Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I know you don't like weak women, you get bored so quick. And you don't like strong women, cause they're hip to your tricks. It's been dirty for dirty, down the line with you. I come when you whistle, and you're loving and kind. If you've got too many doubts, if there's no good reception for me, then tune me out. Cause honey, who needs the static? It hurts the head and you wind up cracking. And the day goes dismal from breakfast party to the sign of prayer. What a sorry face you get to wear. I'm gonna tell you again now if you're still listening there If you're driving into town with the dark cloud above you Dial in the number who's bound to love you If you're lying on the beach with the transistor going Kick off the sandbags, honey, the love's still flowing It says, forget it, but your heart's still smoking Call me at the station, the lines are opening

Thank you. Love's last episode There's nowhere to go, oh no You made your choice Now it's up to me To bow out gracefully Though you hold the key But baby Thank you. Thank you. Whoa.

Here we go. Chair, you have a live mic.

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to the April 2nd, 2026 Collier County Planning Commission. I ask that we all please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Okay. Bless our troops.

If I could ask Commissioner Shea if he would take the role, please.

Chairman Schmidt.

I am here.

Vice Chairman Schumacher. Here. Secretary Shea is here. Commissioner Starrazza.

Here. Commissioner McCloud.

Here. Commissioner Betzer. Here. Ms. Lockhart. Here. All present, sir. We have a quorum.

Excellent. We have a quorum. Ray, are there any addenda to the agenda?

There are no agendas to the agenda.

All right. For the commissioners here, our next meeting is April 16th, 2026. Are there any commissioners projected to be absent?

I will not be available.

I am going to be recovering from surgery, and I don't think a week's enough time.

Okay, so that's two, and I will not be here as well, so that's three. So I don't know if we'll we got Mike's attention when we said three I don't I don't believe we'll have a quorum What's it look like Chap Chap resigned Yeah chap resigned It's unfortunate. He sent a note basically felt he wasn't contributing and I Frustrated I said sent him a note said thanks, but I really I didn't miss you. But yeah, he resigned.

Okay There's four petitions three projects four petitions one GMP and PUD so we'll have to provide Notification that the means gonna have to be cancelled and it's gonna everything's gonna be pushed to the to the first meeting in May which would May 7th May 7th

Well unfortunately we had all of February we could add all those things we never had a meeting in February I blame it on you Well seriously we're not gonna have a quorum so you'll have to adjust So that's official Yeah I will not be here if I know there's three of us will not be here and there's only three remaining it's not a quorum If we only have three we don't have a quorum we can't have a meeting All right, next item on the agenda then. So you'll have to just, I've advised the petitioners accordingly and I guess with that, would they have to readjust all the signage and the advertising?

The advertising we can make modifications to on the clerk's website, property owner notifications have already been distributed for those, so that would have to be redone as well as the modifications for the on-site signs. But, I mean, it's happened in the past. We've done it before.

And I apologize. I have a commitment and just will not be here.

All right.

Approval of minutes to March 5th, 2026. Motion. Motion to approve. Do I hear a second? Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, like sign. Pass is unanimous. Ray, BCC report.

Yes, on March 24th, the Board of County Commissioners had one item on the agenda from Planning and Zoning. It's an LDCA amendment, and that pertained to transit stop and major transportation hub, and that was approved on the summary agenda. Okay, good.

And nothing from the Chairman's report, nothing on the consent agenda. So we'll proceed directly to the public hearing. First item is companion item 9A and 9B, both. This is a Golden Gate Parkway 60th Street residential sub-district. I'm not going to read the entire thing. It's been published, but it also includes the GMPA and the residential PUD. The petitioner's request in the consideration of 4.1 acres from a state zoning to residential plan unit development for the approval of the 36 townhome dwelling units within to include affordable housing and with that uh disclosures commissioners staff materials only staff materials only i spoke to bob moe here and his team i spoke with the petitioners and bob moe here and staff materials staff materials and also spoke with bob and his team staff materials only spoke with michael poala and visited the site and reviewed the staff materials i'm going to rephrase instead i spoke with ellen and her team how's that because bob's thank you persons wishing to speak please rise uh or wishing to speak please rise to be sworn in this includes the public as well if you're if public that is wishing to speak please submit uh signature or request to speak uh to the back and we'll sort it out, but go ahead. So with that, I turn it over to the applicant.

good afternoon for the record Zack Lombardo here on behalf of the project let me take a minute to introduce the project team we have the applicant here to the Collier County Community Land Trust on behalf of that mr. Pujala here we are being assisted by build to rent to own LLC and we have Matthew Smith and Patrick Korth here for that entity our planning and civil engineering team sorry Bob Mulhair and Ellen Summers who are present I'm with Woodward Piers Lombardo our traffic engineer is Jim Banks and the environmental work was performed by Terrell Hull and associates Excuse me.

Can we yeah pause just for a moment and get yeah.

No, sorry. I didn't see that wasn't up there What do you look like?

We have nothing.

Oh, we have nothing on the screen.

Yeah, that's a good point He just needs a

We've got a nice picture of Zach now on the screen.

How do we get to the slideshow?

We're working on it.

And here we are. So just as a recap, this is the title slide. Here was the project team that was now explaining some of the confused looks from the Planning Commission. As stated, this is a companion item. There is a rezoned PUD. It's a 4.18-acre property that is currently zoned estates to an RPUD to allow a maximum of 36 dwelling units with affordable housing. And I want to clarify here, it's 100% affordable housing restricted. So there are no market rate units anywhere in the project. There's a companion growth management plan amendment a small-scale growth management plan amendment that enables the the same concept for Locational purposes the red box is the location of the property. This is at Golden Gate Parkway and 60th Street Southwest and As mentioned the future land use designation is currently estates and the zoning is currently estates and And at this time, what I'd like to do is I'd like to invite our planner, Ellen Summers. She's going to come up and provide her expert testimony as to the description of both the planned unit development and the growth management plan amendment so that we can get a good understanding of the guardrails for the project.

Ellen?

Hi, good afternoon. For the record, my name is Ellen Summers. I'm a certified land use planner and a senior planner. I'm sorry, senior manager of planning and development with Bowman Consulting. So as Zach stated, we are a 4.18 project currently located on the southwest corner of 60th Street Southwest and Golden Gate Parkway. Give a little idea of our. Location we are. Sorry, we are adjacent to a church across from 60th Street Southwest. There are a few other additional churches along Golden Gate Parkway, as well as at the corner of Golden Gate Parkway and Santa Barbara. We have a childcare facility in the Knights of Columbus that it's west on 62nd Street Southwest, which is that parallel street just south of Golden Gate Parkway that intersects with our location. We have the David Lawrence facility. across from golden gate parkway we also have a private school that's east on golden gate parkway adjacent to the site in naples bridge center on the north side of golden gate parkway and then this subject site was specifically chosen just due to our our location we're a quarter mile of i-75 interchange this provides a key location to get residents to employment opportunities throughout collier county Like I said, our site there is in the Red Star. We're very centrally located with Collier County. We're, you know, 15-20 minute drive to North Naples, 15-20 minute drive to City of Naples, as well as to East Naples area. As Zach stated, we have two petitions before you today. The first is the Golden Gate Parkway, 60th Street Residential Subdistrict. Again, this permits 36 affordable housing, income-restricted townhomes. Each unit, the units are restricted for a period of 30 years from the issuance of the certificate of occupancy. This is what we call the restricted period. The units may be rented or sold during this restricted period. And we'll get into a little bit more detail about how that specifically works a little later in the presentation. So just bear with me on that, please. The second petition before you is the Golden Gate Parkway 60th Street residential planned unit development. Again, this provides for that same maximum density and income restrictions for the 36 townhomes established within that sub-district. We have carefully taken a look at our development standards. We have a minimum setback of 30 feet to the west and south property lines where there are adjacent estate slots. We have a maximum zone building height included within the PUD of 35 feet and an actual height of 42 feet. This generally permits two stories. We've included lighting standards into the PUD. Lighting may not exceed 15 feet and shall be shielded from neighboring residential. This must be consistent with the dark skies best practices. We have a dumpster enclosure proposed. We have located that a minimum of 250 feet from the southern property boundary. We've tried to keep that designed closer to Golden Gate Parkway to help eliminate noise concerns. This is the entire master plan, but let me go to the next slide where we zoom in a little bit and I can go over some of the components here as well. We have a 10-foot Type D buffer adjacent to 62nd Street Southwest. It's on the northern portion of the property. That 10-foot Type D buffer also extends to the 60th Street right away. On the south and western portions of the property, we're including an enhanced 25-foot Type D landscape buffer, which I'll provide a little bit more detail here in just a moment. We are proposing 40% of open space. We have a limited access point. That final location is to be determined at time site development plan, but if you can see on the bottom right hand side corner of the PUD master plan, we are proposing that access that singular access along 60th St Southwest. There is a native vegetation requirement of 10%, which is 0.37 acres. Given the size of that preservation requirement, we are electing to mitigate that off-site. That is something that the Collier County Land Development Code permits for a preserve of that size. And again, regarding the landscape buffers, as I mentioned, we have a 10-foot Type D buffer along 60th Street Southwest and 62nd Street Southwest. A type D buffer requires trees space 30 feet on center and a continuous three gallon double row hedge space three feet on center and three feet at time of planting, but it is required to be maintained at six feet. And then again, we're providing a 25 foot enhanced type C landscape buffer along the West and Southern property boundaries. That includes a six foot tall hedge, two staggered rows of trees space 30 feet on center, A minimum 50% of the buffer is to include a meandering bed of shrubs and ground covers other than grass. And we also are requiring that existing native trees and other native vegetation where possible is to be retained within those landscape buffers. We did want to put together a little landscape exhibit so you all can see what that perimeter landscape buffer will look like. I do want to note that what this doesn't demonstrate is what that existing native vegetation shows on the site. So this kind of goes, this shows kind of the higher view plan view of what additional plants, ground covers and trees would have to be planted in addition to that native vegetation that may be retained within that landscape buffer. We also wanted to provide you just a conceptual rendering of these eight unit buildings. Again, this is conceptual in nature, but this is generally the plan to move forward. These will be three bedroom, two bath townhome units with a singular garage and a driveway to access the units. And then as far as our transportation goes, we had Jim Banks put together our TIS. We do want to note that there is, in the PUD document, I just want to make record of it, we are demonstrating an 18 p.m. peak hour trip. It actually needs to be 19 p.m. peak hour trips. We had an ITE manual update in the middle of our review, and we just didn't catch it as part of the PUD document. So again, we are looking at 19 p.m. peak hour trips. This amount of trips has a de minimis effect to the overall roadway network. then i know there may be some additional questions regarding traffic we'll have jim come up here later if there's specific questions and we can kind of get into a little bit more details about the existing um transportation network on golden gate parkway and i'm going to go ahead and bring it over here to michael to give you all a little bit more information about the collier county community land trust perfect

Well, good afternoon. First of all, thank you for your service and for taking the time to be here today to hear our petition. I'm here as a representative. As you heard, my name is Michael Pujala. For the record, I serve as the executive director of the Collier County Community Land Trust. We are the applicant and I'm here to explain a little bit about what we do and why that's important that we're in this space as an applicant on a on a housing project. The land trust was formed basically coming out of a detailed study that was done by the Urban Land Institute back in 2016. I was part of that stakeholder group and in 17 they put out the report. One of their recommendations was creation of a community land trust for Collier County, for the community to try to help with land, securing that for housing that is affordable very much long term. And so our organization, which I was a part of at the time, is HELP. We're still affiliated. It's a HUD-approved counseling agency. I serve as the executive director of that as well. So we helped to launch the Collier County Community Land Trust in 2020, right in COVID. And so we came out of that with some real cost challenges and price challenges, as everybody knows. We most recently launched the Housing Alliance in 2024. So we really have three affiliated nonprofits. The Alliance is more geared on education and advocacy for community residents. The mission is to unite policymakers, residents, funders, and developers to create attainable housing solutions. It can't be done by one stakeholder group. So we're trying to unite all of those parties to move towards some attainable solutions. So getting back to the Community Land Trust, in 2021, we went through the certification process through the Florida Community Land Trust Institute. That's a collaboration with Florida Housing Coalition and Freddie Mac. And why that's important is that it shows credibility as a certified community land trust. It also opens up opportunities for individuals who will come through our organization to eventually become homeowners. Freddie has created a secondary market for lending institutions, so it makes it easier for our participants to get financing is really the bulk of that. So having that certification and accreditation is very important. I want to circle back to our affiliation with HELP as a HUD approved agency. I've been involved with that since 2009, and that is that the organization where any individual that is looking for housing resources and facing housing insecurity, they'll reach out, get assigned to a housing navigator. We help to find them opportunities. Unfortunately, we don't have enough opportunities in the community. So that's where I think the land trust comes in. Let's also try to help with the supply side. But we will be directly affiliating this project with help and our housing navigator program. So it provides those wraparound stewardship services for participants. So we find that to be kind of a unique element of what we're doing here. But as the Land Trust, we're here to serve as community-based. It's a private nonprofit organization. I don't want anybody to confuse this as any type of a government entity. We are a private 501 organization, have a very active board. We have several members here today. I really appreciate their service. And we're primarily focused on home ownership opportunities. Coming out of 2020 and COVID, you can imagine how challenging that has been. The market conditions are not favorable for us to be able to deliver affordably. So we've continued to look for those opportunities. But we've got very high land prices. We've got interest rates that aren't all that favorable. And we've got insurance that isn't all that favorable. So it has been certainly a challenge. And that's why I have a high level of excitement to be able to come in and talk about this product and this concept. And I'm going to introduce in a bit Matthew Smith, who is One of the co-founders and Patrick, his, I guess, colleague is here, and they created this concept, came to us. We've been working on this for almost two years, to do a build to rent to own. Not an easy thing to do. A lot of people have tried. A lot have failed, in all honesty. But we think we have a little bit of secret sauce with this in how we're forming the capital structure. I can tell you that my work within the community, talking to a number of employers and stakeholders, the need for a pathway to homeownership for our workforce has been emphasized so many times. Just on Tuesday, I was part of a roundtable meeting that Senator Scott came into town to talk to some community leaders, and we had fire departments were represented, the NCH was represented. the sheriff's office. So a number of those essential service groups were there and they've said the same thing. The cost of housing has gotten to the point where most people can't afford to buy. That's borne out in the staff report. I think they recognize the median closed sales price from December of 25 is $570,000. I looked at the most recent report that's put out by Naples Area Board of Realtors for February it was up to 647,500 again and then we say well what about condos well that was still 500,000 just under is $499,500 so that cost that price point just doesn't lend itself for most of our workforce to be able to buy in the community so that rent to own concept has been talked about as a potential pathway but how do you get there how do you structure it the economics are still very challenging So I'm very, very excited about having the opportunity to partner on this particular project, have the land trust serve that role of being the steward, being the landowner, keeping this affordable long term. And just site specifically, the proximity to employment and workforce services, Ellen touched on it. We've done an extensive search to try to find opportunities in the community. Where can we do something like this? This site really checks a lot of boxes for us. It's also very consistent with the consolidated plan. So if you read the staff report, you see that mentioned several times. Creating housing affordability options in the community is a key strategy for our community and homeownership especially. And we just, I think this opportunity is so unique, so excited to be a part of it. And with that, I will turn it over to Matthew, who's going to get more into the actual process of build to rent to own. And I hope that you find it as exciting as I do. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, everyone. Matthew Smith for the record. So I'm going to provide a little bit of an introduction overview to Build to Rent to Own. Build to Rent to Own, or B2R2O, is a nonprofit initiative designed to restore the American dream of homeownership for the essential service personnel that keep Collier County safe, healthy, and thriving. The challenge of affordable housing in this community is well documented, and the shortage of safe and affordable rental units is often discussed and addressed through projects that appear before this commission. However, the ever-widening ownership gulf, the gap between the cost of renting and any realistic prospect of homeownership, has only grown more pronounced. In spite of the meaningful steps the county and other stakeholders have taken to increase the supply of affordable rental units, this program is designed to tackle that ownership gap head-on. This gap is of special importance to the educators, health care workers, and public safety officers this community relies upon. These professionals are by their nature highly transient. Practically every community in the country faces a dire shortage of this workforce. And when affordability is strained for these groups, they often vote with their feet, lured away by offers of higher pay or lower cost of living elsewhere. Our program offers a direct antidote to this multifaceted problem here in Collier County. By offering a safe, structured, and supportive path to homeownership, we can address not only the looming insecurity that comes with being a renter, but also offer a far deeper benefit. The ability for these families to truly set down roots in our community, paired with a long-term wealth-building opportunity through the advantages of homeownership, which is responsible for the majority of household wealth generated in this country for nearly a century. The program begins with the same benefits you as planning commission members have seen in countless income-restricted rental projects that have come before your docket. Our units will be priced for rent at affordable rates based on the target AMI levels mentioned in your staff report and detailed further in this presentation. Then, uniquely, this program goes 10 steps above and beyond. Rather than have every last cent of rental profit fall through to the bottom line of a property owner, this program reroutes those proceeds back to the beneficiaries. And out of operating costs, each monthly rent payment goes towards funding a down payment reserve account for that tenant beneficiary, a mechanism that allows them to gradually build up the down payment equity capital they'll need to purchase their home at the conclusion of the three-year program. During that period, our affiliate nonprofit HELP will provide holistic, wraparound educational and support services to ensure these families are on track to meet their homeownership goal at the program's conclusion. Whether that's credit repair action plans or guiding our beneficiaries through the labyrinth of application processes to access other homebuyer assistance programs they may be entitled for, this approach is structured to systematically break through every major roadblock to homeownership these households may currently face. The end result is a cohort of like-minded homeowners who have peace of mind in knowing their housing costs will hold stable far into the future, who have pride in owning a home that is truly their own, and who have hope for the future through the wealth-building benefits homeownership has provided millions upon millions of our fellow Americans over the past century. With ongoing stewardship by the Collier County Community Land Trust, we will ensure this project not only benefits the initial 36 households to come through the program, but the households who will come after them, thus creating a durable, perpetual resource to help our essential service organizations, the hospitals, school system, public safety and law enforcement offices, and the noble work they do for this community each and every day. Happy to address any questions you guys may have.

