmark site designation.

 

       6             Our recommendation was based upon finding

 

       7        that the cemetery meets four of seven

 

       8        standards, which is really quite high.  And the

 

       9        standards are outlined both in our report as

 

      10        well as within the application itself.

 

      11             And I'll be happy to answer any further

 

      12        questions on this if you have any or want to go

 

      13        in more detail about any aspect of the

 

      14        application or the report.

 

      15             Thank you.

 

      16             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. McEachin, how many

 

      17        cemeteries have a similar designation that

 

      18        the --

 

      19             MR. MCEACHIN:  About nine or ten

 

      20        cemeteries are so-designated.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

      22             Any questions from the committee for

 

      23        Mr. McEachin?

 

      24             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing none,

 

                                                              24

 

       1        this is a quasi-judicial matter.  Does anyone

 

       2        have any ex-parte communication to disclose

 

       3        prior to the public hearing?

 

       4             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing none, we

 

       6        do have a public hearing scheduled this

 

       7        evening.  The public hearing is open.

 

       8             No speaker cards?

 

       9             Anyone care to address the committee?

 

      10             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Seeing no one, the public

 

      12        hearing is closed.

 

      13             Ms. Johnson -- Ms. Johnson, let me point

 

      14        out for the record that this bill was deferred

 

      15        at the last meeting because we didn't have any

 

      16        paperwork in our books on it.  There was no --

 

      17        Ms. Shaw began her discussion and started

 

      18        referencing some documents, and when we turned

 

      19        to our book, there was no pages under the tab.

 

      20        So that caused the two-week delay.

 

      21             But, Ms. Johnson, you're on the queue, so

 

      22        you may have the floor.

 

      23             MS. JOHNSON:  Thank you very much.  And

 

      24        I'll make this very short.

 

      25             I would like -- Mr. McEachin, I'm sorry, I

 

                                                              25

 

       1        was rushing to get over here, and thank you so

 

       2        much for the compilation that you have done on

 

       3        the booklet.

 

       4             But many of you may have been over to the

 

       5        cemetery.  It was actually purchased by

 

       6        Mr. Willey in 1852.  He purchased four acres of

 

       7        the property.  Well, he purchased over 200-plus

 

       8        acres, but four acres was given to the City in

 

       9        order for us to bury those who were unable to

 

      10        pay for burial.  But it wind up being something

 

      11        totally different because what happened was

 

      12        when the actual burial started, we wind up with

 

      13        a Confederate section, we wind up with an

 

      14        African-American section, we wind up with a

 

      15        Jewish section, there were many different

 

      16        sections in that one little four-acre cemetery.

 

      17             And being that many people, citizens in

 

      18        the community have started putting their moneys

 

      19        in to try to preserve it, for example, the

 

      20        Confederate veterans, what they have done is

 

      21        spent over $10,000, and they restored a

 

      22        platform for people who have events or honor

 

      23        people who have been buried there, they can

 

      24        have ceremonies there and they have a place to

 

      25        go, a shed where they can go.

 

                                                              26

 

       1             There was a book written, and it's going

 

       2        to be published very soon by Ms. Jameson who

 

       3        lived in the area.  At one time the area was

 

       4        called Oakland, and it was where a majority of

 

       5        the black community lived which was called the

 

       6        Eastside also.  And in that area, Ms. Jameson

 

       7        and her family, the Mungens are very well-known

 

       8        in that community.  She wrote a book about the

 

       9        cemetery and the people who were buried in that

 

      10        cemetery.  In fact, one of the part-owners of

 

      11        that cemetery was James Weldon Johnson.  And it

 

      12        was Alva Knight.

 

      13             So I'm glad that we are finally giving it

 

      14        a landmark designation just like we did for

 

      15        Brewster Hospital because of the fact there are

 

      16        funds available at the federal level that will

 

      17        help to keep those type of, let's say,

 

      18        buildings, cemeteries and so forth, history,

 

      19        preserved.

 

      20             And this was really actually done by

 

      21        President Bush wife who set up a program where

 

      22        buildings and cemeteries and so forth can

 

      23        receive the funds to restore it throughout this

 

      24        country so that our young people will know that

 

      25        there were some really good history in this

 

                                                              27

 

       1        city.

 

       2             And I hope that you support this bill

 

       3        where it can become a landmark and it can

 

       4        receive the funds that will help to continue to

 

       5        keep it restored, because presently we have

 

       6        citizens who are actually using their moneys,

 

       7        and they have once-a-month cleanups to help

 

       8        keep the place clean.

 

       9             Thank you very much.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Ms. Johnson.

 

      11             And thank you for bringing this to the

 

      12        council for consideration.  I mean I've driven

 

      13        by that particular -- being a frequent user of

 

      14        the Mathews Bridge and expressway, I never

 

      15        would have dreamed that that didn't already

 

      16        have a designation.  So good work.

 

      17             Any questions from the committee?

 

      18             Mr. Joost.

 

      19             MR. JOOST:  Through the Chair to

 

      20        Ms. Johnson, I was actually reading this

 

      21        earlier today, and I was just wondering, it

 

      22        said in 1865 the United States Government

 

      23        confiscated -- Captain Willey's remaining land

 

      24        around the Old City Cemetery was confiscated by

 

      25        the U.S. District Court in 1865.  Just out of

 

                                                             28

 

       1        my own curiosity, do you know why they did

 

       2        that?

 

       3             MS. JOHNSON:  Mr. McEachin may have to

 

       4        answer that.  I don't know if it was for taxes

 

       5        or what it was for.  But even --

 

       6             MR. JOOST:  I was just curious.  I mean he

 

       7        gave all this land to the city, and then the

 

       8        government takes the rest of his land --

 

       9             MS. JOHNSON:  Well, that's the government.

 

      10             MR. JOOST:  I mean no good deed --

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. McEachin, do you have

 

      12        an answer for that?  It sounds like something

 

      13        between the North and the South.

 

      14             MR. MCEACHIN:  I think that probably is

 

      15        the case.  I don't know for a fact, but my

 

      16        sense is that it resulted from not paying taxes

 

      17        and that it was acquired and sold --

 

      18             MS. JOHNSON:  It was taxes.

 

      19             MR. MCEACHIN:  -- sort of like a tax deed

 

      20        sale or something like that.

 

      21             MS. JOHNSON:  I was right.  It was taxes.

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  Any other questions?

 

      23             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      24             THE CHAIRMAN:  Is there a motion on the

 

      25        bill?

 

                                                             29

 

       1             MR. JOOST:  Move the bill.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion by Mr. Joost.

 

       3             MR. R. BROWN:  Second.

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  Second by Councilman Reggie

 

       5        Brown.

 

       6             Discussion?

 

       7             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, open the ballot,

 

       9        vote.

 

      10             MR. CRESCIMBENI:  (Votes yea)

 

      11             MR. JOOST:  (Votes yea)

 

      12             MR. REDMAN:  (Votes yea)

 

      13             MR. R. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

      14             MR. D. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

      15             (Committee ballot closed)

 

      16             MS. LAHMEUR:  Five yea, zero nay.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, you've

 

      18        approved Item 8, 2010-770.

 

      19             MS. JOHNSON:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and

 

      20        thank you, colleagues.  Mr. McEachin and

 

      21        Cherry, thank you.

 

      22             Thank you.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  Turning back to Page 2 at

 

      24        the bottom, Item 2, 1020-389, we're not going

 

      25        to take this bill up tonight.  We do have a

 

                                                              30

 

       1        public hearing scheduled.  The public hearing

 

       2        is open.

 

       3             Any speaker cards?

 

       4             None.

 

       5             Anyone care to address the committee?

 

       6             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing no one,

 

       8        the public hearing is continued until

 

       9        January 4th of 2011.

 

      10             Turning over to Page 3, Item 3, 2010-585.

 

      11        There will be no action on this bill tonight,

 

      12        but is it scheduled for a public hearing.

 

      13             We have a public hearing that is now open.

 

      14             Do we have any speaker cards?

 

      15             Anyone care to address the committee?

 

      16             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  Seeing no one, the public

 

      18        hearing is continued also until January 4th,

 

      19        and no further action on that.

 

      20             Items 4 and 5 on Page 3 are both deferred.

 

      21             Turning to Page 4, Item 6, 2010-618 is

 

      22        deferred, as is Item 7, 2010-670.

 

      23             We just took up and approved Item 8.

 

      24             That takes us to the bottom of the page.

 

      25        Item 4 -- I mean on Page 4, Item 9, 2010-782.

 

                                                              31

 

       1             Mr. Kelly for the staff report.

 

       2             MR. KELLY:  Thank you.  To the Chair and

 

       3        to the LUZ Committee, Ordinance 2010-782 seeks

 

       4        to rezone approximately 115 acres from PUD to

 

       5        PUD.  The subject property is at the northwest

 

       6        quadrant of the Kernan Boulevard and Atlantic

 

       7        Boulevard interchange.

 

       8             Previously, the PUD prior to 2005-643 was

 

       9        the subject of the settlement agreement between

 

      10        the developer and the Planning Department as it

 

      11        related to the verification compliance of that

 

      12        ordinance and that site plan, and there are

 

      13        many stipulations that were put into that

 

      14        document.

 

      15             The property, my understanding is it has

 

      16        changed hands.  The new property owner is now

 

      17        looking to get some relief from portions of the

 

      18        settlement agreement.

 

      19             The department is supportive of this PUD.

 

      20        We find it again, as consistent with the

 

      21        comprehensive plan, and actually takes into

 

      22        account many of the pre-existing agreements

 

      23        between the department and the developer from

 

      24        the previous settlement agreement.

 

      25             Additionally, the property immediately

 

                                                              32

 

       1        west of this was recently rezoned to provide

 

       2        for a commercial town center neighborhood

 

       3        development, which was the intent of the

 

       4        original PUD that was on this property.

 

       5        However, this property's been developing out

 

       6        more of a big box commercial development with

 

       7        mixed use and residential to the north.

 

       8        However, the adjacent PUD mitigates for the

 

       9        fact that the loss of the overall town

 

      10        center-type of development that was originally

 

      11        proposed on this site.

 

      12             However, the department again finds it

 

      13        consistent with the goals, objectives and

 

      14        policies of the comprehensive plan, finds it

 

      15        consistent with numerous policies within that

 

      16        future land use element.  The department is

 

      17        recommending approval subject to the conditions

 

      18        in the letter dated November 10th, 2010, to

 

      19        Council President Webb.

 

      20             There are a couple of modifications.  I

 

      21        could go over the changes to the written

 

      22        description, but we do have a revised site

 

      23        plan, specifically, it's dated November 9th,

 

      24        and a revised written description, also dated

 

      25        November 9th, 2010.

 

                                                              33

 

       1             The department is recommending approval

 

       2        subject to the conditions of the memorandum.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Kelly.

 

       4             What's the date of the memorandum?

 

       5             MR. KELLY:  It's November 10th.

 

       6             I'll read them into the record just --

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  Yes.  Let's --

 

       8             MR. KELLY:  -- clarify.  Thank you.

 

       9             "The development shall be subject to the

 

      10        original legal description dated

 

      11        September 23rd, 2010."

 

      12             Condition 2, "The development shall be

 

      13        subject to the revised written description

 

      14        dated November 9th, 2010."

