HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070208TybeeCouncilMins2007-2-08 City Council Minutes
Mayor Buelterman called the Consent Agenda Meeting to order on February 08, 2007 at 6:30 PM.
Present in addition to the Mayor were Shirley Sessions, Kathryn Williams, Paul Wolff, Wanda
Doyle, Eddie Crone and Mallory Pearce. Also present were City Manager, Diane Schleicher, and
City Attorney, Bubba Hughes.
Mayor Buelterman listed the Consent Agenda items as:
The Falcon Fireworks Agreement for 4th of July
Regulatory Fees for Bondsmen and Benches.
Diane Schleicher to go with Mayor to Washington, DC on February, 28, 2007 to lobby
for Beach Renourishment.
Indigent Defense Contract.
Buckley Property contract extension until the end of March.
Appointment of Harvey Farelle to Beach Task Force to complete Dick Magune’s term.
Mayor Buelterman called the regular meeting of the City Council to order at 7:00PM on February
8, 2007. Those present at the consent agenda meeting were still in attendance.
Chad Eason of the Chapel by The Sea Baptist Church gave the Invocation and The Tybee Island
Memorial Color Guard posted the colors. Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Mayor Buelterman acknowledged the return of the Mayors pictures in the auditorium. He thanked
Cullen Chambers and the Tybee Island Historical Society for making the needed changes to the
pictures to protect and preserve them as well as having them copied digitally. The Mayor also
recognized Debbie and Mark Robinson for their hard work in getting the framing done promptly.
Mayor Buelterman thanked the Tybee Police Department as well as the Savannah Striders and all
volunteers associated with the Tybee Marathon. He said it was a very safe and successful event.
Mayor Buelterman and Mayor Pro Tem Sessions presented appreciation plaques to Planning
Commission members completing their terms. Members recognized were: Gene Kendrick, Chuck
Powell, Honor Hutton, Susan Hill, Charlie Brewer and Lawanna Tsoulos.
Mr. David Birdwell gave a Tybee Neighbors update
Mr. Stan Hedgecorth invited everyone to the Harlem Ambassadors event on Friday night at the
Gym.
Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing for the Text Amendment to Section 4-050 (F)
District Use Regulations in the C2 Highway Business District. Adding “dwellings or structures
rented for special events” to uses permitted after special review and site plan approval in Zone
C2.
Mr. Wolff said the 15 Sq. Ft. rule for interior and exterior use should be used to determine
parking requirements. He said it is the same criteria used for restaurants. He said one car per
four person capacity whether the parking is on site or offsite.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve with the addition of requiring one parking space per four
person capacity as determined by the ordinance, Mr. Pearce seconded and the vote
was unanimous
Mayor Buelterman – Opened the public hearing for a Map Amendment – Zone C-2, 706 Polk
Street. Request to rezone property from C-2 to R-2.
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Mr. Brown presented the petition for William Dowell and said he wants to rezone property from
C2 to R2. The Planning Commission recommended approval.
Mayor Buelterman said in the Planning Commission minutes, it was mentioned that lot six was
not originally requested.
Mr. Brown said the motion was made to include both parcels of land.
Mr. Hughes asked if the posting of this property dealt with the one piece that the original
application was on and did not include the Pin number for Lot six.
Mr. Dowell said he had no objection to taking it off or rezoning to EC.
Mr. Brown said the posting sign was changed the day after the Planning Commission made a
motion to add both parcels.
Mr. Dowell said lot six was added at the request of the Planning Commission and he was only
concerned about the one piece of property.
Mr. Hughes said, the minutes should reflect that the zoning map is present in the room as
amended as is currently in force. He said Lot six needs to be left out of the motion even if the
sign was amended. He said the publication was not changed and the Pin number in the
publication would not reflect lot six. There is no reason to create that issue.
Mr. Wolf motioned to approve the map amendment excluding Lot 6. Mr. Pearce
seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing for Site Plan Approval for 1115 Hwy 80,
request for a temporary branch banking facility for First National Bank.
Mr. Brown said this was approved on condition of a temporary time limit.
Mayor Buelterman read a letter from neighbor Diane Killeram dated Thursday, February 7, 2007.
