CITY OF JACKSONVILLE

 

                                LAND USE AND ZONING

 

                                     COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

                          Proceedings held on Tuesday, August 2,

 

                2011, commencing at 5:04 p.m., City Hall, Council

 

                Chambers, 1st Floor, Jacksonville, Florida, before

 

                Diane M. Tropia, a Notary Public in and for the

 

                State of Florida at Large.

 

 

 

                PRESENT:

 

                     REGINALD BROWN, Chair.

                     RAY HOLT, Vice Chair.

                     LORI BOYER, Committee Member.

                     DOYLE CARTER, Committee Member.

                     JIM LOVE, Committee Member.

                     ROBIN LUMB, Committee Member.

                     DON REDMAN, Committee Member.

 

 

                ALSO PRESENT:

 

                     JOHN CROFTS, Deputy Director, Planning Dept.

                     SEAN KELLY, Chief, Current Planning.

                     FOLKS HUXFORD, Zoning Administrator.

                     KEN AVERY, Planning and Development Dept.

                     DYLAN REINGOLD, Office of General Counsel.

                     MERRIANE LAHMEUR, Legislative Assistant.

 

                                       - - -


 

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

                August 2, 2011                            5:04 p.m.

             2                         - - -

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  Good evening.

 

             4           My name is Reginald Brown.

 

             5           Welcome this evening to the LUZ Committee

 

             6      meeting.  Today's date is August 2nd.  The time

 

             7      now is 5:04.

 

             8           Again, welcome.

 

             9           What I'd like to do first, if we can start

 

            10      with Mr. Crofts and go around and introduce the

 

            11      dais.

 

            12           Thank you.

 

            13           MR. CROFTS:  Good evening, Mr. Chairman

 

            14      and members of the committee and the public.

 

            15           My name is John Crofts and I'm

 

            16      representing the Planning and Development

 

            17      Department.

 

            18           MR. KELLY:  Sean Kelly, Planning and

 

            19      Development.

 

            20           MR. HUXFORD:  Folks Huxford, Planning and

 

            21      Development.

 

            22           MR. AVERY:  Ken Avery, Planning and

 

            23      Development.

 

            24           MR. REINGOLD:  Dylan Reingold with the

 

            25      Office of General Counsel.

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1           C/M BOYER:  Lori Boyer, City Council,

 

             2      District 5.

 

             3           C/M REDMAN:  Don Redman, City Council,

 

             4      District 4.

 

             5           C/M CARTER:  Doyle Carter, City Council,

 

             6      12.

 

             7           C/M HOLT:  Ray Holt, District 11.

 

             8           C/M LOVE:  Jim Love, City Council,

 

             9      District 14.

 

            10           C/M LUMB:  Robin Lumb, Group 5.

 

            11           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Before we get

 

            12      started, one thing I want to just remind

 

            13      everyone, when it's for quasi-judicial bills,

 

            14      don't forget to declare ex-parte communication.

 

            15           The second thing, we do have Mr. Carter

 

            16      that will -- has an early excusal.  We will

 

            17      take up his bill first.

 

            18           And the last thing that I have in terms of

 

            19      FYI information is that we do have in the

 

            20      audience with us the secretary to the Planning

 

            21      Commission, Mr. Pablo Ferrari, right there

 

            22      (indicating), if you-all can just welcome him

 

            23      today.

 

            24           Thank you.

 

            25           If we could now turn to page 3,

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      item number 7.

 

             2           Mr. Folks.

 

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

 

             4           Ordinance 2011-382, which is application

 

             5      for waiver of minimum road frontage WRF-11-05

 

             6      is for property at 8580 Lenox Avenue, on the

 

             7      Westside.  The request is to reduce the

 

             8      required minimum frontage for a newly-created

 

             9      lot -- or a proposed lot from eighty feet to

 

            10      zero feet in the Residential Rural zoning

 

            11      district.

 

            12           Staff has some concerns about this.  We do

 

            13      recognize that the character of the area is

 

            14      such that there are occasional lots that have

 

            15      been developed without road frontage or with

 

            16      insufficient road frontage in the form of flag

 

            17      lots; however, that -- that's not consistent

 

            18      with general planning principles, so we would

 

            19      not be supportive of this pattern of

 

            20      development.

 

            21           We also would have concerns about

 

            22      identifying the location of the property along

 

            23      Lenox Avenue and assurances that fire rescue

 

            24      and other City services could access the site,

 

            25      so we are not supportive of this request.

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1           I do want to point to page 6 in the staff

 

             2      report.  Normally, you see a -- at the end of

 

             3      the staff report you see a map that includes

 

             4      zoning and such.  We were not able to produce

 

             5      that particular map, so we put this one in

 

             6      here.  It shows the parent parcel.  The

 

             7      newly-created lot would be a one-acre piece of

 

             8      land in the rear.  As I understand, it would be

 

             9      for the current property owner's daughter and

 

            10      his son-in-law.  So it would be a family

 

            11      situation, but, again, we just can't support it

 

            12      based on planning principles and, therefore, we

 

            13      are recommending denial.

 

            14           Thank you.

 

            15           THE CHAIRMAN:  Before we go to you,

 

            16      Mr. Carter, I want to go ahead and open up the

 

            17      public hearing.

 

            18           And before I call -- or ask any other

 

            19      questions, we'll hear from you,

 

            20      Councilman Carter.

 

            21           MR. CARTER:  Okay.  Thank you for that

 

            22      report, Folks.

 

            23           This is a piece of property probably -- I

 

            24      guess about a half mile from my house.

 

            25      Mr. Everett, which owns the property, has lived

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      there pretty much my whole life.  Actually, my

 

             2      (inaudible) leader in church at one time,

 

             3      and -- and it's a -- his son actually wants to

 

             4      build (inaudible) beside his dad.  And the

 

             5      sister lives in another house beside it.  He

 

             6      owns one, two, three -- three pieces of

 

             7      property right there together, and -- actually,

 

             8      four.  And it's pretty compatible, I mean, as

 

             9      far as -- as far as the -- the place is and --

 

            10      and Mr. Everett has always kept his property,

 

            11      you know, up to -- up to par and has been a

 

            12      good neighbor.

 

            13           We got probably about six or seven

 

            14      old-time neighbors left, and I think it's a

 

            15      good -- a good place.  I think it would be

 

            16      fine.  They've -- the Planning Department has

 

            17      come up with a couple of things that they

 

            18      wanted to add to it, which is the -- the

 

            19      mailbox where the address -- so that rescue can

 

            20      get to it, and also to be able to get down to

 

            21      the place, and the property owner is fine with

 

            22      that.

 

            23           Mr. Reingold.

 

            24           MR. REINGOLD:  Through the Chair to the

 

            25      council member, I will take that as quite an

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      extensive ex-parte communication disclosure

 

             2      from the council member.

 

             3           MR. CARTER:  Yeah, that was -- that was

 

             4      exactly what I was trying to do, is say I've

 

             5      talked to the resident at length, and so -- I

 

             6      was trying to -- that was in the middle of all

 

             7      that.  I just kind of got spread out there a

 

             8      little bit.

 

             9           THE CHAIRMAN:  And if we have any others

 

            10      that need to declare ex-parte, this is the time

 

            11      to do it.

 

            12           MR. CARTER:  (Inaudible.)

 

            13           THE CHAIRMAN:  Right.  That was fine.

 

            14           Okay.  If we could have the applicant come

 

            15      forward.

 

            16           (Audience member approaches the podium.)

 

            17           AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hello.

 

            18           I'm Jim Everett.  My wife and I own

 

            19      about --

 

            20           THE CHAIRMAN:  Excuse me, sir.

 

            21           If you can give your name and your address

 

            22      for the record.