 

      15             Condition 3, "The development shall be

 

      16        subject to the revised site plan dated November

 

      17        9th, 2010."

 

      18             Condition 4, "The development shall

 

      19        proceed in accordance with the Development

 

      20        Services Division memorandum dated October 6th,

 

      21        2010, or as otherwise reviewed and approved by

 

      22        the Planning and Development Department."

 

      23             Condition 5, "The development shall be

 

      24        prohibited from using the Florida -- Floridian

 

      25        aquifer water for irrigation and shall be

 

                                                              34

 

       1        required to connect to the JEA reuse water

 

       2        level."

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Kelly.

 

       4             All right.  This is a quasi-judicial

 

       5        matter.

 

       6             Does anyone have any ex-parte

 

       7        communication to disclose?

 

       8             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing none, we

 

      10        have a public hearing scheduled this evening.

 

      11        The public hearing is open.

 

      12             I have one speaker's card.

 

      13             Michael Herzberg.

 

      14             MR. HERZBERG:  Good evening, sir, members

 

      15        of the committee.

 

      16             My name is Michael Herzberg.  My address

 

      17        is 1 Sleiman Parkway, Jacksonville, Florida,

 

      18        32216.

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Herzberg, before you

 

      20        begin, did you hear the conditions that were

 

      21        read into the record?

 

      22             MR. HERZBERG:  Yes, sir.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  Do you accept --

 

      24             MR. HERZBERG:  Yes, sir, I do.

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you.  You may

 

                                                              35

 

       1        begin.

 

       2             MR. HERZBERG:  Thank you.

 

       3             Simply put, we agree with the conditions.

 

       4        We thank the department for its review.  As

 

       5        Mr. Kelly said, this is really now become the

 

       6        power center component to this development

 

       7        whereas previously, the previous owner had

 

       8        intended it to be a town center, which was the

 

       9        basis of the stipulated settlement agreement.

 

      10             The town center aspect of this development

 

      11        will be shifted to the west.  This will be the

 

      12        power center component just similar to what you

 

      13        see at the St. Johns Town Center.  Clearly, not

 

      14        all of the St. Johns Town Center in the

 

      15        Southside is a town center.  The vast majority

 

      16        of it is actually a power center in the area

 

      17        where the Target is, things of that nature.

 

      18        It's not as walkable.  This area will actually

 

      19        provide more walkable areas even in the power

 

      20        center than the St. Johns Town Center does.

 

      21             As Mr. Kelly said, a number of those

 

      22        matters have been retained and are included in

 

      23        the site, a written description, including

 

      24        pedestrian causeways, pedestrian areas of

 

      25        refuge, almost park-like setting in numerous

 

                                                             36

 

       1        areas of that.

 

       2             With that, I'll close so as not to take up

 

       3        any more of your time.

 

       4             Again, appreciate your support, and thank

 

       5        you very much.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Herzberg, did I

 

       7        understand the staff to say that this has

 

       8        recently changed hands, ownership?

 

       9             MR. HERZBERG:  Mr. Chairman, it hasn't

 

      10        recently changed hands, but it has changed

 

      11        hands in approximately the last two years, and

 

      12        that change was --

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  You were here on this

 

      14        property earlier in the year, right, for a

 

      15        store that opened I think --

 

      16             MR. HERZBERG:  Yes, sir.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- Saturday or maybe this

 

      18        Saturday?

 

      19             MR. HERZBERG:  Academy opened up Friday,

 

      20        yes, sir.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  Seen lots of television

 

      22        commercials for that.  So congratulations on

 

      23        getting that off -- I think they wanted to be

 

      24        open by Thanksgiving, and it sounds like they

 

      25        met their target date.

 

                                                              37

 

       1             MR. HERZBERG:  Thank you very much, sir.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  Any other questions for

 

       3        Mr. Herzberg from the committee?

 

       4             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Anyone else

 

       6        care to address the committee?

 

       7             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing none,

 

       9        then the public hearing is closed.

 

      10             MR. JOOST:  Move the amendment.

 

      11             MR. HOLT:  Second.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion on the amendment,

 

      13        which are the conditions, by Mr. Joost.

 

      14             Second by Mr. Holt.

 

      15             Any discussion on the amendment?

 

      16             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, all those in favor

 

      18        say yes.

 

      19             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Yes.

 

      20             THE CHAIRMAN:  Opposed say no.

 

      21             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, you've

 

      23        approved the amendment.

 

      24             MR. JOOST:  Move the bill as amended.

 

      25             MR. HOLT:  Second.

 

                                                              38

 

       1             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion on the bill as

 

       2        amended by Mr. Joost.

 

       3             Second by Mr. Holt.

 

       4             Discussion?

 

       5             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, open the ballot,

 

       7        vote.

 

       8             MR. CRESCIMBENI:  (Votes yea)

 

       9             MR. JOOST:  (Votes yea)

 

      10             MR. REDMAN:  (Votes yea)

 

      11             MR. R. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

      12             MR. HOLT:  (Votes yea)

 

      13             MR. D. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

      14             (Committee ballot closed)

 

      15             MS. LAHMEUR:  Six yeas, zero nays.

 

      16             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, you've

 

      17        approved Item 9, 2010-782 as amended.

 

      18             MR. HERZBERG:  Thank you all.

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Herzberg.

 

      20        Good to see you.

 

      21             Turning to Page 5, Item 10 at the top of

 

      22        the page, 2010-783.

 

      23             Mr. Kelly.

 

      24             MR. KELLY:  Thank you.  To the Chair and

 

      25        committee, Ordinance 2010-783 is an application

 

                                                              39

 

       1        for rezoning.  This request seeks to go from a

 

       2        commercial office zoning designation to a CCG 1

 

       3        zoning designation.

 

       4             The property currently has a land use of

 

       5        Community General Commercial.  This is actually

 

       6        across the street from the previous

 

       7        application.  This is the northeast quadrant of

 

       8        Kernan and Atlantic Boulevards, approximately

 

       9        9.8 acres.  This is a parcel from the Titus

 

      10        Harvest Dome Church property.

 

      11             The department has reviewed this and finds

 

      12        that this is consistent with the comprehensive

 

      13        plan, specifically, 3.2 and 3.22 of the future

 

      14        land use element.  Additionally, we find that

 

      15        this would further the goals, objectives and

 

      16        policies within the comprehensive plan, and

 

      17        there is no conflict with any land development

 

      18        regulations.

 

      19             I did want to clarify on Page 5 of the

 

      20        staff report that that map is actually

 

      21        incorrect, that the legal description actually

 

      22        less and excepts out the northern 160 feet.  So

 

      23        the actual frontage along Abess Boulevard is

 

      24        not part of this application.  The CO is --

 

      25        basically, it's 160 feet south of Abess

 

                                                              40

 

       1        Boulevard.  The CCG-1 will be within that area.

 

       2             So just to clarify the correction to the

 

       3        legal, it's actually proposed right in the

 

       4        original documentation.  It was just that the

 

       5        zoning map was made incorrect.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Kelly.

 

       7             Will we have to have an amendment for

 

       8        that, Mr. Reingold?

 

       9             MR. REINGOLD:  I don't think we need an

 

      10        amendment.  I mean the legal description is

 

      11        correct unless I hear otherwise from staff.

 

      12        And that's the only exhibit attached to the

 

      13        contract -- I mean attached to the bill.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  Does staff concur that the

 

      15        legal description is correct and just the map

 

      16        is incorrect on the report?

 

      17             MR. KELLY:  Just so long that -- well, I

 

      18        personally didn't review the legal description.

 

      19        It's 9.81 acres.  As long as it doesn't entail

 

      20        going beyond that, we're in agreement.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  Can staff and legal get

 

      22        together before Tuesday, Mr. Reingold?

 

      23             MR. REINGOLD:  I can clarify the issue

 

      24        now.

 

      25             There is a legal description that is

 

                                                              41

 

       1        Exhibit 1 that is in your book.  It describes

 

       2        9.81 acres.  You have a sketch of the property

 

       3        that also is 9.81 acres.  If you look at that

 

       4        sketch, that property does not go all the way

 

       5        up to Abess Boulevard.  So it appears that the

 

       6        legal description is correct as Mr. Kelly

 

       7        described it.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  You're talking about

 

       9        part of Exhibit B or something there, last

 

      10        page?

 

      11             MR. REINGOLD:  It's right after Exhibit B,

 

      12        Agent Authorization, you will see a piece of

 

      13        property that is demonstrated to be -- does not

 

      14        connect up to Abess Boulevard, and you will see

 

      15        the legal description, although in very small

 

      16        words and letters, being 9.81 acres.  And that

 

      17        is the legal description, the 9.81 acres that

 

      18        was attached to the ordinance.

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  So no amendment is needed?

 

      20             MR. REINGOLD:  Therefore, no amendment is

 

      21        needed.

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

      23             Any questions from the committee for

 

      24        Mr. Kelly?

 

      25             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

                                                             42

 

       1             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Anyone have any

 

       2        ex-parte -- this is a quasi-judicial matter.

 

       3        Does anyone have any ex-parte communication to

 

       4        disclose?

 

       5             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing none, we

 

       7        have a public hearing this evening.  The public

 

       8        hearing is open.

 

       9             I have one speaker card.  Scott Lyons.

 

      10             Mr. Lyons.

 

      11             MR. LYONS:  Scott Lyons, AVA Engineers,

 

      12        9283 San Jose Boulevard.  I'm here to answer

 

      13        any questions.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Lyons.

 

      15             Any questions from the committee?

 

      16             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you, sir.

 

      18             And, Mr. Kelly, there were no conditions,

 

      19        correct?

 

      20             MR. KELLY:  Correct.  This is a

 

      21        conventional rezoning.

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you,

 

      23        Mr. Lyons.  If you'll just have a seat on the

 

      24        front row there just in case anything pops up.

 

      25             Anyone else care to address the committee?

 

                                                              43

 

       1             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing no one,

 

       3        the public hearing is closed.

 

       4             MR. JOOST:  Move the bill.

 

       5             MR. HOLT:  Second.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion on the bill by

 

       7        Mr. Joost.

 

       8             Second by Mr. Holt.

 

       9             Discussion?

 

      10             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, open the ballot,

 

      12        vote.

 

      13             MR. CRESCIMBENI:  (Votes yea)

 

      14             MR. JOOST:  (Votes yea)

 

      15             MR. REDMAN:  (Votes yea)

 

      16             MR. D. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

      17             MR. HOLT:  (Votes yea)

 

      18             MR. R. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

      19             (Committee ballot closed)

 

      20             MS. LAHMEUR:  Six yea, zero nay.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, you've

 

      22        approved Item 10, 2010-783.

 

      23             Item 11, 2010 -- I tell you what.  Before

 

      24        we take that up, Item 12 is deferred; Item 13,

 

      25        14 are both read second, as are the last two

 

                                                              44

 

       1        items on Page 6, Items 15 and 16.

 

       2             So that leaves one item left on our

 

       3        agenda.  It is the appeal.  It is the appeal.