She was in support of the temporary bank but had concerns and questions.
Mr. Brown said Downer Davis had listed his concerns and it was contingent on meeting all of
Downer Davis’s requirements which the petitioners agreed to do. Mr. Wolff said council had
received a letter from Downer Davis saying they had met all of his requirements. Pat Livingston
of Ward Edwards; project engineers for the proposed temporary bank; addressed the concerns
that were in the letter and felt they had provided separation between the residential and the
commercial. He said they are actually further from the setback at that point than at any other
part of the site. They have provided some landscape buffer in that area and agreed to take the
Crepe Myrtles out and add a thicker material such as Wax Myrtle. Mr. Wolff said a heated
building of 60 by 28 Sq ft. would require eight parking spaces and there are only five. Ms.
Sessions asked if they were planning to use spotlights for security. Mr. Livingston said they had
provided a handicap spot per the ordinance and originally had two but had revised it to one. He
said the lighting would be limited not to impact the residential areas. He said they would have a
6ft setback along Hwy 80 and along the residential property as well as a 10ft setback along
McKenzie Ave. Mr. Wolff said as a bank they wouldn’t need a dumpster and they could get by
with a couple of trash bins and a couple of recycling bins. They could recycle their office paper
and get rid of regular garbage through the city program. He said eliminating the dumpster would
create a parking space and take care of the parking requirements. Ms. Sessions asked about the
ATM. Mr. Livingston explained that the ATM is going to be affixed to the building and will be on
the front side so that people can park and walk up and have a lighted area; it will not be in the
drive through area.
Mr. Hughes said he understood the Planning Commission recommended twelve months duration
on it. He said they would have to arrive at some appropriate documentation to assure that it will
be moved at the end of that time. Mr. Livingston said they agree to the 12 month limit and if
there is an unforeseen reason why they would need to go beyond that; they would request a
three month extension or something just to cover the gap. But their goal is not to be in this
facility very long. Ms. Williams asked if they intended to remove the neighbor’s fence. She said
Ms. Killeram’s survey shows the fence is actually on her property line.
Mr. Livingston said he didn’t recall stipulating removing her fence in their plans and had not
planned to.
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Mr. Wolff moved to approve with the following conditions; all lighting be directed
downward and not be obtrusive to the neighbors, having a parking space replace the
dumpster. Ms. Doyle seconded.
Ms. Williams asked if Mr. Wolff would amend his motion to include having a heavier vegetative
buffer on the North side of the property.
Mr. Hughes said Ms. Williams needed to be clear on what she meant by a heavy vegetative
buffer.
Mr. Wolff amended the motion to include that Crepe Myrtles be replaced with Wax
Myrtles on the buffer; 12 month time limit from the date of occupancy with the
removal of the facility at the end of 12 months. Sessions seconded the amended
motion and the vote was unanimous.
Ms. Schleicher requested a budget adjustment of $20.840 for the campground residence to
include $1,176 for energy star appliances including a more efficient HVAC system. She said the
city was trying to follow the sustainability initiatives and needed the additional money. Mr. Wolff
suggested adding $3,500 for a Solar Water Heater as well as having the roof done in white to
reflect heat. He also requested having it tapped for solar power. He said when solar panels
become cost effective it would only take some PVC and labor to add solar power to the residence
at very minimal cost. Ms. Williams said her understanding during the budget was the existing
building was to be renovated for the campground residence. Ms. Schleicher explained that
initially the budget was to renovate the river room and the pavilion. She said as the plans
progressed it was discovered that those areas are used for group meetings therefore the decision
was made to purchase a modular home for the campground manger.
Mr. Wolff said Tybee has taken major steps in sustainability; we won an award last year for
setting the pace for the region. We also have a Green Building resolution that we passed last May
that says specifically we will do the very best we can within certain perimeters to make buildings
green friendly, reduce green house gas emissions and conserve energy and resources.
