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05-01-2000 Workshop Meeting CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 1 A Workshop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Monday, May 1, 2000, at the Police Department. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Turville. Council Members Mullins, MacLauchlin, Biddle and Lamb were present. Also present was City Manager Saunders, Planning Director Brown, Planning Technician Ogden, Planning Technician Bennett, City Engineer Richardson and Deputy City Clerk Maddox. City of Clermont-Swim Areas City Manager Saunders stated that each year the Health Department permits the City's swim areas. Mr. Saunders stated that because of the drought the City's swim area at the Waterfront Park cannot meet the criteria to obtain water samples for permitting as the water level in the swim area is at most 18" deep and the sample must be taken in 2 feet of water. Mr. Saunders stated that the Health Department suggested that the City either extend the swim area in order to get samples or close 'the existing swim area until we get rain to raise the water level. Mr. Saunders stated that the Staff does not recommend extending the swim area as Lake Minneola drops off considerably past our designated swim area and it would not be safe. Mr. Saunders stated the Waterfront Park would not have to be closed. There was consensus that the City would wait for the Health Department to give a final opinion regarding whether to close the swim area and that citizens' safety was the City's first concern and the swim area should not be extended. Impervious Surface Areas Planning Director Brown stated that several developers were present to follow up a previous discussion regarding impervious surface areas and the City's maximum coverage rule. Mr. Brown stated that these builders feel that they are seriously impaired by our requirements. Bill Kercher of Greater Construction passed out an Impervious Surface Guideline showing comparisons between the City of Clermont and the Cities of Mt. Dora, Orlando and Winter Park as well as Lake and Orange Counties. Mr. Kercher provided an example of a Lot Specification Comparison. Jay Hood of Glading, Smith and Greens Landscape Architects discussed community image and the fact that in many developments there are golf courses and have large amounts of open space. Mr. Hood recommended a maximum impervious surface of 65%, with no more than 55% in the primary resident, walkways and driveway. Mr. Hood said that a 10% cushion will allow pools, CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 2 sheds, decks or patios to be added and this is consistent with other communities. Mr. Hood stated that a higher percentage of lot coverage works in PUDs as they already have open space requirements. Mr. Hood stated that front and side yard setbacks are what establish the curb identity of the community and stated that in Clermont there are 60-foot right-of-ways and 25-foot front yard setbacks which gives 110 feet between home fronts providing natural open space. Harry Sleek of Levitt Homes agreed that PUDs already have open space requirements and should be treated differently and stated he agreed with the comments stated by Mr. Hood and Mr. Kercher. Rob Ahrens of Lennar Homes stated there were two problems in the City of Clermont and he felt a PUD should be handled differently. Mr. Ahrens stated that at Kings Ridge they have 50 and 60-foot wide lots in a golf course community and when you look at the PUD as a whole, they are at a 23% impervious rate and at Legends, with larger home sites and 65 foot wide lots they are at almost 27 % impervious rate. Mr. Ahrens suggested that the City stay with the normal building footprint as a minimum and then allow a driveway and pool to be added in. Dwayne Booth stated he is a project engineer for Kings Ridge and The Legends and stated he reviewed the residential acreage and how many lots they would yield and there was 32.9% total impervious. Mr. Booth stated if we go to a 65% impervious per lot, it does not mean that everyone will buy the largest home, the largest pool or a three-car garage and in the community as a whole, it will be quite a bit lower. Mr. Booth stated many areas, included Kings Ridge and The Legends, are recharge areas and they collect all of the stormwater and percolate it back into the aquifer and Mr. Booth stated that adding more impervious surface is not going to impede the recharge area. Mr. Booth stated that his company is also working with the City on re-use and when it becomes available they will be recharging more to the aquifer. Mark Chudos suggested that the green space in developments be guaranteed or fixed possibly by a covenant with the development in order to protect the rights of individual homeowners for green space in the event a golf course closes, so that those individual homeowners' rights to green space would be insured and the course could not be developed into more homes. Mayor Turville thanked those developers for their participation in this discussion. Mr. Turville stated that we are seeing smaller lot requests based on PUDs and amenities and common spaces, but also we are seeing bigger houses going on smaller lots and in that case we can't always accommodate requests to add pools, patios or decks after the fact. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 3 Council Member MacLauchlin stated that we have a need to change the impervious surface ordinance or requirements for free-standing homes in order to accommodate those citizens who wish to add a pool, patio or deck and stated she felt the Council should come up with a percentage for just the home, driveway and patio, and then a percentage that will allow the addition of a pool, shed or deck after the fact. Council Member Mullins stated that a pool is as impervious as a driveway. Mr. Mullins stated that in the PUDs we always have an opportunity up front to make everybody happy but in the developed part of town there is a problem and he would like to see that handled on a case-by-case basis by variance request. Mr. Mullins stated the entire neighborhood in a developed area could be taken into account when deciding a variance request. Council Member Lamb stated that the Council should proceed with caution in making any permanent changes. Ms. Lamb stated the PUDs take care of themselves and handling the developed areas by variance may be a good idea. Ms. Lamb stated she prefers, in new developments, to see less impervious surface and more green space. Ms. Lamb stated the problem is that if homeowners in a developed area want to add a pool or patio there should be some relief for them and she agreed that each request should looked at case-by-case or possibly pools could be exempted fi.om the requirements in existing houses. Council Member Biddle stated that he felt there should be some general relief for existing homeowners and agrees with Council Member Mullins that it should be handled by variance request on a case-by-case basis. Mayor Turville stated if the City increased its allowable area it could cause a problem with the rear-yard setback requirement, which could be a serious impact on neighbors if the pool is close to the property line. Mr. Turville stated each case should be looked at individually to consider the impact and the issue of the rear-yard setback. Mayor Turville stated he did not have a problem dealing with variance requests one at a time. Planning Technician, Pam Bennett stated the more serious concern with a homeowner adding a pool is the side-yard setback as the pools will be 7 ½ feet from the fence. City Manager stated that the PUD situation is dealt with during the PUD process and he suggested that we include in our ordinance that under a PUD there will be certain parameters and establish a percentage of open green space for the entire project and beyond that have a CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 4 maximum per lot. Mr. Saunders stated the second issue is the situation with an existing home and someone wanting to add a utility building, a room or a pool, which will exceed our 40%. Mr. Saunders stated after hearing Council's comments it is his understanding they would like to handle this with a variance request and take the whole neighborhood in account when making a decision. Planning Director Brown stated he would like to see the home and driveway tied to a certain percentage, possibly 40 to 45 percent and then an overall total of 55 percent impervious surface allowed, which will allow reasonable flexibility. City Manager Saunders stated he felt Mr. Brown's suggestion was a good one to consider or the Council may be looking at variance requests for this at every City Council meeting. Mr. Saunders stated that 40 percent impervious surface for an existing house and driveway and then another 10 to 15 percent or whatever Council decides for a pool and patio or accessory building may be a good way to go. Council Member Lamb stated that the pool seems to be the most common request and she agrees that setting a percentage for that is good however believes accessory buildings and should be dealt with individually via a variance request. City Manager Saunders stated that the Council needs to decide which direction they wish to go with future subdivisions and decide whether our goal should be to require more green area with larger lot requirements to accommodate larger homes and still keep within a 40 or 45 percent impervious area requirement. After discussion there was consensus that going with a specific percentage for impervious surface for a home and driveway and reserving another 10 percent for other uses such as a pool might be a good way to handle the R-1 homes and in response the various developers present indicated that this global solution would be helpful to them. Model Home Ordinance Mayor Turville stated that the need for a model home ordinance arose fi.om builders who need to have the utility of a structure before the City actually gives them a CO for full utility of the structure. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 5 Planning Technician Ogden stated a lot of research had been done in composing this model home ordinance and stated that our subdivision regulations currently do not allow the City to issue a building permit for anything until the subdivision itself has actually received its final walk- through and the plat has been recorded. Ms. Ogden stated that even after the construction plans have been approved and bonded there is a minimum of four to six weeks for the platting process, which may take from three to five months. Ms. Ogden stated this ordinance will allow a builder a temporary permit to build a model home or model home center and the number of permits will be limited and these cannot be spec homes. After discussion and review of the proposed ordinance there were questions regarding the sign