Planning and Zoning Board - Regular Meeting

6.30 p.m. Today is Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026. This is a meeting of the Pimple Pines Board of Adjustments. We'll now have the roll call by Ms. Catherine Forsstrom.

Member Appendandalo? Member Pitts?

Here.

Member Vice Chairman Brito? Chairman Krall?

Here.

Member O'Meara, Member Turner.

Yeah.

And Member Turner will be a voting member this evening.

Thank you. And we do have a quorum. Open for a motion to approve the August 6, 2026 minutes.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve the Board of Adjustment meeting minutes from August 6, 2026. All in favor say aye. Aye.

Well, first they just second. Second. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Minutes approved. We'll wait in the end to see who's available before we have excused absence. Of course.

General counsel, you now give instruction to the Yeah, I'll say something.

Yeah, I understand. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the City of Pembroke Pines Board of Adjustment meeting for September 2, 2026. I'm going to go over the procedures that we're going to follow tonight. And then I'm going to swear everybody in who plans on speaking, and then we'll start with the meeting. The members here tonight are true public servants. They're here serving their fellow residents and neighbors for hearing applications for zoning variances. um decisions from this board require a minimum of three votes for approval you see that there's only three members here tonight there may be more on the way um and i'm getting a head nod from the city staff but typically when we have a a three-member quorum we have the chairman offer the applicants the opportunity to continue their case till there's a full board so they have an opportunity to hear from more, but we have enough members here today to hear the matters and to have your variances decided. These hearings are quasi-judicial, that means Evidence and testimony that will be presented here today will be under oath. You all will be sworn and administered that oath. And we ask that you fill out the paper for signing, for speaking. I believe it's a yellow piece of paper at the podium.

Everyone has to fill out one individually if they speak.

And then we'll have those hand delivered to the city clerk for record keeping purposes. The procedure will be that the chairman will go through the application and then you as the applicant will have every opportunity to present whatever information or testimony you have to prove that you have met the requirements to receive a zoning variance. At the conclusion of the testimony, the chairman will open it up for public comment and then he will close the public comment and the board will deliberate and decide on the application here tonight. You have the ability to appeal the decision tonight to the city's commission within seven days from the rendition of the order, which will be tonight. So if you're not happy with the outcome, you have the ability to appeal. I urge you to review the city's ordinance to fully understand your rights. With that being said, I ask you all to please rise and raise your right hand. You swear upon the testimony you give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. You may be seated. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Counselor. The first resident tonight would be Eduardo Milano. Would you please come forward, please? Thank you. Good evening. There's a button there to turn the microphone on. Is it? Okay.

Make sure you sign in.

Can you finish filling out the form?

You're done?

Yeah.

OK, thank you.

Mister chair is if I could maybe begin. This property requests were presented on the other 6 meeting and the board table, the item. The applicant has reached out to work with us to follow the direction, reducing the originally requested 46% of low coverage to a 43% from the coverage.

Thank you very much. I cede the report. Thank you, Mrs. Zamora. Eduardo Milano, property owner, submitted a residential zoning reference request to legalize the construction of a driveway for the single-family residence located at 172231 Southwest 12th Street in the Silver Lakes neighborhood, which is zoned planned unit development. The planned unit development guidelines do not address driveways nor front lot coverage. The provisions of the City Land Development Code apply to this property. On February 11, 2025, Code compliance cited the property of work done without a building permit, case number 250200452. March 12, 2025, the owner submitted building permit application number RX25-02442 for the driveway at the property. The existing driveway cannot be approved as it exceeds the limitations of the city land development code. During the August 6, 2026 meeting, the applicant was directed to reevaluate the application by reducing the amount of paving located in front of the house. The petition provided a modification plan reducing the walkway width matching pre-existing conditions for the following request. ZVR 26-0028 to allow, instead of a 46%, a 43% front lot coverage. Instead of allowed 40% front lot coverage total for proposed circular driveway on a residential single family property lot. The applicant is aware that the board's consideration of residential variance request does not preclude the owner from obtaining all necessary development-related approvals or permits. And there's a letter in the back that says, this was submitted in March 2025 and September 25. The owner requested an after-fact variance for an existing extended driveway with pavers. The driveway extension and pavers were constructed entirely with the subject property and did not extend toward the or encroach into a neighbor's property. The approval was to provide safe and adequate parking and to prevent vehicles from parking on unpaved areas. The existing conditions does not create drainage, safety, or visible issues and is consistent with similar driveways improvement in the neighborhood. Approval of this variance and violation alleviates a practical hardship and allow the property owner to remain in compliance. Have I read your story and complete? Thank you. Anything you'd like to add to it?

Yeah, I mean, one of the biggest things that... Could you introduce yourself and state your address? Oh, I'm Angelica. This is my father.

Okay.

One of the biggest... Could you state your name? Oh, Angelica Merlano.

Okay. And your address?

17231 Southwest 12th Street.

Can you pull the microphone to your mouth so we can... Is that better?

