HomeMy Public PortalAbout2000-10-26 Workshop MeetingCOUNCIL MINUTES
WORKSHOP MEETING - OCTOBER 26. 2000
A Workshop Meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Thursday, October
26, 2000, in the Council Chambers, at Bal Harbour Village Hall. The meeting was called
to order at 12:35 p.m. by Mayor Hirschl. Those present were:
Also present:
Mayor Andrew Hirsch!
Councilman James Boggess
Councilman Peg E. Gorson
Councilman Seymour "Sy" Roth
Jeanette Horton, Acting Village Manager
Ellisa Wright, Deputy Village Clerk
Nancy Stroud, Village Attorney
Absent: Assistant Mayor Daniel Tantleff
As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced.
2. Discussion of West Side Zoning - Michael Miller! Mayor
Hirsch! explained the purpose of the meeting today is to discus west side zoning because
Councilman Boggess addressed this issue to the Council several months ago and there
is concern, long-term, that this particular district that houses older dwellings may become
an issue for redevelopment later on. Michael Miller, Village Planner — Rhon Ernest -
Jones, addressed the Council and introduced his Associate, Chris Miller. He advised that
he addressed the Council at a previous Council meeting concerning the RM zoning
districts. He advised that he did an inventory of what is there now and tried to identify
problems with that and possible opportunities. He requested that the Council review the
material submitted today and decide if any changes need to be done.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Existing Conditions Analysis for the Bal Harbour RM Land Use
Study, which was previously distributed to Council members.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Development Analysis (page 1 — Tables) showing folio number,
address, dwelling units in development, square footage, and 2000 assessed values. He
stated that he was surprised at the assessed value for that district. He advised that they
were struggling when they looked at the Comprehensive Plan Housing Element on the
price of housing because the pricing in the Single Family is quite expensive and the
beachfront condos are very expensive. This report shows the general indication of the
pricing structure for the RM district, so he thinks it will provide some good ammunition with
the State on the Village housing element.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Introduction and advised that there are 28 existing developments
located on the west side of Collins Avenue, north side of Park Drive and west of Bal Bay
Drive (near where Park Drive intersects with Bal Bay Drive). He reported that they
analyzed the current pattern of development (densities, amenities, and design features),
determined the general conditions of each building, and identified existing zoning code
provisions and deficiencies.
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Mr. Miller reviewed Bay Colony (290 Bal Bay Drive) as an example. He explained that for
each development they identified the number of units in the building, the year it was
constructed, the average square footage in the units, the number of parking stalls, and
provided general comments. He advised that most of the properties are maintained in a
pretty good condition, some of the architecture is dated, some of the square footage and
parking are dated. He stated that they found that many of the developments were built
before the Village had a Zoning Code. So, he's not sure how developments were handled
back then. He advised that there are several buildings that are taller than the current
height restrictions. There are a number where the density exceeds the current density
limits. He stated that the parking spaces are the biggest variation because years ago
many people only had 1 car, so there wasn't a big call for parking spaces. However, now
most families have 2 cars, so there seem to be parking problems. Most of the
developments have a loop driveway and there's parallel parking right on the driveway
surface, where normally there would be a 24 foot driveway and then parking stalls at an
angle. So, at some properties it's a little tight to turn around. Mr. Miller explained that
might be a problem with sanitation trucks and/or fire trucks to get around the buildings.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Development Standards showing the current density, height,
minimum plot area, and setback criteria. He reviewed that in RM-1, RM-2, and RM-3
districts (which are inside the Security District) are basically 2 stories, and the front
setbacks are reflected on the plat. Mr. Miller stated that he would like to discuss that
because it's a limitation on the development because when it's on the plat it's very difficult
to violate that. He stated that the sides and rear setbacks are quite minimal. He explained
that for single family residences, the rear setback was increased and the side setbacks
were increased as the house gets taller. He reported that for the RM buildings, the rear
setback is 10 and the building is 2 stories and in some cases they back up to a single
