08-24-2000CITY OF EDGEWATER
CITIZENS LAND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING
AUGUST 24, 2000
7:00 P.M.
COMMUNITY CENTER
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Card called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in
the Community Center.
ROLL CALL
Members present were: Chairman Pat Card, Dan Sylvester, Paul
Jenkins, Robert Blum, Burt Madewell, Ray Jarrett, Elizabeth
Donahue, Andy Anderson, Dan Loeffler, Ferd Heeb, Richard Jones,
Dave Ross, Ed Bailot, and Dan Holland. Don Sanders and Mike
Aloise were absent. J. Michael McKay was excused.
Also present was Deputy City Clerk Lisa Bloomer. City Manager
Kenneth Hooper arrived at 7:20 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Regular Meeting of August 10, 2000
Chairman Card stated they received the minutes at their desks
today. The Clerks office this time of year is swamped. It is
difficult to get them done early enough to distribute them.
Chairman Card entertained a motion to waive the approval of the
minutes until the next meeting. Mr. Holland so moved, second by
Mr. Jenkins. The motion CARRIED 14 -0.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Chairman Card stated public comment will be limited to five
minutes or less and for the Committee not to ask questions unless
they ask.
Bob Labiak, 2005
the Committee to
these folks at a
had heard rumors
Cameron's. They
there and would
S. Riverside Drive, Riverview Landings, asked
consider the impact they could make on some of
small place with a boat out there. They have
of what may happen. He is also speaking for
are concerned with parking of the vehicles out
like to continue doing business here.
Mr. Holland asked how many boats are stored at Cameron's and the
adjacent property. Mr. Labiak explained it depends on how you
defined stored. Because of the salt water they can't leave them
in all the time. Mr. Holland asked at any given time how many
boats are on the property. Mr. Labiak informed him three to four
on their property. Cameron's has about nine. Mr. Holland asked
if they had trailers also. Mr. Labiak informed him yes. Chairman
Card asked if they are a commercial establishment. He stated
this Committee has been charged to deal with boats, trailers,
R.V.'s, etc., stored on property in residential areas. Mr.
Labiak stated he is in a residential area. Mr. Ross stated on
residential property. Mr. Holland stated he is looking at the
number of how many people are already using commercial
establishments for their boats to see what the impact will be on
the community. He feels they have gotten good input from two
commercial establishments.
STAFF COMMENTS AND REPORTS
There were no reports at this time.
Chairman Card stated he received communications from City Manager
Hooper's office that states that the Motor Vehicle Registration
and Boat registration people have not been able to bring that
information forward. They do not keep the information by City or
zip code. They do it by County in Tallahassee. They can't get
the information they need to determine the impact in this
community. Our own estimates are as good as it is going to get.
Mr. Ross made a motion to hear staff comments at a later date if
staff is available at a later time tonight, second by Mr.
Sylvester. The motion CARRIED 14 -0.
Chairman Card stated he did some checking in regard to how
motions can be amended. Motions can be amended by their author
without a vote. They did that last week on several occasions.
If the amendment comes from someone other than the author, they
have to vote on it. The motion will be made, somebody from the
floor will be recognized other than the author of the motion, and
present the amendment. If the amendment has a second, there will
be a period of discussion of the amendment. They will vote on
the amendment first and come back to the amended original motion
and vote on it as a whole.
OLD BUSINESS
Discussion of proposals on boats and boat trailer storage in
residential areas
Chairman Card referred to Item (c) of Mr. Heeb's proposal. Mr.
Heeb stated he redid it and tried to rephrase the wording in
sections where they had motions that were agreed on by the
Committee. Page -2-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Heeb pointed out the corrections he made. They agreed to
change residential areas to primary residential use areas or use
property. They passed Section A by a vote of 12 -3, Section E
passed by a vote of 12 -3, Section F, G & H were passed the way
they were written. The open items on his proposal are Sections
B, C, and D. Chairman Card stated they have currently had the
first round of discussion on B and D and did not come to a
conclusion last week. He thought it might be of value to do Item
C first and then move on to the others for a second time around,
if the Committee feels comfortable with that. There were no
objections.