Ms. Schleicher introduced changes to the parking decal ordinance. She said due to complaints
from residents as to why we have so many vehicles using multiple spots with one decal especially
when we have a limited resource for parking and we have storage trailers parked long-term. She
said people complain about decal parking on the street which causes a lot of vision issues,
especially coming out of the side streets. She said if we do decals for boats they often take
multiple spots as well. She said it seems counter productive to be issuing decals to different
trailers, boats and RVs that take up 3-4 spaces. It was suggested that the only exemption to the
ordinance be if they have a business license and they are a legally licensed beach business they
would allow those businesses to continue to have that one parking place per site with the city
parking decal so that we wouldn’t impact businesses.
Ms. Doyle said she would really like to see some work done on this before council takes action to
know exactly what is to be considered concerning beach businesses and decals.
Mayor Buelterman listed the Consent Agenda items as:
The Falcon Fireworks Agreement on the Forth of July
Regulatory Fees for Bondsmen and Benches.
Request for Diane Schleicher to travel out of state to lobby for Beach Funds in
Washington, DC.
Approval of the minutes for December 14, 2006 and January 11, 2007.
Indigent Defense Addendum. $7500 will be paid for fines and forfeitures.
Extension of the Buckley Property acquisition contract.
Appoint Harvey Ferelle to complete Dick Magune’s term on Beach Task Force.
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Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Ms. Williams seconded and the vote
was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve the original campground residence proposal including
the addition of $1,176 to upgrade the HVAC system to a higher efficiency system plus
Energy Star appliances and also to include a budget adjustment not to exceed $4500
to add a solar water heater and stub in potential solar panels and a light roof. Ms.
Sessions seconded.
Ms. Schleicher said she will talk to the vendor about getting the special water heater and see
how hard it would be to stub it and put the piping in; and changing the color of the roof won’t be
a problem. She said we need to make sure we do this all at once because it’s very expensive
when you change orders. Mayor Buelterman said he wants to make it clear that if the cost
exceeds the amount; they still have approval to move forward with it even without the additions.
And the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman said regarding the Coastal Protection Ordinance the City line is more restrictive
usually than the DNR line. It used to be structure to structure and then it was changed in 2005 to
dwelling to dwelling. Now we are looking at trying to figure out a different way of approaching
this from the City’s point of view. Mr. Hughes has drafted some ideas that he synthesized from
comments he has heard from the Council Members. Mayor Buelterman suggested two logical
options. Option number one is to go with the DNR’s line. Option number two is to send this to
the Planning Commission and let them take a look at it.
Mr. Pearce said the reason for changing it was because it was flawed. In case of eroding beaches
which has happened on the North side along the Savannah River, the tree is on the beach. So
there is no effective dune protection line at all. Stuart Stevens originally recommended that we
do a local change and eliminate the tree for the jurisdiction line. He was the director of Coastal
Zone Management but retired a long time ago and this has been going on for 10 years. Mr.
Hughes said under the State Shore Protection Act, they do their line based on structures or the
presence of a tree that has reached a certain size. The line can move over time because the
presence or absence of trees. Our current ordinance which this would replace eliminates trees
from the consideration and goes from structure to structure. This does not have distance from
which the structures should be located. To get away from the area being determined solely by
structures the proposal was made to base it either on the distance from the current DNR
jurisdiction line; the toe of the dune; distance from ordinary high tide and to change the
procedure so that a permit is required in order to build within whatever the area of operation is.
That it be regulated as a matter of special permit as opposed to a variance standard which we
now have. Mr. Pearce said when we turned Mr. Chu down on the Dune Protection Ordinance;
one of the arguments that were made was our current ordinance was not sufficiently scientific.
This is also an attempt to define the dune in a more scientific fashion including a definition that
defines an ecosystem and description for the dune. Mr. Wolff said he thinks it is important that
we base this on the public welfare and on natural features such as high tide and the dune line
and there’s a blank in this as to distance from the landward toe or the landmost dune and I
would like to suggest that it be 25 ft. from the landward toe or the landmost dune and that
anything inside of that or the appropriate distance from ordinary high tide according to this
ordinance would be buildable by right but that anything within that area would trigger federal
review or require a permit.
Mr. Pearce moved to send the ordinance with suggestion of 25 ft to the Planning
Commission for their consideration. Mr. Wolff seconded, and the vote was
unanimous.
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Mr. Hughes said the ordinance adopting Municode should say through December 8, 2005 to be
consistent with what Municode has. Council voted in favor of the date being December 8,
2005.