 

       4        Item 11, 2010-784.

 

       5             And, Mr. Teal, you are going to start off

 

       6        by giving the staff report on this.

 

       7             MR. TEAL:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

       8             Mr. Chairman, this is an appeal from the

 

       9        Historic Preservation Commission of an

 

      10        application sought by a property owner in the

 

      11        Riverside Avondale Historic District to enclose

 

      12        an existing carport that was constructed around

 

      13        1962.  The actual structure itself was built in

 

      14        the 1920's.  So the carport was added onto the

 

      15        structure in the mid '60s.

 

      16             The applicant seeks to enclose this

 

      17        carport in order to provide additional parking

 

      18        on the property for her vehicle.  The Historic

 

      19        Preservation Commission denied the request to

 

      20        enclose the carport for purposes of the fact

 

      21        that it didn't comply with the Secretary of

 

      22        Interior standards or the design regulations

 

      23        for the Riverside Avondale Historic District,

 

      24        namely because of the fact that the carport

 

      25        itself was not original to the structure.  And

 

                                                             45

 

       1        the Historic Preservation Commission didn't

 

       2        feel that it was appropriate to create a

 

       3        more -- I guess to more formalize that addition

 

       4        to the building.

 

       5             Not only that, but the property itself

 

       6        does have vehicular parking options on it, not

 

       7        only the carport but also enclosed parking on

 

       8        the alleyway, which also serves as the garages

 

       9        for most of the other properties in the area.

 

      10             So with that, Mr. Chairman, that concludes

 

      11        the staff report.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Teal.

 

      13             This document that's passed out, is this

 

      14        your -- is this something from the ...

 

      15             MR. TEAL:  It's going to be my handout as

 

      16        far as referencing it during my portion of the,

 

      17        I guess, appeal tonight.

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  This is a handout from the

 

      19        Historic Preservation Commission?

 

      20             MR. TEAL:  No.  That's a handout that was

 

      21        prepared for the purposes of this appeal.  This

 

      22        is a de novo appeal, so you're not bound by the

 

      23        record of the Historic Preservation Commission,

 

      24        so you can receive new evidence at the appeal

 

      25        today.

 

 

                                                              46

 

       1             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you, sir.

 

       2             So is this part of your presentation,

 

       3        then?  But you're representing the Historic

 

       4        Preservation Commission?

 

       5             MR. TEAL:  I am.  I'm representing the

 

       6        Historic Preservation Commission.

 

       7             Typically, the procedural aspects of the

 

       8        appeal is that the appellant would go first and

 

       9        make their statements to the committee,

 

      10        followed by representatives of the

 

      11        neighborhood, if there are any.  I would follow

 

      12        up with the position of the commission, and

 

      13        then it would be wrapped up by the appellant

 

      14        again, just to be able to put the endcap on it.

 

      15             THE CHAIRMAN:  We're getting ready to hear

 

      16        from the appellant right now.

 

      17             MR. TEAL:  Correct.

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you very much.

 

      19             Any questions for Mr. Teal?

 

      20             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  We have a

 

      22        public hearing scheduled this -- I'm sorry.

 

      23             This is a quasi-judicial matter.  Does

 

      24        anyone have any ex-parte communication to

 

      25        disclose?

                                                              47

 

       1             Well, I do.  I received a document from, I

 

       2        guess, the Riverside Avondale Preservation

 

       3        Association and an accompanying email.  And

 

       4        it's here somewhere, and I'll turn it in in

 

       5        just a minute when I can put my hands on it.

 

       6             And I also had a phone call from Kay Ehas,

 

       7        who I think is a board member who represents

 

       8        Riverside Avondale Preservation this afternoon

 

       9        just asking if I had received this document.

 

      10        But that's all I had.

 

      11             Mr. Holt.

 

      12             MR. HOLT:  Thank you, Mr. Chair.

 

      13             I also had a conversation today with Kay

 

      14        Ehas about noon, and we discussed the home and

 

      15        the garage facilities that currently exist and

 

      16        what exactly was being applied for.

 

      17             Thank you.

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Holt.

 

      19             Councilman Reggie Brown.

 

      20             MR. R. BROWN:  Right.  Yes, Mr. Chairman,

 

      21        I'd like to declare ex-parte.

 

      22             I did receive a phone call from Kay Ehas

 

      23        earlier today to discuss this matter.

 

      24             Thank you.

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Brown.

 

                                                              48

 

       1             Anyone else?

 

       2             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  We do have a

 

       4        public hearing scheduled this evening.  The

 

       5        public hearing is open.

 

       6             I have several speaker cards, and I am

 

       7        going to begin with the appellant, Ms. Gasparo.

 

       8        And is Mr. Johnson -- he's also -- is he part

 

       9        of your group?

 

      10             MS. GASPARO:  He is.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Anyone else part of

 

      12        your group?

 

      13             MS. GASPARO:  No.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  So we'll hear

 

      15        from you two, and then we'll hear from the

 

      16        remaining speakers, and then I'll give you a

 

      17        chance to come back and rebut.

 

      18             So just begin by stating your name and

 

      19        address for the record, and you have three

 

      20        minutes.

 

      21             MS. GASPARO:  Sharon Gasparo, 1618 Talbot

 

      22        Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida, 32205.

 

      23             I'm the owner of the subject property, and

 

      24        it seems like one of the issues seems to be

 

      25        that I already have an existing garage.  And I

 

                                                              49

 

       1        don't really see how that's relevant to the

 

       2        design guidelines or the Secretary of Interior

 

       3        standards, but I'll just touch on that pretty

 

       4        quickly.

 

       5             I do have an existing garage.  I have an

 

       6        alleyway.  The alleyway is nine feet.  I

 

       7        measured it today.  And I go down my alley, I

 

       8        have a 45-degree turn to get into my garage.

 

       9             I feel there are safety issues to using

 

      10        that garage, and I don't use it.  The times

 

      11        when I have used it, I pull into the garage

 

      12        with my doors locked, I close that garage

 

      13        before I open my doors and get out of the car.

 

      14        I mean it is down a dark alley.

 

      15             I have used that alley and I have hit my

 

      16        house pulling into the garage, pulling out of

 

      17        the garage.  It is just treacherous.  My

 

      18        neighbors park their cars, there's a fence.

 

      19        It's just not -- you know, RAP in their

 

      20        presentation said that I said it was easily

 

      21        accessible.  It's not, and I never said that.

 

      22             So again, I just don't see how that is

 

      23        relevant to whether enclosing this carport

 

      24        meets the design guidelines.

 

      25             RAP states that enclosing the carport is

 

                                                              50

 

       1        not compliant with design regulations.  The

 

       2        design regulations state to avoid adding a

 

       3        garage, particularly with the doors facing the

 

       4        right-of-way in front or even with the front

 

       5        plane of the principal structure as they were

 

       6        not an integral part of the original design of

 

       7        the buildings.

 

       8             Well, if you look at the design

 

       9        guidelines, I am not adding a garage, I'm

 

      10        enclosing a carport.  And the design guidelines

 

      11        talk about in much of Riverside developed prior

 

      12        to mass production of the automobile.  As a

 

      13        result, porte cocheres and garages are not an

 

      14        integral part of the original design of

 

      15        buildings located there.

 

      16             My house is in Avondale.  In Avondale, the

 

      17        automobile was a conspicuous part of the site

 

      18        and building design.  Curb cuts, driveways and

 

      19        garages of quality materials and integrated

 

      20        design are commonplace.  Such features are

 

      21        significant to the setting and overall feeling

 

      22        of buildings and should be respected during the

 

      23        course of rehabilitation.

 

      24             The recommendations talk about retaining

 

      25        garages and porte cocheres.  Enclosures of

 

 

                                                              51

 

       1        garages are undertaken to preserve significant

 

       2        features and use materials similar in size,

 

       3        proportion and detail to the original.

 

       4             And that's all that I talked about doing,

 

       5        using the same cedar shake siding that is on

 

       6        the rest of my house, using a garage door that

 

       7        is a carriage-style garage door.  So the design

 

       8        recommendations actually talk about enclosing

 

       9        garages, and that's what I'm doing.  Not adding

 

      10        one.

 

      11             I'm not disrupting the character of the

 

      12        neighborhood --

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  Ms. Gasparo, I need you to

 

      14        wrap up.  Your time is up.  I will give you a

 

      15        chance to rebut.

 

      16             MS. GASPARO:  Okay.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  But if you have any closing

 

      18        remarks that you can make --

 

      19             MS. GASPARO:  Just that there are three

 

      20        other houses on my block with attached

 

      21        forward-facing garages, so I'm not disrupting

 

      22        the character of the neighborhood, nor

 

      23        affecting the historical integrity of my

 

      24        property that's already been modified by

 

      25        enclosing a porch, adding a porch and enclosing

                                                              52

 

       1        that and adding this carport.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, ma'am.

 

       3             Any questions from the committee?

 

       4             Ms. Gasparo, I did have a question.

 

       5             In the document that was passed out by the

 

       6        Historic Preservation Commission's legal

 

       7        counsel, there's a photograph in here appears

 

       8        that your home is for sale.  Is it for sale?

 

       9             MS. GASPARO:  It is not.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  Was it for sale?

 

      11             MS. GASPARO:  It was for sale, and that

 

      12        was one of my issues is parking.  There's two

 

      13        churches on my block, and that affects parking

 

      14        on Wednesday nights, on Sunday nights, on

 

      15        Saturdays.  I have one garage.  I have a 1962

 

      16        Corvette, and I'm a car collector by nature.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  And I assume the blue sign

 

      18        in the front yard is the waiver for the

 

      19        enclosure?

 

      20             MR. TEAL:  (Nods head.)

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  And then the alley down the

 

      22        side of your property, that's between -- that's

 

      23        on the other side of the oak tree, I'm

 

      24        guessing?  Is that correct?  Am I seeing that

 

      25        correctly?

 

                                                              53

 

       1             MS. GASPARO:  Correct.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  And you share that with,

 

       3        what, a neighbor?

 

       4             MS. GASPARO:  The alley is a right-of-way.

 

       5        It runs from Talbot to Ingleside.  So there are

 

       6        probably ten houses that share that alley, and

 

       7        garages that face the alley.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  I wasn't like a super-duper

 

       9        geometry student in 9th grade, but I think you

 

      10        have a 90-degree turn into your garage.

 

      11             MS. GASPARO:  I think I do also.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  No a 45, if that helps.

 

      13             Any other questions?

 

      14             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      15             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you,

 

      16        ma'am.

 

      17             Our next speaker is Eddie Johnson.

 

      18             Mr. Johnson, you'll be followed by Steve

 

      19        Congro, I believe, if I'm pronouncing that

 

      20        correctly, Gregory Thomas and Kay Ehas.

 

      21             Mr. Johnson, I just need you to state your

 

      22        name and address for the record.

 

      23             MR. JOHNSON:  Eddie Johnson, 4521-5 St.

 

      24        Augustine Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32207.

 

      25             I want to address the report or the

 

                                                              54

 

       1        PowerPoint RAP did.

 

       2             Item Number 3 on Page 7.  They make a

 

       3        comment regarding unsuitable condition of

 

       4        carport.  Carport does not appear to be able to

 

       5        support the installation of a garage door,

 

       6        would therefore have to be rebuilt or razed.