Anybody have any questions? I don't see any, but I'm going to ask a question. Matthew... I need to understand, you break down, the staff report clearly breaks down the AMI requirement, but let's say, for example, I'm in the 80 to 120% AMI, and I'm in the B2RTO program.

I like that acronym, by the way.

But all of a sudden, I have to be in the 120 to 140. I don't understand. So is it by that time you're hoping that they would be in the 120 to 140? Now, the second question to that is, what if I walk up and I'm in the 120 to 140 program? Am I still eligible to rent in order to eventually buy?

Yeah, thank you. That's a great question. So mechanically, it might be a little confusing with the actual language in the PUD or the staff report. But functionally, what we're doing is income testing the applicants on day one. So if you are below 80% of AMI, or if you're in that 80 to 120% of AMI bucket on day one, when you're accepted into the program, you are all good. And if your income happens to increase over time, let's say you enter this program in year one and you're making below 80% of AMI. In year three, you've gotten a promotion and you're making more money. The way it is structured there is simply to allow that person to remain in the program and to not artificially cut them off for having their income rise above 80% of AMI. So it's to avoid an income or a benefits cliff that often plagues these types of programs.

Okay so I understood what you're saying but the sentence here says that the 120 to 140 AMI the buyer would need an income between 95,520 to 159,040 to qualify but does that person can that person with 120 percent AMI qualify as a renter or they are deemed to be above the threshold as a renter? I guess that's kind of my question to get clarity on the mechanics behind this.

Right. So anyone making below 120% of the area median income would be eligible to apply for this program at the outset. And then I think what you're seeing in there also is just a separate mechanism to cover what happens after this initial cohort comes through. So should someone complete this rent-to-own program over three years, live in the home and own it for a while, decide to sell, the subsequent home buyer would be able to qualify so long as they are below, I believe, 120% of their income.

So I buy the house, and Zach is probably right behind you. I don't know if he was waiting to answer, but I now convert and buy the home. Do you retain a certain percentage of the, I'll call it the profit, or is that entire profit go to the homeowner? If they sell at a higher value, of course.

Yes, there is what is called a shared appreciation formula included in the Collier Community Land Trust's underlying governing documents. This is a standard for community land trusts. It's a procedure such that a portion of those proceeds from appreciation can be rolled into the next home buyer to make it continually affordable over the course of the 30-year commitment here.

But the original homeowner would certainly benefit from the appreciation of the home at sale. But not 100% of the profit, I would call it. Okay, Zach.

And just to clarify, but the restriction remains. So after that first sale, so they're a renter, then they buy, and then they go to the first sale. That sale is still governed by the affordable housing restrictions that are in the PUD. So that's not a true market transaction. at that point and so and the land trust also retains a right over first refusal there so that it can put the unit back into the rental program and start the cycle again all right is there a second on the home that would control

transfer of ownership is there a second mortgage are you as a land trust holding some kind of a There's going to be restrictions in place that deal with that portion, but for the zoning purposes It's specifically enabled for them to maintain the the right of first refusal to be able to control those transactions one other question And thank you for clarifying that now from a management perspective is the manager a management company on site managing these units rental or is that an entity going to be overseeing this property? Most people have dear concerns about affordable housing units and deterioration of property values and all those kind of things. I would like to hear on the record what the plan is for the management of these, the transfer of units, if and when they transfer from renter to renter, but I need to understand clearly the oversight so that we maintain the property values and the desired community that you want to build that that's maintained over the years.

Absolutely. And the intent at this point is to have third party property management be somebody local, very, very reputable. But the community land trust is going to retain the ownership of the land. So we have a vested interest in ensuring that there is no deterioration of that property. So whether or not it's on site, I mean, it's 36 units. It's going to be a local property management entity.

I guess in other words, a very active management oversight. 100%.

Okay. And everybody, again, because we're bringing these stewardship services in, not only through the land trust, but having the HUD approved affiliate. We intend to continue to work with individuals on financial resources, credit. So they will be very clear that if they ever have a question, a concern, or a challenge, they know who to reach out to. And we're going to be here in the community stewarding this the entire way.

Likewise, the neighboring community would know who to reach out to.

Yeah, we're here. So we're easy to find, and we'll always be available for calls, questions, concerns.

Otherwise, it goes to Jamie back there. She has to deal with it through code enforcement. And they know where to find us, too. And I don't want to burden code enforcement. Of course. I want this thing to be managed and professionally managed.

Absolutely. This is a pilot project. The importance of getting it right and showing the proof of concept and it being a very credible development is going to be of utmost importance to the land trust and our board. So I have a significant amount of accountability and oversight.

Okay. we know where you are so yeah i was gonna say randy no no i'm all set all set by probably the same question you were going to ask who well yes i have a question but it's not on your oh no it's not on you're not here by the way you're not on go ahead

so you retain the ownership of the land i get confused as you're selling a house um good question i don't know how the house i mean usually you lease the land from somebody if if you don't own it that's the mechanism it's and and it will either be ground leased or a deed restriction

But this is a very common model. As I mentioned, there's a whole community land trust institute, but you're selling the improvements and then you're retaining the resale formula within that covenant, whether it's a deed restriction or the ground lease. But that's what controls the resale. And to that end, I know there can often be questions about what does that do for restricting values, but it is not arm's length because the community land trust is the owner of the land. So it won't create a comp set for any other sales because it's very unique.

How long have we had the community land trust?

It started in 2020, but this is our first opportunity because of the way the market has been to get into an ownership. We've partnered on a rental community, an affordable senior development, but we are consistently in communication with the Florida Community Land Trust Institute. We've actually engaged Florida Housing Coalition to assist us with creation of a lot of the program structure and the documents, the lease agreement, all of that will be in concert with their legal staff and with the coalition. So we feel like we've got a very strong team to make sure this is all done the absolute right way.

How did you arrive at the 120%? I mean, as you know, the area of the county is a lot lower that we're trying to help. Is it possible that you could do it at 100% or 80%?

Well, we've got, again, when we're renting, over half of the units are capped at 80% of AMI and 80% rents. But we wanted to give enough flexibility so that people weren't. And in order to deliver ultimately at homeownership, we're going to need to have working class individuals with an income level that will at least sustain that acquisition. So that's why you're seeing that 80 to 120. This is a little unique in that it's not strictly rental. We're moving towards home ownership. And you do have to have some income in order to still, we still need to qualify people for end loans. The prices will be well below market rate, but you still have to have sufficient income to qualify for that home ownership.

So these are managed income condominium. These are not fee simple lots. This is going to be a condominium sort of purchaser is just purchasing the unit, correct?

That is correct. And just to tack on to that last point regarding the AMI targets, what we wanted to do conceptually here was create space and room for households of a smaller present household member count. So think, imagine perhaps a young couple who could be planning on growing their family. If we were to go based on how the AMI chart works today, they might be making the same amount as a four-person household that's considered below 80% of AMI, but they'd be counted as being above 80% AMI because they don't have that child yet in their family. And so it's not to artificially shut off anyone from these opportunities that would otherwise warrant them and certainly deserve them.

Commissioner Schumacher.

Matthew how when we we keep saying rent and own and and you and I had discussed this it was you're going into the three-year program as an owner correct like we're not putting these out for rent and then some of them will then be transition this is all transitional so you sign a contract on day one at X price three years later you're going to closing basically to make it your own correct

Yes. So you do begin with a lease with specific enumerated purchase rights. And there is the possibility that that lease could be terminated if you are failing to make rent payments, or if you're failing to adhere to some fairly standard, good faith clauses. And you know, if you're not being a good neighbor, we'd certainly want not want a bad apple to ruin the bunch.

is the purchase amount is set right at the beginning when you start the rental process so you know what three years from now if you purchase you know the price that's correct right and then do you have like a post-closing requirement on that so they can't close on that year three and then turn around back and say you know what

I want to sell it because there's been so much gain over the last 3 years of this. Can we. Can I cash out whatever equity I have and move on or.

Yeah, that's it. That's a great question. This goes back to the shared appreciation formula that is standard to community land trusts around the country. It is structured to incentivize folks against quick flips like that because. In that situation, a large share of the appreciation, were there to be any, would be returned to the community land trust and redeployed with a subsequent affordable home buyer or renter through the B2R2O program. Perfect, thank you, sir.

All right, I don't see any other questions. Any commissioners have any further questions?

We'll keep moving on through here. We're almost done with the presentation. Go ahead, please. And I think a lot of this was addressed in question and answer, but just at a high level, 19 units, 80%, 17 units, 120. This is at rental, initial qualification. What was discussed is that conversion period. The 140 line is only for those in the rental pool. Otherwise, these are 120 restricted or 80 restricted on the sale, and it's to allow what we discussed, which is potential income growth over the three-year period. a neighborhood information meeting was held it was on november 3rd 2025 at new hope ministries 25 members of the public physically attended two appeared by zoom after the nim the landscape buffers were enhanced and the dumpster location was moved closer to golden gate parkway and let's see here staff is recommending approval on both the pud rezone petition and the small scale growth management plan amendment In our closing for our presentation, I would like to specifically reserve the right to respond to staff and or public comments.

Absolutely.

But as you heard from the team, the subject site is an ideal location. This is something the land trust spent a lot of time looking at, and ideal location comes from the interchange, comes from price per acre. This project is 100% affordable. It's, as far as we can tell, the first of its kind in Collier County with the focus on the down payment reserves account and the transition into homeownership. We are addressing adjacent residential by providing enhanced landscape buffering. And as mentioned, we have staff recommendations of approval. I think we have done all the questions and answers, but if there are more, the team is here to address them.

i would only ask that either you or ellen clarify because i'm looking at the findings and conclusions but the one this one bullet was important an existing conflict exists in the proposed sub-district text in the estate's designation of the ggamp which is a golden grade area master plan which prohibits multi-family users uses and prohibits density above one in unit per acre but this is gonna be a sub-district, so the proposed sub-district resolves that conflict, so I wanna make that clear on the record.

Yes, and we agree with that analysis. All right.

Okay. I see no other questions, so we'll go to, of course the applicant reserves the right, we'll hear registered speakers. I'll get staff after the speakers.

I suppose you want to go through the correction or I'll just do that go ahead Mike then go ahead staff follow up and then I'll go to speakers okay Mike Boese planning zoning director staff has reviewed it from environmental from a transportation utility schools stormwater housing and zoning review and as applicant had indicated we are both uh we're recommending approval on both you are correct this will be a a sub-district um to uh to allow for an increased density beyond the limitations that are expressed within the the urban world gate estates uh master plan um we've worked extensively with uh with cormac giblin our director of housing and economic development related to a number of the same questions that the planning commission had related to the to the the uh rent to own process how it works the mechanics of it we leaned a lot on on cormac but between cormac and michael we were able to find a comfort level and we do find that it is going to provide a unique attribute of home ownership that really habitats the only one who provides for uh below you know below that 120 uh level for for affordable housing ownership uh so this is a a unique and it's a unique location and since a of a 4.17 acre uh parcel of land on a divided six-lane highway with close proximity to public transit the interstate for easy distribution throughout the county but more importantly a high number of economic opportunities jobs within a close proximity all for those reasons staff is recommending approval and would any questions that you may have

I have no questions. Any commissioners or questions of staff? My board is not lit up, so we'll proceed to public comment.

Mr. Chairman, the first speaker is Cindy Brown.

And the second speaker, please, could we announce so that that speaker can be ready?

Absolutely. The next speaker is Eric Carter. Ms. Brown.

Hi, I'm Cindy Brown. I live on 60th Street. I live six houses from the property we're talking about today. My issues are on November 20th the Coyote County Planning Commission met about the Golden Gate Worship Center located at 5890 Golden Gate Parkway at that time the church wants conditioned use so that they can convert a house to a church a worship church during that time they were told they would have to hook up to public water which they can do by going across six lanes of Golden Gate Parkway the hookup is going to be on the north side of Golden Gate Parkway but they were told they cannot hook up to city sewer because it's at maximum capacity so the question is if you put in 36 houses where is that sewer going

That's a very good question the staff report clearly identifies that this this the units will be connected to Collier County water sewer Right and my understanding is that church was denied sewer access I have no idea on that I don't even recall that issue but this this staff please clarify this will be as it was in the staff report this will be it's required to be connected to water sewer right and my understanding is that's not available if it's not available then the university won't be built

exactly that's i mean that's the point yes we we have what we call uh go ahead staff mike bosey planning zoning director again uh it is there is a requirement for connection for both water and wastewater to connect in any sort of a system expansion the applicant will have to pay their proportionate share of any system expansions

Yeah we have what we call adequate public facilities that they have to meet all the criteria for the to ensure that there's adequate public facilities that's water sewer police school all the other criteria if they cannot meet the requirement the even though the rezoning exists the the units will not be approved Okay because it appears that that part of the infrastructure is not available I can't attest to that, and I don't see anybody here from Water Sewer District that we can ask, but the fact of the matter is they have to have adequate public facilities or the units will not be built.

Okay, thank you.

Jack, would you write that down? Because I want you to clarify at the end of the meeting. Okay.

And, Chair, may I make a... Oh, sure, yeah. Yeah. So Cindy, thank you so much for bringing that up because that was a concern of mine too. But the staff findings note that there is sufficient water and wastewater treatment capacities are available. So that's why I then...

Okay, that's not what the Golden Gate Worship Center was told.

And I do remember that too, and yes.

They were told they need to hook up to the public sewer when it's available, but it is not currently available.

Well, they told them that if the expense was too great, they could have septic and well.

That is correct.

That was for the church.

Yes, that is correct. okay another issue all right there was a public meeting february 26 2026 at golden gate community center regarding the congestion the golden gate parkway quarter congestion study okay so once again we're looking at the congestion along golden gate parkway and the current new plan most recent plan is They're going to widen Golden Gate Parkway so that people coming out of Naples can get onto I-75. In addition, what they're going to be doing is they're going to be putting barriers at the end of 60th and Golden Gate Parkway so people coming out of 60th cannot make a left turn. Because they're saying it's too dangerous. That means everyone coming out of 60th is going to be making a right turn onto Golden Gate Parkway, going to the next street, which is 58th Street, and clogging up the left lane of Golden Gate Parkway to try to turn, to make a U-turn to get into Naples. So if that's already a problem, if you're going to add another 60 vehicles coming out of there, it's not going to be a 15-minute drive to Naples. It's going to be a 45-minute drive, and you're going to have more accidents with people trying to get into Naples.

All right. Well, note that I'll ask Mr. Banks to cover that, but it's not 60 vehicles at a time, the traffic study. We can cover that.

Okay good luck with that I understand but the staff transportation has already approved it go ahead Okay all right and the other issue is if you're going to clear that lot and do all this building when you have rain where is that water going to go is that going to go in our cute little culvert that runs right in front of my front yard it already fills up to capacity when we have a storm which means if you're going to add to that it's now going to be in my front yard am I going to have to put a speed bump all across my front yard so I'm not flooded

The petitioner has to go through the South Florida Water Management District ERP process, Environmental Resource Permit process. They have to do all the calculations and verify that any stormwater will be retained on site. If there is stormwater that encroaches on your property, that they basically are subject – Well, they will not be issued a permit to build unless they can demonstrate that they can adequately store stormwater retention on their site. Otherwise, that is deemed a trespassing into your property. So they will go through the ARP process, and that process will validate through the South Florida Water Management District. There are two storm retention... Areas noted in the SDP, and I trust that their engineer has already done the calculations to determine what's required for on-site retention.

Because, again, we know that David Lawrence Center has expanded across the street.

Yes.

