Planning and Zoning Board - Regular Meeting

Okay. I call the Planning and Zoning Board meeting of September 8th, 2026 to order. The time is 6.01 p.m. Roll call.

Good evening, everyone. Chair Wu.

Here.

Vice Chair Garson.

Here.

Board Member Levinson.

Here.

Board Member Flasterstein is not present. Board Member Kattan.

Here.

Alternate member for, sorry, for just is present. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Gosselin will lead us to the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. Approval of draft minutes. Is there a motion?

So moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

All approval say aye.

Aye.

The records show approve unanimously. Swinging of the speakers. Would you like to take this minute to swing the speakers? Staff doesn't have to be sworn in, right?

It does.

Okay, let's dispense of that. Decrease apartheid communication is not necessary. This is a legislative matter. Item 7A, an ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission regarding the sign ordinance. Staff, do you have a presentation?

Hello, everybody.

Hello, hello.

Everybody, I'm saying Kermis and the planning intern here. All right, and our amendment is for construction fence signs and graphics. So the request is a code amendment to the zoning and land development code to amend the sign regulations relating to construction signage and real estate signage. So currently the code allows for the use of construction signage limited to one 36 square foot, six foot tall sign per frontage in commercial districts and smaller and residential districts. It varies by single family and multifamily. Chain link fences around construction sites are currently required to be affixed with a windscreen and fence affixed signage and graphic windscreens are not currently permitted. So what the goal of encouraging beautification staff concluded that amendments to sign and construction fencing regulations will be necessary to make things like that possible. So the chosen approach and what's in this amendment would expand opportunity for developers, while encouraging more aesthetically pleasing design along public rights away without restricting the ability for developers to utilize construction signage already permitted by code. Additionally, staff reviewed existing real estate size limitations and increased their size limits to offer developers and owners further flexibility. So currently, freestanding construction signs are allowed without a permit limited to one per street frontage. Chain link construction fencing is required to be windscreen, but the screens and fence cannot have graphics or signs. So developers have limited options and identifying projects marketing them or beautifying the parcel. The ordinance establishes a new subsection to explicitly allow for signage renderings and art on construction fencing under the condition that a zoning permit is obtained. The ordinance also moderately increases the maximum size of real estate signs to provide further flexibility, while maintaining appropriate limitations and, finally, the ordinance makes tech some technical adjustment adjustments to improve consistency and clarity, while providing cross references to new construction fencing provisions that are being added. Overall, these amendments modernize the city's code, allowing for more attractive and informative fencing while preserving the intent of the existing code to regulate signage to protect public safety and community beauty. So here's the proposed amendment. So it adds a new subsection to the construction fencing section that establishes a regulatory framework for construction fence signs and graphics, which would include a zoning permit, A LIMITATION OF CONTENT TO ONLY ALLOW ESSENTIAL TEXTURAL INFORMATION SUCH AS THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROJECT AND CONTACT INFORMATION OF RELEVANT PARTIES, PEOPLE LIKE THE ENGINEER, DESIGNER, ET CETERA, THE OWNER. A LIMITATION OF SIGN AREA TO 20% OF EACH STREET FRONTAGE. PROVISIONS TO ALLOW GRAPHICS ON CONSTRUCTION FENCES WHICH ARE LIMITED TO, LIMITED BY THE SIGN AREA PROVISIONS RATHER. Requirement for construction graphics to cover at least 75% of any non-sign portions of street frontage they are utilized on. So if you use it, you have to use at least three quarters of the fence. Requirements for all construction fence graphics and signs to be professionally and securely affixed and maintained in good condition and to not obstruct pedestrian or vehicular visibility, nor that of required notices and signs. Prohibition on any animated digital or moving elements of signage. And clarification that these signs and graphics are treated as temporary signs and must be removed upon project completion or expiration of building permit and do not count for the total sign area of a project. And then kind of the secondary thing for this amendment is the one for. is a change to the real estate sign regulation. So in single family and two family districts, we're increasing the maximum size from three to four square feet. And the clarification is the textual technical element, but that height limit is not changing. It's still a four foot height limit. We're increasing the maximum sign area in multifamily districts from 10 to 12 feet and we're increasing the maximum sign area in all other districts from 25 to 36 square feet. Again, clarifying the height limitation of six feet, that's not a change, it's currently six, but it's just clarifying it, and clarifies the ability to affix one window sign per establishment. And three, it revises it to refer to alternate construction fence sign provisions outlined in 32-771, just so if people are looking at 606, they'll know that options lie in the new subsection for construction fence signage. And then staff recommends Planning and Zoning Board forwards a recommendation of approval to the City Commission.

