Local Planning Agency - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

All right, it's 559. We're going to start in a minute. If everyone please take a seat. Okay, Mauricio six o'clock Thursday, August 21, calling the meeting to order.

Commissioner, Commissioner Joseph. President. Commissioner Syverson. Here. Commissioner Vizcarra.

Here.

Vice Mayor Lama. Here. Mayor Svetchen. Here. All members present now.

Okay.

So this meeting is the local planning agency meeting and it's to, sorry, excuse me one second. It's to discuss an ordinance amending the land development regulations regarding setback encroachments and residential fences.

All right. Amy.

okay good evening mayor vice mayor and commissioners members of the LPA tonight we are discussing an ordinance to amend development standards for single-family homes specifically setback encroachments and residential fencing standards so I'm just gonna wait for my presentation to come up I do have some slides to walk through okay so why are we here um we're going to be discussing single-family homes which is located in the r1 and rth zoning districts on the screen on the left side is the city zoning map so we are talking about the golden gate neighborhood golden shores and atlantic isle that's where the r1 and rth zoning districts are located currently the zoning standards are unclear when it comes to setback encroachments and the residential fencing standards also need to be clarified The current code causes confusion for builders, for homeowners, and it has led to inconsistent applications throughout the years. So the goal is to adopt clear regulations so that everyone that I just mentioned can be on the same page and the regulations can be applied fairly and consistently. So this is the definition of a yard or a setback. Those two terms are interchangeable. It's an open area between a building and a parcel, lot, or street easement right-of-way line. This area shall be unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except for permitted encroachments otherwise allowed in these land development regulations. So the land development regulations already does allow a few different types of setback encroachments. Those things are like pools, gazebos, screen enclosures, driveways, fences, and walls. So before I get back, get into what I want to add to those setback encroachments, on the screen on the left side is a very typical lot that we have in Golden Shores for single family homes. This is an R1 lot. It's 7,500 square feet in size, and it has 75 feet of street frontage. So this is the property line. And in the R1 zoning district, we require a 25-foot setback for the front yard from the front property line, a 15-foot setback in the rear yard, and seven and a half foot setbacks on the side. So what's left in that white area is your buildable area for your principal structure. Everything that would be located in the blue areas is considered a setback encroachment. So again, why do we want to regulate the setback encroachments? Because we have really small lots in Sunny Isles Beach for single family homes, this is really to protect neighboring properties from conflicts, such as shade, noise, and privacy concerns. And we also want to maintain neighborhood character. We don't want a lot of encroachments into the setbacks that will visually impair the residential character. OK, so getting into the specific setbacks this ordinance proposes. So for roof overhangs, eyebrows, and awnings, currently there's no standards in the zoning code. So they're not allowed to encroach into the setbacks. However, there's a lot of benefits to roof overhangs and eyebrows. It protects the structure from the elements. It helps keep the home cool. And they're typically located over the windows and doors. So what we're proposing is to allow Roof overhangs, eyebrows, and awnings to encroach into the setbacks with a maximum of 20%. So this would be a 5-foot projection. Or if the setback is 7 and 1 half feet or less, then the maximum encroachment would be 2 feet. The next item is built-in planter boxes. These have become really popular with the new modern homes, especially in the front yard and on the rear pool decks. There are currently no regulations, so we want to introduce the standard of allowing an encroachment up to 25% of the yard area and to a maximum height of the finished floor elevation of the home. The next item are stairs, stair landings, and ramps. Again, currently there are no standards. However, these are necessary for ingress and egress into the property. And so the proposed encroachment would be 50% of the setback area and the height cannot exceed the finished floor elevation for the home because we don't want stairs that can go to the rooftop terrace because that would introduce privacy concerns for the neighbors or impair the visual residential character that we were just discussing. The last one is utility and mechanical equipment. Currently, there is a standard, and that is mechanical equipment is allowed to encroach into the setback in a distance equal to its height. That has been really difficult to regulate and enforce. So what we're proposing is that they are allowed to encroach into the setback up to 3 and 1 half feet from the property line and with a maximum height of 6 feet above design flood elevation. These are only allowed to encroach into the side and the rear setbacks, not into the front. And the last item is about residential fences in the front yard. Currently, we allow solid walls up to four feet tall. And if you want to go to six feet tall, then you have to have decorative railings. So we are proposing to clarify that the decorative, the pickets for the decorative railings need to be a minimum of three inches apart and a maximum of four inches. And that aligns with the Florida building code. And we are also proposing to allow decorative columns, which is in that first picture on the top, maximum height of six feet, maximum width of two feet. And you can have one column per 10 feet of street frontage. So with that, that's my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions from the commission.

OK. Mauricio, do we have any speakers?

No, ma'am.

OK, who would like to go first, if anyone has any questions?

No questions.

No? I have just the one question about the roofs and overhangs. Are we, I don't know that this is necessarily a concern, but does it address the placement of the overhangs and the eyebrows? Was it eyebrows?

Yep, eyebrows.

Does it address the placement of that, or we're just concerned with how far they encroach into the...

So those are elements that are attached to the principal structure. And so what we're proposing is to allow them into the front, side, or rear setback, and up to 20% of the setback. So we're allowing them to go into the setback.

I understand. I was just wondering if it's addressed at all. And again, I don't know if it's an issue, like where on the structure these elements

Oh, I see, like on the first floor or second floor? Yeah. Anywhere on the structure. So any eyebrows, so even if it's on the second floor or above a window, it can project into the setback.

Okay. That was my question.

Thank you.

Okay. No more?

No, it's a motion. I'll make a motion.

You need a second?

Second. All in favor?

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

So the recommendation will be made to the city commission.

At 6.30.

At 6.30.

All right. So this was FAST 608. All right. So we'll see you all. Meeting adjourned. We'll see you back here at 6.30. Thank you.