And that their runoff is going to be running under Golden Gate Parkway and down 60th Street. so again we have a lot of projects going on so they all need to talk to each other all right okay all right and I just want to say the build to rent to own I think is a great project I think this is the wrong site for it because the infrastructure is is not there yet

okay thank you noted thank you next speaker please I'm gonna try and limit to no more than five minutes per speaker to make sure everybody has a time to speak but go ahead sir so thank you very much Mr. Chairman one second this is Eric Carter he has ten minutes because he was seated time by Anita is she here perfect thank you ten minutes

Thank you very much for allowing the public to speak. As a fellow public servant, I know you all understand that it's important to hear from the public, especially those that are, am I on? Especially those that are directly affected. So a little background, we purchased a house just recently on 2992 62nd Street Southwest, approximately about two years ago. That piece of property has been in my family for 30 years. My mother-in-law owned it previously. They were there for about 28 years. So, in fact, we've seen a lot of changes in that area. As an example, her property used to go all the way out to Golden Gate Parkway. The county took part of that, expanding that, allowing more road traffic to come through Golden Gate Parkway as the community grows. That community also has fought against a sober living home that is on 62nd Street there towards the end. I know the speakers for Bowman mentioned David Lawrence Center. I don't know that they mentioned the sober living home back there as well. so that being said we know the master plan in golden gate i believe one of you gentlemen said it was one house per acre so what we're asking that community to do is to continue to take the brunt of what's going on in the growth area of collier county and i don't think it's fair now i'll explain why we purchased that house we purchased that house because in our community where we live now and unfortunately uh that house is not in district four i would move there immediately In our community now, what is happening, we're getting inundated with Airbnbs. And so we've even had Airbnb guests come into our garage and steal stuff. So we're tired of being crowded, which is exactly why we purchased that house. And in fact, I think that's exactly why everybody moves into rural Golden Gate Estates. So I would ask you to consider that when you're going to make your judgment on this opinion. People move there not to be on top of other people. And I believe this is the opposite reason of why they move there. I would recommend off subject the golden bullet for the housing issue in Collier County is the Airbnbs. We've seen that in our school district where Naples Park Elementary went down immensely in student body count due to the Airbnb content in the Naples Park area. furthermore i would also ask that you look at the survey collier county public schools did for their teachers and take a look at that prior to making your decision in most of the surveys we saw that most of our teachers were okay with the housing but they were concerned more of the taxes and and uh insurance and that that's the big nut right is the insurance so I would ask you to look at those things I don't know what 19 p.m. means with the traffic survey I don't know if that means 19 cars coming going back and forth is that what that means I think that's an unrealistic value and clarity also is this affordable housing or workforce housing I mean I think there's I've been always told there was a difference is it workforce housing meaning we're trying to get this program for firefighters teachers paramedics so forth So we know that if there's families there, there's probably going to be two cars there. And we can't forget the fact of the daycare center there as well. So I would venture to say that eventually it's going to be more than 19 cars coming through there. Furthermore, 30 years. So as I said, my family has owned that property for 30 years, my wife, family, and now us. So unless I misunderstood the speakers, they will be in control of that property due to what we call more or less what it used to be called a land lease for 30 years. That's not a long period of time to be in control. I know when other municipalities looked at doing something like that, the control was for 99 years. So I think that needs to be taken into factor. Furthermore, When it comes to condos and purchasing condos, which I think that would better serve the community if the land trust looked at buying condos that are on the market now. We all know that market is crashing and it will continue to do so. If this is any reflection of what's going on in Iran with what happened in the 70s where the interest rate went up to 12 to 13%. In fact, from 73 to 75, it climbed up to 9%. That makes a huge difference when you're considering that buying a piece of property with people that are struggling income-wise. So I think that's something that has to be looked at further. There are properties on Alamanda Drive right now. There's one property for sale on Alamanda Drive for $230,000. Alamanda Drive is in... The mooring. So therefore you have private beach access. There's another property for sale for $325,000 unless they've sold. But the one on Alamanda Drive for $230,000 is the Mimosa Club. It is a land lease. And I would tell you from my experience, it is difficult to get financing on a land lease in today's market. My wife and I have several rentals. Neither one of us have any education as far as college is concerned. We own a hair salon. We have bought our properties by working 70, 80 hours a week. Nobody ever makes anything in this country by only working 40 hours a week. We haven't had any help to pull us up. I think the concept is good. The speaker did mention it's a pilot program. That really makes me apprehensive that it's a pilot program in my neighborhood, so we really don't know what's going to happen. i will say the concern for me is is it that it becomes a over the 30-year period that it becomes a rental it becomes an apartment complex and that's not um that could happen you can't say that it can't because you know we're all great at predicting the past but horrible at predicting the future so that's a big concern i have as well because i'm hoping this property stays in my family and my son picks it up as well who is right now at bullock in fort lee virginia Let me look at my notes, trying to remember everything off the cuff. I think if we looked at condos throughout the community and we see that the market is falling, and I'm always looking because I'm always looking for another investment into housing. When I see things going down, there are condos in East Naples that I've seen for $175,000, $200,000. I think it would be better served if the land trust had the ability to buy existing condos, because that would kill two birds with one stone. It would help relieve this market locally, and further, it's already a built condo. So I don't know if that's a possibility. It's just, you know, we throw ideas out there, and sometimes things stick, sometimes they don't. Let me see. Oh, another thing, too, when we talk about When we talk about affordable housing and rent that is affordable, the property we have has two houses on it. It's not our homestead property. So we put our three-bedroom, two-bath home up for rent with the teachers union for $2,000 a month and $2,000 security deposit. So it was easy to get in. It was there for four months, and I had not one phone call for that property. So when I finally put it on Zillow, it got rented out. So the point is with that also is that the Collier County Code does not allow us to rent guest house out if it's a homesteaded property. To their argument was that it's hard to quantify homestead value if you're renting half of it out. I understand that. But I think in this situation, that's something that should have a variance on. Now, it is my understanding they have allowed certain sectors of Golden Gate Estates to do that, but not in our area. So there are other ways to address affordable housing. I think this concept is unique in the fact that the end gain... is to have a homeowner right the end game is to have a homeowner i think that's a unique concept concept but as i've said to them and i met with them and spoke with them via zoom which was i do appreciate them meeting with me um there's many a slip between a cup and a lip and if we start looking at the past and what has happened to interest rates we have to ask ourselves is that going to be affordable in three years because they're not going to go down we'll never see 2.65 percent again If the Feds lower the interest rate, it will increase inflation immensely. Right now, they're stuck. They can't go up or down because if they go up, it's going to hurt the United States and the debt. So I'll give you an example. In that time period, how much inflation went up from 1973 to 1980? if you had bought gold then it increased 2 300 so in today's dollars i'll quantify that if you had bought 70 000 worth of gold today and in that seven year period it would now be worth 1.6 million dollars that's how much inflation is going to increase if this continues to reflect anything that happened in the 70s so it also asks you to take that in consideration But the most important thing I would ask that you take into consideration is that you are destroying the neighborhood that is there now if you approve this. We want to bring everybody up. That's not the question at all. The question is this. Is it fair to bring a certain group of people up while you push another certain group of people down? Is it fair to give somebody else their dream while destroying other people's dreams? I think that's what you have to ask yourself. And I would also ask that you take a look at what Senator Scott did. I believe it was Tuesday. What's today? Is today Thursday? I don't even know anymore. But anyway, so please consider that if you approve this, then what will happen is it will take the dream away from those people that have lived there for over 30 years. Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.

All right. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, next speaker is Kelly Turner. She has 10 minutes seated from Earl Turner. Is Earl here? Thank you. 10 minutes for Kelly. Next speaker after that, Carl Sisa. You can take one of two podiums, Carl Sisa.

Thank you. Just before I start, just so you know what that is, if I may, that is a Google Earth image of the lot and my home. I think it's hard to see when it's in a stick figure type scenario, just looking at property boundaries. But that's my home, as well as the other homes, some of them on the street. so good afternoon members of the planning commission my name is kelly turner and i am a resident of 3111 60th street southwest the residential property that directly borders this project on the southern border i do want to mention that when ms summers mentioned the neighboring properties she mentioned all commercial properties she did not mention any residential properties on 60th or 62nd street she also referred to the western and southern properties as lots They are not only lots, they are residential homes. I live there with my husband and three children. My mother also resides on the property in a separate home. I am here today as a homeowner, as a taxpayer, and a parent with three children in three different Collier County public schools to respectfully ask that you recommend denial of this petition. I want to begin by saying this. I understand the need for housing in Collier County and I understand the need for affordable housing all across this country. Growth is inevitable, but it must be planned for responsibly. The question before you today is not whether housing is needed. It is whether this specific proposal is appropriate for this specific location under the county's adopted planning framework. And when you look at that framework, the growth management plan, and the land development code, the answer becomes clear. This property is located within an established estates pattern, an area that has long been defined by low density residential use. The intent of that designation is not ambiguous. It is to preserve a rural, low intensity character that is fundamentally different from higher density residential development. The proposal before you introduces a level of density and intensity that is not consistent with that pattern. 36 townhomes on this site represent a significant shift, not an incremental change. It introduces a different type of development, a different scale of activity, and a different impact profile than what currently exists in the surrounding area. Introducing a townhome development at this scale is not a minor adjustment. It is a fundamental change in character. Compatibility is a key standard in your review and it is not just about whether a project can be buffered or landscaped. True compatibility means that a use fits within its context. Here, the surrounding area is defined by large lots, estate homes, and a rural character. This proposal does not fit that context. Infrastructure is also a critical issue. Higher density residential development creates continuous demands on roads, water, sewer, and public services. If the necessary infrastructure is not already in place at an appropriate level, the approval effectively shifts the burden forward onto taxpayers and future decisions. That is not consistent with sound planning principles. While I strongly believe this petition should be denied, if the Commission is inclined to recommend approval, I respectfully request that meaningful, enforceable conditions be imposed, particularly to protect the residential properties along the southern and western borders of this lot. To make this concrete, I have brought a Google Earth image of our property so you can see the property and the layout of the lot. You can visualize how, without mitigation, without access road relocation, or lack of a wall, would allow traffic, pedestrians, and headlights to directly impact our homes, including views into our yards. Specifically, the installation of a 10-foot wall along the southern and western property boundaries is essential. This is consistent with prior mitigation measures agreed to in this very room as it relates to Hope Home 2 petition, where it was agreed upon that a 10-foot wall would be constructed along property lines adjacent to residential homes. The purpose here is not aesthetic. It is to provide real privacy and protection for the neighboring residences by preventing direct views, managing safety, reducing headlight intrusion, and limiting activity immediately alongside those homes. I should also point out that this wall I am referring to in the home to petition was mitigating issues from 27 potential residents. The project under review today projects 90 residents. That is three times the amount. In addition, at least 25 feet of the existing landscape and mature tree canopy along the southern and western boundaries should be preserved to create a natural buffer in combination with the wall. This layered buffering further maintains privacy, reduces visual impacts, and preserves the character of the area. The 25-foot landscape buffer that the petitioner suggests does not produce an adequate buffer, does not reduce visual impacts from two-story townhomes into our yards, and it does not maintain the privacy found in this residential development. Finally, the primary access road for entry and exit should be relocated from its current planned position along the southern property line to the northeastern end of the subject property, either connecting to 62nd Street Southwest or the north end of 60th Street Southwest, where it would not impact residential properties, directly across from the first entry point to the church parking lot on 60th Street, where there is already one. Placing the only access point directly next to the southern property boundary, my property line, would concentrate all traffic, all headlights, all entry and exit activity daily along our property, creating ongoing safety and privacy concerns. Relocating the access point mitigates these impacts. These conditions are necessary to reduce the intensity of the project and preserve safety, privacy, and quality of life for the adjacent properties. And they reflect best practices for maintaining compatibility in established residential neighborhoods. While these conditions would be essential if this project is approved, they do not resolve the fundamental issues of compatibility, safety, and consistency. And that's why I'd like to briefly speak from a personal perspective Because planning decisions do not exist only in paper. They affect real families and they affect real communities. Like many of my neighbors, I made a significant long-term investment to live in this area. We chose this location because of its character, its density, and the expectations set by the county's adopted plans. We are raising our children here, contributing to the community, and paying taxes with the understanding that the framework governing this area would be applied consistently. When those expectations are changed through isolated approvals, it undermines confidence in the planning process itself, and it raises a fundamental question. If the rules can change in this way, what can residents rely on? We had an investment-backed expectation that should be upheld by this planning commission. As a parent, I worry every day about my children when they are driving, when they are at school, when they are out with friends, but I have never worried about them in my own yard. Now with 36 homes and roughly 90 residents immediately next door, increased traffic and pedestrian activity would place my children at risk in ways they are not today. This is not hypothetical. It would become a daily reality that would directly affect our family's safety and our peace of mind. Beyond traffic, the proximity of these homes brings a constant visual intrusion into our yard where my children play, where they swim, where they ride their bikes. It's not just one car or one driveway or one house. It's dozens of cars and people moving alongside our property line, our street, day and night, directly next to where my children live and play. The cumulative risk to their safety is significant. Again, this is not about opposing growth. It's about ensuring that growth occurs in locations and at the intensities where the comprehensive plan directs it to occur. Members of the Commission, this petition represents a significant departure from the established low density estates character of our neighborhood. Approval would set a precedent for further encroachment. It would increase infrastructure demands and undermine the expectations that we as residents have relied on when investing in this community. You have clear, policy-based reason to deny this petition. It is inconsistent with the growth management plan and the established estate's character. It raises compatibility concerns, and it does not align with the long-term planning framework that we as residents depend on. And for these reasons, I respectfully ask that you vote to recommend denial. Thank you.

I had one question and you said the buffer 25 foot was not adequate. What what were you recommending for the buffer?

Well, if I may, I would also like to point out that the property setbacks for this proposed community are vastly different than our property setbacks. We do have similar setbacks to the sides 30 feet. We have a 75 foot setback. Off our back and a 75 foot setback off our front.

Right. The question is the buffer you.

Well, the buffer they're imposing or implying is 25 feet of new landscaping. New landscaping is just that it's new landscaping. If you look here, those trees have been there 40, 60 years. They are mature. They are full grown. If you maintain, it's funny, we were at Aubrey Rogers last night. I don't know if any of you have been there. If you look at Aubrey Rogers, it has an amazing buffer. And that's because there is full growth trees there. By maintaining the mature tree canopy, you inevitably stop views into our homes because you have tall trees.

Okay thank you but you understand that they're asking for a special district and then a PUD which gives them the PUD plan unit development gives them the leeway to adjust setbacks and other criteria I do and I'm respectfully asking for you to decline it Okay thank you very much Mrs. Turner would you like that the 10-foot wall that would be 25 feet keep the mature trees around that property line then the wall would be 25 feet into

No, it doesn't need to be 25 feet.

Or do you want the 10-foot wall along the property line?

I do, and if you look back at the HOPE Home 2 petition, that is what was agreed to by the petitioners there, by the legal counsel there, for that exact reason, for lack of a better word, for those people to not be able to just look into residential property. I don't see any reason why the same courtesy should not be applied here for 90 residents.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Mr. Chairman, next speaker is Carl Sisa. After that, Max Forgey, who was seated time from Desiree Hope. Desiree Hope here and Diane Sachs. All right. Those are the next two.

Max Forgey can take the other podium. Good afternoon. My name is Carl Skusa. I'm a resident of 60th Street. I think the other speakers did a great job of demonstrating why this project should not go through from a philosophical and from the original plan for Golden Gate Estates. So I'm going to speak more to a technical reason related to the traffic study that they had done. I had heard some comments related to the traffic study, and we should not be accepting that as gospel. There's been a few problems I think I've identified with it. looking at the methodology of the traffic study you know there's a cherry-picked trip generation rate so you know they use the ITE trip generation manual and they chose the average rate over a regression equation and so this really will overstate the the trips for the 36 unit you know plan there so I think you know just choosing their the average rate systematically undermines underestimates the trips you know the projects trips I think the second biggest problem with the traffic generation study was that 60th Street and 62nd Street were completely ignored. The TIS only analyzed Golden Gate Parkway, and with the project's single entrance being on 60th Street, there was zero analysis done of how their claimed 224 daily trips plus service, delivery, visitor, and construction vehicles will impact this street. No current volume assessment, there's been no design capacity check, no site distance analysis, and no pedestrian safety evaluation. And so for a project that funnels all traffic onto a residential street serving approximately 16 current single family homes, I think this omission is inexcusable. The third problem I saw with this study is that they've admitted that Golden Gate Parkway is already over capacity. so on page two of the tis they submitted they acknowledged that the golden gate parkway link 20.2 is operating at a volume to capacity ratio of 100.8 meaning this road already has exceeded the designated limit and so you know golden gate parkway right now is not a road with room to spare and it's already failing and so They conclude that the project will have no significant traffic impact, which to me does not make sense. The de minimis classification does not mean that the traffic disappears. The fourth problem is that this small scale study, number one, it was done behind a desk. This was not an actual traffic study. This was modeled off of model data. The applicant claims that the project generates fewer than 50 peak hour trips, which allowed them to classify it as a small-scale TIS under Collier County's guidelines. And that's based on the same cherry-picked trip rate that I already discussed. Problem six is like the site access design is completely deferred. So the TIS states that the site access design will be finalized at the time of acquiring final development approval. So the county is being asked to approve this zoning change without knowing whether the single entrance on 60th Street can be safely designed. No turn lane analysis, no site distance verification and no conflict point assessment. So just pass it and then we'll figure it out later. Problem number six is the construction traffic was not analyzed. So this 36-unit multi-story townhouse development will generate significant construction traffic over 12 to 18 months. Concrete trucks, lumber deliveries, the TIS does not address that phase at all. And then problem seven, ITE code 220 may undercount affordable housing trips. So it's based on market rate multifamily developments, but research shows affordable housing developments can generate higher vehicle trip rates due to higher occupancy per unit so you know i would ask that this tis be scrutinized looked over and request for a legitimate traffic study especially when we're funneling everything into one residential street as opposed to this modeled kind of desk exercise that's been completed carl are you a traffic engineer i have nothing i have no traffic engineering experience i just did research looking at you know what was being presented okay thank you

Mr. Chairman, next speaker, Max Forgey. He has a presentation we're going to open. He has 15 minutes.

Sir, you'd have to speak on the microphone. And you are speaking for three individuals?

Yes. This will take probably about 10 minutes. Good afternoon. My name is Max Forgey. This is, I think, the fifth case that I have worked on in Collier County. And I've been recognized in the past as an expert.

And you're representing whom?

I am representing Mr. and Mrs. Turner. You've heard already from Mrs. Turner. My qualifications are in the resume and I have been a member in good standing of the American Institute of Certified Planners for 33 years. And you don't need to know more. I'm going to be giving a brief case overview. I'm going to talk about the subject property, the distinction between legislative and quasi-judicial in this or any case. I'm going to share with you some points of respectful disagreement that I have with the staff report. I'm going to talk about two important issues, which are incompatibility and inconsistency.

which have already been raised and uh i i want to uh start with four regular i want to interrupt getting these the day of the meeting to me is totally unacceptable i'm not going to read them while you're talking number one number two did the applicant get copies of these no

I think they should have.

I mean, as far as I'm concerned, this means nothing to me. It would have been nice to get this before the meeting, and I strongly object to the fact that given this now, that you're representing a client, but you certainly can, I'll give you time to speak, but the fact of the matter is, Mr. Lombardo, did you see any of this, or was any of this given to you?