Mr. Jones stated he took a slightly different position on Item C.
His position is that they have one position. They have boats and
trailers that can't be parked in the back yard or side yard. He
feels under certain conditions there can be exceptions. He would
like to approach this from that position. He proposed that
everybody park their boat or trailer in the side or back yard.
Then they will discuss the exceptions that can be made to that to
accommodate the various configurations of property layouts. Mr..
Holland thinks right off the bat they are telling people anything
from the front of your house you can't use except for cars. Mr.
Madewell agreed with Mr. Holland. He believes and it is his
personal view that every homeowner's right is to park in the
front as long as it does not protrude into the right -of -way. Mr.
Sylvester agreed. He feels boats should be allowed as long as
they don't infringe on rights -of -way or neighboring property.
Ms. Donahue stated nobody is bringing up the size of the boats
and trailers. As long as it doesn't infringe, it can be any
size? Mr. Holland feels they need to leave out the front and
they should be on the side or the back. That is not going to
fly. He feels if they bring it to the front that is when they
have to start working on the restrictions. He feels you can't
take away the homeowners right to have something on the front or
side of their property. Ms. Donahue stated some people have no
way of getting what they have into their back yards, therefore
they would have to park it in the front. Chairman Card stated as
long as it doesn't go beyond that. If you want to make a length
proposal of some sort you ought to do that Elizabeth. She agreed
with 26 feet. Mr. Ross asked why. Ms. Donahue stated so there
will be some room in the front. Chairman Card stated that would
be against the law. Mr. Ross stated it is against the law to
hang over the property line. Mr. Loeffler feels it is a safety
issue. Mr. Anderson asked if you parked your boat in the front
aren't you in the right -of -way. Chairman Card informed him no.
They are talking about on the driveway or parallel to the
driveway, perpendicular to road.
There was a discussion regarding it being against the law to park
in the right -of -way now.
Page -3-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Chairman Card stated it is not a matter of what they build into
this piece of legislation, it is a matter of getting those
problems enforced. They have heard Councilman Vincenzi say he
will require that this be enforced. They can come back to
Council. What they are talking about here is attempting to get
out of the 15 feet between the edge of the roadway and the start
of your property. That is what they are trying to eliminate.
That distance is different in different parts of the City.
Mr. Ross agreed in principle that the property owner has quote
unquote the right to park his boat in his front yard. This City
Council has the right to take that right away from them whether
they like it or not. It is a constitutional format that no court
in the world is going to overturn. His vote tonight is if this
Committee by majority says they want the right to park anything
in the front yard up to the property line, he will vote for it
but he doesn't think Council will approve of it. He has been
listening politically to what has been said and it has been quite
clear. There are certain things they are going to approve and
not approve and these things are being talked about by people who
have the right and ability to talk to individual Councilmembers
that the Committee can't talk to. They are prohibited from
finding out what the Council thinks. City Manager Hooper has
told them what Council thinks. If they take a code before the
Council that they won't approve they will be in worse shape then
trying to find a modification to it. He is going to agree with a
majority of the Committee tonight. He will disagree in principle
that it will probably pass Council if they say it is fine to park
anything in the front yard forever. He suggested they put limits
on the front yard to the effect that if you have something in the
side that projects beyond the front building line. If you can't
keep it in the side or back you park it out front but it be
grandfathered for period of time. His opinion is he thinks this
will pass. Five years from now there will be a totally different
City Council. He has watched municipalities go through
grandfather clauses and keep putting it off. He suggested they
grandfather front yard parking, if they can't go to the side or
rear because he thinks this will pass.
