City Council - Regular Meeting

Followed by Pledge of Allegiance. Amen. 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.

Court called the roll.

Councilman Foley? Councilman Gifford? Here. Councilman Green? Here. Vice Mayor Grubbs? Here. Mayor Stillman?

Here. Thank you guys for all coming out tonight. That quickly brings us to item four, LifePak 35 cardiac monitor demonstration. Welcome Division Chief Colleen Pichette. We'll welcome Chief Wolfing too.

Yeah, I was going to come up and say hi. Joe Wolfing, Fire Chief, City of Port Orange. This is Colleen Fitchett, our EMS chief. Fitchett, I apologize. Yeah, the French version. What we're here tonight is we kind of want to show you guys when you approve some CIP purchases, they're usually big items for the fire department. This is one of them. This is a cardiac life monitor that you guys, it wasn't a part of the CIP, but it was a mid-year budget. But historically, we do have these in our CIP. and so what we wanted to do is kind of show you what when you when you spend a lot of money on stuff like this what these actually do and what these mean for our citizens since january 1 we've run 142 chest pain calls we've run 72 cardiac arrests since january 1. so we're a busy fire department i think daytona and deltona are similar daytona runs a little bit more calls but The amount of patient contact we have with these machines, it's quite, it's shocking actually how many times we actually use these. So EMS Chief Fitch is gonna go give you a quick run through of what they do because the technology with these new ones is incredible. Go ahead.

So this is our new Lifepack 35 monitor. It replaced our Lifepack 15 monitors that were fairly outdated when I got promoted. So I came to finance and the city manager and ran the numbers and this was the smart decision was to upgrade these monitors. So total we have nine cardiac monitors and you guys have a little run down here. All five of our fire trucks, all ALS, right, quints, engines, We have one on Medic 73, on Battalion 70. This cardiac monitor stays in my truck. It's the training, but I can also use it on calls if need be. And then we have a spare monitor for special events. We'll put it on IRV at City Center. If we have a hurricane, when we upfit another truck, we'll put it on that one. What's great about these monitors is it used to be a version 1, and then if we got in too early and they came out with a better model, they came out with a better model. We weren't going to buy the better model. So software, this can build out. So as they come out with new software, new accessories and attachments, we can actually just keep this monitor, update it, buy the new attachment, and go from there. Most people don't know that our cardiac arrest calls, all of our paramedics run a call just like they would at the hospital. So you might see some frustration, like why are they still here? Why aren't they leaving? We have the capabilities on scene to do everything the hospital does, and actually our protocol wants us to stay on scene. So these monitors are the same exact credit monitors in the ER. So when we do get to the hospital, we don't have to take the patient off of the pads or the monitor. We can unplug the cables and plug them right into the hospital's monitors. These are also interoperable with a lot of our AEDs. So if we use an AED on scene somewhere, this shows up, we would just unplug it from the AED and we would plug it into this machine. So you can see some of the capabilities. Continuous monitoring of heart rate, blood pressure. There's some medical stuff on here. SAO2, which is just your oxygen saturation. carbon dioxide, where we breathe out, and then we can even do carbon monoxide, so we have a special sensor that goes on here and actually allows us, like, outside of house fires, we pull somebody out of that, or toxic inhalation. This is a defibrillator, just like your AEDs, but what we do is we actually, your paramedics, read the screen, actually interpret the rhythm, where in AEDs you don't have a screen, it just does it for you. So they actually look at the screen, interpret the rhythm, and then decide their course of treatment. So it defibrillates ventricular fibrillation. Cardioversion is something we send electrical therapy through when a heart rate's too fast. We can cardiovert them and try to reset their heart, so it does that if a heart's too fast. Pacing, I'm sure most people are familiar with pacing, internal pacemakers. This is an external, so somebody's heart's going too slow, their internal pacemaker, intrinsic one in the heart fails, or maybe even their implanted one fails. And we can actually take over by putting pads on them and pacing them throughout. And then this also has the ability to do a 12 lead, which is 12 different views of your heart looking for heart attacks, and a 15 lead without moving any leads. So that was another upgrade because about 18% of heart attacks are posterior and we never looked on the backside because it was just something that we didn't have enough stickies to put on there. So now we can look at that. Biggest thing, though, is we transmit this data to the hospital. I always use myself as an example because I don't want to put bad energy on anybody if I were having a heart attack. The medics identified that. What they would do is they would call the hospital, and then they would be able to transmit this information to the hospital before the patient ever got there. That comes up on the screen and then those doctors will read that and determine if they're going straight to the cath lab. So it narrows the time from onset to cath lab. One of the other things we have is CPR insight, which is really cool. The biggest thing on cardiac arrest is that we have time on chest. So compression fraction, that's the most important part of CPR in cardiac arrest. So most of the time we'd have to stop doing compressions to analyze on the screen. And what this can do is through compressions, it can read on the backside that it's looking at a rhythm that we're probably going to have to defibrillate. And it'll pre-charge the monitor, which takes a few seconds. So it saves time on chest. And then this also, we have a new report writing software. So all of the data that we collect on the polls, we upload straight into ESO. That connects to the report. It sends it on the backside to me where I can see from the time they turn this monitor on to the time they shut it off. every button that was pressed in between, time on chest, defibrillations, anything that they record. And then in here I just have lifespan, expandability, we talked about the software and durability. We have an eight year product protection plan on these and the shelf life of these is about eight years is what you're going to get out of them. the it replaces if a battery goes bad we know lithium ion batteries these batteries are they're not cheap they replace we just had the maintenance one actually it's right here five of 2026 we had one that just had a nick out of the button right here they came put everything replaced it so we're super thankful for that because it keeps the preventative maintenance up on these I think that's about it. Do you want anything out of this?

What does a unit cost roughly?

About $47,000.

As we go to replace them, do we replace all eight at one time? Or do we phase them?

That's a really good question that I can get back to you on. Okay. But I think it was paid out of five.

We bought them intentionally to not have to do that. But at one point, you needed to keep the old ones. You had to because you had to keep the consistent, like you were saying, version one. We had no choice, which meant we had to spend a ton of money.

Yeah, so we had some 2014 monitors when I came over that we couldn't even get parts for. So... They were in the order, but we wanted to put the preventative maintenance, and that wasn't possible. And so it was a perfect time. They were kind of staggered as a perfect time to level the playing field. But we could not initially with these, because it is different technology, what we did was we implemented this. It took us about probably three months, because I wasn't going to say, here's a new monitor, give me that one. So we trained and trained and trained. And luckily caught one issue before we put them on the trucks. And we sent them back. We sent one issue with one. We sent all nine back and made sure they went through them. And then sent them back to us. So these have been on the trucks since December.

I recall that part of that was they're trained on them, so you want to make sure that they're all using the same one, because if you're on a different truck, you don't want to have a version three on one and a two on the other. In fact, I thought it was important to have her here, because since Chief Fitchett came on board, Joe had always thought, we spend a lot of time talking about making sure our firefighters stay alive. So we have a really good training tower, a good training program, so that our guys, when they go in and do this, whether it's firefighting or anything they do, One of the things we wanted to do was take the EMS side of it to the same level. This is keeping everybody else alive. So our firefighter training makes sure our guys come back safe when they go into facilities. She's responsible for making sure everybody else that lives here in the city stays alive and has made tremendous positive improvements in this division since she came on board. So in addition, the right kind of equipment, some of this I put in when we did our end of year accomplishments list and we talked a little bit about it in the state of the city. Whether it's for children, so you've got a bunch of stuff for child heart monitor and brain. And then so there's the equipment being upgraded, the control of the medicines on the machines, the training of the people. All of this is now, if you have something go wrong with you, you want our guys showing up to help you. This is what you want in your city to be protected. This is what they're doing. Go ahead.

Now we've got to the point where with Chief Fitchett in there, we can really concentrate on the community. What saves lives is quick response times. And for the cardiac arrest patients is the CPR, the bystander CPR and defibrillation. So we teach CPR to anybody that wants to teach it. We're an American Heart Association training center. So we can teach people, we can give you a card, or we can just do a friends and family type. We've been putting AEDs out into the businesses and city buildings. We're trying to get out there to where when we arrive on scene, there's already bystanders working on these people that need help. And the faster they get the help with the CPR and the AEDs prior to our arrival, the better chance of their survival. We talk about, we call it ROSC, it's return to spontaneous circulation. And some months we do really good. One month we had a 35% ROSC rate for everyone in our community. That can drop sometimes. Sometimes we just, we do everything we can, but we just can't save somebody. But if you look at comparables, when we hit that 35%, nationwide it's as high as 7% in some locations. So that number right there was leading us and me to look at what we were doing because we have to provide a level of service to the citizens that's worth them paying for. And that's what we're doing right now.

I don't know that I have any questions. I think that stuff's really cool. I'm so glad you guys understand it. I will just say that throughout my time in the city of Port Orange under different roles and capacities, I have always felt like if you were in a medical emergency situation, you want our people to get their hands on you as quick as possible and first. that's not a knock on other organizations that do similar things it's just when you've seen it so many times and one of the things that the residents in Port Orange and it's okay you know sometimes you don't need to know everything just but it's there right and so you know I think that the EMS The priority on EMS, we've increased paramedics. We try to do our best to stay up with technology. We started the ambulance program, which is, we won't rehash that whole thing. But there's still a need for more ALS services throughout all of Volusia County, countywide. But yet, we have taken a lot of strides, sometimes even against popular services. and they've worked out exceeding all expectations. So what you guys do with the EMS side of it, it is amazing. And we have a ton of residents who do know about it, and they are truly appreciative. I hope nobody needs to use that.

I hope it never gets used, but we know the reality is, right? To that point, this doesn't have to just, it's not just going to be used on the cardiac arrest, the respiratory. If somebody just fell, right, we're going to take their blood. This piece of equipment gets pulled out on every single medical call. That's awesome. So it's not something that sits on a shelf for, oh, there's a cardiac arrest. We'll bring in the monitor. This goes on every single call along with our jump box, along with our airway bag, and then from there, you know, the call determines what else we bring in there.

I know when I see you guys get off the trucks and they've got all the bags and all that, I'm like, man, man, whatever they're going to need, they've got it. Somebody's carrying it. So that's pretty awesome. Tracy, what do you got?

It's great to see. I mean, having that many units in all the departments and streamlining, it makes it easier for the team to know what they're on, especially when they go from one department to another. It's the same. You touched on one thing that just echoes as far as the rapid responses. It's already transmitting to the hospital. I mean, that's incredible. It used to be you had to radio that and talk about it, but they didn't have the live image going on. So that's an incredible piece of equipment. So it's great to see.

Thank you for your service to our citizens. And I've had the unfortunate but fortunate opportunity to call 911 three times in the last six months to my house for my parents and my aunt. And it's been fantastic. This is a quality of life issue. This is what people want when they move to Port Orange. They want to know that they're going to be safe and that you're going to be served. And we have a lot of people that need your services for all kinds of different things. And we're just glad that We, our prior councils, have provided you the financial tools to get you the things that are going to help our citizens, and I think that's really important. In light of today's decisions that were made at the state level, it's going to be under a microscope even more. So we'll do everything we can to keep giving you the tools you need to help us. So thank you for your service.

