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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting October 17, 2013 City ot' Sunny Isles Beach, Florida <br />of Services Standards. At this time staff has no objections to the site plan application <br />providing all the conditions stipulated are satisfied. <br />Public Speakers: Stephen Helfman, Esq.; Joseph Milton; Architect Eduardo Castineira; <br />Loretta Mufson; Paul Levinson; John Higgins <br />Stephen Helfman, Esq. representing the Applicant said this project was already approved by <br />the Commission in November 2012 where site plan approval was granted for two (2) <br />residential towers which are on the westernmost part of the project. At the same time the <br />Commission granted approval for an office building which fronts on Collins Avenue on the <br />easternmost part of the project and is the smallest of all the buildings. During the past year <br />while designing the project a couple of things have happened that has caused them to come <br />back to the Commission. He noted the unit count remains the same, it is only a slight increase <br />because of a demand for larger units. They are also asking that these buildings be moved <br />forward which City staff is recommending denial of. They are in an awkward situation that <br />they have to request this variance for environmental agency reasons along the rear of the <br />property. They are modifying them to TDRs to increase the FAR, and to slightly move the <br />residential towers forward to the front of the property to accommodate other agency <br />comments. The rest of the Application deals with the office building. They have two (2) <br />requests which is a FAR transfer and the other is a height request which is minor. They have <br />a unique situation on this corner as we are the only property with this limitation on height, <br />everything going north is allowed to go higher. They have this one piece of Town Center that <br />is land locked where their office building is proposed. LaPerla is across the street at 300 feet, <br />they are surrounded by properties that are at least twice their height, and if not, land that could <br />be developed at twice the height. When they actually did the design of this building they have <br />a situation where because of the ramping of the roadway you need to go up so that this office <br />building has some views. In order to get a reasonable office building, having the views, <br />getting all the parking in, they need to add an additional space of 12 feet above what they can <br />build. There will be no more traffic than before, and the additional square footage for this <br />office building is diminutive. The Traffic Report shows two additional trips per hour because <br />of this increase in the amount of office space and the height. <br />Developer Joseph Milton said this development planning started over a decade ago with his <br />father. When you were first creating the Land Development Regulations that were going to <br />set the guidelines for this City in that area, his father always believed that Sunny Isles <br />Boulevard would be the gateway to the City. He looked through the presentations that they <br />did those years ago and he found something very interesting, he presented a rendering they <br />used back in 2000 -2001. What his father had envisioned was condominium and an office <br />building on the south side, some retail in the center with parking and a park. He had charged <br />him with acquiring all the property on the south side. It is interesting how he reflects on this <br />and the opportunity that he has to bring his father's vision, his dream to conclusion. Tonight <br />we hope to present to the Commission what they believe is a really unique development for <br />Sunny Isles Beach, something that will bring about the completion of your gateway in first <br />class. The iconic office building in the corner which he plans on naming in honor of his <br />father, will be a Class "A" building recognizing his father's commitment to the City for over <br />20 years. This is the only place second to his home that he called home. He kept a residence <br />here since he built Sands Point in 1994. He thanked the City Commission for their personal <br />relationship behind his father who enjoyed working in this City like nowhere else. <br />4 <br />