Planning and Zoning Board - Regular Meeting

Remember the core. Remember my can see here. Remember Levy. By your chair. Bravo here. That's where we have a quorum.

Thank you. Do we have a 10 commission liaison report.

The mayor is not present today.

Let's go to approval minutes.

From June 25th I wasn't there but I'm happy to move to approve.

I second.

My apologies, who's second in the motion? All those in favor say aye.

Aye. Any opposed?

Motion carries. Chair, if I may, there is an announcement the attorney would like to make.

OK. Good evening, board members and applicants. THE TOWN HAS ADOPTED A NEW POLICY THAT INVOLVES THE ZONING CHANGES THAT WERE DONE IN OCTOBER OF 2024. THE TOWN HAS ADOPTED A POLICY THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ENFORCING CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AS OF OCTOBER 2024 WHICH IMPACT SEVERAL OF THE SINGLE FAMILY DISTRICTS AND BECAUSE OF THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO JUST ANNOUNCE AND EXTEND APPLICANTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW AND IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW AND IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO DEFER THEIR ITEMS THIS EVENING DEFER THEIR ITEMS THIS EVENING DEFER THEIR ITEMS THIS EVENING AND GO BACK FOR A REDESIGN UNDER AND GO BACK FOR A REDESIGN UNDER AND GO BACK FOR A REDESIGN UNDER THE OLDER WHICH ARE LESS RESTRICTIVE THE OLDER WHICH ARE LESS RESTRICTIVE THE OLDER WHICH ARE LESS RESTRICTIVE ZONING AND GUIDELINES. and offer you an additional date to come back here with a modified proposal that meets those criteria rather than the stricter ones. You are free to continue and present if you want to present under what you have today under the current zoning regulations and guidelines, you can do that. However, if you would like the opportunity to make those amendments for the less restrictive regulations, you may do that and we would ask that you let us know now, that way you don't have to sit here and wait. If anybody would like to, they can come up to the lectern and ask for the deferral.

Okay.

Question for the town attorney. Can you confirm whether the 2008 design guidelines are in play tonight?

As of now, yes. So the 2008 guidelines are the prior to the 2026 guidelines.

I believe so.

So yes, the 2026 guidelines are the current policy is not to enforce those guidelines.

And what does not enforce mean legally?

It means they are not what we are going to be judging and reviewing projects against.

OK. And so tonight, what should we be judging from a code perspective? What should we be judging and reviewing applicants?

You can rely on the 2008 guidelines. The applicants are free to request that the application be judged in accordance with the 2026 guidelines if they so choose if they have worked it to and presented it that way they have the option of doing that the town is simply not going to enforce it if the applicants would rather go to the 2008 guidelines and which code are we using tonight We are gonna use everything except the amendments that were made in October of 2024. And I can pull up that, I'll ask the clerk to help me pull up that ordinance, which relates to certain single family districts and certain setbacks and other items that were approved there. I don't know that it necessarily is going to come to bear because I don't see anybody here who wishes to defer and redesign their project to comply with that rather than what they have. If they want to go forward complying with what is on the books today, that is their choice. It's just that the town is not going to require that. And so tonight, it is an option on the applicants.

So for clarification, no matter when they submitted their application, this is not enforceable, right?

So past action is past action. We're only talking about the applications that are here before us today. And going forward, there will, I believe, be action by the town commission to amend the code to something that is going to be enforced, of course. This is just addressing certain issues that have been identified with the passage of the 2024 code amendments and the guidelines, the 2026 guidelines.

So basically this is retroactive.

If somebody were to come with a new application to amend something that they did last month, they could avail themselves and go back to the old code rather than the new code.

But for these applications that we have today,

So these applications that are here today obviously were reviewed under the current guidelines and the current code. That is why we are offering the option for the applicants, if they would like to defer and come back with a revised application, they can. If not, they are free to proceed with what they have now. And we will judge it based on what they have now. So applicant option for today.

Thank you. So considering that everybody wants to proceed as established, let's go with item number four, agenda and order of business, and I receive the petition of moving one of the items towards the beginning for the application, which is the benches, right? Item number 8B. Plastic fishermen park benches for the beach. somebody will have to make a motion besides you chair yeah i cannot make the motion and so if i can pass the gavel i can make the motion yes you may right okay do you want to make the motion sure i can move the item to the beginning of the agenda 8b to be heard now i'll second the motion all those in favor say aye aye aye any opposed motion carries um No, Town Attorney, should we read the statement for quasi-judicial?

We can do that after.

After this? After this. Okay. And Madam Clerk, do we need to serve anybody after this?

Not yet, because we're just gonna do the discussion item first.

Perfect. So let's proceed.

Yes, I'll quickly introduce this item. It was brought before you at the last meeting and there were some questions and it was requested that the representative come today and discuss the product and provide some pictures and also material samples when he is here today.

Testing. There we go.

Good evening, board members. Rodrigo Buterin, 9517 Carlisle Avenue. So I am the founder of Plastic Fishermen, and I'm going to be talking to you about our workshop today, where we transform the plastic that we collect at beaches around and areas around Miami into furniture. So I'm here to share the deck. Is that what we're doing, or I'm here to answer questions? Answer questions. Answer questions. OK, so I'm assuming you've already seen the deck.

Maybe you could give us an overview of what the plan is for these. I've seen the pictures, but are you asking for a decision or a recommendation on something?

Well, I was requested to come share what we do and why we do it. Why we do it is basically we are an educational program all over the world. We started here in Surfside. And what we do is we educate people about marine plastic pollution. But not only that, the plastic that we collect, again, is transformed. It's recycled at our facility in Opa Loca and turned into benches and other types of furniture. So what I brought to you today is some samples that I'm going to show you so you can see the material itself. And I was invited by Commissioner Modena to talk about the possibilities of making some of those benches for our town, for Dunes, right, for the spaces that we have at Dunes. Some notes for you guys to know that each one of those beams here, which are 46 inches by one and a half thickness and three, they have around 1,100 plastic caps or plastic pieces in them. Each one of those benches that we are showing you have around 19,000 plastic caps or pieces in there, which are equivalent to 84 pounds. So those are quite heavy pieces. They are 46 inches long. They could be longer than that. We can double that to a 92 inches long. It's again customizable like this one here. Yeah. So they are very, very, very solid.

Question. So is there a specific type of the structure? I know it seems the colors are, you know, custom colors, but is there a specific type of bench that we were looking at?

The benches that you guys were looking at was this one here, which is called the bay bench. This is a double size bench or a single size. The double, of course, it's bigger, heavier, therefore much, much harder to be affected by any type of weather-related event. um they are like i said very heavy they are basically i'll call it bulletproof because it's plastic and it's the wind sun it doesn't matter this will last forever all the rivets are hidden inside so there's nothing exposed and all the materials that we use inside are stainless steel so this is a forever type of bench in terms of color we work with what we find so that's kind of the beauty of what we do and i invite you to come see our workshop and learn The process, we have volunteers coming in. Lots of high school kids come and learn about the process. But what we do is we make them as we get them, basically. This is another example of a bench. This one here has a metal base. So I wouldn't say it's ideal for the beach. I would prefer much more for us to go with something that's 100% plastic just because of the nature of the space. This is something that is great, but it's more of an inside type of bench. It's a little bit more delicate. So, yeah, these are some of our benches, and we've been working with different companies. Sometimes companies organize cleanups with us, and then we provide them with a bench with the material that was used during the cleanup, including, like, Warner Brothers, Discovery, schools all over the world, all over Miami. We've also done some, I don't know if you can see on the left, like, some towers where, you know, we use the plastic from the beach to turn that into, you know, plastic collecting, you know, signs around the beach. We've been featured on Don't Trash Your Treasure. Yeah, so that's what we have. I'd love to to bring you this so you can see.

And before we continue, yeah, bring it over. Before we continue, I want to recap on this item. This item was presented by the town manager, Mr. Diaz, in the last meeting, right, in the most recent meeting, and that was petitioned by the commissioners. So the commissioners wanted us to review this item.

That's correct.

I don't recall exactly the number of benches we're talking here or the location of the benches, but I do recall that we were talking about the material itself because we didn't have samples or anything to see. That was one question. The other question was, Existing location where these benches are installed nowadays so we can see how they behave like in natural conditions We were asking about the pricing also, so I I don't know if we can entertain those those aspects location number of benches pricing Existing absolutely. Okay.

So starting with location I first presented this to the commissioners and they discussed something about being on the dunes or or and be in the face of the channel, right? So on our exits towards the channel. So it was one of those things that was just like, let's talk to you guys first and see where those could be placed. And that could be the decision. There's no decision at this point. In terms, the second question was location. Yes, we've worked with schools. Like there's, you know, Whispering Pines, you know, for instance, has a couple of benches in there. Warner Brothers Discovery has a couple of benches in there. There is a company too that's a plastics company. I don't know the names right now, but I can get you where the benches are. There's also benches at, here they go, yeah. Yeah, these three benches here. Sorry, I don't remember the name of the company, but I can get you all of that in writing, so you can definitely give them a call and make sure you check it. And in terms of pricing, I don't know if I have pricing. Oh, yeah, there you go. So the two-people bench, the 46-inch one, it's $1690. And the four-people one, which is the double size, is $2800 per bench.

Were we always going with the Bay Bench? Just curious. Did it go through? Was there a- There was no decision that I recollect.

No, it was one of those things. I just bring it to you guys, you guys analyze the design. Even if you say, Rodrigo, I love the material. Here's the design. Would you like to experiment making that design? I'm open to that too. One thing I remember though was, when we make a bench to make sure that we put something in the middle so people don't sleep on them. That was the only note that I remember being a must.

Through the chair. I just want to say I love what you do. I think I've been to a few of your events. I love the idea of taking the garbage and the plastic off our beaches and making something beautiful. I think these are beautiful. I think the bay bench is a good option because it doesn't have metal. It's sturdy. You can feel how sturdy this is. I think it's going to hold up. So I strongly support this idea. I would love to see some of these on the beach or at the street ends facing the canal. And I also like the collection stations you have. I mean, I walk on the beach three or four times a week. I pick up garbage and throw it away. If there were a receptacle for the plastic caps you use, I would drop those in there and we could just keep this going. So I would be in favor of having a few of those along the beach as well.

There are Is there any way to add this lady green bin to the discussion?

The garbage can? Yeah, I love the garbage can too.

Again, those are things that we can add on. We can keep on adding as we wish. One thing I recommend, of course, is if we do follow this path and have the... The stations, I would have them near, of course, the beams, right? So by the entrance of each one of those. So people can, I mean, of course, we try to collect as much as we can. So we use it again on the construction of the new pieces.

And just one more point, I buy a lot of benches and garbage cans for my developments, and they have to be heavy and sturdy so they don't walk away. We're spending more than these prices on those sorts of large concrete or heavy materials, so I think the price point is also good for the town.