 

       7             I'm a licensed general contractor in the

 

       8        State of Florida.  I went out and looked at

 

       9        this property.  The current construction of the

 

      10        carport will facilitate the installation of a

 

      11        garage door as well as facilitate the

 

      12        installation of a sidewall.

 

      13             The current plans for this project do

 

      14        incorporate the porte cochere being enclosed as

 

      15        well as having -- it's currently set back off

 

      16        the front plane of the home.  Materials being

 

      17        used to enclose -- to clad the walls are cedar

 

      18        shake, not Hardie siding or some other type of

 

      19        material.

 

      20             Secondly, the design guidelines for

 

      21        Riverside Avondale, Ms. Gasparo touched on,

 

      22        they actually address porches, porte cocheres

 

      23        and garages.  One thing that they note that

 

      24        they kind of give an idea that structures were

 

      25        there less than 50 years old are insignificant

 

                                                              55

 

       1        if they can be selectively removed if

 

       2        necessary.  During the historic planning

 

       3        commission testimony there was comment made

 

       4        regarding the construction of this particular

 

       5        porte cochere.

 

       6             It's 48 years old.  The house has been --

 

       7        had multiple renovations done to it, porches

 

       8        enclosed, different things done to the property

 

       9        that have taken away from the historical

 

      10        significance of the structure.  Being that this

 

      11        particular addition is very close to the

 

      12        threshold of being incorporated into the

 

      13        historical significance of the structure, the

 

      14        recommendations tell you to retain the garages

 

      15        and porte cocheres, and if enclosures and

 

      16        garages and porte cocheres are undertaken,

 

      17        preserve significant features.  The significant

 

      18        features are going to be the exterior cladding

 

      19        of the building to match the existing cedar

 

      20        shake.

 

      21             Materials similar in size, proportion and

 

      22        detail to the original structure will be

 

      23        utilized.  Nowhere in the recommendations does

 

      24        it say that it's not advisable to enclose an

 

      25        existing porte cochere.  It mentions in the

 

                                                              56

 

       1        recommendations that properties routinely in

 

       2        their age require different renovations to suit

 

       3        personal needs of the owners.  This particular

 

       4        situation, this is a renovation or addition to

 

       5        the structure that is suiting the personal

 

       6        needs of the owner.

 

       7             So with that being said, I disagree with

 

       8        the denial by the historic planning commission,

 

       9        and I can testify that the construction of the

 

      10        materials that will be used on the property

 

      11        will be in keeping with the existing building.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you,

 

      13        Mr. Robinson -- I mean Mr. Johnson.

 

      14             Were there any questions from the

 

      15        committee?

 

      16             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Next speaker is

 

      18        Steve Congro.

 

      19             MR. CONGRO:  Steve Congro, 2623 Herschel

 

      20        Street speaking on behalf of Riverside Avondale

 

      21        Preservation.

 

      22             Committee members ask that you uphold the

 

      23        decision made by the Jacksonville Historic

 

      24        Preservation Commission, their unanimous

 

      25        decision, and deny the Certificate of

 

                                                              57

 

       1        Appropriateness be approved.  The decision was

 

       2        made because the alteration did not meet the

 

       3        legal descriptions based on the current

 

       4        ordinances, specifically, those set by the

 

       5        Secretary of Interior designs standards as well

 

       6        as Jacksonville's guidelines on changes to

 

       7        properties in the historic district, which is

 

       8        Section 307.106 of the ordinance code.

 

       9             These sections determine how alterations

 

      10        can be done and should be done to a home.  For

 

      11        example, in this section they're required --

 

      12        the applicant is required to meet Section

 

      13        307.106.1 which talks about alterations to

 

      14        historic properties.  I'll guide you to

 

      15        Subpoint 3 on there which says each building

 

      16        structure and site shall be recognized as a

 

      17        product of its own time.  An alteration which

 

      18        has no historical basis and which seeks to

 

      19        create an earlier appearance shall be

 

      20        discouraged.

 

      21             This house was built in 1927.  It was not

 

      22        built originally with a garage.  The applicant

 

      23        did state correctly that there are houses on

 

      24        that street that do have garages, however,

 

      25        those houses were built in a different

 

                                                              58

 

       1        architectural time.  They were built in the

 

       2        '40s and '50s and they are ranch style homes.

 

       3        The ranch style homes were built with garages

 

       4        because it was after the prominence of the

 

       5        automobile.  In 1927, this had not occurred.

 

       6        One of the examples of that is how Avondale is

 

       7        referred to as a street car suburb, not an

 

       8        automobile suburb because of the prevalence of

 

       9        the street car during that time when the

 

      10        neighborhood was developed.

 

      11             The regulations specifically say also to

 

      12        avoid adding a garage, particularly one that

 

      13        faces the front street of the house.

 

      14        Furthermore, the applicant also has a garage in

 

      15        the back of the property which she does say is

 

      16        easily accessible.  That's taken from the

 

      17        JHPC's minutes, Page 102, Lines 8 through 10,

 

      18        statement by the applicant.

 

      19             These guidelines were set into place --

 

      20        when the neighborhood voted in 1998, these

 

      21        guidelines passed with the over 80 percent

 

      22        approval rate from the neighborhood.  1998 was

 

      23        also seven years before Ms. Gasparo purchased

 

      24        her home.  So based on the fact that the law

 

      25        was already set, as a homeowner, you know,

 

 

                                                              59

 

       1        you're required to do due diligence.  I did

 

       2        when I purchased my home, as an example.  You

 

       3        know, the neighborhood voted for these

 

       4        requirements in '98 well before she purchased

 

       5        her home.

 

       6             So we ask that you support the decision of

 

       7        the JHPC made which we believe was made in

 

       8        accordance of law, and we ask you to uphold

 

       9        this decision.

 

      10             Thank you.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

      12             Any questions from the committee?

 

      13             Mr. Joost.

 

      14             MR. JOOST:  Thank you for coming down.  I

 

      15        got a question.

 

      16             Now, the garage we're talking about is in

 

      17        the alley?

 

      18             MR. CONGRO:  The current attached garage

 

      19        is off the alley.  There's about eight other

 

      20        houses around that alley that also have garages

 

      21        off the alley.  It's pretty commonplace in

 

      22        Riverside and Avondale to have your garage off

 

      23        the alley.

 

      24             MR. JOOST:  So it's your contention from

 

      25        what you just read to me that this is facing

                                                              60

 

       1        the front of the house, then, even though it's

 

       2        on the alley?

 

       3             MR. CONGRO:  No, sir.  The carport -- if

 

       4        the carport is enclosed, the applicant is

 

       5        proposing to add a garage door, that garage

 

       6        door would then be facing the streets.

 

       7             MR. JOOST:  So you're saying, just so I

 

       8        understand, in this example it's more

 

       9        appropriate to actually add the garage door to

 

      10        the carport that's in the front part of the

 

      11        house and not on the alleyway?

 

      12             MR. CONGRO:  No, sir.  What I'm saying is

 

      13        that the design regulations state that it's

 

      14        inappropriate to add a forward-facing garage

 

      15        door, basically, facing in the same direction

 

      16        of the house.  It's more appropriate to have

 

      17        the alley garage that's in the back and cannot

 

      18        be visible from the street.

 

      19             MR. JOOST:  So this is an alley garage and

 

      20        she's adding a door to it, so that's more

 

      21        appropriate?

 

      22             MR. CONGRO:  No, sir.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  There's a home that faces

 

      24        whatever the street is and it has a garage in

 

      25        the rear of the house on an alley that's got a

 

 

                                                              61

 

       1        garage door on it that's permitted and used, I

 

       2        guess, on occasion as a garage.

 

       3             MR. JOOST:  The alley's on the side,

 

       4        right?

 

       5             MR. CONGRO:  That's the street.

 

       6             MR. JOOST:  This is the street, but the

 

       7        alley and the garage are on the side of the

 

       8        house?

 

       9             MR. CONGRO:  The current garage is on the

 

      10        side of the house facing the alley, yes, sir.

 

      11        The applicant is proposing to enclose the

 

      12        carport, which is facing the streets.

 

      13             MR. JOOST:  This carport right here?

 

      14             MR. CONGRO:  Yes, sir.

 

      15             MR. JOOST:  Now I got you.

 

      16             MR. CONGRO:  I apologize if I was unclear.

 

      17             MR. JOOST:  No, I was confused as to

 

      18        whether we were enclosing the garage in the

 

      19        alley or in the front of the house.

 

      20             MR. CONGRO:  No, sir.  The applicant is

 

      21        proposing to enclose the carport facing the

 

      22        front of the house, the one you have your

 

      23        middle finger on.

 

      24             MR. JOOST:  That makes things clear for

 

      25        me, because my next question was going to be, I

                                                              62

 

       1        saw the pictures of all the garages in the

 

       2        alley, but we're talking about this right here?

 

       3             MR. CONGRO:  Yes, sir.

 

       4             MR. JOOST:  Okay.  Thanks so much.

 

       5             MR. CONGRO:  No problem, sir.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Hang on, sir.  One more

 

       7        question.

 

       8             Councilman Dick Brown.

 

       9             MR. D. BROWN:  I'm -- I would be in total

 

      10        support of the historic commission if someone

 

      11        was asking to add a carport to the home now,

 

      12        but wouldn't you agree that the big problem was

 

      13        well before the historic designation of the

 

      14        community but in the '60s when the carport was

 

      15        added?  That really is the big problem,

 

      16        wouldn't you agree?

 

      17             MR. CONGRO:  That's, I guess, a problem,

 

      18        sir.  But the Jacksonville historic

 

      19        Preservation Commission in their statement

 

      20        talked about how one of the reasons they were

 

      21        denying this was because the fact that it was

 

      22        an addition on a non-contributing addition to

 

      23        the house.

 

      24             MR. D. BROWN:  Right.  My concern is it

 

      25        looks like with some skillful design and this

 

                                                              63

 

       1        sort of thing that a garage door would probably

 

       2        help the look, because a carport usually

 

       3        contains all the homeowner things, historic

 

       4        garbage cans and things like that.  But it

 

       5        would look like if it were carefully designed

 

       6        that it would actually be improving the look of

 

       7        it.

 

       8             I was just trying to get a handle on the

 

       9        fact that the original integrity of the design

 

      10        was somewhat violated with the addition of that

 

      11        structure.  So I keep thinking that a door

 

      12        probably would help the look of it since we've

 

      13        already lost what was the original historic

 

      14        structure to a degree.

 

      15             MR. CONGRO:  I understand what you're

 

      16        saying, councilman.  One of the things that

 

      17        I'll reference is in Subsection L of the

 

      18        ordinance code talks about how additions to a

 

      19        house -- and I hear what you're saying, sir --

 

      20        but talks about how additions to a house should

 

      21        be in keeping with the time of the house.  The

 

      22        carport was an addition.  The house was built

 

      23        in 1927, thus, the addition, any additions to

 

      24        the house should be in keeping with the

 

      25        original structure from 1927, not the addition

 

                                                              64

 

       1        of the carport, sir.

 

       2             MR. D. BROWN:  Appreciate it.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  I have one question for you

 

       4        as well.

