City of Coconut Creek City Commission Minutes Meeting No. 2003-31
	Date:   August 20, 2003 Time:  5:45 p .m.
	Kind:   Workshop
	4800 West Copans Road, Coconut Creek, Florida, 33063

1.         The meeting was called to order by Mayor Tooley at 5:45 p.m.

2.         Present upon roll call:

                                    Mayor Becky Tooley

                                    Vice Mayor Lou Sarbone

                                    Commissioner Marilyn Gerber

                                    Commissioner Gloria Fantl

                                    Commissioner Jim Waldman

                                    City Manager John Kelly

                                    Assistant City Attorney Nancy Cousins

                                    City Clerk Barbara Price

            Absent:           City Attorney Paul Stuart

            Also present were Development Services Director Sheila Rose, Planning and Zoning Manager Scott Stoudenmire, and Comptroller Minal Shah.

3.         MainStreet Coconut Creek Project Update

            Mr. Kelly requested the Commission’s comments regarding the RFP, as staff hoped to advertise it on September 7th.  Ms. Rose added that the Urban Land Institute (ULI) advertisement would be sent at the end of August for inclusion in their conference edition, which would be published during the first week of September.  It would be approximately $1,400 for the quarter-page ad.

            Ms. Rose related that staff had begun working on a list of interested parties to ensure the widest distribution possible, including the large architectural and engineering firms in this area, the firms volunteering their services at Abacoa, and other recommended firms.  She believed that the ULI advertisement would be the widest broadcast of the project to the appropriate firms. 

            Ms. Rose indicated that she had received a follow-up call from Nancy Graham the previous Friday, who had again expressed her interest but tactfully stated her concern about conflicts.  Ms. Graham offered to “volunteer,” working through the pre-qualified list or in any other way, but indicated that she would not submit a proposal unless it was in response to an RFP.

            Ms. Rose believed that the MainStreet draft document should be attached to the RFP, and she asked if the Commission had any concerns regarding its content.  Vice Mayor Sarbone suggested that the inclusion of the market assessment may be inappropriate, and stated that he would rather hear the evaluation made by interested firms.  Due to the volume of data collected, Ms. Rose believed the inclusion of a qualification that the City had reservations about the market data could be made clear in the RFP. 

            Ms. Rose suggested that the MainStreet draft document was also important as the complementary parcels were described, which she believed would become very important as the land use issues were addressed.  She noted that there had been three follow-up meetings with the County on the Land Use Plan Amendment since the last workshop, and Ms. Rose offered that two categories may be appropriate for the City:  the Local Activity Center and the Regional Activity Center. 

            Ms. Rose explained that, while the Local Activity Center sounded perfect for the project, it was limited to an area of 160 acres unless part of a Community Redevelopment Agency.  Staff had approached the County about that standard, with consideration to either change or take exception to it, or she offered that the door could be left open to create a Local Activity Center and have more specific land uses on the complementary parcels.  Ms. Rose explained that it would be fairly easy to circle the 40-acre educational facility and narrow down the acreage to the 160-acre threshold.  Staff would continue to work with the County toward adjustment of the acreage threshold.

            With respect to the Regional Activity Center, which would normally be applied in this instance, Ms. Rose offered that a bottleneck had occurred at the County.  With submissions by several other cities, it was the County’s position that, until more extensive criteria was developed, they would not be moved forward.  The category must be prepared, reviewed, and approved by the Broward County Planning Council, the County Commission, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, the Department of Community Affairs, and then adopted before the City could make its application.  Ms. Rose estimated that the process would be stalled by at least one year.

            Ms. Rose summarized that the preliminary opinion was that the City should pursue modifying the Local Activity Center designation.  There had been meetings with the offices of the Broward County Planning Council, economic development, and County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs.                           

            Commissioner Waldman asked whether the RFP addressed modification of the Code, and Ms. Rose noted that this was addressed on page 3 of the RFP.  Staff anticipated that the scope of this proposal would form the table of contents for the land development regulations for the area.  She did not expect that Chapter 13 sections would be changed, but rather that specific district regulations would be created and applied.

            Ms. Rose also related that there had been discussion between the County and the Johns Family regarding purchase of the 14-acre cypress head.  The County had asked if the City was interested in having them consider and negotiate for an expansion of that area to include the 10 acres fronting the future Cullum Road for additional park facilities.  While this would have no bearing on the Johns Family decision, Ms. Rose offered that the County was looking to make sure that the City would not object. 

            Neil Haney, of Boca Raton, was present and indicated his partial ownership of the property.  He commented that this discussion had been the first he had heard about extending the swamp.  Indicating that he would be in favor, Mr. Haney recalled another proposal 10 to 15 years before that had been acceptable to the owners, and he assumed that it would be acceptable now.