Yeah, if there's a way to get maybe a map, some kind of markup just to see exactly where we're going to put them, I think that would be great.

Fantastic. I'll rely on you for that direction. But once you tell me, these many, these locations will start a process. Absolutely. And I also, again, I invite you and invite the town. I'd love to create a system where the community could come and participate in the making of this. Because, again, it's a fun process. It's a learning process. And that's what we do. We're not only making furniture. We're teaching people about the potential of the material and how to avoid, you know,

And basically that would be the sample that is applicable to this selection, right?

This is one of the beams that go exactly into the bay bench or even like the beams here. This one here is a 2x4, so it's a little thicker, a little bigger because of the structure. But for the benches that you see here, these are all basically that.

So how do you vote or agree on what the color is – going to wind up being.

You can tell me which colors you want and I'll try my best to, because we have, of course, we've been collecting plastic and we have like buckets with them. But if you tell me, Rod, I need 20 blue benches, I'll say, hold on, like we, I don't think I have 20. No, I love the multicolor. But we can say, I just want them on these colors. We can make it on these colors. I highly recommend they get colorful because it's a very Miami thing, I think. But I'm open to whatever recommendation you have.

I've been told we are a source site. We're not just Miami.

I would move we recommend the bay bench and consideration of the green bins and also the collect this fishing stations forward to the town commission for next steps there's one you made a comment about having a bar in the middle to so that nobody can sleep on them.

Is there one in here that, I just don't see it in there, but it'll just be right in the middle and it'll be.

This will be an add-on, yes, let me see if I can point it to you where I would do it. It would basically like one more plastic, there you go.

So maybe the motion is exactly what you said, but adding that portion.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how much detail we need to provide. I think they're just looking for us to yay or nay and, you know, so. I vote yay. I move yay to the town commission.

Do we have to say the quantity of them?

I don't think so.

I believe the board member has made a motion and is waiting for a second. I second.

All those that say fair say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Thank you very much.

Looking forward to it.

I guess can I? No, no, no. That's good. Thank you.

Should I add on there a motion to discuss the bins? Too late now. Unless you retract the motion, then we can do another one. The what? Bins? To discuss the bins as well.

I added that.

No, it's part of the motion. It's part of the motion.

So to be clear, the motion includes the- Bins.

Three items, the bench, the bay bench, the garbage can, and the collecting station.

Okay.

For consideration.

Very good. And now we go to item number five, applications. And then, Town Attorney.

Okay. I'm gonna read the quasi-judicial statement. So the applications on this evening's meeting agenda are quasi-judicial in nature. The decision of whether or not to approve or recommend approval of such applications is not a popularity contest. We cannot base our decisions only on opinions, however important those opinions are. By law, we must base our decision on legal criteria and on substantial competent evidence. This means testimony or other evidence based on personal observation or relevant expert testimony that a reasonable mind would accept as adequate to support a conclusion. This includes the recommendations of the town's professional staff, as well as some personal opinions about whether people are in favor of or against the application. Everyone shall be given an opportunity to speak. If you intend to provide testimony as to any of the applications considered tonight, you shall and must be sworn in by the clerk before your testimony is taken. Please know, if you speak, you may be subject to cross-examination. If you refuse either to be cross-examined or to be sworn, your testimony will be given its due weight. The general public will not be permitted to cross-examine witnesses, but... The public may request the board to direct questions on their behalf to either staff or the applicant. For each application considered tonight, we will first hear from town staff and then from the applicant. After this, the chair will allow anyone from the audience who has been sworn in to provide testimony. Please make your comments concisely. Madam Clerk, can you confirm compliance with the advertising and noticing requirements?

They have been confirmed.

Board members, have any of you had any ex parte communications with the applicants or any members of the public either for or against any of the applications to be heard tonight? If so, please state so for the record and the nature of the communication.

No.

I was contacted by Mr. Safransky about one item in the agenda, but we didn't have any conversation about it. He tried to contact me.

Okay, and that will not affect your ability to be an impartial? Absolutely not. Judge on this, thank you. Madam Clerk, please swear in staff and those who intend to speak on the items on this agenda.

Please raise and raise your right hand. Do you swear and affirm to say truth and only put the truth? You may be seated.

Mr. Chair, you may begin.

Mr. Vice Chair.

we have one uh quick change to the agenda item number 5d uh has been uh has been withdrawn yeah thank you so let's go to item number 5a 9156 emerson avenue new single family home

Thank you. Staff finds that this application meets the zoning code requirements, and if the board finds the plan is consistent, staff recommends approval with a few conditions, that a drainage and grading plan is reviewed and determined to be consistent with the code requirements, that the green building certification and LED requirements are met, and at the time of building permit, the applicant may post a sustainability fee, payment bond, or the full payment of the sustainability fee to the town. This application is a request to construct a new two story single family home on 5,620 square foot lot. The subject property is located 9156 Emerson Avenue, H30B zoning district. The property is an interior lot and exterior design elements include smooth stucco finish, and aluminum railings. Black lintel frames are proposed for the windows and composite cladding is proposed wall panels. The front facade provides articulation and recessed entranceway. The rear of the home features similar material finishes as the front and sides. The proposed lot coverage for this home is 2,143 square feet or what's equal to 38% of the lot for the first floor. with the floor area ratio of 0.55. Setback calculations for the additional second floor setback have been provided and they comply with the minimum requirements and a grading plan will be required to be provided as a condition with the building permit.

Thank you. Do the owners or owners want to speak about this house?

Yes, good evening. My name is Fred Cardoso. I'm the architect for this project.

If you can state your address for the record as well.

My address is 5830 Southwest 73rd Street in South Miami. We presented this house originally, I believe, was three months ago. Then we came back two months ago. Last month, I missed it by a day and couldn't present it. But the design basically had been done for a couple of months after we had the opportunity to speak with one of the previous members of the board and get his input, his opinions. And they helped, obviously. We were able to reduce a lot of the items that felt intrusive to the exterior of the home. And so this is what we arrived at. And we're very happy with it. Our clients are happy. We're hoping that you find it complying with all the requirements and in trying to keep with the rest of the homes around it, which is not easy because, as you know, all of the homes around us are at a lower elevation. And we are now forced to raise this six feet above the street. So it's not easy if we start way too high and it kind of becomes oppressive on the other houses. But we think that we've been able to lower the scale of the house so that it's not as obtrusive. Do you have any questions? I'll be glad to.

Before we have questions, I think we have to open the floor to public comments. Anybody wishing to speak about this item? Then we close the floor. Now board members feel free. Who wants to ask any questions?

I think you have some of the materials there.

Yes.

Chair, can I get you, please have him speak into the record, please.

That work? Okay. So on the sample board, I'm showing the sample of the aluminum basically just for color and size. The samples of the colors of the paint that we will use throughout the house. And the composite material that we intend to use sparingly on the front and back elevation. We trust this material quite a bit. In fact, it's been installed in several homes here in Surfside. And I know that originally it kind of got some comments saying why do we have to go with the composite material and not you know real wood and obviously there's a lot of differences the material is there cost is one thing but the other thing is maintenance the maintenance on this kind of thing and you can see it in many of the homes on in front of the the canal that went with the wood and they have to be maintaining that and redoing it every six months so the wood is going where and the composite is going where No, we're intending to use a composite, as you see, all of those vertical elements. So the wood is not part of the... I brought this just because of the comments that they provided before, so that we do the comparison. But this material is really of a super good quality. It's not like what they sell in Home Depot.

What is that? It has a good texture. What is that product?

It's... I don't have the name of it. It's a composite wood material.

Plastic.

It has a good texture. It has the colors, and we're trying to get more to this color than the darker, as you can see on the elevations.

But that's not an aluminum?

No.

No, no. much like the composite wood that you see used in decks and everything, anything outdoor because it's obviously a material that lasts and it's going to withhold the elements in this area, you know?

Yeah, it's tough. The maintenance versus the warmer look is a tough trade-off, yeah. Do you have any comments?

It's funny, you know?

I find it quite interesting that all of a sudden we're sort of in limbo is where I feel like we're at. I can see some touches based on the comment that you made that you reached out to a previous member. And I honestly have to tell you that the articulation of the back of the house, I find it more residential than the stiffness of the front facade. And I'm not sure if it's something about whether you have these caps, these lines that you're outlining in a darker color versus the background of the actual building. And maybe what needs to happen is, since, and I may be completely out of line because now setbacks are sort of fair play uh you may consider having that top horizontal line of the second floor cantilever further out maybe that helps to bring down the sense of height, extreme height that it appears to have from the front facade. Now obviously this is an illusion because in the back you still have the six feet above the existing ground and there's no really room to see the house from far away. Here you have a different condition. So I would just suggest that. I think it'll go well with that line of the roof or the first floor that has all these plants hanging out that I hope somebody takes care of because otherwise that's not going to look like that. But the other comment is, do you really need a big window in a bathroom, especially in a tub? I mean, I think that would do a lot for the presentation of the house towards the street if you could get rid of that window. But that's only my opinion.

Yeah, I think it's one of those that we actually made larger after discussions.

It's in the shower of a bathroom in the second floor.

It used to be smaller.

Well, I would just take it out completely.

Suggestions, we made it larger. I don't think it's a problem.

I don't think it's a place where you sit and contemplate the view from the second floor. But anyway, it's up to you. I think fair play. is all out there. My last comment is there seems to be a little bit of a lack of proper composition between the door of the garage, which sits low, obviously, because the car's not on jacks, but then the entry door goes all the way to the floor to ceiling. Meanwhile, the window to the left, which I think is quite an important window, I would try to make an effort to bring that all the way up so that it matches the height of that front door. And the composition starts to look a lot more different and more inviting. Instead of having an array of components, you simplify it into a couple, one, two, three, and that's it. And I think the simplicity is going to add to your design. That's my only comments.

I take your comments well. I think they're all well thought of. We don't see a problem in extending that overhang. Certainly, we have that terrace on the second floor. We could extend three or four feet. It's still doable with the structure without a major problem. I agree with you. I was looking at the garage and I was thinking that at least we should do a panel of the size of the garage door that raises it to the head of the window so that they match.

That's a tough header. Those are always tough. Yeah.

So we can recess it just a couple of inches and have it in a different color so that it looks like a larger

Excuse me for interrupting, because in the back, in the composition of the rear, you have the slats that you presented, the composite slats that go all the way up. And that first floor looks really clean with that column in the corner and then the header beam across with the slats reaching up to that point. And I like the composition of the back. With respect to what I was saying about the roof, that line that you're creating up there, you don't necessarily need to extend it in both directions. I think you have a terrace to the north. I would imagine this is the north on the right of the front elevation. Yeah, if you just extended that one side to cover that terrace, which is yours anyway, it would be quite interesting to see.

Also, you're saying he doesn't have to come forward.