Yes? No? Closer? Okay. No, another one of the biggest reasons, which I don't know was stated there, was accessibility in case of, like, anyone having any type of injury.

It's just easier to... Just a little slower.

Sorry, sorry. Accessibility, in case anybody ever gets any type of injury, just getting the round driveway, the circular driveway, is just easier to pull the car up and get people in and out of the home in case of an emergency. That's really one of the biggest accessibilities that I think would be beneficial for this.

Thank you. Any comments, sir? Anyone from the audience, any comments? Vice Chair Brito? No, no. I have no comments. Mr. Pitts? No question, Mr. Chair. Mr. Turner?

No questions.

Staff? OK. I'd like to entertain a motion for ZBR 2026-0028. required 40% front lot coverage, and it requested 43% front lot coverage reduced down from 46% for proposed single circular driveway in a single family residential lot.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve ZBR 2026-0028 to allow 43% front lot coverage instead of the allow 40% front lot coverage for a proposed circular driveway on a residential single family typical lot. under Section 155.301, Variance 1, Subsection C. I second.

So we'll promptly motion to second. Roll call, Madam Clerk.

Member Pitts?

Yes.

Vice Chairman Brito? Yes. Member Turner?

Yes.

Chairman Krall? Yes. Motion passes.

Motion passes. Please see the clerk for any other additional requirements.

Thank you. Thank you and good luck. What are we doing this for?

You can bring them up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Have a good evening. I'm going to go a little bit out of order. I'm going to call forth. I'm going to call for McKellar, Gonzalez, Otero, and Benny Mussolini.

I believe Morad is the following item.

Yeah, I'm going a little bit out of order. Yeah, 29.

Sorry.

Do I have to stay in order? Yes, completed for each one of you. Good evening, Victor. Good to see you. You coughed at her. You coughed at her.

OK.

Benny Gonzalez Otero, owner, submitted a residential zoning variance request to legalize an existing walkway with a property located at 19467 Northwest 24th Place.

Mr. Chair, I think you're going to 31. Yeah, I'm going out of order. Yes, we need to start with 29 and 30. That's Murad. The Murad family.

Zoning variance 2026-0031. No, that is Gonzalez. Right. I'm going out of order.

Okay. That's fine.

Okay, this is our home right here. Yeah, that's our house. And you're Gonzales? No. No, we're Murad.

Gonzales is last.

We're Murad. The picture's our home. What do you have right here?

Well, maybe I should stay at home.

Let's go back to Morad, 2930. That's next, per the agenda. Gonzalez is last.

Okay. Thank you. I'll follow the order. Kazan and May Morad? Yes. Yes. Okay. Located 9979 Southwest, 159th Terrace, Primer Pines, 33027. Correct. And I'm looking at... OK, all right. The owner submitted two residential zoning reference requests to legalize an existing driveway for the property located at 979 Southwest 159 Terrace. The property is part of the Pembroke Lakes, part of the Pembroke Shores plan unit development and follows the guidelines for conventional single family one, lots larger than 8,800 square feet. The plan unit development does not address front lot coverage and driveway width. Therefore, the provisions of the city's land development code apply. On January 4, 2026, the city's code compliance division cited the property for work done without building permits. Case number 260-104-312. On January 27, 2026, the owner submitted building permit application number RX26-00678 for the existing circular driveway at the property. For the application process and the permitting section, the application was reviewed, approved on March 4, 2026. As of today, no inspections have been scheduled by the builder for the project on the property. As a result of the deviation, In the execution of the approved plan, the petitioner is presenting an as-built survey document for the following request. ZVR 2026-0029 to allow 61% front lot coverage total instead of allowed 40% front lot coverage total for the existing circular driveway in the single-family residential typical lot. Also, ZBR 2026-0030 to allow 53% width of lot instead of the allowed 40% lot for an existing circular driveway in a single-family residential lot. And I think that's in the rear there. The subject property is in Kenwick Shores HOA, and the letter is attached.

Just to correct, we did receive an HOA approval at a later date, dated August 3rd. Thank you.

Just to correct. Yes, it's in the package here. Usually, the order has another list added on comments they may add. At this time, you may present other facts that may not be covered in the letter here. Is there anything you'd like to add to your case tonight?

We did have a comment list. Could you raise the microphone a little bit? We did have a comment list regarding the circular reasons.

Can you state your name?

Ghassan Murad.

Continue.

We had a list, a bunch of lists. One of them was we have three teenage kids. We have three teenage kids. My youngest started driving, so we needed a fifth car for the house. And that was the main reason we added the circular. there was no other way to have five cars at the property and There is no there is no guest parking and in our community There is no guest parking spots, and it's not allowed on the street So this is another reason we we had to add the more parking space So you have a three car garage am I correct?

Yes, and I see three cars parked outside the garage and

Yes, but there is no way to have the cars inside, and then we have to swap the cars back and forth. We have relatives.

So we use a lot of the space in the garage we use for storage.