No, this was not provided to us, Ellen. It was not provided to our planners. We would like time to review and respond, but we have not seen it until just now.

i ask that you accept it in the record and we object based on the timeliness of the delivery but we're obviously not objecting to the speaking it's in the record but i do not accept it because i've not read it and i'm not taking the time to read it but you can speak all right recommended finding number one case number six zero six six is legislative in nature The Board of County Commissioners has no obligation to approve this amendment merely because the applicant prefers a more intense or lucrative use. Recommended finding number two, case number 6068 on the same property is quasi-judicial in nature. If the Board of County Commissioners does not adopt the GMP amendment, the rezoning application becomes a nullity. Recommended finding number three the proposed GMP and growth management plan amendment would create a permanent Incompatibility with neighboring residential uses especially the property owned by the turners Incompatibility is defined in Florida statutes Recommended finding number four proposed use is categorically inconsistent with the existing flume designation of rural estates rural estates is the definition in your comprehensive plan is that it's the Low density semi-rural residential lots with limited opportunities for other land uses. Residential density is limited to a maximum of one unit per 2.25 gross acres. There are, in my report, which I have handed to you, there are 10 other recommended findings of fact. I represent Kelly and Earl Turner, clients who reside in 3111 60th Street on a two-lane north-south road on a three-acre parcel. subject property and this is important is that the southwest corner of 62nd street southwest and 60th street southwest it is 4.18 acres this is a very small property in a county that has a land mass of 1998 square miles it's a vacant property and the future land use map designation is residential state subdistrict. Here's the definition from your plan, already subdivided into semi-rural residential parcels. 2.25 acres as an average essentially consisting of the Golden Gates estate subdivision the area is identified as having potential for population growth far removed from supportive services and facilities expansion of the area shall be discouraged I recognize this is not an expansion of the area it is however an intensification uh i will summarize what i said on pages two and three of my expert report regarding legislative and quasi-judicial the community planning act requires that comprehensive plans be adopted and amended via legislative processes this would amend the collier county gmp to create a unique entitlement platform a for this property only pallet of land uses on approximately 4.18 acres of land. Your growth management plan enshrines the county's vision of its future and provides guidance to property owners, as Mrs. Turner said, who make investment backed expectations in good faith reliance on the actions taken by the current and previous boards of county commissioners in adopting and amending their comprehensive plan. It's also of value to local government agencies and infrastructure and services providers. Legislative, the county has no obligation to approve this amendment merely because the applicant prefers a more intense or lucrative use. If the county denies the application, the rezoning application becomes a nullity and the existing future land use map designation and zoning entitlements remain in force. I want to address points of disagreement. I have great personal respect for the Bowman team. I have spoken in the past with Mr. Lombardo. These are sharp people. And I have great regard for the Collier County staff. But in the staff report, there are just some things that I don't think are right. The staff report quotes Florida statutes, section 163.3187, regarding what are the criteria for a small scale comprehensive plan amendment. And they said, well, it's less than 50 acres. And the subject site is 4.18 acres. OK, I can agree with that. Skipping to paragraph four of that statute, staff made the finding that this amendment preserves the internal consistency of the plan and is not a correction update or modification of current costs that were set out as part of the comprehensive plan I disagree my clients disagree and our comment is the GMP Collier County's comprehensive plan has been in place for decades and its internal consistency should be assured, subject to occasional change, there is insufficient evidence that the proposed amendment would enhance the internal consistency of the GMP. Next point of disagreement, staff report posits 11 findings, including this one. An existing conflict exists between the proposed use of this project within the estate's designation of the GGAMP which prohibits multifamily uses and prohibits density above one unit per 2.25 acres along this segment of Golden Gate Parkway. The proposed amendment resolves the conflict. My comment is that the purported conflict exists only in the applicant's imagination. The proposed amendment does not resolve an actual conflict. The conflict isn't there. Staff said that the subject property is approximately one half mile to the west of the Golden Gate City, which is designated urban and allows higher density multi-family development. Our response is that the existence of Golden Gate City half a mile away does not justify a small scale flume amendment on this property. Next one, the proposed changes are compatible with nearby institutional uses based upon the high level at which GMPAs are reviewed. Comment, the proposed changes are not compatible with nearby institutional uses. They are at best not incompatible with the Lawrence Center. They are certainly incompatible with the neighboring residential uses and that's the the gravamen of the case that's being made by the neighbors in this case the I Want to say that it's hard for me to see a planning case for combat a compatibility between two Neighborhoods that are divided by a six-lane divided highway. That's not compatibility. There's a strong line of separation there. Staff report says that as allowed in the CCME and LDC, the petitioner is opting to provide offsite mitigation rather than retain a portion of the onsite native vegetation. My response, and I'm in some ways echoing what Mrs. Turner has already said, is that the loss of the onsite mitigation and native vegetation, while convenient and desirable to the applicant, would be detrimental for the Turners who reside directly to the south of the subject property with the loss of a cherished buffer from the proposed development further points of disagreement there are two of them I didn't disagree with everything they said as allowed by the CCME and LDC the petitioners opting to provide off-site mitigation uh okay this is a very similar to the on-site native vegetation and collier county consolidated plan analysis identified a need for affordable housing in collier county my response is that while affordable housing is an unmet need in collier county that deficiency which has been building for decades will not be resolved by this single action on the county's part I want to make a point here that there has been we're having an asymmetrical debate here the applicant has been talking some length about what a wonderful development this is going to be what a wonderful service to the community it's going to be what a novel concept and how many really smart people have worked on it and with that I have no disagreement but we're talking land use and this is about this is a land use hearing and we are giving you land use justifications for denial Two specific justifications for denial, compatibility. Every land use hearing comes down to this in many ways. And Florida statutes say that it's a condition in which land uses or conditions can coexist in relative proximity to each other in a stable fashion over time. such that no use or condition is unduly negatively impacted directly or indirectly by another use or condition The impacts to the Turners and their residential neighbors to the west of the subject property will be, again, asymmetrical. This will impact them. They won't in any way negatively impact their neighbors. And according to the staff report, The GGAMP Restudy Vision for Golden Gate Western Estates described an area of, as quote, a low density, large lot, residential neighborhood in a natural setting, close quote, and that, this is really important, the community consensus was to maintain the area as it then existed. this is not something from a plan 40 years ago this is nine years old i do not see what major change has occurred that that calls for this intensification on a less than five acre parcel uh i thank you for the time you've taken uh i would like to talk at greater length but I am eager to hear what the rest of the neighbors say I urge you to deny this based upon the findings of fact that I have proposed and others that you've heard from the neighbors thank you I have some follow-up questions but we are going to take a 15-minute break and we convene at 2 45.

I can't sleep at night

you

Thank you. Beautiful faces, loud empty places, look at the way that we live. Wasting our time on cheap talking wine, left us so little to give. That same old crowd was like a You get the best of my love You get the best of my love Oh, sweet darling You get the best of my love It was a quiet night and I would be alright if I could go on sleeping. But every morning I wake up and worry what's gonna happen today. You see it your way, I see it mine, but we both see it slipping away. You know we always had each other, baby. I guess that wasn't enough. You get the best of my love.

I beg your pardon, Mama, what did you say? My mind was drifting off on Martinique Bay. It's not that I'm not interested, you see. Augusta, Georgia is just no place to be. I think Jamaican in the moonlight. Sandy beaches drinking rum every night. We got no money, mama, but we can go. We'll split the difference, go to coconut grove. Keep on talking, mama, I can't hear. Your voice, it tickles down inside of my ears. I feel a tropical vacation this year Might be the answer to this hillbilly beard I think Jamaican in the moonlight Sandy beaches drinking rum every night We got no money, mama, but we can go. We'll split the difference, go to Coconut Grove. Voila, an American dream. Where we can travel, girl, without any means.

When it's as easy as closing your eyes. And Dream Jamaica is that big neon sign.

Just keep talking, mama, I like that sound. It goes so easy with that rain falling down. I think a tropical vacation this year might be the answer to this hillbilly fear. And voila, an American dream. Yeah, we can travel, girl, without any means. When it's as easy as closing your eyes. And dream Jamaica is that big neon sign.

Just think Jamaica in the moonlight. Sandy beaches drinking rum every night. We got no money, mama, but we can go. Split the difference, go to Coconut Grove.

I hear you with the curly bush on your head, baby. You know you're looking good. You know you're looking good.

You know you're looking good.

Soul sister, sister, sister, sister.

Woo-hoo.

Hey, you with the bad hip boots on, little girl, girl, you're the best in the world. It sure would be nice, honey, if I could just make you my girl. And when you walk, you walk, you know you'll let me know that you're so very much together, together, together, together, woo. And when you talk, you talk to me, honey. You know you make me feel lighter than a feather. I've never known it, but I've always wanted the best in life. And if I had you, honey, I know that I could forget about the rest in life. I can't conceal. No, no, the way I feel. The way I feel. You're about a head turner. You're about a stone so bright. Hey, you. Hey, you with the curly bush on your head, baby. You know you're looking good. You know you're looking good. You know you're looking good. So sister, sister, sister, sister. And hey, you. Hey, you with the bad hip boots on, little girl. You're the baddest in the world. It sure would be nice, honey, honey, if I could just make you mine.

Oh, people look around you The signs are everywhere You've left it for somebody other than you To be the one to care You're lost inside your houses There's no time to find you now While your walls are burning And your towers are turning I'm gonna leave you here And try to get down to the sea somehow The road is filled with homeless souls Every woman, child and man Who have no idea where they will go They'll help you if they can But everyone must have some thought That's gonna pull them through somehow While the fires are raging hotter and hotter The sisters of the sun are gonna rock me on the water now Rock me on the water

But...

six point eight units per acre is incompatible right next to point four per acre whatever it is so you're basically this your your position is that the density

is incompatible not because i what i heard you say was that this is a this is a residential community adjacent to a residential lots and you were trying to convince us that that is incompatible

I am saying that there is a strong incompatibility as defined by state law over time between the kind of use and density that the Turners and their neighbors had over the use that is being proposed here.

Okay, I understand. Well, the next question then is offsite mitigation. You stated that it should be denied because they allowed they being the county staff in accordance with the LDC is allowing offsite mitigation, but you disagree with that.

I do not disagree that the LDC allows it. I am saying that the neighbors currently enjoy a visual separation. Yes. And so, yeah, and that is something you can consider in a legislative case such as this.

So your position is that in this specific incident that the off-site mitigation is inconsistent with the LDC because it's being applied in this case that to reduce the what I would call the buffer or native vegetation between the two residential uses?

Not with the LDC. But that if they lose that buffer, it will be to the detriment of my client.

Okay. That I now understand. Okay. Now with that, I'm going to turn over for cross-examination because you put a lot of things on the record. But before I do that, Michelle.

Oh, I think my, can you just go back one slide, Carl? And the second justification for denial is inconsistent with the comp plan, but the the first justification was incompatibility Yes Okay, thank you, thank you

All right, I'm going to ask Mr. Lombardo to cross because there was a lot of information put on the record, and I think it's in the applicant's best interest because none of this has been brought. None of this was either raised to the staff or to the Planning Commission prior to this meeting, and I would like some of this to get on the record prior to the Board of County Commissioners. So, Mr. Lombardo, you can ask some questions, please.

thank you very much starting with the landscaping and the southern boundary here do you know if the landscaping on the southern boundary will be removed and replaced with new for the buffer I do not okay and if a single-family home were built here is there a buffer requirement between this lot and the lot to the south there is and it's the same one that the Turner's have I'm sorry there's a buffer requirement

No. There's a setback. I'm asking about a buffer. Is there a buffer requirement, a landscape buffer?

The answer was?

I do not know.

You don't know? Don't know. Okay. Did you review the Collier County Land Development Code before preparing your objection? not for this case this time okay um do you know how much from a lot coverage standpoint how many trees could be removed from this site if it remained a single family home i do not know okay and do you understand that here today we are seeking a growth management plan amendment so inherently the pud is not consistent with the growth management plan as it currently stands yes and on your report page nine am i understanding this correctly that you it is your opinion that affordable housing is a need in collier county um i've been involved in at least one other case it is certainly a matter that the

board of county commissioners has expressed uh given great weight to i don't think any of us are going to argue that no what i'm asking you is your opinion that affordable housing is an unmet need in collier county i'm not a resident of collier county i would say it appears to be um it certainly does

But again, I apologize. Do you have a copy of your report in front of you? Yes. I'm asking about what you put in the report. Is this your opinion that affordable housing is an unmet need in Collier County?

I'm conceding that it's an unmet need.

Thank you. And would you agree that affordable housing is a policy concern?

Most certainly.

And I believe in your presentation you explained to the Planning Commission that growth management plans are legislative in nature and therefore can take into consideration policy. Is that correct? Correct. In your presentation, you referred to this area as the Western Estates, but isn't it correct that the designation is Urban Estates? I may have misquoted it, but I'm not sure. But is this the Urban Estates? Yes. And do you know if there are any other sub-districts in the Urban Estates? Nope. You don't know if there's any other sub-districts? Did you review the Urban Estates and the sub-districts before preparing this report?

Went through it, yes.

quickly so but you don't know standing here today whether there are any other sub districts i'm not i can't i don't know and therefore you don't know whether any of these other sub districts that may or may not exist have higher density than this sub district i don't know and i don't know how that would be applicable to this case okay so make sure I understand that for the record you don't know how other identical growth management plan amendment applications in this exact sub district or in this exact urban estates district would be relevant to this case I don't know and you don't so you don't know how those were approved do you know if any of them had higher heights I don't know

We are challenging a proposed use in one place that affects these neighbors.

I understood. My question was simply, did you review any other sub-districts in the urban estates?

No.

And to follow up on the question from the chair, you mentioned the question about residential versus residential. I wanted to drill down on that a little bit more. Is it your professional testimony that 35-foot height zoned multifamily next to single family is inconsistent or incompatible?

Depends on the situation.

Okay.

What is the zoned height of your client's property? I haven't checked. It's probably 35. That's pretty standard for R1 and the like.

But standing here today, you don't know and are not going to opine on that? No, no. In the presentation and your report and your testimony, you multiple times referred to the applicant as pursuing a more lucrative use, and I just wanted to dig in on this. Is it your testimony that a nonprofit running a 100% affordable housing project is pursuing a lucrative land use with a down payment reserve account on the rents?

I do not know the motive of the applicant. Lucrative means, in this case, that there will be revenue. Maybe I shouldn't have said lucrative, but definitely to make money. Would you agree to withdraw that statement then?

I don't know. Okay. Let me wrap up with this. Going back to your earlier position where you say you did not review any of the other sub-districts in the urban estates, What professional basis do you have to evaluate this? And I'm not talking about the PUD as against the comp plan, but evaluating the creation of a new sub-district. If you've reviewed no other sub-districts in the urban estates, what basis do you have to suggest to the Planning Commission that there is a reason to deny this application?

Yes, that it is bad planning practice to take a four-acre parcel and put a use on it that is allowed only in that one place in the entire county to create a future land use map sub-district that applies to only one place and to spring it on the neighbors like this.

That's it. One moment.

There is not a, there isn't, there's not a question pending.

Um, I have no further questions for the witness. And at this time I would, uh, move for him to be reconsidered as an expert. He testified. He was not familiar with the Collier County land development code. He did not review the urban estates element. He did not review any of the other sub districts. He did not review the zoning of his own client's property. And at this point, uh, to take public comment, fine with the take his testimony as expert testimony when he has not reviewed the appropriate materials, I think would be inappropriate at this time.

Well, I accept that, and it's on the record. As I stated before, he testified my annoyances to get this before the meeting, and I've not read it. I heard your testimony, but I'm not – I'll leave this in the record, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a moot point. I have not even read it. I've got to make a decision today. It would have been appropriate – I think it would have been a professional courtesy to provide it before the meeting, and a professional courtesy to the staff to provide the information. You did not represent your client very well, and I'll leave that on the record. Thank you. So you can take it with that. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Next speaker.

Next speaker is Mia Skusa. Five minutes.

Hi. Thank you. I'll be quick. I just wanted to point out, hi, I'm Mia Scusa. I was here last time. Your name again? Mia Scusa. I'm a resident of 60th Street, and I make that infamous left turn out of 60th Street onto Golda Gate Parkway multiple times a day. However, I wanted to also highlight the concerns with traffic. There are two other projects that are currently being developed. There's Naples Christian Academy that is going to be to the left when you pull out of our 60th Street, and then the Crisis Care Center, which is to the right. So we have not seen the implications of those projects being to fruition and the implications that that will have on traffic. Somebody mentioned that they're going to talk about forcing only a right turn out of 58th Street. Now, how are the ambulances going to make it out of 60th Street? So the only way we are going to be able to make a left onto Golden Gate Parkway would be doing a U-turn down there. We haven't even seen all the ambulances that are going to need to go into the crisis care center. So then if you add all of the residences for 37 units, 36 units, Like we just haven't I don't understand how you can just keep developing and keep approving things until projects that are both two projects, massive projects that are within a quarter mile haven't been completed. So I'd like you to just to consider that and to reject this point.

Good point.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Chairman, no further speakers, no speakers online.

All right. Any comments, questions by my colleagues? Because I'm going to turn it over to rebuttal. But I would like the applicant issues raised by Ms. Turner. There were the wall and the buffer. and of course the entry consider moving the entry that was asked i want to at least hear the applicant's opinion of whether that entry could be moved from the southernmost point of the property to maybe the northern of the property uh... i would like to hear uh... mister banks discuss the issue raised about the traffic and we've already you've already cross-examined mister mister fogey so With that, I turn it over to you. Thank you.

I appreciate that. We will address all of these. One quick preliminary note before we get to the wall southern buffer. I don't believe we heard today from the western property owner, and there was some reference to indicate that that would be part of this, but we've been in communication with the western property owner. I don't believe there's any issue there. But to take this in order, I would like to have Mr. Banks come up, and we're going to start with the traffic, and then we'll come back around to the southern buffer.