 

            23           AUDIENCE MEMBER:  James P. Everett, 8526

 

            24      Lenox Avenue.

 

            25           THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1           Go ahead.

 

             2           MR. EVERETT:  We own about ten acres

 

             3      there, three contiguous parcels, and my son --

 

             4      my daughter and son -- well, son-in-law want to

 

             5      build a house.  As a matter of fact, this is

 

             6      probably the best spot on the whole ten acres

 

             7      to put a house.  We're going to -- they're

 

             8      going to get a 30-foot easement coming from the

 

             9      road, which will make a decent driveway.

 

            10           We can comply with your two requirements,

 

            11      the driveway and the post office street

 

            12      address, but this would not be out of character

 

            13      for our neighborhood.  That neighborhood is

 

            14      going to more dense housing all around us.

 

            15           There are only six of these parcels left,

 

            16      the large ones.  We own three of them and

 

            17      Mr. King owns the other three, and so I don't

 

            18      think we would be out of character for the

 

            19      neighborhood.

 

            20           Any questions of me?

 

            21           THE CHAIRMAN:  No, I don't have any

 

            22      questions.  I have no -- yeah, I do have --

 

            23      Ms. Boyer.

 

            24           C/M BOYER:  Thank you for coming tonight.

 

            25           I have one quick question.

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1           It seemed on some map I saw there were a

 

             2      number of large trees in the area where the

 

             3      driveway is going to be; is that correct?

 

             4           MR. EVERETT:  There are two pecan trees.

 

             5      I think some of the bottom limbs could be

 

             6      removed on one side, would give adequate room

 

             7      for fire and rescue.

 

             8           C/M BOYER:  So in order to comply with the

 

             9      requirement that I've -- that I've heard, that

 

            10      there's going to be a 30-foot-wide hard

 

            11      surface --

 

            12           MR. EVERETT:  There won't -- the hard

 

            13      surface won't be 30 feet wide.  There will be a

 

            14      30-foot-wide land area, but I see no reason to

 

            15      make a 30-foot-wide paved area.

 

            16           C/M BOYER:  And that won't adversely

 

            17      impact the trees, the -- the paved area that

 

            18      you do make, whether it's gravel or whatever,

 

            19      will --

 

            20           MR. EVERETT:  If it does, it will just

 

            21      have to impact them, but I don't think it will.

 

            22           C/M BOYER:  Thank you.

 

            23           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I have no further

 

            24      speakers on the queue.

 

            25           We do not have anyone else to speak as a

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      proponent at this time.  I don't have actually

 

             2      any cards for opposition --

 

             3           C/M CARTER:  (Indicating.)

 

             4           THE CHAIRMAN:  I'm sorry.  Mr. Carter, go

 

             5      ahead.

 

             6           C/M CARTER:  I guess at the end of my long

 

             7      ex-partetion [sic] thing a while ago, I should

 

             8      have said that I'm supportive of this as the

 

             9      district councilmember.

 

            10           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you,

 

            11      Councilman Carter.

 

            12           Planning, Mr. Kelly.

 

            13           MR. KELLY:  Thank you.

 

            14           To the Chair, we had a concern kind of in

 

            15      evaluating just here recently.

 

            16           The existing lot in the front, the

 

            17      dimensions of that that are being proposed

 

            18      would make that lot nonconforming.  So if the

 

            19      house were to burn down on the front lot, you

 

            20      would not be able to rebuild on that lot.

 

            21           MR. EVERETT:  That's not a problem.

 

            22      That's a -- we're renting that house.  My

 

            23      daughter is going to inherit it anyway.

 

            24           MR. KELLY:  Well, I mean, for purposes of

 

            25      lot area, it wouldn't be a complete, full acre

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      lot on the front.  The back one that you're

 

             2      showing is.  And then because, I guess, this is

 

             3      only half of the parcel, the overall parcel,

 

             4      the 3.4-some-odd acres, we would have a

 

             5      concern, again, against the future subdivision

 

             6      or splitting of additional lots beyond this,

 

             7      so --

 

             8           MR. EVERETT:  I don't think they would

 

             9      want to do that.  We sort of like it out there

 

            10      away from the neighbors so we're not looking in

 

            11      their windows and they're not looking in ours.

 

            12           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Before I close the

 

            13      public hearing, I wanted to give Mr. Everett --

 

            14      if you had anything else that you would like to

 

            15      add before I close the public hearing.

 

            16           MR. EVERETT:  For the foreseeable future,

 

            17      that's the only house I see going on that

 

            18      property.

 

            19           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you,

 

            20      Mr. Everett.

 

            21           MR. EVERETT:  Okay.  Thank you.

 

            22           THE CHAIRMAN:  We're going to close the

 

            23      public hearing.

 

            24           I'm going to open it up now for committee

 

            25      discussion.

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1           Please let it be noted that it is the

 

             2      recommendation of Planning to deny this

 

             3      particular bill; however -- not however, but

 

             4      it's very consistent with the positions that

 

             5      they've taken in the past.

 

             6           Now my however.  We do have the district

 

             7      councilperson here that is in support of it,

 

             8      and I want to open it now for discussions at

 

             9      this time.

 

            10           And I have Mr. Holt on the queue.

 

            11           C/M HOLT:  Thank you, Mr. Chair.

 

            12           Through the Chair to Mr. Kelly or

 

            13      Mr. Crofts, could you explain your two

 

            14      potential amendments?  I know one was -- was it

 

            15      to have an address or a mailbox or both for

 

            16      that separate piece?

 

            17           MR. KELLY:  Right.

 

            18           There are two conditions proposed

 

            19      initially.  We do have some other concerns, as

 

            20      I kind of elaborated earlier, but the two

 

            21      conditions initially proposed by the Department

 

            22      were to stabilize the driveway and the travel

 

            23      surface prior to any permit for a new home in

 

            24      the back part and, additionally, to clearly

 

            25      provide the addresses located on the roadway

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      frontage.

 

             2           So those were the initial first two

 

             3      conditions, but we do have a concern about now

 

             4      the creation of a nonconforming residential lot

 

             5      for lot area and the future -- again, future

 

             6      potential for subdivision.

 

             7           C/M HOLT:  Okay.  And did you specify

 

             8      anything specifically as far as gravel type

 

             9      or -- for the roadway -- driveway?

 

            10           MR. KELLY:  That's correct.

 

            11           It reads, a 35-foot-wide easement/

 

            12      driveway shall be stabilized with gravel or a

 

            13      similar material to provide adequate access by

 

            14      emergency vehicles prior to the issuance of a

 

            15      permit for the new residence.

 

            16           Let me clarify.  It's not the whole width

 

            17      of the easement that needs to be stabilized --

 

            18           C/M HOLT:  Do you want to specify how

 

            19      much?  Ten feet?

 

            20           MR. KELLY:  We would -- yeah, I'm

 

            21      comfortable with -- 16 is what's required for

 

            22      police and fire generally.  So 16 feet would be

 

            23      acceptable.

 

            24           C/M HOLT:  Okay.  Well, I would move that

 

            25      those are wrapped up into an amendment to grant

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      the waiver.

 

             2           C/M REDMAN:  Second.

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Before we -- go

 

             4      ahead, Mr. Reingold.

 

             5           MR. REINGOLD:  To the committee, I guess

 

             6      the two conditions as I read them are, the

 

             7      address for the new residence shall be clearly

 

             8      identified along Lenox Avenue, and then, prior

 

             9      to the issuance of a permit for the new

 

            10      residence, a 16-foot-wide easement/driveway

 

            11      shall be stabilized with gravel or similar

 

            12      materials to provide adequate access by

 

            13      emergency vehicles.

 

            14           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Before -- I want to

 

            15      bring Mr. Everett back to the podium so we

 

            16      could find out --

 

            17           MR. KELLY:  Just to Mr. Reingold quickly,

 

            18      the easement width would still be 35 feet, but

 

            19      the driveway within the easement would be

 

            20      16 feet.