Mr. Heeb feels one of the biggest complaints people have about
storing any kind of vehicle on their neighbors property is
backing out of the driveway and not being able to see around a
boat or R.V. to get out. That is why he wrote that they could
not have any part of the boat or trailer in a corridor that
reaches from the right -of -way line, property line five feet.
Mr. Fischer told them some areas have a 15 foot right of way and
some have a 10 foot right of way. In an area where it is 15 feet
there will be a 20 foot corridor that will not have anything in
it. A person backing out of their driveway will be able to see
around a vehicle. Where there is a ten foot right of way they
will have a 15 foot corridor.
Page -4-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Heeb feels everybody that addresses this problem addresses
the size of the personal property. He feels this penalizes
somebody that has substantial property. He said Mr. Godfrey
informed them it is extremely unusual for anybody to be trailing
anything over 31 feet. The current code provides for a 26 foot
boat in the front yard. He commented on how Mr. Fischer came up
with 24 feet. He thinks if they set limits as to how much of the
front area a boat can take up, a guy that has a square hole isn't
going to put a round peg in it. If you have a 25 foot yard, the
largest boat you could park in front of the house would be a 16
foot boat. He feels this is reasonable. If they have a large
piece of property they should have the right to park a boat where
they want.
Mr. Jones stated when he made the statement that no one will park
except in the back or side he also included the fact that there
would be extenuating circumstances. He read what he is
proposing. Most of the properties in Florida Shores are at least
80 feet wide, some are 120 feet. A lot of the houses on this
side of U.S. #1 are not that big. He stated he is making a
statement as a position but then there are exceptions to that
position. He feels his verbiage is very liberal and should be
acceptable to most people.
Mr. Jenkins mentioned you can't assume because one Councilmember
out of five said they were going to do something that it is going
to get done. It takes all five. There was some mention of what
City Manager Hooper thinks that the Council is thinking. Having
to do with parking in front yards he disagreed with the comments
because he spoke to some Councilpeople before the Committee was
put together. Their main concern is the right -of -way area
itself, not as much the front yard or driveway. He feels the
main concern of the Council is that they have the 15 foot from
the road for people to see. The five foot extra that Mr. Heeb is
wanting isn't necessarily restricting the person who has 30 foot.
He feels in his proposal, Items A, B, C, and D solves all the
problems.
Mr. Jenkins feels they need to define front yard because there
could be a problem with corner lots. There is some other
language in the Code that is similar to this. He read Section B,
C, and D of his first proposal, although he feels feasible may
not be the best word to use in Section B. He feels fifteen feet
is enough for visibility. If they were to put in the blank 15
feet from the road's edge, it would still allow a person that has
fifteen foot in front of their house to not lose another five
feet. The problem he sees with Mr. Jones proposal is they get
into too many time frame limits and too many different
restrictions that the Code Enforcement Officer has to deal with
and the resident has to understand.
Page -5-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Chairman Card read item (c) of Mr. Heeb's proposal. Mr. Heeb made
a motion to adopt his wording for Section C. Mr. Holland spoke
about the extra five foot corridor. If someone was pulling out
directly next to an object you are going to need that area. He
feels they would be taking away an extra five feet of the
property owner's right to use his property. Mr. Sylvester agreed
with Mr. Heeb's assessment of the five foot extra. He feels it
would make Code Enforcement easier. The Code Enforcement Officer
is allowed to go on the City's right -of -way without any
difficulty if he has to do measuring or estimate how far a boat,
trailer or R.V. is away from the edge of the road. Chairman Card
feels there is an awful lot of green stuff that grows out there
just in that five feet, just inside the fifteen foot line. If
they are going to be fair about this they have to think about
that too. He asked the Committee to keep in mind that if you get
five feet beyond that, then you really have a lot of open area.
He is neither speaking for or against the position. He feels it
really does open the vision up. There is going to be a lot of
vegetation that will block just as badly as a boat or boat
trailer would.
Mr. Jarrett questioned passing Item C separately from 1 and 2.
