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11-09-1999 Regular Meeting CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Tuesday, November 9, 1999 at Jenkins Auditorium. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Turville with the following Council Members present: Council Member Biddle, Council Member Brown, Council Member Lamb and Council Member Wolfe. Other City officials present were City Manager Saunders, City Attorney Guthrie, Finance Director Van Zile, Planning Director Brown and Deputy City Clerk Maddox. INVOCATION The Invocation was offered by Council Member Brown followed by the repeating of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by all present. Mayor Turville recognized County Commissioner Bob Pool and welcomed him to the City Council Meeting. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle and seconded by Council Member Lamb, and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the reffular Council Meeting held October 26, 1999. the Council Workshop held August 12: 1999, the Council Workshop heM August 17. 1999, and the Council Workshop held October 15: 1999.. CITY MANAGER SAUNDERS' REPORT Mr. Saunders stated that the City Council had previously approved negotiations for the purchase of a used fire track. Mr. Saunders stated that this year's budget included $400,000 for the purchase of an aerial platform track. Mr. Saunders stated that Fire Chief Bishop has found a mack that was less than the ones he was originally negotiating for and made an offer of $256,000 on a mack located in Augusta, Georgia, subject to the Council's approval. Mr. Saunders stated this mack is one year newer than the other mack that was being considered and it has less miles on it and meets all of the City's needs. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 2 A motion was made by Council Member Wolfe and seconded by Council Member Biddle, and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of an aerial pla(ormfire truck for the amount of $256, 000. City Manager Saunders stated that Bob Smythe, who was the Public Works Director for the City from the late 1960's until about 1990 and who was also the City's Fire Chief, lost his long battle with leukemia over the weekend. Mr. Saunders stated that he and many City employees attended the funeral and it was a very nice service for Bob and asked that everyone keep the family members in their prayers. City Manager Saunders stated that Mr. Smythe did a lot of things for our City over the years and there was a lot to thank him for. CITY ATTORNEY GUTHRIE City Attorney stated that he was not ready with a final opinion regarding the David Falzon property. Mr. Guthrie stated that he had received additional information from Mr. Fahon's attorney and had talked with the former City Attorney, Leonard Baird regarding the matter. City Attorney Guthrie stated that he had informed Mr. Falzon of this and would get the opinion to the City as soon as possible. FINANCE DIRECTOR VAN ZILE No Report COUNCIL MEMBER BIDDLE Council Member Biddle stated he wanted to thank City Manager Saunders for getting the trees trimmed and lights put up in the trees downtown in time for the Triathlon weekend with only three days notice. Mr. Biddle stated that he knew the City was without a bucket truck at the time and even so, with only three days notice, Mr. Saunders made sure the job got done. Mr. Biddle stated the the downtown merchants asked him to relay their appreciation to City Manager Saunders, Public Services Director Davis and all the City's employees that helped accomplish the job with such short notice. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 3 COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN No report. COUNCIL MEMBER LAMB No report. COUNCIL MEMBER WOLFE No report. MAYOR TURVILLE Mayor Turville stated that as representatives of the Joint West Orange-South Lake Task Force, he and Commissioner Pool met with Wayne Rich of the Expressway Authority on November 1, 1999. Mayor Turville stated that priorities are being set and the representatives involved in this were the people who had the authority to make decisions and help resolve some of the traffic issues. Mayor Turville stated the he attended the grand opening of Windy Hill Middle School and the opening was well attended and very nice. Mayor Turville then reported that he had attended the meeting of the League of Cities and they are attempting to put together a League sponsored Joint Planning Area Agreement with the County that will deal specifically with land associated with and surrounding municipalities. Mayor Turville stated that the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council has requested that the City of Clermont provide a representative to serve on the Lake Apopka Planning Initiative Committee. Council Member Wolfe stated that he felt that Mayor Turville should serve on that committee since he is now out representative on the Council. Consensus was to wait and make this decision after the new Council Members are seated. