2005 1117 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting November 17,2005 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida the exhibits presented at this meeting. Kobi Karp, Architect, presented renderings of the project. Mr. Ferro said that the Code requires that they prove a hardship for the tandem variance. He said it has seven conditions and criteria that they have to meet, as stated in Section 265-15 of the LDRs, and that they do meet each criteria and he went on and described each one, with respect to the beach access easement. He addressed some life safety issues with the placement of the easement because their property does not coincide with any traffic lights or pedestrian crossings. They are in the middle of the block. He said if they were to place a beach access easement on this property they would be basically invitingjaywalking because there is no way for people to cross the street at that location. He also pointed out that the properties on each side do have beach access easements adjacent to their property, so there is no lack of beach access easements within 100-feet of them. Commissioner Brezin said that a beach access is not just a means of entering to the beach it is also a means of exiting. She said she is also concerned because she does not want to encourage signs in the City that says "No Beach Access". She said there is a problem with jaywalking but that is a problem for our Police Department, our traffic committees, and that is something that we must address, but the answer is not to eliminate a beach access. Mr. Ferro said that there is a beach access on both ends of their property and that there are a lot of properties that are 300-feet wide and his client's property is only 100-feet wide. Commissioner Iglesias said if they had a beach access and put it together with the other one, you would have a nicer beach access and that he has always been an advocate for beach accesses. He said we had the same problem with the Sayan but that they worked that out and resolved it with a beach access. He said perhaps there is a way that they can provide some kind of architectural design that may be can still have a beach access and enjoin it with an adjacent beach access and make it a nicer view corridor. Mayor Ede1cup said what they are really saying here on the beach access is that it is a major issue and that they have made a commitment to the people in this City that any building that got built on the east side would have a beach access. He said that he would encourage them to rethink their planning for this because without a beach access he feels that this will be a very difficult project to sell to this Commission. Mr. Karp said on the south side of the property they have a landscaped area where the 20-foot setback is and there is an opportunity to come to the south side which would bring you up and across to the fountain and back down and that would mean that they would flip the glass lobby to the reverse. Mayor Edelcup said that they would have to defer this so he can go back to staff to make sure they meet all the criteria. Mr. Karp said it would not change the design of the building. Mayor Ede1cup said that they would take that as a possible solution to the beach access and asked to move on to the tandem parking part of it. Commissioner Goodman said that he does not feet that there is 100% tandem parking anywhere, and Mr. Ferro said at Meridian and at Sole. Mayor Edelcup said that the Meridian would have been done under the County zoning. Commissioner Goodman said they have 69 apartments and if they take away the tandem parking they would only have 52 parking spaces. He said when you are talking tandem parking spaces that is one parking space not two and it will become a major problem. He said when people buy a condominium they want a parking 4