This will be hard to do because of the phrase subject to the
following exceptions. Chairman Card explained the proposal would
be Item C including 1 and 2. Mr. Heeb stated this entire
proposal hasn't been put into the form of a motion. They have
been taking one section at a time. Mr. Jarrett stated when they
are talking about the length of the boat is that the tongue to
prop. He asked if it should go into this paragraph. Mr. Heeb
stated the idea was not to have a length on the boat, but to have
a length to the property.
Mr. Jones feels subparagraph 2 is not required. Any time you
have property it is an automatic to have something in our code
saying you must have written permission to use somebody's
property. Mr. Jones asked City Manager Hooper if he knew the
standing legal position on that. City Manager Hooper explained
you can't encroach on someone's property period. This neither
hurts or helps that rule. Mr. Holland stated but with permission
you can. Mr. Jenkins agreed with Mr. Holland. He was going to
propose either they amend Mr. Heeb's or a counter proposal of
his. The basics was to amend Mr. Heeb's C to use his A B C, and
D and add number his two to it. Chairman Card stated there are
two methods of doing that. Mr. Heeb can amend his own motion or
Mr. Jenkins can propose an amendment to Mr. Heeb's motion. Mr.
Jenkins commented on why he agreed with number two. He feels it
should be in there that if they get permission from the property
owner they can do it.
Page -6-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Ross stated they still have B & D to discuss yet. He feels
they need to talk about the number of boats and boat trailers
allowed per residential property and feels it should be limited
to one. He doesn't disagree with the suggestion that a neighbor
allow you to park in his property if it is in the rear yard. He
feels it should be limited to the front yard. If it is too big
for the front yard you don't need it in your neighbor's yard.
Mr. Jenkins stated he was talking about side yards.
Mr. Ross agreed with the motion to incorporate at least B of Mr.
Jenkins' proposal regarding putting it in the rear or side yard
if you can't put it in the front yard. He feels it should be in
the rear or side yard and he thinks the amendment to Mr. Heeb's
proposal is a good idea. Mr. Loeffler stated if they do decide
on one of these are they going to be responsible or expected to
make exceptions or will exceptions be left up to Code
Enforcement.
Chairman Card stated he thinks at least one Councilmember has
stated he wants a Code that is enforceable and simple and can in
fact be enforced because he will demand that it be enforced.
This leads him to believe he can demand it be enforced to the
letter of the language they write. He assumed what they write
here, if they don't leave language that allows some flexibility,
it will be inflexible. It can be enforced that way if the Code
Enforcement Officer chooses to do so. The biggest problem they
have had is that people have said that it isn't being enforced
now.
Mr. Loeffler stated he read somewhere you will be allowed a
maximum of three and questioned if they are going to stay with
that. Chairman Card believes three was proposed. That is not
currently the case. Mr. Jenkins feels the number issue should be
handled separately. He questioned if utility trailers and small
trailers should be limited as badly as the big stuff. Mr. Ross
feels it needs to be addressed in this portion of the Code
talking about boats and boat trailers.
Mr. Jones stated he believes in Mr. Heeb's original submission of
Item H. He feels it settled the problem Mr. Ross brought up.
Mr. Bailot feels all exceptions such as access to the side or
rear shall be addressed to the Code Enforcement Officer or the
Board. Mr. Ross stated his belief is that the Code Enforcement
Board has one responsibility to enforce a specific code, not make
judgments about what the Code says. Mr. Bailot stated he has
driven around quite a few times and seen different boats and
motor homes encroaching on areas and there is no way to get them
in the side or back. Mr. Ross stated the Committee needs to make
the decision as to how that will be done, not the Code Board.
Page -7-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Heeb doesn't think they need to get into how many boats and
trailers a person can have on their property. He would like to
see personal watercraft banned from the United States. They have
to look at this City and its attractiveness and the lifestyle
they have created in this area. He can't see them creating a
document that will limit all of their lifestyles by setting rules
cast in concrete that will have people saying you can't do that.