Can you state your name?

May Murad. So a lot of the space in the garage we use for storage because homes here don't, I mean, I love to decorate. I love Christmas. I love the holidays. We have a lot of storage. We don't have attic space. We don't have basement space like up north. So a lot of the space in the garage is used for storage. Then we have a little bit of space left that we could potentially put one car garage in there. I'm sorry, one car in there. But then reversing every time somebody wants to leave, then you have to move cars around. It's a little bit bothersome.

Continue on.

Go ahead. So we don't use the garage for parking.

For storage.

Because we have a lot of, it's used for storage, right? I like to keep the house clean and organized, and I love to decorate. So we have a lot of decoration, a lot of bins, a lot of boxes. All that is in the garage.

The main reason is the five cars. Also, the main reason is the five cars. Plus, we have relatives coming over. They're spending some time overnight. So hardly there is not enough space on the driveway to park all the cars. Overnight parking is not allowed. the neighbors in front of us somebody was parked on the street and they actually they reversed from their drive when they actually hit the car they reversed into it so that's that's another reason that plus that the three car garage the width of the three car garage is 29 and a half feet the 40 allowance is 32 feet so we're left with two and a half feet to extend our space, and we can't do anything with the 2.5 feet. We needed to add the circular, so there's not enough space to add the circular. The three-car garage, if you want to stick with the 40%, then we have to cut one-car garage. We have to do two-car entry, and then to add the circular. We cannot have the three-car garage open. It's an entrance to the three-car garage, which is 29.5 feet already, and your 40% is 32%.

This is more, you have a complete picture of the, I see a portion of the Asbill survey. They have a portion of the entire,

yeah the survey as built as in the package that you received um the reason why snip because that's the request okay specifically for the driveway there are other improvements in the property they have been done um they meet code but what it stands uh what was presented before you is the driveway alone okay i mean that's the main reason we parked in the garage it's just there is nothing

See, your case where you say you've got a three-car garage, which most people do not have a three-car garage. And that's the purpose of having the garage to park the cars in.

I understand that we have a big house.

Yes, you have a very big house.

I'm very grateful for that. I mean, we work hard for this. Yes. Very grateful for that. But we have a very big house, so we do have the three-car garage. But then we don't have storage in the house, so we use the garage for storage. I have a little bit of exercise equipment because I use that space as my mini gym. So I cannot have a car in there. Every time I want to go outside in the morning, I have to move everything around.

The main reason is, like I said, it's the width of the three-car garage. We're not left with any space. We park in the garage, but it's still not enough space for the other cars to park.

You mentioned before about storage. Sometimes you can't keep things stored in the garage. I'm looking at the back patio, which backs up to a deck. Sometimes people use the back patio for storage.

Well, I mean... Just as a thought. I understand, but are you married? The thing is, there's a lot of critters. If I put something outside, there's lizards, there's frogs that get into it. And then when it's time to... It's very humid and muggy. You leave things outside most of the time. I understand.

Thank you. And you presented things that I want to have answered. You know, you're extenuating, which is not in our report here.

I understand. You're doing your job, and I'm telling you exactly, like, as it is. I would love to be able to store things outside in the backyard, but anything I put in the backyard the next year is ruined. It's in the trash, honestly.

It was just a thought.

Right, right.

You have been. Just to clarify, we do use the garage. At minimum, the two-car garage, we do use it, and we do park cars inside the garage. So, I mean, I don't want you to misunderstand that we're using storage for more than.

It's not purely storage, but.

Just to clarify, we do use at least the two-car garage most of the time to park cars.

And I think I see here where you have a building permit. Am I correct? I'm sorry? You have a, this has been permitted.

Yes. What has been permitted?

We have a survey of the permitted plan for the pavers in the front.

Right.

And I understand that you have exceeded what was permitted. Am I correct on that? We exceeded what, sorry? You exceeded what was permitted. You received a permit for a certain dimension here by the City of Pembroke Pines, and in the as-built, you have exceeded in your installation of the pavers for the driveway.

This was an existing violation. This was an existing violation. So we're here for the variance. Right.

But did you receive a permit for...

This was after the fact. We got a violation for that. This is after the fact. So I'm not understanding what you're saying.

So I believe what Mr. Chair is saying that your contractor didn't properly execute the work that was permitted.

Exceeded what was permitted.

By far exceeded. So whoever built it deviated from the approval in place that was consistent with the code regulations at that time.

Yes, he did not. Yes.

So that's what happened, and that's why we're here. Part of the record and the permit information shows that the contractor hasn't called for any inspections, obviously knowing they might be not willing to satisfy the inspections by engineering and structural. So they secured the permit to build something that is not consistent with the plan.

That's all. Exactly, yes. OK.

Anything else, staff? Anyone from the audience? Vice Chair Frito, any questions?

Yeah, I got one. I understand that you don't want to put things outside. How about in the attic?

We don't really have attic space. I mean, the attic, I don't know why.