 

            21           MR. REINGOLD:  That is correct.

 

            22           (Mr. Everett approaches the podium.)

 

            23           MR. EVERETT:  There's adequate room for

 

            24      that.

 

            25           THE CHAIRMAN:  I'm sorry, Mr. Everett --

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1           MR. EVERETT:  That can be done.

 

             2           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  So you are in

 

             3      agreement --

 

             4           MR. EVERETT:  Okay.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  -- with everything?

 

             6           Okay.  Thank you for coming up.

 

             7      Thank you.

 

             8           Okay.  We have a motion and a --

 

             9           MR. REINGOLD:  (Indicating.)

 

            10           THE CHAIRMAN:  Go ahead, Mr. Reingold.

 

            11           MR. REINGOLD:  I guess -- Mr. Kelly

 

            12      brought up a point that for some reason hasn't

 

            13      really been brought up until today, which is --

 

            14           THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Everett, come on back

 

            15      down just in case.

 

            16           MR. EVERETT:  Okay.

 

            17           MR. REINGOLD:  -- which is it --

 

            18      essentially you're granting a waiver for the

 

            19      property on the back; however, you -- in doing

 

            20      so, you've now just essentially created an

 

            21      illegal lot up front.

 

            22           This is honestly the first time anyone's

 

            23      brought this to the attention of myself or to

 

            24      the committee at all.  And, honestly, thinking

 

            25      about it -- I mean, I guess the concept is --

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      is that you've approved the residence in the

 

             2      back and the waiver, but I'm not really sure

 

             3      if -- if approving an illegal property on the

 

             4      front is properly notified, properly advertised

 

             5      or the like, and I just wanted to raise that

 

             6      issue.

 

             7           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Before I go to

 

             8      Mr. Holt and Ms. Boyer, I'm leaning towards --

 

             9      I don't know whether or not we will have time

 

            10      to do this right now because I want to respect

 

            11      your time that you're here.  What I would like

 

            12      to do -- because it appears, Mr. Dylan, that

 

            13      you're a little uncomfortable at this time to

 

            14      move forward and --

 

            15           Is it time sensitive in terms of -- can we

 

            16      defer this today and take it up in two weeks,

 

            17      give you-all the time to work this out --

 

            18      Mr. Dylan.

 

            19           MR. REINGOLD:  What I'm hearing from staff

 

            20      is they're -- they're agreeable -- if it's

 

            21      okay -- to the concept of maybe just tabling

 

            22      the item for a couple of minutes so they can

 

            23      sort of sort through this issue.

 

            24           THE CHAIRMAN:  That would be fine.

 

            25           Okay.  We're going to table that

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203


 

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             1      particular item.

 

             2           Let's go ahead and -- if we could, for a

 

             3      few minutes, let's look at 2011-252.  That's

 

             4      been deferred.

 

             5           But I thought -- Mr. Dylan, we are going

 

             6      to take this up right now --

 

             7           MR. REINGOLD:  No.

 

             8           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Mr. Dylan, 2011-252,

 

             9      are we taking that up today?

 

            10           MR. REINGOLD:  No.

 

            11           THE CHAIRMAN:  We're going to defer that

 

            12      completely?

 

            13           MR. REINGOLD:  (Nods head.)

 

            14           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.

 

            15           MR. REINGOLD:  That item is completely

 

            16      deferred.

 

            17           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Great.

 

            18           We don't have -- we did have some folks

 

            19      that wanted to speak on it, but we're not

 

            20      having a public hearing.

 

            21           Let's go down to 2011-341, if we can --

 

            22      that's been deferred as well.  I don't have it

 

            23      on mine.

 

            24           Mr. Dylan.

 

            25           MR. REINGOLD:  On this item, there's

 

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             1      actually a public hearing scheduled for

 

             2      tonight; however, in my discussions with the

 

             3      Planning Department is -- they've had

 

             4      communication with the applicant, and the

 

             5      applicant is agreeable to an amendment and a

 

             6      rereferral of this item, thus changing the

 

             7      request from 80 feet to 61.52 feet to being a

 

             8      request of 40 to 0 feet.

 

             9           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  So are you saying

 

            10      that we're going to defer it until --

 

            11           MR. REINGOLD:  Tonight you would be in a

 

            12      position to open and close the public hearing

 

            13      and then you would actually move an amendment

 

            14      of the bill to change the request.  And then

 

            15      after that, your ballot vote would actually be

 

            16      to rerefer it back to the LUZ Committee for a

 

            17      hearing at a subsequent date.

 

            18           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Let's walk through

 

            19      this process.

 

            20           We're going to open the public hearing.

 

            21      We have no speakers.  We're going to close the

 

            22      public hearing.

 

            23           C/M HOLT:  Move the amendment.

 

            24           C/M BOYER:  Second.

 

            25           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We have an

 

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             1      amendment -- I mean, I have a motion for the

 

             2      amendment to be moved by Mr. Holt, second by

 

             3      Ms. Boyer.

 

             4           Do we have any questions?

 

             5           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

             6           THE CHAIRMAN:  Anybody opposed?

 

             7           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

             8           THE CHAIRMAN:  We've got to vote on it

 

             9      first.

 

            10           By a show of hands, I'm sorry.  Let's take

 

            11      a vote.  Those in favor.

 

            12           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Aye.

 

            13           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  No opposed.  The

 

            14      amendment passes.

 

            15           C/M HOLT:  Move to rerefer back to LUZ as

 

            16      amended.

 

            17           C/M BOYER:  Second.

 

            18           THE CHAIRMAN:  We have a motion by

 

            19      Mr. Holt to move the bill -- to refer back to

 

            20      LUZ, and a second by Ms. Boyer.

 

            21           All in favor.

 

            22           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Aye.

 

            23           THE CHAIRMAN:  We're going to open the

 

            24      ballot?

 

            25           MR. REINGOLD:  Yes.

 

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             1           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We're going to open

 

             2      the ballot, vote.

 

             3           (Committee ballot opened.)

 

             4           C/M BROWN:  (Votes yea.)

 

             5           C/M HOLT:  (Votes yea.)

 

             6           C/M BOYER:  (Votes yea.)

 

             7           C/M LOVE:  (Votes yea.)

 

             8           C/M LUMB:  (Votes yea.)

 

             9           C/M REDMAN:  (Votes Yea.)

 

            10           (Committee ballot closed.)

 

            11           MS. LAHMEUR:  Six yea, zero nay.

 

            12           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  By your actions, you

 

            13      have approved the rereferral to LUZ, item

 

            14      2011-341.

 

            15           Thank you.

 

            16           Let's move on down to 2011-342.  We're

 

            17      going to open the public hearing and continue

 

            18      it until August 16, 2011, no further actions.

 

            19           Go to page 3.  We're actually going to --

 

            20      2011-343.  We're going to defer this for

 

            21      another two weeks.

 

            22           2011-363 has been deferred.

 

            23           2011- -- item number 6 -- -381.  We're

 

            24      going to open the public hearing.

 

            25           Prior to opening the public hearing, we're

 

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             1      going to hear from Mr. Kelly, staff.

 

             2           Thank you.

 

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

 

             4      members of LUZ --

 

             5           MR. REINGOLD:  Hold on.

 

             6           I'm sorry.  I'm trying to kind of come up

 

             7      with a typical order for our LUZ items.

 

             8           I think the first item would be good to

 

             9      start with is ex-parte communications --

 

            10           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.

 

            11           MR. REINGOLD:  -- and then to work our way

 

            12      to Planning staff.

 

            13           THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you.

 

            14           So do we have anyone that needs to declare

 

            15      ex-parte?  This is the time to do it.

