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Minutes for Planning Board

Planning Board Minutes 

OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FORT PIERCE CITY PLANNING BOARD HELD ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019, IN FORT PIERCE CITY HALL, COMMISSION CHAMBERS, 100 NORTH US HIGHWAY 1, FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA.
 
 
1.
CALL TO ORDER
 
2.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
 
3.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Bob Burdge; Gloria Johnson-Scott; Tim O'Connell; Michael Broderick; Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller
Absent:
Brian Paul; Jovona Parker
Staff Present:
Peter Sweeney, City Attorney; Rebeca Guerra, Interim Planning Director; Maria Lewicka, Historic Preservation Planner; Vennis Gilmore, Planning Analyst; Brandon Creagan, Planner; Alicia Rosenthal, Executive Assistant
 
Attendees: Marty Sanders, St. Lucie County School District
 
4.
CONSIDERATION OF ABSENCES

Ms. Parker and Mr. Paul were excused.
 
5.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
 
a.
Minutes from the July 9, 2019, meeting
 

Motion was made by Michael Broderick, and seconded by Gloria Johnson-Scott to approve the minutes from the July 9, 2019, meeting.

AYE:
Gloria Johnson-Scott, Tim O'Connell, Michael Broderick, Bob Burdge, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller

Passed

 
6.
HEARING OF THE LOCAL PLANNING AGENCY
 
a.
2019 Comprehensive Plan Evaluation & Appraisal Review Ordinance 19-033

Ms. Guerra explained the state determined that the Planning Board needed to see the Evaluation & Appraisal Review Ordinance, which reflects the exact text that was seen at last months Planning Board meeting. Ms. Guerra answered questions from the Board about addressing the Technical Review Committee comments in subsequent Comprehensive Plan phases. 
 

Motion was made by Michael Broderick, and seconded by Gloria Johnson-Scott to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Commission.

AYE:
Michael Broderick, Bob Burdge, Gloria Johnson-Scott, Tim O'Connell, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller

Passed

 
7.
NEW BUSINESS
 
a.
Rezoning - Fort Pierce Aggregate Facility - 2432-123-0001-000-8

This item was moved to 7d.

Mr. Broderick disclosed that he had a conversation with Brandon Creagan in the Planning department.

Chairman Creyaufmiller disclosed that he met with the River Oaks at Ten Mile Creek Homeowner's Association and he also met with Planning, Brandon Creagan and Rebeca Guerra.

Mr. Creagan gave an overview of the application and answered questions from the Board on berm height, buffers, concrete barrier, fencing, composition of access road, and stacking agreement.

Emily O'Mahoney, representative from 2GHO, gave a detailed presentation and answered questions from the Board on the activity in the storage area, dust mitigation plan, and the height of aggregate piles.

Douglas Steven Eakins, Jr., owner of D.S.E. Holdings, explained that the aggregate piles solidify and the dust is in the processing and traveled area.  Mr. Eakins said the closest residential site to their West Palm Beach facility is 2,000 feet away and of all three facilities that he runs, there has been no violations or complaints from the residences. 

Mr. Broderick suggested that to improve noise penetration and dust concerns to the neighborhood and school, that the applicant consider concrete fencing. 

Mr. Eakins stated that the piercing truck noise will not be buffered by a concrete wall and the dust generated will not affect the residences and school because it is too far away.  Mr. Eakins said the facility will crush concrete 4 days a week and they hardly crush on Saturday because the public comes in to drop off concrete.  Mr. Eakins explained that the aggregate goes into road projects and pavers and taken by trucks to job sites. 

Mr. Sanders complimented the applicant on listening to the community and modifying their plan.  Mr. Sanders stated he visited the West Palm Beach facility and he was surprised how little dust was created and how the operation is run. Mr. Sanders expressed concerns with the line of sight from the 2nd story townhomes in River Oaks.

Jonathan Ricketts, Civil Engineer of Record, stated that the operation should not be visible from the 2nd floor of the townhomes because from the top of the berm plus the height of the fence will be 30 feet.

Chairman Creyaufmiller stated he visited the West Palm Beach site and talked with the neighbors, and he said there was not much dust and the neighbors did not have many concerns.