I don't think so. I think it just needs to go to the right. Because the bottom line is so strong where those plants are trying to hide it. That line is very strong and I think the other one is too timid. So if you just extended it a little bit towards the group of palm trees on the right, I think it would bring the whole composition a little closer.

No problem. That sounds fair.

Interplay.

I just wanted to point out that in the back, yes, the wood panel goes to a beam. And in order to still get that effect in the front, I would bring the column up to still leave a beam of the front face of Stockholm. So raise it like two feet with that panel so that it matches the window. I don't think we should bring it all the way up to that overhang.

You know, we seem to be in a whole different ballgame. Yeah. You're the boss.

I would say thank you so much for working with us over these months. I think this design has improved so much, and I think you should be really proud of it. I think it's beautiful. And I think, you know, just for the board's sake and anyone listening, this is exactly how P&Z helps make some of these designs possible. you know, better with collaboration with the applicant. And this is why I think our design guidelines are so important and why the collaboration between the applicant and the Planning and Zoning Board is important. So thank you for working with us. I'm in favor of moving this forward. I'd like to move to approve with staff conditions and consideration of what James suggested at your.

Let me, I have a couple of questions here. I'm sorry. I have a couple of questions. Number one, and this is about, you know, technicalities maybe. on page A13, you have the scopper between six and seven, right? Between six and seven, you have.

The parapet that we have in order to enclose the AC unit?

Right, and there's a scopper there, right? Correct. Okay, so that is gonna create water going into, if we go to the ground floor, You're going to see that opening on the ground floors. That may create some sort of issue in there. Good point. Good point.

We can certainly send the water sideways so that we use only the one on the left, like we have here. Use the one on the left, avoid having the one by the AC, and have it sideways. I agree with your point. Besides, that would give us only two on the side elevations.

Now, the other question that I have is I don't see anything. Yes, we have to raise this house, right? It's part of what we need to do for COVID and FEMA. Now, how do we prevent the water running off to the sides, right, to the houses, existing houses in there in this situation? Because I don't see any element, any component preventing that water runoff. No, as you know,

It was mentioned we're going to have to bring our grading and paving an engraving plan. And basically what we need to do is berm the perimeter with a low berm and do the soil around it to keep all the rainwater in our property without going to the neighbors or to the street. And we'll comply with that.

And very quickly, I don't know if you have thought about what certification you will be pursuing lead of FGBC any certification and what what components you have in here to make sure that it's going to be achievable.

To be totally honest with you, I had not seen that requirement. So we had to evaluate it. We certainly have top of the line windows. top of the line mechanical equipment that works with the uh for the energy calculations we have materials you know that are uh environment friendly like a roofing and so on i think that we can make it comply if not in nothing else with the with the housing the housing standards mr chair yes can i make a suggestion absolutely based on your comments

I know that it's a little bit more expensive to collect water on the roofs. duct them all the way down to a crawl space and put a tank, a reserve tank in the crawl space. Maybe the cost of doing that, when I say the tank and the crawl space, I'm talking about something that can hold maybe more than 500 gallons of water, rainwater, which could be then turned into a watering system for the plants, the beautiful plants on the first floor and the garden. So you're doing two things. You're saving money for the client who's gonna live here and having that second meter for irrigation, right, over the long term. I'm doing that in a house that I was so fortunate to get approved with this tough board. And I think it's going to be hopefully a good example for a lot of people that build and just fill five feet of crawl space with dirt that really doesn't help anything with anything when it comes to major storms.

Board members, I just wanna quickly point out, I believe the LEED certification, that is something that the town is not going to enforce because it was part of the 2024 amendments.

Correct, but this was submitted prior to that or after that?

It was submitted and it was designed under whatever guidelines it was, but the town will not enforce it. the applicant can choose to meet it. I just want to make it clear that the town will not enforce that requirement.

So that's why I was asking if they were, that resolution was retroactive. So it doesn't matter when they submitted the application. That is correct. Okay.

That is correct. And again, and right, that we're going to, this board has to make the suggestions, and certainly I want to just make sure that we're not going to suggest, and we can suggest and guide, but I want to make sure that additional requirements beyond those in the code and the guidelines are going to be just suggestions but not requirements. Thank you.

Anything else, Mr. McKenzie?

again that was just a suggestion thank you very much so do we have a motion yeah i have a motion on the table to approve with staff conditions and consideration of james's suggestions and i'll second the motion you can't second the motion yeah the the chair can second he cannot make yeah wow i wish i'd known that these last 15 years i was surprised last time so you know from now on i'll do it

A lot of things changing.

Board Member Licor? Yes. Board Member McKenzie?

Yes.

Board Member Levy?

Yes.

Vice Chair Bravo?

Yes.

Chair, the motion carries.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Congrats. Item number 5B, 9017 Hardin Avenue.

Yes, staff finds that this application meets the zoning code requirements and if the board finds the plan is consistent, staff recommends approval with a few conditions. A drainage and grading plan is prepared and determined to be consistent with the code at the time of building permit. that all mechanical equipment is required to be screened for acoustical mitigation per the code requirements, and that the minimum floor, finished floor elevation is required to be at least 10 feet in GBD, and the perimeter fence shall consist of material that is permitted by code, and note that composite-based materials are not allowed. This application is a request to construct a new two-story single-family home on 5,625 square feet. The subject property is located at 9017 Harding, and it's in the H30C zoning district. The property is an interior lot, and the exterior design elements include stucco finish and wood and bronze details. The rear of the home is also similar material finishes, and the proposed lot coverage for the home is 3,719 square feet, while lot coverage and FAR are not regulated in this zoning district. Setback calculations for the additional second floor setback have been provided and comply with the minimum requirements, and again, a grading plan will be a condition of approval for building permit. Thank you.

Thank you very much. To the owner, owner rep wants to present.

Evening, everybody. Graham Penn, Burke Howard, L. Fernandez, Larkin, Tappanus, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard. Finding the file. Okay. Boop.

Is that good enough? Let's see. Okay, perfect.

It's good to see everyone again as always. I'm gonna be as brief as I can, which is always a lie, and then I'm gonna turn it over to Steve Lurie, our architect, to take you through the actual design. As Scarlyn indicated, this project, this new home meets and exceeds all the relevant code standards. And it's also because of its unique location in comparison to the typical single-family home you see. Resolves a lot of the concerns you would typically have in interior lots west of Harding. So let's go through it briefly. So here we are on the east side of Harding. as you know, a state road with three lanes. To our north, we've got 9025 Harding, which is an existing two-story apartment complex. To the south of us is an empty lot, To the east of us is 9024 Collins, which is, again, another two-story apartment building, and then the larger assemblage to our northeast of 9040 to 9048, which is a series of additional two-story apartment buildings. So this house, unlike most of the projects we see, is in a very different environment than an interior lot that's in H30 that we see a lot of. We really have, we're surrounded by multifamily development on three sides existing and probably on the four, you know, two existing and three likely when an empty lot gets redeveloped. Property is a single-platted lot, 50-foot wide. It's a typical lot subdivision within the town, so it's a total of 5625 square feet, like most of our lots are, and it has that unique zoning of H30C, which as Scarlett indicated, removes a lot of the other requirements you have in H30B that are specific to single-family. This is a view of the property looking to the east. You can see looming behind us is the surf club on Collins. The characteristics I want to focus on briefly is the way that the access to the existing house is. That's a concern that you see in a lot of these older houses and properties. It impacts the site to the north as well, where the parking is basically directly off of Harding. which is a dangerous situation that often requires backing into the right-of-way, which again is a characteristic of older houses we've seen throughout the town. This is the neighboring apartment complex to the north. With that exact same situation, we're pulling directly off of a state road and backing out into a state road. This is the existing empty lot. The project, obviously, is a new single-family house. We meet and exceed all the dimensional requirements. I do want to note, and this is reflected in staff's recommendation, and I put it on my slide, the actual building height from the crown is 29. We're allowed 30, but it's not 25. Staff's recommendation shows it as 25, and I listed it that way too, but I wanted to be clear for the record. Importantly, this exceeds significantly the previous area requirements and has a massive, for this size of a lot, new landscape plan being added, 40 new trees, 12 new palms, and 48 new shrubs. As Ms. La Cour noted, and I say this every time I'm here, the role here of the board is to provide guidance to applicants to move them and these projects in a way that's closer to the design guidelines. Given the impact of state law, those design guidelines are technically the 2008 guidelines, but Looking at the new ones, we think that this project is absolutely consistent with several, actually consistent with the guidelines, and I want to highlight three of them. First, as you'll see when you look at the plans, and Steve will show you, we have a single car garage. This facade is not dominated by a garage. It's pushed back. It's not the... the element that's staring you in the face when you look at the house. Instead, the front entry is emphasized, which is directly suggested by the new design guidelines. Even though they don't apply, I think for illustrative purposes, we can see that this project has been designed with them and their goals in mind. And as to all the 360 design, every single facade has changes in plane, overhangs, and or insets throughout it. So that is consistent with that goal of ensuring no blank facades. So with that, let me ask Steve to come up and take you through the design quickly, and then we can answer any questions you may have. Just do down. Up and down. OK. Great. OK. OK.

Hello. Thank you for the opportunity for us to present our project. My name is Steven Luria. I'm the architect, and my address is 9641 Southwest 100 Avenue in Kendall. Thank you, Graham, for making my work a little bit shorter. Yeah, the design is, the first thing I like to talk about is the sort of arrangement of it and the volume, the massing of it. As you can see, In keeping with the architectural styles of this area, it has a little bit of art deco, but a contemporary feel. It blends in both with other residential properties around that area, as well as the commercial properties, the multifamily that immediately surround it. However, it is broken up to a point where it's less in kind with the commercial aspect of the neighborhood. And the breaking, for example, of the banding in front and the two different balcony heights and the fact that the entrance is prominent and the garage is set back. as well as the large L-shaped element that brings up the side that will eventually face probably another apartment complex and we have broad overhangs to protect the structure and to bring the eye away from any heavy volume sort of massing so it's it feels very light it's transparent and has a lot of shadows and of course the landscaping I think will also reinforce that we have a good deal of thought put into the lighting you can see on the soffits for example we have all kinds of we have an array of lighting uh down lights up there instead of any kind of security lighting so that it has a each one of those lights has a 30 degree beam so they're more like a spotlight that will light the surface below without shining out into the street or into neighbor properties there are up lights on the four corners of the property that highlight the trees in those locations And the landscaping is designed in a way to shield and create a shield view from other higher properties around it, but also provide privacy to the people that will eventually live there. The colors are chosen to sort of mimic sand and natural materials in the area. So we've kept it warm. We've kept it very light and neutral. And really not mixed a lot of different materials here. The banding that you see in front and the soffits are a composite oak material. So that's the soffit. And the color that we have for the paint is this one.

Thank you.