family lot.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Characteristics of Existing Development — Building/Site Plan
Design. He explained there is generally a 1950's architecture, which has a box -like
appearance and most have flat roofs. He stated that it's not untypical to have wall or
window a/c units on many of the old buildings. This was noted in the census material
because some things were showing up that was identified as "sub -standard housing" (if it
doesn't have central heating/air conditioning). He advised that many of the windows are
jalousie windows or the old awning type. They wouldn't meet hurricane standards and if
something comes through it's most likely to do some pretty severe damage to the
buildings. There is also a high percentage of impervious area on the plots. So, basically
it's all building and asphalt with very little landscaping. He stated that there's covered
parking provided for most buildings and most of the properties are well maintained. He
added that the majority of the older complexes include servant quarters, which are setback
only 5 feet from the wall. Mr. Miller stated that the Code Enforcement Officer needs to
inspect that area. He advised that one development put a wood deck between the wall and
the building, which isn't in the best condition. Mr. Miller stated that several buildings in the
RM-5 (Collins Avenue district) exceed the current height limitations. He reported that there
are limited recreational amenities provided. If someone were building today, they would
try to put a pool or something in. He stated that 4 developments (Bal Bridge North, Bal
Harbour Square, Shaker Villas, and Bal Harbour Colony) exceed the allowable density.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Age of Development Table, which shows that the vast majority of
development occurred in the 40's and 50's (primarily in the 50's).
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Mr. Miller reviewed the Characteristics of Existing Development — Landscaping/Amenities.
He explained that there is limited landscaping provided on the developments, especially
on Collins Avenue. He stated that the Village's addition of the palm trees on Collins
Avenue made a big visual improvement on the west side. Mr. Miller reviewed the
Ingress/Egress Driveway Illustration (handout) and stated that most of the developments
have a little frontage road in the front. He stated that between the driveway on the north
and south, and the circular drive, it makes it look harder because it's missing the
landscaping. He stated there's a noticeable difference when they don't have the frontage
road. He stated that often on side property lines, where one might want separation with
some landscaping or a wall, there's just pavement right up to the other pavement or a small
wall. He stated that the existing parking areas are poorly landscaped. He advised that
Miami -Dade County adopted a County -wide landscaping ordinance (4-5 years ago) and
at that time he did an analysis of the Village Code and recommended some changes. He
stated that the County ordinance requires that when there's a parking lot or a driveway that
shrubs are put between, so that when people drive by they see a shrub line between the
parking space to soften the blacktop and the cars. He stated that many of the
developments don't have any of that landscaping. He stated that the landscaping on the
developments inside the Security District were a little higher quality than the ones on
Collins Avenue. He stated some of the ones in there had a specimen shade tree as a
prominent feature in the front, which was beautiful and made a big difference.
Mr. Miller reviewed the Characteristics of Existing Development — Limitations to
Redevelopment. He reviewed the ownership pattern and advised when there are
condominiums and cooperatives versus rentals, the Village is dealing with a multitude of
owners, which makes it more difficult. It's also difficult to do something substantial when
the lots are fairly small (150-155 feet wide by 250 feet deep). So, in order to change the
look of the area, someone would have to acquire several lots to do something more
significant, which would be a hindrance. He stated that on the plat, there is a dotted line
that shows where the setbacks are (mostly for the front property lines). So, in the future,
if someone wanted to demolish a building and build something new and move the building
closer to Collins with the parking in the back, the plat restriction would prohibit them from
doing that. He stated that there are ways of amending plat notes. He reviewed the height
limitation and the parking code requirements. He stated that the requirement now is 1.5
parking stalls per unit. He advised that some projects don't have enough room to comply
with that, so it would be a limitation. He stated on the other hand, the Village could require
less parking, but then there might be a parking problem. He added that the density
allowances (per lot versus per acre) is also a limitation. In addition, there are no incentives
to redevelop.
