2009-1222 Special City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting December 22, 2009 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Action: [City Clerk's Note: Heard after Item 4A. See action above.] Mayor Edelcup gave opening remarks on zoning procedures /decorum and City Clerk Hines read a disclaimer for the Zoning hearing, and administered the oath to the witnesses for the Zoning hearing. Mayor Edelcup, Commissioner Scholl, and Vice Mayor Thaler disclosed Ex Parte communications with Lobbyist Sydney Davis. Assistant City Manager Vera reported noting that the purpose of this public hearing is to correct a notice error in a previous application approved by the City Commission on March 19, 2009. He presented a power point on B -1 information noting the purpose of this request is to comply with the City's Comprehensive Master Plan. City Attorney Ottinot asked if you can achieve density that you achieve on B -1 under CF, and Mr. Vera said no. City Attorney Ottinot said the City paid $19.6 million to down -use the property for open space, and the City was able to reduce density and parking use on the property. Public Speakers: Jeff Bercow, Esq.; Molly Hughes; Michael Gil, Esq.; Robert Zuckerman; John Rusnak; Violette Montiel- Jimenez; Fernando Blanco Jeff Bercow, Esq., representing Oceanview A and B Condominium Associations, filed with the City Clerk: 1) a Booklet of Documents relative to Heritage Park, and 2) Petitions with 287 signatures of residents in that area opposed to the current design of the Heritage Park project because it proposes ingress and egress to the Park via Galahad -Dade Boulevard, instead of using a curb cut on Collins Avenue. Molly Hughes, President of Hughes Hughes Inc., Transportation Engineers & Planners, presented renderings of the area and had done a Traffic Analysis of the area dividing it into three groups of issues: vehicles; safety; and pedestrians. City Attorney Ottinot said our goal is to improve the property, and noted that the City took a proactive approach to meet with those residents, and the City Manager and Vice Mayor individually met with them, and we have met with members of the Board and their representatives to discuss their concerns. Ocean Reserve came to us and indicated that they wanted to give us this easement because they felt it was a better project than what was contemplated before. He said in most City Codes it is a courtesy notice, in our Code it is a mandatory notice, and Mr. Bercow pointed that out and so we are now correcting that, and to make the record clear, this is a simple rezoning of the site, not a site plan application. Mayor Edelcup said this is only to change B -1 Zoning to CF Zoning. He said the City Manager has ordered a traffic study which will be completed in mid - January, and he suggested that staff meet with condo owners and their representatives to review that traffic study as well as the traffic proposal made by the Condominium itself, and then come back to the Commission on January 28, 2010, at which time the Ordinance (Item 4A) will be brought up again for second reading. Mr. Bercow asked when the site plan review will come up for this project, and Mayor Edelcup said that the Ordinance will come up for second reading, and hopefully by then this will be resolved. We all want a park there, and the issue is only the ingress and egress and hopefully that will be resolved. City Attorney Ottinot said over the years we have had administrative approval, and we do have a site plan that was conceptually approved by the Commission a while back, but in terms of the site plan approval, that is an administrative process that has always been handled administratively. 2