Yeah, I think these guys pretty much covered it. And again, statistically speaking, when you look at how many calls you guys run medically, I think putting you guys on the cutting edge is important to the residents. And we all know that response times have gone down over the years through our county, and you guys have stepped up to help that and our ambulance and those things. So I think that... you can't put a dollar amount to what you guys are doing. And again, I'd like for us to stay on top of those, make sure that we can keep them funded as the years go on and that we keep them up to date and that we stay on the cutting edge. So thank you guys a lot.

Thank you. You know, they recently realized that they needed more paramedics, so they made more paramedic. His last name's Moore. Congratulations to him, by the way, when you see him. Please pass that along. There you go. We have one more paramedic.

We have one more paramedic. That's right.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, guys, very much.

Thank you.

We appreciate you. Item 5, public comments on consent agenda items only. Any public comments on consent agenda items 6 through 13? Seeing none, Council, can I get a motion to approve Consent Agenda Item 6-13?

I give a motion to approve Consent Agenda Item 6-13. I second.

I have a motion and a second. The clerk called the roll.

Councilman Gephardt?

Yes.

Councilman Green? Yes. Vice Mayor Grubbs? Yes. Mayor Stefano?

Yes. 4-0. Moving on quickly to Item 14, Faith, Family, Responsible fatherhood line. I've got a proclamation. Do you want to come on up? Who's receiving this? There we go. Come on up. I'll read this proclamation and give you an opportunity to tell us who you are.

They're all welcome to come up here with you if you'd like.

Whereas faith... Faith traditions and community values have long played an important role in the lives of many Port Orange residents, providing sources of strength, hope, guidance, and service. And whereas religious and ethical traditions have contributed to the development of values such as compassion, service, unity, and care for others that support the well-being of the Port Orange community, and whereas families serve as a foundation of our community, helping to foster strong values, responsibility, compassion and support for current and future generations. And whereas the month of June includes the observance of Father's Day, a time to recognize and honor fathers and father figures for their contributions to their families and communities through guidance, support and leadership. Now, therefore, I, Scott Stiltner, Mayor of the City of Port Orange, Florida, do hereby proclaim the month of June 2026 as Faith, Family, and Responsible Fatherhood Month. The City of Port Orange encourages residents to come together to celebrate and support the families and relationships that contribute to our community. By recognizing these values, we support families and promote community built on respect, understanding, and mutual support. Awesome. Can we come down and get a quick picture with you guys? Great. All right. Council want to join us real quick and then we'll... Thank you all for doing this proclamation.

We become what we celebrate. From 1607 when the first English settlers came over here and set that cross on the ground, we set this land apart for really the Christian faith. and for the furtherance of the glory of God. And as the Father goes, so goes the family. As the family goes, so goes the nation. And so on this America 250, it's not just the question on what type of a nation are we inheriting, but what type of a nation are we handing down to our inherited children. And we want to have a nation that celebrates the gospel of Jesus, that we can all be forgiven of our sins and have peace. being repentant of our sins, have eternal life, and also that fathers need to be celebrated because most of the issues in our communities are really from fatherless homes or from people who have bad fathers or from really where the family unit goes wrong. To strengthen those family units, we can strengthen our communities. And so these pastors up here in solidarity and other ministry leaders are here to back me up with this too. Thank you so much.

Thank you guys very much. I always feel a lot better when the clergy is among us in the council chambers. So thank you guys again. Appreciate that. Public participation on agenda. Where's Kimia? You're up. Good to see you. What's going on in the Chamber of Commerce?

So we have a lot of fun things coming up. So one of the things is the Mega Mixer and that is at Embry-Riddle on June 11th and that'll be the sixth Chamber of Commerce is getting together. I always look forward to that. Lots of people and it's open to the public. We have the 2026 Legislative Welcome Back Breakfast, June 19th. And if anybody wants to look these up on the internet, you can go to the Port Orange South Daytona Chamber of Commerce. We have Casino Night, June 26th. That's a fun event, and that is a big fundraiser for Port Orange Chamber. For golfers and animal lovers, we have the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Golf Benefit for homeless animals, and that is June 6th. We have other golfing events and let's see. Oh, and the mega mixer one mentioned the public is welcome to attend that as well. We have several leadership programs in our chamber and another thing coming up, we have. Summer Brew and Food Fest, and that is June 12th and 13th. So if you're a foodie or you like beer, come on out. Thank you for your time.

Awesome. Thank you very much. Always good to see you. All right. Was that the only one we had tonight? Yes, sir. Okay. That'll bring us to council member comments. I'm going to go ahead and start this off and go first this evening. So this morning, I try whenever I can to watch the county council meetings, which are live, available online. They're pretty long throughout the course of the workday. I don't get a chance to catch everything, but interesting thing happened this morning. A non-agended section or segment, if you will, of their meeting occurred actually prior to even them voting and approving the agenda items. But they had the county manager, Mr. Rex DeWald, and the chief financial officer for the county. come up and give a presentation because of the recent proposal by Governor DeSantis to be handed over to the House and the Senate in Florida to discuss property tax reform. And you kind of get a sense of what was happening was they very quickly were seeing things that were concerning. By the way, my comments are not designed for for or oppose of what will be on the ballot. But in any regard, there was a lot of information. And I would encourage you guys, if you get a chance, to go and watch that section of the meeting from this morning. It's about 50, 55 minutes long. And there were some questions. I was kind of like, I feel like I've been doing this for a long time. And I felt like there was a lot of complexity in the information. And it is complex, because the way the local governments funding to provide the services that the residents want it is not the same if you know there's no one-size-fits-all so you know the big issue that is being discussed or has been voted on circles around homestead exemption properties right well it would be different if every single city in the entire state of Florida all had the exact same amount of homestead properties because then you would say well that's pretty easy every city's gonna have this X number Well, that's not the case. And in fact, the city of Port Orange far exceeds the state averages for the amount of homestead properties. I'm not sure where the county is on that. But the numbers that the county were putting out were pretty staggering. That with what was being proposed, they were anticipating about a $93 million loss and revenue that is utilized to provide services and there are three top tier operating funds and about 125 million total loss which encompasses all of the county taxing sources that that involve property taxes and then he went on to talk about different things that the legislature was considering. And the gist of this was they were trying to get a bunch of information to the county council to get consensus so that they could quickly construct a letter to send to the Volusia delegation of our House of Representatives and our Senate representatives to Tallahassee to go, hey, we see some concerns here. We want you to know about this before you guys move this forward and take a vote. Well, guess what happened today? How are you doing? So this happened extremely fast and it happened in such a way that there was no time for local representatives at city and county levels in the state of Florida to really digest all this information with our staffs and see, okay, well what will this actually mean for our city? We still don't know. So what happened today was the language was approved, and now this will be placed on the ballot in November for the voters to decide if this is what they want to do. One of the takeaways from what I watched at the county meeting this morning was it was described as, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit, is that this will be more than just property tax reform. This will be a reform of how local governments, city and county governments, can provide services or not. to their immediate residents. And that will look differently all over the state of Florida, right? So you've got roughly 420 different municipalities, 67 counties. What one city's residents want versus another city's can be completely different. We see that, right? You drive around the state of Florida, you see communities that look totally different. You can see communities where it almost seems like money's no object and other communities that really struggle to provide just basic fundamental services. So We don't really know yet. Our staff have been talking with the city manager. Our staff will quickly digest this as much as possible and we will look at this. One of the things I wanted to bring up tonight and we can have further discussion on this because now the timing part has changed with the vote actually already occurring. But I think what we need to be able to do is take this information give it to our staffs and have them schedule a workshop with us prior to November. I think we need to go through a basic exercise scenario to say, if today, if all of this was to be voted by the voters and the voters approve it, what does it mean? What decisions would we make? What impacts is this going to have on services so that the voters will be able to at least, those who want, could maybe go to our website and go, well, how does this impact Port Orange specifically, because this is where I live, and see a scenario to say, OK, this is how much of a revenue loss it is. These are where some possible funding, if needed, can come from. And this is where it can't come from, and this is what it's gonna mean. So I don't even know all the terminology right now at this very moment as we sit here tonight to how to even address all of this. But we do know that it is going to, if it is approved by the voters, and vote for it or not, whatever you want to do. But if it is approved by the voters, it will significantly, significantly change the structure of how we fund municipal operations and provide services in the city of Florida, as it will with every city in the state of Florida. That is without question. So Wayne, did you want to weigh in on any of that right now? I don't want to try to put you under... under the gun because I know your staff is still trying to digest some of this.

We do have the PowerPoint that the county had this morning so we will send that to the council members and we did a PowerPoint back in January when we were going up to Tallahassee when the House was considering bills and it's close enough that the information we put together in January is still relatively valid. That was based off of current year tax. We started working on a graphic today that's based on the June 1 property appraisers tax rolls. It's a little bit newer information but we'll get all of that to you so you'll have it to start looking from it's fairly straightforward talking points on it just the estimates off of what we're looking at a little different scale than the county but it looks like at year two when they're up to the 250 it's about 10 million dollars out of our our general bond that would go would be lost because of this and then i as i understand it the language will also include

constraints on how cities could try to find those revenues if the city is like, hey, if it's $100 today, we need $100 tomorrow to provide the same amount of services. There are some constraints, I believe, that are being placed in place that can be voted on.

And I haven't read every single line of it. They did include a line that talks about changing the village rate and it requires super majorities and majorities to do things above rollback. So it requires a longer vote. There were at one point stronger restrictions on it. They added some language in one of the amendments. It originally was like, it was this core services that was police fire infrastructure. then they added some stuff later that said constitutional officers of the county and operations of city government so absent when matt and i have to sit down and start going through the context of it that sounds like it broadened it up that you can because it's somewhere along the lines if you can't use the remaining tax dollars can't be used to fund the city attorney or it or hr staff it's hard for the police department to operate without somebody making sure their computers work and

they can hire employees so I think they broadened it to say look you can you can support these departments as well but I'm not sure I haven't read it all the way through but it sounds like they did loosen that up a little at the end okay good anyhow all that to say because I have had a lot of business owners and a lot of residents ask me what does this actually mean and what would this mean for our specific community and I hate saying we don't actually know but we don't know fully yet but we will we'll try to digest that and and figure out what all that actually means so that the voters can be well-informed come November as to how that would impact our city. Other than that, just a reminder, is Susan over there tonight? Are there any openings left for the golf tournament?

Yes, there are golf tournaments going on.

The golf tournament is sold out, so I was going to make an announcement that if you hadn't signed up yet and you were interested in playing in the annual mayor's tournament that supports our youth athletic scholarship fund to get signed up. But if you've waited, you've waited too long. So we'll be looking forward to that. That is on Saturday, June 20th. There's a great annual fundraiser for an amazing cause. So I appreciate everybody working hard to put that on every single year.

Tracy, what do you got? So going into the homestead exemption, what you're asking, and the raw numbers, so everybody knows, is Port Orange has approximately 58% that would be affected in the homestead exemption of that tax roll. And the county is 38%, so it's pretty detrimental. I want to give a shout out to the mayor and to Chief Marino, police memorial events that took place a week and a half ago. If you've not been to one of those, representation of fallen officers, it is very, very heartbreaking. but a very very beautiful event to honor all the police revolution flagler county so thank you for the two of what y'all did The department did a phenomenal job parading that, amongst with all the other cities. Memorial Day event that was held here at the city, Memorial Park on the backside of City Hall. Flyover and the event itself, both are equally just amazing what happened. And then this past weekend, Got to witness two, how would you put it, two near misses of e-bikes flying down the center of the roads. Residents need to understand is school is out, kids are out, and they're out at all hours. You need to be very mindset and weary of these things that are going on because they're not on the sidewalks, they are in the roads. do your due diligence to be able to educate the kids of how to ride and wear a helmet. We don't need to see any tragedy inside our city and the helmet will help save a lot of those accidents from happening. But saying that, we ended up on Sunday afternoon having a head-on collision in my front of my house at a stop sign of all things. People aren't paying attention. The car was parked at a stop sign and the guy cut the corner short and head on into a vehicle. Everybody's good, but the saving grace is that there was no kids on e-bags at that time. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. There was no rain yesterday, so people aren't paying attention. That's why I bring it up. Thank you for Port Orange PD. The officer in charge of that event was phenomenal. So thank you, Chief, for doing a great job and keeping your staff up and going.

