2006 1116 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting November 16,2006 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida the Porterhouse also built an awning and outdoor dining to make it a more South Beach environment to induce the residents to want to come to our restaurants and make it a more upscale South Beach environment. He said that Porterhouse wants to build an upscale restaurant, and for the last five years he has had outdoor dining without a wall and meeting Code with some landscaping, but there is a bus shelter about 25-feet from his main entrance. He said one of the problems he had was everybody that gets on the bus that didn't have enough money or was homeless would come and panhandle off from people, and people use that sidewalk as a thoroughfare to get from one center to the other. Mr. Shevlin said there is a couple of issues, and one is life safety because there is a major delivery alleyway in between the two shopping centers, trucks come and go all day long, and people walk off the sidewalk where there is a step and they have had many slip and fall lawsuits. He said one issue is that it is private property and there is an issue that he is allowed to have outdoor dining, so without the wall we can block this off with plants and people can try to climb over it and it wouldn't be as attractive looking and as safe, and they still couldn't have access. He said his argument is the Commission has the ability to make a decision, was the wall built improperly, yes, is it too high does it not meet the Code, it doesn't meet the Code but it is not too high, with landscaping in place it is a lot more attractive. He said the columns have been removed, the wall has been reduced below the landscaping, so it is really a new wall, less then three feet high, and you don't even see it. He said the purpose for it being there is for life safety in case a car careens off the sidewalk and comes in there it is a deterrent from somebody getting hurt, and it is a deterrent from people walking through and that is why the trees were put on the south side of the driveway to avoid further liability. He said he spoke to staff today and they informed him that they need permits to put additional landscaping on their other property which they will pull if it is required. He asked if we can do it this evening through modification of the Code, the tenant is here and he is willing to surrender any application he had to put in an outdoor bar because he really doesn't need one to make this more upscale but originally under the historical Dade County Code, which was approved in 1994, he had a right to put in an outdoor bar. Mr. Shevlin said all his tenant is saying is the Code doesn't allow just a small wall, it gives it a little more upscale elegance, and if there is a way we can do it come back to the Commission for a variance and possibly waive the fees to offset the cost he spent so he doesn't have to spend $10,000 for a variance application, get him on the December agenda and he would appreciate it. He said his tenant only put pavers on top of existing sidewalk and he is happy to cut this back a few feet and lower the steps so it makes Code requirements and make it more appealing and put in brick pavers, and tonight you have talked about getting an easement from the developers to have more landscaping further back, they can add a few more trees to make it look a little more upscale, the tenant and owner are willing to accommodate the City. Vice Mayor Brezin said if you remove that wall which is illegal, and you want beautification, you can put in a heavy shrubbery type of fencing which people cannot get through. Mr. Shevlin said the reason the wall was applied for two and a half years ago was that there was a thick ficus hedge there before the wall went up and people were coming through it all the time. Vice Mayor Brezin said there is landscaping that could be done where it is thick with the woody part. Mayor Ede1cup said if someone wanted to walk through a thick hedge they 15