Mr. Miller reviewed Characteristics of Existing Development — Parking Issues. He advised
that there are different parking codes requirements pre 1974 and post 1974. He stated
that only 5 of 28 developments meet the parking Code right now. He continued that a
majority of the older complexes have parking garages or covered parking. The newer
developments have surface parking. The on -site vehicle circulation is somewhat restricted
through parallel parking.
Mr. Miller reviewed Future Activities and explained that these items could be looked at if
the Village wants to encourage redevelopment. The first would be to analyze different
density, height and/or zoning regulations to encourage those things. For example, the
height on Collins Avenue is now limited to 3 stories, that could be changed to have 3
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stories on top of a garage, so it would really be a 4 story building. Or 5-6 story buildings
could be allowed to give someone an incentive to go up. The Village could also increase
the density along with that. Mr. Miller stated that there are some minor Code violations that
need to be looked into. He discussed a cooperative arbor program for the parking lot
landscaping. He explained that many communities have an Arbor Day situation where the
municipality sponsors a give-away of shrubbery or trees that residents can buy. Maybe
something can be done with property owners whereby the Village puts some money in and
the owner puts some money in to put shrubs around the parking lot or trees. Mayor Hirschl
questioned if there's a Dade County code that exists regarding shrubbing parking lots. Dan
Nieda, Building Official, stated that there's a Landscaping Code for all types of housing that
the Village hasn't enforced. Councilman Boggess thinks that's for new development. Mr.
Nieda responded yes. Mr. Miller stated that they can also go to existing homes and that
is something that he recommends that would make an appearance difference without
getting into heavy structural type things. He continued that the Village could also consider
some type of mixed -use development on Collins Avenue. He explained that someone
would buy the strip from Harbour Way to the Bridge and knock it down. Then they could
build commercial on the first floor, and rentals or condos on top of that. That would have
several land uses in the same building. He stated that another idea is to cut off the
driveways onto Collins Avenue. He displayed the Ingress/Egress Driveway Illustration. He
stated there are a lot of driveway cuts onto Collins Avenue that create a harder
appearance. The idea would be to require some connection between the properties, cut
down on some of the driveway connections, have them more staggered with wider
separations. That way buildings would still have access, but they would drive across other
properties to get to Collins Avenue. He explained that another idea would be to cut off the
driveways completely, have a massive landscaping strip along Collins Avenue, and allow
a driveway connection through the wall into the Security District across the Park. Mr. Miller
stated that when he researched that, the plat for the Security District section dedicated that
park strip to all of the owners in that subdivision. He stated there's no zoning restriction
that would prohibit that from happening, but there's a plat restriction from keeping that from
happening. He stated there would be a lot more traffic in the Security District if that's done.
Mr. Miller stated that as far as structural improvements that are incentives, there are
programs going on in the State right now that are sponsored by the Department of
Community Affairs, which is the State land planning agency. They're big into coastal
preservation and they have some funding programs to assist properties if they want to take
out the jalousie windows, for example, and put in the impact resistant windows. They have
programs that either give very low interest rates or they'll actually fund some of those. He
stated that Deerfield Beach was a big leader in that and received millions of dollars that
helped them with their public safety issues and programs were set up for the residential
people to get some assistance.
Councilman Boggess stated that he's concemed about two things. He explained that Bal
Harbour was planned and it was intended that this be a low-rise residential area. At the
time that this was developed, everyone who bought an apartment had to be approved and
be a member of the Bal Harbour Club. That's the reason there are no pools, because
everyone used the pool at the Club. He stated that the buildings are limited to what can
be done. He stated that some of the buildings have quarters for staff in the back, but
nobody has staff anymore. Councilman Boggess doesn't want to see this become the first
slum in Bal Harbour. He stated that some of the buildings aren't being maintained as well
as they should be and he wants to do whatever the Council can to preserve the ambiance
that the Village has there without disrupting the people too much. In the same token, he
doesn't want it to run down and some slick developer come along, or there be a
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catastrophic fire, and the same restrictions are there that were there originally.