That's it. Lance?

I have nothing tonight, sir.

All right. If you don't mind, we'll yield your time over to Sean.

I'll do it. All right. Thank you very much. I'd like to take this opportunity at this time to recognize a citizen of Port Orange, have it read into a record, his obituary. Allen Roland Crouch of Port Orange, Florida passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his loving family on May 19, 2026. He was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania on July 17, 1938 to Harry and Thelma Crouch. After moving to Florida in the summer of 1945, Allen attended Port Orange Elementary. and graduated from mainland high school in 1956. In October of 1956, at the age of 18, he received his real estate broker's license. At the time, the requirements for a broker's license was age 21, but a hardship exemption was granted through the courts due to his father's illness and the family's need for help with the business. He became the youngest broker in the state of Florida. In addition to his real estate career, Allen joined the Daytona Beach Fire Department in 1959. He was drafted into the Army in 1961 and served as a military policeman in Albuquerque, New Mexico for two years. He returned to Port Orange in 1963, resuming his work with both the fire department and the real estate business. Allen became the first lieutenant in the history of the Daytona Beach Fire Department and later advanced to captain. He left the department in 1972 as his real estate business continued to expand and required more of his time. That same year, Allen was asked by the Port Orange Council to become Chief of the Port Orange Volunteer Fire Department, where he had served as a member since 1959. He accepted and gradually helped transform the department into a full-time paid professional fire department over the next five years. When the permanent full-time chief was hired, Allen retired from the Port Orange Fire Department and continued his work in real estate. In 1967, Allen teamed up with Harold Teston and formed Crouch and Teston Realty, Inc. And I apologize, my eye's itching. After Teston left in 1982, Allen changed the name to Crouch Realty Corporation, which continued until his retirement in 2005. I'm sorry, 2003. In 1981, Allen married the love of his life, Jacqueline Jackie Rohr Price. He later became a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer, Charter Captain. Allen was awarded one of the first positions on the Honor Roll plaque at Memorial Park in Port Orange in 1998 and was named Realtor of the Year in 2002 by the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors. He was an avid fisherman and is well known in the community for tournament fishing. Above all, Alan loved spending time with his family. Alan was preceded by his father Harry Crouch, his mother Thelma Crouch, his brother Harry Bud Crouch, and his son Charles Chip Crouch. He was survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Jacqueline Crouch, his sister, Joyce Sotis, his children, Deborah Zenbeck, Joseph Ray Price, Maria, Melissa Brown, and his daughter-in-law, Rachel Crouch. Allen is also survived by his grandchildren, and there's many of them. his great grandchildren as well. And that's awesome. Alan was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He will be greatly missed. And the memorial services for Allen will be June 6th and I'll be at Lowman's funeral home here in port orange at three o'clock. So, uh, I knew Alan, uh, he was an amazing man and he probably helped. I can't tell you thousands of people relocate the port orange.

and uh he's just a good man and i'm just honored to be able to read his obituary into the record thank you thank you for doing that he was one of my dad's oldest oldest friends man that is a life well done that is definitely a life of service and success for sure so thank you very much for doing that anything else nope all right that brings us to uh city attorney comments nothing for tonight mr city manager all yours

The Riverwalk update is not a whole lot from the last time. We do have one of the companies that's been interested in it that is going to come back probably in the next couple weeks. They said in mid-June. They've gone beyond just casual to the point where they're doing some bubble plans and some ideas. So some of the stuff, just to make sure it stays competitive and we're still getting the best deals out there. I don't want to go into too much detail, but there's at least one group that's moving to putting stuff on paper and moving forward. So it may be that we come together towards late June and say, to everybody else that we've been talking to you've got until x day to submit or we're going to move forward some other way because we can't just let them keep dragging it out so we're getting to the point where i think we can do that and just say everybody has until july 15 and at that point we're going to take what we have and bring it to council okay but so far what we've seen it is consistent with what we talked about as far as mixed uses and and the destination that people who live here would want to go to on the stormwater projects. Most of the stuff that this updates related to transform 386. These are the projects that the county is now in control of because it's they're the ones that are controlling the funding through the federal government. It's mostly HUD funding. And because of that, all the reporting requirements and the compliance requirements of using federal funds, they wanted to control it so they could control all the compliance requirements. Portona, the design contract for Portona was approved by the county last month And their design is going to start this month. So they're starting to design the Portona project. So with their Transform 386 money and what we got, at least through the legislative budget, that project is almost fully funded. The gap is made up we have in our budget. So Portona, if the governor allows that to go forward, should be fine. We would be able to move forward with that at the county's pace. So that one's a good step forward in that area. And there was actually, it was a TV story about it. I can't remember which channel it was. It came out Channel 9. Channel 9 came out and did a story on the project. So it's already getting positive reactions. The other thing in that area, while it's not stormwater directly related, there's a lift station on Charles Street in that area. And that was the other one that got funded through the legislative appropriation, hoping that the governor supports us all the rest of the way through. But that would be two big positives for that area of town. the sugar forest project, which is one of the bigger ones that we're at the point of having 75% plans done now. So you typically hear about 30 6090s with the plan. So 75 is an intermediate plan, but you're far enough along once you've crossed 60s, where you're looking at, you know where the ponds located, you know how big it is, you know where the pipes are. So it's given you like one last look before you get to those 90% plan. So that one is making a good bit of progress. That one was funded from legislative appropriations prior year, there is still a decent gap on that one, but not a gap that we can't make up. Excuse me Powers Avenue design already kicked off on the Powers Avenue project they're going to design meeting is on June 9. So it's coming up they're getting ready to start powers design. Sleepy Hollow is moving forward where the county is going to advertise for design this month also. and start doing it later this year. Sleepy Hollow though has a bigger gap. That's the one where we were waiting on resilient Florida money. So as this one moves forward, that one's going to, we don't have the funding to cover the full construction of that project. That's definitely going to count on some resilient Florida or other grant funds to get us there. Um, and then on the June 16th council meeting, Tim has an agenda item where the FEMA is now starting to move forward with the projects to elevate and demolish. houses. So on the 16th, we have one for elevation of 13 homes and a demolition reconstruction of one. So that's 14. So where we were doing one or two, we always said it's going to be like two to three years after the storms. So as we're moving forward, you're now starting to see the individual houses start coming forward for either demolition or elevation. So it's starting to it's kind of like the momentum is coming, you can see the rolling of the individual houses, and the momentum of the bigger projects. Same thing with the Cambridge pump. So that those bids are coming in, that's still on schedule to start later this summer, start construction on the Cambridge. So all of these things are now starting to get there. Be great. We can go a couple more seasons without any hurricanes to let all this stuff get done and in place. We continue to do maintenance the same way we're still at this is the year we've done more than we've ever done before the the i think the idea that they had of bringing in a consultant or a private firm to use their specialty equipment in the really hard areas has allowed us to do even more in the areas we can get to so there's a lot of activity going on out there in the stormwater world and the parks bond project so the updates tonight there's just two things on tonight's agenda the the city center fields package the construction contract was awarded tonight and the authorization to apply for an ECHO grant for Willow Run. So that'll be the fields over here where we swap the land with the school district. They will be anywhere from two to seven fields that are out there at a time. So this will get parking restrooms and those additional fields. And this is that efficiency created by building them here. We already have a parks office building. We have all the other parks facilities here. So if you're a parent, at least you don't have to get in your car and drive out to one of the other fields. Hopefully it gives you a better chance to stay in one position. And in the Willow Run Park, they took the piece of property right behind Horizon, but there's still more land in that area. And it allows us to expand that and put the baseball fields and some things like that, or not baseball fields, a bicycle. There's a bicycle playground area that's going to go in there. So the ECHO grant would give us two more million dollars. So we're basically able to leverage the $30 million bond with extra money coming from ECHO as we go forward. So by the time we're done, we may end up with $40 million worth of parks or some other number because ECHO is going to continue to be able to add on top of what we have with the bond funds being in the matches going forward.

On the stormwater projects, by all means, if there's anything council can do to move any of those things or any part of any of those things along at a greater rate, by all means, always let us know and keep us.

And like the other ones, sometimes I'm trying to summarize really complex stuff, so if I get a team's message here that I've got something wrong soon, I'll let you know if I messed up. So I'm trying to. And then the last thing that I had I wanted is our new public works director started this week, Sean Maroney. introduce yourself. Come on up. Comes to us from New Smyrna, but he's also well known among our staff who worked with him for years from his time at the county and some of the other places. We're extremely happy to have him here.

I know Jenna is. Good evening, Mayor Stilner. Yeah, he is. He's definitely the key one. I know Rodman was looking forward to it, but good evening, Mayor Stilner and council. I appreciate you all having me. One thing I do want to say is I do appreciate city manager, assistant city manager, and the Firing squad over here for for trusting me to take this position on I've seen a lot of good things of any or two days so far But I've lived in Port Orange since 2010 so I've seen a lot of good things so far that we're looking at and and obviously, you know We've got a clean slate on the management side of Public Works So hopefully get everybody up and running like city manager said they're doing a lot of good things out there as far as maintaining everything and

still got to get out and about and do my thing but check it out but obviously two days in it's it's been great so far so I do appreciate everything everybody's trust in that we are very happy to have you hopefully appreciate the welcome because you are welcome and it's great that we are able to get somebody with a lot of local knowledge not only geographically speaking but as a resident and stuff like that so you know that's something that It doesn't always show up on a resume, and it's not always out there when you're advertising for positions, but it is definitely a plus to get somebody. So I know you had a hard decision.

Yeah, I wasn't looking, and when they came calling, I mean, it's my town. So, I mean, if I can do anything to help with this town, I'm going to do it. I've been on the code enforcement board. I've been on the parks and rec board, you know, try to do what I can. But this is a big gift to me, and I do appreciate that.

And I'll be honest with you. I think there's value, too. and your local experience and your local resources. And so I would just tell you from somebody who's been in municipal government for a long, long time is we appreciate those resources and I encourage you to use them. I think you're going to have a great team to work with and a great city staff and a supportive city council. So welcome you very much. Thank you, gentlemen. Anything?

Just let us know what we can do to keep you moving. I do appreciate it. What tools and equipment you need to keep things going.

Absolutely. I'll give you a list.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm sure. Thank you very much. Yeah, no problem.

No, thank you. And I mean, it's looking forward to it. I mean, you live here, so you're going to take pride in the job even more so. So thank you.

I love the grin on Juno's face.

He's got half the emails and phone calls since I got here. Yeah. He can sit back and put his feet on his desk. He'll know how to forward that stuff. Oh, yeah. He gets real quick with that.