 

            16           C/M BOYER:  (Indicating.)

 

            17           THE CHAIRMAN:  Ms. Boyer.

 

            18           C/M BOYER:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

            19           I had ex-parte communication on this

 

            20      matter with Doug Skiles, who is the president

 

            21      of the San Marco Preservation, last Friday,

 

            22      regarding the removal of two trees and

 

            23      landscape requirements.  And I had ex-parte

 

            24      communication with Bill Cesery immediately

 

            25      prior to this meeting regarding the same.

 

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             1           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Mr. Kelly.

 

             2           MR. KELLY:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

 

             3      committee members.

 

             4           Ordinance 2011-381 is a request to allow

 

             5      for a sign waiver, reducing the required

 

             6      minimum setback from the right-of-way for a

 

             7      sign from 10 feet to 1 feet [sic].  This is a

 

             8      monument sign which is proposed to be about

 

             9      18 square feet in area for this existing

 

            10      commercial shopping center.  This is located in

 

            11      San Marco, 1538 Hendricks Avenue.  The

 

            12      High Tide Burrito Company is located within the

 

            13      same center, and this would be a proposed sign

 

            14      for a company -- Nestliving -- office within

 

            15      the same center.

 

            16           The Department has reviewed this in

 

            17      relation to the criteria.  We feel that the

 

            18      proper placement of the sign would be

 

            19      compatible with existing and contiguous signage

 

            20      in the area, that it would not detract from the

 

            21      intent of the zoning ordinance nor would it

 

            22      diminish any property values or negatively

 

            23      alter the aesthetic character of the area.

 

            24           We find that -- again, that careful

 

            25      placement would comply with visibility

 

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             1      requirements and, therefore, would not be

 

             2      detrimental to the public health, safety and

 

             3      welfare, and that there's a compelling public

 

             4      interest, again, for this sign to be posted.

 

             5      We feel the scale and the size of the sign in

 

             6      relation to the other commercial businesses and

 

             7      entities is appropriate for this location.

 

             8           The Department has reviewed this request

 

             9      and we are recommending approval with two

 

            10      conditions:

 

            11           The first condition is, "The monument sign

 

            12      shall be located no closer than 24 inches or

 

            13      2 feet from the edge of the existing Hendricks

 

            14      Avenue right-of-way."  And just to clarify,

 

            15      that's the right-of-way, not the roadway

 

            16      pavement edge.

 

            17           And also, condition 2, which -- my

 

            18      understanding, there's been an agreement or a

 

            19      modification to the landscaping.  The original

 

            20      condition as proposed by staff is, "The owner

 

            21      shall install and maintain additional

 

            22      landscaping around the base of the sign and

 

            23      other areas affected by its installation,

 

            24      subject to review and approval by the Planning

 

            25      and Development Department at the time of

 

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             1      permitting."

 

             2           There are some modifications to that.

 

             3      I'll just defer to Dylan with the changes.

 

             4           MR. REINGOLD:  As Mr. Kelly explained --

 

             5      and I certainly will allow Councilmember Boyer

 

             6      to explain if she would like or I can certainly

 

             7      run through the conditions if that's what's

 

             8      preferred.

 

             9           Essentially, the condition is that, "The

 

            10      owner shall install and maintain a landscape

 

            11      buffer consisting of ground cover, together

 

            12      with a minimum of ten shrubs of a minimum of

 

            13      two feet in height, along the south property

 

            14      line.  The owner shall install and maintain

 

            15      also a 75 percent shrub and ground cover in the

 

            16      sign removal area indicated on the attached

 

            17      site plan dated August 2nd, 2011.  All plant

 

            18      material shall be reviewed and approved by the

 

            19      Planning and Development Department."

 

            20           And if I may explain.  There's a handout

 

            21      that I have provided to the applicant and has

 

            22      been put into the file that denotes the area of

 

            23      the sign removal, and I've certainly got a copy

 

            24      if anyone else would like to take a look at it.

 

            25           With that, that's the conditions, and I

 

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             1      send it back to the Chair.

 

             2           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Does the applicant

 

             3      agree with the conditions?

 

             4           AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Mr. Cesery, are you

 

             6      prepared for a presentation at this time?

 

             7           AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.

 

             8           My name is William Cesery, 1450-3

 

             9      San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida

 

            10      32207.

 

            11           And, yes, unfortunately we have to remove

 

            12      two sabal palms that are -- about half the root

 

            13      ball was taken out by the sidewalk anyway,

 

            14      but -- and there's -- urban site.  There's no

 

            15      room that -- to put any more -- to replant them

 

            16      on the site, so we have agreed to other

 

            17      landscape mitigation for that, and I'm in

 

            18      perfect agreement with that.

 

            19           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We have no

 

            20      opposition cards at this time, so there's no

 

            21      need for rebuttal.

 

            22           We're going to close the public hearing.

 

            23           C/M HOLT:  Move the amendment to grant the

 

            24      waiver, including (inaudible) --

 

            25           C/M REDMAN:  Second.

 

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             1           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We had a motion by

 

             2      Mr. Holt, second by Mr. Redman.

 

             3           All in favor of the amendment, say aye --

 

             4      yea -- aye.

 

             5           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Aye.

 

             6           THE CHAIRMAN:  Any opposed?

 

             7           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

             8           MR. REINGOLD:  (Indicating.)

 

             9           THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Reingold.

 

            10           MR. REINGOLD:  I'm not raising my hand in

 

            11      opposition.  I just heard some grumbling of the

 

            12      amendment and didn't really hear it, but it

 

            13      was -- essentially it was to grant the waiver

 

            14      subject to the conditions as read into the

 

            15      record.

 

            16           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  That's correct?

 

            17           C/M HOLT:  (Nods head.)

 

            18           THE CHAIRMAN:  That's correct.

 

            19           Can we get a motion to move the bill?

 

            20           C/M HOLT:  Move the bill as amended.

 

            21           C/M REDMAN:  Second.

 

            22           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We a have a motion

 

            23      by Mr. Holt, a second by Mr. Redman to move the

 

            24      bill as amended.

 

            25           C/M BOYER:  (Inaudible.)

 

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             1           THE CHAIRMAN:  I'm sorry, do we have any

 

             2      questions?

 

             3           C/M BOYER:  Yes.

 

             4           THE CHAIRMAN:  Ms. Boyer.

 

             5           C/M BOYER:  Thank you.

 

             6           I just want to let the committee know that

 

             7      Mr. Cesery is correct.  This is -- and I agree

 

             8      with the Planning Department.  This is a very

 

             9      urban location, and it's unfortunate that they

 

            10      have to remove the trees to put the sign there,

 

            11      but there is simply no other place to put the

 

            12      sign.

 

            13           The waiver is necessary because if you are

 

            14      going to encourage small businesses to do

 

            15      business in urban areas, they've got to be able

 

            16      to have signage somewhere and you simply cannot

 

            17      comply on this site otherwise.  And I

 

            18      appreciate his willingness to put in other

 

            19      shrubs since those trees have to be removed.

 

            20           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Thank you.

 

            21           As stated, we have a motion by Mr. Holt,

 

            22      second by Mr. Redman.

 

            23           Open the ballot, record your vote.

 

            24           (Committee ballot opened.)

 

            25           C/M BROWN:  (Votes yea.)

 

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             1           C/M HOLT:  (Votes yea.)

 

             2           C/M BOYER:  (Votes yea.)

 

             3           C/M CARTER:  (Votes yea.)

 

             4           C/M LOVE:  (Votes yea.)

 

             5           C/M LUMB:  (Votes yea.)

 

             6           C/M REDMAN:  (Votes Yea.)

 

             7           (Committee ballot closed.)

 

             8           MS. LAHMEUR:  Seven yeas, zero nay.

 

             9           THE CHAIRMAN:  By your actions, you have

 

            10      approved 2011-381.

