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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20080814CCMeeting1 1 1 20080814 City Council Minutes Mayor Buelterman called the Consent Agenda to order at 6:30pm. Council members present were Mayor Pro Tem Doyle, Charlie Brewer, Barry Brown, Eddie Crone, Dick Smith and Paul Wolff. Also present were City Attorney Bubba Hughes, City Manager Diane Schleicher and Planning and Economic Development Director Brannyn Allen. Mayor Buelterman listed the following items on the Consent Agenda: Budget Amendment for additional Firefly Units & Installation-505-4410-54-2501 ($73,226); 505-00-39-1201 ($73,226). Special Event Application for Savannah Historic Foundation Gala at Lighthouse - including parking at North Beach Lot from 6 -10pm for approx. 250 on October 25, 208. Special Event Application for 13th Annual Toys for Tots Freedom Run - requesting waiver of all fees associated with this event; $100 Special Event Fee; $500 for Gym use on September 6, 2008 8 -11am. City Council Minutes 7/24/08 New Alcohol License with Sunday Sales /The Sand Bar Sushi Bar, Inc. 1512 Butler Ave. for Ana Olsen. One Day Alcohol License /Friends of Tybee Theater @ Lighthouse- September 20, 2008. Proclamation Honoring Jack Kingston's service to senior citizens - August 19, 2008 Mr. Wolff moved to go into Executive Session to discuss Real Estate Acquisition and Litigation, Ms. Doyle seconded. The vote was unanimous. Mr. Wolff moved to return to regular session, Mr. Crone seconded. The vote was unanimous. Mayor Buelterman adjourned the Consent Agenda. Call to Order: Mayor Buelterman called the regular meeting of the City Council to order at 7:OOpm. Those at the Consent Agenda were also in attendance for the regular meeting. Perb Fortner gave the Invocation. Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Reports of Officers, Boards, Standing Committees and or invited guests: Col. Ed Curtis, Hamp Spradley and Burt Moore of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave a presentation on Beach Renourishment. Col. Curtis said the bids came in very favorable for the full scope of the project. Mr. Spradley gave a presentation outlining the project overview. He said they are planning to award the bid in September and start placing sand in October. Mr. Moore explained the equipment involved and the process for renourishment. He said they will place at least 1.2 million cubic yards of sand on the beach. He said the template starts at Gullick Street and comes down the front beach to Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 1 of 8 1 1 1 approximately 19th Street. Staging areas are North Beach Parking Lot, 14th Street Parking Lot, 19th Street Parking Lot & Inlet Avenue. Contractor Beach Access is Gullick Street, 2"d Street, 3`d Street, Center Street, 19th Street and Inlet Avenue. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle thanked Mayor Buelterman for his hard work on obtaining this beach renourishment for Tybee. Announcements and Visitors: Mayor Buelterman announced St. Michael's School recycling of injects, laser toners and cell phones for fund raising. Mayor Buelterman announced the relocation of the podium during council meetings and using professional titles instead of first names when addressing city officials as two items discussed and implemented at the July 26th Council Retreat. Sandy Major said the Tybee neighbors have been working with the Police Department and will kick of the neighborhood watch program in October. She gave results of the latest surveys on Planning Commission, Casino Gambling and the Ethics Ordinance that were conducted on their website. Bill Cannon of the Tybee Beautification Association announced adopt a highway on Saturday, August 16th at 8:OOam at the Tybee Sign. He also announced the Beach Sweep on September 27th and Low Country Boil on October 4th Disclosures /Recusals: Doyle recused for 2nd Public Hearing due to owning property within 500 feet of 1126 Hwy 80 /Chris Chandler Site Plan Approval for Bed & Breakfast. Brown recused for 2nd Public Hearing due to owning property within 500 feet of 1126 Hwy 80 /Chris Chandler Site Plan Approval for Bed & Breakfast. Brewer disclosed property ownership at 505 feet from 1126 Hwy 80/ 2nd Public Hearing -does not require recusal. Mr. Brown said this ordinance is very confusing because even though we have been through this one time and one Councilman voted on a property decision that was within 500 feet of property he had financial interest in. He said now we are back to if property interest is within 500 feet we are not allowed to participate. Mr. Hughes said during the course of that previous meeting he was asked a question and he had his legislative and semi judicial real property decisions confused. Mayor Buelterman said we have an ongoing process to revise the Ethics Ordinance and up until that is done we need to abide by what we have on the books. Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 2 of 8 1 Mr. Hughes advised council concerning recusals required on the Shore Protection Ordinance and said the first motion would be to waive the recusal requirement with respect to those that have an interest within 500 feet of the Shore Protection Area. Mr. Crone moved to waive the recusal requirement for Council Members Smith, Brown and Brewer who have interest in property within 500 feet of the area impacted by the shore protection ordinance, to allow their participation in the Shoreline Protection Ordinance, Brewer seconded. The vote was unanimous. Mr. Wolff moved to approve recusal appeals for all City Council members that received campaign contributions from property owners within the Shoreline Protection Jurisdiction, in order to allow them to participate in the Shoreline Protection Ordinance vote, Ms. Doyle seconded. The vote was unanimous. Public Hearings: Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing on a Zoning Variance (Section 5 -090) from Section 3-090 - Virginia & John Duncan request for side setback variance at existing duplex unit for new stairs at 1429 E. Estill Ave. PIN 4- 0022 -01 -356 in Zone R -2. Ms. Allen said the petitioner is requesting to encroach into the 10 foot side setback by 3 feet 4 inches. She said Planning Commission recommended denial. Dr. Duncan said he and his wife are concerned with only having one entrance and exit from their home. He said the existing entrance and exit are at the Kitchen and that's the most likely place for a fire to break out. He said he doesn't know if spiral stairs are an option considering he walks with a leg brace. Mr. E.T. Smith said the only viable place for stairs is the side of the house because the deck borders on the marsh in the back and there isn't room to put stairs under the deck. Mr. Brown said stairs coming from under the deck would actually take up more space in the side setback than if they came straight down the side because they would need 160 inches of distance from the platform for the treads. Dr. Duncan asked why Tybee didn't have an ordinance requiring two exits from property. Mayor Buelterman read a letter from the Sandy Shores Home Owners Association expressing support for Dr. Duncan's variance. Mr. Wolff asked if steps on the other units at this location were requested or granted. Ms. Allen said they could find no documentation in the files for variances or permits issued. Mr. Wolff said council wants double egress access for primarily fire escapes and he doesn't think they should grant a variance before the ordinance is amended even if it doesn't set precedence. Mayor Buelterman closed the public hearing. Mr. Crone moved to approve, Ms. Doyle seconded. The vote was Crone, Doyle, Brewer, Brown and Smith in favor and Wolff opposed. * ** Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing for a Site Plan Approval (Section 5 -080) Chris Chandler /Bed & Breakfast (Section 3 -060) 1126 Hwy 80 PIN 4- 0026 -11 -023 in Zone C -2. Ms. Allen said the petitioner has already received approval to operate his facility as a special event facility. She said he is requesting to expand that use to include use as a commercial bed and breakfast in addition to the special events facility. She said Planning Commission did recommend approval with conditions of limiting bed and breakfast units to 3 and limiting guest in those units to 8. Mr. Chandler said the reason he is making this request is because his guests that rent the facility periodically request to stay Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 3 of 8 1 overnight. Mayor Buelterman closed the public hearing. Mr. Smith moved to approve with Planning Commission conditions of limiting units to 3 and limiting guests to 8, Mr. Crone seconded. The vote was Smith, Crone, Brewer and Wolff in favor with Brown and Doyle recused. Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing on Site Plan Approval (Section 5 -080) Jeff Cramer /New Commercial building 211 Butler Ave. PIN 4- 0004 -08 -004 in Zone C -1. Ms. Allen said the predominant use would be retail or commercial. She noted council packets containing two site plans because the petitioner revised the site plan due to information received at Planning Commission. She said Planning Commission recommended Denial. Mr. Cramer said you would come in from Butler Ave. and it would bring you to the front door. He said parking is contained in the center of the site. He said the plan shows an access entrance on 3rd Street and another on Lovell Ave. He said they reworked the dumpster in the center of the site according to neighbor concerns and reduced the size of the building by 200 square feet in order to accommodate parking requirements. He read a letter from Whitaker Laboratories stating samples taken from the property show near surface soil was not filled in. Mr. Mahoney acting attorney for the property owner said they were requesting access on Lovell Ave. to enhance fire and emergency response. Ms. Doyle asked if petitioners were planning to remove any of the dirt on that property. Mr. Boswell responded that they were planning to remove about 2 1/2 feet off of the top of the mound at the edge of the parking lot back to 3rd Street. Ms. Doyle asked Ms. Allen to explain why staff recommended denial. Ms. Allen explained that staff had several concerns with one being the Lovell Street access; the employee parking being stacked three deep as opposed to two deep as is often the case; possible interference with commercial parking was also a concern. She said they have additional concerns with the balance of the site. She said they requested the petitioner define the site and show the area currently being used for parking as a parking area or give some indication of what the balance of the site would be used for. Mr. Brown said it looks as if it is a half site plan to him showing the other half as future development without defining what that would be. Mr. Wolff said if the petitioners are going to piece meal this project they need to subdivide the lot or have a plan that includes the entire property. Ms. Allen said if this site plan is approved it would negate the existing site plan approval for the billboard sign. Mr. Wolff said the dumpster was moved to another area on Lovell where it will impact other neighbors. He recommended the dumpster be moved to space 26 that would actually be in the center of