He's got it down. Well, welcome. Thank you guys very much. Thanks for taking the time. We need anything else? No, sir. All right. That brings us to item 18. Report from Kipper Sports on the Cyber Signal Club. It's a wet golf club. On the way in tonight, there was some hail falling out there.

Yeah, I was at the golf advisory. I hope we didn't get hit too bad. They were saying quarter size. I don't know. Somewhere in New Smyrna. I'll have to hit Cypress Head or not. I'm Jeff Dayton from Cypress Head Golf Club. Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. Good to see y'all. So I'm here tonight to report on the February, March, and April financials for the Cypress Head Golf Club. So... it seems like a distant memory but february was a pretty rough month uh very cold had a lot maybe second or third arctic blast of the season so we didn't have a great month we lost about 25 000 to the bottom in february but then march came good weather came april was good so we march in april we picked up about uh 46 000 36 000 so year to date through april um Our revenues are about $7,000 under budget, but our bottom line is about $15,000 to $16,000 under. So we had a decent May, even though it kind of fizzled toward the end, so we might catch back up when May's financials come out, so it's looking good. But yeah, through April, our EBITDA is about $15,500 under. Rounds are down by $1,300. But they're over prior year by 300. So again, it was that cold winter, so we're still catching up. But the course is doing great. Our NPS through these three months, the net promoter score was 89.4, which, as we know, is really good. Service satisfaction was at 9.7 for that same time frame. So that was great. The course conditions, a lot of courses around us are struggling right now. because the winter was so harsh that the turf couldn't handle it. It's not used to this kind of weather. So a lot of courses are struggling. Darren Bacci and our team are really doing a great job keeping CyberSat looking good. So it's going to be a great tournament, Mayor. It's looking great now. It's going to get better. So we're very pleased with the conditions. It's better than any of the courses around here right now. And we got a 9.3 during that time frame. But the new golf cart fleet we got is... Performing nicely. We've only had one crash so far, and it wasn't a bad one, so that's good. The new bunkers are performing great. Everybody loves the sand. With all this rain, they've been holding up nice. They haven't been eroding very bad. They've been easy to reprep after a hard rain, whereas before it took us two or three, four days to recover. Now we can get them back within the same day, usually after a rain, so it's really good. Excellent. And we won the best of Daytona again for public golf. Cypress had finished second in two separate categories in Chicago in February for our True Service Awards. We lost out to Desert Willow and one of them, and another top four. But we are well-recognized when a company is having a really good service program at the club. We did have the PGA Hope for the first time, which is helping our Patriots everywhere. So we had eight Patriots out to the course, and we did a six-week lesson seminar. They loved it. We're doing it again in August, so it's something through the PGA America that we help promote golf to the Patriots and get them involved in things. And it was great. Everybody got better. As far as tournaments go, we've been really busy. I mean, we've hosted many tournaments. We hosted Rotary, No Longer Follow This, Elks, Bruce Creek, Academy of Finance, just name a few. But it's been busy. Obviously, it's going to slow down now a little bit. May was decent. June's going to start slowing down. But it's been a great tournament season. And heading into the final quarter, We have the tee ground project that we put off the next year. We have a tee line project that we're currently getting bids on. So we're hoping to have that installed by September to give an artificial tee on the back of the range so we can take pressure off the turf for golf tournaments or maybe if it's too wet or whatever. But it's going to be nice. We're not going to use them all the time because most golfers like to hit off natural turf. It's more healthy. But it's nice to have for situations. And plus we'll be able to use it at night. On occasion, so I'm looking forward to that. Drive Chip and Putts coming next Monday. We have like 120 participants in that. It'll be kids that were competing at a local qualifier, so that's really awesome. And then June 20th coming up, so we're all set for that. We did we had there has been a little talking about e-bikes You know e-bikes have been a problem on our course lately fishing has been as ramped up and we've you know We're trying to police that as best we can we're taking phone calls I'm logging calls so we get repeat offenders or repeat areas that we can really have a documents we have a you know log in the golf shop and the fishermen aren't really doing a whole lot of damage they're more or less just trespassing they could have it be a liability and the uh we still fight to keep them off the golf course but the e-bikes are really what's causing more damage we only get on the greens and tearing up stuff so we'll just continue to do our best to police it and um that's about it more good than bad so good we like that yeah like that any questions

Jeff, I just think you're doing a great job. Staff's doing a great job. It seems like your staff continues to improve and you're course rangers now and everything. Courteous and the course looks great. Keep up the good work, man. Doing a good job.

Thank you. Good to see you. Thank you. Good to see you all too. Have a good day.

Thank you. Let's talk some more golf. Item 19, golf advisory for you.

golf advisory board report you got your team signed up no you sold out actually i'm not gonna be in town so this is the first year i think i've not made it i'll give you a pass yeah all right just want you all to have a good time and i want to make sure everybody every photo i want to see in a newspaper you bet okay your winning team um jeff covered a few of the things that i was going to talk about um At the advisory meeting tonight, the item that came up was the pathways between nine and 10. There's really no good markings. If you're new to the course, when you finish 9, you don't really know where the 10 is. And so they suggested they put in some markings to indicate which way to go. And the same thing, if we start in the back and start on 10, you need something to tell you, how do I get to 1? So we advise you that. They're going to paint some symbols, apparently, on the cart paths to help direct people to the right direction. So if you're new, it'll help them out. Fishing and e-bikes did come up. We're having a terrible time with fishing in the community at large. We're having people trespass across people's yards to get to a pond because they want to fish there without asking permission of the homeowner. And they're getting quite upset. We are having some e-bike issues. They're everywhere. I'm sure the council at some point is going to have to come up with some rules and regulations about what we're going to do with that. But on the second hole, it was an 11 resident. who backs up to that hole, observed an e-biker doing donuts on the green. He called the police department. They arrived and said, where are they? He said, I don't know. But he said, we can't do anything unless the golf course calls us and tells us that they're on the green. It can't be a resident. It seems a little strange, but maybe it's something that can be taken up with the police department to determine what the right process is for that. There was a great deal of confusion about rates. There's a proposal for the cap of rates, which you'll have to decide upon, and when that document came out, instead of showing the progression year by year, they took the spreadsheet and shrunk it so then it showed the beginning and the end. So what we're looking at was today's rates and a rate five years from now that might be an impact. Tonight we first saw what they're proposing for next year, which is basically a 7% increase over the current rates for everything across the board, whether it's a trail pass, legacy pass, annual pass, any of those things that are there. The Advisory Council agreed that those were reasonable in terms of going forward, as long as it's only a 7% from whatever they set for that year to the next year. If you only do two this year or two next year, don't grade it by 15 or 16 or 18%. So that's going to come up in front of you. Jeff is correct, and Lance's comments I think are appropriate. The course is really in good shape. There's a few holes where there's some problems. You'll see it on 11 for some of the perimeter area, right next to the green and the green itself is struggling a little bit because of some diseases, principally from the harsh winter that we've had and too much rain at one time. And so you'll see some of that damage. But other than that, Staff is great. They run a great operation. The pro shop looks good. The improvements in the restaurant are noticeable, which we get a lot of comments and feedback from people. So it's been a great change. Any comments from you all?

would i would just ask you uh you can briefly talk to it about tonight but make some time to uh just touch base with the police chief on those issues because with the golf course is a little bit different it's similar to parks we own it so our police officers are agents of the city and things will happen a little bit differently in those cases all that to say though that you know I can understand why that's becoming a growing issue out there. And so sometimes when things just that weren't normal a few years ago start to become a more and more repetitive thing, we will look at that and do some training and stuff like that, but only if we know about it, right? So we appreciate you bringing that to our attention. I would touch base with the police chief, maybe schedule some time for him or his staff to say, hey, this is what we're seeing and we think we're going to see more of it. We just want to make sure our police officers are aware. It would just be a good change. Right. And also for Jeff's staff, and maybe even for the HOA, the homeowners, because I do know, and you guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the homeowner properties go right up to the lake or the pond. So when somebody may think that they're standing on the golf course property fishing, they're probably standing in somebody's backyard. Because I know I've had those calls before. So again, some training, some understanding, some information that can be spread amongst the homeowners, the police department, the board, and all that stuff, I think we can...

stay on top of that because we have in the past and so yeah we can get on that but your your point is very valid the the e-bike thing is it's here really bikes they're just like it really is yeah motorcycles the other thing i learned from one of the residents too is our ponds happen to be one of the best fishing ponds in the area yeah right well yeah so it's uh you know a reputation is proceeding this time of year tracy yeah for sure yeah so the question i'd have is

The information that you did with the rate changes. Yes. Has that been redone and sent out that they see all of it? Yes. Okay. Because I know you all probably got emails like I did today blowing up about it. And it's exactly what you just said.

And that's exactly what happened. I got beat up. I mean, I beat you up. When you go to the meeting, you're going to jump all over him. Yeah, I will tell you some of them were a little nasty. I agree, yeah. Because you look at it, it's like suddenly we had a 41% increase, a 43% increase. It's like something's wrong.

Yeah. And I'm going to go ahead and apologize for my team. You're going to have some green fixing later after the mayor's tournament.

So one of the issues that I was going to, and again, bring to the council about some of the fishing was is that there are guys that are actually on the golf course and they are interrupting the business of golf. Yes. I mean, literally standing in the fairway daring people to hit them with a golf ball. And when it starts interfering with city business, which is the golf course, then that's where I have an issue. I don't know. trespass, whatever, whatever. But when you're out there interfering with city business and we just, we're talking about rate hikes, et cetera, we're talking about dollars to the city. That's why I come to an issue. And I've discussed this with, with the chief as well. And with SAP that, you know, fishing's fishing, but when we're, when we're interrupting business in the middle of the day and you got guys in the middle of a fairway, then, you know, that's a different story. But, uh, so other than that though, Are the rate changes coming in front of us anytime soon? Do you know?

They should be. Well, I'm not sure how it gets delivered to you, but they should be coming forward so you can... July's agenda.

Okay, and the only thing I would say is I don't know why we would need to continue to raise cart rates for residents. I mean, green fees, I see change, those things. But I don't understand why the cart rate has to change. Mr.

Trail fee is going up proportionally. Yeah, it's all 7 percent. It's 7 percent creative custom board. And that's up to you to decide whether you want to support it or not. I'm just saying the Gulf Advisory Board said we concur 7 percent. Seems like a reasonable increase. But you may want to pick and choose some of the stuff. And not that we're happy with that. And we're just saying, again, it's reasonable. and it's the max keep in mind that that's what they're saying this is the most we can charge or that's what you're agreeing to is this is the most they can correct it's a cap yeah right thank you rich it's the max to go along with your fishing i did have during a tournament on a saturday there were two guys fishing on the golf course on 17 that i asked to move because they were standing there you know it's three o'clock in the afternoon yeah thank you guys all right thanks appreciate you coming out you bet

All right, it moves us to the regular agenda item. Item number 20 is an appeal of the Planning Commission denial of a variance for 5968 Shady Creek Lane. Before we go too far into this, I'm going to have the city attorney go over what our role is because this is actually a pretty unique thing for us, I think, my entire time on council. I think this has only happened one time prior to this. Maybe, maybe two. So pretty unique. It is a change in what our responsibility normally is. In the latitudes that we have to operate within. So I want to have the city attorney go over that and also Matt ask you that throughout the course of this process, if we get off track or anybody in the process is off track, that you interject and stop that and put us back on track, okay?