This is the composite material for the decks. It's really only one deck in the back. I think the other materials in the front, which are protected behind a, They're raised up so you really won't see them, but those are going to be concrete material, so very light, which has good reflectivity.

This is...

I think these are the steps and paving materials for the pool deck and second floor balconies. And this is the general color of the exterior stucco. Okay? Yes. And of course, the bronze aluminum window mullions. And we would probably want to go with a A slight tint to those windows. We want to give it a gray tint, especially the west-facing windows that are in the front. Some thought was also given to the pool placement on the second level. It's set back from the front and it is shielded by the house itself from the large apartment buildings that are behind this house in order to give maximum privacy to people using the pool as well as keeping people in bathing suits from being right up in front. So we've done the best we can with that pool location. And also by putting it on the second floor, we allow more of a footprint for the house and make better use of that area. These are some of the landscaping trees and bushes, shrubs chosen. The ones along the, I guess that is the south side, that will be shielding the future development on that corner lot. our large anyway it's it's a large tree looks like a Cypress tree they're very tall and thin so there's a number of them along there to create a screen and on the south side see that's the front On the opposite side, it's a mix of two different trees there. I'm sorry, I can't read that. But it's like a wintergreen color. And then there's another one, a stopper tree, which has quite a few flowers on it. So you'll have some color and sort of a wintergreen look to it. This was an attempt to show some of the lighting we have some up lighting around the planters in the front and. We have lights very carefully chosen not to spill onto neighboring properties and. You know the. Too bright or too much glare so they're really meant just to light the plants that they're next to and that's it. This shows you the massing of some of the buildings surrounding it, very much in keeping with everything that's around it. And that concludes the presentation.

Thank you very much for the presentation. We're going to open the floor to public comments. No public comments. We'll close the floor to public comments. And board members, we expect your comments now.

OK. Hi. Hi. Just wanted to Suggest to you, I think the front of this building, it looks like a building, the house is, for its location, I think you did a great job. But I have a couple of suggestions for you, if that's allowed. Open to suggestions.

If you're okay with that. Yes, mm-hmm.

Question. Your pool is on the northeast-northwest corner of the site. Correct. Did you consider the sun position at all in the selection of that corner for the pool, or there was other reasons and factors that made you decide to put it there? And I'll tell you why. The sun on the north side of us is probably maybe a two month thing. Most of the time the sun is on the south east corner of your property. And it seems like really appropriate to be out there in that pool when it's nice and sunny out. But I'm curious to know what made that decision.

Well, mainly it was for privacy and to shield the view of the pool itself from other buildings around it. However, there actually is quite a bit of sun on that deck. The pool is towards the north side so that the building, which is to itself, is actually set back a little bit.

So the commitment of having it there has been made, right?

Yes, it's really an integral part of the structure of this house.

I thought flipping the house would be perfect for that pool, but I'm sure you have stronger feelings about having it on that corner. I think the front is very articulate. I also like the fact that unlike the previous presentation, your windows and front door match the same heights for a nice composition at the entry. Thank you. I like the idea of having that pool on the second floor. It's actually very interesting to me.

Well, there's a lot of commercial buildings around here, multifamily, that have rooftop pools.

Yeah. So the presentation of the house is, I think, quite nice for the location. The Harding is full of... unsightly things this is not going to be one thank you the back i would just suggest you know architect to architect um the back seems a little abandoned it seems like two buildings joined by a bridge in my is my sense of that bridge is a deck you're Right, but it's a little naked, the back. I don't know if you would consider creating some eyebrows maybe to help with the sun beating those windows right on the facade.

There won't be much sun there because of the large plantings up behind there in the building. There's a building right behind it. Yeah, okay. It's really meant to be sort of shielded from that whole thing.

Well, in essence, I think you did a good job for that location. It's very challenging to do something creative when you have a highway in front of you.

Thank you.

Great.

Hi. Yeah, I think this is an interesting location. And I think the scale, were it anywhere else, would not be compatible with its neighbors. I'm still a little concerned about the single families across the street, which are going to be half the size of this home. So that gives me some pause. The disjointed nature of the balconies in the front is a little hard for me. Can you talk a little bit about why you've got the two elevations?

One of the reasons is because there is a pool on that deck, and we didn't want to have a big thick volume mass sticking out in the front. So if we raised it to the level of the second floor without dropping it like that, then we would have a big massive volume sticking out in the front, which we wanted to keep that very light and delicate.

And the other consideration on those balconies, the glass, the west-facing glass may make that feel, I mean, real hot up there. You might think about some stainless steel cables or something that might let a little airflow up to those areas. Um, but the other two areas of questions that I have are, um, I, I do appreciate the new landscaping. However, I noticed you're removing the all existing trees, even those that are on the boundary line. And I'm wondering if we can't keep some of those existing mature trees as part of the landscaping plan.

I, uh, I have to give that some thought. Um, By the time this house with its five-foot setbacks on the side and everything had really taken out, I don't know that much of that is going to be left in order to do the excavation for the groundwork and the foundation and everything. I'm not really sure what would really be salvageable.

Yeah, I mean, we're a tree city. We're a designated tree city. So we really try to preserve the canopy that exists when we can. And it looks just from the location of those existing trees that you should be able to work around them. So if you could, I'd like to have you do that. Okay. And then in terms of the lighting, the external lighting in the soffits and the LED strip lighting, I think is... not compatible with the neighborhood. I think the uplighting is beautiful, but I think especially given the height and the scale of this home, that all of that soffit lighting is going to be pretty stark. for people driving and passing by. So I'd like you to consider a more subtle lighting scheme that's more compatible with your neighbors and with the way that Surfside is not a real lit up town, especially in the residential where we don't even have street lights.

You're speaking about the soffit lights?

The soffit lights and the LED strip lighting. Yeah.

Okay.

And then on the fencing, I noticed you had a fence in your materials, but I don't see where that is. And I'm not sure that the fence shown in the plans meets the 50% transparency requirement of the code. So that would definitely be something you would want to make sure you're meeting the code.

Okay.

Where is the fence?

What do you mean where is the fence?

Where on the site plan is the fence?

Well, it's... Do you know where the fence is located on this?

If you go to A104.

I may be looking at it differently, but his fence aligns with the garage door on the north.

So the fence is set to the garage, and then it goes just down the two sides.

Can you move your cursor to just show us on the plan? I'm sorry, I'm not seeing it.

So this is the fence here, and it goes down the side here.

Oh, gosh, okay.

It stops, and I think it's because there's already a fence on the other side of the property line in the rear, and then you have a fence coming all the way down this side, which... which ends here. At the planter? Yes, at the planter.

Those are all my comments.

Any comments? You're good. I have a question, and it's about the NGVD, right? We're supposed to be 10. You have nine in here. So the implication is having two additional steps. I mean front and back, right? The NGVD for this one is 9 as presented, and it should be 10? Yes. Right? So the only implication of that one foot difference is to add two steps in each side?

Actually, we were going to be grading up a little bit from... from the street to the back of the driveway before we get to the steps. So that takes some of that up. And then we have six risers to get to the porch. And I think with a seven-inch riser, it gets us up to our elevation that we need to be.

And my other question, this is because I don't know anymore what we're abiding for. The equipment, right, in the back of the house that is encroaching into the setbacks, that is allowed.

Where do you see it, Ruben?

Well, actually, you can see it there, but if you go to A105,

I think in this zoning, we're allowed to be even closer to the rear property line.

The equipment setback is five feet from the property line. It's not ten.

It's not ten. Okay.

So we're still allowing compressors on the ground?

Yes.

They're actually raised up a little bit.

Yeah, but to meet flood criteria. Yes, to meet flood criteria. That's the only requirement.

Yes.

Go ahead.

They're really in a very good state.

It's not in our code for a planning requirement, but I think, yeah, you may be right as far as building code.

Yeah, building code. I'm not sure. I don't know, the building department wouldn't make that decision.

Well, they're allowed there by code, but also it's a very concealed part of the property.

That's it on my end. Any more questions? Comments? No? We need a motion.

Would you accept, would you consider the comments that we've made? Oh, absolutely, yes. Okay, and try to make at least the effort to make some changes. And you have those changes pretty much lined up with your attorney? Yeah? Okay, so I move to approve subject to the changes that were discussed.

The changes will be written and sent by email, the suggestions. Yes.

I think mine were trying to keep the existing trees on the property line and trying to, and removing the LED and soffit lighting or replacing that with a softer lighting program. And confirming that the fence meets the code.

50% opacity, right?

I'll second.

I didn't hear anything else. I think you made the right.

Okay. I'll second. Madam Clerk?

Remember the court, yes. Remember Mackenzie, yes. Remember Levy, yes. Faster Bravo, yes. The motion carries.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it.

It's time as always, everybody. Sorry, Ruben.

Item 5C, 9164 Carlisle Avenue, new single-family home.

Yes, staff finds that this application does meet the code requirements with one minor condition that I'll go over. And if the board finds that this plan is consistent, staff recommends approval with the conditions. Again, a drainage and grading plan is determined to be consistent with the code requirements that the home will, oh wait. Okay, and that on the site plan, a note would be added that the driveway consists of permeable material and that the green space in the front will be at least 50% as permeable pavers do not allow for less than 50% green space. Currently the green space is proposed at 48% and that should be 50%. I think they can make a modification to adjust that. And just a note that the rear accessory building should not exceed 12 feet in height. This is a unique application in that it is presented to you under our pre-2024 changes due to a settlement agreement between the town and this property owner. The settlement arose out of the claims that the code changes were a violation of the applicable Florida law. and pursuant to the settlement agreement. This site plan has been conducted in accordance with the regulations prior to the adoption of those ordinances. This application is a request to construct a new single-family home on a 6,759-square-foot lot. The subject property is 9164 Carlisle Avenue in the H30B district. It is an interior lot. Some exterior design elements include smooth white stucco, limestone, copper gutters, ash wood, permeable cobblestone, and permeable ulite stepping stones. The front facade provides articulation, and the rear of the home is similar in materials and finishes. The proposed lot coverage for the home is 2,617 square feet, or what is just under 40 at 38.9, and the floor-air ratio is 0.65. Setback calculations for additional setbacks, which, as you remember, are part of the 2024 budget, Review a different way to to have the additional setbacks than what we have been seeing tonight they have been provided and they comply with the minimum requirements and Again a grading plan would be required at the time of building permit.

Thank you Better yes Hi, my name's Isel Hernandez-Lane, 8721 Southwest 87th Court. I have the pleasure of knowing Mr. Shammy, who's here in the audience with us, working together for four years. I worked on his personal home in Hawthorne, and I've worked with him and his wife now to design their personal residence here on Carlisle. I'm their design builder, so I will also be building this house.

I always get nervous.