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 4 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Mark Chodos Mayor Turville stated that this is a variance request and this issue requires a Quasi- Judicial Hearing be held and that anyone wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the request should be sworn in. Planning Director Barry Brown stated that the applicant is requesting a variance from the City requirement for a 5 foot landscape buffer between commercial and residential uses. Mr. Brown stated that the applicant is proposing to construct a privacy fence in lieu of the required landscape buffer and the reason for the request is to enable the applicant to construct a driveway around the West side of his building and provide the required parking on the South side of the building. Mr. Brown stated that the driveway would be a one-way driveway entering from West Avenue to the East and exiting onto Minneola Avenue to the South. Mr. Brown stated that other options for providing access and parking to the site are available and access from West Avenue and parking to the North of the building is one option that was approved in August of 1998. City Clerk Van Zile swore in the following citizens: Mark Chodos, 10411 County Road 474, Clermont, Florida Linda Shillibeer, 924 West Minneola Avenue, Clermont, Florida Ken Norquist 1645 4th Street, Clermont, Florida 34711 Mark Chodos stated that his specific hardship was unique in that if he could not get the one way drive around his building, it would not allow him to use the other part of his property the way he wanted to. Mr. Chodos stated that in order to put a one way drive in around his building, he need to eliminate the 5 foot buffer required and instead be able to put up a privacy fence. Mr. Chodos stated originally he and Mr. Norquist had agreed that they would share a joint driveway between their properties however, they discovered that Mr. Norquist would lose four parking spaces if that was done. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 5 Attorney Jimmy Crawford, representing property owners Ken Norquist, Ramona Phipps and Linda Shillibeer, stated they they opposed the variance because of the impact they feel it will have on their property. Mr. Crawford stated that the request did not come close to meeting the City's LDR variance standards. Mr. Crawford read each of the requirements and stated that Mr. Chodos had not met the criteria and there were no special conditions regarding the piece of property. Mr. Crawford presented Mr. Chodos' 1998 site plan which was approved by the City and stated that Mr. Chodos should develop his property in accordance with that approved site plan. Mr. Crawford stated that the Land Development Use standards state that a hardship cannot be economically founded and Mr. Chodos' request is based on financial reasons. Mr. Crawford stated that on the first page of the Petition for Variance, Mr. Chodos did not list a hardship. Mr. Crawford handed out photographs taken from the homes that abut the property to the West and pointed out where the proposed driveway would be and stated the residential property owners adjacent to Mr. Chodos felt that the driveway for a restaurant and bar that close to residential property will change the neighborhood's character and diminish the property values. Mr. Crawford stated that the City's Code also requires that all vehicular access points have a minimum width of at least 12 feet per lane of traffic and the drawing presented does not have 12 feet and therefore Mr. Chodos would have to come back before the Council for another variance for his driveway width. Mrs. Shillibeer stated that they had three children and she was concerned about traffic being that close to where her children play in her driveway and she felt the drive should be on the West Avenue side of the building and not a narrow one way drive going right past her driveway that tracks will be using and will be noisy as well as unsafe. Ken Norquist stated that he wanted to clarify that Mr. Chodos originally came to him with a proposed joint driveway and it seemed like a good idea and could be a "win-win" situation until a review of the proposal with the City Staff revealed to them that he would lose four parking spaces required for his two rental properties. Mr. Norquist stated that he and Mr. Chodos walked the property with the City Manager, City Planning Director and City Engineer, who measured the property and said the joint driveway would not work without Mr. Norquist losing the four parking spaces. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 6 Mr. Chodos stated that there would be a fence between his proposed driveway and any children playing on adjacent residential property and he felt that would be safe. Mr. Chodos stated he felt if the variance was not granted it would render his property unusable because he would not have the recreation area that he wanted. Mayor Turville closed the public hearing. Council Member Wolfe asked why Mr. Chodos needed access on the West side of the building and Mr. Chodos stated he needed it because he wanted the one-way, one-lane driveway and it would allow him to service his grease trap and dumpsters and allow him other uses for the rest of the space. Council Member Wolfe stated that the site plan that was approved in 1998 had a drive with cars going in and out of the parking lot, and not all the way around the building. Council Member Wolfe stated he felt Mr. Chodos could make his driveway on Minneola Avenue, that has traffic going both ways into it, and have a similar parking lot to what was agreed to on August 7, 1998. Council Member Lamb asked Mr. Chodos what caused him to change his original plans from August 7, 1998 to the present drawings and Mr. Chodos stated that the August 7, 1998 drawings were done as a temporary measure in order to clear zoning and get a building permit. Mr. Chodos stated that former Planning Director Lanny Harker suggested that since he was only going to have a mulched parking area he should put the driveway on Minneola. Mr. Chodos stated that after that time Mr. Norquist and Ramona Phipps purchased the adjoining property and they agreed to share a joint driveway. Council Member Lamb stated she would like Attorney Jim Crawford to clarify for the record that Mr. Norquist had agreed to look at a double driveway and stated that it was her understanding that after talking with the City Staff that it was a consensus by all involved