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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11/21/2002MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW AND PLANNING BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2002, AT 8:30 A.M., IN THE TOWN HALL, 100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA. I. Call to Order. Chairman Wheeler called the meeting to order at 8:30 A.M. CII. Roll Call. Present and Chris Wheeler Participating: Hewlett Kent (arrived Muriel Anderson Perry O'Neal Anne Strawn Absent with Charles Frankel Notice: Cynthia Neeves Also Present and William Thrasher Participating: John Randolph Rita Taylor Hassan Tajalli Mark Marsh Chairman late) Vice Chairman Board Member Board Member Alternate Member Board Member Alternate Member Town Manager Town Attorney Town Clerk Agent for O'Brien Architect III. Minutes of the Regular Meetinq and Public Hearing of 10-17-02. Mrs. Anderson pointed out a typo. Mr. O'Neal moved and Mrs. Anderson seconded that the minutes be approved with the changes and all voted AYE at Roll Call. IV. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items. There were no requests for changes in the agenda. V. Announcements. A. Meeting Dates 1. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 12-19-02 @ 8:30 A.M. 2. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 1-23-03 @ 8:30 A.M. 3. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 2-27-03 @ 8:30 A.M. 4. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 3-27-03 @ 8:30 A.M. 5. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 4-24-03 @ 8:30 A.M. Chairman Wheeler announced these dates. GVI. PUBLIC HEARING. Chairman Wheeler asked if any of the Board Members had ex -parte communications to declare. Mr. O'Neal disclosed he met with the property owner and complimented him for adding to the existing cottage rather than demolishing and building a new home. Chairman Wheeler asked that all persons who intended to speak please stand to take the Oath. Town Clerk Taylor administered the Oath to Mark Marsh and Hassan Tajalli. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Page 2 Architectural Review & Planning Board November 21, 2002 Hassan Tajalli displayed a rendering of the proposed improvement. Chairman Wheeler asked the Board if they approved of the requested improvements. Mrs. Anderson commented that it is a nice improvement, Mr. O'Neal agreed. 01 The Chairman noted for the record that there was no one present from the public and all Board members had a complete set of drawings. In view of this he felt no further presentations to be necessary and asked for a motion. A. Applications for Development Approval 1.An application submitted by Shane Ames, as agent for Robert O'Brien, owner of the property located at 12 Banyan Road, Gulf Stream, Florida, which is legally described as Lot 54, Gulf Stream Properties #2 and the west % of Palm Way lying east and adjacent thereto. a. LEVEL 2 ARCHITECTURAL SITE PLAN REVIEW to permit construction of an addition consisting of 547.5 square feet to the existing Bermuda style single-family dwelling. Mrs. Anderson moved and Mr. O'Neal seconded to approve the Level 2 Architectural/Site Plan based on a finding that the proposed plans are consistent with applicable review standards, with the following conditions: 1) A Construction Traffic Management Plan shall be submitted and approved by the Gulf Stream Police Department prior to application for building permit and shall be followed during construction. 2) Comply with all National Flood Insurance Program requirements applicable to the addition. 3) Health Department approval of the septic system will be required prior to issuance of a building permit. Roll Call: Mrs. Strawn; AYE, Mr. O'Neal; AYE, Mrs. Anderson; AYE and Mr. Wheeler; AYE. Mr. Kent joined the Meeting at this time. VII. Items by Staff. A. Reduction of eave & roof heights on 2 -story dwellings - Presentation by Mark Marsh Chairman Wheeler reminded that several of the Board members were not Opresent during Mr. Marsh's previous presentation on save and roof heights and he then invited Mr. Marsh to do the presentation again. Mark Marsh of Digby Bridges, Marsh and Associates, displayed illustrations of various tie beam heights, which demonstrated how the various heights affect the appearance of the structures. He explained that there should be 2 points of reference with one being the top of the finished floor and the other being the top of the tie beam. He believes that 12' between these 2 points would result in the best proportioned single story structure. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Architectural Review & Planning Board November 21, 2002 Page 3 Chairman Wheeler and Mr. Kent believed the measurement to the eave as provided in the current code is adequate in that any eave overhang greater than 2 %1 is counted in the FAR. They did however, still feel the maximum heights should be reduced as they originally recommended. OTown Manager Thrasher advised that the Commission was very concerned about the "cookie cutter" design of the new homes. Mr. Kent was also concerned about the "cookie cutter" design of the newer homes but believed all of the Design Manual criteria works except for the roof and eave height specification. Chairman Wheeler believes that the Board has to approve a design if all the criteria are met. Furthermore, if a design has discouraged features, the architect should be given direction as to how to make it better and present it at the next meeting. Attorney Randolph confirmed that the Board could not reject a design if all the criteria are met. He advised that if the Board wanted more flexibility, they could no longer apply the Design Manual, which encourages a "cookie cutter" type of development. He went on to explain that in some Codes, one of the criteria for approval is that the structure not be too similar or dissimilar to others in the area. Mr. Randolph believed it would be difficult to incorporate this in the current Code. Town Clerk Taylor advised that before the Design Manual was revised the use of "similar" and "dissimilar" was in the Town code. Now the Design Manual dictates "consistency". Ms. Taylor reminded that the Commission had made some changes to the save and roof heights that the ARPB had presented previously. However, the Commissioners did not feel comfortable making a final decision without professional advice. Mr. Marsh stated that he would prefer to collaborate with other architects in order to make a final decision. The Board believed that if the Code could be amended to include "similar" and "dissimilar" as one of the criteria of approval, it would C) help to control the "cookie cutter" design. They directed Mr. Thrasher to ask the Commission if they would be willing to grant them additional authority if this additional criteria could be included in the code. After much discussion Chairman Wheeler summarized that the Board would like 2 things. 1) A written professional opinion regarding if eave heights were lowered as previously recommended by the ARPB, would the result improve the design or make it acceptable. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Architectural Review & Planning Board November 21, 2002 Page 4 2) Ask the Commission if they are willing to give the Board more discretion in reviewing designs if the Code could be amended to do so. VIII. Items by Board Members. Mrs. Strawn inquired about the status of the sewer study and Mrs. Anderson asked if the project includes Place Au Soleil. C) Town Manager Thrasher stated that the Sewer Feasibility Study includes Place Au Soleil and at the previous Commission Meeting the sewer study was approved. Mr. Thrasher explained that the engineers would furnish a rough cost that that property owners can use to determine the cost to connect to the force main. He advised that there were federal grants and appropriations offered and added that the total estimated cost for the entire Town is ten million dollars. XI. Public. Mr. Marsh, speaking from the audience commented on the lack of professionalism in some of the presentations to the Board by architects. Mr. Marsh suggested a more formal standardized presentation be established and added that many other towns have guidelines for presentations, such as the materials that were to be used and the order of the presentation. Chairman Wheeler directed staff to draft proposed guidelines for presentations for further considerations. X. Adjournment. Chairman Wheeler adjourned the meeting at 9:45 A.M. 'AjLV- VVI Ynne Manboard, CMC JD uty Town Clerk N