There is misunderstanding. The garage is hardly used for storage. The two-car garage is hardly used. Three-car garage. Yeah, the third one is used sometimes for storage. Sometimes it's used for storage, but you're getting the impression that we have so much... We don't have... I think you guys... I'm sorry, you're getting the impression... You're getting the impression that we have so much storage, you can... Part of it is storage.

I think they're getting the impression... The perimeter on the side, we have it for storage.

What I'm getting to is that you have quite a bit of... circular driveway area there and i'm seeing with the three cars outside still you and you have a permitted set of plans that you exceeded by a small amount right you know if you were probably you could have followed the permanent set of plans and you would not be here tonight yes yes okay all right my just continue mr brito that's the only question i have okay You want to respond also to his question?

Yes, my main question is that we have the three-car garage, and we're trying to add a circular to it. We have the three-car garage, and we're trying to add the circular to it, and there is no way to add the circular at the 40%. It's not possible to add it at the 40% allowance unless we cut one garage. So that's my point. We're trying to add the circulars already there, and there is no way to have it without reducing the three-car garage, cutting it into two-car entrance.

Mr. Pierce.

So more of a comment. storage facility?

We don't have that much.

Like a shed?

A shed, but I mean, it could be pretty. Right, right.

But it's still going to be humid unless I install a shed. And I thought, yes, the garage is not, there's no earth condition in the garage, but it's attached to the house. So it does get hot, but it doesn't get as humid as if I were to put a shed outside. And then I would imagine that critters are still going to... I mean, I'm petrified of snakes. I don't really like frogs. I have a little dog. So I try to clean up as much as possible from the outside so I don't have, you know.

My point again, sorry. Tell them how much. The Christmas stuff is in the attic, so there isn't much really storage that we're using. There isn't really much storage. So I think you're getting the impression that there is a lot of storage.

We have the sides of the garage. We use it for storage. And then I have one side of the garage where I have my workout equipment, right? So my workout equipment Whatever storage I have an extra fridge outside in the garage that you know sometimes I go shopping to Costco And I need that and then we have a little room We have room we can park a car in there which we do sometimes, but it's very difficult to keep

When we look at the original plan, this carve out is really the major difference. There's this section here where the green space is in the middle. It looks, to me, based on the original plan versus what was actually done, it doesn't look like the carve out was extended long enough. Have you been offered an opportunity to maybe extend the carve out in the middle and still maintain the integrity of the design?

Extend the island?

Correct. Extend the island? Because the island is larger in the original plan.

The island is the same. The island is to the edge of the third garage.

so for the car to go through the circular excuse me i just want to share this is the plan that was approved by the city what the board members saying that per the approved plan this is much bigger than they were actually done and so the permit implied that the approach on the right side was going to be reduced to two and a half. I got it. 100%. I got it. But that's part of the question, right? Now walking into the entryway or leading to the entryway with a walkway, that has to stretch side to side as well. The plan, whoever draw this, indicated that portions would be properly removed and it was approved in such a way. So, you know, just want to convey this information. Okay. Okay. Yes.

Okay.

The three-car garage. You can lift the microphone up. Okay. Lift it up.

The three-car garage, the entrance, we had to cut two feet into the left, into the right side. So the driveway was going into the garage door. It was two feet into the garage door. So it wasn't a full garage. We had to remove two feet from the side of the house, actually three feet. So it was, the entrance was... into the garage into the door with so so just so i'm clear is that the section of the garage that you actually parked the vehicle not the opposite yeah we park it in the two car garage inside yeah we park in the two cars so the approved plan was three feet from the edge of the house so it was actually it's not the whole width of the two car garage it was in two feet and then the right side was about four feet, five feet going into. So it was cutting halfway into the left garage, the one door garage. If you see the width of the three car garage, it's 29 and a half. We were approved for 22. So we are short seven and a half feet.

So I guess what I'm trying to decipher is that so the single car garage area is primarily used for storage. Right. OK. So would it totally alter the integrity of the design if that portion was carved out additionally so it meets the plan, since you're not actually pulling the vehicle all the way into the garage area?

Yes. Well, the third car garage is in the middle.

Let me tell her. Sorry. My point is if you drive into that one-car garage, the island is cutting half of it, so you can't even go into the driveway and park on the driveway. It's cutting halfway into the one-car garage. I can understand that.

I'm good. No more questions, Chair. Mr. Turner.

Good evening. I'd like to know, so have you guys, Went back to the contractor to see perhaps if they could meet the specs that's recommended by the staff or anything was done to accommodate?

He told me that's the only way. If we have to do it, that's what we have to do.

No, I asked if was any attempt made for it to be corrected? To the approved engineer amount?

He had no other way to do the 40%, to divide the 40%. That was the only way he could divide the 40% is to do the 22 and the 10 feet. Okay, no other questions.

Mr. Bandalo.

