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HomeMy Public PortalAbout02 27 2020 MeetingMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW AND PLANNING BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 AT 8:30 A.M., IN THE WILLIAM F. KOCH, JR. COMMISSION CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL, 100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA. I. Call to Order Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 8:30 A.M. II. Roll Call Present and Thomas Smith Chairman Participating: Malcolm Murphy Vice Chairman Robert Dockerty Board Member Curtiss Roach Board Member Jorgette Smith Board Member Also Present & Gregory Dunham Town Manager Participating: Edward Nazzaro Staff Attorney Rita Taylor Town Clerk Absent w/Notice: Caroline Delafield Alternate Board Member III. Minutes of the Regular Meeting and Public Hearing 12-19-19 Board Member Roach moved and Board Member Dockerty seconded the motion to approve the minutes of December 19, 2019 and all voted AYE at roll call. IV. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items. Town Manager Dunham stated he had two additions which would be added under Items by Staff. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS A. Meeting Dates 1. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing a. March 26, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. b. April 23, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. c. May 28, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. d. June 25, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. e. July 23, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. f. No August Meeting Chairman Smith called attention to the future meeting dates. Chairman Smith and Board Member Smith stated they would not be at the April 23, 2020 meeting. Vice Chairman Murphy stated he would not be at the May 28, 2020 meeting. VI. PUBLIC HEARING A.Declaratioft of Ex -Parte Communication There was none. B.Administer Oaths Town Clerk Taylor swore in Cynthia Spray, Librada Lavigne, Hassan Tajalli and Dan Stanton. C. Applications for Development Approval 1. An application submitted by Cynthia C. Spray, CCS, Minutes of ARPB Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held 2-27-2020 @ 8:30 A.M. Architectural Enterprises, Inc., as Agent for the owners, Rene and Librada Lavigne, of property located at 1555 N. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, Florida, which is legally described in metes & bounds in Govt. Lot 11, Section 10, Township 46 South, Range 43 East. a. DEMOLITION PERMIT to demolish the existing 351 sq. ft. cabana and the second -floor balcony railings. b. LEVEL 2 ARCHITECTURAL/SITE PLAN REVIEW to permit the addition of a 161x40' loggia to the east (rear) side of the dwelling. Cynthia Spray from Architectural Enterprises made a PowerPoint presentation as agent for Rene and Librada Lavigne. Ms. Spray explained that they would be demolishing the existing 351 sq. ft. cabana and the second -floor balcony railings. They want to add a 161x40' loggia in its place with a summer kitchen, living and dining area, she added. Ms. Spray stated they wanted to paint the house white, but not change anything structurally. She stated they would be reducing the thickness of the columns shown on the drawings as well as adding some landscape lighting to the columns. Ms. Spray pointed out two of the windows where they wanted to streamline the balcony railings to match the wrought iron on the loggia. Chairman Smith wanted to know what the height of the columns were on the loggia compared to the roof of the cabana that was being torn down. Ms. Spray stated it was 14'9" which lined up with the bedroom where the loggia will be coming from, with the posts being 48" on top of the loggia. Vice Chairman Murphy asked the details on the fireplace and where the flue would be located. Ms. Spray stated the fireplace was going to be a biofuel, self-contained or gas, so there would be a vent, but no chimney. Vice Chairman Murphy also wanted to know what the top of the loggia looked down onto in terms of vegetation and the neighboring yard. Mrs. Lavigne stated it was very heavily landscaped to where you couldn't really see the neighbor's house. Vice Chairman Murphy asked if there had been any feedback from the neighbors to which Town Clerk Taylor said there had been none. Vice Chairman Murphy made a motion to approve a demolition permit to demolish an existing 351 sq. ft. cabana and the second -floor balcony railings. Board Member Dockerty seconded the motion with all voting AYE at roll call. Vice Chairman Murphy made a motion to approve a Level II Architectural/Site Plan based on a finding that the proposed construction of a 16 ft. x 40 ft. loggia to the rear of the dwelling meet the minimum intent of the Design Manual and applicable review stands with the following condition: 1. Any minor modifications in the approved landscaping shall be submitted to the Town Manager for review and approval and any modifications shall be brought back to the ARPB for review and approval, prior to commencement of landscaping. 