size requirements. Bing Hacker of Lennar Homes stated that the sign size restrictions in the proposed ordinance are reasonable as the signs are for a model home center and need to have various information and directions on them. Mr. Hacker stated that within a model center their may be multiple builders within the new community who need the sign space for their information and reminded everyone that these signs are not permanent signs but temporary marketing signs used to direct people to the model home center and give them information they may need. Planning Director Brown stated that there is not a "one ordinance fits all" and this ordinance is aimed specifically at straight zoning subdivisions because in PUDs the City can specifically address the specific signage needs during the PUD process. Council Member Lamb suggested that there be a specific time that the signs are allowed to stay up and Ms. Ogden explained that our sign ordinance addresses that and City Manager Saunders stated it could also be included also in this ordinance. Jay Hood showed the Council Members an illustration of a model center and stated that the public expects to be able to review a model home or model home center before making a decision to buy in a community. Mr. Hood stated that all of the engineering aspects and emergency access would be met when building a model home center. Simon Sneider with Greater Construction asked if there would be a problem getting power to the model homes without a CO being issued and Ms. Ogden stated that the CO is not issued until the subdivision has received its final inspection and the plat has been recorded. Mr. Sneider asked if there was a problem using the garage of a model home as the sales office and Ms. Ogden stated that it is allowed. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 6 Rescue Services City Manager Saunders stated that the Lake County contract ends this fall and he would like the City of Clermont to be prepared to provide input for any rescue services program being planned and requested Council's opinion. Fire Chief Bishop stated that the Municipal Fire Chiefs have been meeting and consensus regarding service options is that each municipality should have a choice as to what level of service it wishes to provide. Chief Bishop stated that he recommends the City of Clermont provide a level of service which allows the Department to respond and provide advanced life support and meet all emergency service needs with the exception of actually transporting the patient. Chief Bishop stated that no matter whom the contract ends up with, he feels municipalities should be able to choose the level of service they wish to provide. Chief Bishop stated in order to provide this level of service the Fire Department would need to hire 3 or 4 additional employees. Chief Bishop stated that the City would have an agreement for reimbursement of expenses and could probably break even with the cost of expanding our program. Council Member Lamb stated that the Ambulance Review Committee had consensus that every City should have an 8-minute response time and she feels with this proposal it could be cut down to 4 minutes. Council Member Lamb suggested that we get our Department equipped and do this now. Fire Chief Bishop stated that the Clermont's Fire Department has a 2 to 4-minute response time now and if our Department is equipped we will be able to provide advanced life support. Council Member Biddle stated that the City had planned to hire additional firefighters anyway and he believed our Department should be able to provide advanced life support when they respond to a call. City Manager Saunders stated that there were discussions in process with the City of Minneola regarding providing joint service to Minneola. Mr. Saunders stated that at this time Lake County provides fire service to Minneola however, it could be mutually beneficial for the City of Clermont to work with Minneola. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 7 There was a discussion as to whether having joint service with the City of Minneola would effect our Department's efficiency and City Manager Saunders explained that we would have joint personnel and would assist them until they could have a full time Fire Department on their own and also we would renegotiate our agreement with them anytime they had an annexation. Crego Property Planning Director Brown stated that the applicants would like to take the right-hand portion of their property located west of Bloxam, south of Hunt Street and increase the density from 4 units per acre to 8 units per acre. A handout was provided to Council Members showing the location of the property. Wade Boyette stated that this area is less than 7 acres of property and would make the plan more harmonious to the property next to them and that the whole project could be handled under a PUD. Planning Director Brown stated that the western portion of the property is single-family and will remain 4 units to an acre Hobo's Property-Ken Norquist Mr. Norquist discussed future plans that he is considering for his property, including a possible joint storm water retention area, access from the boat ramp entrance road, offsite parking and landscaping issues. Mr. Norquist stated he plans to request a change of his Conditional Use Permit to allow a restaurant on his lakefront lot. Mr. Norquist stated his ideas are in the planning stage and he just wanted some input so he had an indication of what might be possible as far as adding additional parking spaces and the possibility of a flow-through drive connection between Hobo's and the lakefront building. Mr. Norquist also presented an idea regarding a joint water retention area that he would like with the City and stated that he would landscape and maintain the area. Council Member Biddle stated that when the City built the water retention area the City utilized the footprint and made it over-sized to begin with and if it was possible for Mr. Norquist to share the retention area with Mr. Norquist being responsible for landscaping and maintenance of the area it could be a "win-win" situation for everyone. City Manager Saunders stated the City has done joint water retention before and it can work. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 8 Planning Director Brown stated that the proposed new parking suggested by Mr. Norquist is within our Code however the space allotted does not leave room for a 5-foot buffer and the lakefront building that would be used as a restaurant has no service access. Council Member Lamb stated we needed to find some way for Mr. Norquist to have service access. City Manager Saunders stated that if the Council wants to give access it needs to be a separate driveway (curb-cut) and there was consensus that the Council try and work with Mr. Norquist on these plans, including service access for his lakefront building. Arthur Nix Mr. Nix stated he is the engineer for property north of Old Highway 50, northeast of Arrowhead Development and that his project is in the County. Mr. Nix requested that the City of Clermont provide water for the project, which includes 112 homes on 1/3-acre lots. City Engineer Richardson stated that this project is at the end of our water system and the system needs to be looped. If the City provides water to this project the developer should be required to extend the 16" main from Arrowhead along old Highway 50 to connect with Greater Hills. City Manager Saunders stated that if the Council agrees to serve these 112 homes, we will require them to provide all of the construction and materials that will connect them to the City system. There was consensus that the City would benefit from having the loop completed in our water system and would be a good idea to serve these 112 homes with water in order to get assistance in having that loop completed. Water Restrictions City Engineer Richardson proposed that the City of Clermont require mandatory water restrictions beginning immediately. Ms. Richardson stated that the drought is serious and we need to get our citizens in the habit of conserving water because it is the right thing to do. Ms. Richardson reviewed St. Johns Water Management's guidelines and said she would prefer the Council use a formula of even and odd house numbers and specific times and days to water. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 9 Council Member Lamb stated she felt if the City instituted additional restrictions than St. Johns Water Management uses, the citizens would get confused as to what was allowed. Ms. Lamb suggested that the City adopt only the restrictions that are in St. Johns Water Management Guidelines. Ms. Lamb stated that many citizens that have bought new plants will be furious if they are restricted from watering them. There was consensus that water restrictions are necessary and that the issue would be placed on the next City Council Agenda. Cellular Tower Ordinance City Manager Saunders reviewed a proposed ordinance that will provide siting requirement for wireless communication facilities. Mr. Saunders stated he had received several inquiries regarding a tower ordinance and had provided a copy of a proposed ordinance to those companies requesting their input regarding the proposed ordinance. Mr. Saunders stated that the ordinance would be introduced at the next City Council meeting. LDR Revisions Planning Director Brown reviewed proposed changes in setback regulations in all zoning districts stating that all districts now require a 50 foot setback from Highways 50 and 27 and Staff is proposing that we change the required setbacks in all zoning districts to include a 50 foot setback from Hartwood Marsh Road. Mr. Brown stated that Staff is also proposing, for clarification, that the 50 foot setback requirement from Hartwood Marsh Road and Highways 50 and 27 be included in both the required side yard setbacks and rear yard setbacks and gave an example of the proposed change. Other City Manager Saunders stated business owners and residents of the Central Business District have expressed a need for additional parking downtown and the CRA Board directed him to investigate the purchase of property for additional parking downtown. City Manager Saunders stated that in their application for the CDBG Block Grant, the City will get one point for every $5,000 spent on property in the Central Business District, if there is an Agreement to Purchase before the grant deadline. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 1, 2000 Page 10 There was consensus that City Manager Saunders continue negotiations for the property and if a Special Meeting of the CRA Board and City Council is required in order to meet the grant application deadline, he should call the meetings. There being no more business, the meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Har(n"d'~. Tur~ill-e, Jr., May~r Attest: E. Van Zile. Ci~Clerk '