 

            11           MR. REINGOLD:  To the Chair --

 

            12           THE CHAIRMAN:  If we could go back to item

 

            13      number 7, 2011-382.  If it pleases the

 

            14      committee, we're going to defer this until --

 

            15           MR. CARTER:  Next meeting.

 

            16           THE CHAIRMAN:  -- the next cycle

 

            17      meeting -- next committee meeting.

 

            18           MR. REINGOLD:  To the Chair, on 2011-382,

 

            19      we'll take it off the table and then we'll open

 

            20      and continue the public hearing.

 

            21           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We're going to take

 

            22      it off the table and then we're going to

 

            23      continue the public hearing.

 

            24           We're going to close the public hearing.

 

            25           MR. REINGOLD:  No.

 

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             1           THE CHAIRMAN:  We don't need to close it.

 

             2      We're just going to continue it.

 

             3           Okay.  We're going to continue the public

 

             4      hearing in two weeks.  That date is August

 

             5      16th.

 

             6           Okay.  Thank you.

 

             7           Item number 8, 2011-408.

 

             8           Mr. Teal, come on down.

 

             9           (Mr. Teal approaches the podium.)

 

            10           THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you.

 

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

 

            12           Jason Teal with the General Counsel's

 

            13      Office.

 

            14           What this legislation is, is this is an

 

            15      effort to create an alternative -- an

 

            16      enforcement alternative for historic

 

            17      properties.  Right now what we've got are two

 

            18      extremely far-apart options for a property

 

            19      owner that runs afoul of our Property Safety

 

            20      Code and our Municipal Code Compliance

 

            21      Division.  Right now they have two options,

 

            22      either fix up the building in its entirety or

 

            23      tear it down.  And the problem with that is --

 

            24      is that the property owners don't have the

 

            25      financial ability to put the money into these

 

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             1      properties in order to bring them into

 

             2      compliance with the Property Safety Code, so

 

             3      more and more frequently they are attempting to

 

             4      try and demolish the structures, which, when

 

             5      you're dealing with historic structures,

 

             6      creates a problem because you can't just go

 

             7      back and recreate, you know, a building that

 

             8      was built in 1899, for example.

 

             9           So what we tried to do with this is work

 

            10      with the neighborhood, work with the district

 

            11      councilmember, work with the Planning

 

            12      Department and the Historic Preservation

 

            13      Commission in order to craft something that

 

            14      would be workable for the residents and the

 

            15      owners of these buildings in order to require

 

            16      them to step forward and agree to mothball the

 

            17      buildings.

 

            18           What that means is, is that they have to

 

            19      correct anything that would be structurally

 

            20      wrong with the building and then also make it

 

            21      watertight and resistant to the elements, keep

 

            22      it safe from people breaking in, but also

 

            23      create a monitoring period.  There's a

 

            24      requirement that they would have to monitor

 

            25      these properties, and it's actually going to

 

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             1      save the City resources because if the City

 

             2      goes in and has to tear down one of these

 

             3      buildings, we have to hire a contractor to do

 

             4      that.  That results in a lien on the property

 

             5      for the cost of doing that, which, chances are,

 

             6      it's going to be many, many years, if ever,

 

             7      that we would ever get that money back.

 

             8           So this is going to create an alternative

 

             9      for these property owners to have a five-year

 

            10      period, which is what the mothballing period

 

            11      would be, to allow the market to come back, to

 

            12      allow their investments to remain, and actually

 

            13      it's going to end up with a -- with a -- from a

 

            14      tax standpoint, the City will actually -- as

 

            15      opposed to receiving tax income from a vacant

 

            16      lot or a dilapidated structure, if we allow

 

            17      these folks to actually keep these properties

 

            18      up and refurbish them, then the -- the amount

 

            19      that we'd be able to charge in ad valorem tax

 

            20      would be that much higher on these properties.

 

            21           So it's seen pretty much as a win/win for

 

            22      the property owner, for the neighborhood, and

 

            23      for the City because it does provide this

 

            24      alternative for folks and they can take

 

            25      advantage of that and not have to worry about

 

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             1      the Code Compliance Division breathing down

 

             2      their neck all the time and, you know, the

 

             3      heartbreak of having to tear down these

 

             4      buildings, so --

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I do have Mr. Redman

 

             6      on the queue.

 

             7           C/M REDMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

             8           Mr. Teal, is -- so this property, this

 

             9      house would be sitting there basically

 

            10      dilapidated for five years, possibly, but --

 

            11      and the resident -- or the owner has to make

 

            12      some repairs?

 

            13           MR. TEAL:  Yes, sir.

 

            14           Through the Chair to Councilmember Redman,

 

            15      one of the things that we really tried to focus

 

            16      on with this legislation is to kind of

 

            17      accomplish both goals, the goal of preserving

 

            18      the historic buildings, but also we didn't want

 

            19      it to be a burden on the neighborhood by

 

            20      creating a blighting condition on the

 

            21      neighborhood.

 

            22           Trust me, a lot of these buildings right

 

            23      now are a blighting condition on the

 

            24      neighborhood.  That's in large part the reason

 

            25      why they're in the trouble that they're in.

 

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             1           What this would require, though, is -- it

 

             2      would give the -- it would require the property

 

             3      owner -- because -- keep in mind, this is an

 

             4      enforcement alternative.  So what the property

 

             5      owner is doing is they're saying, "Okay, City.

 

             6      Don't come and take enforcement action against

 

             7      me.  But in exchange for that, I'm going to do

 

             8      this other stuff," and what that other stuff

 

             9      is, is it's -- it requires them to board up the

 

            10      windows in a lot of instances; to paint the

 

            11      structure; to make it look, you know, as

 

            12      presentable as possible from kind of the street

 

            13      front so that it does actually minimize the --

 

            14      the negative view of the building to the extent

 

            15      that you can.

 

            16           I mean, you've got to understand that

 

            17      these are going to be vacant buildings, but --

 

            18      you know, it was an attempt to try and balance

 

            19      the overall intent of historic preservation

 

            20      with, you know, the -- the economics of -- the

 

            21      realities of the housing market right now and

 

            22      that the finances just aren't there to be able

 

            23      to fix it up the way that the Code folks want

 

            24      them to.

 

            25           C/M REDMAN:  I take it Code Enforcement

 

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             1      had deemed this property a hazard and condemned

 

             2      it?

 

             3           MR. TEAL:  (Nods head.)

 

             4           C/M REDMAN:  And ordered that it be torn

 

             5      down?

 

             6           MR. TEAL:  Well, what they do is they give

 

             7      the property owner kind of the -- the difficult

 

             8      choice of, fix it up in its entirety or tear it

 

             9      down.  That's the only way that you can bring

 

            10      it into compliance with Chapter 518, but the --

 

            11      kind of the misnomer that's out there is it's

 

            12      not just making it -- you know, to make the

 

            13      Code folks happy, you can't just make the

 

            14      building presentable.  Their issues go to the

 

            15      wiring is inappropriate, the plumbing is bad,

 

            16      there's no kitchen, there's no bathroom.  So it

 

            17      takes a significant financial investment to

 

            18      correct all of the problems that Property

 

            19      Safety has.  So it's not a matter of just slap

 

            20      a coat of paint on it, put a new roof on it,

 

            21      and, you know, make sure that the windows work.

 

            22      It's a lot more involved than that, and that's

 

            23      the thing that the property owners simply can't

 

            24      afford to do at this point in time.