Yeah, so like you mentioned, not very common that you're sitting in an appellate capacity, but that's what you're doing here tonight. So there's been a decision made by your planning commission who had the authority to approve or deny a variance. So that decision has been made. So you sit now hearing the appeal of that decision. During that, your deliberation here tonight, there's really only three things that you consider. It's that planning commission decision. It's the factors that you've established by the code of ordinances as to what qualifies for a variance. And I'll go over those here in a minute. And then the third thing is really just the facts presented at that hearing. So this isn't a brand new hearing. You're not going to hear new evidence. This isn't a recommendation that you're hearing along with other evidence. This is actually just an appeal of a prior decision. So it's based on what took place in what we'll call the lower court. Since it's been a while, I think it's important to know what those factors are, what the factors the city has established to determine whether to vary the code on a variance application. So I'm just going to run through those very quickly, so just bear with me. So A, special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure, or building involved. which are not applicable to other land structures or buildings involved in the same zoning district b special conditions and circumstances are not result of the actions of the applicant c literal literal interpretation and enforcement of the development code regulation would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same zoning district under the terms of the development code and would work unnecessary and undue hardship on the applicant The variance, if granted, is the minimum variance necessary to make possible the reasonable use of the land, building or structure. E is granting of the variance request will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by the development code to other lands, buildings or structures in the same zoning district. f is the granting of the variance will be harmonious with the general intent and purpose of this code and will not be injurious to the surrounding properties or detrimental to public welfare and then g relates to uh really a bert j harris criteria that's that's not in place here um so as you hear from staff here soon um You're gonna be asked a question and that objective is to determine whether the planning commission's denial of the proposed variance is supported by the facts presented at the planning commission hearing. as applied to those variance criteria that I just mentioned. If you believe that the denial is supported by competent substantial evidence, then your decision should be to uphold the variance. If you believe that the Planning Commission denial is not supported by competent substantial evidence and or you believe that the Planning Commission misapplied the variance criteria to the facts presented at that hearing, then you should overturn the denial and approve the variance. So in a moment here, Tim's going to go ahead and give you a brief summary of his staff report. That's the same staff report that was provided at the planning commission. There's no new additions there. Then we'll turn it over to the appellant to provide his full basis for appeal. And again, I think you've already mentioned it. You know, we're, we're, I'll be cautioning you on any sort of new information or new evidence that's being presented, because really, even if you hear that, either from the public, from the applicant, even if Tim were to provide something, I would tell you, your decision's bound on those facts that were at that hearing in front of the Planning Commission. So I'll mention that you'll probably hear that by the end of this, that really, the facts that were presented to the Planning Commission is what we're here to consider tonight. So unless you have any procedural questions about that, I'll go ahead and turn it over to Tim.

Do we need any kind of motion on the floor right now or no?

Yeah, I think, you know, right now the recommended motion, so our normal protocol would be to, you know, follow forward. The recommended motion right now is to uphold the decision of the Planning Commission, so that would be an affirmative motion, and then you'll have an opportunity to either vote that up or down. So that would be the motion on the floor. Just, and Tim's going to say this, but just to reiterate, the staff's recommendation was for denial of the variance based on those factors that I just mentioned. And then the Planning Commission on a 4-1 vote denied the variance and heeded that recommendation by staff.

Can I get somebody to put a motion and a second on the floor to uphold the recommendation of the Planning Board?

Do a motion to recommend the motion of the Planning Board of

just to yeah just to uphold the decision of the decision of the planning board second i'll second it for a discussion yep we have a motion and a second on the floor tim bourbon can you tell me just go ahead and briefly overview kind of what the variance request is for um basically the request is to maintain an existing six foot fence that is located within a secondary secondary front yard basically the way the land amount code states that if you are on a corner lot which basically is two but basically a right away on each side of the property it's considered a corner lot and by definition of the code the corner lot has two front yards so in this case you have the front of the house which faces shady creek lane and then you also have the side here which also faces shady creek lane um by the code that is considered two front yards our code states that you cannot have a six foot fence within a front yard so what the code would allow is for the fence by code to be the green line which is in line with the front plane of the home the applicant has put the fence within this purple area which is a secondary front yard then The fence was installed based off of kind of aerial photographs that we have. It was probably installed about 2016. It was brought to the city's attention through a code case. That work was done without a permit then. Once we started looking into it, did not find a building permit, the next step was to get with the applicant to either revise the fence location or to basically request a variance. And the applicant chose to seek the variance then. So that's why the variance was presented, to maintain that existing fence in its current location. So as Matt indicated, the staff report was provided with you along with the applicant's appeal letter there that went over basically the case that was presented to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission basically upheld the staff's recommendation of denial of the variance and the applicant is here to basically present their case as why they feel that this variance should be approved.

Can you just walk us through one more time the

foundational reasons as to why staff has recommended denial of variance there's no space especially on the property basically the special conditions or circumstances which are peculiar with property there is typically that is as we indicated here you know there's a large historic tree there's a deep uh slope there there's nothing in that case on that property um that would basically warrant base that fence having to be pushed out further from the house on it um be with the special um circumstances as we said basically there is no special circumstances that we staff identified interpretation enforcement of the land development code in terms of this fence requirement there's basically multi reasons for that then one of it is to make sure that the fences are not located within the front yard to impede visual clearance as indicated staff report this does not do that also two basically to ensure that basically that this fence is not a budding another property in terms of having to have a six foot fence some of the front yard as indicated was not there and the third is overall aesthetics within the community that way we do not have in a local roadway network basically um you know six foot tall fences along the road network there that's in this case here because shady creek lane is a local road that's traveled by everyone there and you'd have the six foot fence on that property then That's their D. If the variance is granted minimum to make use of the land, as we indicated in the report, the minimum necessary to make use of the property would be, you know, could have a six-foot fence there. It would basically enclose the yard as requested or could be pushed out to a four-foot fence, as we've done in other corner lots. And granting the variance would not confer privilege on the applicant denied requested by other property then. We have other corner lots which is in this listed in the report here with that subdivision. The same would apply to them in terms of them seeking a permit from us then on there then. So basically that was kind of the basis for staffs. review of this one. There, again, you know, the applicant provided information as why they disagree with us. And I think staff basically made sure that we included their viewpoint in the staff report to give basically a fair representation of this case then. Okay.

Any questions? Not yet. Any questions? No. No? Okay. All right. Can the applicant come on? Yeah. Welcome. Go ahead and introduce yourself.