Mayor Hirsch) stated that he hears two things from what Councilman Boggess is saying.
First that the Council likes what is there, most of it's maintained well and some of it is a little
run down, yet if it were to be redeveloped the Council wouldn't want it to be developed to
be limited by what the Code now says can be put in there. Councilman Boggess stated
that he doesn't want any hasty decisions made and now is the time to be looking to the
future. He's afraid that if the Village goes on as everything is, then something's going to
happen and it will be stuck in a situation it doesn't want to be stuck in. Councilman Roth
questioned how realistic it is, other than a catastrophic event, that the building owners will
sell their buildings. Councilman Boggess stated nearly impossible. Councilman Roth
stated that the only thing that can go up is a new development to replace something that
came down from a catastrophic incident. Councilman Boggess stated that the buildings
are getting older and there may come a time when it's no longer feasible to maintain the
building. Then maybe the building will be sold.
Mayor Hirschl stated that something in the Village's favor is a new full time Code
Enforcement Officer. He explained that she has been focusing in the Security District first
and has been effective in an increase of upkeep, clean roofs, driveways, landscaping, etc.
Mayor Hirschl stated the Village should be in the multi -family district as well encouraging
and making owners comply under the Village's current Code. Mayor Hirsch) envisions the
ability one day to bulldoze the entire district and put in some magnificent Mediterranean
low-rise. However, when looking at the multitude type of ownership it's very hard to do
that. Councilman Boggess stated that the people on the west side of Collins, outside the
Security District wall, have exactly the same deed restrictions and the same privileges as
the people inside the wall. Mayor Hirsch) stated that District 4 and District 5 both have the
right to the open park land that's in District 5. So, the park land that Mr. Miller mentions is
commonly owned by both districts. Mayor Hirsch) stated that aggressive code enforcement
keeps it looking pristine for the time being. He stated that upkeep is the name of the game,
but it's expensive especially for older buildings.
Mayor Hirsch) questioned how other cities encourage improvement and future
redevelopment. Mr. Miller stated that in Boca Raton, the owners have primarily fixed up
their property. So, there has been limited govemment interference or assistance in helping
that. He stated it's more of an economic type thing more than anything else.
Mayor Hirsch) stated that when the Village is faced with a myriad of ownership scenarios
how conformity is brought to the picture. Ms. Stroud stated the Village has a choice of
either buying the property or using some of the programs that Mr. Miller mentioned. She
explained that the Department of Community Affairs provides grants and incentives to do
some modernization. Mayor Hirsch) questioned if the Village comes up with a plan to take
down a block of buildings and not displace the people permanently but somehow
encourage them to buy into the concept. Ms. Stroud stated the Village could change the
zoning to allow a mixed -use development, which increases the value of the property, with
some height allowances. Councilman Boggess stated that the Council doesn't want any
commercial on that side of the street. Mayor Hirschl questioned if there's anything if Bal
Harbour doesn't want a commercial mixed -use scenario and doesn't want to go much
taller. Ms. Stroud stated that another story may be enough, depending on the market, the
value of the property and whether it makes economic sense. Mayor Hirsch) questioned if
3 stories are allowed in RM-5 right now. Mr. Miller responded yes and there are about 6
that are 4 stories. The Council isn't sure how that happened.
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Dan Nieda, Building Official, addressed the Council. He stated that these properties are
from the 50's and he thinks he should have sent some notices for 40 and 50 year re-
certification because he hasn't received any. He explained that the County sends him the
order to do the re -certification. He stated that one way to improve the properties is through
the re -certification process because the owners may find that there are so many things that
are obsolete in the building and it would cost a lot of money to fix, so some people may
consider the alternative of tearing it down and doing something more attractive and more
dense. He thinks that's one possible thing to do if the Council wants to pursue the idea of
allowing more density (4-5 stories). Mr. Nieda stated that the problem would be the parking
ratios that are required right now, so it would be equitable to allow more density to
compensate for the need for parking spaces. He stated that if he wanted to improve the
district in the future, he would consider zoning that would encourage redevelopment. He
thinks that ultimately the Council has to do that because these buildings are arriving at the
end of their life cycle, which is basically 50 years.