Ms. Doyle introduced resolutions requesting four year elections for Mayor and City Council with a
four year staggered term for City Council members. She said in this specific ordinance, it didn’t
go into a lot of details about how those staggered terms would be done and that would be up for
discussion at this point. One suggestion has been the three candidates that get the most votes in
the election would do a four year term, and the other three candidates remaining would do a two
year term. The next election would be where the staggered terms would work. She said another
suggestion has been for four year terms with doing seats at large where you actually have 6
seats and have each person sitting on council draw a seat number out of the hat. If someone
wanted to run against them, then they could go and apply for that seat to run against a specific
person. She said the final resolution is a bill that was done in the Legislature 2002. This bill which
obviously did not pass incorporated all of this. It incorporated four year staggered terms for the
six Council Members with seats at large and also a four year term for the Mayor. There has to be
an open hearing for this, but whatever happens, a resolution goes to the Legislature and if they
vote to approve it, it comes back and has to be put on a referendum for the citizens of the island.
Mr. Hughes explained the process to change the form of government on the method of electing
officials and it can’t be done on the local level. It requires action by the State Legislature.
Referendums can only be done at certain times of the year in Georgia and the only times it would
be available for this; that did not include the general election; could be the third day of a month
either June or September because it is too late for March. The notice has to be published before
it’s introduced into the legislature. Ms. Doyle said her intent was to have discussions and
hopefully get some kind of agreement about this to send one resolution and she noticed in the
resolution that Mr. Hughes sent it referred to 2009 instead of 2007 which is probably because of
a time factor. Mr. Hughes said in order to make it staggered, you have to plan on the next
election down. He said there was discussion about having a special election. In order for Tybee
to conduct a special election it would cost about $5,000-$6,000 dollars but having it added to the
ballot of the general election would be minimal. Mr. Hughes said it would be a lot cleaner if the
council took a vote on having the Public Hearing. I would like authorization to get the notice of
local legislation being introduced.
Mr. Pearce motioned that we have a public hearing discussing staggered four year
terms and the various options that have been presented and that Mr. Hughes contact
the state offices for the citizens.
Mr. Hughes said the notice gets published in the local paper and he doesn’t want anyone to see
the notice and wonder what’s going on. It won’t specify an option; It is just a pretty generic
notice that a local bill will be introduced.
Ms. Doyle seconded and the vote was unanimous
Under old business Mr. Hughes said we had a public hearing on an application for a zoning
variance for Joan and B.H. Levy on the 8th St. property back on September 14, 2006. At
the conclusion of the public hearing, the issue was tabled for 90 days while options about an
ordinance affecting the shore protection line were explored. At the end of 90 days Mr. Levy and
I talked and it was scheduled to come back at tonight’s meeting instead of at the end of the 90
days. Mr. Hughes gave council the options and said they can deny the variance request, grant it,
limit it or table it. He said because it’s residential property, there’s not a site plan requirement
and location on these lots could be critical.
Mr. Hughes said if any form of variance is granted, we need to know how much it is and where
we’re measuring from. The survey depicts the DNR delineation flag which might be a convenient
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place to measure to or a certain distance back from. He said he wants to make sure that if it’s
not denied that it is clear what variance is granted. Mayor Buelterman asked if they are voting on
what the Planning Commission had approved in August. Mr. Hughes said yes, it’s the same.
Nothing has changed since the public hearing. This is the same proposal.
Ms. Williams asked Mr. Levy. How many feet back from the landward toe of the dune the house
was going to sit. Mr. Levy answered that he believed it was 10 ft back from the toe of the dune.
Ms. Doyle motioned to approve. Mr. Crone seconded, the vote tied with Doyle, Crone
and Sessions voting in favor and Pearce, Williams and Wolff opposed. Mayor
Buelterman broke the tie in favor of the petitioner and the motion carried.
Ms. Doyle moved to go into Executive Session to discussion litigation, Mr. Wolff
seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce moved to end Executive Session, Sessions seconded and the vote was
unanimous.
Ms. Sessions moved to adjourn, Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote was unanimous.
____________________________
Mayor Jason Buelterman
________________________
Vivian Woods, Clerk of Council
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