Good evening, Mayor and members of City Council. My name is Peter Francis. I'm here tonight to present this appeal. I have provided the city with an appeal packet. I hope you had the opportunity to review it in detail. I'm respectfully asking the Council to reverse the Planning Commission's April 23 decision and approve the variance before you tonight. Let me start by saying that the Blaney Commission hearing was all over the place. The Commission voted for one to deny an existing beautiful 10-year-old vinyl fence that affects absolutely no one. They did so without clearly identifying which criteria were not met. The variance code exists for a reason. It provides relief when unique circumstances and hardships satisfies established criteria. In this case, every one of those criteria has been met. I want to go to slide two here. During the hearing, Mr. Tim Berman stated that staff's recommendation denial was based solely on code alone. He did not tell the commission that the application failed any specific variance criteria, which he mentioned today, but he didn't mention that at the Blaine Commission hearing. Instead, the recommendation was based on the fact that the defense does not strictly comply with the code. And that's exactly what he said during the Blaine Commission hearing, by word, solely on code alone. But that's the entire purpose of a variance. Every variance application comes before the city because something doesn't strictly comply with the land development code. If non-compliance with the code alone is enough to justify denial, then every variance application that has ever come before the city should have been recommended for denial. That's simply not how the variance process works. In fact, when we review prior variance cases, we found that nearly Every variance application over the past several years was recommended for approval by staff. There were even two similar variances in 2016 that were unanimously approved. So naturally, we have to ask, what makes this application different? The answer becomes even more clear when you read the staff report itself. Staff specifically acknowledged that this fence does not create the types of impacts the code is intended to prevent. They confirmed it They confirm that it does not obstruct required site triangles. It does not interfere with visibility. It does not create public safety concern. If there are no obvious impacts, if the variance criteria have been met, and if similar variances have been approved in the past, then it becomes difficult to understand the basis for recommending denial in this case. We had many meetings with the city staff, including Mr. Berman here, and code enforcement manager Amanda when she was in that role. They all seemed they had no issue with that fence during our discussions. As a matter of fact, one employee even described it as aesthetically beautiful and looks great. This council, again, is being asked by staff to uphold the decision that was based solely on code alone, and I'm wording Mr. Berman's words during the hearing. The decision was produced by a hearing where I, the applicant, was denied rebuttal. It was decided without a single finding of fact, and the ADA provision written into the city's own variance ordinance was ignored. The record alone, without anything else, does not support upholding this denial. There's another issue that deserves attention. The staff report repeatedly states that the fence is located less than five feet from the right-of-way. That is simply incorrect. The fence is actually located approximately seven feet from the right-of-way. The commission's decision was made using an accurate understanding of the physical facts. I also want to point out something important in the staff report itself. In the recommendation section, staff acknowledged all the way at the end They gave a leeway that if this variance were approved, it could be limited to an existing fence located within the secondary front yard setback and not permit any additional fencing in that area. Members of the council, that is exactly what we're asking for. We're not asking for additional fencing. We're not asking for future expansion. We're simply asking to keep the same existing fence that has been there for a decade without creating any safety issues, visibility issues, or have any impact on anyone. Moving on, I want to address exactly what happened during the public comments at the public commission hearing. As I wasn't given the opportunity to rebuttal, correct misstatements, present further, or even have the final word that day. Four individuals associated with the HOA board, they came forward saying, with a very clear agenda to weaponize this process against my family. They misinformed, they made false statements, and they focused on old, irrelevant, unrelated HOA disputes that have nothing to do with the variants before you today. And the purpose was to bias the Commission. Let me be more specific. One of their attempts to bias the Commission was falsely claiming that we never received an HOA approval for this fence 10 years ago. They stood before the Commission and stated that the HOA never approved it. Yet we have signed, we have the signed each way approval letter right here. I provided a copy in the appeal packet. The individual who made that claim was serving on the board at that time. That approval was granted. And he was aware, and he's aware of that approval. But he stood before the commission and made that statement which had the effect of misleading the commission about the facts. If the individuals associated with the HOA board speak again tonight, I expect it will be the same recycled HOA disputes, misinformation, accusations that have nothing to do with the variants before you today. Now with all that being said, let's take a step back and look at what the neighbours as a whole actually did. The city did everything required to ensure full public notice. There were large posted yellow signs, certified letters sent to adjacent properties, public notices in the newspaper, and the HOA itself posted notices on both entrances of the neighborhood for all 103 homes to make them aware of the planning commission hearing. Despite all of that, only four individuals associated with the HOA showed up to oppose our application to attempt to influence the commission's decision. The other 99, as we show on this slide here, other 99 homeowners did not appear because they have lived with that fence for a decade without an issue. They have accepted it and they do not view it as a problem. And I believe that speaks for itself. If anyone in this community had a genuine problem with it, I think we can all agree they would have said something back then. Maybe within the first 30 days it went up. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say one year. Or how about two years? But 10 years? 10 years of silence is acceptance. The basic statutes of limitation for any HOA or real estate improvements matter is five years. This fence existed well beyond that without a single word from anyone. Out of the entire neighborhood and the entire city, only people associated with the HOA board attempted to speak poorly about this fence. The rest of the neighborhood did not bother to show up at the planning commission hearing because they do not care if this fence stays, it does not affect them. But this is why I respectfully ask this council to stay focused on the facts, the various criteria, the code, and the law, not personal disputes from the HOA politics coming from the HOA folks. Now let me talk about the inconsistency. In the staff report from the Planning Commission hearing on page 4, under the background section, it mentioned the applicant also notes that similar fence heights are commonly used in residential and care settings for individuals with comparable needs. For that reason, let's look at two examples from the City's history of approving similar fences on corner lots. In March 2016, the city approved a six-foot privacy fence at a five-foot setback closer to the roadway than ours for purely aesthetic and privacy purposes. Commissioner Thomas Jordan voted in favor of that approval. Then in December 2016, staff through Mr. Berman recommended approval for a six foot fence located directly on the right of way with a zero foot setback. The hardship there was simply the loss of yard space and privacy. That application was approved. Both of these cases involved fences, variances, within secondary front yard setbacks like ours. Commissioner Jordan voted in favor of both variances, but yet he voted against ours. From my perspective, that appears inconsistent. It raises legitimate question about why our application is being treated different. That is unfair, selective, and inconsistent. Mr. Green, you may recall those cases. As you were present and voted in favor of both approvals, I believe you were part of the Planning Commission at that time. I'm not sure if you remember them. Our situation here is different, only in the sense that our hardship is more significant and our justification is stronger as our application meets all criteria. Not only does our application satisfy the variance criteria, but the variance itself is less intrusive than the previous variances. Our fence sits about seven feet from the right of way, does not impact visibility, does not create safety concerns, and has maintained a nearly 10 year safety record with zero incidents. This fence also serves as an important medical and safety purpose for a family member. We do have We do have our medical necessity letter here, which I have here in case you would like to look at it. I can either hand it to you or the city clerk at any time. you would like me to. I'd also ask this council to carefully consider the language within the city's variance code that specifically references accommodations. This request should be evaluated not only under the variance criteria, but also as a consideration of the principles embodied in the ADA and the FHA as they relate to reasonable accommodations for individuals with medical needs. Despite all of that, our application was denied. For that reason, Let's look at the application as a whole, as it becomes very clear that every variance criterion has been satisfied. When we look at the city's own history of approvals, one thing becomes impossible to ignore. Approving this variance would not grant us any special privilege. In fact, we are asking for less relief than what the city has already granted to other applicants in the past. In addition, our lot is unique in configuration and differs from standard typical lots, where our lot does not border residential lots along the secondary frontage that would experience view obstruction or other impacts from the fence. In addition, there is a medical need for it. That directly satisfies criterion E. Now let's look at the physical facts further. Our fence sits about seven feet back from the right of way. It is only two feet difference in height from what is allowed. That directly supports criterion D because the request represents the minimum variance necessary to address the hardship while maintaining the safety and function of the property. We're not asking for additional fencing or any expansion whatsoever. We're simply asking to retain this existing structure that has already proven itself safe and effective. Speaking of safety, this fence has existed, again, for nearly 10 years without a single traffic incident, visibility issue, public safety concern. It does not obstruct side triangles or interfere with motorists. It does not negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood. In fact, very few vehicles, even travel through this roadway on daily basis. Also, houses surrounding this fence have sold at a great market value while this fence was already in place. In addition, surrounding properties right here on this slide have sold at a great market values. Almost every single property surrounding this fence was sold while the fence was already in place. Nobody's going to buy a house where they don't like their view. So it's absolutely not injurious in that aspect as well. Those facts directly satisfy criterion F because they show that the fence exists in harmony with the public welfare and is not injurious to the surrounding area. This fence also serves as an important medical and safety purpose for a family member. This is not a matter of convenience. This enclosure provides safety, security, privacy, screening, and protected outdoor of the entire property. that is necessary for our family member well-being. Those circumstances directly satisfy criterion C because the hardship is real, substantial and unique to the family situation. The property itself is unique. It is legally classified as atypical lot. Unlike standard corner lots, our secondary front yard borders a large HOA detention area rather than neighboring residential homes. If you look at other corner lots within the same district, you may find one of these characteristics individually. However, this lot has an intersection, curved roads, and a large detention area. The combination of all these factors together on a single property makes this lot unique and different from a standard corner lot. These unique physical characteristics, layout, and road configuration that runs around the entire property directly satisfy criterion A because they're special condition not commonly shared by others. And that leads directly into Criterion B. Criterion B, it was not created by us. These conditions were not created by us. We did not design the roads, create the lot configuration, establish the setbacks, or construct the subdivision. Those physical characteristics were established when the subdivision was designed in 1997, years before we purchased the property in 2007. That same language was accepted to satisfy criterion B by the same commissioners under other variance requests in the past, a contractor's failure to obtain a permit 10 years ago does not change these pre-existing conditions and does not alter the unique characteristics of the land itself. Even staff report, again, staff report, it says the fence does not create the very impacts the code is designed to prevent. Staff confirmed it. So when we consider the unique nature of the property, the hardship involved, the minimal relief being requested, the absence of any negative impact, the city's own history of approving similar requests and a decade of approving safe performance, the conclusion is straightforward. Criteria A through F are not only met, they're satisfied and detailed in the appeal packet. Let me just conclude by saying the mature landscaping the mature landscaping outside the fence will remain regardless of any decision made tonight. Removing or lowering the fence produces no meaningful visibility gain or no public benefit. And let's not forget, this isn't a busy traffic road. Very few vehicles travel through this area, which further supports the fact that that fence has not created visibility or safety concerns for the past 10 years. It yields only one guaranteed outcome, an increased safety risk for a family member who depends on this enclosure for protected outdoor access. We acknowledge that a building permit was not obtained due to a contractor's error when the fence was installed 10 years ago. However, that administrative error does not change what 10 years of real world performance confirms. This fence works. It is safe. It harms no one, it raises the property value, it makes better use of land, and it protects the family member who needs it, as well as creates safety, security, and privacy for the family. If this variance had been requested in 2015, we would be making the same exact arguments. The only difference today is that we have 10 years worth of safety data supporting those arguments. Lowering or removing this defense serves no purpose. It serves no legitimate public purpose. It corrects nothing. It protects no one. It simply eliminates a structure needed for medical and safety reasons because of an inconsistent decision. I trust you'll be making the right decision today by looking strictly at the facts, the code, the law, I respectfully ask you apply the criteria as written. Honor the city's prior decision. Focus on evidence before you and say yes to approve the variance. Reverse the planning commission hearing decision. It is the right one. It is a consistent one. Thank you for your time and leadership.

your commitment to fairness I would like to reserve my final comments after public comments thank you so I you know there are some things I think I need to address before we get the public comment

based on what was presented right there. So if you just bear with me for a little bit, I think I need to address a couple of these. I might even need Tim's help for a couple of those comparators, because it's important that you understand the full picture here. So I'll kind of start at the top. You mentioned there wasn't some presentation of criteria at the Planning Commission meeting. I can assure you that the Planning Commission was provided the same staff report with a criteria by criteria analysis of staff. Whether Tim went line by line and read that to them is irrelevant. It was part of the record. They had a record before them to support a decision. So I just want to make that clear. Code alone was mentioned a couple of times that there was a quote that it was based on the code alone. Well, the reality is this is kind of a code alone case in that the code says what the rule is for the fence. The code also provides the criteria for a variance. So it's code alone in that it is governed by how we apply the code. That's what we're talking about here today. Now, there are facts that we apply the code to. And again, the staff did a full job in doing that. You may disagree with that. but they did a full job in taking those facts, applying the code, and then coming to a recommendation to provide them to your planning commission members. Distance from the right-of-way was also discussed, this five foot versus seven foot. The reason, I think even the applicant stated close to seven feet, the reason there's no decision on conclusively what that is is because there was no permit and there was no survey, so we don't you don't get to just stand on a sidewalk and throw a tape measure out and say, that's how far it is. That's not how that works. The public right of way doesn't always go perfectly to the edge of the sidewalk. So the reason staff actually went above and beyond and kind of giving this, you know, discussion as part of the variance to to talk about if it's within that period they want to be covered so that this applicant's not having to come back and address that issue because if you're one foot off they wanted to make it clear that it was kind of in the present location so if that was a variance that we're going to approve that as part of it so i think that was actually going above and beyond by staff to to make sure that this application fully resolves the issue one way or the other staff doesn't have a an interest in this one way or the other You heard about the HOA approval. I can tell you, you know, he said that your planning commission was led astray. I can tell you the attorney for the planning commission gave them clear direction when this HOA debate went on. And, you know, public comment is what it is. But once that concluded, the attorney for that board said that's not the issue that we're here for today and brought them right back to what the issue is. Ironically, he brings an HOA approval in front of you to consider. The reality of that is I do believe that's irrelevant. I mean, even the HOA letter that was submitted as part of the application packet said subject to city permit, which we know wasn't pursued in this case. And then finally, the medical necessity piece. Yes, there is a code provision that talks about an ADA accommodation as part of what you can use to vary. The problem that we have here tonight is there was no evidence provided to the Planning Commission. And again, your facts are determined at the time of the hearing of the Planning Commission. That note, I can't have you consider that note, because the reality is it wasn't provided. So all that we know is there's some person that has some condition where this should be viewed as accommodation. That's not enough for you to engage in some sort of collaborative process to determine what a disability accommodation is, or if it's even a disability recognized by the ADA. So that's, again, not something that would be within your consideration in making this decision. The only other thing that I have, if it benefits your curiosities, there were two cases that were compared as these are the exact same cases. I think Tim can show you through procedural history that those are somewhat unique. And so if you want him to come up and give you some explanation of that, if you had an opportunity to look at those, but I think the Presenting it as these are the exact same cases that this one is, that's just not true in any variance case, right? Every variance is kind of, you're dealing with a different flavor and you're trying to weigh those out and staff does a great job trying to do that. It's difficult at times. There's multiple factors here. Even as factors go, every which-a-way, you kind of got to figure out which way to go with the recommendation. So they did the best that they could with the facts in this case. They provide that recommendation. I would tell you, you may want to know a little bit more about those other cases if that's something that you're considering in terms of your decision here tonight. That's all I have.

Anything else? Tim? Did you have anything that you needed to add to any of that?

Okay.

Lance, start with you. Anything on Matt's comments or Tim's comments?

No, no. Okay.

Sean?

Can you read Section F back to me?

This is section F of the variance criteria is the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general intent and purpose of this code and will not be injurious to the surrounding properties or detrimental to the public welfare.

Harmonious meaning consistent. Good interpretation. Any more questions for Matt?

I don't think I have a question for Matt, obviously. Okay.

Public comment? All right, at this time, is there anybody in the public that wishes to speak to this? Come on up.

The name's Mike Trumbull. Thank you. And I submitted an email to you in support of the fence being left as is, because my understanding is I live on the opposite corner of them, and I don't see any issues with it whatsoever. It's well kept. He takes care of his home pretty well. It serves the purpose of privacy, and like he says, safety for, I guess he has somebody there that needs it. And I think the HOA has a little bit of a issue on that. When he put in for it and they said okay and they let it pass, HOA should not let that happen. But they did let it happen. And like most of the other fences that I see in Sawgrass Point are the same height. Granted, they're not where his is, but his does seem to be well enough away from not encroaching on anything. Many people walk by it walking their dogs. I don't see any issue I have when I walk by it. I think the fence, you know, instead of making this homeowner spent thousands of dollars just because something didn't happen right at the beginning. And I think everything, what I've heard so far should stand. And I think it should be permitted to stay. That's all. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

I need to jump. Hang on a second. Okay. Go ahead.