the property and away from the residents. He said regarding the curb cuts on 3rd and Lovell, he could see maybe one and only if it was labeled emergency vehicles only. He said the biggest problem is the parking lot is non pervious in an area already effected by drainage issues. Mary Ann Bramble said when her family purchased their property on Lovell Ave. the lot at 211 Butler was on the same level as her property. She said it now sits at least four feet higher. She said the reason the fill matches surrounding soil is because it came from around Tybee. She said her issue is that lot has been raised and they have flooding issues. Mayor Buelterman closed the public hearing. Mr. Wolff moved to deny, Mr. Brewer seconded. Ms. Doyle said she doesn't have a problem with a building being here but she has a problem worrying about the drainage in that area, the curb cuts and the additional space that is not a part of this plan. She said the non pervious parking bothers her too because if you're in residential you are required to put in pervious drives but here is an area with drainage issues and we Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 4 of 8 1 1 are looking at non pervious parking lot. Mr. Brown asked if the ordinance dictating one structure on one parcel of land would apply and how that would affect the other part of that property. Mr. Hughes said you can only have one principle structure without subdividing the property but in ordinance 3 -070 under certain circumstances more than one can be allowed including a restriction on the use approved by the Mayor and Council. The vote was unanimous. Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing on a Text Amendment Shore Protection Ordinance -would repeal Section 5 -010J, Shore Protection with Variance Clause. Ms. Allen said there was discussion in Planning Commission about seawalls that was addressed. She said Planning Commission recommended approval. Mayor Buelterman said there was discussion at the last Planning Commission that the line would be established before the renourishment starts. Mr. Wolff said the Corps should have that information but if not then Eric Olsen will because he took coordinates every 100 feet along the beach in his design template. Mr. Smith said if renourishment is going to start October 1st someone better figure out how much land we need to survey and how much it will cost. Mr. John Major explained the process the Planning Commission had gone through at Council's request in order to generate the ordinance. He said the proposed ordinance is consistent with our Master Plan. He encouraged Council to adopt the new ordinance. Mr. Brown asked if the proposed ordinance would not allow someone to build back if their residence is 80% destroyed by a storm. Mr. Hughes said that is correct you would not have an absolute right to rebuild. He said this portion including the 80% comes from the state act. Mr. Wolff said they could fix that by adding without a permit obtained from the City and DNR. Ms. Phyllis Flynn who owns property at 29 Pulaski St. asked if this ordinance will open the door for Battery Backus to be torn down and allow two houses to be built there. Mr. Hughes responded that what could be done over there would depend on the toe of the dune. He said he recollects the DNR determined the toe of the dune is immediately at the battery and if that is the case, that portion of the battery couldn't be removed without permitting or some form of relief. Mayor Buelterman said this is currently under litigation and it will be up to a determination of the legal system. Mr. Ed Cawley asked to include the actual seawall in the North beach area as a delimiting factor in the ordinance. Mr. Smith asked Mr. Cawley if he knew of a piece of private property that the seawall is a part of. Mr. Cawley said there is that potential but he does not know of any private property that contains the seawall. Mr. Hughes said he doesn't think anyone has a clear picture of where the seawall is located. He said he would not want to include that without everyone knowing where the seawall is. Mr. Perb Fortner said the wording is confusing where it states no building activity within 250 feet of the high water mark and a special review is required. He said he is opposed to the 80% figure if we should have an event like New Orleans and Mississippi and thinks we should think about this before an event happens. He said if a structure is destroyed by wind and the foundation remains, would the owner get to build his residence back? Mr. Harold Yellin said there are many structures at Tybee that are already within 10 feet of the toe of the dune and he asked if a property owner could build vertically if they were not coming any closer to the dunes than they were already. He said he is concerned with what happens with that 80% figure if a fire breaks out instead of a storm. He said his last concern is if someone owns a house within the 10 foot toe of the dune and wishes to demolish the house in order to construct a house further back, this Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 5 of 8 1 1 ordinance would not allow them to demolish the structure in the dunes. He said this is a shore protection ordinance and not a Historic Preservation Ordinance. Mayor Buelterman closed the public hearing. Mr. Crone moved to repeal every bit of Tybee's Jurisdiction Line Ordinance and revert it back to State, Ms. Doyle seconded. Mr. Wolff said he thinks that would be a giant step backward. He said this ordinance is the culmination of several years of work by a lot of people with scientific data. He said he would like to see the ordinance amended to include the changes