 

       5             Based on the photos which are straight on

 

       6        of the carport, is the carport open on the side

 

       7        or is it ...

 

       8             MR. CONGRO:  The carport is open on the

 

       9        side.  It's being held up -- it's open,

 

      10        obviously, in the front, and then it's being

 

      11        held up by, I believe, two or three columns.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  So there's a -- it's kind

 

      13        of a dark photo.  Is there a rear wall to the

 

      14        carport?

 

      15             MR. CONGRO:  I'll defer to Mr. Thomas who

 

      16        will be speaking next as he was the one who

 

      17        actually took the photos of the house.  I

 

      18        believe that there's three columns and there's

 

      19        a wall in the back.  I believe that, but I'll

 

      20        let Mr. Thomas address that.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  Have you seen the carport

 

      22        yourself?

 

      23             MR. CONGRO:  Yes, I have.  I drove by it.

 

      24             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  All right, sir.

 

      25        I'll defer and ask Mr. Thomas.

 

                                                              65

 

       1             Any other questions?

 

       2             All right.  Mr. Thomas -- oh, I'm sorry.

 

       3        Mr. Redman has a question for you, sir.

 

       4             MR. REDMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

       5             Now, in the contractor's statement he said

 

       6        that the design that he would do or recommend

 

       7        would be in conjunction with the siding that's

 

       8        on the house now.  Now, to me, I agree with

 

       9        Mr. Brown that -- Councilman Brown that this

 

      10        would look much better than -- looking at the

 

      11        picture here with three columns on the side of

 

      12        the carport and a big open space here in the

 

      13        front would look better and look more in

 

      14        pattern with the house if it was designed

 

      15        properly.

 

      16             MR. CONGRO:  I understand your concern,

 

      17        councilman.  Our contention is that by

 

      18        approving this, it would set a precedent.  For

 

      19        example, you may feel this way, sir, now with

 

      20        this particular structure, however, one of the

 

      21        goals of Riverside Avondale Preservation is to

 

      22        keep the precendent that this is something that

 

      23        should be discouraged in the district.  So if

 

      24        we set this precedent, then we can go down a

 

      25        dangerous path of approving all carports.

 

                                                              66

 

       1             MR. REDMAN:  Yeah.  I think the precedence

 

       2        was set with the carport to start with.

 

       3             Thank you.

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Redman.

 

       5             Our next speaker is Gregory Thomas.

 

       6             Mr. Thomas, if you'll begin with your name

 

       7        and address for the record, please.

 

       8             MR. THOMAS:  My name is Gregory Thomas,

 

       9        2623 Herschel.  I'm here on behalf of RAP.  I'm

 

      10        a licensed architect and I'm the chairman of

 

      11        the designer review committee for RAP.

 

      12             Pretty much I think everything's been

 

      13        said, if I could just re-enforce a couple of

 

      14        points from an architectural standpoint.

 

      15             To answer your question, the carport does

 

      16        have what looks like a small storage shed in

 

      17        the back of it with two columns on the side

 

      18        that look fairly out of plumb.  We only have an

 

      19        obvious visual, you know, observations of that

 

      20        carport, we can't say, but it really doesn't

 

      21        look like from a practical standpoint it would

 

      22        support the construction they're talking about.

 

      23        Regardless, there's going to be major

 

      24        modifications to what's there, which usually we

 

      25        would view that as essentially new

 

                                                              67

 

       1        construction.

 

       2             And there's been a lot of talk about

 

       3        design, what the design will be.  It's going to

 

       4        look good.  And that sounds great.  We

 

       5        personally haven't had the benefit of seeing

 

       6        anything.  We've heard I think that maybe with

 

       7        the original application there was a picture of

 

       8        the garage door, but we haven't seen any

 

       9        drawings, we haven't seen anything that would

 

      10        delineate what that is actually going to be,

 

      11        which is kind of a burden-of-proof issue.  We

 

      12        don't really know what it's going to look like

 

      13        and how that's going to appear.  And also, what

 

      14        Mr. Johnson said, something about the new

 

      15        design, the wall's going to be --

 

      16             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. -- I need you to speak

 

      17        towards us into the mike --

 

      18             MR. THOMAS:  I apologize.

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- so that the court

 

      20        reporter can capture your comments.

 

      21             MR. THOMAS:  Okay.  I just -- I'm not

 

      22        quire sure I understand what Mr. Johnson was

 

      23        saying about the new design that's going to be

 

      24        pushed back off the plane of the garage.  The

 

      25        carport now, which was built inappropriately,

 

                                                              68

 

       1        is built in plane with the main house, which is

 

       2        actually something that the design regulations

 

       3        currently forbid.

 

       4             And again, just to the point of the

 

       5        precendent.  This -- first of all, we're

 

       6        talking about a house on one lot that would

 

       7        have two garages and two separate access points

 

       8        on the lot, which seems kind of excessive.  And

 

       9        just allowing an attached garage, this is a new

 

      10        garage, for all intents and purposes, and it's

 

      11        going to be attached on the front plane of the

 

      12        house which is not in keeping with the

 

      13        guidelines, which we think is inappropriate.

 

      14             Thank you.

 

      15             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you.

 

      16             Any questions from the committee?

 

      17             I have a couple of questions for you.

 

      18             So you're saying that the side of the

 

      19        carport has just got two columns or something

 

      20        holding up the lineal beam and it's open to the

 

      21        house nextdoor, but there is some sort of

 

      22        storage thing in the --

 

      23             MR. THOMAS:  It appears in the back of it

 

      24        there is an enclosed storage shed --

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  So it's like a solid wall

 

                                                              69

 

       1        across the front of the carport?

 

       2             MR. THOMAS:  Across the back.  Facing the

 

       3        backyard, if you will.  Obviously, when you

 

       4        drive in the carport --

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  Where the hood of the car

 

       6        or the front bumper would pull up to?

 

       7             MR. THOMAS:  Yes.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  If this home or a

 

       9        similar home had no attached garage in the

 

      10        alley and no carport and they wanted to add a

 

      11        carport, obviously, that wouldn't be consistent

 

      12        with the standards for the historic district,

 

      13        correct?

 

      14             MR. THOMAS:  What's there now, we believe

 

      15        that it can be done and done appropriately, and

 

      16        we would challenge the applicant that there are

 

      17        better ways to do what she's asking than what's

 

      18        being proposed.  Granted, this is the very easy

 

      19        solution to just, you know, put a door on it.

 

      20             THE CHAIRMAN:  Here's the question.  Let's

 

      21        try the question again.

 

      22             If this home or a home similar to it had

 

      23        no attached garage in the alley and had no

 

      24        carport, it was just the original home, which I

 

      25        assume when it was built did not have either of

 

                                                              70

 

       1        the two things I just referenced, if the

 

       2        homeowner wanted to build a carport, is that

 

       3        something that's even possible under historic

 

       4        district standards?

 

       5             MR. THOMAS:  Yes, it is.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  It is, okay.  If they

 

       7        wanted to build an attached or detached garage

 

       8        in the alley, is that a possibility?

 

       9             MR. THOMAS:  Detached garage, absolutely.

 

      10        Once you start attaching things, that's when

 

      11        you get into kind of sensitive areas.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  And would either one

 

      13        of those two things require an application to

 

      14        the Historic Preservation Commission?

 

      15             MR. THOMAS:  Yes, they would, to my

 

      16        knowledge.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you, sir.

 

      18             Any other questions?

 

      19             All right.  Thank you, sir.  Oh, Mr. Joost

 

      20        has a question for you, Mr. Thomas.

 

      21             MR. JOOST:  Do you know of any instances

 

      22        where the historic commission has approved

 

      23        garages?

 

      24             MR. THOMAS:  Attached, no, I do not.  I've

 

      25        only been here for four years, so my --

 

                                                              71

 

       1             MR. JOOST:  Even though under the rules it

 

       2        would be possible where an original house had

 

       3        no garage?

 

       4             MR. THOMAS:  An attached garage?

 

       5             MR. JOOST:  I believe that's what

 

       6        Mr. Crescimbeni just asked.  If the house is in

 

       7        its condition when built in 1927 where it had

 

       8        no attachment, carport in the front or on the

 

       9        side, would it be possible to build a garage?

 

      10        And your answer was:  Under the right

 

      11        circumstances, yes.

 

      12             MR. THOMAS:  Well, the --

 

      13             MR. JOOST:  My question is in what

 

      14        circumstances has the historic commission

 

      15        approved a garage, or has there been any

 

      16        requests for garages other than this one?

 

      17             MR. THOMAS:  To my knowledge, I don't know

 

      18        of any attached garages that have been approved

 

      19        to a house of this era.

 

      20             MR. JOOST:  Okay.  Do you know of any

 

      21        other applications?  I think this is the first

 

      22        one I can remember.  I've been on LUZ for three

 

      23        years now.

 

      24             MR. THOMAS:  Not that I'm aware of.

 

      25             MR. JOOST:  Okay.  Thank you.

 

                                                              72

 

       1             MR. THOMAS:  Thank you.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Redman.

 

       3             MR. REDMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

       4             I'm looking at a picture here of the house

 

       5        directly across the street which has an

 

       6        attached garage, nice-looking garage door.

 

       7        Now, how would this house be so different

 

       8        directly across the street from the standards

 

       9        of the historic society?

 

      10             MR. THOMAS:  That is a house that was

 

      11        built in the late '30s or early '40s, and in

 

      12        that 15-year time span between the time that

 

      13        this house was built and the time that that

 

      14        house was built our culture had basically

 

      15        changed and become a car culture.

 

      16             And one of the most significant

 

      17        character-defining elements of historic

 

      18        residences in our country is how they address a

 

      19        street and how they address the automobile.  So

 

      20        what's significant about Ms. Gasparo's house is

 

      21        its age and how it was originally built to

 

      22        address the street and to address how people

 

      23        got around.

 

      24             MR. REDMAN:  So it would fit the street,

 

      25        but it would not fit the historic society's --

 

                                                              73

 

       1             MR. THOMAS:  It would not be appropriate

 

       2        to the era of the house.  And if you look,

 

       3        actually, that house is not directly across the

 

       4        street.  I believe directly across the street

 

       5        is another brick house with a detached garage

 

       6        in the back of the lot.

 

       7             MR. REDMAN:  It says directly across the

 

       8        street.  1615 Talbot Avenue.

 

       9             MR. JOOST:  I think it's next door.

 

      10             MR. THOMAS:  Yeah, there are two that are

 

      11        right next door to each other.  I think one --

 

      12             MR. REDMAN:  Okay.

 

      13             MR. THOMAS:  -- closest across the street

 

      14        has a detached garage which actually sits in

 

      15        the back of the lot and works nicely.

 

      16             MR. REDMAN:  All right.  Thank you.

 

      17             MR. THOMAS:  Thank you.

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Gregory, if the -- I

 

      19        mean Mr. Thomas, if the applicant wanted to

 

      20        remove the carport --

 

      21             MR. THOMAS:  RAP would be in support of

 

      22        that.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- would that require an

 

      24        application before the Historic Preservation

 

      25        Commission?

 

                                                              74

 

       1             MR. THOMAS:  I believe that would require

 

       2        a COA, yes.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  But you'd be supportive of

 

       4        removal?