 

            25           C/M REDMAN:  Okay.  I realize that, but

 

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             1      would the property owner -- does he not want to

 

             2      tear it down or --

 

             3           MR. TEAL:  A lot of times the property

 

             4      owner does not want to tear it down because --

 

             5      keep in mind, when they purchased these

 

             6      properties, they bought them as an investment,

 

             7      because the historic homes, you know, once

 

             8      they're refurbished, they actually hold their

 

             9      value a lot better than other residential

 

            10      structures do simply because of the niche of

 

            11      living in a historic home, the uniqueness of

 

            12      it.  And so, from that standpoint, they are

 

            13      basically presented with the difficult choice

 

            14      of -- I don't want to have these

 

            15      hundred-dollar-a-day fines keep rolling up on

 

            16      me because I can't afford to pay what it's

 

            17      going to cost to refurbish the building, but I

 

            18      really don't want to tear it down either, you

 

            19      know, because I have this investment and I

 

            20      would really like to be able to save this

 

            21      building, and so they've got -- really the

 

            22      choice was so extreme between how much is it

 

            23      going to cost me to fix it up and I really

 

            24      don't want to tear it down.

 

            25           What this does is this gives them a third

 

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             1      choice, which is to say, okay, do a minimal

 

             2      amount of effort on this, but -- and then you

 

             3      can have, you know, the five years of the

 

             4      mothballing period and, you know, we'll see

 

             5      where the market is at that point in time.

 

             6           C/M REDMAN:  Now, I don't know where this

 

             7      property is located, but I know in some cases,

 

             8      when you have residents living around houses

 

             9      like this and you -- you know, the neighbors

 

            10      are not going to want a boarded-up house or

 

            11      more than one boarded up house.  Is there more

 

            12      than one house?

 

            13           MR. TEAL:  There are a lot of houses in

 

            14      this condition, yes, sir.

 

            15           C/M REDMAN:  Okay.  Are we talking about

 

            16      this happening to a lot of houses in one

 

            17      neighborhood?

 

            18           MR. TEAL:  The idea is -- is hopefully

 

            19      that it would.  Really what you've got is --

 

            20      and keep in mind that this idea really started

 

            21      from the residents of Springfield.  You know,

 

            22      the folks that live in Springfield

 

            23      understand -- I mean they, themselves, in most

 

            24      instances, bought houses that looked like this

 

            25      at one point in time and they fixed them up,

 

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             1      and so they're -- basically they understand

 

             2      what it takes in order to fix these things up

 

             3      but they also understand the value of the

 

             4      historic homes because -- keep in mind, that

 

             5      the value of the historic district is what

 

             6      creates the economic value of their properties

 

             7      as well.  And so if a lot of these houses start

 

             8      going away, the value of the historic district

 

             9      goes away too.  So, in essence -- in large part

 

            10      it's to protect their own investment as well.

 

            11      They want to see these houses succeed because

 

            12      it increases the property values of their own

 

            13      houses.

 

            14           C/M REDMAN:  Would -- this particular

 

            15      bill, would it interfere with someone who had a

 

            16      house that had been condemned in order to tear

 

            17      it down and they want to tear it down?  Would

 

            18      this impede their ability to do that?

 

            19           MR. TEAL:  No, sir.  No, sir.

 

            20           There is a process that's outlined in

 

            21      chapter 307 of the ordinance code as to how you

 

            22      go about requesting the ability to tear down a

 

            23      structure.  This in no way affects that.  All

 

            24      this does is it gives, like I said, the third

 

            25      option of creating this kind of middle ground,

 

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             1      if you will, for -- from an enforcement

 

             2      standpoint.

 

             3           C/M REDMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Teal.

 

             4           MR. TEAL:  You're welcome, sir.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Mr. Lumb.

 

             6           C/M LUMB:  Though the Chair to Mr. Teal,

 

             7      one of the purposes of this legislation is to

 

             8      prevent the properties from deteriorating to

 

             9      the point where they have to be torn down,

 

            10      correct?

 

            11           MR. TEAL:  That's correct.

 

            12           C/M LUMB:  That's one of the -- that's the

 

            13      goal here?

 

            14           MR. TEAL:  Right.

 

            15           C/M LUMB:  And I didn't ask this question

 

            16      earlier in RCD, but the -- it occurs to me.  If

 

            17      someone has their property mothballed or they

 

            18      get mothball status, are they permitted to

 

            19      still -- for example, say they stabilized, they

 

            20      do the structural repairs necessary to

 

            21      stabilize the building, make sure the roof

 

            22      isn't leaking, during the mothball period, they

 

            23      can make improvements to the interior of the

 

            24      building, correct?

 

            25           MR. TEAL:  They --

 

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             1           C/M LUMB:  They can go forward bit by bit?

 

             2           It just gives them more time to accomplish

 

             3      that without incurring these $100-a-day fines,

 

             4      correct?

 

             5           MR. TEAL:  That's correct, yes, sir.

 

             6           C/M LUMB:  Thank you.

 

             7           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Ms. Boyer.

 

             8           C/M BOYER:  Mr. Teal, just to clarify,

 

             9      this is purely optional, at the election of a

 

            10      property owner; is that correct?

 

            11           MR. TEAL:  That's correct.

 

            12           C/M BOYER:  So they would have to choose

 

            13      to participate in the program and want to be

 

            14      part of the mothballing program if they chose

 

            15      to do that?  It wouldn't affect their ability

 

            16      to ignore a property if they so chose?

 

            17           MR. TEAL:  This is a purely voluntary

 

            18      approach.  The property owner will incur a

 

            19      burden, you know, of having to do the initial

 

            20      work, for example, but then also having to

 

            21      maintain the property during this five-year

 

            22      period.  It is a voluntary approach, again, but

 

            23      it's for the purpose of avoiding, you know, the

 

            24      big stick of our Code Enforcement guys coming

 

            25      out.

 

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             1           C/M BOYER:  And I understand from the

 

             2      standpoint of blight, in -- at least in the

 

             3      Springfield circumstance where this arose, that

 

             4      many of the condemned and demolished properties

 

             5      that have now become vacant lots, the vacant

 

             6      lot is in and of itself a blight because

 

             7      there's a lot of trash on it, there are people

 

             8      hanging out there; is that correct?  Is that

 

             9      one of the purposes --

 

            10           MR. TEAL:  That's correct.

 

            11           What we see a lot is that our Code

 

            12      Enforcement office then has to kind of refocus,

 

            13      if you will.  It's not on the building, it's

 

            14      now on the lot.  So the properties aren't being

 

            15      maintained, so the grass is high.  People are

 

            16      throwing trash on the properties, vagrants are

 

            17      hanging out on the properties.  So it's not to

 

            18      say that if you get rid of the building that

 

            19      that's going to solve your problem.  It just

 

            20      kind of redirects it.

 

            21           What this would do is to keep the ongoing

 

            22      maintenance requirement and actually have the

 

            23      property owner assume some ownership over it,

 

            24      where a lot of times they get in over their

 

            25      heads and they see this fine keep rolling up,

 

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             1      but they can't afford to fix it up, so they

 

             2      just bury their head in the sand and, you know,

 

             3      the problem just -- it snowballs out of their

 

             4      control at that point.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I have no other

 

             6      questions.

 

             7           Do I have a motion --

 

             8           C/M LOVE:  Move the bill.

 

             9           THE CHAIRMAN:  -- and a second?

 

            10           C/M HOLT:  Second.

 

            11           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I have a motion and

 

            12      second.  A motion by Mr. Love, second by

 

            13      Mr. Holt.

 

            14           Any discussion?

 

            15           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

            16           THE CHAIRMAN:  Seeing no discussion, open

 

            17      the ballot, record the vote.

 

            18           (Committee ballot opened.)

 

            19           C/M BROWN:  (Votes yea.)

 

            20           C/M HOLT:  (Votes yea.)

 

            21           C/M BOYER:  (Votes yea.)

 

            22           C/M CARTER:  (Votes yea.)

 

            23           C/M LOVE:  (Votes yea.)

 

            24           C/M LUMB:  (Votes yea.)

 

            25           C/M REDMAN:  (Votes Yea.)

 

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             1           (Committee ballot closed.)