Okay.

Can we return to our slides?

We have some traffic slides.

I'll call you back up, Mr. Turner. Let's let him get through the traffic, and then I'll call you back up.

Good afternoon. For the record, my name is Jim Banks. I'm president of J&B Transportation Engineering, and my firm was responsible for preparing the traffic impact study for the 60th Street project.

Mr. Banks, you're a registered professional engineer.

I'm a registered professional engineer, and don't let my youthful appearance fool you. I've been doing this for approximately 40 years. um the traffic impact study was prepared pursuant to the criteria set forth by collier county that's the adopted guidelines that were adopted by the board of county commissioners so i don't just prepare a traffic study that's based upon my opinions it's based upon the guidelines set forth by collier county government and there are specific criteria that need to be met order for a project to be considered by the planning commission as well as the board of county commissioner and we did satisfy those standards and your staff did review the report and agreed with its findings and recommended that it be transmitted forward as stated the traffic study was based upon the development of 36 dwelling units we use the ite trip generation rates to estimate how much traffic is going to be generated by those units now There's two methods for determining trips of a project. One is based upon an equation method, which was mentioned. They said that we did not use the equation method, but we used the average rate. And the reason is, is because when a project is smaller than the sample size of the ITE rates, it's more appropriate to use the average trip rates now we didn't play hide the ball i put both of those methods in the report and specifically noted that the equation was not applicable because of the size of the project was not representative of the sample size your staff reviewed this and agreed with that that it was not applicable now let's say that Shame on me, I should have used the equation. We're talking the difference between 19 trips versus 24 trips. So not a substantial difference regardless of which method we would have used. But I do want to point out that the method that we used is the appropriate method for estimating trips, and it was determined that this project would generate no more than 19 p.m. peak hour trips.

Jim, with that, since you've taken a pause there, the last speaker spoke about the other two projects that haven't been built yet. But your study?

Naples Christian Academy has been built. They're on the west side of I-75.

So your study does include the impact of those developments as well?

Yeah, the county tracks vested trips. And so whatever has vested trips on the network does get accounted for. OK, so there was a mention about the Golden Gate Parkway exceeds its adopted service capacity. Well, that segment is the segment of Golden Gate Parkway that is west of I-75. Our project is east of I-75, and 60th Street accesses the segment of Golden Gate Parkway that is currently operating at 75% of its capacity. So what that means is there's a 25% surplus of capacity on Golden Gate Parkway on that segment that is accessed by 60th Street. In reviewing the traffic study, staff did conclude that the project, based upon the transportation analysis, is consistent with policy 5.1 of the transportation element of the growth management plan. There was also mention about if there's not adequate infrastructure to support a project, that the cost of improving that infrastructure is passed on to the taxpayers. I submit to you that this project will pay its road impact fees just like everyone else does. And that's how growth pays for its fair share of the use of the infrastructure. So the burden of any infrastructure improvements in the future that would be necessary to accommodate this traffic is funded by this project by paying its road impact fees. That is an adopted policy by the Board of County Commissioners, and it applies to any new development that comes online in Collier County.

And those impact fees are paid at the issuing of the first development order or building permit, correct?

Yeah, the CO, correct, yes. I also want to mention the fact that, again, the segment of Golden Gate Parkway that this project accesses, which is 60th Street, operates at 75% of capacity. But now, Collier County government, BCC, has initiated a corridor study that includes both this segment that this project accesses, as well as that segment of Golden Gate Parkway that's to the west of I-75. And that study, as stated on the county's website, the purpose or the objectives of the study is to perform a comprehensive analysis of the existing traffic conditions, identify current and future congestion points, development of major improvements to enhance traffic flow, improve safety, and support future growth along this vital corridor. That's the county's objective. So the county's already initiated this study to make improvements along the Golden Gate Parkway corridor to improve traffic flow as well as make it safer. Now there was a mention about the median being modified at 60th Street. All of the full accesses along Golden Gate Parkway between Livingston Road and Santa Barbara are all gonna be modified just like 60th Street. And that is it's gonna prohibit the left turn out of those side streets because it's a safety issue. That's regardless of this project. That is a policy that Collier County adopted several years ago not to allow left-hand turnout movements for minor side streets on six-lane divided roadways. So that's an adopted policy, has nothing to do with this project. It's going to occur, but it does create a much safer situation for the residents that live along Golden Gate Parkway and drivers that are on Golden Gate Parkway because it eliminates that crossover conflict along those six-lane roads. we want to go back okay so the aerial shows that the project is located at the southwest corner 60th and Golden Gate so 60th Street is located between I-75 and Santa Barbara both those intersections are signalized and so what that does is it creates a gap in the traffic that improves the ability of the side streets to actually access Golden Gate Parkway. So in this case, after that median modification is made, and you will not be able to turn left out of 60th Street, you will have to, in order to head westbound, you will turn right out onto Golden Gate Parkway. You will travel eastbound to 58th Street, where there's an existing left turn lane there, and you will make a U-turn. Now, I want to point out that 58th Street at Golden Gate is a T intersection. It's not a four-way intersection. So in this case, the folks that will make that U-turn will not have to share that left turn lane with another street. So if this was a four-way intersection, not only would you have people turning left off of that onto the side street, they would also be people making U-turns. So it is a lower volume, lower demand intersection. So it will be easier at this location to make the U-turn than at some of the other locations. I think that pretty much concludes my testimony, but I can answer any questions you may have. Mr. Esparza, do you have a question?

No, I'll wait till the end.

OK.

Thank you. Mr. Lombardo, it's still your microphone.

Thank you very much. We're going to have Mr. Mulhare address a couple items about the planning portion.

Can I ask a question while you're on this particular slide? Sure. On the east side of 60th, what is that structure?

That's a church.

Okay, that is the church.

And while you are talking about that, I'll just point out a few things. Yes, you have a church here, David Lawrence Center here, another church. This is the Collier County, or excuse me, right here is the Collier County Behavioral Health Center. These are all non-residential uses. As a professional planner, AICP certified, working in southwest Florida and mostly in Collier County for nearly 40 years now, it's my opinion, professional opinion, that residential, by and of itself, is not inherently incompatible with another kind of residential. We have multifamily throughout Collier County selling for millions of dollars adjacent to single family selling for millions of dollars. And less. It exists throughout the county. It exists throughout Lee County. Now, I can see a single-family home and someone comes in and proposes to put a 15-story building immediately adjacent to it, there are some issues there, compatibility issues. Again, the building height that we are proposing here is 35 feet zoned. In the Estates District, it's 30 feet. So it's a little bit higher, but you can put a two-story building in the Estates, there are many of them, and that's what we're proposing for this property right here. We will maintain as much of the native vegetation as is feasible during construction. Some things get damaged. We may not be able to maintain all of the existing vegetation, but we are putting on the record that we will attempt to maintain the existing native vegetation along the south and the west, because there are some mature trees in there. What else? Oh, I was going to say, sorry, density. There have been a number of small-scale amendments approved within the urban estates. And I think that's very important to reiterate. Urban estates is very different than rural estates. And, you know, the urban area in Collier County has generally been considered to be Collier Boulevard. Anything west of Collier Boulevard is in the county's urban area. Now, this is a separate master plan, that Golden Gate area master plan. It's broken into four different elements or sub-elements, and one of them is the urban estates. And over time, things change. Policies change. Demand change. This Golden Gate Parkway is a six-lane arterial roadway. And we already pointed out all the non-residential uses surrounding this property. There have been other small-scale comprehensive plan amendments, including one recently, I think, on Vanderbilt that was 5.88 acres. and was approved at 25 units an acre immediately adjacent to estates zoning so Really, what's important is how you mitigate a denser project adjacent to a lower denser project. How is this being mitigated? With increased landscape buffers, with access being located along the side street so as not to impact directly Golden Gate Parkway. There's already, I mean, people will access Golden Gate Parkway through 60th Street. And by, again, agreeing to maintain the existing mature native vegetation to the greatest extent possible. And so this, you know, to suggest that this is somehow incompatible, the definition, the statutory definition that was put up there says that one use can exist in a compatible nature with another use over a period of time. Well, we have examples. We don't have to go that far. Get in your car and drive around. They're all over the place. They're all over the place, multifamily adjacent to single family. And those property values have not gone down. They've gone up. Thank you.

Thank you. Michelle?

Chair, I have a lot of questions for Zach, if I may.

Let me make sure. I want Zach to finish first, then we'll go back and ask.

I want to make sure we address the southern buffer questions, and so Ellen was going to talk through the southern buffer, and then we'll answer any and all questions.

Well, the question about the southern buffer as well as the ingress-egress.

Yeah, and in the ingress-egress, this was guidance we received from transportation as to how close we could locate it given the connection of 62nd Street. And so we...

when we we originally proposed potential access on 62nd Street and our conversations with transportation staff they did not want that access at that location preferred to have it along 60th Street Southwest we're showing a general location it's not going to be the on the property line to the property to the south we're going to have to make that as feasible as possible so we have adequate access for a driveway into the into the project Bob touched briefly on that landscape.

Let me go back and just clarify. From the staff's perspective then, it was recommended that the ingress, egress, or the entry be to the more southern portion of the lot for safety reasons and traffic and otherwise. So it was a staff position and not necessarily the applicant. That's correct? Correct. Okay, thank you.

Not to speak for staff, but that's our...

I got a Mike Sawyer come up, but I basically stated that on the record, so go ahead.

Okay. And then, as Bob touched on, we do have a commitment within that 25-foot enhanced landscape buffer. Our maintained six-foot hedge is intended to act as that opaque visual buffer from the western and southern property boundaries. We are enhancing that with two staggered, double you know two set two staggered rows of trees 30 feet on center ground covers also within our pud commitment we state that we will retain existing native vegetation that includes trees as well as plant materials ground materials to the greatest extent possible within those two landscape buffers and that's something that will be reviewed and inventoried at time of site development plan i think i believe that was it as far as those two concerns go

I do have a question now for Ellen. There was a comment by one of the speakers that this project is not adhering to the same setbacks as the residential, especially the one, the residential home property to the direct south of that. Can you address that?

Yeah, I can. As we go through the PUD process, this is inherent as part of that process to create development standards. I will state that this is an estates zoned corner lot, so it would be treated differently. That western and southern portions, because it is a corner lot, it's treated as having two fronts and two sides. Those would be considered two sides on the western and southern portion. In the estates district, a side setback is 30 feet. And so in our proposed setbacks for the western and southern portions of the property, which would be considered a side if it treated as a normal estate's corner lot, is 30 feet, which would be required.

Okay, because the speaker had mentioned that she's required to have a 75 foot.

That is the front yard setback requirement.

And are you saying that her side setback is 30 as well? Yes. Okay. Thank you. Yep. her lot is not a corner lot so we i know she only has one front right two sides and a rear but i just wanted to clarify because it was she was the insinuation was i have to do 75 you only have to do 30 but that's not true at this location both and without the rezone both locations must do 30 foot setbacks at their property line because they're both side yards

quick question for you please Ellen thank you the conversation that you had with staff and with traffic regarding the egress at the southern end if at all possible

we make people happy if in the site development plan time of it and the layout if you can bring that closer north i know it's premature but i mean i don't know if that's a you know when we get to the site development plan stage there's going to be some other factors there's going to be um

Separation requirements from 60th streets where this driveway is or 62nd Street apologize So it kind of depends on how we can best lay out the site We intended to have a drive aisle generally in that location to come into the site and then curve to the north at the very north Terminus of that which would be closer to 60th Street. So we have our dumpster enclosures located it provides a better layout for the site to kind of consider those adjacent neighbors

Take you back that real quick if I may you've got 16 property owners on 60th, and then you've got One two three four On the other street on the northeast corner, how is how is going out and in and out on 60th Better safer than going in and out on the northeast corner or northwest corner on 60 second on 60 second

mean again i'll have to i can either defer to transportation staff but this is um we did originally have a proposed access you can see at the t of this drive aisle if i can get to it here um i think we would have loved to have an access there but it wasn't feasible based on our conversations with transportation staff yeah staff is telling them to do this

It may be this. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, you can certainly Mike can come up and speak that we moved it down here based on conversation of not accessing 62nd. I mean, obviously, you see, we have this the way this is lined out, laid out, we could go out that way. Without that wouldn't impact the design.

Like, could you just pop up here real quick, please, sir, and just give us some clarification.

maybe one thing we're asking is let's exhaust all possibilities obviously line of sight turning the radius where you can come in and out line of sight at a turn all of that we recognize and we're not experts but just exhausting any other possibility might be beneficial for all parties involved the residents on 60th and safety factor lights coming in and out

okay uh for the record mike sawyer transportation planning our concern with the access being on 67th basically in the middle of the site is that you're very close to that s curve movement which is not a good idea you should not have an access near a curve like that now if you moved it all the way further west then you're impacting the adjacent resident on that side so What our preference was is to ideally align it with where the access to the church is so that we actually had more of a T cross-section for that access. Now, it's not necessarily shown that way right now on the master plan, but we do have a note that once we have an operational analysis made on the final design at time of plat or SDP, Then we'll have enough information, we'll have enough movement analysis to safely determine where that axis on 60th should be. And that was our logic. We really, quite honestly, did not like the idea of that axis being right at that S curve. Got it.

That's a great explanation.

not to belabor it but a wild question obviously I don't know the answer there is no such thing all questions are great I know it's the dry detention area up in that top right I'll ask the silly one why can't 67th go straight out to 60th and then you can bring your t-intersection straight to 62nd Yeah, get rid of the S. Get rid of the S. Okay.

The problem with that is, and the reason that you see that S curve is because that makes the access onto Golden Gate much safer for everybody. You've got enough room in there where you have a little bit of stacking. And quite honestly, that dry detention is the county's for Golden Gate. So the county would have to acquire to make up that dry detention. We would have to find a property and purchase it to make up that stormwater loss. But again, quite honestly, operationally, that would not be a good idea. you would wind up having a lot, all of those trips coming from both 62nd as well as 60th happening in an incredibly short distance directly right off of Golden Gate. There would be a whole lot of conflict points with no amount of real stacking. Okay.

May I ask Mike some questions while he's already here? Mike, two questions for you. There was a comment made by one of the speakers that Golden Gate is already failing. Is that true or false?

Not this section. The section west of I-75 is, and that is primarily the concern of the current study that we're just in the process of completing that is going to be going to the board for adoption next month. That improvement shows that we are doing a major change at Livingston and Golden Gate, where Golden Gate is actually going to fly over Livingston. And then there are going to be movement changes also critically at I-75 and Golden Gate. Those improvements show that once they're done, we should have a much improved section for that portion of Golden Gate.

So you're saying that currently there's no failure, and there's a proposed plan to make sure that there's no failure in the future?

No, no, no. There is a current failure. It's already failing, OK? But it is west. this location west of 75 because that is already a current failure state statute says that the county is responsible for doing that fix that's why we did the study the study is showing those are the we know the improvements that we need to make in order to bring up the level of service for basically that section as well as further out on Golden Gate and what's the timeline on that Right now, the study is going to be going to the board for adoption next month. I believe we have money projected in the five-year work program to get the study designed. And currently, we do not have funds yet to actually do the construction.

okay my second question is one of the speakers had mentioned too about this right only out on golden gate parkway and i i i understood and i hope hopefully everybody else understands that this was already in the works long time ago we've had several different petitions in this area where it's been clearly stated that there's going to be this only right out it's not because of this particular development that's causing that Correct and that applies to every six lane segment that we've got throughout the county Okay and then the concern too was though ambulances going to I'm thinking that it was made mention a clinic but I'm thinking she's thinking the centralized receiving center for David Lawrence

would assume yeah and and um so was there any concern about that with the ambulances and the safety of those fire ems all of those services need to have a safe way of getting from point a to point b that includes removing those left outs on six lane segments That applies to everybody, no matter if it is just drivers going to and from wherever they're going, work, shopping, whatever, as well as emergency services.

So it's calculated into this plan of a right turn only?

The removal of those left outs on six-lane segments is definitely a safety concern. It is something that we have recognized over time and know that that is something that just is not sustainable.

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Do you have more questions for Zach?

And I'm not quite sure if Zach or Michael Puala should answer these questions. They were comments from a speaker. The first one is, why 30 years and not a longer land lease? I've heard that you don't do 99-year leases anymore, but why 30 and not?

It's a slightly misleading question the the actual operation of the land trust will probably be something more like a 99-year ground lease This is for zoning purposes. What what Collier County requires for these obligations is 30 years So we're fitting within the zoning framework but operationally my understanding is the plan is to have a more traditional 99-year ground lease and

Okay, then I'll ask a question to staff later on how to assure that but I'll just keep continue. Okay, then the question was affordable versus workforce housing. Can you define that?

this particular project everything instead of using those words everything is being defined off of the ami percentage so this is 80 and 120 and those are the the two categories of potential residents that can work at this and and reside at this location so it's more like income restricted housing income restricted so neither affordable nor work it's under florida law we call this affordable housing under the county's code it's called affordable housing but the way it's measured is a percentage of collier's ami which is which is income

OK. There was a comment made that to get loans on a land lease like this, it's very difficult. Is that true?

Yeah, I can certainly speak to that. As part of the point I made regarding us being a certified community land trust, definitely lenders are going to look at this as a little bit higher risk that it's not all combined. But because Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have also gotten involved with community land trust and they've created a secondary market, so getting funding is certainly not out of the question. And we have a pipeline of probably between six and eight lenders that do community land trust loans together. And again, working with the HUD approved agency, working on the credit and the financial aspects, we certainly are going to understand what's necessary to get these tenant beneficiaries into home ownership and being able to access funding.

Okay. There was a concern that these are going to turn into Airbnbs.