Go ahead. Go ahead. We'll get to everybody.

You have to come to the... No, yeah. You got to come up and introduce yourself. Okay. I'm so sorry. I talk every day.

My name is Judith Hussey. I've lived in Sawgrass since 2005. I had a similar situation with a fence that was permitted when we moved in. It was already there in 2005. And we went to replace it, and that was about five years ago. The HOA said, oh, you're on the wrong property. It needs to come back into your land another foot. I'm like, but we have the permit that was done in 2000, the year 2000. And so the fence had been there for many years. So regardless, I said, No, I don't want to do that. You know, and I had different issues that, you know, medical reasons and so on. And so they said, well, maybe we'll rent it to you then. We'll rent you the space. So they were going to rent me a foot of land that borders a retention area just because my fence was put in the year 2000. Regardless, what I'm saying is I don't think These people that are running the HOA are really for the benefit of the community and they just seem to find all these little things to harass us all. These people have been awesome. They've been very helpful. They've been community neighbors, never bothering anyone, always there to help. Their father has come and helped me on different occasions for no reason. I didn't even know he showed up because we needed something. And the fence again, like he says, it's been there 10 years and it's beautiful. They maintain their property. It doesn't bother anyone. So I agree. It's just silly.

Thank you. Good evening.

My name is Mike Anders, and I'm the bad guy here. Basically, I moved into this HOA about five years ago, and there was a lot of issues. So I'm going to make this real quick. So I'm trying to find out what the issues were, because what can I do, what can't I do? I'm the one that found the fence problem, who's never had a pertinent poll. So, never had a permit from the city. He went against the HOA. There was never a survey. It has caused problems with the HOA because now people don't know which way to go, right? So we're counting on the city to do the right thing and have one set of rules for everyone. And I put a lot of effort into this because it just, it makes no sense. that one can have, one can't. Now it's created, other people are putting fences up and saying, well, he has, I want. So now the board of the HOA, they're having to fight all that. But just to tell you what I've been through, I've contacted everyone. in the city uh port owen from public works code enforcement city clerk not this a city attorney but the other city attorney the city manager was contacted by my representative uh and i'm just here to make sure that the the rules are enforced so i spent four years on this and it all boils down to one thing there was never survey there was never a permit pull so how long are we going to continue to do things that are against the rule is you're going to set precedence it's not so i'm just asking that you you hired the the other committee that you follow their their recommendation i mean it I just think it's fair for everyone, and then we can all get done with it and follow the set of rules that are out there for all to go through. And I'm not saying the fence isn't pretty. I have nothing against them personally. It's just that where do I stand at this for the city, and where do I stand with the HOA? If we don't have no rules, then it's wide open. So I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Thank you. Anybody else? Yeah.

We'll get this gentleman and you come on up next, okay? That's all right, go right ahead.

My name's Tom Roberts. I live across from this family here on Shady Creek Lane, across the street to the right. I haven't been there 20 years, but I do know that this family does take care of that property really well. The fence, to me, is not an issue. I have children and nieces and nephews that ride bikes in the neighborhood. Haven't had any issues or close calls or anything like that because of the fence. The fence is actually... behind some trees, which it doesn't really stick out. It's on an eyesore. It looks great. The property looks great, which might probably look as good as his property does. He spends a lot of time on it. It's not my business what this family finances are and stuff like that, but I would hate to see them have to go through replacing that or taking it down. So I just wanted to come here and support. We don't have barbecues together and stuff like that. We're not in and out of each other's houses. So it's not like me trying to support a friend or anything like that. Just as a neighbor, I just feel that I feel it's on an issue. So I just wanted to share that. So thank you. Thank you.

The Press Thank you. The President Thank you. The President Thank you. The President Thank you. The President Thank you. The President Anyone else want to speak to him? Come on up, sir. The Press I'm not much of a public speaker,

Well, that's okay, neither are we. You go right ahead.

But I always try to save my mind.

State your name for the record, please. Yeah, just tell us who you are. Introduce yourself.

Now, I ride my bicycle around the whole subdivision. I've ridden 2,000 miles and not went out of the subdivision. I have talked to just about everyone in there, and I haven't found but two people that was against this fence and that it makes no sense at all. That fence is for a purpose and it's for a medical purpose. And it would be a sin to do away with that fence when it's not hurting anybody else. And I guess that's about all I have to say. Well, thank you for your comments.

Much appreciated.

What was your name again, sir? Robert, can you state your name into the microphone and where you live?

My name is Bob Taylor. Thank you. And I live there in Salt Grace, Portland.

Thank you, Mr. Taylor.

I'm Al Rivera. I am the current HOA president in Sawgrass Point. I have received numerous emails and phone calls or text messages from neighbors behind his house asking me what was going to be done about this fence as recently as within the last month. I don't have it handy right now to me, but I could bring them and show them to you if necessary. The past president from this HOA is sitting in the back. the issue that they got a signed he's here he could testify to the fact that he did not approve this this fence i don't know where they've gotten this letter but i mean from what he tells me he never approved it um he actually stood up here the last time and if you have the recording from that last meeting i believe he said that he didn't approve it um but there has been a lot of controversy about this there's a lot of deception going on about this and I just hope you can see it.

Thank you for coming. Anybody else want to speak to this? All right, we'll come back to it. Okay, go ahead.

So my name is John Francis, and I'm a family member of the property owners. Let me just tell you that the guys who spoke at the Planning Commission hearing against the fence are all associated with the HOA board. We have Al Rivera, who is the current president, and Pete Torrent, who is the current vice president. And then there's Mike Anders, who is a buddy of Al Rivera. Al and Mike filed complaints together about this fence. None of these guys were at the planning commission hearing to bring facts about the fence. They all just basically went on a rant that has nothing to do with the pyramid variants. Although the city attorney advised that these topics are irrelevant in the end of the meeting, the commissioners were still negatively influenced and had this false impression about the family and their household. These same guys came here again today and tried the same tactics. B. Torrent lied about the HOA approval. When he himself was a board member, at the time it was approved, and he has lived directly in front of it for 10 years. He never said a word about it. 10 years of silence. Then suddenly, it is a problem now. Mike Anders bought his house when this fence was already staining. He looked at this neighborhood. He saw this fence. And he chose to buy his home. Now all of a sudden, he has a problem with it. This guy goes around the neighborhood. He bullies and intimidates neighbors. He allegedly called the city staff, yelled, and intimidated some employees about this fence. He also made at least one staff member cry in tears because of this fence, because of his actions. This guy is not a good example of a neighbor. When we have HOA people who approved this fence and stayed silent about it for 10 years, and we have Mike, who also stayed silent about it when he bought his house five years ago, tells you that this is not about a fence for them. It never was. This is about their own personal hatred agenda towards the family. Both Mike and Al Rivera live on the complete opposite side of this neighborhood. They don't even see this fence from their houses. It doesn't affect them whatsoever. The intimidation, the false stories, the HOA drama, none of that has anything to do whether this fence meets the variance criteria. The city must stay objective and focus on the actual facts. The facts of the matter is that this fence stood for 10 years without a single complaint. The fence does not endanger anyone. The fence meets all criteria. The city must stay consistent with prior decisions that were made when two similar fences in 2016 were approved. One of them is not even allowed to be four feet according to code, and it was approved to be six feet at zero foot setback. Most importantly, as I've mentioned at the Planning Commission hearing, and it was completely ignored by the commissioners, I will say it again tonight. This fence protects a family member with a medical condition. It is a medical necessity that falls under the ADA and FHA. Anyone with a medical condition should be allowed to enjoy their entire property and not just a portion of it, just like any other person. The facts here are saying to reverse the Planning Commission decision, stay consistent, and approve this variance. I urge you to do exactly that. Thank you for your time.

Anybody else from the public want to speak on this item? Okay, that'll close public comments. Back to council.

I mean, I kind of agree with a little bit to the last point. So during that public comment, you may have heard disputes among HOA and owner. I mean, it just really does not come into play. So I do agree that what's before you are the facts that were presented at the Planning Commission, you have the factors that are established by your code, and you have to be able to apply those and determine whether that Planning Commission did it appropriately with their decision to deny the variance. That's what you're called upon to hear tonight. If there is any rebuttal, I would recommend that you ask the applicant if he does have rebuttal, but at this point, we can turn it over to your deliberation if he doesn't have any rebuttal.

So, come on back up for a second. If you have rebuttal comments, we need to ask you to keep them specifically to what the city attorney is telling us we can respond to. Because I've got to be honest with you, the acronym HOA, there's no relevance to HOA.

I don't need to hear HOA anymore. I understand, and that's not what I'm speaking of.

But if you have relevance to...

the city attorney of course has directed the council on what we can consider right okay well from the person to do that yes so from the perspective here this property is unique not because the staff wrote it in the report then it means that it doesn't meet the criteria we provided the facts why it meets criteria the two cases in 2016 absolutely do match similar aspects. As a matter of fact, this fence is less intrusive than those ones in my perspective. And city staff has errors in the staff report. It doesn't mean it's perfect. The criterias are met one by one. I explained them. What did we mention? We mentioned solely on code alone. Well, when you mention it in front of the commissioners and say solely on code alone, it is solely on code alone, you said it. He did not mean the criteria code. He did not mean the criteria code. As a matter of fact, he never mentioned that at any point. He should have stood up and said to the commissioners, it does not meet this, it does not meet that, it does not meet this.

Have you read the staff report?

I have read the staff report, sir. But he did not mention it. He said solely on code alone. That's misdirecting. The staff report contradicts itself in multiple areas. We provided the facts. We provided why the city criterion is met in every single one of these six criterions. Staff report is not perfect. It's not perfect in that one. They did not do, I don't know what is it, but it's not perfect. It's inconsistent. He mentioned at the planning, Mr. Tim Berman, he mentioned at the planning commission during the presentation that he mentioned nothing. He did, again, he mentioned nothing about criteria. The staff report is all over the brace. It contradicts itself in many areas. Another thing, which criteria was not met in the staff report that you mentioned for me? Can I ask you that question? No. Okay. Well, most criterias we explain the facts, we explain why. I am going to say my final word here.

Yeah, that's true.

One area he mentioned atypical lot, and in a different area he mentioned special, right? It's different in both areas. It contradicts itself in many areas. I gave you a full packet to review. I mean, the staff report was not very detailed. It was very vague. It said applicants stated, applicants stated. They did not do due diligence. They did not check everything. I ask you to take a look at the facts. Look at what just happened at the podium from the HO people. You just heard a lot of angry, loud noise from the same exact people. They spent their time and their years turning personal neighbor disputes into a full-time hobby. They stood before you, repeated the same claims. But notice what they didn't give you. They didn't give you a single data point, a single traffic study, a single fact, or a single shred of evidence showing that this fence has harmed anyone or blocked anyone's view in 10 long years. Most of the property surrounding of the fence approves of it. I don't know what's the problem with the fence. This fence is actually, I have one more thing to say here. I wrote it here. Give me one second to find it and I'm going to finish here. Specific to this land. The property is considered a typical lot under the city's own code definition. So it is already recognized. And I want to go to this slide here. It is already recognized as a different from standard residential lot. The road configuration is unique.