Harold Melvlle, attorney, representing River Oaks at Ten Mile Creek Homeowner's Association, stated the HOA is opposed to the project.  Mr. Melville said normally you would not see heavy industrial zoning next to residential zoning without buffering.  Mr. Melville provided the Board with a handout with maps and ordinances showing the incorrect annexation of the subject property.  Mr. Melville asked the Board to deny the rezoning request and asked the Board to not compound the problem that already exists.  Mr. Melville said the city should rezone the property to the proper zoning because it is not compatible with the bordering residential and institutional use.

Mr. Sweeney stated since no one was here at the initial time of the rezoning, he will not speculate and the purview of the Board is to change the zoning based on the application received.

Board discussion ensued on the original zoning and proposed rezoning boundary lines.

John Cherveny, developer and president of River Oaks at Ten Mile Creek Homeowners Association, stated they were never notified of any zoning changes and they were forced to be annexed into the City of Fort Pierce.  Mr. Cherveny said he is having a hard time selling the 18 units that are left.

Jean David Cidel, realtor for River Oaks at Ten Mile Creek, stated he is losing potential clients due to the disclosure.

Melanie Trewyn, teacher, expressed concerns with the effect of high school students being exposed to silica containing dust.

Jay Stewart, Palm Lakes Gardens homeowners association president, expressed concerns with the dust.

Beth Coke, Palm Lakes Garden resident, expressed concerns with the noise and dust.

Robert Gehrig, Palm Lakes Garden resident, stated he can hear the diesel engines and back up alarms from Precast and he said the dust will increase from crushing concrete.  Mr. Gehrig stated that the errors from the city have stripped the serenity from the community and adding an industrial plant will make matters worse.

Atie Makhoul, Palm Lakes Garden resident, stated that before 6:00 AM, he hears a horrendous horn that signals the shift start at Precast. Mr. Makhoul also complained about the generator noise and the shining of the lights.

Nick Makris, Palm Lakes Garden resident, has concerns that the walls and berms won't break the dust and there is noc cure for silica getting into your lungs. Mr. Makris said the city will be compounding the issue by putting in another industrial site.

John Ladden, Palm Lakes Garden resident, expressed concerns with the dust.

Dennis Petersen, Palm Lakes Garden resident, stated the residents can't sell their homes because nothing can be done about the issues with Precast and they would like the city to help the residents and students.

Keith Eaton, Palm Lakes Garden resident and Real Estate Appraiser, showed the Board a picture of the view of the Precast plant from his backyard and he stated this is potential external obsolescence.

Ms. Guerra reiterated that the issue at hand is the proposed use and changes from the underlying zoning district of St. Lucie County's Heavy Industrial to PD - Planned Development.

Emily O'Mahoney, representative from 2GHO, indicated where the heavy industrial uses would be located and clarified that an office building with a warehouse and outdoor equipment storage will be located to the east.

Dennis Corrick, attorney representing the applicant from Dean, Mead, Minton & Zwemer Law Firm, stated that the Planning Board meeting is not the forum for doing a facial challenge to the City of Fort Pierce Comprehensive Plan.  Mr. Corrick said the 2007 and 2010 Comprehensive Plan map showed the property as Industrial Heavy Land Use and the effected parties had the right to challenge the Comprehensive Plan Changes within 30 days. Mr. Corrick stated the applicant has changed the zoning to PUD, precisely to do the buffering that Mr. Melville was talking about. Mr. Corrick said the applicant made significant changes to the design to accommodate the neighbors. 

Mr. Melville stated the project is not compatible with low density residential and there is no obligation for the Board to approve the zoning request.  Mr. Melville explained that the zoning is discretionary and the Board can put any type of limitations on it. Mr. Melville asked the Board to not compound the problem by making additional errors and to think about the residences.

Mr.Burdge asked if the Board can extend the landscape plan from 2 to 5 years and change the stacking request to 30 feet.

Mr. Sweeney stated typically with a PD there is great latitude that is allowed. 

Ms. Guerra
explained that the code states that outdoor materials are permitted to be stored at a maximum of 15 feet in height and aggregate material has a much greater risk of spreading outwards as opposed to outdoor storage containers.

Mr. Broderick expressed concerns with reaching an equitable solution to say the applicant's rights are superior simply because the property was annexed incorrectly. 

Board discussion ensued on the past zoning errors, internal buffering and health effects from the dust.

