MINUTES OF A BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING HELD IN THE INDIALANTIC TOWN HALL ON April 28, 1998.

Present:

William Harris, Chairman
Robin Petersen, Vice Chairman
Brian Dullaghan, Member
William Schetrom, Member
Rick Stow, Member
Ray Disher, Alternate
Joel Rosenblatt, AlternateJoe Columbo, Acting Town Attorney
Brian Barber, Building Official
Barbara Brownlie, Secretary

1. CALL TO ORDER AT 7:00 PM

Chairman Harris called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

2. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES

A. Minutes No. 98-3 - March 19, 1998

Mr. Petersen moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Disher seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

3. VARIANCE REQUEST

A variance request filed by the Town of Indialantic regarding Lots 1,2,27 and 28, Block 3, 503 Fifth Avenue, Indialantic. A variance is being requested to Code Section 17-126 (8) - Setbacks and (11) - Offstreet Parking. The code requires that all commercial buildings on Fifth Avenue be set back 15 feet from the street right-of-way lines and that a minimum of 2 offstreet parking places be provided for the first 400 square feet per each commercial building plus one parking space for each additional 400 square feet of floor space. The requested variance is to seek relief from the specified building setbacks from the right-of-way and the parking ratio in the C-1 zoning district.

Town Manager John Lynch presented background on the variance request. He explained that the Town has been working with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to restore the right turn lane from US 192 to South Riverside Drive. To accommodate the additional lane, Suntree Properties, owner of the property at that corner, has agreed to sell 10 feet of their property to the Town at a reasonable cost. However, Mr. Lynch reported, Suntree Properties' plans to extend their building would be adversely affected by the existing setback requirements putting them in non-compliance if the variance is not approved.

Mr. Lynch explained that the parking situation would be resolved with a joint parking agreement for spaces to be installed at Douglas Park. He added that Suntree Properties has also agreed to re-route the bike path behind his building.

Mr. Lynch further explained that the Town Council is aware of the situation and that he came before the Board of Adjustment to work within the system.

Attorney Joe Columbo advised that Suntree Properties could face a "practical difficulty" if the land is "taken" by DOT and suggested that the variance be conditioned on the land being conveyed to the Town.

Mr. Rosenblatt moved to grant the variance request effective at such time as the property south of Fifth Ave. and west of Riverside Dr. is conveyed to and accepted by the Town or DOT, said property being substantially in conformity with the plans proposed by B.S.E. Consultants, Inc. Project No. 89804452 revised October 23, 1997. Mr. Petersen seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

4. REQUEST FOR CODE INTERPRETATION

Clarification of Code Sec. 17-4 (24) Dwelling, multifamily. A dwelling or group of dwellings on one plot containing separate living units for three (3) or more families, but which may have joint services or facilities.

Mr. Lynch stated that he had requested this item come before the Board because his two principle advisors had disagreed on a proposed building project. Town Planner Ed Washburn interpreted the code to mean that a multi-family dwelling must have at least three units in one building. Building Official Brian Barber maintains that a group of separate single unit dwellings can fit the definition of multi-family.

Dan Winkler, owner of Certified Building Corp., presented plans for Coral Cove - a detached multi-family complex located at Miami Ave. and A1A. He explained that the plans call for seven separate buildings with one dwelling unit per building and sharing common facilities.

The Board agreed that the code section is ambiguous and ascertained that zoning restrictions cannot be lowered from a particular classification on a property.

The Town Manager explained that this is a high density zoning area according to the Comprehensive Plan and this project would be more desirable than the usual condominium and a valuable asset to the community.

Lee Stewart, engineer for the developers, stated that she had reviewed the code and determined that the project would work according to her interpretation.

Chairman Harris moved to accept as an interpretation of Code Sec. 17-4(24) that the dwelling or group of dwellings can contain one or more families. Mr. Petersen seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

5. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

 

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William Harris, Chairman

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Barbara Brownlie, Secretary