2 Minutes of ARPB Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held 2-27-2020 @ 8:30 A.M. Board Member Dockerty seconding the motion with all voting AYE at roll call. 2. An application submitted by Hassan Tajalli, Urban Design Studio of South Florida, as agent for Daniel and Hanna Stanton, owners of property located at 2765 Avenue Au Soleil and possibly future owners of property located at 2775 Avenue Au Soleil, Gulf Stream, Florida, legally described as Lots 92 and 93, Place Au Soleil Subdivision. a. DEMOLITION PERMIT to remove existing building, with the exception of 2 walls from 2775 Ave. Au Soleil, and partially demolish a portion of the existing building at 2765 Ave. Au Soleil. b. VARIANCE from the provisions in Section 70-73 that require the second story to be setback from each first story side elevation a minimum of 15 percent of the width of the first story of the house to be granted for the east elevation. c. LEVEL 3 ARCHITECTURAL/SITE PLAN REVIEW to permit the construction, across the 2 lots, of one Gulf Stream Bermuda, single family, two story home with attached four -car garage. Mr. Hassan Tajalli from Urban Design Studio of South Florida gave a slide presentation as agent for Daniel and Hanna Stanton. Mr. Tajalli explained they wanted to remove the existing building at 2775 Avenue Au Soleil except for two walls and partially demolish a portion of the existing building at 2765 Avenue Au Soleil. He stated there were several key components they had to take into consideration when designing this project which were to keep in line with the Town Code. Mr. Tajalli stated they were going with a Bermuda style house and were going to keep all the lush landscaping and mature trees intact. He added they were trying to keep with the style of the structures already in Gulf Stream. Mr. Tajalli showed how they were combining the two sites together and due to that, it looked substantially larger than the other homes in the community. Chairman Smith asked to take a break because he noticed the meeting was not being video taped so that needed to be set up. Once set, Mr. Tajalli continued with his presentation. Mr. Tajalli stated they were keeping the existing driveway at 2765 and removing the driveway at 2775 to make way for landscaping. Chairman Dockerty asked if he was scraping the site, to which Mr. Tajalli answered they were not. Mr. Tajalli stated they would be fortifying the foundation and keeping two existing walls as well as the slab. He added that it reduced their construction costs by $500,000 - $600,000. Mr. Tajalli explained they were introducing an eyebrow on the second story to break up the monotony of two-story walls on top of each other. Board Member Dockerty wanted to know if they would be applying for a renovation permit or a new construction permit. Mr. 3 Minutes of ARPB Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held 2-27-2020 @ 8:30 A.M. Tajalli replied it was probably going to be a new construction permit and renovation permit, but he wasn't sure how Delray Beach was going to look at it, but he said he would call it an extensive renovation. Board Member Roach wanted to know how much larger this house was than the other houses in Place Au Soleil. Mr. Tajalli answered it was about 12,000 sq. ft. and that the houses in the neighborhood were anywhere from five to six thousand sq. ft. to which Board Member Roach stated that it was basically doubling the size. Mr. Tajalli reminded the board that it was two properties combined to which Board Member Roach said he thought there was something in the Town Code about sizes of houses in comparison with neighboring houses and added this house was definitely going to dwarf all the neighboring houses. Mr. Tajalli stated that Board Member Roach was correct but that most of the house would be hidden behind the landscaping. Board Member Roach said even though it fell within the FAR, it was still a very large house in comparison to those around it. Mr. Tajalli stated that all the setbacks were very generous and exceeded the requirements by the Town Code. Vice Chairman Murphy asked for a landscape elevation to be submitted and then he asked Town Clerk Taylor if there had been any feedback from the neighbors. Town Clerk Taylor stated that early on, a couple of the neighbors had come into the office to look at preliminary plans but didn't voice any objections. She added there had been no response from the notice letters. Board Member Smith asked why they were seeking a variance if this was new build. Mr. Tajalli explained because he had the second - floor wall sitting on the first -floor wall and that there was a section in the Code where the Town is trying to avoid having two story walls going all the way up. Board Member Dockerty asked if the variance wasn't granted, what would the architect have to do. Mr. Tajalli answered they would need to redesign the entire house and the house at 2775 Avenue Au Soleil would have to come down, as well as redesign the landscaping and possibly remove the mature trees, which would be a major cost to the owners. Chairman Smith stated it was basically a brand-new home that they were being asked to grant a variance on. Town Manager Dunham then asked Asst. Town Attorney Nazzaro to explain the variance process. Asst. Town Attorney Nazzaro stated that Section 66-154 laid out the specific criteria that needed to be met for a variance to be granted and that all eight of those criteria must be met. He added that the applicant had already responded to those eight criteria in a justification statement supplied to the board. Asst. Town Attorney Nazzaro told the board they needed to decide if the applicant had met those standards for the variance. Mr. Stanton asked if he could speak to the board before they moved forward. He stated that the two vacant homes next to his property were consistently filled with drug -users and homeless people. He added that the property they were proposing was unique in length and width and did re -configure the entire landscaping but that the square V Minutes of ARPB Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held 2-27-2020 @ 8:30 A.M. footage that was quoted earlier was the entire structure and not the living square footage, which was around 8,800 sq. ft. Mr. Stanton added that the property to the west that they were looking to purchase, which they haven't yet. He added that the options were not to change the structure or not, but whether to do the project or not. Mr. Stanton stated it didn't make sense to do the project if they can't do it as they have so diligently tried to proceed. He added that although the eyebrow didn't conform to the current Code, he thought