 

       5             MR. THOMAS:  Absolutely.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  How many carports -- just

 

       7        generally speaking, is that a pretty prevalent

 

       8        thing in the district?

 

       9             MR. THOMAS:  In my four years on the

 

      10        Design Review Committee, I think I've seen

 

      11        maybe two, and neither were attached.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Does this homeowner's

 

      13        carport, is it kept in -- I mean most carports

 

      14        I see in Arlington and neighborhoods that were

 

      15        built in, you know, the late '50s, '60s, early

 

      16        '70s, carports generally have a tendency to

 

      17        want me to think that they'd be better looking

 

      18        if they had a garage door to cover up

 

      19        everything that's visible from the street.  Are

 

      20        they keeping theirs pretty clean?

 

      21             MR. THOMAS:  Well, to Ms. Gasparo's --

 

      22             THE CHAIRMAN:  Not the applicant's, but I

 

      23        mean the carports in the district, are they

 

      24        generally kept --

 

      25             MR. THOMAS:  Yes.

 

                                                              75

 

       1             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

       2             MR. THOMAS:  Thank you.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  And our last speaker is Kay

 

       4        Ehas.

 

       5             MS. EHAS:  Kay Ehas, 2322 Dellwood Avenue,

 

       6        Chair of Riverside Avondale Preservation.  Good

 

       7        evening.

 

       8             I'd like to clarify one thing.  The

 

       9        district regulations would not allow a carport

 

      10        or a garage to be built level with the front of

 

      11        the house today.  It would not be allowed.

 

      12        There have been requests to build garages that

 

      13        are detached at the back of the property, and

 

      14        those are granted.  A lot of them are facing --

 

      15        have garage doors that face the alley.  Some

 

      16        have garage doors with a driveway from the

 

      17        front.  But in this case, she's asking to do a

 

      18        garage at the front of the house, which is

 

      19        against the regulations or the law as it

 

      20        currently exists.

 

      21             Here's why it's setting a precedent.

 

      22        There are -- I always get this word wrong --

 

      23        porte cocheres, where they are kind of carports

 

      24        but like historic carports.  There are a bunch

 

      25        of those.  If all of a sudden we let everybody

 

                                                              76

 

       1        enclose them to be garages, that changes the

 

       2        whole character of the neighborhood.  So the

 

       3        whole point of the historic district being a

 

       4        legal district is to uphold the laws that make

 

       5        it so.

 

       6             There is no design that has been

 

       7        submitted.  So if you approve her request, what

 

       8        is it you're approving?  We do not know.  There

 

       9        is no design that's been submitted.  So I would

 

      10        go back to what Greg said.  It would be new

 

      11        construction, and that requires a COA.

 

      12             1932 was when the street cars were pulled

 

      13        up.  So it was a street car community when this

 

      14        house was built.

 

      15             Thank you.

 

      16             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Ms. Ehas.

 

      17             The question I asked of Mr. Thomas, so you

 

      18        acknowledge that -- I'm assuming that the home

 

      19        when it was originally built, you know it

 

      20        didn't have a carport because that was built, I

 

      21        guess, what --

 

      22             MS. EHAS:  Correct.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- early '60s, but it did

 

      24        not have this detached -- I mean attached

 

      25        garage in the rear when it was originally

 

                                                              77

 

       1        built?

 

       2             MS. EHAS:  I can't imagine that it had an

 

       3        attached garage --

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  That's what we have now,

 

       5        right?

 

       6             MS. EHAS:  -- in the rear.

 

       7             Yeah.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  Yeah.  Okay.  Well, let's

 

       9        assume that it didn't.

 

      10             So you're saying that there is a mechanism

 

      11        for a property owner to apply for an attached

 

      12        garage --

 

      13             MS. EHAS:  A detached garage.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  A detached.  Not even an

 

      15        attached.  So that's not even possible.  And

 

      16        the carport, no mechanism to even apply to do

 

      17        that today?

 

      18             MS. EHAS:  Unless they wanted to do it,

 

      19        you know, in the back.  They could build a

 

      20        carport that fit in with the structure of the

 

      21        house if they didn't want to enclose it as a

 

      22        garage, but it would be at the back of the

 

      23        property, not at the front as she's proposing.

 

      24             THE CHAIRMAN:  And would that be

 

      25        permissible on lots that didn't have alleys?

 

                                                              78

 

       1             MS. EHAS:  Yes.

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  So if they put it towards

 

       3        the rear -- now, would be it okay to be visible

 

       4        from the street or would it have to be not

 

       5        visible from the street?

 

       6             MS. EHAS:  They can be visible from the

 

       7        street, but it's just at the back of the

 

       8        property.

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  Set back on the rear

 

      10        property line.

 

      11             MS. EHAS:  Um-hum.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Gotcha.

 

      13             Any other questions for Ms. Ehas?

 

      14             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      15             All right.  Seeing none, any other

 

      16        speakers to address the committee?

 

      17             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Ms. Gasparo,

 

      19        you have a couple of minutes to wrap up.

 

      20             I'm sorry.  Hang on one second.  Mr. Teal

 

      21        is going to weigh in for the commission.

 

      22             MR. TEAL:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

      23             I handed out to you a package of

 

      24        materials, and I'd like to walk you through

 

      25        what those are.  I think that if you refer to

 

                                                              79

 

       1        them --

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  Does the appellant have a

 

       3        copy of this?

 

       4             MR. TEAL:  Yes.

 

       5             The first document is a survey of the

 

       6        property.  I think it will answer the question

 

       7        that you had about the shed behind the carport

 

       8        there.  But what also it documents is it also

 

       9        documents other options that are available to

 

      10        her.  You can see the areas that were marked in

 

      11        yellow.  And this is the document I'm referring

 

      12        to.  I'm holding it up.  The areas that were

 

      13        marked in yellow on that document are other

 

      14        options that she can do.

 

      15             She can, for example, extend the garage in

 

      16        the alley closer towards the alley, towards the

 

      17        alley, and make it into a larger structure that

 

      18        way.  She could also establish -- and that can

 

      19        be done almost administratively, so I mean that

 

      20        wouldn't even require commission action.

 

      21             The other side of it is the yellow, she

 

      22        could either deepen the existing garage or

 

      23        propose a detached garage that would be

 

      24        accessible through the driveway on the back of

 

      25        the property.

 

                                                              80

 

       1             The second page, which is this document --

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Teal, can I interrupt

 

       3        you for a second?

 

       4             MR. TEAL:  Sure.

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  On the first page that the

 

       6        coloring, is I see Boone Park Avenue, but where

 

       7        is Talbot Avenue?

 

       8             MR. TEAL:  Talbot is to the top of the

 

       9        page.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  That's at the top.  Okay.

 

      11             MR. TEAL:  Correct.  And then the alley

 

      12        runs on the left side of the page.

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  Gotcha.  Okay.  Thank you.

 

      14             MR. TEAL:  The second page is what's

 

      15        called the sanborn map.  Now, this is old fire

 

      16        maps that were produced that actually show

 

      17        where each of the structures originally were

 

      18        constructed on the property.  And you can see

 

      19        her property is at the bottom of the page.

 

      20        It's in blue.  It's on the bottom on the left,

 

      21        it's on the left-hand side, the blue, 1652 --

 

      22        or 1632 rather.

 

      23             You can see that there originally was a

 

      24        detached garage.  So the garage on this

 

      25        property was originally detached.  At some

 

                                                              81

 

       1        point in the past she actually attached it.

 

       2        But what I want you to notice about this is

 

       3        every structure that's in blue on this has

 

       4        alley access for their garage structures.  And

 

       5        so all of the ones behind her farther up the

 

       6        alley, you can see there's one, two, three,

 

       7        four, five different structures that all access

 

       8        the alley.  But also the ones in purple, the

 

       9        ones in purple have detached garages that

 

      10        actually front the streets, not the alley.  So

 

      11        the back of those garages are on the alley

 

      12        itself.  Those are accessible by driveway.

 

      13        They have driveways that go up to them that are

 

      14        accessible, but the ones in blue you can see

 

      15        don't have driveways that go out to the street.

 

      16        Their only access is through the alley.  So

 

      17        that was -- the trend then was that -- the

 

      18        reality of the historic districts are people

 

      19        park on the streets.  They park in the

 

      20        driveways, they park in carports, because the

 

      21        district was really designed and built, for the

 

      22        most part, before the car was popular.  And so

 

      23        there was no reason to put a garage on

 

      24        something if you didn't have a car.  So she

 

      25        does have other options available to her for

 

                                                              82

 

       1        her parking.

 

       2             She's got a garage door on the alley,

 

       3        which if you'll turn two pages up and start

 

       4        looking at the photographs, Photographs 1 and 2

 

       5        show the properties that are immediately

 

       6        adjacent to hers a little bit farther up the

 

       7        alley.  You can see that the garage doors are

 

       8        there.  Same thing with Photographs 3 and 4.

 

       9        Photograph 6 is actually her property.  Now,

 

      10        that shows the garage door on her property

 

      11        looking back towards Talbot Street.  So you can

 

      12        see where that detached garage is now attached

 

      13        to her house.  And it does run the entire depth

 

      14        of the house itself.  So it's as wide as the

 

      15        house is -- or it's as deep as the house is

 

      16        wide rather, given the orientation of it.  So

 

      17        she does have significant garage space on her

 

      18        property which is accessible, as, Mr. Chairman,

 

      19        you pointed out through a 90-degree turn from

 

      20        the alley.  There's no issues with regard to

 

      21        getting in and out of this alley.

 

      22             Now, when I referred you on the first page

 

      23        to extending it out towards the alley, you can

 

      24        see how she has room to do that.  She has room

 

      25        to come out towards the alley in Photograph 6

 

                                                              83

 

       1        to even make it a deeper garage.  Seven, Eight,

 

       2        those are other properties that have structures

 

       3        that back up to the alley.

 

       4             But really, the one I really want to

 

       5        direct your attention to is the last one,

 

       6        Number 32 -- 31 and 32.  They show you the

 

       7        orientation of this property.  And you can see

 

       8        that the garage immediately farther up the

 

       9        alley from her does extend farther towards the

 

      10        alley than hers does.  So she can come that

 

      11        way, which again, could be something that could

 

      12        be done -- could be approved administratively.

 

      13             A lot of the questions that seemed to be

 

      14        out there were the fact that really the bad

 

      15        thing about this happened in 1962 when the

 

      16        carport was added.  Okay.  I think the

 

      17        commission would agree to you -- or agree with

 

      18        you.  But what the commission's position on

 

      19        this was that we shouldn't try and memorialize

 

      20        the mistakes of the past.  And in enclosing

 

      21        this carport, putting a garage door on the

 

      22        front of it, to the historic buffs, that's the

 

      23        proverbial pig in a punch bowl.

 

      24             To the folks that are trying to maintain

 

      25        the integrity of the historic district, which

 

                                                              84

 

       1        basically is not to say that you can't have new

 

       2        additions to historic structures, you just have

 

       3        to make them look like they're different, which

 

       4        is why a lot of speakers came and said it can't

 

       5        be even with the front plane of the house.  If

 

       6        you want to set it back, that's appropriate.