You have this beautiful home in Pembroke Falls. You are 21% off on the driveway, and you're, what, 13% off in the back. Real small, real simple. You hired this contractor. Did he tell you not to get a permit with our city? Because basically, your project's illegal. These gentlemen are very kind tonight. of a sudden there's a problem with it and you want us to forgive you. And I'm looking, there's only 21% you got to take off over here, and there's only 13% in the back to make everything legal. And if you need storage, sir, go rent a storage facility. And ma'am, with all due respect, I'm not going to tell you how to do or what to work out, but, you know, I belong to a gym. But the reality is your project is illegal. That's why you're here. That's why we're talking to you. And we're trying to legalize your property. And that's why we're here. I listen to it all. Now, is there any way you could adjust the 13% in the back? Because that's not a lot. 13% is nothing. I mean, we could prohibit 13%, but you could remove 13% as well. And the driveway... 21% you can't get a car in that driveway, that's a beautiful circular driveway in that lovely home if you take out 21% of the pavers. Now I want to commend you with pavers because pavers absorb water and they percolate so there's no flooding and I commend you for using that product. But what are we here for? We're here for 21% in the front, 13% in the back.

That's 35%.

OK, but I recommend, and then you can talk all you want. You call your contractor. You tell them to come back to your property and to correct it and legalize it. That's what I recommend you do. But I mean, I'm just talking to you as one citizen to another. But the reality is we're here talking about a very, very small space from an illegal project that wasn't done with a permit. You want to legalize this. Can you move over here? Can you move the car here? Can you do there? It's crazy. We're talking 13% in the backyard. You should have fixed it. Period, end of story. The backyard is fixed. Let me finish, Alina. So anyhow, you told me how I can help you, but that's what I'm reading. We have to help fix this with you. But we're talking 13% in the back, 21 in the front, somewhere we can meet in the middle. OK, so before I vote no, please, let's work this out.

I understand you've had several meetings with staff. You're looking at a very large. And you're the only one on this map that has this large driveway. We have engineered calculations for your area. And that's what would come to the, we used to have 35%. We had to raise to 40%. And I want you to state your case, the fact that you have numerous cars. That was not in your report. We want to understand your conditions. Storage is an issue. But you have a very large paved paver area. Could you reduce it down to what the original plan was and still get three or six cars? Very few homes come to us with a three car garage problem.

I don't want to be here snitching on anyone, but when I walk around in the neighborhood, there are properties that do have even more.

And code compliance will be coming.

I'm not going to tell you where and where and where, but there is. So I'm not the only person.

But today, we're with you, and we want to work with you.

You got what? You're in front of us. That's the end game. Whatever they did, which is illegal also, which doesn't make it right.

We need to reduce it down to an agreeable amount, not the 61%. We have 40%. Someone else got approved earlier this morning, earlier today, for 43%. As Mr. Avondalo said, we just need a reduction and a circular driveway. I'm looking at three cars parked in front of the driveway, and you have other circular space. We need to reduce that pavered area down.

Is it the entrance that you, is it the back, the entrance percentage you're talking about, or is it the 51%? It's the 61% in the front. The 61% is the back, but the 51% is the middle.

Because you're backed up to a golf course and there's no neighbor in the back, we can have a little more leniency there. But in the front there, we definitely need to have a reduction. Meeting with staff, I've heard you met with them several times. And you could not come to agreement. But as Mr. Bandalo said, 61% versus 40% is quite a big difference.

So this is on the backyard. This is the backyard percentage?

We're concerned about the front. The front? Not the back, the front. The front. The 61% in the front. Can you reduce it? It's too much. It's excessive.

The problem is once you add the circular, it takes all this.

No, it all comes down to the arch there in the front.

The entrance?

Yes. OK, that's fine. The circular part there.

So just make the arch a little smaller? That's what you're suggesting?

Meet with staff and come to an agreement You know, square footage there. What you had before, was this permitted, Mr. Zamora? Okay, just a question, please. Was this the part that was permitted?

That question, a question. Pardon, Mr. Chair?

Was this the part that's permitted right here?

The portion of the backyard?

In the front.

In the front? The survey in front of you is the existing condition, which doesn't match the approved plan. The approved plan met code. The existing work doesn't.

The approved plans by building and zoning. No deviation. No inspector can go beyond what's approved on the plans. I know.

Okay. So about the 51%. The entrance, the driveway.

Let's stay on the front part. That's where our headache is. 61. Yeah, 61.

61. How about the 51? There's two of them. Let's stay on it. There's two.

61% on the front.

The 61, OK, we can reduce the entrance.

Can you reduce it?

Yes. The thing is, we had to hold.

The entrance is not a problem. It's the circular that we're... Right.

We had the issue with the entrance.

I mean, yes, we can put it for us. We make it slightly smaller.

Can I? Yeah. The issue with the entrance. Sorry. The issue with the entrance, sorry. One time there was a venomous snake at the front door, so we had to, just I'm trying to finish, just I'm sorry. And then we had some frogs. We have a small dog that we walk out. This was the main reason I cleaned the front, just for that main reason. But we can reduce it. I can reduce it back to the walkway. It's fine.