These will not be available for short-term vacation rental. And I imagine that we are... It's in bylaws. And we would be willing to, if that's a condition that would be helpful, we can agree to that condition.

Absolutely. Okay.

If I could piggyback that real quick, Michelle, did you already write the bylaws?

Our community land trust has bylaws, absolutely.

What's the rental term?

There is none. The bylaws just state that it's affordable, long-term, permanent, owner-occupied housing. If you're going to be a community land trust buyer, now this is obviously a little bit of a unique structure with the rent to own, but it has to be the intent of anybody coming in is a minimum 12-month lease. That's just going to be built right into the agreement. And you cannot sublease that property without the permission of the community land trust. Got it.

So basically, there's no rentals. You sign on. You're moving into that with a purpose to own it in three years. You're not going to.

And of course, all of these individuals have been qualified. They have to meet the income restrictions on the qualification for the rent.

It's 100% owner occupied.

Ultimately. There's a period of time where some of them are renters. Owner, renter, occupied.

You can't rent it, sublease it. No. No.

that's all my questions thank you thank you very much all right Chuck I thought you had a question I did actually when we look at this like this is a 501c3 that's that's doing this project obviously for the good of others it's not like some of the other ones we've seen that are that are for-profit and getting a density bonus why the density on this amount of units why not a smaller amount

Cost still is a factor for everybody. In order to make this financially feasible, even with bringing in philanthropic investment, you have to get to a certain level of density in order to be able to deliver an affordable product.

Okay, with that- Have you guys decided on who the builder's going to be on this?

I wouldn't say it's final, but we went through a competitive RFP process, and we're in the process of working with Lennar on a development services agreement.

Okay. Now I see staff lighting up all over. Mr. Speraza. Great.

Thank you. This is actually a comment to all the folks that came and listened for the last two and a half hours and actually spoke. just want to remind you once again we say it many many times especially when there's opposition we are an advisory only board we're all volunteers the rubber hits the road with the board of county commissioners just want to remind you that so in case you wish to make another plea to them or any other statements those are the ones that truly do the enacting of whether or not this program is passed or not just wanted to remind you once again of that

Mr. Sperrazza his lights up as Sperrazza That's why I kept not seeing my name up there That question just for Mike just on the record I want to make sure I have the numbers right without this approval what can they develop on that land to have two unit dwelling units basically

No, they would just be shy. They would only be able to develop one house. It's one unit per two. 2.25. So they could develop a house.

And would they be eligible for affordable housing type credits?

any property within the urbanized area it would be eligible to seek an affordable housing density bonus they would be based upon the allocation of four units of base eligibility and seeking a increase of up to 12 units they could seek 16 units an acre if they had affordable housing without a growth management plan amendment

So they're actually not asking for the maximum density for affordable housing. I know this is a more complicated affordable housing structure, but they're not exceeding what we might in the past have approved for affordable housing development.

No, no, no. The 16 units an acre on the outside of the activity center is 25 units an acre is normally where we've landed for the affordable housing projects that are within the activity center.

And we've done that, as Mr. Malheur said, next to single-family residential units.

there is many instances where we've had we have uh multifamily next to residential it's a used it's the same use just the intensity of use alters and because of that the compatibility measures have to be aware be mindful of those two relationships of one being a little more intense than the other so buffering uh mitigation noise mitigation those type of things are something that's normally utilized for compatibility measures to ensure that they can exist within the same spirit space

Does the land trust currently own the land?

I believe they're contract purchasers.

So it is. So if this doesn't go through, they won't buy the land?

I would imagine no.

You own the land now?

We're under contract for the land. Okay.

Michelle? I thought it was Mike. Mike's last, but I have Michelle there.

Mike, go ahead, Mike.

I don't know how Michelle bumped you all the time. Go ahead, Mike.

Okay, just a couple questions. What is the closest comparable community to this? Where is the closest comparable? How far away? Sorry, for the record. Not as the bird flies. Mileage.

Yeah. Well, I live just down the street a little bit on Santa Barbara. There are, I don't know, probably, and that, by the way, was both Estates Zone and Ag Zone. You know, both Estates and Ag on Santa Barbara. Just to the north of Santa Barbara as you're heading past the canal. Yeah, in the other direction.

Divided by almost like a six-lane roadway.

Six-lane roadway.

Okay. What about in the Golden Gate City? No, no, no. Golden Gate, I want to keep on the call to states, urban estates. Is there any other condominiums in the Golden Gate urban estates?

Well, there's been a couple approved. The one that I was referring to earlier is on Vanderbilt. I believe the underlying zoning there was estates.

I mean, Mike or Ray, you could... I don't think it's anything compatible in this area that's a condominium that's in the urban estates. From what I could see, but I could be wrong. I mean, that's why I'm asking.

Yeah, it's been done. In Mike Bosie playing zoning director there has been a rezone on Vanderbilt Beach in Cherrywood Lane which was 17.5 units or 17.5 acres entitled for 208 units at roughly almost 12 units an acre that was approved similar type of urban estate zoning so that's probably three four four four four miles away okay what about in and I keep I don't want to keep harping on it but I and I apologize what about in the Golden Gate City urban estates all along Santa Barbara on the the west hand side that's all RMF 12 and RMF 16 that's 12 and 16 units an acre at multifamily that's within what's within a mile of this of this project and Cormac just pointed out orchid run which I forgot I passed by it every day two times is on the

south side southwest southwest side is southeast 16 per acre 16 per acre oh wait did you know where it is santa barbara i'm looking at santa barbara livingston and golden gate sorry livingston okay oh yes yes 16 units per acre on the other side of 75. yep

divided by 75. I'm literally just looking at where these people live and and painted leaf and copper leaf uh all the way up to to Pine Ridge Road nothing there no you know okay but those aren't on six lane those are not okay Mike you good Michelle oh right Michael Puhala

When we had talked prior to in preparation for this meeting, you had shared with me that Lennar was going to be the one building these places.

Yeah, we're working through the agreement.

And I shared a concern on just quality oversight. Can you please share your answer?

great question thank you and it's been uh our board is very much in tune too about deliver make sure we deliver quality uh products so they've we've had representatives and they actually reached out to us because local there's local reps that want to be involved in this uh in this process because it's not their normal course of business they generally do things obviously much larger than this so we've got a lot of assurances from them they are going to be a great partner with this but in Our board is going to ensure that we have an owner's representative overseeing all of the work monthly no matter who builds it That is something that has been a board requirement from our side because obviously I mentioned it earlier is we get one shot at a good first impression and We're gonna ensure that this is a quality product that the community is going to be proud of.

Okay. Thank you Michael your board is aware of the issues that 100% this is a very healthy conversation at the board level I Have one question

Miss Turner, I really did like your presentation, but did I see you raise your hand? Yeah, I was going to call her back up. Would you please come back up? Because you had a very well thought out and pretty concise presentation, and I just wanted to make sure we got everything from you.

If I may, I'm no lawyer. I'm a mom. I'm a business owner. I'm someone who left the coast following Hurricane Ian. thinking I was safe and buying in the estates at the end of the day, right? Like I talk a lot about having normal conversations. I just wanna say a few things. I think it's important to note that the gentleman that was up here, I apologize, I don't recall your name and I don't- That was Carl.

He didn't catch his last name.

He mentioned that the Christian Academy, that that was taken into account with the Golden Gate Parkway traffic. It's not functional yet, nor is the Crisis Care Center.

Was that Jim Banks?

It may be taken into account that it's going to exist, but there's no traffic yet because they're not open. So it's just, I think for clarity, it's important to say that. They're not open. There's nobody using the buildings. I also think it's important to note...

But just understand, that density and that impact is already calculated in the traffic calculations that Mr. Banks uses. Right, which we're assuming we'll know what that will be, but without the... Well, the assumption is based on the intensity of the use. Okay. So it's in this calculation.

Okay. The other comment I just think it's important to note, I've been in regular communications with the planners who are planning and handling the Golden Gate corridor Parkway study. They've been very helpful. They've been very forthcoming with information. I think it's false to say that there's no failure at 60th Street regarding Golden Gate Parkway. I've attended the presentations. The people that I've spoken with there understand the concerns. I understand why we are modifying a left turn off 60th. I take my life in my hands every day. However, I think it's important to note that there are no modifications being made to the U-turn lane at 58th Street. It is outside of the scope of the study. There are no modifications being made to it. So I think it's important to note, and if you can picture it, and I understand you don't do it every day, but when you come out of 60th Street onto Golden Gate Parkway and make a left, If you are going left, you don't need to cross all three lanes. So you can position yourself at an angle where you can enter that first lane and you don't need to wait for all three lanes of traffic to stop because your car is at an angle where you can scoot into that first left most lane and go west while the other cars are still coming and while the other cars that are have been coming eastbound who are trying to turn left are stacked and you can go right in front of them because they need to cross all three lanes and we don't. The reason I'm mentioning this is now when we leave 60th Street, just as the street is now without these 36 additional homes, we have to go right. We have to cross all three lanes of Golden Gate Parkway to get an existing U-turn lane at 58th Street. We now need to wait until all traffic from Santa Barbara stops. A minimum of two lanes, usually three depending on the size of your vehicle. If you have a large F-150 or a large Bronco, you need to wait for all three lanes to stop because that U-turn circumference, you cannot get into the first lane, and you really can't get into the second lane. So now you need to sit there as a single car and wait for all three lanes to stop. In the morning, and I can tell you this because I do it multiple times a day with my kids, you've sometimes got seven to nine cars stacked at the turning lane at 60th to go left into essentially the David Lawrence Center parking lot. All of those cars, plus all of 60th, plus anyone else going eastbound that needs to go into that turning lane, the amount of time that you're now going to sit there, because you can't just go into the first lane. You've got to wait for all the traffic to stop. It's probably a different study. They're working on it. They're aware of that. But I think it's important to note that now we're adding all of these cars. It is an issue. It's unrealistic to say that it's not going to be an issue. It just is. It's real life versus what's on paper. And real life does it a minimum of three times a day. I also just want to say, Mr. Lombardo, I was at the neighborhood information meeting. Was the gentleman who apparently you have spoken with, who shares the western boundary, at the neighborhood information meeting?

We're working through the realtors as part of the real estate transaction. There's an encroachment involved with that property, and so we've been in communication with the Western property owner through the realtors, and it's been relayed to us that there's no objection to either application from the Western property owner.

I find that interesting. You can read into that what you will. I also find it interesting that it was my impression following that neighborhood information meeting that you felt that it was in your client's best interest to work with me. My name was on the sign-in sheet. My email address was on the sign-in sheet. My address was on the sign-in sheet. There's been no attempt to contact me, no attempt to reach out, no attempt to say, hey, we do want to work with you. We don't want to ruin... you know nothing and i just find it interesting that it was brought up that you've been in contact with the western neighbor and he's in support i would also question the stability of that individual i don't think i need to go into more contact it's public record in police reports on a very very regular basis so i wanted it on the record okay well thank you thank you yeah i'm going to close the public hearing and i refer to my colleagues for any comments

So again, the staff's already responded.

I did have a question for Mike Boese. Mike, there is a gentleman up here, I think it was Eric Carter. stated the county had taken that land from his family member who owned it before him that would have been much like you did with Vanderbilt where the county purchased we didn't just eminent domain the land correct How it was acquired I'm not sure either eminent domain or a willing seller either way it was acquired by the it was acquired by the the county for transportation purposes I believe it was eminent domain The county would have compensated that owner for that land Yes It's interesting because I can see which way this is this is going One thing I would ask the petitioner is that, and I'm going to pull Ned's requirements out of my hat from back in the day, where this goes to workforce housing and you approach the essential workers first before going to market. Is that an agreeable stipulation?

yes yes so you go to the teachers and the firefighters and police first before and it's it's been part of our process and as we're building out the the agreement i mean there's going to be scoring metrics that uh encourages essential service personnel um as we go through and we start accepting applications full anticipation we'll have a higher level of demand then we'll have units and and so there's going to be a period of time where that's going to be open obviously and we're going to be working on something to where essential service personnel are actually going to get some additional scoring criteria

do you usually go through like their hr department or through their union or both or a little bit of everything but yes definitely in direct contact with the uh with the hr departments we're working with the chamber as well but we've had direct contact with a lot of these central service employers and then the other the other the other question i had is on this the access to the property is a big contention

I think that needs to be adjusted either to T at that church or into the northwest corner at some point during site development I think we can stipulate that if we get to a recommendation at site plan this is conceptual but at SDP I believe that between the applicant and the county they need to re-look at that entire aspect and whether there can be another entry point or at least move the entry further north from the southern boundary, and I think that's doable. I think we can make that stipulation. I don't think we can put it on the record to mandate it now, but we can do it as part of transportation to review this with the applicant.

i think there needs to be greater communication with the turners that frustration with the neighbors is concerning in the fact that i understand we're keeping the vegetation there i would hope that we keep the mature trees there because i've already seen the developments where they go through and they take every tree down and you've got no blockage whatsoever in between the two so i'm encouraging that that communication occur between the neighbor and that property um

I'm going to throw my points in because I rest my colleagues and understand where I'm thinking of. We've had this applicant and we've had this petition. We got it two weeks ago for review. And for the public's least edification, I think it's 775 pages that we review for this meeting. And it was a week ago that we got this.

Thursday to Thursday.

And you could detect I was extremely annoyed to get materials prior to a meeting. In fact, it's been the policy of this board that we typically don't even take material handed to us during the meeting. And when an applicant comes in and does that, we basically just continue the item. But this was not the applicant. This was, again, a hired consultant. And with that, the issue here is that There were 11 findings and conclusions just based on the GMP alone. And as I stated prior to even discussing this, the Golden Gate Area Master Plan has been sacrosanct in this county. We as the Planning Commission for all the years while I was on staff, as well as my years in the Planning Commission, we abided by the provisions of the Golden Gate Area Master Plan. But in this case, the Golden Gate Area Master Plan says the proposed amendment resolves the conflict. And that was a staff decision. I asked that specifically on the record. I didn't talk to Mike. Usually I do before the meeting, but it was very clear. And the 11 findings and conclusions pretty much conclude that once we approve the proposal, The amendment, basically the GMP amendment, then of course we can find the PUD in compliance. But my position is, I believe the applicant, and my recommendation, if I'm going to move forward with a recommendation, I want a wall, a 10-foot wall in the southern boundary. I see a north-south road, traffic lights and cars coming down and shining directly into the southern property between a 10-foot fence and the buffer, I think, would preclude any issues with compatibility. And I know it's... I stated for the record that residential on residential is deemed compatible, but I think in order to...

prevent the intrusion that i think is going to happen i think a 10-foot wall would be adequate along the southern boundary bob well 10 is really really tall the reason that there was and i worked on the other project as well hope home the reason that there was a proposal to put a 10-foot wall there was the neighbors to the south was because of the nature of that use that was a halfway house basically yeah so uh that was to appease the neighbors that because they alleged that people would be leaving the halfway house and coming into their property these are not people in a

Excuse me, sir, sir, excuse me.

These are folks that are just citizens, just living at home. A 10-foot wall. Six-foot wall. Six-foot walls is what the code would require.

Six-foot wall then. Because you could buy panels, six-foot wall panel, and that would be appropriate. But with that, I open it to my colleagues if they want to make any recommendations for further discussion.

I'm not sporadic. Oh, there you go.

You're not sporadic. You go right ahead, Randy.

Every time I push the button, it comes up your name. Go ahead, Paul. Troy. So this is a, sometimes we have very easy decisions. Sometimes we have very hard decisions. This is, for me, difficult. I view our role here. The rest of the board may or may not agree with me as the caretaker of the growth management plan. So what you said about you relied on that growth management plan. But growth management plans can be changed when there's an overarching community benefit. And most of the time I would vote in your favor. I think though that this lot, the way it's laid out, can be buffered on enough sides. It's not like it's a lot that's surrounded by all residential. In this case, I think I support the petitioner in terms of as long as we get the proper buffers on the west and south side. Okay.

Anybody else have any discussion or want to make a recommendation?

I just had a follow-up question to staff with regards to assuring that this doesn't stop at 30 years. Like, what would we have to do to assure that this remains...

Mike Bozzi, Planning and Zoning Director. The restriction for the affordable housing commitment is 30 years. You're looking for some sort of commitment for the property owner that they will own it for longer than 30 years?

Well, that's the petitioner's intent, and yes, that's what I would like to see.

I would ask then you could put a condition on that they own the property for more than 30 years but I would look to the county attorney's office I'm not sure if we can put restrictions on ownership in this manner

So there is a provision in the PUD that says that there's going to be a restrictive covenant recorded that will make these affordable for 30 years I think you could ask if it be longer than 30 years but I think that ties with some other state or federal funding with the 30 years so you'd have to see if the applicant would be willing to accept that If not, you could still make it as a recommendation, but we wouldn't put it into PUD.

We'd prefer to stay with the standard language, which is 30 years.

30 years.

After 30 years, I mean, it's still going to be a condominium, and it'll still be managed at some point.

Our understanding is that the land trust will continue to be...

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the intent, and again, if we go into looking into our bylaws, which they will stipulate that it is definitely not the intent to ever Dissolve property to to be selling property the intent of a land trust similar to conservation land trust is to own sites in perpetuity But I don't know that I think we want to stick with what the standard is for the county But I can just let you know the intent and the intent of creating a community land trust is to have housing is affordable in perpetuity So it would be in direct conflict within our bylaws to sell something after 30 years. I

Okay. Michael, if I ask you one more thing, is there a request to make sure that these are not leased out to individuals through a corporation that they work for? What I mean by that is I don't want to see this go to a large employer where they're like, Block leasing? Block, exactly.

No, it's all going to be, we're intending to individually qualify tenants, so absolutely will be no block leasing. Thank you.

