HomeMy WebLinkAbout04012010LPA MinutesLOCAL PLANNING AGENCY
(PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION)
6:00 P.M. THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010
EAR SCOPING MEETING
Chmn Paul called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M.
The Pledge of Allegiance was said by all.
ROLL CALL:
PRESENT: Mr. Cardinale
Mr. Paul
Mr. Durr
Mr. Neuberger
Mr. Simmons
Mr. Dodd
Rebecca Grohall, Growth Management Director
Jan King, Planning and Growth Management Manager
Dorri Bosworth, Zoning Technician
Brandon Schaad, Outlier Planning
EXCUSED: Mr. Srinivasan Mr. Hepler
Mr. Roth
CONSIDER MAJOR LOCAL COMMUNITY PLANNING ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
IN THE EVALUATION AND APPRAISAL REPORT (EAR)
Ms. Grohall opened that in coordination with last week's meeting, Mr. Schaad consulted
with various city employees, department heads, some city council members and
formulated a preliminary list of major issues and an explanation of each one. The five
proposed are connectivity of arterial collector roadways and alternative transportation
modes, economic development and job creation, balancing sustainable growth with
protection of community character, future developments and funding of the parks and
recreation system, and annexation and service delivery.
Mr. Schaad said after discussing issues with city council members, staff, the workshop
and some interested parties in the community he came up with a major list of issues to
be addressed. As we look at the community's longer term transportation issues by
looking at connectivity of arterial and collector roadways, making trips from north to
south and east to west a little shorter. Also try to take some pressure off the major roads
and look at alternative modes such as transit, walking, biking, etc and how they relate to
Senate Bill 360 and House Bill 697.
Economic development and job creation were a huge issue and we will build on a lot of
the work the city has already done and how to specifically implement this. Balancing
sustainable growth with protection of community character by showing off Sebastian's
two main areas, the riverfront and CR 512. Future funding and development of the park
and recreation system. Also, we will look at potential development of greenways and
blueways. A greenway is a linear park often connects two parks or different open space
systems. A blueway is the same concept except for water, canals, rivers, etc. We will
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also look at specific opportunities for annexation we might have and what some of the
pros and cons might be.
Although we heard back from FDOT we have not gotten any comments from them as yet
but do expect to receive comments. The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council saw
the preliminary list of major issues and their concerns were making sure the plan will
allow for the building of affordable housing, including rental apartments and that we will
support transit modes of travel. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for
Indian River County commented that our issues mirrored the ones that they looked at
recently. They also wanted to emphasize the jobs /housing balance is important.
The consultant asked that they tonight come to a consensus on a list of major issues so
it could be recommended to City Council on April 14
Chmn. Paul asked commissioners to offer their comments at this time. Chmn. Paul
asked if the list is available to the public and Ms. Grohall said it was as well as a
specialized website is being worked on, www.sebastianear.com, where members of the
public can view all the documents related with the evaluation and appraisal report. There
will be a link from the city's website to that site also.
The commission reviewed each item one at a time and after discussing each item
reached consensus on each item.
1. Connectivity of arterial /collector roadways alternative transportation
modes.
Mr. Dodd asked about work being done in the county south of Sebastian near 82
Avenue, would we be involved in trying to meld that into our plans. Ms. Grohall said
both staff and elected officials participate with the MPO to create a ranked list of projects
on an annual basis. Sebastian projects are fairly well consistently ranked number 1 and
2 throughout the county. Also, our mayor was appointed the chairman of the MPO body
itself. Chmn. Paul asked anyone from the public to comment. John Danise, Parks and
Recreation Committee, offered compliments for the plan as the basis for any good
government is listening and it is obvious when you read this that was accomplished.
2. Economic development and job creation.
A question to waive impact fees on existing platted lots was presented. Ms. Grohall said
the housing element was place under this category because conversations with DCA
lately and with the MPO have been about a jobs /housing balance. Typically, larger
employers are looking for places that have a large supply of housing that is readily
available and affordable to their workforce. Mr. Neuberger questioned what constitutes
affordable housing. Ms. Grohall explained the housing affordability issue is having
housing choices to meet the community needs of every walk of life. Ms. Grohall directed
the commission to the Comprehensive Plan chapter on housing which includes a needs
analysis covering what we have for supply, what the population needs are, and it was
updated a year ago. Answering questions, Ms. Grohall said the state actually
establishes what an affordable rental rate is and it is scaled by the number of people in a
household and where they fall in relation to the poverty values.
3. Balancing sustainable growth with protection of community character.
The city, and soon the county, has passed a tax abatement incentive program for new
business relocating to this area.
4. Future development and funding of the park and recreation system.
Mr. Cardinale asked what blueways were. Ms. Grohall suggested creating opportunities
for pedestrians to walk along and /or use the waterfront. There are a number of
opportunities, the south prong of the Sebastian River, Indian River Lagoon, and a
number of canals within the city that are navigable. Mr. Schaad added that this could
also tie in to economic development with eco- tourism. Mr. Dodd feels this is a quality of
life item that would bring people to the city in both residential and workforce capacities.
He also asked if we should include something within our document that would address
growth issues of neighboring communities looking to utilize our park and recreation
systems. Ms. Grohall added part of the analysis will be what our future need in terms of
football, baseball, multi purpose fields, tennis courts, volleyball, basketball, passive and
active recreation facilities. Mr. Danise asked about the possibility of trading off or selling
some city property with developers to insure recreation facilities would be developed and
Ms. Grohall said that could be part of the analysis about the policies and objectives
dealing with our parks and recreation system. Mr. David Reyes, Construction Board,
inquired about water taxis along the blueways to connect to greenways for alternative
transportation modes and for future development for parks.
5. Annexation and service delivery.
Mr. Simmons asked what commercial land is available and Ms. Grohall detailed the
commercial land along CR512 are not very deep lots and is limited to the south side of
the road is not well suited beyond strip centers or office buildings. Part of the analysis is
looking at what land is available. The greatest amount of industrial land within the city is
at the airport property with some small parcels on Old Dixie Highway. Ms. Grohall
explained the ISBA annexation reserve lands which are areas the cities have agreed
amongst themselves that were potential places for annexation. It does not tie them to an
involuntary annexation. As an example, the land on CR 512 west of the city would be
within Sebastian's annexation reserve. That agreement is amongst all the cities as well
as the county that says is if a property owner wishes to annex, that they will annex into
Sebastian.
In closing, Mr. Schaad commented that he hears from the commission they would like to
make some demand projections for different types of land uses, seeing what we have
available versus what we thing we will need. Basically, do we need more industrial or
commercial land? He heard comments regarding preparing for the impact of
development in Fellsmere, particularly on the parks.
The only other comment made by the commission was in regard to accessing green jobs
and green economy.
Chmn. Paul thanked Mr. Schaad for his time and services.
Chmn. Paul adjourned the meeting at 6:57 p.m.
(sbl 4/6/2010