Scarlett alluded a lot to the architectural style of the house. This is different, the presentation of it, of course, because we are looking at the code prior to 2024. So you do see the massing in the front of the house with the tall two-story volume. It is set back an additional two feet, and there is a lot of elements that you would find in a current single-family, one-story house. But of course, this is a two-story house, and we're dealing with FEMA. So some of those elements include the gable roof, white flat concrete tile, white stucco, and we are using an accent creamer color for the stucco shutters that we're doing.

Sorry.

Something that was actually in the memo and not a requirement anymore, but I did want to bring up is the fact that sustainability is very important. I myself am a lead AP and where I haven't had the opportunity to do any sustainable moves. And though it's not a requirement, it is something that we will be looking into. Though this part of the house is not experienced from the street side, the reason why the house looks the way it does from the front and giving a very Bermuda coastal architecture is because we brought the pool into the house. It feels a little bit like a courtyard in the L shape, and we wanted to make sure to do an accessory structure for the outdoor barbecue while still leaving green space for the kids to play. From the site plan, you can see how much green space we're still achieving. And in the board I have in front of me, you can see a lot of the materials that we're using. Limestone at the bottom, I can bring them up to you after. Shellstone, permeable pavers. We're using a cobblestone driveway that's actually permeable as well. And even though this is a line drawing, I think it's very important. If a line drawing looks good, technically, you would think that the house is gonna be just as beautiful as those renderings. So you can see here a little bit of the color of the limestone at the base, an ashy wood for the pedestrian gates, and any element that we have, like on the trellis on the second floor, that's also that ashy color. And that's it, unless you have any questions.

I'll open now the floor to public comments. Mr. Kousoulos.

Do you have an effort to say the truth only with the truth?

I do. You may proceed. George , 9225 Collins Avenue. I wanted to speak on this one because this is under the previous code. And the previous code actually only had a life of maybe six months. It was a very, came out late in that commission. And what's interesting about it, it is unlike the code that existed before it, which had existed for a couple of decades with minor modifications here and there, and it's unlike the code that has existed for the past couple years. And you see it here in this house, and this is a house probably like you haven't seen in a long time. It's somehow very refreshing. It makes interesting use of the site. The front elevation's very pleasing, but this is a very different house, and that kind of shows you the possibilities under the code that the town is going back to. And I just wanted to point that out, because it's quite apparent when you see the images on the screen, besides the traditional vocabulary of the house, but the massing is very different than typically month to month, we sort of see the same massing over and over again.

And are you referring specifically to second story setback elements or lack thereof?

The main provision of this most previous code is that you take the same amount of setback that was required only upstairs, it had to be upstairs, and you have to scoop that same volume out of the house, that additional volume, but it be taken out of anywhere on the house that you want to. So you could actually like the front elevation here which rises vertically. There are a couple other provisions. You have to have an inside corner, so you can't just do a rectangular prism. And you are limited to the length of a continuous wall to about 30 feet. So there's some safeguards to not just getting a rectangular box. But you are allowed to rise vertically. One of the other benefits, just very quickly, is that under the old code and the most recent code, everyone did a 40% ground floor. The reason was that the language always said you were supposed to do 80% of what was permitted on the ground floor, not what you actually built. If you didn't build as much as you could, you were penalized upstairs. Everyone took advantage of that. What happens here, if you can do a more compact house, you also get a more compact podium. So if one were to do a sort of an extruded house where the second floor is the same size as the first, it's a 36% house floor on top of a 36% floor to get back to that 0.72. But the podium is also 0.36 lot coverage. But I really just wanted to point out that this house is kind of refreshingly different than a lot that we've seen. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Any other public comments? Please.

Obviously, I have an interest in this home because this is my home. And thank you so much for your kind words.

I'm sorry. Say your name and the address for the record.

John Shamian, 9164 Carlisle. I think the town of Surfside, it's a beach town. I think there's been a very complicated struggle between maintaining that beach town and transitioning into these newer, bigger, modern homes. I don't know if you guys are familiar. I'm sure most of you are with Alice Beach. I think this style was inspired by Alice Beach. And I think that is a direction. that Surfside should do more of. I think it meets the ability of people having new larger homes, but it still continues the style of having a beach town. I think it's really hard to meet those two styles, and Alice Beach has found a way to do that, and we did our best interpretation of that style. I hope more people appreciate this style, including the board, but just residents in general, and that this is an example of what more people can do. And because sooner or later, this town is completely going to change and there's going to be all new homes and hopefully they aren't just all modern squares, but we do have with its variety, a style that still is a beach town. I think this does that. So thank you guys so much.

Thank you. With that, we close the comments, public comments. Board members.

um it's a beautiful house there's no doubt about it i think uh the organizational part of it the the way the the facades address you know a common language which uh reads throughout the entire structure, whether it's the back or the front or the side. I just don't feel offended if I say something that you might not like. But I have to say that there's only one house that I can point to that has sort of the same spirit. in Surfside, which is a waterfront house that has been on the market forever. It says that it's under contract, hopefully it will be so we can see some people around. Architecturally, I have very little to say. It's the composition, the detailing, and how you present the front steps to the street. The only problem I see is that I believe you cannot have a solid wall along your property line facing the street. So that's going to be something that I'm sure you're going to be able to resolve. It's not a killer. Architecturally speaking, like I said, you've done a great job. This is certainly a high design. within its language and within its spirit. I don't necessarily agree that the language and the spirit coincides with the culture of Surfside. But, you know, we're in a transition, as the owner explained. And maybe we'll see more of this style. That could be interesting, too. We've seen a lot of modern and, in my opinion, very little... Good product out of that. Maybe this will create a new thought process moving forward for those that want to go into this sort of Spanish Mediterranean or whatever you want to call it. So many names out there. I lose count. But that's my only comment. I congratulate you. I think the distribution, the pool inside the courtyard is very intimate. And having the barbecue area as a standalone is pretty nice. I think it adds value to the house, at least from the experiential part of it. I could see kids running around all over. I don't know if it meets the code. That would be something that you'd have to take with somebody else. But those are my comments. I hope that... I haven't seen the site, I have to say. I don't know if there's any planting there, any trees or anything. I've seen a few people cutting down trees during construction that I think is something that we should try as a town to stop. You know, 30-foot tall trees take a long time to get there. And we're supposed to be a tree city for eight years straight. So let's try to save some of the trees. And if there is anything on your lot, you know, I hope you consider it.

There's a shiflera at the property line that you're proposing to remove that I think you could probably keep.

Okay. We'll take a look at that with the landscape architect. Yeah.

It'll definitely add to the character if you have a tree in front. I mean, it creates more interest.

It's in the rear, actually.

But you may consider planting one in the front.

Thank you, Mr. McKenzie.

I guess I'll go next.

Who wants to go next?

Okay. So I also appreciate the new architectural style. I think we welcome that. We don't have any particular architectural style in Surfside, and I think this has a lot of articulation. For me, the challenge is the compatibility with the neighborhood in terms of its height and scale. And I think when you look at page 0 to the Context massing really bears that out You know, I think like George mentioned You've you've have a unique use of the void that the code requires but in this particular application the void is entirely interior to the home and so the Neighbors and the street don't get any benefit of that. So you've basically moved the home as far as to the property line in all directions and high as you can to preserve that void in the middle. And for me, what that does is it brings all the mass and height to the, to the street. And I just feel like it's, it is not compatible with the streetscape. And so I am challenged by that. I think there are, There's also, for the size of this lot and the size of the home, there's a lot going on. I think it could benefit from some editing in terms of, you know, I don't think you want to draw attention to your gutters. I think your gutters could be, you know, much more subtle if unseen as opposed to drawing attention to them. I think that the side setback, I can't really tell what kind of plantings you have there, but I'd really like to make sure that the plantings are at least as high as the home so that there is a green screen for your neighbors because this is a really tall and large mass for the neighbors, especially since you also have the accessory structure right at the back also. The front fence and gating needs to meet the 50% transparency. And yeah, I'd like a commitment to not remove the tree on the property line if you can save that.

Thank you very much. Any comments on your end? I tend to agree with the comments. I think the design is beautiful and it's very smart how you use all the components into something new to town. And the articulation in there, I think it's fantastic, right? Adding something extra to what we have so far. And we have heard so many times that, you know, we have these modern houses are just boxes. Something that cannot be said about this house is just a box. It's not just a box. So congratulations on that and thank you for presenting it. I tend to agree that the height could be kind of complicated and even more when you see your neighbors. And I'm kind of drawn about that portion as well. I do have, and I'm sorry about this, but I do like the copper gutters. That's me. But no, it's true that we haven't seen that in town, and that could create a distraction on the beautiful design that you have in the house, right? at some point it could be like maybe editing could, you know, solve that situation. Yeah, the fence is an issue, but it's an easy solve. That's a very easy solve. Having said that, anybody wants to make a motion here? I'm going to make a motion to approve. Approve, approve with comments or?

I approve with. Comments?

Fence in the tree.

Trying to save that one tree in the back corner. Revisit the fence. And the fence.

Before I, I wanted to second, but before I second, I think it's something new, definitely very striking to see something new, something so different from, you know, the collage of modern architecture that we've seen over the years under the old code. But this, even though it's a very foreign style, it's been sewed very studiously. I think it's been a very conscientious effort to try to make this a very beautiful house. I don't think that I would go against it.

So I would second it. Madam Clerk?

Yes, Chair. Board Member Licor? No. Board Member McKenzie?

Yes.

Board Member Levi?

Yes.

Vice Chair Bravo?

I'm conflicted here, but I'm going to say yes.

Chair, the motion carries.

Thank you. Thank you. I just want to say that every time that we have something new, right, we're afraid of the new in town. And we've been afraid of the new for so many years. But I do appreciate, you know, having that extra thought into what you presented in here. Next item, 5E, 8801 Deakins Avenue, Home Addition.

Yes, staff finds this application meets the zoning code requirements, and if the board finds the plan is consistent, staff recommends approval with two conditions, that the drainage and grading plan is reviewed and determined to be consistent with the code, and that the applicant provides evidence that the cost of the work does not exceed 50% of the value of the home at the time of building permit. The applicant is requesting site plan approval for an addition to an existing single family home at 8801 Dickens Avenue. The applicant proposes to add 283 square feet to what is currently a single family home consisting of 2,505 square feet. The home consists of three bedrooms, two baths, and the addition and interior renovations will result in four bedrooms, five baths. The home will remain a one story structure. The property is 6,837 square feet and no variances are requested. The addition will be to the front of the home. The roof is proposed to be modified from a pitched roof to a flat and the proposed addition in the front will be 20 feet from the property line whereas the rear setback will remain as currently exists at 14.9 feet, and the resulting FAR and lot coverage will be 0.40, which is less than 50% allowed for a one-story home. And that concludes my presentation. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Owner, owner's right, wish to speak. Please, yeah, state your name and the address for the record.

I need you to please, yeah, thank you.

My name is Ash Spahi, representing Alexi and Laura Baber of 8801 Dickens Avenue. My address is 3131 Northeast First Avenue.

