10-2-2001 Regular Meeting• •
CITY OF CLERMONT
MINUTES
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
October 2, 2001
The meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission was called to order Tuesday,
October 2, 2001, at 7:00 P.M. by Chairman Frank Caputo. Members present were
Richard Tegen, Dave Lange, Gene Crossley, Joseph T. Bonjorn, John Carlson and
John Atwater. David Pape was absent. Also in attendance were Barry Brown, Director
of Planning, Robert Guthrie, City Attorney and Jane McAllister, Planning Technician II.
MINUTES of the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting held September 4, 2001
were approved as written.
Frank Caputo asked Planning Director Barry Brown if he had anything to report to the
Commission.
Barry Brown suggested the Commission choose an alternate date for the November
meeting since the regular meeting would fall on Election Day. The date of November 7,
2001 was selected.
Frank Caputo reported that he attended a meeting with the St. Johns Water
Management and the City Council. He passed out a packet of information and reported
that the City of Clermont was not going to receive a Consumptive Use Permit from
SJRWMD because of excessive use of water. Mr. Caputo went on to say there needs
to be a cooperative effort between all the entities within this water use district to solve
the problem. He said there was going to be another workshop in November with St.
Johns Water Management and asked if the Commission members would like to attend.
Frank Caputo then asked if the Commission could have updated copies of the Land
Development Regulations and zoning maps.
Barry Brown said that the Land Development Regulations are available at the Planning
and Zoning Office, and that the updated zoning maps would be available in the near
future.
1. REQUEST FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
APPLICANT: Don M. Casto Organization
OWNER: Lucas Clermont Limited Partnership
REQUEST: For a Conditional Use Permit to create a Planned Unit Development that
will consist of a 204 unit apartment complex.
GENERAL LOCATION: This property is located at the Southwest corner of Citrus
Tower Blvd. and Oakley Seaver Drive; directly across from Oakley Seaver Drive and
south of the existing Villages of East Lake apartment complex.
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October 2, 2001
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EXISTING LAND USE: Undeveloped
FUTURE LAND USE DISTRICT: The subject property is in the Established Business
District (EBD-1 ). Child care facilities are allowed in EBD-1.
FUTURE LAND USE CLASSIFICATION: The subject property is classified as
Residential/Professional. The requested use is allowed in the Residential/Professional
land use classification.
EXISTING ZONING: UE, Urban Estate District.
SIZE OF PARCEL: +/- 17 acres.
FUTURE LAND USE DISTRICT: The subject property is in the Undeveloped District -5
(UD-5) land use district and the requested use in an allowable use with the approval of
a Planned Unit Development (PUD).
Planning Director, Barry Brown, introduced this request by saying that the applicant is
proposing to develop a 204 unit apartment complex that will in essence be an
expansion of the existing Villages of East Lake apartment community. The existing
roadway network is adequate to meet the projected impacts of the proposed project.
The project is appropriately located and has the proper land use designation, therefore
staff recommends approval of this request.
Mark Sneed, 1064 Kerwood Circle, Oviedo, FL 32765, was sworn in. He is the
representative of the Don Casto Organization, and offered to answer any questions the
Commission might have.
John Atwater asked Mr. Sneed if the decision to construct apartments was based on
the fact that they have found there is a need for more apartments or was there less of a
need for more professional office.
Mr. Sneed replied there was a greater need for additional apartments than for more
professional office space.
Mr. Atwater stated that according to figures he received from the Planning and Zoning
Department the population of Clermont is 10,571, and the total apartments either
constructed, under construction, or approved for construction is 1,391. Mr. Atwater
pointed out that those figures indicate one apartment for every three families.
Mr. Sneed said that the tenants at Villages of East Lake are mostly new to the area and
stay in the apartments until their homes are built.
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Mr. Atwater asked Mr. Sneed what would happen to the apartments when everyone's
house is finished.
Mr. Sneed's reply was that Mr. Atwater is assuming that the growth in the area will stop.
It probably will not, and the apartments will remain in demand.
Richard Tegen pointed out that if the tenants in these apartments are from out of the
area, then there would be more school aged children as well.
Mr. Sneed agreed with that statement.
Gene Crossley asked about the traffic trip count where a comparison was made
between multifamily and professional office uses. He asked if the same comparison
had been made in relation to water consumption.
