ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES

Transcription

1 ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, February 5, :00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER The Rockledge Planning Commission met on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Rockledge City Hall, 1600 Huntington Lane, Rockledge, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT: Paul Grossman, Chairman Keith Brockhouse, Vice Chairman Michelle Doyle Tony Leib (arrived at 6:03 pm) Mike Martuch Rick Morton (School Board Representative) Holly Pardi Troy Rice Dodie Selig Bob Theilacker Don Griffin, Planning Director Alix Townsend, City Planner Laura Mulholland, Recording Secretary Chairman Grossman called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with a quorum present. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING AND ATTENDANCE RECORD A. December 4, 2012 Motion by Keith Brockhouse to approve the minutes and attendance record of the meeting of December 4, Seconded by Michelle Doyle. The motion carried unanimously. 4. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. CPA (City of Rockledge) Recreation Public Passive Use Planner Alix Townsend presented the item to the Commission, and stated that the 110 acres of recently annexed wetlands was located just south of Timbers West and north of Silver Pines. She noted that the property was owned jointly by the City and County, and that the County land use was residential. She said that staff was proposing a recreational public passive land use designation, which would allow the property to be maintained in its current state. The only other possible use would be a walking trail. In response to questions, Mr. Griffin advised that Brazilian pepper tree eradication had been undertaken, and that more than 30 acres of pristine wetlands had been added to the property through the wetlands mitigation process, which is required by the St. John s River Water Management District. He explained that the mitigation was

2 ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Page 2 of 6 undertaken by the City and County, in proportion to their ownership percentages (the City of Rockledge owns 2/3 of the property and the County owns 1/3). Chairman Grossman opened the public hearing at 6:06 pm. Clifton L. Best, 2821 Shepard Drive, Rockledge, whose house backs up to the property, spoke on his own behalf. He said he wanted everything to stay the same, was opposed to public paths, but was all for pepper tree eradication, maintaining the land, and keeping it in its natural state. There being no further public comment, Chairman Grossman closed the public hearing at 6:08 pm. Motion by Troy Rice to recommend approval of CPA with a land use designation of Recreational Public Passive, and to forward this recommendation to the Rockledge City Council for consideration at the February 20, 2013 meeting. Seconded by Keith Brockhouse. The Motion carried unanimously. B. CPA (Grace Fellowship of Brevard) Mixed Use* D. CPA (Grace Fellowship of Brevard) Mixed Use* * These items were presented together. Ms. Townsend discussed the locations of the two properties, their current land uses, the surrounding properties land uses and the past and current uses the church has had in relationship to its requested land use change. She then utilized a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate how the City of Rockledge, and Murrell Road, in particular, has grown in the past twenty years. Ms. Townsend also showed traffic count differences and population changes over the same period of time. She stated that the requested mixed use land use designations would allow the City to be good stewards of the community, by having a transitional buffer between residential uses and the busy roadway and commercial uses across the street. In response to questions from the Commission, Ms. Townsend explained that since the City s Land Development Regulations require new churches to be located in commercially-zoned areas, mixed use was the best designation that would allow the applicant, Grace Fellowship Church, to use its properties as they are currently being used. In response to further questions, Ms. Townsend clarified that since the City was divided into eight planning districts, that the properties in question were currently within Planning District 7, and that a mixed-use designation would allow a property to be zoned residential, commercial, or a combination of both. Chairman Grossman opened the two items, CPA and CPA 13-04, up for public hearing at 6:21 pm. The following persons spoke on their own behalf (unless otherwise indicated) against the requests, regarding retention of the older areas of the neighborhood, the possibility of declining property values, and safety: Shirley Schell, 607 Rockledge Drive, Rockledge Allan Schell, 607 Rockledge Drive, Rockledge Dale Brown, 1253 Winding Meadows Drive, Rockledge