Thank you.

So Alexia and Laura have been residents of Surfside for the past four years, I believe, and they're happy and excited to be purchasing and building their first home and kind of make it their own and be permanent residents of Surfside. So the existing home is a three-bedroom, two-bath. They have three young children, and they need space, basically, and they also work from home. So because of that, they're proposing to enclose the garage for additional space. site plan. Now even though we have a large lot where we're allowed to build up to 3,400 square feet, they're only asking for a modest 300 square foot addition. They're not trying to build a mini mansion like a lot of people are in the neighborhood. They're trying to just keep it simple and modest and enough for their own family's needs. No, I guess the site plan's not in this?

Or site plan is not in this? Oh, OK.

So here we are. So our plan is to enclose the garage space and extend the living area so they can have space for their family, kind of entertain some of their friends and family that live in the neighborhood, and extend the front porch as they like to sit outside and enjoy morning coffee. I do have samples of some of the finishes that they propose to use on the exterior. I can show you guys.

The style of the home they're going for is a tropical, minimal, modern design.

So they're looking to use a lot of natural, earthy kind of elements in their finishes. One of the finishes is a shell stone that I'm sure you guys have seen before. It's a beautiful kind of natural stone.

Is that going on walls or on?

Just the front porch floor.

Great.

And we have this beautiful Ipe style wood that's going to go underneath the soffits of the home. For landscaping, they're looking to use a lot of Florida native plants in their landscaping. They don't want to use kind of, you know, outside species. I think it's more of a beautiful look to use plants that are native to the land.

Are they removing any trees?

No, it's not in their plants.

They have that beautiful, huge tree. Yeah, the one that looks like a top hat. Orchids and, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

It's gorgeous. Okay, good.

No, that's beautiful. So they plan to keep that and kind of add to the landscaping.

Great.

Do you guys have any questions or comments?

Thank you very much. That concludes the presentation.

Yes.

Okay, perfect. Thank you. So I'll open the floor to public comments if anyone to say anything about this. I'll close the floor and board members.

A2A02 is showing a roof plan with roof tile, right?

No, the new roof is gonna be a flat roof.

So you guys are taking all of the roof off from the house? Correct. And replacing it with a new roof?

New roof and new roof trusses. Mainly being because of them kind of redesigning the interior layout to have the rooms and sizes that they need for their family. We need to be able to move some of the load-bearing walls. So...

Which cannot be solved with just putting like a steel column or anything.

It would be a little bit tough and they also want to kind of gain that ceiling height space to kind of give it more of that.

Yeah, I'm sorry to interrupt you. It's just I have a big issue with that. I think the house that exists there is a very nice house. It's one of the nicest houses in Surfside, I would say, for a corner lot. Yes. And, you know, this presentation to me seems like it's... It looks minimal, but it really is huge because we're changing the entire character of the house by taking that roof off and making it a flat roof with a single slope. Yeah, it's it's really drastic.

Is there anything that you can do to to try to wish that space in the House you really only have like 18 inches. You can't really raise the ceiling height with the existing roof structure.

Oh, they want to raise the roof.

Correct. Because right now we're at around eight foot, a couple inches, which is, you know, it's kind of cramped when you're walking through it.

And you can't work with the existing roof to make some cathedral ceilings inside the house and create a really interesting interior.

I mean, the way that we design the interiors, it will have the way that the interior is being designed. It will be extremely interesting with the way that, you know, the ideas that they have, but with the existing roof structure, I've tried because obviously to change an entire roof is a big expense and we would love to kind of avoid that expense, but the way that it is, we can't really gain too much space with the existing roof.

So just to understand, the floor plan on A01. Yes. I was reading it as partially existing, and then the front, the taupe color and the two tones of gray was the only scope of work. But what you're describing to me now is that the distribution of the existing house needs to be altered or will be altered and therefore the sloped roofs are not going to be able to survive and therefore we're taking it all off to put a flat roof Is that a good representation of what, is my understanding a good representation of what you're doing?

Somewhat. I mean, the main addition is to the front. The interior space, we are honestly modifying the interior walls. But yeah, we are removing the roof in order to kind of gain some ceiling height.

Yeah. That puts me on the fence. I have to be honest with you.

No, I understand.

I mean, I've renovated historic buildings, and I know it's hard. And I know it's not easy. Yeah. But it can be done.

And I'm a big fan.

Where there's a will, there's a way. And that's why we're professionals, right? Correct. We don't just draw pretty pictures. Correct. I mean, that's the notion, the public notion of an architect. Ah, draw me a little sketch. And then when you charge them, it's like, why are you charging me so much for the little sketch? I think that, honestly speaking, from my perspective, this is a major renovation of this house, is how I would qualify it. But I may be wrong, and you're welcome to prove me wrong.

Are you saying are you saying that you think you could accomplish this by with maintaining a pitched roof?

Even if they raised the roof or I'm saying that if they're looking for height Because the current ceilings are low Then it tells me that the the roof structure of the house are trusses but trusses can be modified and Yes, it's going to be a cost to modify the trusses on site, but it can be done so that you can create cathedral ceilings in the living room, for example, which may be continuous with the dining room. Kitchen may not need that, but... Yes, rather than taking walls down haphazardly and taking the entire roof off, I would choose to simply say, okay, where do I need, where within these spaces I can continue to utilize the existing roof, And where do I start taking ceilings off and finding a way to reframe internally with the aid of a structural engineer the roof elements that make the trusses? Because, you know, the best truss or whatever, there's a company that sells trusses all day long, right? And they can be very wide, but they can be modified on site.

And just to understand the goal, are you saying you're trying to preserve what the original architecture of the existing home?

Yeah, if we're gonna present this house as something that is just a modification of the garage, then I think that that does not tell me that it's just that. Now I've discovered that the entire roof is being pulled out, and that's fair game for anything. Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt you. and if the aesthetic were something that i that i would be willing to support yeah why not but but this is just a single slope going one way with cantilevers all all around the box it just is not appealing architecturally you're going from something that is that is uh let's say compatible with the context of what surfside is to something that is totally foreign

And Mr. McKenzie, I hear you. I was reading the wrong way these drawings until you brought it to my attention. So can you talk about that?

I THINK THE ATTORNEY WANTS TO SAY SOMETHING.

BEFORE WE CONTINUE AND UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE OF THIS AND WHERE THIS PROJECT IS AND WHAT IT'S DOING, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP OUR COMMENTS GROUNDED TO THE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE PURVIEW TO REVIEW AND THE CONTEXT IN WHICH WE HAVE PURVIEW TO REVIEW THEM, WHICH IS, RIGHT, COMPATIBILITY And all of that, and I don't want to tell you what to comment or not to comment. Obviously, the internals of the home are not within the subject. The internal partitions and changes to the internal structure of the home is not within the subject of the board's review at this point. But I just want to make sure that we keep those comments related to the elements and our job as guidelines AND I DON'T DISAGREE.

HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME CHANGES IN THE EXTERIOR WALLS. CHANGES IN THE EXTERIOR WALLS. THE EXTERIOR, YES. THE EXTERIOR, YES. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. AND THE ROOFING. AND THE ROOFING. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MORE THAN SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MORE THAN JUST THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. JUST THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. AND NOW YOU UNDERSTAND THE AND NOW YOU UNDERSTAND THE COMMENT ABOUT THE 50%. COMMENT ABOUT THE 50%. BECAUSE AT THE BEGINNING I WANTED BECAUSE AT THE BEGINNING I WANTED WHY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 50% IF WHY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 50% IF IT'S ONLY THE FRONT. IT'S ONLY THE FRONT. BUT NOW WE

Again, I would love to keep the original roof line. Another thing is if you go to the satellite view of the existing house, the spine of the way that the roof is currently, I think we have.

I think it's drawn in one of your exhibits. It's drawn. Yeah. I think it was A02. A02.

Yeah. So you see how the spine kind of bends in different areas of the house. So the existing ceiling again is eight foot five around there. The space that we have in the attic space is around 18 inches. If you are to try to gain at least, um, To get to nine foot ceilings, you don't have enough space within the attic space to kind of run your AC branches and all of your other equipment that you need to have within the attic space. And that kind of is also one of the reasons why we need to raise the ceiling height and ideally change the existing roof structure. We could potentially go with another gabled style, but the owners kind of just wanted to go with something clean, minimalist, modern, and go with that flat roof style. And again, kind of just have the house there and then the landscape around it kind of speak for the house and kind of give that character.

Are you changing out all the windows in the home?

No, I mean, we're going to be replacing them with hurricane impact windows. And in the front, we're adding a large window to kind of allow for more sunlight to enter the living space.

Yeah, I mean, I also had some challenges with the roof. I think we're losing some articulation and the roof is not compatible with the rest of the home. I also wanted to make sure you're not removing any existing trees, which you confirmed. And then the lighting and the soffit also is, I made this comment earlier, but that's not compatible with the neighborhood. A lot of those lighting up, lot of the house with the the landscaping lighting is beautiful the up lighting of the of the Landscaping and I'd love to see a you know more subtle lens lighting exterior scheme That's more compatible with the rest of the town Sure, I understand.

We're not a football stadium. We're just trying to add some kind of mood lighting to the exterior.

Yeah Do you have any comments I

This is natural wood under those soffits there?

Correct. And I do have a sample of it here if you'd like to see it.

It's very pretty.

Sorry, what's your name? Ash. Ash? Yes. Please don't take offense to what I'm saying.

Not at all. I'm a big proponent of the architecture and character and kind of maintaining that without a home.

Can I ask you, okay, let's assume you have to take the roof off, right? Which wasn't clear to me in these drawings. And apparently my colleagues are also. Instead of just doing a simple truss with a slope, can you try to recreate a sloped roof? In other words, let's change apples for apples and not apples for oranges. Is that possible? Since you're spending the money anyway. I mean, a trust like this is going to cost you less, yes, but a trust will cost you minimal. But you will maintain at least what 90% of the house looks like today. Correct. I mean, that is a very nice house, by the way. Yeah. Not my favorite. I wouldn't choose it as my house, and I wouldn't design a house like that, but I have to admit that the house is nice, and the previous owners maintained it really well. Yes. And the tree it has in the corner is just absolutely beautiful, and they trim it nicely. And so somehow I go by here every morning. So if there's a way that you could say, hey, I'll accept the task of trying to convince my client to at least have some way to maintain or redefine sloped roofs with roof tile. Is that a possibility?

I can go back and talk to them, of course. And it's kind of a double-edged sword because as you mentioned, it would cost us a little bit more to kind of have a gabled roof and kind of have different trust styles. And that is with a 50% of value and construction and everything, we're trying to kind of balance everything together.

But now you don't have to spend in lead requirements. It's true.

Yeah, I think white cement tiles on a pitched roof would be beautiful and simple here.