 

       7        You have to make sure that you can have

 

       8        somebody driving by know this is the structure

 

       9        that was built in 1927.  That's the part that

 

      10        the commission had trouble with was the fact

 

      11        that this carport is even with the front plane

 

      12        of the house, and now they're going to try to

 

      13        make it blend in with the rest of the house.

 

      14        That, in the historic preservation world, is a

 

      15        no-no.  You want to make sure that folks know

 

      16        what was original to the district and what was

 

      17        added.

 

      18             So that is really the premise behind a lot

 

      19        of -- well, you can see it from the sanborn map

 

      20        which shows you where all of the structures

 

      21        are.  They were all detached.

 

      22             Now, they did draw your attention to, if

 

      23        you go back to the second page, the ones that

 

      24        have the --

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Teal, can I interrupt

 

                                                              85

 

       1        you for a second?

 

       2             MR. TEAL:  Sure.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Reingold, does he have

 

       4        a time limit?  Because he's pushing like five

 

       5        minutes.  I want to make sure I don't get

 

       6        myself in any trouble with ...

 

       7             MR. REINGOLD:  The time limit is sort of

 

       8        at the discretion of the Chair.  What I would

 

       9        suggest is that we give comparable time to the

 

      10        applicant to, you know, rebut what Mr. Teal has

 

      11        stated and what the addition of the audience

 

      12        members have stated.

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you.

 

      14             MR. TEAL:  And just for the edification of

 

      15        the committee, I'm almost done.

 

      16             But attention was drawn by the applicant

 

      17        and others that there are other structures on

 

      18        the property that are around this property that

 

      19        have garages.  You can see from the second page

 

      20        of my handout, the ones with the pink asterisks

 

      21        on them are the ones that have the garages.

 

      22        None of those have access to the alleys.  So

 

      23        that was their only option.  Not only were they

 

      24        built in the '40s and '50s, which was much

 

      25        after the original construction of her

 

 

                                                              86

 

       1        property, but they also don't have alley

 

       2        access.  So their only option is to access it

 

       3        from the street itself.  So that's why it made

 

       4        more sense to add a garage on those which was

 

       5        consistent with the structure itself in the

 

       6        architectural style of the structure.

 

       7             So again, in conclusion, the premise here

 

       8        as far as historic preservation goes is to not

 

       9        detract from the original construction, and

 

      10        allowing for her enclosure of this carport

 

      11        would do that.  She does have other options for

 

      12        parking.  This is not her only parking option.

 

      13        She can park under a carport.  If she wants

 

      14        enclosed parking, she has a garage to do that.

 

      15        Not only that, but her garage is at such a

 

      16        depth that she could probably fit more than one

 

      17        car in if she desired.

 

      18             And because of the fact that this

 

      19        ill-advised, in the opinion of the Historic

 

      20        Preservation Commission, addition in 1962 has

 

      21        been around until today, the concern is that by

 

      22        allowing them to enclose it and to fortify it,

 

      23        it's going to be around for that much longer.

 

      24        It's inappropriate for this style of

 

      25        construction, and nothing should be done to

                                                              87

 

       1        formalize that in the opinion of the

 

       2        commission.

 

       3             Thank you.

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Teal.

 

       5             Any questions from the committee?

 

       6             Are the homeowners allowed to make repairs

 

       7        to like carports and things?

 

       8             MR. TEAL:  Absolutely.

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  They can be maintained to

 

      10        be around forever, then, right?

 

      11             MR. TEAL:  They could, yes.  They're even

 

      12        allowed to rebuild them if they are destroyed

 

      13        in a fire, something like that.  But the point

 

      14        is -- well, no, I take it back.  Only if it was

 

      15        part of the original construction can they

 

      16        rebuild it.  But, yes, they certainly can

 

      17        maintain it, and we obviously do encourage

 

      18        folks to maintain their structures.  But in

 

      19        essence, it's treated almost like a legally

 

      20        non-conforming use.  It's legal because it

 

      21        pre-dated the district, but you don't want to

 

      22        do anything to encourage the survival of it.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

      24             Mr. Joost.

 

      25             MR. JOOST:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  To

 

                                                              88

 

       1        Mr. Teal, so in this photo in the black and

 

       2        white which shows the side view of the garage,

 

       3        they're talking about enclosing the side as

 

       4        well?

 

       5             MR. TEAL:  Correct.  The application was

 

       6        to enclose the side and to install, I guess, a

 

       7        carriage-style garage door, so it would be

 

       8        almost a one-car garage, I guess, garage door

 

       9        on the front.

 

      10             MR. JOOST:  And one other question.  I

 

      11        guess this kind of touches on what

 

      12        Mr. Crescimbeni was asking.

 

      13             Say if this little cover, the carport area

 

      14        is not up to say like today's wind codes or,

 

      15        you know, building codes, et cetera, are they

 

      16        allowed to fortify it, or you just can't touch

 

      17        it and you got to wait for a storm to, you

 

      18        know, blow it down, essentially?

 

      19             MR. TEAL:  No.  You can do whatever

 

      20        repairs you want to it, you just can't change

 

      21        it from an architectural standpoint.  In other

 

      22        words, you can't add -- you know, if you wanted

 

      23        to put bracing in there that wasn't visible,

 

      24        for example, you could certainly do that.  What

 

      25        you can't do is you can't modify it

 

                                                              89

 

       1        architecturally so that it's visually different

 

       2        from --

 

       3             MR. JOOST:  So appearance-wise you can't

 

       4        modify it.  But if they wanted to add some --

 

       5        or they even wanted to replace these beams,

 

       6        essentially, they look the same but they were

 

       7        stronger, they could do that?

 

       8             MR. TEAL:  They could do that, yes.

 

       9             MR. JOOST:  Okay.  Thank you, Mr. Joost.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  Any other questions for

 

      11        Mr. Teal?

 

      12             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Mr. Teal, I

 

      14        think, went over by about four and a half

 

      15        minutes.  Is that right, Steve?  And I think

 

      16        Ms. Gasparo, I let you probably go over a

 

      17        minute earlier, so you can have up to three and

 

      18        a half minutes to wrap up, and hopefully, the

 

      19        time will all have been about equal.

 

      20             MS. GASPARO:  Unfortunately, I have to

 

      21        address some mistakes that have been made.

 

      22             Originally, when I submitted my COA,

 

      23        drawings were submitted.  And it's my

 

      24        understanding that you all have that

 

      25        information in front of you, and I hope that

 

                                                              90

 

       1        you do because originally, when I submitted my

 

       2        COA, and it seems like all the members of RAP

 

       3        and DRC are saying that was not submitted, but

 

       4        my contractor submitted drawings.  I only have

 

       5        one with me that's in my packet because I

 

       6        believe that was submitted to you.  But

 

       7        drawings of what we were doing to the carport

 

       8        were submitted with my original COA, and this

 

       9        is the drawing.  So that was actually submitted

 

      10        with my original COA.  It went by email to

 

      11        Samantha Paul -- right.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Is that it?

 

      13             MS. GASPARO:  Correct.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  We have it.

 

      15             MS. GASPARO:  So DRC is saying they don't

 

      16        know what I'm going to do and they never saw

 

      17        the drawings is incorrect.

 

      18             I also submitted a picture of the actual

 

      19        garage door, and that was submitted with my

 

      20        application.  So that all went to them.  If it

 

      21        would help y'all, I have better pictures of the

 

      22        carport.  I can give those to you so you can

 

      23        see, you know, the side of the carport.

 

      24        There's one side of the carport.  That's the

 

      25        alley.  There's one side of the carport that

 

                                                              91

 

       1        needs to be enclosed and a garage door.  The

 

       2        back is a shed, and one side is attached to the

 

       3        house.  So all we're proposing doing is, you

 

       4        know, putting the side and the garage door.

 

       5             So this other issue of my other options of

 

       6        extending my garage, I also have a picture of

 

       7        my alley and my existing garage.  And this

 

       8        might make it clear to you how extending my

 

       9        garage into the alley is just not feasible.  I

 

      10        mean there needs to be a setback, and with the

 

      11        setback, extending this garage to make it -- I

 

      12        guess what they're saying is then I can make a

 

      13        double -- someway or another a double, two-car

 

      14        garage.  It's just not feasible.  And that's

 

      15        been suggested to me, and I just -- they don't

 

      16        pull into this garage.  They don't go down a

 

      17        nine-foot alley and, thank you enough, make a

 

      18        90-degree turn and pull into this garage.  It's

 

      19        just not feasible to do that.

 

      20             Again, there's talk about how putting this

 

      21        garage door and putting the siding on the side

 

      22        would affect the historic integrity of this

 

      23        property.  Well, the historic integrity of this

 

      24        property has been affected when the front porch

 

      25        was enclosed, the side porch was enclosed, the

 

                                                              92

 

       1        carport was added.  And again, it is my hope by

 

       2        enclosing this carport that I can help the look

 

       3        of this house, to make it look better.  That

 

       4        has always been my goal.  When I picked out

 

       5        this garage door, my contractor said, "You're

 

       6        going to die when you see the price of this

 

       7        thing."  And I said, "I don't care.  I want a

 

       8        nice garage door.  I want this thing to look

 

       9        better than it does now."  Because right now my

 

      10        neighbors are looking at my car in the carport.

 

      11        And I do try to keep the thing clean.  I don't,

 

      12        you know -- I really don't junk it up.  But,

 

      13        you know, that's what they look at.  My

 

      14        neighbors look at my car, and I think they'd

 

      15        rather look at some cedar shake and nice garage

 

      16        door, to tell you the truth.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, ma'am.

 

      18             The neighbors to your left facing your

 

      19        house, is that a owner-occupied home?

 

      20             MS. GASPARO:  It is.  Deb and John

 

      21        Hassenzahl, and they have an attached

 

      22        front-entry garage just like two of my other

 

      23        neighbors across the street have attached

 

      24        front-entry garages.

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  And this picture of your

 

                                                              93

 

       1        carport, is part of it -- looks like it's got

 

       2        some lattice or something on there, or is

 

       3        that -- is that the storage area that I'm --

 

       4             MS. GASPARO:  No, it has some lattice.

 

       5        And one of the other questions about -- the

 

       6        garage was existing.  It was built when the

 

       7        house was built in 1927.  I did not attach the

 

       8        garage, the previous owners did.  They extended

 

       9        the kitchen and attached the garage when they

 

      10        extended the kitchen.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  So it was originally a

 

      12        detached garage?

 

      13             MS. GASPARO:  It was.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  Interesting.  Okay.  Thank

 

      15        you.

 

      16             Any other questions from the committee?

 

      17             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you,

 

      19        ma'am.

 

      20             MS. GASPARO:  Um-hum.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  The public hearing is

 

      22        closed.  We are back in committee.  We'll

 

      23        need -- we're open for discussion, but if the

 

      24        committee wants to take up the bill, we'll have

 

      25        to amend the bill to either uphold the findings

 

                                                              94

 

       1        of the Historic Planning Commission which would

 

       2        deny the appeal, or you'd have to amend it to

 

       3        approve the appeal which would, in essence,

 

       4        grant the enclosure of the carport.