He spoke about working with your neighbor and coming to an
agreement. A lot of what Mr. Jenkins has said makes sense to him
relative to setting the limits where you can put a boat in a
front yard. He is trying to come up with something that is more
measurable and more tolerable for people who don't own boats and
trailer and who have neighbors that do to feel comfortable
backing out of yards.
Mr. Ross doesn't disagree. He doesn't think the objections to
boats, R.V.'s or utility trailers parked in front yards if they
are not encroaching on the property line is the issue. He feels
the objection is people driving down street don't want to see
anything other than a front yard. People don't like to see
certain vehicles in the front property line. Those are the
objections. Mr. Heeb feels a lot of people move to a
neighborhood from a different environment and they retire and
seek the lifestyle offered in Florida. They want to live in a
very structured environment. This has happened in every
community in Florida. They can not sit down and say they are
going to change this City and make it a very structured city that
everyone will conform to this.
Mr. Ross stated the City Council can. He was the first one to
tell the Council if they outlaw motor homes, he will sue. If he
loses, he will move. He asked what.they can pass that the
citizens of this community can live with. He feels they need to
structure it within reason. Mr. Madewell stated the reason they
are here as a Committee is they tried to pass this and the people
were outraged because you can't go in and change it. He doesn't
agree with the aspect that people are so against their trying to
make changes. He doesn't feel they are going to put something in
front of Council that is business as usual. They have had four
or five meetings and not one public person is outspoken against
what they are trying to do. He is not going to be intimidated by
the Council.
Mr. Ross suggested if there is some leeway that they can give
Council to play with, they give it to them. Mr. Anderson
concurred with Mr. Ross. He comes from a neighborhood in South
Florida where anything goes. When they moved to Edgewater they
assumed there were a lot of laws already in place in this town.
He feels you have to take pride in where you live. People like
to be able to drive down the street and look around and see a
nice, neat neighborhood.
Mr. Anderson stated he doesn't like to see stuff in the front of
the house. He feels his house is beautiful and he feels they
encourage other people in the neighborhood to keep their places
nice. He goes out there with a weedeater and cuts city property
due to it going month after month without being cut. He is not
against boats, trailers, or R.V.'s. He feels most people don't
own them and aren't interested in them. Ms. Donahue stated Mr.
Madewell made mention of the people that were up in arms at the
Council meeting but nobody is here now. Some people made the
statement they moved here because this was an area where you
could do whatever you want. When she moved here she went to City
Hall to find out the codes. What is happening is people feel
they can do whatever they want. If they let them do what they
want, it is going to get worse. Chairman Card called for a ten -
minute recess. He told the Committee to think about what kind of
proposal somebody is going to make when they get back. They can
do this for three meetings unless someone comes through with
proposal.
The meeting recessed at 8:05 p.m. and resumed at 8:15 p.m.
Mr. Jarrett feels if the enforcement in the past had been
different, they may not even be here tonight. He spoke about the
quantities of the number of vehicles in most people's yards.
Personally he thinks if they go with more than one motor home,
boat, or R.V. that will run into problems with Council. He
doesn't think this topic is probably going to dictate everything
they are going to do from this point on. There is no sense
pushing for a motion even if it takes another meeting. After
they solve this one problem, the rest will go smooth. He
suggested between now and the next meeting they take what they
have talked about tonight and each person recompile again what
they did at the first meeting. He thinks they are much closer to
resolving this problem. He suggested they continue discussion
and rewrite what they think are the views of everybody in here.
Mr. Ross asked City Manager Hooper if they are allowed to write
to the other members, a week ahead of time, their written
proposals concerning the next meeting. City Manager Hooper
stated yes but asked him to send it to Deputy City Clerk Bloomer
and let her be the one to mail them out. It eliminates any
Sunshine problems. Mr. Ross feels they need the time to read
them and think about it. Mr. Heeb asked for a straw vote on
whether they should write an ordinance that says boats may be
parked in the front yard only if they can't be parked in the side
yard or back yard. Mr. Jenkins stated that is in the existing
ordinance now.