That's good. I've closed a public hearing. You need to come up to the microphone. It's a six-foot wall. They're going to commit to a six-foot wall and then a southern boundary.

I heard that. I just would ask you to realize that the southern boundary ends halfway at my property. The remaining half sees the western boundary. If you look at the aerial image, you'll see what I mean. It's because that's a front corner lot. This is a long-facing lot. So, therefore, from my home, you see the entire western boundary. Okay. That's why I'm asking for a wall on both sides. All right. Thank you. Thank you.

if i may comment on that just because i thought the hearing was closed but i think this is important uh part of our in the acquisition as i mentioned there's an encroachment issue there's a driveway for that western property that encroaches onto this property on the west and so if we put a wall all the way up the west we're going to have to re-approach the way we're dealing with that driveway and so that's part of the reason why we were asking if it's going to happen that it'd be on the south side only yeah but we can evaluate this

Yeah, I leave that up to you to value. We'll leave that in the motion maker, but thank you, Zach. But for now, my position is, and I stated on the report, a six-foot wall in the southern boundary. Anybody want to make a motion or move forward?

I'll talk again real quick. Go ahead. You know, I'm just talking about incompatibility, inconsistency, things that we've heard this whole – this whole meeting. And I don't believe it is compatible with the area. I think the Golden Gate master plan, I don't know how or why that got around that. It doesn't matter. I don't need to. rely on that. Cherrywood, I was against that too. I don't think there's any other condominiums in the area. I think that the urban estates, there's no condominiums from what I could see on the uh in this in this area that there's sections of canals and large lane highways that are that separates this residential area um i think that seven units per acre is not compatible with one unit per acre uh or one per five or one for two whatever it is um i think that uh now these are just all my opinions uh but uh think the county adopted plans and for this area and we need to stick we should stick by the GMP and stick by this I respect your opinion and I had a opportunity to

Like I said, this petition's been out for a while and had an opportunity to digest this information and discuss it with staff. I may have been in your camp, but to get it before the meeting and now all of a sudden we get into compatibility issues.

If I didn't say that before we made any motions, I wouldn't.

So with that, I'll make a motion. I'll make a motion that we approve this. Both the... The GMP amendment, that's PL20250006066. That's the Golden Gate Parkway 60th Street Residential Subdistrict, GMP-A, and the corresponding Golden Gate Parkway RPUD with the requirement of a wall on the southern boundary at six foot. I defer to the applicant and the resolution of the issue on the western boundary on how they move forward with that. So I'm making a recommendation of approval based on the information that we received prior to the meeting.

Can I amend that to include the essential workers we offered units first?

And amend it with the essential workers. And I would also amend that because there was something today I was reading online about some new kind of program that's going to be available that will consolidate the entire Database in the county of available affordable housing, and I want to make sure this is included in that database.

We're building that through the Housing Alliance.

That's you guys.

$100,000.

Okay.

Yes, that is also one of our organizations.

So are we leaving the west wall open to future study? I'm leaving the west wall.

They've got an encroachment resolution.

So the intent is that they put a west wall pending. In other words, if you can, you will agree to put it in.

I don't believe we're agreeing to the Western Wall. We're agreeing to the Southern Wall.

You can always ask that the wall just be, you know, 10 or 20 feet along the western property line.

You want to add that? 20 foot up the western property line, not the entire line?

That's fine. So not the entire length, but 10 or 12 feet. 20 feet up the western wall. I believe that's fine. I need to check the survey to see where the encroachment is exactly, but assuming it's not in the encroachment, we're fine with that.

I mean, I'm trying to keep Ms. Turner's property a pretty significant investment. Understood.

But does that address her concern if you have like an opening?

Well, at some point, it's going to be my concern. The way the street is running north-south, it's traffic coming down the street and shining right into her property.

That satisfies the south wall.

The south wall, but some of that will be by 20 foot up the west side as well. The rest of it will be buffered. I think it's going to be adequately buffered, plus the existing buffer on the western property, I believe, will be sufficient. I have not walked the property, but I know the property and I've been out there.

So we have an amendment for the ingress and the egress.

And the amendment that staff will work with the applicant, If it's practical, Bob.

Well, I mean, Mr. Sorter said they had recommended moving it up to where the church.

Yeah, there's a southern access to the church. There's access to the church. We're going to try to align it with that. We'll have to rearrange the dry retention or the retention area. But, you know, that's an engineering solution. I'm sure we can figure out something.

Well, if we can't get into the north. West corner and it gets it away from their property line and further up the street I know we can I know we can look at the south up.

I don't think staff supported the northwest corner The northwest corner is not he said it was too tight with the inside. Yes, so we will Sorry, sorry, we will work on that Apologies

All right, with that amendment as well then. So we have a requirement for a wall, a six-foot wall along the southern boundary, 20 feet up the western boundary. Second would be proper notification for essential public workers or essential workers. And third was the realignment of the ingress-egress to coordinate with staff on possibly aligning the entrance with the church across the street. So we have a motion on the floor. Do I hear a second? Second. We have a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, like sign? Nay. We have one opposition, the rest pass. So with that, for the residents, typically if it's unanimous, it may appear on the consent agenda, but since there's objection, it will not. This will be heard publicly by the Board of County Commissioners. Thank you very much. We'll take a break. We're going to go directly to the Copperstone Estates PUD because we have a speaker that needs to speak on that. And then we'll go to the one on the excavation last. Thank you very much. We'll take a 15-minute break.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You make me forget how to speak Love me or leave me Make your choice But believe me Can't conceal it, don't you see? Can't you feel it, don't you do? I do, I do, I do, I do, I do.

Come along now, let's try it. I love you.

Can't make it, but just wait and see So come on now, let's try it I love you, can't deny it Thank you.

Listen to what I'm putting down. Hey, baby, I'm your handyman. I'm not the kind to use a pencil or a ruler. I'm handy. I've fixed broken hearts, I know But I truly can If your broken heart should need repair Then I am the man to see I whisper sweet things You tell all your friends

Pud it's on Tammy Emory trail Approximately three hundred three thousand two hundred feet east of Collier Boulevard and it's an ordinance to amend Our PD I'm not gonna read the whole thing. So both of the petitioner, please. Oh Thank you very much All those wishing to speak on this matter, please rise to be sworn in.

And then disclosures.

Yeah, disclosures. All right, disclosures? Amy?

Staff materials only.

Staff materials only. Staff materials only. Staff materials only.

Staff materials only.

Staff materials only.

Stock materials only.

All right. With that, I turn it over to the applicant.

Thank you. Good afternoon, members of the Planning Commission. My name is Karim Ismail. I will be representing the applicant, Proud House Builders LLC. I have, you can hear me all fine? Yes, sir. I have with me Justin Ebright and Devon Long from Patriot Engineering. And this is for the Copperstone Estates RPUD. So to provide context, this is a four-acre site located along Tamiami Trail. On one side, so to the right of the drawing, of the box that you see there, is land that is actually owned by the county, so there will never be development there. And then you have Henderson Creek, and then other residential on the other side of the creek. On the left of that box is a small parcel, it's all agricultural, but it's a small parcel of land that is actually owned by the homeowners association behind us, which is Falling Waters. So there is one large HOA, Falling Waters, just behind us, and we have had discussions with them because we are proposing this development, which they have some concerns about. And then we have Temiyami Trail. So our request is to ask for this land, which is currently zoned agricultural and undeveloped, to be rezoned through an RPUD to allow 12 single-family homes. On the right side, you see the drawing, and I have another drawing that will elaborate on this, but you can see that there is a buffer proposed on the area that adjacent to falling waters and on this map you will see as well that so to the to my left is where falling waters is but you will see that there is a preserve that will be maintained and we're required to maintain 60 percent green space in the development which we will do. Just a conceptual drawing that gives you a sense of the entryway from Temiyami Trail, along Temiyami Trail, the back of the houses. And the idea we have is to have these 12 luxury homes set in a green enclave. So we're very concerned about views in and out. And again, just some, you know, even between homes, they will be hedges, et cetera, to protect views and privacy. So just some examples of what the intent is. What the homes might look like, again, some conceptual early thinking. They would be a garage on the ground floor and then two floors above within the allowable 35-foot height limit. We're not asking for any variance. Again, what the insides might look like. So we had a neighborhood information meeting on November 24th and then my Guido and Matt from Proud House Builders also met with the president of the homeowners association earlier this year and some of the residents as well. And so I'm going to summarize their concerns and how we've tried to address them. The first is privacy, setbacks, visual separation. The good thing is that we have the same concerns because these are luxury homes and the people who live there will also be concerned about looking out. So we have a mutual issue to resolve there. Another issue that the neighbors from Falling Waters raised was the effect or the potential impact on their homes and yards from added flooding. the preservation of land, trees, and wildlife habitat, the issue of how much development this site could handle, and then construction, noise, dust, and impact on the use after it's built. So the first issue is a mutual concern, and we want to be sure that we are buffered from the neighbors as well. And so we have a 15 foot buffer, but there is also a 30 foot buffer between us and the neighboring HOA. And as you saw in the previous diagram, we impact one part of that whole development, not the whole development. The buffers, there is a preserve that we will keep on the other side, and then a 15 foot at the road as well. So it's fairly well buffered. We are exploring increasing that 15 foot buffer to a 20 foot buffer, which would be the size of the entire setback. But it's too early at this stage to be able to commit to that. So the other buffer already provides bigger than normal, so we would add that. Along all of the boundaries, we will be adding supplemental native trees and shrubs. About 60 to 75% of the vegetation that you see there is invasive species. whether it's within where we would develop or within the preserve, and we're required by the county to remove that. But we want to make sure that we actually increase the amount of green where we can. So we, after discussion and hearing the neighbors' concerns and comments from Falling Waters, we sent them a statement of good faith and cooperation, which both parties have signed. to indicate that while it's required to provide trees up to the five-foot level, we would be increasing that to eight-foot trees so that we have enough visual buffering between our property and theirs. stormwater flooding in Henderson Creek. So we're required by both Collier County and the state of Florida to demonstrate no adverse impact to neighborhood properties. So we cannot increase runoff into adjacent communities. We must actually hold more stormwater on site post-development than exists today. And then any fill that we place needs to be fully, you know, offset. So we have to contain excess water that comes in and make provision for that within our site. And we will certainly be, you know, our calculations will show that the peak staging and peak flow will be less than it is today. So the engineering team We'll have a system that's designed to meet 25 and 100-year standards. As the Planning Commission is aware, there are new, at the end of December 2025, new water quality standards, which are significantly stricter than the ones used for the older neighborhoods in the area. So we will be meeting those requirements. And then to address hurricane-type rainfall events, again, we will be designing a system that performs better than the existing system that's there and also coordinating with the canal management with respect to Henderson Creek so that there is no adverse downstream impact. The other issue was flood zone, et cetera. And again, all new homes will be constructed above the 100-year FEMA flood elevation. The main living level will be on the second floor, so no living space on the ground floor. That allows the homes to be safe. And by doing that and allowing that space in case there is a flood, then there is minimal fill required, less fill, less runoff to the neighbors. So I think the design has been very thoughtful about flooding and any potential impact on the neighborhood. The third issue that was raised was with respect to wildlife and the preserved character. So the protected areas will remain untouched, but we do need to remove invasive species that are there. We will retain as much of the native canopy as possible. In fact, internal drive is called canopy drive or will be called canopy drive. because we would like to see as much canopy as we can within the site and around the site. And we will of course be adding fast-growing native planting for habitat and screening. As far as wildlife is concerned, we will have wildlife-friendly trash and preserve area practices. Two or three specific items that came up, so I've sort of tried to pull that out. So the first is, you know, the statement that we have too much development in traffic. Why luxury homes? Why not affordable housing? I know we just sat through three hours of affordable housing. I didn't know that that would be... And we had, you know... At the beginning of the project, we had looked at affordable housing, but that would have brought much more traffic and potential impact. So we don't have affordable housing. This is a suggestion brought up by somebody in the audience. So we are capped at the maximum of 12 homes, which means fewer trips, less noise, less infrastructure burden. And we will do everything we can to preserve trees, but 75% of the trees there, it looks all green, but they are invasive species. We have no choice but to remove those. Where we can keep them, we will preserve. And if there were other, you know, there could be other uses for this site, so I think ours is a very compatible use with the neighborhood. The other concern, and rightly so, whenever there's construction, there's impact. So what about noise, traffic, dust, et cetera? So the HOA Association asked that we provide a contact person for during construction on site and that is we've agreed to do that in that same commitment that we made to that and again we're governed by the same you know regulations regarding hours noise etc so we can't be doing stuff at 5 a.m in the morning for example um And then lastly, the last issue was, you know, and I'm picking it up as it was stated, so will this home turn into rental compounds, short-term rentals, or multifamily, you know, situations? So the homes are designed and will be marketed as either a primary residence or a seasonal residence. In other words, somebody lives in New York, wants to spend half the year, and I don't blame them, given the winter they've had in the Northeast, as a seasonal residence, but not as multifamily. We will be meeting any local occupancy and safety codes, of course. There will be an HOA and that will regulate exterior noise and property maintenance. So that will, you know, all be done, uh, commonly. So, you know, at the end of the day, I think given that we are backing onto another well-established residential area, having a small development of this kind capped at 12 units, say It's a great development to have there. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Okay, with that, I can... Michelle? She's first.

I was from last time, but I do have a question. I do have a question. So you're projecting this project to go that quickly, 12 to 16 months? Are you building all 12 units at one time? Yeah. Because that's pretty fast. God bless you if you can do that.

We just finished building a single family home in six months, so there's 12 of them. There's little more development required here because it's a site and so on.

Okay.

Are you done?

Oh, and then one other thing. Oh, sorry. It says homes are generally designed and placed 100-year flood elevation. Is that one foot over flood or FEMA? Is that the equivalent?

I'm going to defer to the – I just wanted to get to the map so that if there's questions –

Typically, there is a base flood elevation and a one-foot freeboard, but I'll ask the applicant, because I believe the county now requires one-foot freeboard, but go ahead, please.

State your name. Justin Ebright, Patriot Engineering. Yeah, that would be FEMA plus one, or if our calculations said more were greater, we would have to meet that. For him, the habitable space is going to be on the second floor, so it's not going to be an issue. It won't be close. That's how they're building all the coastal properties now. You've seen all the stuff that got wiped out of the hurricane. That's kind of how they're doing because of the high water elevations and stuff. So this is going to kind of be like that even though it's not needed here. So flood elevation for these is good.

Well, let me just clarify and since we're talking about it, I'll jump in. This is the first habitable floor will be, in essence, a second story. Yes, sir. So these are frangible walls or at least allows for flow through.

That's their intent, I think. Obviously, everything's conceptual at this point, but I think that would be beneficial to keeping the more natural.

And just for the public that they are aware, when they say the first habitable floor, then there's Electric outlets, all the other types of things that are in a garage that are designed for flowway, they have to be above BFE. So even the air conditioner or any of the other types of units have to be at the BFE. So when they're building... You may see the floor at the garage level, but all the other items have to be above. Yes, sir.

I'm a civil land development engineer, but yeah, that's more MEP architectural stuff, but yes, that's how it all works. All electrical equipment is elevated above that elevation.

Okay. Does that answer your question? Yes. Thank you. Randy. Two quick questions. You said that your homes have a height restriction of 35 feet. Do you know what the falling water homes height are? I'm looking at line of sight.

They're two story, two floors, ground floor and second floor. And then there is a, you know, a peak roof. I'm assuming it's within the 35.

Sir, you need to come to the microphone if you're going to answer a question.

Yeah, I would assume they're 35. But the top part, there's only two living stories, unless I'm mistaken. I'm sure there's people here. Two, yeah.

It looks then as if these properties will be higher than falling water. Yes, the 3rd floor will be higher than the 1st 2 floors, the living flows of falling waters, but if you look at the roof line, then you know it shouldn't it shouldn't matter OK and then one quick question regarding rental in your covenants and rules and regulations are you going to allow for Airbnb short term rentals.

There are county requirements for Airbnb that provide some restrictions. Because of the nature of the homes, the HOA will have extremely restricted Airbnb, if any. We haven't come to that conclusion yet.

Okay, so somebody could purchase one of these and rent it for $12,000 a week.

Maybe they could rent it for, I don't know, maybe $12,000 a week for four weeks, but it's not going to be $12,000 a week for 52 weeks. There will be HOA restrictions. Because if I was buying the next door, I would want to know to protect myself.

And that's why I'm asking. while we can't make a recommendation on anything like that, just curious with everyone's concern about Airbnb short-term rentals, one month, three months. Okay. All right. Thank you.

Seeing no other questions. Do you have any other comments before I... Turn to staff and then the registered speakers.

I'd like to reserve the opportunity to rebut in case something comes up.

Oh, now it just came up. You just came up on air.

Thank you, Chuck.

You're catching me off guard.

That's hard to do. Who currently owns this property now? Is it currently in your ownership? It's under contract. It's under contract. Okay. Thank you.

But you did answer the question on the property to right. I was wondering why you didn't try and acquire that property, but the county owns that property to the right. Yes, that abuts the Henderson Creek.

Yes. And has no plans to have any kind of development there. I'm asking because I'm mentioning that because we wondered whether if that was available could we make this a bigger development and the response very clearly from the county was absolutely not. So it will remain that way for forever and a day.

Thank you. Staff?