Yeah. I do have to say that I appreciate you're keeping this a one-story floor. Yeah. And you're not doing a box per se. You said you're replacing the windows, right? And I see that on D1 existing windows compared to this one, right? So basically all the windows are going to be replaced too, and we're providing another shape of windows as well. Correct, for some locations. But it's going to be consistent all around. Correct.

And again, majority of the windows are on the south side where they're going to be getting a lot of sunlight through them and kind of leading out to their backyard area.

I understand. With all the comments, does anybody have more comments, no? No, with all those comments, does anyone want to move forward and make a motion? And let's remember, we do have the motion to approve, approve with comments, defer or reject. Does anyone want to make a motion?

I mean, I think I could get comfortable with a condition on the roof, but as designed, no.

So would you make the motion to approve with the condition?

I mean, I can make the motion to approve with a sloped roof and confirming all existing trees remain and removal of the soffit lighting. In staff conditions.

For clarity, a sloped roof meaning a gabled roof with two slopes, not one slope?

Correct. Okay.

And can I ask a question? Are we talking all soffit lighting or just keep them minimal, like one or two lights within the soffit?

The soffit lighting is not consistent with the rest of Surfside.

Okay.

So there are other ways to, you know, softly uplight the home that will, are nicer.

Understood.

Anybody to second the motion? I'll second it.

With all the comments.

With those conditions?

Board Member LaCour? Yes.

Can you repeat the conditions, please?

gabled roof with tile, gable tiled roof. Throughout the house? Yep. Okay. Maintain the tree in the corner? All existing trees remain and remove soffit lighting.

Okay.

The seconder agrees with those conditions? Yes. Okay.

And staff conditions. Board Member LeCour? Yes.

Board Member McKenzie?

Yes.

Board Member Levy?

Yes.

Vice Chair Bravo?

Yes.

Chair, the motion carries.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And let's move to 5F, 9040 Abbott Avenue.

Yes, staff finds that this application as it is presented today is not meeting the zoning code. And I do have some conditions that I would propose to bring it in more in line and- Mr. Chair? To meet the code.

Can I interrupt please?

Absolutely, yeah.

i was not given a chance to answer uh the attorney's question as to whether uh somebody had had previous conversations with the person oh okay so i want to disclosure an ex parte disclosure an ex parte communication disclosure so if you'd like to disclose Well, this project came before us in the previous administration. And in the previous administration, I had discussions with the architects of this project.

Understood. And would that affect your ability to weigh this application fairly and impartially?

Not at all.

Perfect. Then we're good.

Okay. I just wanted to keep that on the record because it did happen.

We appreciate it. Thank you. Okay.

I'm sorry, I had a sidebar, sorry. Okay, I'll continue. Okay, so my conditions are that a drainage and grading plan are reviewed and determined to be consistent with the code, that the total pervious area is at least 35% per the code requirements, and just as noted, this is one of the reasons it doesn't meet code, is that the proposed pervious area is less than 35%, it's 33.6. I think that that's a very small adjustment that could be handled and meet code. They need to also revise plan sheets SP1 and 2 to correct some inconsistencies in calculations for the pervious area, the lot coverage, the square footage of the home, the rear yard landscaping, and the front yard paving areas. Just to note that these do meet code, it's just that there is inconsistencies throughout the plans. with numbers and percentages. So I just wanted to point that out, that that could be corrected. That they also submit an outdoor lighting plan that shows the light heights and the levels of illumination. that they correct plan sheets A1, A2, A3, A4, A5. They have currently show balconies in these elevations and those balconies have been removed from the site plan because they were an encroachment in the front yard setback. They did clean up the site plan but have not removed the balconies from the elevations. And also just that in general that the renderings should be consistent with the elevations. So this application is requesting an amendment to a previously approved site plan for an existing single family home at 9040 Abbott Avenue. The applicant originally proposed the 650 square foot to be added to the current single family home of 1,942 square feet. The home is proposed to remain one story, and the property is 5,625 square feet, and there are no variances requested at this time. This addition will be to the front and the rear of the home. The proposed addition to the front will be 20 feet from the property line, whereas the rear setback will be over 22 feet. The home addition was originally approved with conditions in January 2024, At the time, the planning board approval, the demo plan was within the threshold for the home to remain at an existing finished floor elevation. During construction, it was determined that more of the house needed to be demoed, and following the Minnesota mandates and compliance, this town is requiring that the proposed finished floor be raised to meet the current flood mitigation, and structural compliance standards. For this reason, this house is required to be elevated to the height of 10 feet, and this redesign is now presented before you for a second time to review the new look of the home based on that elevation difference. The design elements proposed are white smooth stucco with concrete stairs and a 312 pitch roof with black aluminum railings and window frames. The FAR will be considering when they update this to be consistent. We currently have two numbers. One is .46 and one .47. Again, they do meet the FAR because they are under 50% for a single family home. Again, this is currently not meeting the code based on that previous requirement and the conditions are that they provide consistency through their set of plans. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Owners on the rep.

Hi, my name is Dov Koskas. I'm the owner of this house. And let me back. I'm sorry. Can you say your address for the record as well? Sorry. 1940 Abbott Avenue. Mr. Dov Koskas. Two years ago, as Scarlett mentioned, we got the permit to build our dream house. After many considerations and when we talked with our neighbor, all of us, they asked me the reason why you keep only one story house and you don't want to build two story house. It's very easy. It's more efficient for you. In the future, it will be a good value if one day you want to sell. But also, you have five kids, and it's more convenient to have a two-story house. It's okay. But, unlucky I am, the board member before you was very tough and we failed to time to get the approval for the two-story house. My wife, she was very tired. And I talked with you, in front of you, with a lot of emotion because it was very complicated. You know, for my wife, she has only one dream because we have most of our, let's say, let me continue. It was very complicated for us because all the time when we go step, we have some people that they decide for us that they don't like our style. And when we build the plane, we want to do a, you can maybe recognize my accent, French, something very nice. We failed two time, and it was very complicated for us. Because in main time, we did a demolition for the house. because we got the permit in 2024, and we live in very old house on Byron today. And most of our personal affair is on the warehouse. And my wife, she have only one dream, to get back the box to wear her shoes. It's very complicated, you know, when you live a very old house and you won't build your beautiful house. It's the reason why we met Mr. McKenzie during the time for the previous member board to help to see how we can improve and to get the approval to build a two-story house. Finally, it was very complicated for us. Mentally, we got a lot of anxiety, and my wife and I decided to build the house according for the permit that we got. We started demolition, we started to build the house, and after three inspections, we passed three inspections, we got the advice from the building officer that it's better because the area to raise the floor to 10 feet. Okay, do I have a choice? No, it's better. Okay, we raised the floor 10 feet, no problem. It cost me $90,000 more. I will tell you everything, but it's okay. This is what I really wanted before because my house, it will look more beautiful, not massive house because we have a French touch and we will build something very nice because we want to stay, live in Southside. We are not investor. We are not developer. It's our own house. But with the advice, with the building officer, he said, look, it's better to go to see Scarlett to get the approval because you changed the face of the house because today, instead of six feet, we go to 10 feet. It means that the stairs, it's more high, the house is more beautiful, but we need to get your approval. It's the reason why, with my heart, It's very difficult when you have a grandpa in front of you talk about so emotional part. Because today, I really want to explain that since we are here four years already in Zurich, we got so many problem to build a very simple and beautiful house. That, for sure, it will be more beautiful than we used to have. And if you see in the condition that we live in Bayrona, because we want to stay in the area to control our construction, we want to control everything. We don't want to move to another area. If you come to see where we live in the moment, now instead of... I thought they understand why you have so anxiety, why your wife, she really want to push you to build a one-story house and to make something really beautiful. Now about the technical part, there are some comments from Scarlett. My engineer, Jose, and Pablo, they helped me a lot. They can answer for you. And if you have any other question about the spirit of the house, what I really want to do in Surfside, about the architecture, about what I want to build, I can answer because I mean fashion designer, but my first passion in my life is home deco with my wife. And for sure, you will not be disappointed with the house that we will build, because also Abbott is the first line. And it's very important we don't leave so far from Indian Creek. And for you guys, I understand that you want something very beautiful for Surfside. It's not a massive house. It's not a block. We did something very nice, and I really want to defend Myself, even my English is not so good, especially when I have a lot of emotion. But this is my introduction. I want to tell you about 1940 Abbott, a COSCAS residence. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good evening, my name is Jose Marlo. I'm also the architect and engineer for this particular house. As Mr. Doug Kaskas was mentioning, this house was approved as a one-story house. It's an existing house that we were doing an addition and it was unapproved in 2024. And finally, we got a building permit after he tried to do a two-story house and it was very difficult and so on and so forth. So he finally decided, okay, let's go back to the original plan and just do an addition to the house, to the existing house. Mainly, there's an existing garage that we were enclosing, and another thing is that he wanted to have more ceiling height inside, so what we did was that we were planning on raising the ceiling height inside, but keeping the same pitch and the same configuration that the original house had. One of the things that happened was that while we were doing construction and doing demolition, there was a couple of walls that were planned to stay in the existing house. Those walls would have been would have become an interior because it was an exterior, but since we're doing an addition next to it, that particular wall, two walls, that we showed as to remain were demolished. So at one point, when the inspectors were there, they realized that the amount of demolition that we had exceeded the 50% FEMA rule. So we were informed and basically encouraged them. The owner was in agreement that we would bring the house to the required flood elevation of 10. Everything else remained the same in the house. The configuration, the setbacks, all of it. and it applied to the previous designed criteria, not the one that they just finished that we're changing back to, but it was the original one. So we did that. Now, one of the things that happened when we raised the house from elevation six to elevation 10, we had to add steps to the front. And also we had, the windows in the front of the house were at a lower elevation where we did not require any sort of protection or railing or whatever. But since we raised it, we kind of got the idea of providing a balcony in the front, which Scarlett mentioned and is true. I didn't realize that the code does not allow protrusions of balconies in the setback. So that's why we have these elevations here that do not show a balcony, although it would be preferred if we could do that. Otherwise, it's the house that you see right now, it's pretty much identical to what we had originally presented in 2024. The design, the materials, the setbacks, all of it, but it was at a lower scale because again, we had to raise it. That's about it.

Thank you very much. Do you want to say something else?

No, no, maybe you want to see some other picture?

We have it in front of us.

Those are the materials. Thank you. That we're proposing.

So if that concludes the presentation, I'll open the floor to the public if anybody wants to address any issue here. And I'll close the floor. So board members?

We let Jay go first.