3 ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Page 3 of 6 Blair Wallace, 1254 Sleepy Hollow Lane, Rockledge Sandy Golden, 1243 Winding Meadows Drive, Rockledge Teresa Tippins, 3580 Murrell Road, Rockledge Rosann Sardineer Boyens, 2971 Camberly Circle, Melbourne (owns 3580 Murrell Road) Donald J. Flammio, 1215 Tuckaway Drive, Rockledge Wayne Kee, 976 Whetstone Place, Rockledge The following persons spoke on their own behalf (unless otherwise indicated) in favor of the requests: Andrew P. Hardy, 1048 Jacaranda Circle, Rockledge Janet Letchworth, 309 S. Shannon Avenue, Indialantic Alice Pavlock, Indialantic (spoke on behalf of St. Marks United Methodist Church) Roland Schlierf, 352 Jack Drive, Cocoa Beach (spoke on behalf of Our Savior Church) Patty Kuhns, 402 Brookcrest Circle, Rockledge Richard Kuhns, 402 Brookcrest Circle, Rockledge Dick Lovisone, 1385 Mayflower Avenue, Melbourne (spoke on behalf of Family Promise of Brevard) Mike Bynum, 938 Osprey Lane, Rockledge (spoke on behalf of the applicant, Grace Fellowship Church) There being no further public comment, Chairman Grossman closed the public hearing at 7:02 pm. Planning Director Griffin reported that the Citizens Advisory Committee had approved the requests for Mixed-Use Planning District 7. He advised the Commission that a petition in opposition had been submitted at that meeting, and that a petition in opposition had been submitted to staff at this meeting. In response to questions from the Commission, Mr. Griffin stated that other permissible uses for the property could include commercial, multi-family and/or single-family. He cautioned, however, that a residential use would put the City in direct conflict with the provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, since the property was owned by a church and its uses were currently church related. He explained that the City would be required to place a commercial zoning classification on the property at a later date, however, only land use was being addressed at this time. Commission members Theilacker, Martuch and Doyle made comments. In response to the comments, Mr. Griffin advised that the land use designation of the two churches to the north of the subject properties are, in the case of the front portion of Grace Fellowship Church, Mixed Use Planning District 7, and in the case of Faith Baptist Church, which is still in Brevard County, Residential. Mr. Griffin also made reference to the planning district to the north (Planning District 6), which district allows those properties on the west side of Murrell Road to have mixed use to a depth of 630 feet, to provide a buffer to residential property to the west.

4 ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Page 4 of 6 Mike Martuch asked if Grace Fellowship Church was in violation of any Brevard County Code. Mr. Griffin responded that he was not aware of any, and stated the City could not enforce any provisions until the property has land use and zoning within the City. Michelle Doyle commented that she didn t want to remove the possibility for current residents to have horses. Mr. Griffin pointed out that people would be able to keep their horses on their existing properties. Motion by Keith Brockhouse to recommend approval of CPA with a land use designation of Mixed Use Planning District 7, and to forward this recommendation to the Rockledge City Council for consideration at the February 20, 2013 meeting. Seconded by Tony Leib. The Motion carried 7-2, with Michelle Doyle and Bob Theilacker dissenting. Motion by Tony Leib to recommend approval of CPA with a land use designation of Mixed Use Planning District 7, and to forward this recommendation to the Rockledge City Council for consideration at the February 20, 2013 meeting. Seconded by Mike Martuch. The Motion carried 8-1, with Bob Theilacker dissenting. C. CPA (Grace Fellowship of Brevard) Mixed Use Planner Alix Townsend stated that the one-acre piece of property on the east side of Murrell Road contained church offices. She advised that the current county land use was Neighborhood Commercial, and that staff was proposing Mixed Use Planning District 7. Chairman Grossman opened the public hearing at 7:28 pm. Rosann Sardineer Boyens, 2971 Camberly Circle, Melbourne, spoke against the request. There being no further public comment, Chairman Grossman closed the public hearing at 7:30 pm. Motion by Troy Rice to recommend approval of CPA with a land use designation of Mixed Use Planning District 7, and to forward this recommendation to the Rockledge City Council for consideration at the February 20, 2013 meeting. Seconded by Keith Brockhouse. The Motion carried unanimously. 5. SITE PLANS None 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None The meeting recessed for a short break at 7:34 pm, and reconvened at 7:42 pm. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman Motion by Keith Brockhouse to appoint Mike Martuch Temporary Chairman. Seconded by Tony Leib. The motion carried unanimously.