If you can meet with staff, come to agreement to reduce it down to an agreeable amount, We're going to avoid having a republication of this. And I'm quite sure you can come back at the possible next board meeting, like the previous applicant did, with an agreed solution for the front.

Ms. May, can we do that? What's the other option? What's the other option?

61% versus 40% is the other option is for you guys to vote tonight. Yeah.

Oh, do we come back next week?

Honestly, the property is beautiful. We don't have any complaints. No, it's true.

You have a beautiful property. And like I said, very few people come to us with a three-car garage issue.

It's a large property. We have a lot of grass that we maintain beautifully. So it's not like we're just converting the whole place into .

Yes, you did. You converted more than required and more than approved by the city. So I would like for you to consider meeting with staff on the first one with the 61% reduction down to a suitable amount. You've met with staff before, and you could not come to agreement.

Have you met with them? No.

Yeah, supposedly this was the attempted agreement. Well, not agreement, but the proposed.

Please meet with staff.

Yeah, percentage.

I'd like to obtain a motion for ZVR.

And also for the record, there's some landscape deficiencies, material that has been removed from the property. They will have to work with our landscape staff. Some of these inspections, in conformance with the landscape code, will come out to surface when the building permit landscape inspection takes place. So we have provided the report. Our landscape staff have it in the property, just so you know. Don't want to create any inconsistencies with city procedures.

So with no voting today, we come back. We're going to vote. We're going to vote. And then what happens when we rework it?

I'm giving the opportunity to meet with staff on ZBR 2026.

If you're going to table the first one, you should table the second one as well because it will affect me.

I'd like to offer a motion to table ZBR 2026-0029. and ZVR 2026-0030 to be considered for the next board meeting. What date is that?

If you decide to table because of the cost that is involved, it would have to be to a date certain. Right. Right. We recommend that it will be brought back in November. November. Because we need a couple months of this. The November board meeting. Yes.

What date is the November meeting? November the 5th, 2026.

That is correct. November 5th, 26.

So that needs to be part of the motion. November 5th, 2026 at 6.30 PM, city commission chamber. The two ZBRs. Two and both separately, right? You can do them together if they're being tabled together. OK.

I do apologize. Before you make the motion, the staff has no objections of meeting with them. They have to provide us with a design. We can bring this back on October. So that's what we can do. You mean November? No, October. We'll have an October meeting. I'm confused, Christian.

You said you wanted to do November. Now you're saying October.

Yes, but I'm realizing that we do have items for October. So if they want to bring back a proposed change to the existing, we can bring this back in October. October 1st, correct.

October 1st is the meeting.

All right. So it will be up to the board to decide what's the best way to follow.

Well, they just said they can't do October, so November was fine based on...

November.

So it'll be to November 5th, 2026. Would that be an additional cost for anything? No.

No, as long as it's in the date, sir. OK. All right.

You're giving more time.

Mr. Pitts.

He still needs to make the motion, though.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to table ZVR 2026-0029 to allow 61% front lot coverage. You don't have to read all that. I don't have to read all that? OK. And to table ZVR 2026-0030 to be reconsidered on November 5, 2026 at 6.30 PM in Pembroke Pines Commission Chambers. I second.

I second. The motion is second for the table of the two applications. Roll call, please.

Member Pitts?

Yes.

Vice Chair Brito? Yes. Member Avendandalo? Yes. Member Turner? Yes. Chairman Krall? Yes. Motion passes.

Do you fully understand what you've been given? OK. Thank you very much, ma'am. Thank you very much.

Mr. Gonzalez-Otero. Good evening.

Mr. Benny Gonzalez-Otero. Sign in, please. Yes, sir. Mr. Terrell submitted a residential zoning variance request to legalize the existing walkway for the property located at 19467 Northwest 24th Place. The property is part of the Keystone Lake Plan unit development and follows the guidelines for a single family, zero lot line. And it does not address structures. Therefore, the provisions of the city's land development code apply. On March 24th, 2026, The owner submitted building permit application number of RX26-02607 to construct a patio and walkway at the property. The permit application was reviewed and approved on May 15, 2026. It's the approved permit layout. During the inspection phase on June 6, engineering failed as the work on the property did not match the approved plan setback requirements. As a result of the existing work on the property, The petitioner requesting an as-built survey documenting the following request. ZBR 26-0031 to allow 3 foot 3 inch reducing to 1 foot 9 inch setback along a segment of the non-zero lot side property line instead of required 5 foot side setback for an existing 38 inch wide walkway in a single family residential lot. And that pretty much explains everything for surveys. Anything, Mr. Gonzalez-Otero, you'd like to add to the statement here?

Not really. You can see it on the survey.

Can you just state your name for the record?

Benny Gonzalez-Otero.

Say that one more time, a little slower.

Benny Gonzalez-Otero. All right. And your address, please. All right. And your address, please. 19467 Northwest, 24th Place, 33029. OK, thank you. Then the biggest issue here is the little pathway that was built really close to the lot line.