It's your turn. No, I have to say, this is a disclosure, right? And because of the situation that we're living now, I have to say that in normal conditions, and I've done that in previous lives in this, you know, board when I was in the previous administration and the previous one. Whenever there's, and this is not directed to you, by the way. Whenever there's this conflict between the drawings, I either reject or defer. I don't think it's fair to us, the board members, to receive something that is so inconsistent, right? And at the moment that we receive the correct drawings, then I will move to process. Considering the whole situation, and I apologize for everything that happened before, I needed clarification on the story because it didn't make sense to me. So thank you for clarifying the whole story. And considering all that, now I open the floor to the board members. Mr. Levy.

Any existing trees on the property that we're removing?

No. Yeah, it's under construction now, so everything.

I guess we're going the opposite way this time. Couple questions. I like the treatment in the front with the planters. I think the way you've kind of stepped up and addressed the additional elevation in the front works well. there is there's really no treatment of that elevation in the rear right so it's the the rear elevation is just a white wall all the way around and you know I would have really loved to see some similar you know step up and whether planters or transition on that unless the yeah

But you read the rear the rear.

You had it there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No but they won't.

Yeah.

No one.

Yeah. Yeah, so you basically just have a white wall all the way around, and especially where that barbecue is, you've popped that wall up higher than the fence, so your neighbor's looking at a big wall there. So I would have liked to have seen, or I would like to see, a little bit more of a treatment or a transition there. The lighting... The LED strip lighting is not compatible with Surfside's lighting scheme. I'd like to see that be removed. The floodlights also, are those motion sensors or what are those on the corners of the house in the front? Cameras. OK, it looks like there's lighting there, too. So I just want to be very careful of the lighting in the neighbor and in the streetscape. Can you just pull that up?

Yeah, they have a night vision on that.

Yeah, so in the back there, you've got those floodlights in the back. There was another one in the back that had floodlights in the corners. I'm not sure which is the correct rendering.

There.

Yeah.

Those here.

Are those in the plans? There were cameras and then the motion lighting, but you're talking about not having those lights there.

That floodlight is invasive to the neighbor.

Okay.

So if it's a camera, fine. If it's floodlights, I don't think that's compatible with our neighborhood.

We can remove that.

And the LED lighting all around, the strip lighting also. And then just a comment. I mean, this is your preference, but a black tile roof is going to be absorbing heat all day long. Your HVAC bill is going to be way higher. I think you could get away with a beautiful white cement tile roof, and it would be reflecting light and heat, and it would go with your design. Did you want to? If I can do just a small comment. Just speak into here. Sorry.

I choose to use a gray pearl, light gray.

So it's not black?

Yeah, because I saw a house close to us, a neighbor. It was so beautiful, very chic. And as you mentioned, we were common. Maybe we can go through a light gray pearl.

Yeah, I think anything lighter. And I mean, you have a very simple design here. And you're black and white, basically. So that's up to you. And then the rear windows, I don't know if anyone else, but the fact that they're different heights is a little awkward. I was wondering if there was some constraint you're working with there.

I will explain. On the left side is the kitchen. It's the reason why we use the window, the same height as the living room, because we decide for the ceiling on the kitchen to make the ceiling a little bit lower to make something more warm. And it's the reason why the window on the left side, close to the barbecue area and the terrace, It's for the kitchen. It's a sense when you see inside that is more beautiful because I don't like the kitchen. It gets exactly the same high ceiling that the living room. We did something more warm for the kitchen is the reason why the window is make a little bit less.

I understand. From the outside, you can see how it, you don't read that from the outside, right? But I can understand from the inside, yeah. Those are my comments.

That's it? I'm a little confused. Oh, by the way, for the record, this is not the house that we reviewed when we met in a previous life. I would have to say that your story is very compelling. It looks like you have a lot of patience. Thank God. I would like you to dress up the stairs from the street side. Only just a simple maybe 18-inch wide wall on either side accompanying so that they don't look like they're lonely or an afterthought between the wall of the house towards the street.

Okay.

I think I understand what you're saying. I think that the house that you're referring to that we spoke to you about does have that element.

Yeah, we reviewed a two-story house. Right, exactly. Back then, yeah.

Exactly, but it has those elements that you're talking about so we could implement them here.

Yeah, and maybe, I don't know how you could do it, but it would be nice if you could step up, have a little landing, and then another step up. We can do that. I think it would create a little bit more interest and a better composition for the entrance. We could do that.

Could even be wide enough to have the plants in that structure.

Yeah, 18 inches or maybe. So you don't lose. Whatever suits you, but something that could have planting on.

I understand perfectly because we did talk about that and we did accomplish that and it looked really beautiful. So we can implement it here.

And as far as the balconies, one of them is in violation of the code, right? Which would be the north one. Are you facing east or west? The front. We're facing east. You're facing east. Is it both balconies or just one?

Yeah, both were in the setbacks in the front.

But, you know, if we look at the floor, maybe I'm looking at the floor plan wrong, but.

Oh, they did remove it from the floor plan, but they have other elevations that show, some of their renderings show that there's still balconies in the front.

It's both balconies that are in violation then?

Yes.

Okay.

This particular elevation rendering doesn't have the balcony. Do you have the one with the balconies?

Are you looking at a site plan that shows the balconies?

No, the only thing that shows the balconies, I think, is the rendering. The balconies have been taken out from the floor plan.

But you can see the 20 foot setback in the floor plan, or in the site plan.

Let's see. I have a site plan that shows the street at an angle. And I'm assuming that the left side meets the 20 feet, but on the right side, they'll probably have 25.

I see what you're saying. Because it's uneven, they might be able to pop out a little balcony on one side.

So I'm assuming that the north side where the master bedroom is, or the south side, would be in compliance. Can you look at that? Not now.

If they want that, though, right?

Yeah, it would be an oddball kind of situation.

It would be asymmetrical.

Yeah, or maybe you look for another way to deal with it. I'm not sure if you have a little bit of room to create like a Juliette kind of balcony. We thought about that. Yeah, so that you do have some articulation, not just a plain wall with two windows.

We thought about that. See, this particular rendering here does show the balcony there. But we could do the little Juliet balcony, very short, so that we can dress up.

Just put the fence in there. You don't need to protrude.

You can open the door and still have the feeling of a balcony.

Exactly.

Correct. We can do that.

If you want.

No, no, no, but we do. We would prefer that.

In fact, because the zoning did not allow it, is the reason why we take the key with us, to show you how it can be if we use, not balcony, just a nice railing, and for safety reason also, but, according to the zoning, we cannot go front of you, the code member, because it's not allowed. And after, if you agree that we can install the railing as it is, it will be perfect for me because this is exactly what I'm looking for.

I think Scarlett's problem is the invasion of the setback, which you're only allowed, I think, eight inches, right?

We cannot approve protruding into the setbacks, right?

That's something that... Balconies, no. But railing can. Oh, yes, and I did suggest that to him.

Okay. If we can, I think Mr. Kosalos has some idea on how to solve this situation.

George Kouselis 9225 Collins. You're allowed projections decorative projections of eight inches. Yeah. So that fits perfectly with the Juliet balcony. Yeah.

Yeah. I think that would be a very nice elevation with that. Okay. I'm sure Scarlett would have to vet it, but let's hope that you find that little corner to give some leeway. In the back, I think the front is going to look very nice once you have those elements. In the back, it is a bit... I don't know if you... It is a bit troubling.

I can explain the reason why. Today, most of the house in Surfside, when they raise the floor to 10 feet, they build the pool on the same level. And for us, for the security reason, because I have a grandchild, I do prefer to let the pool on the ground level. And to have the stairs like this, front of the stairs, we can put a protection, a gate, because this is what we worry in the first, the security for our grandchild. Is the reason why because it's sure it's more beautiful to raise the pool same level that the living room like this we can see the pool. No, we prefer to assume the security. The pool is on the ground. We have stairs to go to the pool. It's more safety for all of us.

I think that your comment that in the back you have that plain wall, if we can somehow articulate the wall, you know, make it a little bit nicer, I think, because we do need something there, you know, to cover the barbecue area. And again, the house is raised four feet from the ground. But I think that we can redesign that little solid wall and make it a little bit more pleasant.

I'm wondering if there's a way to use the stairs in the back as a, you know, kind of having instead of the wall, a large stairway coming down. I don't know if you can have any room to move the pool a little further away and sort of move, transition that down the same way you're doing in the front where you've got some stairs, a landing, some stairs, and you can get some of that greenery in there to soften it up. It's one way to do it.

I believe that the pool itself, we cannot move because we're already on the setback line. We're tied there.

It's five feet to the water, Scarlett?

To the edge of the pool.

Pardon?

To the edge of the pool.

To the edge of the pool, not the water?

Yes, not the water.

To the edge of the water, how much is it?

I don't think there's a rule for that. Yeah, no.

Whatever they want to design for the inside.

Okay. I think those are my comments. I think the front facade needs to be appealing, and I think they like the ideas, and I would say... The back, I agree. You know, if you could look for a way to make those steps a little different, where there's a softer transition, you know, it's not like going up.

I mean, you could do the same thing that he suggested on the front, where you have the 18-inch and, you know, and in that is some planters. That would also kind of make that corner of the pool, you know, you wouldn't be accessible for your grandchild. Like they'd have to come all the way out and then get in.

And I think, and I think also on the, on, you know, where the barbecue wall is and, and then you have that foot high wall, we can maybe put some planters or something there too. So, you know, to mix, you know, dress it up and make it.

Yeah. I was going to ask you actually about the landscaping plan on the side setbacks of the home. Are you planting new plants that will be the same height as the home?

Yes.

Okay. I'm less concerned about the rear given that because you're going to have a green screen. But I think for future resale and just coherence of the architecture, I would encourage you to apply the same principles that you've got on the front and the back. But I would be...

I'm sorry, go ahead. I'm a little confused about the building department and the 50%. Is there still an issue pending about the 50%? That's why they have to bring it up. racing the finish for so what we're looking at is really your plan yes moving forward yes that meets the code requirements of the building department and everybody's happy okay i just want to make sure that we're approving if we're going to approve something that's already been vetted in that direction yes okay thank you just saw one clarification that um do do you want to ask that question uh

There's a note on, which one is it? Where did we just see it? Where did I just see it?

On the... On the side, on the side of the proposed elevated terrace, right?

Yeah, on the... On the left side, it says the pool equipment is located beneath the terrace. Where is that?

Hold on one second.

Wow, good eyes.

How does that work?

Because I love it if it does.

But if it's an elevated terrace, there's no cube.

Yep. That one, yeah. So the first one. If you can zoom in. Go to the bottom left corner next to where the pool is on the.

You cannot zoom in?

Machine pool, I think it says.

The comment is the pool equipment is located beneath the terrace.

There.

Yeah, well, the thing is that the rendering shows like a blank wall on the side.

Mm-hmm.

But in reality, you know, the flooring is raised so we can fit the pool equipment.

So there's no wall.

There will be a screen or whatever covering the equipment will be inside there, but it will be a screen so that you don't see the actual machinery. It's like when you have a pool equipment and you have like a screen enclosure, that's pretty much what it's going to be.