Mr. Sneed replied that he did not have that comparison but stated that he felt that a
professional medical office for example would use more water than apartments.
Gene Crossley stated that he did not agree and that he thinks apartments would use
more water than a professional office.
Dave Lange expressed his concerns about water consumption.
Frank Caputo asked Mr. Sneed to translate the ERU into gallons so the Commission
would be able to equate water usage to the apartment units.
Barry Brown was able to give him those figures for a one and a two bedroom unit.
There was discussion of how much water is used by a single family home opposed to
how much water is used in an apartment.
Joseph Bonjorn asked if the Commission would be able to get a comparison of the
water consumption between professional office and multifamily use.
Mr. Sneed pointed out that the country is going into an economic downturn and that the
developer and the lender involved in this project are the same as those who did Phase I
of the Villages at East Lake. He stated that the financing is there and that they are
ready to proceed with the project.
Mr. Caputo asked about the average household income for Villages at East Lake that
was supplied by Mr. Sneed stating that it is high.
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Mr. Sneed agreed that it was high.
Mr. Caputo then suggested that was because most of the people in the apartments
were home buyers waiting for their homes to be constructed. He then asked what was
going to happen when these people move out and the apartments are left empty. He
expressed concern that they will be rented to people with lower incomes and more
children.
Mr. Sneed disagreed that the demographics would change in that manner. He expects
the apartments will retain the higher rents and will continue to be well maintained.
Mr. Caputo opened the discussion to the public. No one wanted to speak regarding this
issue.
John Carlson stated that this is a good plan. It is better that many that have come
before the Commission, and it is not too crowded.
Mr. Sneed pointed out that there is no single family residential around the apartment
complex and that this site is well suited to apartments.
Dave Lange agreed with that analogy.
John Carlson made a motion to approve the request. Dave Lange seconded the
motion.
Frank Caputo asked for discussion on the motion.
Mr. Caputo said in his opinion this site was a good site for multifamily, however, due to
the water situation he could not approve additional units.
Gene Crossley said he would like to see the difference in water usage between
multifamily and professional office, but that he could not support additional multifamily
with the figures that were presented.
Frank Caputo asked City Attorney Robert Guthrie if the Commission could deny the
request based on the fact that the City does not have a permit for water.
Mr. Guthrie replied that if the Commission determines that there is not sufficient water
to serve the project then that can be a basis for denying approval.
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PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
October 2, 2001
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Dave Lange asked that since the financing was already in place for this project, if it
went ahead and started construction wouldn't it possibly halt other projects that have
already been approved but who do not have financing in place?
Mark Sneed replied that it is a possibility because of supply and demand. If his project
is the first to built it may keep others from building, at least in the near future.
Frank Caputo asked where Lost Lake Reserve was with the 300 apartments planned
for that project.
Barry Brown answered that Lost Lake Reserve has approved plans and they are ready
to move forward.
John Atwater asked if there were any guidelines in the City of Clermont to prevent
owners abandoning apartment projects.
Mark Sneed pointed out that it is easier to change the use of an apartment project (i.e.
into professional offices) than it is to change commercial use.
Richard Tegen pointed out that there is still a 15% vacancy in Phase I of the Villages at
East Lake.
Mark Sneed pointed out that the rents at Villages at East Lake are on the high side and
therefore they can have a lower occupancy and the owners can still make money.
The vote was 5-2 against approval of the project with Richard Tegen John Atwater
Gene Crossley. Joseph Bonjorn, and Frank Caputo voting naY
2. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT
Barbara Hollerand introduced the changes for the proposed Comprehensive Plan
Amendment Transmittal. Mrs. Hollerand explained the changes and offered to take
questions.
Frank Caputo cited Section 2, Page 2, Policy 1-3 which states "The City shall, in
conjunction with the Florida Department of Transportation and Lake County, examine
design features of new or improvement roadways to facilitate opportunities of
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incorporating bicycle lanes or paths in such roadway improvements, which will provide
citizens access to shopping, employment and recreational centers." Mr. Caputo
expressed the opinion that there needs to be more bicycle lanes. He pointed out
that we now host the Olympic Training Center and that we need more places for these
people to ride bikes.
Barry Brown replied that the City is working with the County on that issue.
Frank Caputo then pointed out that new developments along roadways should be
required to include a bicycle lane.