Any questions? Which side is your neighbor? On the right side there? OK. Go back again. OK. Yes. And the walkway is on the?

On the right side of the house. OK. Assembly side.

OK. OK. Any questions, Mr. Brito?

No, no questions.

Mr. Pitts? No questions. I just want to thank Penny for waiting with us. We tried to. No further questions.

Mr. Turner? No questions. You're set by ..

Sir, on the side of your home, and I'm glad you used pavers. Thank you. Thank you very, very much for using pavers. Okay. Where does your water line come into your house? Is it on the other side of the house? Is it underneath this?

I think it's... in between my house and my next door house.

So that's on the other side of the house. That's my question, not this side. No, no, no. That pipe doesn't run underneath this walk.

No, no, no.

There's no gas line that runs under that walk either.

Gas, no.

No, we're getting gas in the pines. I don't know if they hit your neighborhood yet. It's a big project. Natural, you know, the Tico. Tico's all over the place. I don't want gas. Not yet? Okay, great. And then there's no electricity. There's no, like, the electrical. Does that run on the side?

It's on the side of that on the wall there, but no electrical coming in.

Not this house. The other side of the house. Where does your electric come into the house? Because it's like usually it's in a Romex. It's underneath the ground. Is it underneath this walkway?

It is underneath the driveway, I believe.

Usually they run on the setbacks. That's why they have those five foot setbacks on the sides of the house.

Let me see if I can guess right. The meter.

Victor, he has a permit, just so you know. So the city looked at that type of. You can ask your questions, but I'm just saying.

The city looked at it. Everything's fine. There's nothing underneath that. Yeah, he has a permit for this.

It's just the zoning issue.

There's nothing there that I know about.

I can't thank you enough for trying. You did perfect with me, and I'm good with you. I mean, good. I mean, like, this is good. But the biggest concern that I have is that. People, they cement over the electricity, now the new thing with AT&T fiber, you know, our water lines run our setbacks where they come from the road, you know, with that supply. And, you know, if there's a problem, you can't get to the utilities because the utilities run on the setbacks. That's why they have setbacks because of the utilities. If your property's fine, it's fine. And I thank you for answering my questions.

Yeah, thank you.

That's all it is. That's the only concern I have. Because our wires run on both sides of our neighbors. So where does the water come through? Where does the electricity come through? And now this new fiber thing, AT&T's all over the neighborhoods. And that's the thing. Where are they running their stuff? And they put this thin little thing. And it's weird. It works great. I got it. But I can't believe how they buried it.

Well, it came under the driveway.

Perfect. OK. Thank you. Thank you for your time.

All right. And I'll attend a motion for ZBR 2026-0031. Mr.

Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve ZBR 2026-0031 to allow three foot, three inch, reducing to one foot, nine inch setback along a segment of the side property line instead of the required five.

The non-zero lot. I'm sorry.

Non-zero lot side property line instead of the required five foot size setback for an existing 38 foot wide walkway. 38 inch. 38 inch, sorry. Walkway in a single family residential zero lot under section 155.301 variance 1C. I second.

Improptu motion is second. Roll call, Madam Chairlady.

Member Pitts? Yes. Vice Chairman Brito?

Yes.

Member Appendantalo?

Yes.

Member Turner?

Yes.

Chairman Krall?

Yes.

Motion passes.

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other business before this committee tonight? Mr. Samora?

No, I don't know.

I'd like to talk about, sir, you're done. You're done? Yeah. Did you turn on the other sheet? Yes. You may want to inform the board about the, A letter coming from zoning regarding re-appetizement and cost.

Right, right, correct. Maybe the attorney can help us out with that. I would appreciate it if any putback that you could. But bottom line is, we did send some communication through our planning and economic development director, Michael Stamm, related to actions by the board. The recommendation comes from based on 155. 301, specifically related to development applications. And notice, the direction provided is that when the board may decide to table items for a date certain, no re-advertising of the variance of petition needs to be done. If the board decides not to table it with date uncertain, the applicant needs to incur and satisfy fees for re-noticing. At the same time, when an item is tabled and for A, B, or C reasons, the applicant cancels or defers the application, they need to satisfy those fees as well. So that's something that needs to be considered before you move forward with an action. And also coming from a staff, especially specifically me, and I'm glad that you brought it up. Quentin is when you do or have more than a variance for a property, it will be considered for you to table all the variances and not. Yes. you know, one or two. It allows the staff to avoid, you know, further discussion issues that some of these actions sometimes bring to a staff. That's all I got to say.

I don't know if I explained myself correctly. So basically what we did tonight, we set a date of November 5th. If we did not set a date, there may have been additional costs for re-advertisement and so forth.

That is correct. So a couple of items that were tabled in last meeting, they were tabled for a date certain. One of them, Mr. Merlano, he had to satisfy fees so we can recover for those monies. So that's what I got.

And in the past, we have passed portions of it, but now we're going to look at all or nothing.