 

             2           MS. LAHMEUR:  Seven yeas, zero nay.

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  By your actions, you

 

             4      have approved 2011-408.

 

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

 

             6           THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Teal.

 

             7           Okay.  Item number 9, 2011-415, deferred.

 

             8      2011-416 is deferred.

 

             9           At the top of the page of number 5, public

 

            10      hearing, 2011-417.  If we can declare our

 

            11      ex-parte communication first.

 

            12           Do we have anyone on --

 

            13           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

            14           THE CHAIRMAN:  No one on the speaker

 

            15      queue.  We're going to open the public hearing.

 

            16           MR. CROFTS:  Staff report.

 

            17           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I'm sorry, yes, the

 

            18      staff report prior to opening the public

 

            19      hearing.

 

            20           If we can have Mr. Crofts do the staff

 

            21      report first.

 

            22           Thank you.

 

            23           MR. CROFTS:  Item 11, 2011-417, is a

 

            24      Notice of Proposed Change in the location in

 

            25      distribution of land uses in the Villages of

 

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             1      Argyle Development of Regional Impact, which

 

             2      was originally developed as one of the first

 

             3      DRIs in the state of Florida, actually in 1974,

 

             4      with several thousand acres of land in Duval

 

             5      County and Clay County, but this modification

 

             6      only affects portions of land in Duval County.

 

             7           Also, it should be pointed out that this

 

             8      land swap agreement really sets forth and is

 

             9      consistent with a previous ordinance, 2011-295,

 

            10      that this council approved, which reflected a

 

            11      swap of land, basically parcel 31 to be

 

            12      transferred from the City to AFI Associates for

 

            13      comparable land in parcel 51 to be transferred

 

            14      to the City for an expanded park and

 

            15      recreational facility.

 

            16           In summary, the property change in this

 

            17      legislation includes the following adjustments

 

            18      in Map H of the DRI documentation:

 

            19           First, parcel 31 will become designated

 

            20      General Commercial, and those entitlement

 

            21      rights will be transferred to the hunting

 

            22      preserve and be established in a new parcel 51

 

            23      and include 19 acres of additional land for an

 

            24      expanded park.

 

            25           Number 2, parcel 26 within the DRI will be

 

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             1      converted from High Density Residential to a

 

             2      Mixed Use to allow for the development of

 

             3      General Commercial, to allow for a greater

 

             4      variety of commercial and residential uses.

 

             5           And, finally, of course, to repeat,

 

             6      parcel 51 will be established to allow for the

 

             7      new and expanded park on Map H.

 

             8           Just in conclusion and for footnoting, the

 

             9      proposed NOPC will not result in an increase in

 

            10      the amount of permitted residential units or

 

            11      actually an increase in the nonresidential

 

            12      square footage.

 

            13           It is important to note that the Northeast

 

            14      Florida Regional Council has reviewed this --

 

            15      these proposed changes and concludes there's no

 

            16      additional regional impacts and recommends

 

            17      approval.  It does not constitute or raise to

 

            18      the level of what is defined as a substantial

 

            19      deviation by state law.

 

            20           And, finally, our staff, our

 

            21      Transportation staff has reviewed this proposal

 

            22      with no objections.  And assuming the

 

            23      appropriate assignment of development rights

 

            24      occur and the appropriate tracking and

 

            25      monitoring reports are realized, the Planning

 

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             1      and Development Department staff recommends

 

             2      approval.

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We're going to open

 

             4      the public hearing.  We have one speaker,

 

             5      Mr. Paul Harden.

 

             6           (Mr. Harden approaches the podium.)

 

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

 

             8           THE CHAIRMAN:  If you could give your name

 

             9      and address for the record, please.

 

            10           MR. HARDEN:  Paul Harden, 501 Riverside

 

            11      Avenue.  I represent AFI.

 

            12           I think everybody up here has head this

 

            13      except maybe Councilman Lumb.  It's a piece of

 

            14      property.  One piece is in Councilman Holt's

 

            15      district.  One piece was in Councilman

 

            16      Corrigan, now Councilman Love's district.  And

 

            17      I know Ms. Boyer was sitting right there

 

            18      (indicating) when we did it last time, so I

 

            19      think she knows the -- the drill.  So I'll go

 

            20      through it, but I'll try to be peripheral if

 

            21      anybody has any questions.

 

            22           The City owned a piece of property that

 

            23      was about nine acres in size.  They had it

 

            24      designated for a park.  It really wasn't of a

 

            25      size usable for a park.  My clients owned

 

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             1      50 acres about a quarter of a mile down the

 

             2      road.  And I have a map if you want to see.

 

             3      It's a part of your package, but here's where

 

             4      the old park was (indicating), here is the new

 

             5      proposed park.

 

             6           What we proposed and the City Council

 

             7      approved in the -- the last group of City

 

             8      Council members is for AFI to take this

 

             9      property and swap it with the City so that

 

            10      they -- the City will now have 80 contiguous

 

            11      acres so they can develop a regional park at

 

            12      this location.

 

            13           During the legislation consideration on

 

            14      the swap, two things came up.  There was a

 

            15      request that we appraise the properties to make

 

            16      sure they were of equal value.  The property

 

            17      you're getting appraised at about -- at

 

            18      $500,000 more than the property you're giving

 

            19      up.  And I won a bet from Councilman Carter on

 

            20      that.

 

            21           And then, in addition to that,

 

            22      Councilman Crescimbeni requested that before

 

            23      the swap take place that we rezone -- using his

 

            24      words -- the property so that your property

 

            25      could be used for a park and our piece for

 

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             1      commercial development.

 

             2           The process is not quite a rezoning

 

             3      because it's in a DRI.  And, as Mr. Crofts

 

             4      says, this is the first step of amending that

 

             5      DRI.  This is a Notice of Proposed Change,

 

             6      which changes the development order that

 

             7      controls the DRI.  So the development order

 

             8      will now designate the piece that AFI will own

 

             9      for commercial development and the piece that

 

            10      the City will own when the swap occurs for a

 

            11      park use.

 

            12           You will also hear a future land use map

 

            13      amendment, which will be required down the

 

            14      road.  That's -- that will be another 30, 60

 

            15      days down the road, but suffice it to say this

 

            16      process is intended to put the piece that the

 

            17      City is acquiring into use.  They want to use

 

            18      it for the piece that AFI is acquiring into the

 

            19      use that AFI wants to use it for before the

 

            20      actual swap occurs.  We've done most of the due

 

            21      diligence, we've traded documents, so we're

 

            22      about ready to go.  So once the zoning occurs,

 

            23      then the swap will occur.

 

            24           Other than that, I'll be happy to answer

 

            25      any questions.

 

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             1           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  What I want to do

 

             2      right now is -- did you have a question?  I

 

             3      wanted to close the public hearing.

 

             4           MR. HARDEN:  Okay.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  Let me close the public

 

             6      hearing, then we're going to open it up for

 

             7      committee discussion.

 

             8           I have Mr. Love on the queue.

 

             9           C/M LOVE:  I'd just like to report

 

            10      ex-parte with Paul Harden.  At our Argyle

 

            11      community meeting, we talked about this land

 

            12      swap.

 

            13           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Do we have any

 

            14      other --

 

            15           MR. CARTER:  I talked to Mr. Harden about

 

            16      this.

 

            17           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Mr. Dylan, did you

 

            18      have something you wanted me --

 

            19           MR. REINGOLD:  Just a reminder to the

 

            20      committee -- and certainly on an item like

 

            21      this, it's obviously not a big deal, but it's

 

            22      important to do the ex-parte communications

 

            23      before the public hearing occurs.  That way, in

 

            24      case there was opposition, they would know --

 

            25      or some other side, they would be aware of it,

 

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             1      but on this type of situation, luckily it was

 

             2      not an issue.