Mike Bose, Planning and Zoning Director. As indicated within the staff report, this is only a PUD rezoned. This is compliant with the density that's allocated by the growth management plan. Normally you have an eligibility of four within the urbanized area, but because it's in the coastal high hazard, it's down to three. At four acres, 12 units equates to what they're eligible for based upon the 35 feet height compatibility and the issues that are being provided for. as well as the enhanced buffering that is being suggested by the applicant related to additional compatibility measures staff is recommending approval we find it's an appropriate proposal for this location compared to an affordable housing a commercial it's going to be a much less in terms of impact in terms of your overall area infrastructure and taxation and in terms of compatibility with the adjoining multifamily to the north we think it's a it's a very compatible project for all those reasons staff is recommending approval

Mike is An applicant could easily have come in and asked for a commercial on this site as well since it's zoned egg it would have to come in for a rezone, but it's on a in that area six lane divided highway and just just West is our commercial tractor supply and Other there's a storage area and others so this could have easily been a commercial I

This could have easily been a commercial, and I think the application that would have been submitted for a commercial, there would have been a lot of consistency, things that you could have built upon because of the existing commercial that it was extending down to this property. So interrupting that commercial with residential, lesser intense staff is, like I say, staff thinks this is a very good project in relationship to the impact to the overall neighborhood. This is pretty low density.

Thank you. And with that, I don't see any of my colleagues, so we'll go to registered speakers.

I am Richard Ledger. I live at 6730 Unit 13. My neighbor is 6720 Unit 13.

Excuse me, though, that's in Falling Waters? Falling Waters. Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

I personally don't oppose the proposal. I'm happy it's residential. Our concerns are identical as to what they said, the buffer zone. Now, on some of the other properties that abut us, they put a wall up. And that was for security we are a gated community so You know there was questions regarding whether or not there'd be any additional security Or would it be very easy for the people to cut through there? I know they're nice lots They're gonna be nice homes, but it'll be that much easier for them to enter our community So if there was going to be a fence or some kind of security provided also, we would I would hope that the buffer would be maximum. If you drove into our community, we do enjoy that canopy, and they said by law they've got to remove it because it's not native. Well, that does nothing for us as far as noise from 41 and then the effect of us seeing them and them seeing us. You know, they have to remove it by law It's it's gonna really mess with our what we have already and that's why we bought there was you know Because we had that buffer. So I just wanted to bring that up.

I hope that they're working Well, you know they can you do understand that it's an evasive as exotic whether it's Brazilian pepper malaluca that all has to be removed, right? I understand and they're gonna any stated on the record that they're gonna provide adequate protection

Buffering and plants but are they only doing the minimum of what they're required or are they going to do more than what they're required they mentioned doing a 20 foot buffer to so that their folks wouldn't be looking at our folks but have you been in touch with uh sir sir you're talking about okay sorry i was he mentioned earlier that he had been in touch with our phase our um master board uh he also mentioned that he contacted the county about whether or not they they would sell them you know the lot there well were they a butter on the other side at the very first meeting i mentioned um couldn't we increase that buffer and they could make an offer and increase you know use our We end on the other side. It would create a larger buffer for both of us.

Well, I'll have the applicant address that, but to answer your question, this is commercial, or correction, this is residential against residential. You're, in fact, a higher density and higher use than what's being proposed here. I'm not opposing it. And they only require, I believe, what, a 10-foot buffer between residential, Mike? It would be a type C buffer? Type B buffer.

Type B buffer. The applicant is proposing an enhanced type B buffer. That's one of the things that staff was appreciative of.

I'll let the applicant address that, but it sounded to me like it will be an enhanced buffer. Great. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Yes, I'm James Mullins. I live at 6700 Falling Waters. I, too, don't object to the proposal, but the buffer is an issue. Where the commercial is, they have a 10-foot wall. They're saying trees, this is new to me, what you folks said today, but on one side of their commercial property, there's like a four-foot berm there now. They just put in a while ago with a fence down it to contain their property. I think the firm might be, the berm might be for flooding. I don't know if they're going to have some berm around their property. I'm sorry. You've got to talk to us up here. If you want to chat with them, I understand. I understand. You know, the trees they're talking about, are they just gonna be little saplings that are six feet high or something better that you can't see through? And is there gonna be a berm? He had discussed it at our information meeting that he might need a berm around it too because of, The flood control issues. And it's at the mouth, really, of the Henderson Creek. And when you get a real bad storm upstream, as it comes down to 41, that's where that excess water that can't get over the dam goes into that area. So when you put a property in it, and you say you put a berm around so you contain the water, the displacement theory says, well, the water that might be moving up against that berm is going to go someplace else. But, so flooding with the Henderson Creek overflows and the border, is it gonna be what kind of trees? Is there gonna be at least a fence where people just can't walk over? I know the people buying it probably typically won't, but you never know, they could have renters. And where we are, our HOAs, you can rent once a month. I know you guys talk, I'm glad you did, about rental stuff, but having some minimum where you don't have these weekly renters coming in.

I'll address the question on rentals. It's clear in the Collier County Code. It's in the Code of Laws and Ordinances for the county on regards to rentals and how many times. Anything above that would be an HOA. These are all going to be privately owned homes. I would have to assume that they were going to form an HOA, and what I see of the value of what appears to be a pretty substantial price on these homes, I would imagine that the homeowners are going to be interested in trying to protect their interest. Typically in a residential area like this, you typically are not allowed to rent more than three or four times a year, that type of thing, those type of restrictions. But that's an HOA issue. We don't dictate the HOA rules up here. But what was stated on our record, they will be in compliance. In regards to the Buffers, there are stipulations in the code, and Jamie, I would ask Jamie, she would have to cover it, but I believe it's a two-year requirement for them to become mature. So they're not going to be planted mature, but it'll be a requirement, and I can ask her to answer that for you. Do you have any other questions?

I think he said when he stood up, the gentleman, that they're thinking of extending it another five feet. Yes. That would be appreciated there.

Probably from a marketing standpoint, it would be, too, because he's going to turn around and sell his home. Oh, I understand. But I'm not going to stipulate. The last meeting, I wanted a wall up, but there were reasons for the wall. I sat through the whole meeting. Yes. And don't you love public meetings?

It said 1 o'clock, so I showed up.

We actually work better in Congress.

Oh, you do? I give you kudos for that. Thank you. Thank you.

Jamie, as far as the buffer, could you just put on the record what the requirement is for mature buffer?

Sure. So the buffer is required to be the plantings, the tree plantings, 10 foot tall at time of planting. And they will also be required to have a five foot hedge wall or fence within that buffer.

Okay. And then maturity is evaluated...

Maturity is two years.

Two years, that's what I thought. Okay.

Thank you. I don't see any other questions from my colleagues. Mr. Ismail, do you have any closing comments?

The, we were actually quite interested when the HOA, so the HOA owns, sorry, I don't have a pointer, but. To the right here, to the left, that, a parcel all the way here. And so when they, which we didn't know, but we learned during the neighborhood information meeting, so when they brought it up, they said, what if they did a swap? They gave us that land, we made our project not quite a square, but more of a rectangle, and we used that same space to create a buffer at the back. So we said, fine. We approached the HOA, and we said, okay, but we need to get this done like in the next 30 days. They said six, nine, 12, 15 months. It's going to take them a long time to get everybody to agree and so on. So we said, well, that wouldn't make sense, but we have the same concern about privacy as they do. So, you know, it is in our interest, more than anything else, to make sure that that area at the back is buffered. We will take great care to buffer it, and that's why I pointed out we're going to try and explore when we do more detailed planning as to whether we can even increase that. But there will certainly be 15 feet with all of the planting that, you know, we need to have, and we've committed on that on record.

Thank you.

Very alterations. I love it.

Do we have any other comments? I'll close the public hearing, open it for board discussion. Discussion, issues?

Looks like a beautiful project. I'll make a motion to approve.

I'll second it. A motion to approve, a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like signed. Passes unanimous. Thank you.

Thank you.

And the next item we will hear, we are sitting as the Environmental Advisory Council. This is PL2026, correction, 202060002040. And this is the approval of an excavation permit. We're serving as the Collier County Environmental Advisory Council. And this is a commercial excavation permit property located in Collier County. Resource Recovery Park, Business Park, 3959 City Gate Boulevard. With that, you are the petitioner.

I'm everything.

And you do it so well. Is this the site that was part of a code case? No. This is not the, okay. No.

um good afternoon jamie cook director of development review for the record um so this this commercial excavation permit is actually tied to the resource recovery business industrial planned unit development which is immediately north of city gate and the paradise coast sports complex and the landfill if you're all familiar with where those are located The proposed use for this excavation is a stormwater lake that is being used to offset the stormwater for the Collier County Sheriff's Office forensics buildings that are currently under construction. So just to give you a very brief history, the site development plan for the forensics complex was approved in June of 2024 and their excavation permit in July of 24. The original development excavation permit was to allow for the excavation of a little under 104,000 cubic yards of fill to construct the stormwater lake. Development excavation permits are approved administratively by staff, so you all never see them. Construction began in January of 2025, and within the last couple of months, they realized that they had too much fill for the site. So they are requesting, the county is requesting to remove 77,000 cubic yards of the fill from the site and to be able to use it on other construction projects. Collier County Facilities Management has been managing that forensics building construction, and they have in their contract with their contractors to be able to remove this fill from the site. So the site plan, you can see it is this lake up at the top that is on the western boundary of the property. Five hauling locations were proposed, three in Collier County and two in Lee County. The first is obviously the closest. It's the Renaissance Hall Complex that's on the Golden Gate Golf Course. There were two locations in South Naples along Tamiami Trail East. And then there were two locations in Lee County up in the Cape Coral area. So with that, the request is to have you, as the Environmental Advisory Council, forward this petition to the Board of County Commissioners with a recommendation for approval to allow the off-site hauling of this excess 77,000 cubic yards of fill. And with that, I'll take any questions.

My only concern is, of course, dust control and traffic control from the standpoint of vehicles leaving the site would be required to be in compliance with all of our other criteria that we would do on any other haul type of activity. And, of course, you oversee that as well with code enforcement. So anybody, any contractor doing this would have to comply with those requirements.

correct and and as i mentioned before the development excavation permit that had already been approved um so the contractors were working under that permit and we have not had any issues from the inspection side with the dust control okay so so they found they had 77 000 more yards to take off than they i wonder how they priced it that that i don't get involved in

Anybody have any questions?

Okay.

We have any public speak? Staff? Well, staff gave the presentation, so I'm just going to assume that that was staff. We have any public speakers?

Yes, Richard Halock.

Good afternoon, county commissioners. My name is Ricardo Haylock, Richard, Rick, any which way. Thank you. I was looking to see the information that they were going to give out and see what they were going to be doing. They were going to be using any kind of heavy equipment, explosives, any kind of things like that that would disturb the area in there. The only thing that I wanted to put forth was that we were not given enough notice. We were sent a little paper with a little map on it showing what they were doing, but not really saying what it was about. And so we were concerned, and we told our neighbors about it, and some of them had received it, some of them hadn't. And we let them know what time the meeting was going to be about. And the meeting was changed with no notice. There wasn't anything on the website. This note I just had printed out this morning. It still said 9 o'clock. So there was some confusion in there. People had taken time off from work to come to the meeting, and they were not able to get there because there was no meeting at 9. So I'm retired. I can come here at 1 o'clock or whatever time. And so that's why I wanted to let you know. We do want to find out more information. So whatever can come out, be sent to us, or put on the website, we would appreciate it. And this is what we want this evening to let you know. That was our only real concern. We weren't getting enough information, and things were changed without any notice. We thank you for your time and your attention.

All right, welcome. That's a good point because from a public meeting perspective, this meeting was announced and changed well over a month ago. So I don't know from staff, can I have a staff address? The notice went out that it was 9 o'clock meeting, but this meeting was changed a month ago to accommodate our 5.05 meeting. And so it was noticed properly that the meeting would be at 1 p.m., correct?

The notifications that went out, I believe, had the wrong time, had the 9 o'clock start time. So there was an issue with that.

I mean, we've heard the item, but we're going to vote on it today. I want you to get the information you want to get, and that's the person you need to talk to. I don't know what else we can do to give you any more comfort.

Trying to understand what's going on because it's it's a pretty benign request where they're gonna remove the excess fill right The thing is is the only ones that are adjacent to the property were sent the notice So, you know, it was a select few And, you know, the only other way is to look on the site or go to the Planning Commission at Horseshoe and ask them. And we were not able to get information even from there. They printed it out, and it still had the 9 o'clock. And then they looked it up and they said, oh, no, it's one o'clock. And even coming here, no one knew exactly when and where. So we had some confusion in there. And the people that did come, they had to go back to work. So we weren't able to come.

All right. Well, all I could do is direct staff to coordinate everything. with those who are interested in getting the information, ask staff to contact the individuals to make sure that they understand what this is all about and hear any concerns or be aware of any impacts that this may have on their property. Correct. Note that this item will also, it does not go to the Board of County Commissioners. It does.

Typically on consent.

We're doing it as the EAC, but this will go to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval. we thank you very much okay oh no i'm going to turn to staff no there will be no this is this is all being mechanically excavated there's no explosives there's and there if there were there would be a whole there was no dynamite there'd be a whole other process would you address the concern about addressing any other neighbors who want to know the information

Sure. So the code of laws requires only a 300-foot notice around the property for excavation permits. To answer the first part of that question of why some neighbors may have been notified and others not, I'm happy to provide the speaker with my business card before he leaves here today. and then as far as the other question there is no blasting proposed this excavation is just about done but they can't move forward with the additional site construction and finishing the buildings because of this fill that they need to get off the property okay with that I close the public hearing open it up for comments from the board

I would like to make a motion that we move forward with this petition there are no caveats or alterations to it Just add that we are acting as the EAC on this behalf of the Cuyahoga County Planning Convention but we're acting as the EAC so I have a motion on the floor do I hear a second Second

Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. And the opposed like sign. Pass is unanimous.

Thank you.

Wow.

Thank you. We will take a three-minute break. We have to close this meeting. We close this meeting. We'll reconvene. Let's say we'll reconvene at 510 for the LDC hearing.

How did we do that? Mr. McDaniel!

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Thank you.

You talk about the things I do. I'll try and explain the reasons why Cause I've been thinking about the things that you said Late last night we moved through What I said just didn't come out right And you were so afraid that I found someone new But darling, well there's no need for what we're going through Because you and I have been in love too long To worry about tomorrow Here's a place where we both belong I know you're the only woman that I'm dreaming of You're the only woman that I really love Cherry of Love, Mike.

Okay we have one item to address and this is the we've since we've already gone through all the formalities with Pledge of Allegiance and roll call so we're just going to continue right to the item but this is an item this is a an issue with PL20250014625 it's a compatible use and this is an advertised public hearing to amend Say again?

No, I didn't say anything.

Oh, to amend the ordinance 04-41, which is the Collier County Land Development Code. So with that, I turn it over to staff. And let me just go back here a little bit. But that, it's up to staff. Great, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Johnson.

For the record, Eric Johnson, LDC planning manager. Tonight, I have the opportunity to propose to you a land development code amendment that would update LDC section 02.03.04, that's the industrial zoning districts. It would be to add the comparable use determination process to the list of permitted uses to the I zoning district. And the reason why we're meeting after 5.05 is because we are proposing to change the list of permitted uses and that requires a hearing at 5.05 or after. So thank you everyone for serving and for coming here and bearing with this LDC amendment. So you can see on your screen number 59, that's what the proposed language would be. This is standard for other comparable use provisions in the other zoning districts. And I'll just read it for the record. Any other industrial use which is comparable in nature with the list of permitted uses and consistent with the purpose and intent statement of the district as determined by the hearing examiner or CCPC pursuant to LDC section 10.02.06k. the reason why we're doing this ldc amendment it was board directed late last year the board directed staff to move forward with adding the industrial the comparable use provisions to the to the i zoning district and let me just read to you what the comparable use determination provisions are in case i'm not going to read everything i just just the opening paragraphs because i'm not sure if everyone knows it The following comparable use determination, CUD, shall be used to determine whether a use at a site-specific location is comparable in nature and consistent with the list of permitted uses and the purpose and intent statement of the zoning district overlay or PUD. Approval of a CUD made at one location shall not be construed to mean the use is entitled in a different location. so that's what we're doing uh that's what we're proposing we're looking for your recommendation i would like to point out that this has been reviewed by the dsac the development services advisory committee and their subcommittee and and the dsac and subcommittee are uh are asking uh to consider not only the they recommended approval but they're asking to consider uh adding the same provision to the a zoning district the rural agricultural zoning district So I wanted to make sure that I communicated that to you as what as will I to the Board of County Commissioners Eric does this is this part of the zoning verification letter that they would get this for compared?

For comparable use somebody would come in and ask for a verification of use is that what?

Mike Bosie plan zoning director at one period of time we had a evaluation from staff from the zoning verification letter is a use could it be a comparable in nature from that we actually developed a comparable use determination process and it's now a public hearing process that goes before the hex towards where there's a set criteria of evaluating factors to ensure that the use can be found to be consistent and compatible with the other uses in the similar zoning district and we had it towards where it used to be for if it was in a straight zoning category if you had that use at one location it would be made available to all locations the board of county commissioners didn't modify that about three years ago where they added the language where eric read where it's only at that location where that use can be added to it it's not every industrially zoned property of land that could could accommodate this new this the the proposed use and because of so because of that we've modified it over time to be very site specific and it's really it's comparable comparing one use that's not in the zoning district to the other uses noise odor intensity traffic generation uh water consumption vehicle types all those different things that are evaluated are what is the the the bar that's set to whether that use could be found to be comparable or not at that specific location so it is an application process to the hearing examiner yes it's no longer a zoning verification letter signed by the planning director no no it is no longer zoning verification it is a full-scale public hearing okay

OK. Any other questions? Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Do I hear a second? Second. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, like sign. It passes unanimous. Well done, Eric.

Great job. Thank you.

I didn't know we got rid of the...

I didn't know we got rid of the zoning verification letter. Just check it out. Are we in this meeting?

Just say thanks so that we can... It comes up. Oh, no.

Did we get this one? Adjourned. Adjourned. Adjourned. Adjourned. Thank you.

I tried so many times and that's no lie