Page -9-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Jenkins explained what his rationale is. He thinks the reason
the in the driveway came up as proposed in the new one, is that
even though the existing code prohibits it, there are so many
people doing it that there is going to be a problem forcing
people to go to the back yards. Who makes the decision if it is
possible? He thinks they should encourage people to put it in
the back or side. If they use the same language as it exists now
and try to enforce it it is probably not going to be anymore
successful. Mr. Heeb stated he is trying to get to a point of
finding out where they stand and he feels the real issue is the
front yard.
The results of the straw vote were seven members agreed, seven
disagreed. Mr. Heeb asked for another straw vote to break the
impasse should they go along with what Mr. Jenkins said and use
the word feasible. The results of the straw vote were three
against it and eleven for it. Mr. Ross stated he doesn't
disagree with the philosophy but he doesn't think it is the duty
or responsibility or chore of government or a specific code
regarding land use, to encourage people to do anything. You tell
people what they can and can't do legally, reasonably and fairly.
Mr. Ross doesn't feel it is the responsibility of this Committee.
He feels they were not given the responsibility of Council to
encourage citizens to do anything. They were asked to write a
code regarding land use that could be enforced by the Code
Enforcement officer. He doesn't think they need intangible
abstract ideas written into a land use code. Mr. Jones asked if
they were discussing the language or are they just going to try
to put together words with limitations. Mr. Anderson agreed with
Mr. Ross. Mr. Jenkins feels it gives flexibility in those
situations based on how the yard and house are laid out. When a
person can't get it in the back or side yard it is a clean cut
draw and he says he is going to keep it in the front. Then there
is the other situation that for feasibility and not trying to
bother anybody else, it is more feasible to keep it in his
driveway or along side his driveway than in the side or back
yard. This leaves that flexibility where it is legal to put it
in the front but the wording encourages people to put it in the
back if they can.
Mr. Sylvester disagreed with Mr. Jenkins. They already have a
number of people who take advantage of the situation and park it
wherever they want. If they just put the wording where it is
possible or feasibility in the Code, they will ignore it and take
advantage of it again. Unless there is something clear cut and
decisive nobody is going to pay attention to it. Ms. Donahue
feels if they allow putting it in the front they are going to
come up against that 30 feet again. There is a little more
leeway in the back and you can have something a little bigger.
Page -10-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Jenkins stated you are still limited. In his proposal it
says: If necessary to park in the front yard all restrictions in
Section C must be met. Then you come back to the property line
issue. You are still limited. He feels the old proposed code
made it sound like the best way to put it first was in the
driveway. Ms. Donahue also feels people will be taking advantage
of it. Mr. Jenkins stated but you still have a property line
that they can't take advantage of.
City Manager Hooper stated what Mr. Jenkins is describing sounds
good but it can't be enforced. The Code Enforcement Officers
come back with what is feasible and that is nearly impossible.
He feels they will have to deal with some concrete areas. He
spoke about restricting it. If you can get to the back, you
could put any size boat and allow a certain size in the side and
front yards or a percentage of the driveway or some formula. He
feels they are going to have to limit and give staff something
that can be measured and touched. Chairman Card stated like the
property line or property line plus five feet. Ms. Donahue
stated there are some people who will not let you on their
property so you can't enforce it anyway. City Manager Hooper
stated since it is now in the Police Department, they can pretty
much go on any property.