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  No other questions.

 

             4           Do I have a motion?

 

             5           C/M HOLT:  Move the bill.

 

             6           C/M CARTER:  Second.

 

             7           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I have a motion by

 

             8      Mr. Holt, second by Mr. Carter.

 

             9           Any discussion?

 

            10           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

            11           THE CHAIRMAN:  Seeing no discussion, open

 

            12      the ballot, record your vote.

 

            13           (Committee ballot opened.)

 

            14           C/M BROWN:  (Votes yea.)

 

            15           C/M HOLT:  (Votes yea.)

 

            16           C/M BOYER:  (Votes yea.)

 

            17           C/M CARTER:  (Votes yea.)

 

            18           C/M LOVE:  (Votes yea.)

 

            19           C/M LUMB:  (Votes yea.)

 

            20           C/M REDMAN:  (Votes Yea.)

 

            21           (Committee ballot closed.)

 

            22           MS. LAHMEUR:  Seven yeas, zero nay.

 

            23           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  By your actions, you

 

            24      have approved 2011-417.

 

            25           Item 12, 2011-428.  We have Mr. Williams.

 

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             1           Mr. Williams, if you can come on down.

 

             2           (Audience member approaches the podium.)

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  And before you get started

 

             4      and get your name and address for the record,

 

             5      did we straighten out, Mr. Dylan, the concern

 

             6      that Ms. Boyer had in the first sentence, if

 

             7      you will, "open and improved portion?"

 

             8           MR. REINGOLD:  I have not had an

 

             9      opportunity to address the issue with our real

 

            10      estate staff; however, Mr. Williams is here and

 

            11      certainly can adequately represent the Real

 

            12      Estate Division.

 

            13           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Before you get

 

            14      started, let me ask Ms. Boyer, did you want to

 

            15      explain your position or concern prior to

 

            16      Mr. Williams?

 

            17           C/M BOYER:  I have spoken to Ms. -- I have

 

            18      spoken to Heather, and we -- I have a proposed

 

            19      amendment to correct the question that existed,

 

            20      but I'll explain it to Mr. Williams.

 

            21           There was a question concerning the

 

            22      language in here that said the roadway that

 

            23      we're abandoning is open and improved.  And in

 

            24      the fact sheet it said it was not opened and it

 

            25      was unimproved, and so I was trying to get

 

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             1      clarification as to which was the case, and I

 

             2      understand it is a right-of-way and I have an

 

             3      amendment to correct that.

 

             4           AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I understand.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you.

 

             6           Okay.  Mr. Williams.

 

             7           AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, I'm Bob Williams.

 

             8           Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.

 

             9           I'm your real estate officer.  I'm pleased

 

            10      to be here at the LUZ Committee.  It's not

 

            11      often that I do get here.  As you know, most of

 

            12      the -- a vast amount of the closures are routed

 

            13      through the TEU Committee, as this bill as well

 

            14      has already been and voted to approve.

 

            15           I assume, briefly, that this bill is here

 

            16      because of what Councilman Boyer just talked

 

            17      about in regard to, as it is outlined in the

 

            18      agenda of yours, the contingency on the PUD

 

            19      being recognized and adhered to.

 

            20           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  I don't have any

 

            21      other questions.

 

            22           Do we have someone that -- you wanted to

 

            23      make a -- a motion for the amendment?

 

            24           C/M BOYER:  I do.

 

            25           THE CHAIRMAN:  You want to make --

 

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             1           C/M BOYER:  (Inaudible.)

 

             2           THE CHAIRMAN:  No public hearing, and then

 

             3      if we could get someone to second it.

 

             4           C/M BOYER:  Yes.

 

             5           I'd like to move that we amend ordinance

 

             6      2011-428 by substituting in line 2, in lieu of

 

             7      the language that says "an opened and improved

 

             8      portion of," the language that says "a portion

 

             9      of the right-of-way on."

 

            10           C/M HOLT:  Second.

 

            11           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  We have a motion and

 

            12      a second for the amendment.

 

            13           All in favor of the amendment, say yea.

 

            14           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Yea.

 

            15           THE CHAIRMAN:  All opposed.

 

            16           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

            17           THE CHAIRMAN:  The amendment passes.

 

            18           Okay.  We have a motion to move -- go

 

            19      ahead, Mr. Dylan.

 

            20           MR. REINGOLD:  To the committee, if I may,

 

            21      on the amendment, I kind of hear that amendment

 

            22      as a little bit more broad, as -- that can be

 

            23      done throughout the document and not just on

 

            24      that specific line.  I'm just not sure where

 

            25      throughout the bill it's referenced, but that

 

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             1      that change would be made consistent

 

             2      throughout.

 

             3           THE CHAIRMAN:  Ms. Boyer.

 

             4           C/M BOYER:  That would be correct.

 

             5           THE CHAIRMAN:  That would be correct.

 

             6      Okay.  Thank you.

 

             7           Okay.  Make sure that we had it -- we had

 

             8      a motion by Mr. Carter [sic] and a second by

 

             9      Mr. Holt.

 

            10           C/M CARTER:  (Inaudible.)

 

            11           THE CHAIRMAN:  Move the bill?  No, we

 

            12      already moved the bill.  Actually, we're

 

            13      voting -- we're getting ready to vote on it

 

            14      now.  We already moved the amendment.

 

            15           All right.  So now we're -- we have a

 

            16      motion and a second for the bill.  We have no

 

            17      discussion.

 

            18           Open the ballot and record your vote.

 

            19           (Committee ballot opened.)

 

            20           C/M BROWN:  (Votes yea.)

 

            21           C/M HOLT:  (Votes yea.)

 

            22           C/M BOYER:  (Votes yea.)

 

            23           C/M CARTER:  (Votes yea.)

 

            24           C/M LOVE:  (Votes yea.)

 

            25           C/M LUMB:  (Votes yea.)

 

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             1           C/M REDMAN:  (Votes Yea.)

 

             2           (Committee ballot closed.)

 

             3           MS. LAHMEUR:  Seven yeas, zero nay.

 

             4           THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  By your actions, you

 

             5      have approved item 2011-428.

 

             6           That bill was -- for the record, it was a

 

             7      motion made by Mr. Carter and second by

 

             8      Mr. Holt.

 

             9           MR. REINGOLD:  As amended.

 

            10           THE CHAIRMAN:  As amended.

 

            11           Thank you.

 

            12           MR. WILLIAMS:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

            13           THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you.

 

            14           Item 13, 2011-443, second and rerefer.

 

            15      And 2011- -- item 14, 2011-491, second and

 

            16      rerefer.

 

            17           Have we covered everything on the agenda?

 

            18      Do we have any questions at this time?

 

            19           COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

            20           STAFF MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

            21           THE CHAIRMAN:  We have not.

 

            22           Meeting is adjourned.

 

            23           Thank you.

 

            24           (The above proceedings were adjourned at

 

            25      5:55 p.m.)

 

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             1                      CERTIFICATE

 

             2

 

             3  STATE OF FLORIDA)

                                )

             4  COUNTY OF DUVAL )

 

             5

 

             6

 

             7           I, Diane M. Tropia, Court Reporter,

 

             8  certify that I was authorized to and did

 

             9  stenographically report the foregoing proceedings

 

            10  and that the transcript is a true and complete

 

            11  record of my stenographic notes.

 

            12

 

            13

 

            14

 

            15            DATED this 7th day of August, 2011.

 

            16

 

            17             ___________________________

 

            18                   Diane M. Tropia

 

            19

 

            20

 

            21

 

            22

 

            23

 

            24

 

            25

 

                      Diane M. Tropia, Inc., P.O. Box 2375, Jacksonville, FL 32203