that a double driveway could be a good thing for both parties. Attorney Crawford stated that it was correct that everyone agreed to look into a double driveway and if there had not been a parking space problem, Mr. Norquist would have CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 7 been amenable to that. Mr. Crawford stated that Mr. Norquist found out that he would be in violation of the City's Code if he shared a joint driveway, because he is required to have two parking spaces for each of his rental properties. Council Member Lamb asked who was responsible for any information that may have led Mr. Chodos to believe he could get this variance. Ms. Lamb stated she wanted to know what, if any, financial loss Mr. Chodos felt he had by his depending on having a joint driveway and now finding it can't be done. Council Member Lamb stated that the only issue was landscape buffer vs. fence and she felt a fence was a better thing. Attorney Crawford stated that while the variance request is to eliminate the 5 foot landscape buffer, without that variance Mr. Chodos cannot put in a one way drive and the question is will there be a one way driveway going around the building or not. Attorney Crawford stated that the driveway would be injurious lo the surrounding property and in fact Mr. Chodos could not put in a 12 foot wide driveway in that space and would have to come before the Council again for another variance. Attorney Crawford stated that if Mr. Chodos could put the driveway in and meet all the LDR requirements, that would be fine, but Mr. Chodos cannot do that and is asking for a variance and the intent of the LDR would not be upheld. Council Member Lamb requested that City Attorney Guthrie advise whether the Council should deal tonight with the issue of a landscape buffer vs. 5 foot fence, or whether they should deal with whether a driveway should be put in. City Attorney Guthrie stated that the issue is the buffer, and that is what the Code requires, so if the Council varies the provisions of the Code, then the buffer will go away. Mr. Guthrie stated that Mr. Chodos is also asking for the driveway in addition. Ms. Lamb asked Planning Director Brown if the driveway was in accordance to our Code and Mr. Brown stated the driveway, if it extended around the side of the building would have to be 12 feet wide and in order to do that Mr. Chodos would have to have a variance from the landscape buffer requirement. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 8 Council Member Wolfe stated that plans show 13.77 feet between the property line and the edge of the building, and if Mr. Chodos had a privacy fence there would be room for a 12 foot driveway, however, if the landscape buffer was in place, Mr. Chodos would not have enough room to meet the 12 foot driveway requirement. Planning Director Brown stated that two or three months ago Mr. Chodos had approached him and stated he was ready to get his cafe opened and further told him he wanted to amend the plans that had been approved in in 1998 in order to put his parking on the south side of the building. Planning Director Brown stated he went to the site and reviewed the property and noticed that prior to having site plan approval, Mr. Chodos had already removed curbs, damaged City sidewalks, had placed a dumpsters in a location not approved on the plans of August 7, 1998 and had started grading the parking area. Mr. Brown stated they talked about what Mr. Chodos could do in order to have parking on the south side of his building and Mr. Brown stated they discussed a single driveway and felt that was a safe resolution and asked the two property owners to work together to see if they could come up with an agreement for a joint driveway. City Manager Saunders stated there was one meeting on the site that he attended with Mr. Chodos and Mr. Norquist, along with City Engineer Richardson and Planning Director Brown. Mr. Saunders stated that at that meeting they physically measured the property and realized that if the parties put in a double driveway, Mr. Norquist would not have the required parking he needed for his residential property. Attorney Crawford asked Planning Director Brown if he ever told Mr. Chodos to go ahead and begin making improvements on the south side of his property and Mr. Brown stated he did not. Council Member Brown stated at Mr. Chodos' and Mr. Norquist's request he reviewed the property and he did not feel Mr. Chodos had a hardship. Mr. Brown stated that he believes once Mr. Norquist realized he would lose four parking spaces if he agreed to a joint driveway, the hardship would be on Mr. Norquist not Mr. Chodos. Council Member Brown asked Mr. Chodos what he felt his loss would be if the variance was not granted and Mr. Chodos stated he felt the whole piece of land would not be usable the way he wants to use it. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 9 Mayor Turville stated that on the original site plan the approval of parking on the north side of the property accessed off West Avenue and stated that the site plan that has the variance request on it shifts the parking to the south side of the building. Mr. Turville stated that if the parking is put on the south side and is accessed from Milmeola Avenue, then there is no problem and no variance is required at all. Council Member Lamb stated she felt Mayor Turville's suggestion was a good one and that Mr. Chodos' rights had not been taken away and stated that with Mr. Turville's suggestions, Mr. Chodos could have a double driveway on Minneola Avenue and no variance would be required. A motion was made by Council Member Wolfe, seconded by Lamb and carried unanimously to deny the variance request. Resolution No. 1100 Mayor Turville read Resolution No. 1100 