Mr. Sanders stated he had some recommendations to add to staff's conditions for the motion.  He stated the applicant has come a long way in meeting the spirit and intent of providing a buffer.  Mr. Sanders said it is more important to have these conditions in writing, so people are clear that these are provisions they have to be abided by.  Mr. Sanders said it is unfortunate that the project to the south has not honored their site plan and there is no enforcement mechanism in place and there is dust blowing from the 60 acres of open ground because of lack of caring by the developer.  Mr. Sanders stated that this applicant has a dust control plan in place and they are about 150 feet away in meeting the buffering of the original AR1 zoning. Mr. Sanders said we are fortunate to have a reasonable applicant that is trying to work with the city on coming up with solutions. 

Mr. Broderick suggested moving the line of demarcation further away from the school and residential development and  increase the landscape buffers.

Motion was made by Bob Burdge, and seconded by Michael Broderick to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Commission with the following eleven (11) conditions.
  1. The height of staked materials shall not exceed 25 feet pursuant to City Code 22-67(e)(S).
  2. At time of Building Permit submittal, a copy of the FDEP Air General Permit shall be forwarded to the City's Engineering Department.
  3. The Phase 2 parking lot shall include appropriate curbing at landscaped islands, as per the requirements listed in Section 22-187(12)(d).
  4. Before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued, a Landscape Bond shall be submitted for all proposed landscaping, pursuant to City Code 22-180, except for such bond being for a period of 60 months.
  5. No melting or burning of any materials shall take place on site.
  6. The operations shall adhere to the submitted and approved truck route  to and from the site. Any deviation from this approved truck route shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning Department.
  7. The operation shall adhere to the noise Ordinance, as outlined in Sections 11-52 through 11-52.22.
  8. The recycling, processing operation and storage of finished and unprocessed materials shall be located at least 547 feet from the east property line and as shown on the Fort Pierce Industrial Aggregate Recycling Facility for D.S. Eakins Planned Development Site Plan dated 5-31.2019.
  9. The operator shall adhere to the D. S. Eakins Construction Corporation Dust Mitigation Plan for the Fr. Pierce Industrial Aggregate Recycling Facility, provided with the application submittal May 31, 2019. The operator shall maintain records of the actions taken to control dust in the plan. The records shall be available to the City of Fort Pierce and the School Board of St. Lucie County.
  10. Landscape on the East/Northeast buffers shall be properly maintained, and any dead or nonproductive plant material shall be replaced. It shall be provided with a permanent irrigation system.
  11. The work hour shall be 7 AM until 7 PM Monday thru Saturday.
AYE:  Bob Burdge, Gloria Johnson-Scott
NAY: Tim O'Connell, Michael Broderick, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller
Failed

Mr. Sanders explained that he overlayed the site plan over the aerial and if the weigh station was moved 150 feet to the west, it would be within the original industrial zoned land. 

Board discussion ensued on modifying the conditions by creating a 15 foot berm and moving the unprocessed material line approximately 150 feet to the west.

Mr. Corrick stated on the site plan it says eastern limit of aggregate recycling and if that line was moved to the quarter section line that would accomplish the move to the west.




 
 

Motion was made by Bob Burdge, and seconded by Michael Broderick to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Commission with the following eleven (11) conditions.

  1. The height of staked materials shall not exceed 25 feet.
  2. At time of Building Permit submittal, a copy of the FDEP Air General Permit shall be forwarded to the City's Engineering Department.
  3. The Phase 2 parking lot shall include appropriate curbing at landscaped islands, as per the requirements listed in Section 22-187(12)(d).
  4. Before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued, a Landscape Bond shall be submitted for all proposed landscaping, pursuant to City Code 22-180, except for such bond being for a period of 60 months.
  5. No melting or burning of any materials shall take place on site.
  6. The operations shall adhere to the submitted and approved truck route to and from the site. Any deviation from this approved truck route shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning Department.
  7. The operation shall adhere to the noise Ordinance, as outlined in Sections 11-52 through 11-52.22.
  8. The eastern limit of the aggregate recycling facility shall now become the quarter section line.
  9. The operator shall adhere to the D. S. Eakins Construction Corporation Dust Mitigation Plan for the Fr. Pierce Industrial Aggregate Recycling Facility, provided with the application submittal May 31, 2019. The operator shall maintain records of the actions taken to control dust in the plan. The records shall be available to the City of Fort Pierce and the School Board of St. Lucie County.
  10. Landscape on the East/Northeast buffers shall be properly maintained, and any dead or nonproductive plant material shall be replaced. It shall be provided with a permanent irrigation system. The landscaping shall be comprised of a berm of at least 15 feet in height with opaque fencing a minimum 8 feet in height erected on top.
  11. The work hours shall be 7 AM until 7 PM Monday thru Saturday.