it was a good trade-off to the current situation of the house currently being an eye- sore when you drove into Place Au Soleil and getting rid of the drug - users and homeless people. Vice Chairman Murphy clarified that the eyebrow was not the reason for the variance, but the lack of a second - story setback. Mr. Stanton agreed. Mr. Stanton also stated that if the project didn't move forward and the house to the west and north stayed filled with drug -users and homeless people it would discourage others, as well as themselves, from living in Gulf Stream. Board Member Dockerty stated that someone else could buy that property if Mr. Stanton decided not to purchase it and tear the house down. Mr. Stanton stated that it had $2,000,000.00 in liens, the Town wanted it torn down, the Town had many restrictions on design, and it wasn't an attractive property to purchase, to which shrinks the candidates of potential buyers given the current situation. Chairman Smith asked Mr. Tajalli to walk them through the justification statement. Mr. Tajalli stated that he and Mr. Stanton had an attorney draw up the answers and said he didn't see the benefits to him reading it out loud and asked the board if they wanted to take a few minutes and read the statement and let him know if anything stood out. Town Manager Dunham told Mr. Tajalli that he should at least read their responses. Chairman Smith stated that if legal counsel drafted the responses, they may want to have legal counsel present. He added that they had all read the statement and that as the Chair, he wasn't convinced that they met all eight of the criteria to why they should grant the variance and didn't think they would fare well if the board was to vote right then. Vice Chairman Murphy asked about point two in the criteria. Mr. Stanton stated that they respected the requirements and the board process, but they saw this as a simple decision and that the variance criteria was more procedural than anything. He added that they were at fatigue with the whole deal, with drug -users adjacent to them that for some reason the Town couldn't seem to solve and had delayed purchasing the property until after the ARPB meeting. Mr. Stanton stated that if the board didn't approve the current site plan, he would rather save everyone's time and money and abandon the project altogether. Vice Chairman Murphy asked if the lawyer who put the verbiage together in the justification statement could be present to meet with the board. Mr. Stanton stated they had already spent $100,000.00 and were willing to walk away because the reality of the situation was that they were talking about an eyebrow in an unusual Minutes of ARPB Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held 2-27-2020 @ 8:30 A.M. circumstance that he didn't think the Code was written to anticipate. He added he thought the design protected the integrity of Gulf Stream's design requirements and fit the design of the Town's future and was a good outcome to the current situation. Board member Dockerty asked if they had looked at what could be designed had they followed the rules of the Code. Mr. Tajalli stated anything other than what they had would affect the landscaping, the mature trees, etc. and that the black and white of a Code vs. the reality of what they were dealing with needed some common-sense usage of how they are improving the area and keeping all the lush landscaping. Chairman Smith stated that if the board had just been looking at the primary residence on the east side and they were coming with this request, they board would deny it immediately. He didn't want them to veer from that just because of the circumstances being horrible in the neighborhood knowing this would help clean it up. Vice Chairman Murphy stated there were special circumstances with it being two lots, enhancing the community, etc. The board could not agree that all eight points were being covered enough to recommend to the Town Commission. Chairman Smith asked Town Clerk Taylor if they could have a special meeting to address the variance so as not to delay the process even further. It was decided to have a special ARPB meeting on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. The board asked for full -on, super -imposed images of the landscaping elevations, a little more concrete answer to number one and two, as well as the lawyer who drew up the justification statement to be present. Vice Chairman Murphy made a motion to delay the application to be reconsidered until Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. when the specific focus will be the variance request. Th-_ motion was seconded by Board member Smith with all voting AYE at roll call. VII. Items by Staff 1. Town Manager Dunham wanted to let the Board know about a new project that there had been discussions about and he believed the Town would be receiving an application from The Gulf Stream Golf Club and a developer, Mr. Cary Glickstein, for the property adjacent to Place Au Soleil. They are planning on adding 14 lots, with ten of them being approximately 16,500 sq. ft. and the last four being bigger, he added. Town Manager Dunham stated the Town had a consulting planner with Urban Design Studios who would help the Town review all the documents necessary. He added there were five steps of approval over several months that needed to take place before any of this could happen. 2. Town Manager Dunham wanted to bring the Board up to date on the shutter color for 3112 Gulfstream Road. The owners decided to go with the green instead of the burnt orange so they could proceed per the Board's decision at the December 19, 2019 meeting. VIII. Items by Board Members There were none. 9 Minutes of ARPB Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held 2-27-2020 @ 8:30 A.M. IX. Public There were none. X. Adjournment Chairman Smith adjourned the meeting at 10:23 A.M. 7