Okay, thank you very much. Very well presented. I'd like to open the public hearing. Is there a member of the public who would like to speak for or against? Any comment cards? No public speakers. Seeing none, I close the public hearing. Back to the board. Questions to staff? Any questions on the proposed item?

Yes. I avoid Hallandale Beach Boulevard as much as possible, but the empty, that big empty lot on the north side of Houndo Beach Boulevard between 4th and 5th. Right. I mean, they'll be fine with disordered, but they already have graphics and everything up, correct?

Me and Stephen discussed this.

Yeah, it's called the square. It's a development that they're doing there for offices.

Yeah, but based on what this says, they shouldn't have been allowed to do that. Am I correct in that?

Yes, that is correct. So they did put that fence signage up without a permit, but as he stated in the presentation, our code does not allow it right now. So what staff decided to do is to... not take code enforcement actions on that property or any other property until this is adopted.

Yeah, no, I agree with that. I was just curious.

Yeah, understandable.

And then the other thing, basically, if you drive down A1A and Golden Beach, which that I do a lot, once the houses are being constructed, essentially they have pictures of the houses in front, that's what this is basically leading to, correct? That type of...

I'm not familiar with those specific properties, but based on what you're describing, yes.

Follow up to that question. Will they meet these regulations, the property you mentioned?

They should, but honestly, we didn't write the code for their specific situation. We wrote the code based on what we think would be appropriate, but I believe that they should meet these requirements.

Okay. Any other questions to Mehran?

No, it's actually a good ordinance in the sense because at least you have to get the permit so that they're not only just putting their construction information and you don't get the project information. So I feel like it's a good change.

More comment than a question. First of all, congratulations. As you guys know, I'm very pro-development in that sense. I think that there's a different vibe in cities when cities are building and the fact that we can tell people, hey, we're building and these are the great things that we're building creates a positive vibe versus just having something there that nobody knows what's going on. I think it brings you know again more signage that doesn't mean that it's good but you know there's a balance in which you have to tell the public what it's being done and create positive buzz around it and ultimately cities live because people want to move into it because they think that they're progressing so good good job I like it any questions no I'd like to make a motion I just have a

A thought and a concern, nothing that this ordinance can prevent, is that we have a construction site that has these graphics and they have a quote unquote building permit and they don't do any action on the ground and they keep extending the building permit and then suddenly we have a site with a construction fence and these graphics going on and on and on forever. So I don't have a solution other than I'm concerned about something like that happening. That's all. I don't have a solution. I don't know anyone will have a solution.

I don't, I think that the ordinance kind of addresses it in a different way. So you could look at it as they have a, right now they would have a chain link fence and nothing's happening.

Yes.

But with this, so we did a carrot approach, right? So we can't require the graphics, but what we did is we opened it up that you can do the current sign that you're allowed or you can do it on your fence and you have to do the graphics. So at least in that scenario where a project is basically abandoned, but they keep the permit alive. Right. The fence is not just a chain link fence. It's, you know, there's some type of graphics on it.

So we stuck with the fence?

Until the permit is expired, yes.

Are you speaking into the mic?

I'm sorry.

A lot that is under construction that somehow for financial reasons or economic cycle, whatever, doesn't get built. You're not stuck with a fence. Actually, the lot should be fenced.

You want it fenced. A vacant lot doesn't have to be fenced, does it?

No, it doesn't have to. But in most cases, vacant lots, basically, they're used for dumping grounds. People end up fencing it anyway.

It's one of those things that if you don't fence it, you have this repercussion. If you fence it, then you have a certain situation that I don't think is quite attractive, that's all.

I had a situation with a builder that called me and said, listen, they're dumping things. I'm getting fines. I want to put a fence, but it's taking the city months to put the fence permit. And actually, that got escalated all the way to Joy, because it was one of those things that didn't make sense.

Okay, we close the public hearing. Is there no more comment? Is there a motion to approve as is?

I'd like to make a motion to approve the ordinance.

Is there a second? Second. There's a motion to second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. That records to approve unanimously. Thank you very much. Next item, I have no comments. Liaison report, we already received that. Any updates from staff you'd like to add? No? And scheduled next meeting, October 13th. Do we have any cases? We might? We do.

Okay.

So now our meeting is adjourned. 6-15. Thank you very much. Thank you.