City Council of Fort Walton Beach ENGINEERING & UTILITY SERVICES MEMORANDUM

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "City Council of Fort Walton Beach ENGINEERING & UTILITY SERVICES MEMORANDUM"

Colin Wilcox
5 years ago
Views:

1 City Council of Fort Walton Beach ENGINEERING & UTILITY SERVICES MEMORANDUM To: From: Michael D. Beedie, City Manager Tim Bolduc, Engineering and Utilities Services Director Date: April 26, 2016 Subject: Ordinance Amending Chapter 4 of the LDC 1. BACKGROUND: 1.1. On March 23, 2012, City Council approved Ordinance 1861 to adopt a new Land Development Code for the City of Fort Walton Beach The 2012 Land Development Code (LDC) went into effect on May 1, Since the implementation of the LDC, Staff has amended the document as inconsistencies have been identified and improvements have been recognized in order to provide for the most streamlined, clear, user-friendly document possible. This update provides for clarification in procedures, reduces potential hardships on property owners and aids in streamlining the development review process Mr. Rob Smith from Walton Properties submitted site plans for a development for review in the Commerce and Technology Park. The development received approval through the minor development review process During the Development Order process, Mr. Smith identified several items in the Land Development Code that he would like to have changed In July 2015, after discussion with Staff, Mr. Smith submitted a list of potential changes with a brief description of the reasons he believed these changes were needed. The following items were included in this request letter: Item 1 - Remove the requirement to build landscape islands every ten (10) parking spaces in the Commerce and Technology Park Item 2 - Remove the requirement to plant trees every 25 feet around projects in the Commerce and Technology Park Item 3 - Remove the requirement for sidewalks in the Commerce and Technology Park Item 4 - Relax the requirements for uses in the Commerce and Technology Park In July 2015, Staff reviewed and evaluated the requests to ensure consistency with the Code of Ordinances and Comprehensive Plan On September 3, 2015, Staff brought the request letter with the associated Staff research to the Local Planning Agency (LPA) for discussion and feedback.

2 For Item 1, LPA unanimously approved a motion directing Staff to perform further research and return to the LPA at a later date with a formal request For Item 2, LPA consensus was to take no further action on the request For Item 3, LPA consensus was to take no further action on the request For Item 4, LPA consensus was to take no further action on the request Following the LPA s review of the request, Mr. Smith requested that the City Manager reconsider the changes he proposed To demonstrate his request, Mr. Smith re-designed the approved project and submitted it for review At the direction of the City Manager, Staff developed four (4) ordinances consistent with Mr. Smith s requests for review by LPA and City Council. 2. DISCUSSION: 2.1. In reviewing Mr. Smith s request, the history of the Commerce and Technology Park must be noted On January 11, 2000, City Council unanimously approved the creation of a task force to address a name change for the Industrial Park as well as new signage and landscaping at the main entrance of the Park On March 14, 2000, City Council unanimously approved the recommendation of the task force to rename the Industrial Park and prepare new signage and landscaping The Park was renamed from the Fort Walton Beach Industrial Park to the City of Fort Walton Beach Commerce and Technology Park to more accurately reflect the current and potential tenants of the Park In the last two City Council Strategic Planning sessions, City Council has asked Staff to focus on turning around the Commerce and Technology Park as it has struggled over the last few years with filling vacant properties In March 2016, a Competitive Analysis of the FWB Commerce and Technology Park was completed in partnership with the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County The Competitive Analysis provided recommendations to improve the Park In April 2016, Staff will present an Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the Competitive Analysis to City Council, which includes reviewing the Development Standards within the CTP Zoning District and possibly creating a CRA District in the area At the April 12, 2016 meeting, Council Member Mead made the motion to change the ordinance provided from 1 tree per 90 feet to one tree per 65 feet. The motion carried for first reading. Staff has changed the ordinance at City Council s recommendation.