discussed tonight and sent back to the Planning Commission for further review. Mayor Buelterman said he has always supported Tybee having its own ordinance because it was clear Tybee needed to take extra steps to make sure it did not move out and advance seaward. Mr. Brown said he doesn't think this ordinance represents the final product and he doesn't like the 250 foot rule or the 80% destroyed and no build back. The vote was Crone, Doyle, Brewer and Brown in favor and Smith and Wolff opposed. Mr. Hughes explained that he will prepare an ordinance reflecting council's intention, for them to review. He said effectively repealing an ordinance will take two readings. He said to do it safely there needs to be a public hearing and it needs to go to Planning Commission. Mr. Smith asked if Council can repeal an ordinance without having another ordinance to take its place. Mr. Hughes said you have to have an ordinance in proper form in order to make something effective. He said we don't have a proper ordinance that accomplishes what the motion was so the motion effectively directs him to write it and until it is finished the status quo will be under the same existing current ordinance. * ** Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing on a Text Amendment to Article 11, Planning Commission - Amendment to Section 11 -030, Membership, and Section 11 -050, Filling Vacancies. Ms. Allen said this is a text amendment to reduce the number of Planning Commissioners from 9 to 7 members. She said Planning Commission recommended allowing the terms for five of the members be allowed to expire as scheduled thereby reducing the number by attrition and at that point the Council would appoint three members instead of five and additionally any commissioners that resign or for whatever reason leave the Planning Commission before January 2009 not be replaced. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle asked what if three people resign and we are left with an unbalanced board. She said the first recommendation by the Planning Commission is what she actually thought they were heading toward. Mr. Hughes said the prepared ordinance in the agenda packet says that in the event more than two vacancies are created council shall only make a sufficient number of appointments so as to result in no more than seven people serving. Mr. Powell spoke as the elected Chairman of the Planning Commission and said he and Vice Chair John Major wrote a statement. They feel that this proposed ordinance before you tonight will abolish and create a less effective Planning Commission rendering it to be a tool used by City Council for purposes not intended by City Charter and Planning and Zoning Ordinances. He said they are opposed to the changes mainly because they will dilute the diverse makeup of the Planning Commission and weaken its independence as an advisory body and compromise its function as an impartial public hearing body and violate our own Article 11 ordinance and create the appearance of cronyism. Mr. Henry Levy said he doesn't think it matters how many people Council puts on the Planning Commission but what matters is the quality, training and experience of those people. He said Council should appoint people to the commission that have knowledge of urban planning and only very rarely should council Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 6 of 8 1 1 1 overrule their recommendations. Ms. Kathryn Williams asked why. She said she doesn't understand what's going on and the motives behind this. She said Councilman Brewer first mentioned this topic a couple of weeks ago and mentioned efficiency and streamlining government. She said she has heard other discussions behind the scenes of why council is making this move. She asked why Councilmen Smith and Brown didn't think the number of members should be reduced when they served as Chairman of the commission. She said Councilman Brewer served on the Commission also and never saw a need to reduce the size. Mr. Smith said he served on the Commission for seven years and was happy to serve and expected nothing in return. He said the Council that appointed him could have proposed the number change at any time and it would have been fine with him because he served at the will of council. He said the PC members whose terms expire in January will expire and the members whose terms do not expire will not expire and anyone that wants to can reapply to serve along with new applicants. He said he agrees with Mr. Levy that it is the quality and not the quantity of the board that matters. Mr. Smith said he has not heard of or been a part of secret meetings. Mr. Dave Postle said he has deemed it a privilege to serve the citizens of Tybee. He said he is grateful for the show of respect from three members of the former council to support his candidacy. He said he would be willing to resign his position immediately if Mr. Dausey would resign also and that would leave seven members with four core members able to serve out their terms. Mr. Brewer said he stands by what he said and he thinks it is the task of council to make government as efficient as they can. He said he agrees with Mr. levy that it is not the quantity but the quality of the people on the Commission. He said he believes this will lead into other areas and believes our government is too large and recommended people look at the overflow at City Hall. He said he is sure there are a lot of requests placed on staff by Planning Commission that requires a lot of staff time that may not be accounted for in that analysis. He said he believes the number recommending being equal to the number approving is very appropriate. Mr. Brown