They're really unrelated, but most of the time they're interrelated. So if they're really unrelated, then it's not wrong, but... You don't want to have unintended consequences. Yeah, something like landscaping trees versus pavers.

OK.

Right. OK. Well, sometimes you will have a request for frontal coverage and setbacks. Right. Right. Or width. So, you know, by approving some of them, it creates a technical issue moving forward because of the perception of the resident and reality. Right. Again, it's technical in nature. So.

Anything else? Mr. Zamora?

No, I would like you to ask a couple questions to the owners so we can stay in the record related to landscape. When some of these improvements occur, definitely landscape materials, trees are being compromised, removed, and we might be ignoring them. Again, that's something valid to ask. Typically, we will, when we process these variances, we will produce a landscape report that we provide to the applicant so they know what's coming. Every application that comes before you needs to be properly completed via completion of the permit. And as part of the building permit process, the landscaping inspection will be or needs to be satisfied. It's just something important that will allow us to keep everything in a little more context when it comes to beautification or landscape material in the lot.

Anything else, General Counsel?

Christian had sunshine law refresh on the agenda. I don't know if you want to go through that.

It's up to you. I think everybody is well versed on that.

That's up to you, Mr. Chair. Please, let's do it to keep in accordance with the . That would be perfect. Go ahead. OK. So Sunshine Law. The main thing is if Victor calls you at home, don't answer the phone because you can't. Just make sure you say percolation. Let me go through it a little bit. I'll be very brief. The Sunshine Law is based on the state statute and the Florida Constitution. The intent is to have every decision and discussion on a particular matter that you all hear, which are variances to be discussed here in the public and not outside the meeting or privately. One of the things that you all have to be mindful of is just some of the crosstalk and the low talk on the dais. Kind of. So just make sure that if you're talking about a case, make sure you're speaking into the microphone so that it's picked up for our minutes. If you're asking about the game and the short break, that's OK. But you have to be mindful when you have people. When you have people in the audience and they see you whispering, and I'm not saying you were whispering during the discussion, they don't know whether or not you're talking about their case or whether or not you're talking about the game or what's for dinner tonight. So you got to be mindful of the perception of the sunshine law, even though you might not be violating. If you're sitting out in the audience... Correct, which is a problem. So I think that's all I probably need to cover with you all because I see some of the talk. You got to keep that to a minimum, especially during the case so that people aren't feeling like you're saying stuff and they're not sure what's going on. So any questions? Yes, sir. It's public record always, but you still should not be talking about it. Because it's not necessarily done and over with because they have the right to. Right.

Right. OK, one more thing. On each commission's meeting, there's a section there for appeal of board of rules adjustments. So anyone feel like they've been mishandled or disrespected, they can bring it up at the commission's meeting.

What do you mean like when the commission, they flip our decision?

Well, basically. They rally because they have been respecting what we have, our judgment.

They have the authority under the code to review any appeal and make a determination based on the evidence.

We want to avoid anyone feeling that they were misrepresented or not heard or misjudged at this meeting. That's the main thing. Because something simple, you know, feelings could be easily heard. We want to avoid having a discussion at a board meeting where all of the governors might not have been present.

Anything else? Lastly, I would like to the board, given today's climate, to really stick to the purpose of the meeting, which is hear, deny, or approve. I believe that sometimes we go too extended into some of these discussions, entertaining some of the personal issues or items that they might need. So I would like you to stick to the rule, judge what is in front of you, and make a determination. That's all that I expect. Staff works extremely hard, right, before we get these items to you. With some of those properties, with owners, we have invested, myself, about 80 hours with someone. making recommendations, persuading, and having those discussions. It comes before you, and everything kind of dies.

So what I think Christian is trying to say, sometimes when you all ask them to meet with the staff and come up with a solution, they've already met with the staff, and they've... Right. So he... Sometimes it's... Just vote yes or no on a particular application and have it move forward.

That's 1% to you is because that's what we can agree to.

When they come to us, that's the end. That's all there is to it. We're not going to do that again.

No, you can continue to do that, but that's what Christian is saying.

It's a vicious circle that never ends. So if you keep the door open, which is great. I'm not judging what you do. On the opposite, I admire what you do. But lastly, who does all the work and have to deal with all those residents who have a different understanding of, definitely lack of.

Okay, Christian, in the report that we received, Could you state that applicant has met with staff? If you could state that, then we know that this is it.

We have. But by putting an incunet, sometimes that brings a problem because that turns into my petition. And we're not asking for anything.

If we know they have met with you and you've exhausted all remedies, and this is it.

There's no need of me for putting it right. I'm telling you that's what we do. I've been saying that since our former, you know, the only administrator, Dean Piper, who you met with, right, when I took over, that's part of it. I learned most of what I know from him. All right. So I would appreciate you understanding Putting a little more effort in the information that we present. We do a lot of work. Okay. That's all.

Thank you. Motion for adjournment. All in favor say aye. Meeting adjourned.