by title only. City Manager Saunders stated that this resolution amends and establishes recreational facility usage fees, program and other fees. Mr. Saunders stated that the City Council reviewed the proposed fee changes for various recreational activities and usage ofsome of the City's facilities at a recent workshop. Mr. Saunders stated that Parks and Recreation Coordinator Amy Lesner would answer any questions regarding the fees. Amy Lesner read the changes in the fees for the use of the City's recreation facilities and stated the programs would be advertised as they came along. Mr. Biddle stated that these fees were a result of the Parks and Recreation Committee's recommendation who feel the fees charged now are outdated. A citizens asked why the increase was necessary and whether the Y.M.C.A. was contributing for the costs as all of the leagues would have to pass the cost increase along to the parents. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 10 Mayor Turville stated that the old fees had been in place for years and did not reflect real costs to the City. City Manager Saunders stated that the Y.M.C.A. is using the old tennis courts on East Avenue and those are owned by the School Board and the City pays the light bill. Mr. Saunders stated that the for many years the City has been very appreciative of the Y.M.C.A. for offering programs for our community and they do a g~eat service to our City and if they have a team in one of the leagues that the City does charge fees, the Y.M.C.A. does pay the same fee as anyone else, however they do use that one facility without any fees. Mr. Saunders stated that the City does not charge a fee for any of its tennis courts or volley ball courts. Dan Simmons, president of Clermont Gifts Softball stated that Ms. Lesner had worked hard with them and the league has known these fees were going to be increased for some time now. Mr. Simmons stated he felt that if an outside organization wants to use the City's fields, they should pay more. City Manager Saunders stated he agreed with Mr. Simmons and we do get a lot of interest in our fields from outside areas and even at $25.00 per hour, the City does not begin to cover all of the costs for the facilities. Mr. Saunders stated it is justified for our local leagues because we have parents that are paying taxes and live here, but it's a good point to raise the fee for those using our facilities who live outside Clermont and this had been discussed by Council at a previous workshop. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Lamb: and carried unanimously to a.~t~rove Resolution No. 1100 with the fieM use for tournaments: per hour for non-ciw, lea~oues increased to $35.00 per hour rather than $25.00. City Manager Saunders stated he wanted to recognized Dan Simmons who has worked with the Clermont Gifts Softball for several years. Mr. Saunders stated that the City received grant money for the Hancock Road Recreation area and Dan Simmons and some other volunteers on his Board have taken it upon themselves to get the clearing and CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 11 grubbing done on four fields and are planning on doing the fine grading next. Mr. Saunders stated this was a huge help and moved the process along about 2 months as well as saving the City a lot of money and he wanted to thank Dan and the other volunteers for taking that on. Basha Schlazer stated that on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Committee they would like to thank the City Council for passing this Resolution. Minnehaha Avenue and 4th Street Stop Sign City Manager Saunders stated that approximately six months ago the City Council directed the Staff to place a stop sign on Minnehaha Avenue at its intersection at 4"' Street after several residents in the area complained about the traffic in the area. Mr. Saunders stated the City Council agreed to review the stop sign placement after six months. Mayor Turville stated the Council received a letter from Sterling Frey, along with an attached Petition to remove the stop sign at that location. After discussion there was a suggestion made to table further discussion of the stop sign at Minnehaha and 4th Street until the immediate neighbors in the 300 and 400 block around the area could have an opportunity to give their input. A motion was made by Council Member Lamb, seconded by Council Member Wolfe and carried unanimously to table the discussion of the stop si~n at Minnehaha Avenue and 4tk Street in order to aive the immediate neighbors time to give their input. City Manager Saunders stated that Council Member Brown and Council Member Wolfe were very instrumental in moving McKinney Park ahead. Mr. Saunders stated he was very happy to announce that the City has received the plans and specifications for the pavilion and the City is ready to place it out to bid for construction. Mr. Saunders stated that he felt it would be appropriate for Mr. Brown and Mr. Wolfe to be a part of this. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 12 ,d motion was made by Council Member Brown_. seconded by Council Member Wolfe, and carried unanimously to place the pavilion at McKinney Park out' to bid for construction. Mayor Turville adjourned the meeting for a 10 minute recess and called the meeting back to order at 9:45 p.m. ACCEPTANCE OF ELECTION RETURNS AND DECLARATION OF RESULTS FOR COUNCIL MEMBER GROUP II AND COUNCIL MEMBER GROUP IV. City Manager Saunders reported the results of the Group II and Group IV election as received from the Lake County Supervisor of Elections, as follows: Clermont City Council Group II Marilyn George MacLauchlin Matthew Modica 699 640 Clermont City Council Group IV James Brown Keith Mullins 568 774 A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Lamb and carried unanimously to accent the above results. affirming Marilyn GeorEe MacLauchlin as the winner o~f Council Member. Group I[ and affirming Keith Mullins as the winner o~f Council Member. Group IV. RECOGNITION OF OUTGOING COUNCIL MEMBERS BROWN AND WOLFE. Mayor Turville congratulated and thanked Council Member Brown (2 years as Council Member) and Council Member Wolfe (2 years as Council Member) for their dedication CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 13 and service and presented each with a commemorative plaque. Both Council Member Brown and Council Member Wolfe spoke to the citizens and offered their congratulations and best wishes to the new Council Members. ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF OFFICE Newly elected Council Members Marilyn George MacLauchlin and Keith Mullins were invited to come forward. City Clerk Van Zile administered the Oath of Office to Marilyn George MacLauchlin, Group II and Keith Mullins, Group IV, who then assumed their seats. CONSENT AGENDA Item No. 1 Health Services of Central Florida Item No. 2 Superior Services Item No. 3 Rufuse Cart Purchase Authorization to provide flu shots to City employees Garbage Service Agreement Approval for purchase of wheeled refuse carts from Transtat Equipment, Inc. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Lamb and carried unanimously to approve those items listed on the Consent Agenda. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 14 VISITORS WITH BUSINESS Philip Edgington Mayor Turville stated that this is a variance request and this issue requires a Quasi- Judicial Hearing be held and that anyone wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the request should be sworn in. Planning Director Brown stated that the property the applicant is requesting a front yard setback of 15 feet from the internal roadways as opposed to the required 25 feet per code. Mr. Brown stated the applicant is planning to develop a townhome and condominium community located at the NE comer of East Avenue and Grand Highway, in which units are accessed from the rear via alleyways and the requested setback will provide more room to the rear of the units to accommodate garages, driveways, and alleyways. Mr. Brown stated that the resulting project will have a more attractive look from the street and provide a pedestrian scale environment to the gated community with private streets. City Clerk Van Zile swore in the following: Philip Edgington, 11038 Crescent Bay, Clermont, Florida Rick McCoy, 713 Montrose Street, Clermont, Florida Bob Miller, 600 S. Orlando Avenue, Maitland, Florida Steve Test, 268 East Avenue, Clermont, Florida Mr. Miller, the project architect presented the conceptual plans for the property. Mr. Miller stated the streets will be tree-lined with broad sidewalks and no garage doors facing the street. Mr. Miller stated they would like traditional back yards and were requesting the front yard setback to allow greater room in the rear yards to accommodate the garages and driveway grade transitions. Mr. Miller stated that architecturally they planned to keep the same character as the homes around the area, with different styles, rooflines, and floor plans ranging from 1,300 square feet to 2,200 square feet. Mr. Miller stated the lot sizes would not change at all however they would like to reduce the front yards in order to allow the rear entrance garages and large back yards. Mr. Miller sta~ed CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 15 that the plan conforms with every aspect of the original PUD and could work without a variance with the exception of a few units, however, the rear garage door entrances and large back yards will be much more attractive. Mr. Miller stated that the plan also provides 10 feet more green space and landscaped area between surrounding neighbors, as well as along Lakeshore Drive and jogging trails. Mayor Turville stated it was his understanding that the lots themselves are all full sized and the variance will cut down on the front yard so that the rear yard will accommodate the service alley for the driveways and garages in the back of the units. Mr. Turville stated it was his understanding that we would not be creating a variance that will add units or change the size of the lots. Council Member Lamb asked what the hardship criteria was and Planning Director Brown stated that this variance would allow the opportunity to do something innovative and in answer to the communities desire to work with the hills and create a unique development. Mr. Brown stated that the project could not be constructed with the rear view garages and streets that work with the hills unless they had this relief to work with the topography of the land. Council Member Biddle stated that variances should be based on a hardship, however there have been exceptions before because it makes sense to do it and an example of an exception is the variance given the new hospital for the size of their directional signs. Mr. Biddle stated that the hardship could be how denying the variance would effect the community. Mr. Miller stated that one hardship is the fact that the City's zoning code is written expecting public streets that are going to possibly be widened so you want to keep homes back away from the drive, but these are private streets and are not going to be widened so that rule puts a hardship on the project forcing the homes back which will not allow rear entry garages. Mr. Miller also stated that they are trying to be innovative and work with the topography of the land and if they are allowed to pull in the 10 feet on each side, they will not have to flatten the hillside as much. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 16 Mayor Turville stated we were looking at a different type of project and if they comply to Code they cannot build this project on that site which means they will not be able to work with the topography and not be able to use back alley ways. Council Member Lamb stated that a year ago she looked at a project on this same site and now someone else has bought the property and we are looking at another picture of another project. Ms. Lamb stated she would not support this project to give one more variance to people who were sold a bill of goods that never happened. Steve Test stated that he was going to be neighbors with this project and he has reviewed this development and has no problem with it and thinks it will be good for the area. Keith Mullins asked if there was going to be green space and Mr. Miller stated that the green space and yards were colored in on the plans and there was a club house and all the areas around the water retention areas as well. Mr. Miller stated that he was not involved in the original plans but understands they had apartments planned and the council gave them clear directions that they did not want apartments but wanted townhomes and condominiums. Council Members Biddle and Turville stated that this project was an improvement over having apartments which would have a negative impact on adjoining property owners. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle. seconded by Council Member Mullins and carried by roll call vote four to one, to approve the variance. Council Member Lamb opposed. NEW BUSINESS Police and Fire Pension Boards City Manager Saunders stated that both of these Pension Boards are to be five member boards with two members elected from the Police Department and Fire Department respectively, two additional members to each board are to be appointed l~y the City CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 17 council and the fifth member of each board will be recommended to the council from the four appointed members. City Manager Saunders stated both Departments have chosen their two representatives on each board and now the City Council needs to appoint two representatives to each board. City Manager Saunders recommended that a Council Member be one of the members serving on both boards and a citizen be selected to serve also. Mr. Saunders stated that two citizens have notified him that they would like to serve. Mr. Oakley Seaver stated he would like to serve on the Police Pension Board and Mr. Harold Cummings would like to serve on the Fire Pension Board. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Lamb and carried unanimously to appoint Mr. Oakley Seaver to serve on the Police Pension Board, Mr. Harold Cummings to serve on the Fire Pension Board and Council Member Keith Mullins to serve on both of Mayor Turville stated there needed to be an appointment made to the Lake Apopka Planning Board. /l motion was made by Council Member Lamb, seconded by Council Member Biddle and carried unanimously to appoint Mayor Turville to represent the Ci~ and serve on the Lake dpopka Planning Initiative Board. Mayor Turville introduced Ordinance No. 386-M and read it by title only. City Manager Saunders stated this is approximately 6 acres that is located on the south side of Highway 50 directly adjacent to the Eye Clinic. /I motion was made by Council Member Biddle. seconded by Council Member Mullins and carried unanimously to approve the introduction of Ordinance No. 386-M and move for final hearing at the next Council Mayor Turville introduced Ordinance No. 387-M and read it by title only. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 18 A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Mullins and carried unanimously to approve the introduction of Ordinance No. 387-M and move for final hearing at the next Council Mayor Turville introduced Ordinance No. 388-M and read it by title only. City Manager Saunders stated that this ordinance is a request for a small scale amendment to our comprehensive plan and future land use map. Mr. Saunders stated that this would allow for professional office development on approximately 5 acres located east of Bloxam Avenue north of the multifamily development on the north side of Pitt Street. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Mullins and carried unanimously to approve the introduction o~f Ordinance No. 388-M and move for final hearing at the next Council Mayor Turville introduced Ordinance No. 389-M and read it by title only. City Manager Saunders stated that this ordinance will close and permanently abandon an existing easement. Mr. Saunders stated the easement is located on the site that has been approved for multifamily development east of Citrus Tower Boulevard. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Mullins and carried unanimously to approve the introduction of Ordinance'No. 389-M and move for final hearing at the next Council CITIZENS' COMMENTS A member of the audience stated that the City has regulations and rules and he feel's that private citizens cannot get a variance as easily as the big contractors. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1999 Page 19 David Falzon stated he was still waiting to get an opinion regarding the ownership of lakefront property near his home from City Attorney Guthrie and City Attorney Guthrie explained his progress in researching the property in order to give the Council his opinion as to whether Mr. Falzon or the City owns the lakefront property. City Manager Saunders coordinated a Workshop with the Council Members which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on November 30, 1999, at the Police Department. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m. Harold S. Turville, Jr. Mayor Attest: