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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11/26/1996MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW AND PLANNING BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA, ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1996, AT 8:30 A.M. IN THE TOWN HALL, 100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA. I. Call to Order. Chairman Wilson called the meeting to order at 8:30 A.M. Ii. Roll Call. Present and Howard E.N. Wilson Chairman Participating: William Lynch Vice Chairman Fred Devitt III Board Member Susanna Souder Board Member Sara Winston Board Member Also Present and E. Scott Harrington Town Manager Participating: John Randolph Town Attorney Rita Taylor Town Clerk Bettina Smith Alternate Board Member John Conway Agent for Mr. Grissom III. Minutes of the Regular Meeting/Public Hearing of October 30, 1996. Mr. Lynch moved and Mrs. Souder seconded that the minutes of October 30, 1996 be approved as circulated and all voted AYE. IV. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items. There were no changes requested. V. Announcements. A. Meeting Dates 1. December 17, 1996 at 8:30 A.M. 2. January 22, 1997 at 8:30 A.M. 3. February 26, 1997 at 8:30 A.M. These announcements were made by Chairman Wilson. VI. PUBLIC HEARING. A. Applications for Development Approval 1. John D. Conway as Agent for Mr. & Mrs. Dave Grissom, contract purchasers of the property located at 1535 N. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, Florida, legally described as the S 100' of the N 200' of the S 268' of Govt. Lot 1, E of Ocean Blvd., Sec. 10, Township 46 South, Range 43 East. The Town Clerk administered the Oath to Mr. Conway. Mr. Conway displayed a color rendering of the 2 -story, Gulf Stream- Bermuda style home advising that the structure as proposed is consistent with the provisions of the Code. He advised that the total living area is 6,454 square feet with the gross area being 9,196 square feet. He pointed out that the proposed gross floor area is about 837 square feet less than the maximum permited under the Sliding Scale Floor Area Ratio. Mr. Conway stated that the three car garage is connected to the house via a covered, open-air walkway. He noted that while the garage faces AlA,it will be totally screened from view from the road. a. LAND CLEARING PERMIT -To permit construction of a dwelling, which includes the addition of fill material. Town Manager Harrington advised that a Land Clearing Permit had been approved for this lot at the same time as one was approved for the adjacent lot to the north. He pointed out that most of the existing significant vegetation will be saved or relocated, and about 5 feet of fill is proposed in the area of the building pad, with gradual slopes and terracing to property lines Architectural Review & Planning Board Regular Meeting/Public Hearing November 26, 1996 page 2 Mr. Harrington stated that the proposed first floor elevation is +19.5 feet NGVD, which is about one foot lower than the recently approved home to the north and about 3.6 feet higher than the existing home to the south. He further stated that the maximum floor elevation permitted by Code is approximately +20 feet NGVD, which is 1.5 feet higher than the crown of AlA in front of the lot, but other factors can and should be considered that may result in an elevation of less than the maximum. He believed that the floor elevation of this proposed structure shonld be reduced by one foot in order to achieve compatibility with surrounding properties because all other elements of the house are tied to this elevation. He added that the houses to the south begin to step down from AlA with some being as much as 6 feet lower than AlA. Mr. Conway stated and the owner had as recommended by that Mr. Harrington agreed to lower the Mr. Harrington. had spoken to his office about this first floor elevation by one foot Mr. Lynch moved and Mrs. Winston seconded that it be recommended to the Town Commission that a Land Clearing Permit be approved based on a finding that the plans and documents submitted by the applicant meet all applicable permitting standards with the following Conditions: 1) All remaining or relocated vegetation shall be adequately protected during construction; 2) Prior to a Certificate of Occupancy, the applicant shall install and have certified by a qualified engineer a drainage' system that complies with all Town drainage regulations and which diverts storm water away from adjacent properties; and 3) All proposed floor elevations and hardscape elevations adjacent to the house shall be lowered by one foot bringing the main floor area elevation down to +18.5 NGVD. Roll Call: Mr. Devitt; AYE, Mrs. Souder; AYE, Mr. Lynch; AYE, Mrs. Winston; AYE, and Chairman Wilson; AYE. b. AlA VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCE PERMIT -To permit alteration of the vegetation and installation of a driveway entrance. Town Manager Harrington advised that the entire driveway will be composed of loose Chattahooche, which includes a circular motor court in frontof the house with a spur that leads to the garages which face west but will be screened from the road by extensive landscaping. He further advised that the plans do not include a wall, gate or entry columns adjacent to AlA- only landscaping. Mr. Devitt noted that the landscape drawing shows the existing seagrape trees being relocated on the lot. The applicant advised that they had thought this would be necessary when the drawing was prepared but have since determined that those will remain in place and will provide complete screening for the garage doors which face west. Mr. Lynch moved to recommend approval of a North Ocean Boulevard Landscape Disturbance Permit upon a finding that the plans and documents submitted by the applicant meet all applicable permit standards. Mrs. Winston seconded the motion. Mr. Devitt moved to amend the motion to include a condition that the landscape drawings as submitted be amended to reflect that the existing seagrape trees, which will screen the garage doors, will not be relocated. Both Mr. Lynch and Mrs. Winston agreed to add this condition to the motion. Roll Call: Mr. Devitt; AYE, Mrs. Souder; AYE, Mr. Lynch; AYE, Mrs. Winston; AYE, and Chairman Wilson; AYE. Architectural Review & Planning Board Regular Meeting/Public Hearing November 26, 1996 