3 3. STAFF ANALYSIS: 3.1. The requested LDC amendment is as follows: Remove requirement to plant trees every twenty-five (25) feet around projects in the Commerce and Technology Park Mr. Smith s reasoning provided for this request is as follows: Trees are a maintenance problem when installed in the landscape buffer around commercial warehouses. Water and sewer, power and communication lines are in the area around the property lines. The trees will have to be cropped to prevent intrusion into the power lines and will eventually damage the water and sewer lines, curbs and asphalt. Building tenants want their business and signage to be visible. (ex. The City removed pear trees and later live oak trees in downtown FWB after businesses complained.) Trees are a personal preference and do not in all cases improve the appearance of a project Staff reviewed the request and determined the following: The tree requirements are similar to requirements in surrounding municipalities and are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan requires that the City maintains its designation as a Tree City USA community, in part through the continued promotion of the importance of trees in our urban landscape The Land Development Code (LDC) requirements for trees are not required solely to improve appearance. The intent as outlined in the LDC also includes other benefits such as providing buffers to incompatible land uses, reducing the negative impacts of noise, providing shade to ground surfaces and the filtering of dust and pollutants The LDC also specifies that canopy trees shall not be installed under any overhead utility line, over any buried utilities, or within a utility easement Further, the LDC does not require trees to be evenly spaced along the perimeter of the property. Per Section of the LDC, trees may be clustered or spaced according to best horticultural practices Section of the LDC also allows for existing trees located on the proposed development site within the interior or perimeter landscaped use areas to be eligible for credit against the total number of trees required The table below includes requirements from a few other municipalities. Ft. Walton Beach 1 tree per 25 linear feet Destin Pensacola Milton Crestview Miami Dade County 1 tree per 25 liner feet 1 between every 10 parking spaces Required in corners of parking lots and all other areas not used 1 between every 15 parking spaces 10 square feet of landscape area per parking space shall be provided.

4 for parking spaces or circulation 3.4. Based on a proposed landscape plan submitted by Mr. Smith, the number of trees proposed equates to one (1) tree for each ninety (90) linear feet of the perimeter dimension of the site Section (B) of the LDC has been amended to read that on lands zoned CTP, the number of trees required shall be calculated as one (1) tree for each sixty-five (65) linear feet of the perimeter dimension of the site. 4. FINANCIAL INFORMATION: 4.1. There is no financial impact related to this discussion at this time. 5. RECOMMENDATION: 5.1. Staff respectfully recommends that the City Council deny Ordinance No. 1942, which requests an amendment to Chapter 4 of the Land Development Code. ATTACHMENTS: DRAFT 1942 Chapter 4-Development Standards (DOCX) Landscape Plan - Meets Current LDC (PDF) Landscape Plan - Proposed LDC Changes (PDF) HISTORY: 04/07/16 Local Planning Agency RECOMMENDED 04/12/16 City Council FIRST READING Next: 04/26/16 SIGNATURE BLOCK: Christopher Frassetti Completed 03/29/ :08 AM Tim Bolduc Completed 04/03/2016 9:59 PM Finance Completed 04/05/2016 9:15 AM City Attorney Completed 04/05/2016 5:29 PM City Clerk Completed 04/06/2016 6:56 AM City Manager Skipped 04/07/2016 9:12 AM Local Planning Agency Completed 04/07/2016 5:30 PM City Council Completed 04/12/2016 6:00 PM

5 O R D I N A N C E AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 4, DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, TO AMEND MINIMUM TREE REQUIREMENTS IN THE COMMERCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK (CTP) ZONING DISTRICT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Authority and Intent The authority for enactment of this ordinance is contained in Chapter , , and other provisions of the Florida Statutes and Section 2 of the City Charter. Section 2. Amendment of Section , Landscape and Buffer Requirements Section (B) is hereby amended as follows: B. The number of trees required shall be calculated as one (1) tree for each twenty-five (25) linear feet of the perimeter dimension of the site., except as follows: 1. On lands zoned CTP, the number of trees required shall be calculated as one (1) tree for each sixty-five (65) linear feet of the perimeter dimension of the site. Section 3. Findings The City Council of Fort Walton Beach finds that the Local Planning Agency reviewed and recommended denial of the ordinance on April 7 th, The City Council of Fort Walton Beach finds that the proposed ordinance is consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies of the City s Comprehensive Plan. The City Council of Fort Walton Beach finds that all notice requirements for enactment of the ordinance have been met in accordance with the Florida Statutes and the City s Land Development Code. Section 4. Effective Date

6 This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon approval on second reading by City Council and signature of the Mayor. Adopted: Attest: Kim M. Barnes, City Clerk Mike Anderson, Mayor Approved for form, legal sufficiency Hayward Dykes, Jr., City Attorney Additions are underlined; deletions are stricken.

codes for the operation of City business; and WHEREAS, the Bonita Springs City Council has determined that it is in

codes for the operation of City business; and WHEREAS, the Bonita Springs City Council has determined that it is in FLORIDA; CREATING THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF BONITA SPRINGS, RESOLUTION NO. 13-14 U:City AttorneyAdministrative Codes13-14 Landscape Removal Delegation Program.docx Page 1 of 6