AYE:
Bob Burdge, Gloria Johnson-Scott, Tim O'Connell, Michael Broderick, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller

Passed

 
b.
Conditional Use - Spin Win 2 Arcade Amusement Center - 3220 S. US Highway 1

Mr. Gilmore gave an overview of the application and answered questions from the Board on parking and lighting requirements.

Mike Menard, applicant representative from Architectonic, stated he would like to have an option between either a Unity of Title or shared parking agreement. 

Ms. Guerra explained that a Unity of Title ties parcels together under one parcel identification number and this assures that the minimum standards of parking will be addressed if the parcels are ever split up.

The Board suggested that reducing the number of arcade machines would reduce the parking requirements.
 

Motion was made by Michael Broderick, and seconded by Gloria Johnson-Scott to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Commission with the following condition:

1. Provide a Unity of Title or Parking Shared Access Agreement prior to approval of a Business Tax License to assure that the current parking calculations are in compliance with City Code 22-71 (b)(12).

AYE:
Gloria Johnson-Scott, Tim O'Connell, Michael Broderick, Bob Burdge, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller

Passed

 
c.
Development & Design Review - Home 2 Suites - 6505 Metal Drive

Ms. Guerra gave an overview of the application and answered questions from the Board on alcohol licensing and landscaping.

Rich Laventure, applicant representative from Atlantic Civil Engineering, stated that Hilton will be the brand of the hotel. 
 

Motion was made by Bob Burdge, and seconded by Michael Broderick to recommend approval of the requests with the following five (5) conditions.

1. Before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued, provide a landscape bond for all proposed landscaping pursuant to City Code 22-180.
2. The Final Plat shall be approved by the City Commission prior to review & approval by the City Commission.
3. Provide a copy of the South Florida Water Management District permit modification to the City of Fort Pierce Engineering Department at the time of Building Permit.
4. If alcohol will be sold on site, an Alcohol License will need to be obtained and reviewed by the Planning Department.
5. All comments from the St. Lucie County Fire District shall be satisfactorily addressed at the time of Building Permit submittal.

AYE:
Tim O'Connell, Michael Broderick, Bob Burdge, Gloria Johnson-Scott, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller

Passed

 
d.
Waiver of Distance - Angelina's Brick Oven Pizza - 1126 Colonnades Drive

Ms. Lewicka gave an overview of the application and answered questions from the Board on the Technical Review Committee (TRC) comments and parking requirements.

Ms. Guerra explained that the TRC comments are addressed at the time of building permit.

Robert Musser, applicant, stated lights are being rented from Fort Pierce Utilities and the soffitt lights have been augmented.
 

Motion was made by Bob Burdge, and seconded by Gloria Johnson-Scott to forward a recommendation of approval to City Commission with one condition of approval:

1. Provide a lighting plan or photometric survey which complies with City Code 22-60 (j)(1)(d)

AYE:
Michael Broderick, Bob Burdge, Gloria Johnson-Scott, Tim O'Connell, Chairman Frank Creyaufmiller

Passed

 
8.
COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

Robert Gehrig, President of Palm Lakes Garden homeowners association, stated if the Planning Board and City Commission had done their due diligence, there would be a lot less problems with Precast. Mr. Gehrig recommended that someone in the City correct the injustices that were done with Precast.

John Cherveny, Developer and President of Ten Mile Creek Homeowners Association, stated that a mistake was made by the Planning Board by recommending approval of the Fort Pierce Aggregate Recycling Facility.

Nick Makris, Palm Lakes Garden resident, stated that berms do not work because sound carries up. Mr. Makris said the Board should take into consideration the people that live in the five communities, closest to the Fort Pierce Aggregate Recycling Facility.

Jay Stewart, Palm Lakes Garden resident, told the Board they did a great job accommodating the issue with the Fort Pierce Aggregate Recycling Facility project.
 
9.
BOARD COMMENTS

Mr. Sanders said that PUD zoning for the Fort Pierce Aggregate Recycling Facility allows more controls and puts the city in a better place instead of straight zoning.

The Board stated the input from Mr. Sanders on the Fort Pierce Aggregate Recycling Facility was critical.
 
10.
ADJOURNMENT