said as far as he knows there was never the intent to ask anyone to leave their positions. Ms. Doyle said she thought the intent was to have them serve out their terms not to abolish or do away with the commission. Mr. Major asked Mr. Hughes to explain why they received an ordinance to abolish and immediately appoint a seven member Planning Commission. Mr. Hughes explained that when the motion was made at the Council meeting there was a comment that the easiest way to do this would be to terminate and reinstate seven members and that businesses do it all the time. He said he sent it down with that as an option and attrition as the other option. He said for some reason when it got to Planning Commission it only had the one option on it. He said he explained the options to the Planning Commission during their meeting. He said as a result of this a change has been implemented where no ordinance goes to the Planning Commission for review without Council seeing it first. Mr. Powell said he went back and reviewed the council meeting six times. He said Mr. Brewer said just like reorganizing a company everyone resigns and they have to reapply for their job. He said Mayor Buelterman then asked if the motion needed to be restated or if the City Attorney understood the motion. He said Mr. Hughes said he understood the motion and knew what to write. He said Mr. Brewer was suggesting that the Planning Commission be abolished and seven new members be appointed. Mr. Powell defended the quality of the Planning Commission and said Ms. Allen has gone out of her way to create training opportunities for them and now there is an orientation program for new members. Mr. Cullen Chambers said he considers this commission to be the finest he has worked with in his fifteen years at Tybee. He said something is wrong here because first council wants to do away with the Ethics Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 7 of 8 1 1 ordinance that citizens and volunteers worked on and now council wants to do away with the shore protection ordinance and it wants to gut and tightly manipulate the planning commission and not one person has stepped forward and said in the place of the Planning Commission that this proposed gutting and savings to the citizens is more important than the public trust. He said we are so tired of a government that no longer represents the people. Mr. Crone moved to approve, Mr. Brewer seconded. Ms. Doyle asked if this was the reduction from nine to seven members but leaves the commission members until their term is up until January 31, 2009. Mr. Hughes said it would also include the text that in the event that two were to become vacant between now and then they will not be filled but if more than two become vacant council would appoint so as to get at least seven. Mr. Wolff said each council appointed committee is unique and requires members that possess unique talents. He said the Planning Commission, Audit Committee and The Beach Task Force are specialized to perform distinct functions and it may take more or fewer people to perform those functions. There is no cookie cutter solution to how the committees should be structured. He said the Chatham County Commission has only nine members but the MPC has dozens. He said they need that kind of expertise and diverse opinions to make informed decisions on zoning and land use issues. He said he would rather have two additional perspectives on the Planning Commission than save $350. The vote was Crone, Brewer, Doyle and Smith in favor and Wolff and Brown opposed. Mayor Buelterman opened the business meeting and listed the items on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Smith moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Mr. Crone seconded. The vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Wolff moved to adjourn, Ms. Doyle seconded. The vote was unanimous. _11.uuk.mb__ Vivian 0. Woods, Clerk of Council Mayor Jason Buelterman Prepared by vwoods 8/27/08 Page 8 of 8 1 1 1 STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF CHATHAM ) AFFIDAVIT PERSONALLY appeared °3J before the undersigned attesting officer, duly authorized to administer oaths, ®vl u.. #f a , who after being duly sworn, deposes, and on oath states the following: (1) I was the presiding officer of a meeting of the Tybee Island City Council held on the / q day of U L , 2008. (2) That it is my understanding that O.C.G.A. §50- 14 -4(b) provides as follows: When any meeting of an agency is closed to the public pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, the chairperson or other person presiding over such meeting shall execute and file with the official minutes of the meeting a notarized affidavit stating under oath that the subject matter of the meeting or the closed portion thereof was devoted to matters within the exceptions provided by law and identifying the specific relevant exception. (3) The subject matter of the closed meeting or closed portion of the meeting held on the 14141 of (2Ujjr't&± , 2008, which was closed for the entOt / ' / as allowed by §O.C.G.A., Title 50, Chapter 14, was devoted to matters within those exceptions and as provided by law. (4) Any unrelated matters which were mentioned or attempted to be offered for discussion during the closed portion of the meeting were ruled out of order and not discussed. 1 1 1 5) This affidavit is being executed for the purpose of complying with the mandate of O.C.G.A. §50- 14 -4(b) that such an affidavit be executed. This / day of , 2008. Sworn to and su c 'bed before Me day of 2008 VIVI WOODS Notary Public, Chatham County, GA My Commission Expirov Expire May 25, 21309 oor/Presidi ig Officer