Mayor Hirsch) stated that it seems if the Village aggressively enforces the current codes
to require the structures to be up to par and consider possibly some sort of increase in
density (whether it's a story or two), that would allow some sort of focus to be placed by
outside developers to look at this as a potential rehab local. Councilman Boggess stated
that some of the buildings may want to look into their own type of redevelopment. Mayor
Hirsch) questioned if it would be unfair to require district 4 to comply with amortizing the
issue of concealing parking, hedging, landscaping, etc. He questioned that if the Village
enforces the Dade County code, if that would also act as an incentive to the properties to
spruce themselves up and keep the properties up to par. Councilman Boggess stated that
the windows in all the buildings are different. Mayor Hirsch) stated that the Village can't
make people change their windows. Mr. Nieda agreed. Councilman Boggess stated that
the Village is faced with inconsistency. Mayor Hirschl stated that landscaping would be a
buffer. He stated that it's obvious to have stricter code enforcement now to keep them up
to snuff until there is the carrot of re -development. Mayor Hirsch) also thinks the Council
should be exploring possibly a story or 2 taller. He wants to see how that impacts the other
districts. Councilman Boggess thinks that the Council needs to look to the future and see
what can be done to take into account what might occur. Councilman Boggess invited the
Council, Mr. Nieda, and anyone else who is involved and wants to come to his residence.
Mr. Nieda thinks requiring compliance retroactively with the Dade County Landscaping
Code will be very difficult because there's a lot of paved area and there's very little green
area left. Mayor Hirsch) questioned if they can be required to remove a portion of the
concrete to put in some landscaping. Mr. Nieda thinks that the Village can design a
modified version of creating the existing landscaping and provide that as a means for
guidance to each building. It would be less than what the Dade County Code requires. but
still give them a landscape standard to adopt.
Mayor Hirschl suggested letting Mr. Nieda, Mr. Miller, and May (Code Enforcement Officer)
to go through the multi -family buildings in districts 4 and 5, give an assessment of what
modified code standard that the Village can live with for buffering and putting in more green
space, and at the same time an assessment about zoning up 4 and 5 stories.
It was the consensus of the Council to meet again in a workshop forum to discuss how it
can enhance what is currently on the books, what needs to be done to put the buildings
into compliance with a modified Dade County standard, and look at increasing density by
Council Workshop Meeting 10/26/2000 6
adding a story or two that's strictly residential. Councilman Boggess stated that the Village
Attomey (Richard Weiss) mentioned one time that the Village might have to consider these
buildings as non -compliant and, therefore, grandfathered in. So, any changes that would
be made would have to go with the new plan.
Mayor Hirsch) would like to have a shuttle bus take the Council around District 4 and
District 5 to look at the various scenarios and then come back and have the workshop
meeting at Village Hall.
Mr. Miller stated that he can get some more specific information from the Department of
Community Affairs about their grant programs and put an informational packet together.
The Council can look at it and maybe it can be given to the Board of Directors or owners
at the buildings. Mayor Hirsch) requested that the Council look at it first to decided if that's
what they want.
Mayor Hirschl stated that Alfred Treppeda, Village Manager, will contact everyone to set
up the next workshop meeting.
3. Adiourn: There being no further business to come before the Council,
a motion was offered by Councilman Roth and seconded by Councilman Boness to adjourn. The
motion carried unanimously (4-0), with Assistant Mayor Tantleff absent, and the meeting
adjourned at 1:25 p.m.
ayor Andrew R. Hirsch)
Attest:
%Jeanette Horton, CMC/AAE/CLO
Village Clerk
/elw
Council Workshop Meeting 10/26/2000 7
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