 

       5             So back in committee.

 

       6             I'm sorry, Mr. Joost.  Go ahead.

 

       7             MR. JOOST:  Just speaking for myself, I

 

       8        feel like the major damage, if you will, was

 

       9        done when the attachment was built in 1962.

 

      10        And just looking at the pictures, especially

 

      11        the side pictures, I mean to me that's just

 

      12        really ugly.  With that being said, I mean

 

      13        you're not going to change the carport.  I mean

 

      14        I think the only thing that could fix it would

 

      15        be to tear it down to get the house back to the

 

      16        original look which would make it look better.

 

      17        Okay.  So the situation is what it is.  And to

 

      18        me, leaving it as it is, I mean enclosing it

 

      19        and looking at the drawings in the book would

 

      20        be an improvement.  Just speaking for myself.

 

      21        So I'm going to step out on a limb and say move

 

      22        to grant the waiver.

 

      23             MR. D. BROWN:  I'll second that.

 

      24             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion to grant the appeal

 

      25        by Mr. Joost.

 

                                                              95

 

       1             Second by Councilman Dick Brown.

 

       2             Discussion, Councilman Holt.

 

       3             MR. HOLT:  Thank you, Mr. Chair.

 

       4             I typically give a lot of weight on these

 

       5        discussions of historical record on whether the

 

       6        person originally when they owned their home,

 

       7        when they bought their home, if it was

 

       8        already -- if it was prior to the district

 

       9        being established or not.  I may be going about

 

      10        it wrong, but that's one of the things of

 

      11        fairness in my own mind.  And I just want to

 

      12        acknowledge that the historic district was

 

      13        established prior to this person purchasing

 

      14        this home.

 

      15             I agree with what you said, Mr. Joost,

 

      16        that it may fit in and look more attractive

 

      17        that way, but I just wanted to get that on the

 

      18        record.

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  Any other discussion on the

 

      20        motion?

 

      21             Councilman Dick Brown for discussion.

 

      22             MR. D. BROWN:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

      23             I just wanted to say I'm a big fan of what

 

      24        Riverside Avondale has done.  And in fact, the

 

      25        recognition they've gotten recently as one of

 

                                                              96

 

       1        the world class neighborhoods, and certainly

 

       2        that effort and that mission deserves support.

 

       3             I just don't agree that this sets a

 

       4        precedent.  Get back to the fact that some of

 

       5        the design was sort of tampered with, of

 

       6        course, with the addition of the carport.  And

 

       7        I don't think you would find this many examples

 

       8        around the district that would even come up to

 

       9        be -- as Mr. Joost said, you've got the open

 

      10        sides there, and the potential of just cleaning

 

      11        it up and following the design that has already

 

      12        been carried through with at least the shingles

 

      13        and that look, I just think would be an overall

 

      14        improvement.  And there are quite a number of

 

      15        doors facing the area.  So I don't think we're

 

      16        stepping on the mission to approve this.  I'm

 

      17        going to support the appeal.  I just think it's

 

      18        an overall step forward without any damaging

 

      19        precedent.

 

      20             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Brown.

 

      21             Mr. Joost for the second time.

 

      22             MR. JOOST:  You know, I don't really have

 

      23        strong feelings either way.  You know, I'm just

 

      24        looking at the situation as it is, and I think

 

      25        leaving it would be worse.

 

                                                              97

 

       1             Mr. Holt, you make an excellent point that

 

       2        this homeowner bought this house knowing the

 

       3        rules when they bought it.  And great weight

 

       4        does have to be given to that.  So, you know,

 

       5        either way how this goes down, I'll be fine,

 

       6        but I think if I lived in the neighborhood and

 

       7        I wanted the historic preservation, I would try

 

       8        to make the carport look more historic than

 

       9        what it does.  I mean obviously, if you look at

 

      10        the house as it stands now, I mean it sticks

 

      11        out.  You've got a couple of columns on the

 

      12        side.  And if you can make it look better than

 

      13        what it is, then I think I'd have to go that

 

      14        way.  But, you know, what you said also carries

 

      15        great weight.  So I'm going to, I guess, err on

 

      16        the side of the homeowner.

 

      17             Thank you.

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Joost.

 

      19             Mr. Redman.

 

      20             MR. REDMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

      21             I'm going to have to err on the side of

 

      22        the homeowner as well because, you know, I

 

      23        think it would be a great improvement to do

 

      24        what she's wanting to do to the house.  I mean

 

      25        Mr. Holt is right.  I mean I'm sure she knew

 

                                                              98

 

       1        what she was buying when she bought this home

 

       2        and moved into it.  But the carport itself does

 

       3        not add anything to the house.  If it was mine,

 

       4        I would want to do that, put a garage door on

 

       5        it and improve the looks of the community.  The

 

       6        houses on the -- beside it and across the

 

       7        street have garage doors that fit in the

 

       8        community, evidently, pretty well.  So I'm

 

       9        going to have to support her on this.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  One question.  I assume

 

      11        maybe somebody built the garage back in the

 

      12        '20s.  I mean there were certainly cars coming

 

      13        into use.  Was any garage -- I mean is there

 

      14        any evidence of a garage in the district that

 

      15        was built facing the street?

 

      16             MR. MCEACHIN:  Not in that time period.

 

      17        Now, again, you get post World War II and you

 

      18        start seeing houses come in, tract houses,

 

      19        attached garage was not uncommon.  And most of

 

      20        what you saw in those photographs reflect that.

 

      21        But before that time period, almost everything

 

      22        was detached.  Many times they were constructed

 

      23        the same time as the house.  Sometimes they

 

      24        were a later addition.  You do see what's

 

      25        called a porte cochere which is part of the

 

                                                              99

 

       1        design of the house itself.  It was done at the

 

       2        time of the house, but generally, that's a

 

       3        little bit higher style when you get a porte

 

       4        cochere.

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  But were any of them

 

       6        facing the street?

 

       7             MR. MCEACHIN:  Well, they all face the

 

       8        street, but the point is they're deep.

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  Back in --

 

      10             MR. MCEACHIN:  Deep on the lot.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Nothing was ever

 

      12        built on the forward part of the lot?

 

      13             MR. MCEACHIN:  Not on -- I've not seen

 

      14        one.  Since they're on the corner lot, they

 

      15        might be a little bit closer, but no, they're

 

      16        deep on the lot.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  Even the ones without

 

      18        alleys, they were just set back on the rear --

 

      19             MR. MCEACHIN:  That's correct.

 

      20             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- property line.

 

      21             Thank you.

 

      22             Mr. Joost.

 

      23             MR. JOOST:  I guess one last question for

 

      24        the Chairman.

 

      25             Have we heard from the district councilman

 

                                                              100

 

       1        on this issue, by any chance?

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  I have received no

 

       3        correspondence from the district councilperson.

 

       4             MR. JOOST:  Okay.  Thank you.

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.

 

       6             Any further discussion?

 

       7             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  We have a motion and second

 

       9        on an amendment to grant the appeal.

 

      10             All those in favor say yes.

 

      11             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Yes.

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  Opposed say no.

 

      13             MR. HOLT:  No.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  By your action, I'm going

 

      15        to vote in favor of the amendment to get it out

 

      16        of committee.

 

      17             So is there a motion on the bill as

 

      18        amended?

 

      19             MR. JOOST:  Move the bill as amended.

 

      20             MR. HOLT:  Second.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion on the bill as

 

      22        amended by Mr. Joost.

 

      23             Second by Mr. Holt.

 

      24             Any discussion?

 

      25             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

 

                                                              101

 

       1             If not, open the ballot, vote.

 

       2             MR. CRESCIMBENI:  (Votes yea)

 

       3             MR. JOOST:  (Votes yea)

 

       4             MR. REDMAN:  (Votes yea)

 

       5             MR. D. BROWN:  (Votes yea)

 

       6             MR. HOLT:  (Votes nay)

 

       7             (Committee ballot closed)

 

       8             MS. LAHMEUR:  Four yea, one nay.

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  By our action, you've

 

      10        approved Item 11, 710-784 (sic).

 

      11             Without four votes, for those that may not

 

      12        be familiar with the process, the item stays in

 

      13        committee.  Four votes one way or the other and

 

      14        we'd have to hear it again in two weeks.  And

 

      15        you all, both parties may want to reach out to

 

      16        the district council member to have an opinion

 

      17        Tuesday night.

 

      18             All right.  Anything else to come before

 

      19        the committee.  Anyone else have any comments?

 

      20             Mr. Crofts.

 

      21             MR. CROFTS:  Just one brief comment that

 

      22        I'd like to invite all the council members,

 

      23        including LUZ, to attend a presentation

 

      24        tomorrow in the Lynwood Roberts Room being made

 

      25        by the architectural students, graduate

                                                              102

 

       1        architectural students from the Savannah

 

       2        College of Art and Design.  They are going to

 

       3        present models and boards and specific plans

 

       4        for the redevelopment of some property in the

 

       5        downtown area, and that would be the shipyards

 

       6        property.

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  And that is when to when

 

       8        tomorrow?

 

       9             MR. CROFTS:  That particular event will

 

      10        take place starting about 2:30 in the Lynwood

 

      11        Roberts Room here.  And the exhibit will start

 

      12        there and then will ultimately be residing in

 

      13        the Ed Ball lobby.  There will be probably

 

      14        seven different boards and models for

 

      15        redevelopment of portions of downtown.  And it

 

      16        will be in the Ed Ball building probably

 

      17        through the holidays.

 

      18             THE CHAIRMAN:  At 2:30 tomorrow, that's

 

      19        something that people can kind of come in

 

      20        throughout the afternoon?  It's not set at

 

      21        2:30, right?

 

      22             MR. CROFTS:  That's correct.

 

      23             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  It's too bad the

 

      24        Savannah Culinary Institute wasn't going to be

 

      25        there.  That would be a much more -- anyway,

 

                                                              103

 

       1        anything else to come before the committee?

 

       2             All right.  Mr. Teal.

 

       3             MR. TEAL:  I just wanted to thank you,

 

       4        Mr. Chairman, for working with our schedule on

 

       5        the hearing in this appeal tonight.  I

 

       6        appreciate that.

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  It all worked out well.  I

 

       8        guess your meeting got over early, correct?

 

       9             MR. TEAL:  We got over at 4:30,

 

      10        surprisingly.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Really?  You could have

 

      12        been here at 5:00, then.

 

      13             All right.  Seeing nothing else, this

 

      14        meeting is adjourned and we appreciate

 

      15        everybody being here, and we will see you in

 

      16        two weeks.

 

      17             Thanks.

 

      18             (The above proceedings were adjourned at

 

      19   6:50 p.m.)

 

      20                          - - -

 

      21

 

      22

 

      23

 

      24

 

      25

 

                                                              104

 

       1                  C E R T I F I C A T E

 

       2   STATE OF FLORIDA)

 

       3   COUNTY OF DUVAL )

 

       4        I, Tina Hutcheson, Court Reporter, certify that

 

       5   I was authorized to and did stenographically report

 

       6   the foregoing proceedings and that the transcript is

 

       7   a true and complete copy of my stenographic notes.

 

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       9        Dated this 21st day of November 2010.

 

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      12                           _______________________________

                                   Tina Hutcheson

      13                           Court Reporter

 

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