            Ms. Rose noted that property acquired using bond funds had land and open space restrictions.  Should the County acquire it using bond funds, it would be used for passive recreation only.

            Commissioner Waldman hoped that, should the Johns Family decide to sell the property, they would speak with the City before signing with the County as there may be other ideas.  Mr. Haney assured that MainStreet and its overall vision would be kept in mind before any change in ownership.  He explained that the money received for the 14-acre property would finance the family’s participation in MainStreet without developer involvement.

            Ms. Rose commented that, with the County’s rules related to appraised value and the purpose for the purchase, they may not be able to provide what the Johns Family perceives as a reasonable value for the property.  With the addition of the 10 acres, however, it may be valued differently.

            Mr. Kelly offered that the County’s request for the City’s support was not unusual, as it had been done for every other piece in the City.  Both Mayor Tooley and Commissioner Waldman indicated their support.

            At Mr. Kelly’s behest, Commissioner Gerber reflected on a comment about the City’s reference to “MainStreet,” which implied that the project may be limited to one street rather than encompass an area.  There were suggestions of “Coconut Creek City Center,” “Uptown,” “Mid-Town,” and “Mid-Town Square” and additional discussion.  It was suggested that a contest be held, utilizing the web page as the medium.

            Referring to page 2 of the RFP, Ms. Rose noted that considerable time had been spent in discussing the uniqueness of the project, explained in the section “Thematic Development.”  She believed that the issue of environmental superiority would require the most assistance early in the project and that this theme would set the direction.

            Ms. Rose distributed copies of an article on green land planning, and she indicated that she would distribute a second article as well.  Staff expected that this type of criteria would be covered in great detail in the technical proposals to be evaluated.

            Mayor Tooley commented that the preferences of the Commission -- what they wished to see in the area and their ideas for its architectural design, had not been voiced, nor had the issue of density been discussed, and she suggested that their ideas should be incorporated into the bid package.  Ms. Rose offered staff’s expectation that the City would receive and evaluate detailed, technical proposals to assure that the City retained the most skilled professionals.  She noted that the Scope of Services would provide for public and community input, and that the Commission would spearhead this effort with as many meetings as appropriate.  Additionally, design charrettes for the general public and design charrettes specifically directed to the general employee population would be held.  Ms. Rose assured that the density would be addressed as part of the land use component. 

            The Mayor admitted that her concern about density was as a result of the potential development at the corner of Lyons and Wiles Roads and its effect on MainStreet.  Ms. Rose responded that, in her opinion, neither the density nor intensity for the area had been set; she anticipated that the thematic development and land use planning would accomplish both and more. 

            Ms. Rose believed it unlikely that a request for additional density at the Coral Lake site would be successful through the County approval process as there was no mechanism available for dealing with the school concurrency issue.  Staff expected that the land would be redeveloped with its current land use, with between 280 and 312 units in place.  Ms. Rose explained “stretching” of the boundaries to the center of roadways, which was a method accepted by the County, and the contract purchaser had indicated that this possibility had been discussed; possibly 20 to 30 units could be added without submitting to a land use compatibility review, which would trigger the issues of school and traffic concurrency.  A request for greater density would require the City’s review of a Land Use Plan Amendment, as well as review by the Broward County Planning Council and the County Commission.  Staff’s perspective had been that, while the “eggs in the basket” should remain in the MainStreet area, the City would also work with the developers of the Coral Lake site.  She offered that no formal application had yet been made.

            Commissioner Gerber commented regarding parking lots, hoping that the proposals would provide parking through parking garages and street parking but not through expansive parking lots.

            Mr. Kelly advised that the consultant was working on securing the financing and was confident that the funds could be obtained through restructuring of the debt service.  He anticipated a report in the coming week.

            Commissioner Waldman asked regarding the status of the Roberson closing.  Ms. Cousins advised that there had been a delay due to the necessity of a Phase II environmental assessment; the contract called for a delay pending completion of that review.  Ms. Rose explained that the Phase II report had been necessary because the property has been agriculturally active; there was concern regarding pesticide application and the previous existence of a fuel tank on the property.  The Commissioner asked whether the contract contained this contingency, and Ms. Rose and Ms. Cousins answered affirmatively. 

            Commissioner Waldman summarized that the Phase I report indicated the risks, and that soil borings and groundwater monitoring were in process.  He suggested that the latter be located near the perimeter of the property to get some idea if those issues would be faced on the adjoining property.  Ms. Rose offered that a canal and a 50-foot road right-of-way separated the properties, and she noted that a Phase I environmental audit had been done for all properties along Sample Road.

4.         ADJOURNMENT

            The meeting was adjourned at 6:17 p.m.

_______________________________

Barbara S. Price, CMC

City Clerk