Robert Guthrie said that if we want to require that in our Comp Plan we should specify
that the lanes be on City streets and roads we can control. The County may not build to
our standards and if we require it the obligation to build that may shift to the City.
Frank Caputo asked about Section 2, Page 3, Policy 2-2, which states "The City shall
institute a traffic count program to measure the average daily and peak hour traffic of
local streets utilized as collector roadways on an annual basis." He said he has spoken
to the Chief of Police about having some of the City's police officers trained to do traffic
studies so we won't have to depend on developers to do them.
Frank Caputo cited Section 3, Page 2, item 2-1 which say that Code Enforcement
activities will be increased. He asked if there was going to be additional personnel
allocated to that end.
Barry Brown replied that there was nothing in the present budget to allow for additional
Code Enforcement personnel.
Gene Crossley asked if under the Water Conservation Objectives and Policies there
could be included a requirement for developers to supply comparisons of water
consumption between residential, multifamily and commercial.
Barry Brown said that requirement might be more appropriately addressed in the Land
Development Regulations than the Comp Plan and that Staff has the discretion to
require the water consumption comparison and would do so in the future.
Barbara Hollerand proceeded to explain the changes that need to be voted upon.
The first is the Longenbach Annexation, which is located south of Hartwood Marsh
Road, west of U.S. 27. It is approximately 4'h acres and requires a map change from
Urban Expansion to UD-7 Commercial.
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The next is the Halvorsen Annexation, which is located south of Hartwood Marsh Road,
east of U.S. 27. It is approximately 10 acres and requires a map change from Urban
Expansion to UD-7 Commercial.
Next is the Jordan Annexation, which is located north of State Road 50, west of Oakley
Seaver Dr. It is approximately 1 ~/2 acres and requires a map change from Urban to UD-
2 ResidentiaVProfessional.
The final one is the Hessberg Annexation, which is located south of State Road 50,
west of Citrus Tower Blvd. It is approximately 2 ~h acres and requires a map change
from Urban to UD-2 Commercial.
Richard Tepen made a motion to approve all the changes to the Comprehensive Plan
Amendment. John Atwater seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in favor of
~proval.
3. DISCUSSION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STANDARDS
Barry Brown stated that it was Staff's intent to use Orange City's "Appearance
Standards" as the basis for creating Architectural Design Standards for Clermont. He
asked if the Commission has any questions or comments regarding Orange City's
"Appearance Standards" ordinance.
Frank Caputo said there was nothing in the ordinance the he didn't like. He asked if we
could use the same ordinance.
City Attorney, Robert Guthrie said that it was public domain and that we can take
whatever we like from the Orange City, FL. ordinance.
Gene Crossley asked Barry Brown if there was anything in particular that he wanted to
bring to the attention of the Commission.
Barry Brown then read from the document a paragraph entitled "Purpose and Intent"
which is as follows: "The purpose of these standards and guidelines is to contribute to
the development of awell-planned urban environment by fostering the creation of
visually compatible and harmonious streetscapes. Their intent is to (a) create and
maintain a strong community image, identity and sense of place; (b) create and
maintain a positive visual ambiance for the community; (c) enhance and sustain
property values; (d) promote a high degree of compatibility between surrounding
structures and land uses; (e) establish and promote a standard for quality design and
enduring quality development; and (f) foster civic pride and community spirit by
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maximizing the positive impact of quality development."
He then called attention to several sections of the ordinance and discussion followed.
Dave Lange mentioned that one of the things that need to be done is to limit gaudy
signs on buildings and to keep the rear of buildings presentable.
There was discussion about whether metal buildings should be allowed in zoning
districts other than industrial.
It was suggested that metal buildings be allowed in areas other than industrial zoning
districts as long as they have a facade of an acceptable material.
There was further discussion of various components of the ordinance.
Barry Brown suggested that the Site Review Committee act as the Appearance Review
Committee as well. If the applicant disagrees with the findings of that committee, the
applicant would then have the option of having the City Council rule on the appearance
of the project.
Gene Crossley made a motion to approve the use of the Orange City FL Appearance
Standards Ordinance as our own. Dave Lange seconded the motion The vote was
unanimous in favor of approval.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.
Fr nk Caputo, Ch man
ATTEST:
Jane C. McAllister -Planning Technician II