2005 0210 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting February 10,2005 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida not limited to" and added "not exceeding". Mayor Edelcup said that the Art in Public Places Ordinance on the books is a voluntary submission by a developer and that hasn't produced much in the way of voluntary art coming to the City and that is why he suggested that this ordinance be put together. Deputy City Attorney Ottinot noted that Stanley Price and Clifford Schulman spoke to him and the City Attorney this morning and raised some issues but they haven't in fact provided legal or case law with respect to tell us that this ordinance is not legally sufficient. Public Speakers: Stanley Price, Esq.; Clifford Schulman, Esq.; Cassey Gabor Stanley Price, Esq., stated that in his opinion this ordinance is facially unconstitutional because of many reasons: the title is defective because it says Art in Public Places when in fact the entire ordinance is Art in Private Places; a whereas clause generally sets the basis for the ordinance and it says as these opportunities are diminished, what is diminished, the fact that buildings are going where art can go?; the definition section, architectural enhancement, you define it at great length and then don't use the term anywhere in the ordinance; applicability, all multifamily developments and all commercial developments, it should be all new developments; and that the Commission determines that good art is worth $500,000.00 or 1 % of the cost of construction. Commissioner Iglesias said that the intent is to make the City more beautiful and is concerned what Mr. Price is saying that this ordinance is a violation of the First Amendment he would favor getting an opinion and an expert who deals with the First Amendment. Mr. Price suggested that it goes through Site Plan Review, the City has a gold mine here and that is the ad valorem tax base when these buildings are completed and the City should set aside a fund from the General Fund, the tax revenues, set aside 3% a year for art and let the City put art on City-owned property and you have no right to do it on private property. Deputy City Attorney Ottinot said he disagrees with Mr. Price because he had no case law decisions, when you research you research within your own jurisdiction to see if there is any precedent in respect to this ordinance and he looked around the State of Florida and did not find any other city that adopted a similar ordinance. He said he researched and found nine cities in California who adopted a similar ordinance requiring a developer to pay a fee or construct a work of art on his or her property, and that the City of Palm Desert adopted their ordinance in 1986 and has not been challenged. Cliff Schulman, Esq., asked where the art was in the new Government Center and City Manager Russo said for the record the City has spent between 7% - 17% of the cost of this building on art and the art for this building is the entire Commission Chambers, design mosaic tiles, and fountain around it and to include that item on this building would have been exactly $1 Million less in cost so you can either calculate the $2.5 Million for the cost of the Commission Chambers out of the $14.5 Million that this building cost or you can add back in what it would have cost to just been part of the building then you've got $1 Million that we put towards it and when you do that math that is 7% being conservative of the cost of this building in art. Mr. Schulman said that you are making this City more and more expensive to build in every day, there is no other city in the state of Florida, that will require a developer not only to build all the infrastructure and all the other things that you want but then to give the City anywhere between $.5 Million and $2 Million for what you consider to be art. He said that the ordinance applies to anybody who wants to get a building permit, and that includes people who have already received site plan approval for their building, on the other 7