Chambers Full for Avenir Workshop

The majority of those in the chambers were sporting Avenir stickers, and the ones we spoke with had very definite reasons for their support.  Sarah Peters of the Palm Beach Post covered a lot of the discussion.  Traffic continues to be the greatest concern and the developers were challenged by the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board to address the issue in greater depth.  Even the detractors speaking at the workshop described the owners of the property as very nice people who were trying hard to address their issues.  The build-out of the project is expected to take 20 years.  Expect to see the project come before the Board as well as the City Council over the next several months.

Public Workshop on Proposed Avenir Development – October 13 at 6pm in City Hall

Many residents have a high interest in new development in Palm Beach Gardens and have heard about prior proposals for Avenir (aka Vavrus property).  Over the last year, plans for the project have been modified due to lots of feedback.  If you are interested, please attend and let your neighbors or communities know about the

Public Workshop at City Hall at 6pm on Tuesday, October 13.

This will be a presentation, not an open house – so plan on being there on time.

No decisions will be made at this meeting of the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board.  The meeting is informational only, for public awareness.   Descriptions of the plans can be seen on the Agenda Item here.

Alton Projects Move Forward and Code Violation Fines Increase

The primary topic of the evening was development at the Alton site (Briger Tract): 3 Resolutions pertained to the site. Atlantico, a 353 unit luxury apartment complex garnered the most discussion, centered around potential parking issues. About 125 of the apartments will be one bedroom and will have a single parking space allotted to each – which meets code. Council Member Russo suggested that it might be inadequate since it’s unlikely that each of those apartment will have a single tenant, and couples would most likely have two vehicles.  United Technologies’ Intelligent Buildings Technology Complex was the other significant development project. Several aspects of the building itself will be a showcase of technologies offered by the corporation. All 3 resolutions passed 5:0.

Two opponents of the development, both residents of Lake Worth spoke against the project on environmental grounds; one about Alton in general, the other calling Unitied Technologies a ‘felon’. In both cases, Council Member Levy took issue with their statements and rebutted with facts as he knew them.

Ordinance 13, 2015 also passed 5:0 on first reading. The ordinance significantly increases the code enforcement fines that can be issued by the Special Magistrate, allowed by statute for municipalities exceeding 50,000 in population. Resident Kevin Easton commented that such fines are more punitive than helpful/beneficial and could be subjectively applied, and said that most residents want to comply with code. Council Member Levy disagreed saying that no everyone wants to be compliant. He cited as an example foreclosed properties where banks aren’t paying attention; he also said that the magistrate needs all the tools he can get.

During Matters of Public Interest, David Levy mentioned that one of the topics at the last League of Cities meeting was the upcoming Sales Tax surcharge proposals for the 2016 ballot. Many of the cities are eager to see an infrastructure sales tax passed because the municipalities are have maxed out the 10% millage rate allowed by statute and are looking for other sources of revenue. Palm Beach Gardens would net about $3.8 million/year from the tax which must be applied to infrastructure improvements. Yet, since the tax would have a sunset provision, the City wouldn’t decrease property tax rates. The Council decided to stay neutral and not take a position at this point.

During Public Comment – Bob Jaeger, resident and President of his HOA directly across from PGA National Park, spoke about excessive speed limits on Northlake Blvd in the area and fatalities that have occurred. He understood that Northlake is a county road, however the Council was sympathetic to the concern – which wasn’t new – and suggested that perhaps he get with the Chief Stepp to discuss enforcement.

Kevin Easton, resident, asked about project status on the Sunset Drive water project. The Council was visibly irritated and Mayor Jablin retorted that the project would have been much further along if not for actions by Mr. Easton. He asked that Kevin speak with the City Engineer and both left the chambers to meet.

All board appointments and re-appointments passed 5:0 as did the Consent Agenda. Council Member Tinsley spoke about All Aboard Florida at the end of the meeting.

Next City Council Meeting on October 8th at 7pm

The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, October 8th, at 7pm in City Hall.  There are quite a few items on the agenda.

Presentations:  Presentations by the principals of Watson B. Duncan Middle School and Timber Trace Elementary outlining programs for the upcoming school year

Consent Agenda:

• One Purchase Award for EMS Supplies via a piggyback contract for $120K/year for one year, renewable twice.
• Several resolutions at the behest of the Florida League of Cities requesting that the Obama administration and Congress maintain tax-exempt status of interest on municipal bonds, maintain funding of community block grants and clarify the de-obligation process of previously approved disaster relief funds.
• Several proclamations.

Public Hearings and Resolutions:

Ordinance 13, 2015 – A City-initiated text amendment to Code Enforcement Procedures, Administration Fines, giving the Code Enforcement Special Magistrate authority to impose fines in excess of the limits set forth in Paragraph (2)(a) of Section 162.09, Florida Statutes. Apparently reaching the ‘magic’ number of 50,000 in population allows the City authorization to impose higher fines. “Administrative fines are imposed to impress upon the violators the severity and seriousness of their violation to the City, and the direct and indirect impact to the citizens.  The proposed fines attempt to account for the larger imposition violations can place on a growing population”.  Fines would be increased fourfold from $250/day to $1000/day; tenfold from $500/day to $5000/day and threefold from $5000 to $15000 for specific descriptions of the violations.

Three Resolutions concerning Alton PCD

• Resolution 44, 2015 AN AMENDMENT TO THE ALTON PLANNED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (PCD) IN ORDER TO CONVERT FOUR (4) MULTIFAMILY DWELLING UNITS TO THREE (3) ADDITIONAL APARTMENT UNITS WITHIN PARCEL C, INCORPORATE ADDITIONAL PREMIER, PRIMARY, AND SECONDARY STREET TYPICAL CROSS SECTIONS WITHIN THE DESIGN GUIDELINES, AND INCLUDE A MODIFICATION TO PCD BUFFER B1;
• Resolution 45, 2015 – APPROVING THE ATLANTICO APARTMENT COMPLEX SITE PLAN IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE CONSTRUCTION OF 353 MULTIFAMILY APARTMENT DWELLING UNITS WITHIN PARCEL C OF THE ALTON DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL IMPACT (DRI)/PLANNED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (PCD);
• Resolution 46, 2015 – APPROVAL OF A 241,400 SQUARE FOOT CENTER FOR INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS TECHNOLOGY COMPLEX also in Parcel B of the Alton Development – this is the United Technologies complex.

In addition, there are several resolutions for appointments and reappointments to the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Art in Public Places Advisory Board and the Fire Pension Board.

See our summary of the September 17th City Council Meeting (including the Final Budget Hearing) here.  For the latest Martino Minute, click here.

The agenda (with links to full detail) can be found here.  Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting.

We get the government we deserve – and it’s up to us to watch what they do.  Hope you can make it. If you can’t make the meeting try and watch live-streaming or on-demand.