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HomeMy Public PortalAbout05 14 2024 Meeting with back-up May 13, 2024 CHAIRMAN: Paul Lyons COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Gary Cantor Michael Glennon Bill Koch Malcolm Murphy Thomas Smith REGULAR MEETING BEING HELD BY THE AD HOC COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA ON TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2024, AT 10:30 A.M., IN THE WILLIAM F. KOCH, JR. COMMISSION CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL, 100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA. AGENDA I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Minutes A. Regular Meeting of April 25, 2024 IV. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items V. Announcements A. Next meeting date to be decided VII. Communication from Public (3 minute maximum) VIII. Items by Staff A. Angle of Vision Discussion IX. Items by Committee Members A. Memo items to be discussed and list pros and cons X. Adjournment SHOULD ANY INTERESTED PARTY SEEK TO APPEAL ANY DECISION MADE BY THE AD HOC COMMITTEE WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTER CONSIDERED AT THIS MEETING, SAID PARTY WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS, AND FOR SUCH PURPOSE, MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED. 286.0105, F.S.S. TOWN OF GULF STREAM PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Memo To: Chairman Paul Lyons and Ad Hoc Committee Members From: Greogry Dunham, Town Manager Re: Meeting #3 Discussion Topics Date: April 25, 2024 The Committee enjoyed a productive second meeting with Dana Little from the Treasure Cost Reginal Planning Council in attendance to discuss potential zoning changes to assist the Committee in its objective of addressing massing in the Core District. Some of the ideas I would like to present for further discussion at this meeting are as follows: 1. Setbacks — building An increased front setback will push the home further away from the road, causing a home to look smaller and reducing any `canyon' effect large houses close to the road may have over time along Polo Drive and Gulfstream Road. The drawback is that this forces the home further back on the lot, reducing space for outdoor recreation. Little cautioned increasing the front setback on lots that are shallower than others. The rules from FEMA regarding the minimum finished floor elevation further impacts any potential canyon effect. Side setbacks can also be adjusted to allow more flexibility for single story houses. The tradeoff is that there will be a reduction of green space from the street view. Currently side setbacks for single and two story homes are the same, 30% of the lot width, with a minimum of 15 feet. Town Code Sec. 70-74(a). 2. Setbacks — second floor Little noted that the restrictions on second floor size in the Core district of 50% of the first -floor area already achieves a goal of reducing the massing of the second floor. Town Code Sec. 70- 73(a). He also cited the second story setback of 15 percent, which reads as follows: The second story shall be setback from each first -story side elevation a minimum of 15 percent of the width of the first story of the house. For example, for a 70-foot wide home, the second story is required to be setback a minimum of 10.5 feet (70-foot first story width x 15 percent = 10.5 feet) from each first floor side building elevation. Town Code Sec. 70-73(c). Little suggested increasing the side setback, so that the narrowest part of a home would be facing the street, with the wider/longer portion facing the side lot line. It was noted that this would increase the portion of the second story that was overlooking the neighboring home, with more windows and the potential to block light and airflow. The additional second floor side setback would soften these potential problems by placing the second story portion of the building further away from the side property line. 3. Roof heights The current roof heights allowed in the Core district are: Single story homes: up to 24 feet Two story homes: up to 22 feet for one-story portions and 30 feet for two-story portions. After discussion about how roof heights impact ceiling heights and the expectation of current homebuyers, the Town has asked for area architects to opine on a potential reduction in roof heights and its impact on ceiling heights. Two will be in attendance at the meeting. 4. Mapping/Overlay Districts Little suggested mapping the areas that the Town seeks to protect. The terminology he used included Incentive District or Overlay District. Overlay zoning is a regulatory tool that creates a special zoning district, placed over an existing base zoning district, which identifies special provisions in addition to those in the underlying base zone. The goal of such an overlay district(s) should be to encourage development to occur that is compatible with the existing scale and pattern of surrounding properties. The effect of an overlay district should be to encourage property development that will maintain the unique characteristics of the area. The Town currently has one overlay zoning district, the North Ocean Boulevard Overlay District which is contained in the Town Code at Chapter 66. Zoning, Article VII, starting at Sec. 66-321. The North Ocean Boulevard Overlay District is located 50 feet east and west from the east and west boundaries of the right-of-way of A1A. This is a good example of how the Town has used overlay zoning in the past, as permits for work in this area are only approved when the Town finds that: the disturbance will neither destroy nor seriously impair desirable visual relationships among buildings, landscape features and open space, nor introduce incompatible landscape features or plant material that destroys or impairs significant views or vistas. 2 Town Code Sec. 66-324. Little noted that any such areas would be smaller districts within the Core district. Potential divisions within the Core District could be: (A) Properties west of Polo Drive that abut Polo Drive; (B) Properties between Old School Road to the North and Golfview Drive on the south, between Gulfstream Road and Polo Drive;' and (C) Properties east of Gulfstream Road to A1A, between Lakeview Drive on the south and Gulf Stream School on the north.2 Once areas are mapped out, the Committee can make specific suggestions for these areas to address certain criteria important to the Town based on special area -specific conditions or features, and those suggestions could become a new overlay zoning district(s). I spoke with Little yesterday and he stated that he will return to assist the Committee during future meetings if needed. ' Chairman Lyons referred to these properties as the Polo Cottages. Many of these lots are smaller and divided by Oleander Way. However, the properties that have Al A frontage south of Banyan Road are larger, and some have newer homes. 2 This excludes only the homes north of Old School Road that back up to the Little Club Golf Course. These properties are able to apply for special exception approval for a reduced 10-foot setback for principal and minor accessory structures because they abut a non -single family zoning district. See Town Code Sec. 70- 75(d). 3 f "JEW,j. soft �q t 44 i - 1-4104� 10111 lim 4T. IAO At fl.