page C. LEVEL 3 ARCHITECTURAL/SITE PLAN REVIEW -To permit construction of a 2 -story, single family dwelling and accessory structures on the property described herein. All members of the Board agreed that the design fits very well with the character of the neighborhood and the Town and they complimented Mr. Conway on his achievement. Mr. Lynch then moved to recommend approval of a Level 3 Architectural/Site Plan Review based on the plans and documents submitted by the applicant and a finding that the following conditions are necessary for the proposed improvements to be consistent with the applicable review criteria: 1) A minimum 5 foot fence or wall shall be provided to enclosed the pool area as per County building requirements; 2) All proposed floor elevations and hardscape elevations adjacent to the house shall he lowered by one foot, bringing the main floor area elevation down to +18.5 NGVD; and 3) All landscape drawings drawings in connection with this project be amended to show that the existing seagrape trees that will screen the garage doors facing west shall not be relocated. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Winston. Roll Call: Mr. Devitt; AYE, Mrs. Souder; AYE, Mr. Lynch; AYE, Mrs. Winston; AYE, and Chairman Wilson; AYE. VII. Design Manual Evaluation: 1996-1997. Alternate Board Member Bettina Smith was asked to join the Board in order to participate in these discussions. Mr. Harrington began by reviewing the application process for development approval, explaining that Appendix B of the Design Manual is to used as a guide for the applicant in determining what types of approval will be necessary. In addition, he pointed out that Table IX -B-2 liststhe Code Sections and State Statute Sections that apply to each type of review, the final review authority and the application fee for each. He closed by following the color -coded flow chart that began with the mandatory pre -application conference through the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. Mr. Harrington asked if there were any suggestions as to how this might be shortened or simplified. It was determined that at this time, there appeared to be no changes available. The Town Manager called attention to an attachement to his Memo of November 22, 1996 marked Exhibit 2. He explained that this is the latest draft of the Ocean Ridge Design Standards that are under consideration. He noted that while their approach is very different from that of Gulf Stream, the standards touch on several of the same issues that Gulf Stream will address, most of which involve the mass and scale of residential structures. Town Manager Harrington reminded that at the last meeting, the Board was somewhat divided as to whether the existing Sliding Scale FAR was adequate, or perhaps too high,with some feeling that a refinement of some of the design provisions would reduce the appearance of mass without needing to change the FAR, with others believing the FAR was too high regardless of design. He further reminded that the state law regarding development rights has changed since the Manual was adopted in that property owners are now entitled to seek compensation if government action significantly lowers the value of their property. He stated that it is unclear whether lowering the FAR would result in a "significant" decrease in property value. Attorney Randolph advised that lowering the FAR could be challenged but Architectural Review & Planning Board Regular Meeting/Public Hearing November 26, 1996 page 4 that the same Statute provides that the owner would have to make such challenge within the first 12 months. In addition, he stated that there are 12 steps that include arbitration that must be concluded before the property owner could go to court on the issue. CTown Manager Harrington stated that there may be a compromise possible, with one alternative being to tie the FAR into the acceptability of the design. For instance, those designs that incorporated Discouraged elements may have a lower FAR than those that used Preferred elements. Likewise, those that use a Preferred style could achieve a greater FAR than those that don't. Under such a system, the existing maximum FAR could be left as is (0.33 for lots of 20,000 sq. feet and less and 0.20 for portions of lots over 20,000 sq. ft.), but start the FAR at a lower level and make the applicant "earn" a higher FAR by doing more of what the Town wants. For example, the base FAR could drop to 0.27. If the applicant used no Discourage elements, or a certain number of Preferred elements, the FAR could be increased to 0.30. If the applicant also built in a Preferred style, then the FAR could be increased to the existing 0.33. Mr. Harrington added that these numbers are for discussion purposes only and not necessarily recommendations at this time. He further stated that if such a system is pursued, it should apply only to the first 20,000 sq. ft. of lot area and if desired, this system could apply only to certain zoning districts or could vary between districts. If this type of system is pursued, Mr. Harrington said it would be necessary to review all of the Discourage and Preferred elements in the Manual to be certain they would achieve the desired result. Some of the Board members felt this suggested alternative to be too complicated and feared that it would be difficult to include all possible Preferred and Discouraged elements without leaving some out. The Board was in agreement that design is more important and decided to withhold further consideration of this alternative until a review had been completed in relation to each of the design elements or features. Noting that the deadline of 10:00 A.M. that had been established at the previous meeting was at hand, Chairman Wilson directed that the discussion regarding eave lines be the first item under Manual Evaluation on the December agenda. VIII. Items by Staff. A. Construction in progress in October, 1996. Town Manager Harrington advised that this report was not completed but that it would appear, along with the November report, on the December agenda. IX. Items by Bno Members. There were o items by the members. X. Public. There was no comment from the public. XI. Adjournment. Chairman Wilson adjourned the meeting at 10:00 A.M. on a motion made by Mr. Lynch that was seconded by Mrs. Winston with all voting in the affirmative. Rita L. Taylor, Toyh Clerk