The roadway curves, as we see here.

This roadway curves right there. I don't know if it went up on the screen or not for you guys.

But I have the slide up, I just wanted to show it.

So we have the road configuration right here, the road curves. There is an intersection here. right the lot is exposed from all directions and then we have this big detention area pond behind if we look at other corner fences this this corner lot here it does not have that same specific features this corner lot here does not have these it's it just it does not have all three So the road configuration is unique. The roadway curves around the property. The lot is exposed to the right of way from multiple direction in a way that most properties are not. Our secondary front yard borders this large detention area, which is not typical situation. You don't see that shared by many lots. Staff's report acknowledge and it states, that this fence does not create the types of impacts the code was designed to prevent. If you look at other corner lots within the same district, you might find one of these characteristics However, this is the combination of all these factors together in a single property makes this lot unique and different from standard corner lots. This lot is exposed from all directions. The curvature of the road, the intersection, and the back lot. We don't have any privacy that we enjoy like other common areas there. Like this intersection here. This house has a fence in the back. He has a backyard. He can enjoy privacy. This house, no. The 2016 had a lift station, it was approved, and I'm sure other properties have other similar lift station. And it specifically mentioned that, that report specifically mentioned that other properties have lift stations. And it was approved for basically aesthetics because the lift station had a fence around it. Aesthetics alone. This one serves as a medical need. And I did mention a lot of these things. I did mention the medical need in the other, in previously. I did mention HOA letter previously. I even asked the council, can I show you the HOA letter? One of the commissioners said, No, I'm not interested. Because it's not really relevant. The HOA is trying to negatively influence the city. And they're trying to weaponize you. Don't let them do this tonight. This is a variance. There's a reason why it is a variance. We have applied. We have made our application clear. And we have done everything to meet the criteria. It's meant to show you that it's meant. We've done everything. We spent extensive amount of time researching this. We're searching the laws, researching past criterias, We did. We gave you the facts. It doesn't mean the staff report is correct. Staff can make mistakes. We can all admit that. Right? It was not a perfect staff report. I ask you to reverse this decision. Let us live in peace. Because we have been harassed by some individuals here for some time.

And I'm done. I'm done. I'm going. I know. I understand.

I understand. But I ask you to let us live in peace at this point. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. all right so so back to council i will just briefly because i want to make sure that a lot of folks from the neighborhood came out tonight and we appreciate that we're not here to mitigate relationships between homeowners and their hoa representatives or homeowners and other homeowners that is not our role and while we appreciate a lot of comments of fence looks nice the property looks nice it's been there all those kinds of things that's great but the community has the interest in Supporting homeowners or having that relationship and that is awesome. But just I asked you to understand Though a lot of those things are not our role. That's not our what we can consider in this type of a hearing Okay, so but I do appreciate everybody taking the time to come out and voice their comments and speak. So that's that's good I appreciate that that anything else you wanted to add council comments here. Yes, sir. Lance. We'll start with you

Well, I mean, I don't know where we go with this as far as the code. The code is the code. And again, sitting on the planning board for all the time that I've sat on the planning board, it's always had to be a hardship or something very odd with the property, et cetera, et cetera. And again, personally, I don't see that here. And so I just, I understand it's beautiful. I understand it looks nice. But we have rules for a reason. And when we open the door for one, we haven't opened the door for all. So that's what we need to consider here tonight as well. Sean?

So my opinion on the fence and where it sits and how good it looks doesn't matter. Because our job, our responsibility tonight is only to determine if our planning commission made a mistake in their determination. That is, I believe, our only responsibility. Not our opinion on what... how good the fence looks, where it's at. It's, it's one, one responsibility. And that's, did our planning commission make a mistake? Not at a, did they make the wrong decision on their opinion? And I don't know how that planning board supposed to work. I've never sat on a planning board, but my question would be to staff and maybe to our attorney is, uh, they have the, the variance was brought to them and they get to make that decision. Hey, I feel good about this, it looks good, and I think we should give them the variance. Do they get to do that, or do they just go, buy the code?

the attorney for the planning commission did the exact same thing i did there's a set of criteria that guide that decision and that was read out loud at that meeting as well that you are bound you it's not just some does it does it look good does it feel right it's not a gut feel there are criteria that will lead your decision those were announced at the planning commission meeting those were you know discussed by the staff and the staff report and those are what form the basis of the decision of the planning commission that's Their only authority is based on the code that you have set before them to provide consideration of that variance. They are bound to follow those criteria.

But a variance, doesn't it give them the option to say, okay, we're okay with the six-foot fence? Does it give them that option? That's what the variance is.

So fence, to his point, there's been multiple variances for fence height even under unique circumstances. So the variance process is in place. for an adjustment for unique purposes of a code that if applied rigidly to this circumstance doesn't necessarily meet what the city was attempting to do with it. There's unique circumstances all the time. You heard of a lift station in a front yard. is a unique circumstance. You know, there's other circumstances out there. So yes, have there been variances approved? Absolutely. But you have to take them on a one by one basis and determine what's unique about this situation. And that's what the Planning Commission attempted to do. That's what they've applied the criteria. They followed staff's recommendation and they brought that decision out to you on appeal. And you got to determine whether that's going to be the right answer.

Okay. And right now, the code would allow them to keep the fence in the place that they dropped it to four feet?

Yes.

Correct, right? No. No. To where the fence sits today, if it was four feet, it would be okay? But it's still not within the setback. We don't know that either. No, I need to know. It's in the survey.

That's right.

You have to have a survey as part of the permit.

We do not have a survey to show that that fence sits back five feet from the property line. So basically, if they dropped it to four foot, we'd have to make sure that fence is put at five feet from the property line. As Matt indicated, the reason why that was included in the application was we did not have a survey and did not want to take the chance of a variance being approved and have my inspector go out there and find it four foot five from the property line and tell them, guess what, guys, you've got to do a variance again. So we were trying to be proactive in that case, but I guess it was seen differently.

Okay. All right. Thank you. So if it was within five feet of the property line, they would actually be able to, if they got a survey and then the fence was set within five feet, it would be, and it could be four feet.

Yes.

Okay. And it very well could be there now. We just don't know because there's no survey. Because, yeah, that's all I need to know.

Yeah.

Tracy. The unfortunate factor is mistakes were made 10 years ago. We've run into this problem before as I've been sitting up here with HOA approvals are not city approvals. And we run into this issue. I can't stress that enough that an HOA approval is not a permit from the city. If the permit process had been done and a survey would have been done, you would have known where the fence would have been properly approved at. I knew this, I sit on a corner lot. 30 years, I've had a four foot section of my corner lot being that way. The six foot could be coming off the backside of the house to protect the loved ones that you're talking about. It just comes off the straight line of the secondary front of the house. I knew this code quite well. The unfortunate part is the code is the code. It is what we have to do as a board up here as we look at it. It may be something later that we look at and talk about other discussions for code changes, but that's not what tonight's about. You have opportunity of 10 years of not having a fence pulled down. you have the opportunity to put the fence at four foot with a survey and a six foot inner fence in your yard to fix the problem. I hate to say it, I have to agree with the variance board. It's a tough deal. I have real problems with people that own property and we're not allowed to use our property to the full advantage that we would like to. So, I know this ain't the appropriate time, but it might be something we look at for updating the code later. But that's not what tonight is about.

Good point. That was one of the points I was going to make, is that if it's council's pleasure to review a code, that is a totally separate thing. And certainly we could do that if that's something that the council has interest in doing that. My comments are pretty simple. This is an issue that shouldn't even be before us because there's a process to go through to get a permit, which requires a survey to ensure that any fence, whether it's four foot or six foot, is in the correct location and that that is confirmed and that the permit allows for what the fence can be or what it cannot be. during that initial permitting process, if somebody wants to get a variance to do something differently in that permitting process, then there would be a lot more discussion and perhaps questions that were asked that we can't really consider that stuff with this type of a hearing as before us tonight. Is that correct? Okay. Um, so from what I have read, and what the attorney has presented to us, I don't see that the planning commission did anything incorrect. I think they based their decisions on the information that was provided to them. Again, the HOA part of it has no bearing at all in my mind. Some communities have HOAs, some don't have HOAs. In this particular case, it seems there's some feelings that don't have anything to do with the elected body of the city council with regards to the HOA members or any of that. So I don't really see any validation to that to be considered with this. But I don't have anything else. Does anybody else have anything else? Mr. City Attorney, anything? No, sir. Well, I'll have the court call the roll. Oh. So we have the motion on the floor, just to be clear. The motion is in the affirmative to uphold the recommendation of the planning board. So if you vote yes, you are upholding the planning board recommendation. If you vote no, you are recommending that the recommendation be overturned.

It's not a recommendation. It's an actual decision. So you're either upholding the planning commission's decision to deny the variance or you're recommending that it be overturned if you vote no. Okay.

Everybody clear on that? All clear on that? Call the roll, please.

Councilman Gifford.

Yes to uphold.

Councilman Green.

Yes.

Vice Mayor Grubbs. Yes. Mayor Sill.

Yes. 4-0 to uphold the Planning Board's recommendation for item 21. All right. That'll bring us to Council Committee Reports, item 21, City Council Committee Reports. TPO, Vice Mayor Tracy Grubbs.

So TPO this month was really, really interesting. Second month on the TPO, the TIP proposal for the next five years. We talk about budget cuts and homestead exemptions and all this stuff. It was interesting to see the TPO came in at $458 million for 2027. And over the five-year plan, it's just $40 million short of being a billion dollars that's coming into Volusia and Flagler County. These are long-range projects of five years. I want to give staff some kudos. I'm getting into this and understanding this with Wayne and Tim. And one of the things is when we go to Tier 1 lists, they tier out their projects. as far as A, B, and C. A is being priority and moving forward. Clyde Morris Boulevard right turn lanes, construction is fully funded and coming forward. Madeline and Nova and Swallowtail and Dunlaunton intersections are being done. But what's interesting is understanding the importance of our staff Having projects already designed and ready means that we've done our work to get the projects ready to continue on. So in tier B, we have three of four more projects that might actually come to fruition in the next year or two. And the reason for that is we have three other cities that removed off of tier A because they weren't ready. So having our projects ready ahead of time from staff, it's pretty amazing that it allows us to get more done because we're already on the list for approval. So that was interesting to watch and how that process works. But yeah, $963 million over the next five years. And that's just approval, not all the funding that comes with each project as it goes. So on a floating average, it's about $2 billion. So that's where we're at.

I will say one of the eye-opening things being on the TPO board for the time that I was on the board and there was some unfortunate consistency, is that you project out these costs and you were projecting them thinking there's a certain amount percentage-wise they may go up year after year after year, and it was never even close. It was always so exponentially more, so much more. So it is incredibly challenging for all levels of the government to project what these costs are really going to be. So it wouldn't surprise me that that number is 15, 20% off, right? We just don't know. I mean, we're watching what's going on globally right now and how that's impacting the markets for painting. and you just don't know. But it's very unlikely to see those trends and numbers start to come back to where you're pleasantly surprised going, oh, you projected X dollars a linear mile of paving, and the good news is it's 8% less than we thought. I haven't seen that yet, so that would be pretty awesome. Anything else on TPO? General Employee Pension Board, I was not able to attend the meeting. We're having up a vacation, but I will get a date in minutes on that and come back and report that to the council. Anybody else have anything else they need to add for the night?