5 ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Page 5 of 6 Temporary Chairman Martuch opened the floor to nominations for the office of Chairman. Keith Brockhouse nominated Paul Grossman as Chairman. No other nominations were put forward for the office of Chairman, and the floor was closed and a vote taken. Paul Grossman was declared Chairman by a unanimous vote of the Planning Commission. Paul Grossman then resumed Chairmanship of the meeting, and opened the floor to nominations for the office of Vice Chairman. Troy Rice nominated Keith Brockhouse as Vice Chairman. No other nominations were put forward for the office of Vice Chairman, and the floor was closed and a vote taken. Keith Brockhouse was declared Vice Chairman by a unanimous vote of the Planning Commission. B. SE (WOB, LLC) Recreation Facility Keith Brockhouse declared a conflict of interest, and advised that he had a financial interest in the property. He then submitted a Voting Conflict of Interest form to the recording secretary, and stepped down from the dais. Ms. Townsend explained that the property consisted of vacant land located just east of the Sheriff s Office on Gus Hipp Blvd., and that the applicant wanted to build an indoor gun range with accessory sales of equipment, including firearms, targets and ammunition. She explained that a special exception for recreational facilities was required due to the Industrial Park zoning classification. Chairman Gross then recognized the applicant, Keith Brockhouse, who explained that the special exception was the first step toward the possibility of building a 17,600 square-foot indoor gun range. He said it would be located in an area far away from residential areas, and would have excellent safety, sound and emissions controls. He also said it would feature 36 pistol lanes and 12 rifle lanes, and would be an excellent training facility for police and first responders. Chairman Grossman then recognized Forrest Dierberg, 951 Sable Lane, Rockledge, who spoke in his capacity as an environmental chemist and principal of DB Environmental, Inc., located 365 Gus Hipp Blvd. He said he was concerned about possible contaminants from the gun range and also with employee safety. Keith Brockhouse and Chairman Grossman assured Mr. Dierberg that all Rockledge businesses would have to meet the requirements of all regulatory agencies. Motion by Michelle Doyle that the special exception is consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. Seconded by Tony Leib. The motion carried unanimously. Motion by Tony Leib that the special exception is consistent with the intent of the zoning district within which the special exception is sought. Seconded by Bob Theilacker. The motion carried unanimously.

6 ROCKLEDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Page 6 of 6 Motion by Troy Rice that the special exception does not create any adverse impacts to adjacent property through the creation of noise, light, vibrations, traffic, utility requirements, or storm water runoff that would not have been created had the property been developed for a principal use permitted in the applicable zoning district. Seconded by Bob Theilacker. The motion carried unanimously. Motion by Bob Theilacker that the special exception will not create any unusual police, fire or emergency services requirements. Seconded by Troy Rice. The motion carried unanimously. Motion by Dodie Selig that a site plan for the special exception has not been submitted which would have placed additional condition, limitations and regulations on the use of the property. Seconded by Bob Theilacker. The motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mike Martuch that the special exception meets all the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located such as lot requirements, building setback requirements, lot coverage, height, buffer yards, off-street parking, signs, storage, landscaping, etc. Seconded by Dodie Selig. The motion carried unanimously. Motion by Holly Pardi that the special exception as presented meets the requirements of the Land Development Regulations and should be forwarded to the Board of Adjustment to be considered at the February 19 th meeting. Seconded by Bob Theilacker. The motion carried unanimously. 8. ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Commission, and with a motion properly made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm. Submitted by: Laura Mulholland Recording Secretary Approved by: Paul Grossman Chairman