Mr. Heeb stated for two years the people have studied the problem
and it has been presented by the Community Development people
and the Building Inspection people. They have gone out and
talked to the public. If you take Section 21 -34.06 the way they
recommended it to Council there are only two paragraphs in that
section that really are objectionable, Item D and Item E. If
Item E was modified and took what they said and took out a few
things. It now reads: The items in Section A exceeding 24 feet
in length and less than 6 feet in height shall be stored in the
side or rear property behind the front dwelling line in a 6'
enclosed opaque fence area or not visible from any abutting
property or street. Nothing stored shall be visible above the
height of the fence or wall. Mr. Heeb stated when he made his
recommendation all he basically did was took out the limit on the
size of the vehicle and made it a limit on the size of the
property. He feels 90% of the homes in Edgewater would have a 16
foot boat or smaller in their front yard. He suggested taking
out: All items described in Section H exceeding 24 feet in length
or 6' in height that cannot meet Section D shall be parked or
stored in a licensed storage facility. He feels if you can't get
in the back, side or front yard within the limitations
established in the ordinance, you either can't have it or park it
somewhere else.
Page -11-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Jarrett stated he has a Ford F150 and it is over 6' tall.
Chairman Card stated some vans are also over 6' tall. Mr.
Anderson thinks they have to be as firm and precise and exact as
they can on the language, it can't be vague. If they are going
to be vague they are going to create misunderstanding, confusion
and arguments.
Chairman Card stated they don't normally entertain public comment
during a discussion like this but he asked for the Committee's
position regarding someone from the public wanting to comment.
There was no objection from the Committee.
Larry Loeffler, Travelers Palm Drive, feels the measurement from
the edge of the street is easier to figure out because a lot of
people don't know where the line is. Chairman Card stated in
Florida Shores the majority of them are 20 foot wide with 15 feet
on each side so the whole thing is 50 feet. Some areas are 60
feet and some areas are 40 and 45. City Manager Hooper stated it
varies quite a bit. Chairman Card stated in some areas 15 feet
would work very easily from the edge of road.
Mr. Heeb suggested making it 20 feet from the edge of the road.
City Manager Hooper spoke about his property. If you measure 20
feet from the pavement, he is still in the city right- of -way.
The right -of -way is encroached by 40 feet on the one side of
Riverside Drive. He informed the Committee they have to look at
the right -of -way line. Mr. Ross feels it behooves the property
owner to know where the right -of -way line is. Mr. Sylvester
asked City Manager Hooper if the City has any mechanism, if the a
citizen requests the City mark their property line. City Manager
Hooper informed him a surveyor usually comes out.
Mr. Jenkins asked City Manager Hooper to look at Item D of his
proposal. He stated usually the water meters are on the property
line roughly. He was going to change his wording to: from the
driven on edge of the road because then you can determine where
the edge of the dirt road is and where the edge of the asphalt
road is. He suggested using either /or. Either the property line
or a minimum of 15 feet from the driven on edge of the road. Mr.
Ross asked what dirt roads have a property line in the center of
the road. Mr. Jenkins stated on a dirt road it is nearly
impossible to figure out the center. You can go to the edge of
the driven on area and say it is either the actual property line
or a minimum of, whichever is greater. He feels this covers
everything. City Manager Hooper thinks it is clear if it is the
property line. There is no debate past that. Everybody will be
able to find it. Mr. Jenkins mentioned some property lines being
10 foot from road. Chairman Card stated then you don't have that
vision they are looking for to make it safe when people are
backing out of their driveway.
Page -12-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Heeb again suggested using the property line plus five feet.
Mr. Jenkins feels it is very easy that if you know you want at
least a 15 foot minimum from where cars drive, it would be easy
for the Code Enforcement Officer to measure. Mr. Ross stated not
on a dirt road. Chairman Card asked if there are any property
lines less than ten feet. He took that back and asked are there
any city road and restricted areas less than 40 feet. City
Manager Hooper stated yes, on Riverside Drive on the east side
the pavement is the property line and there is no setback from
it. The edge of South Riverside Drive is someone's private
property. Chairman Card asked what percentage of the property.
City Manager Hooper informed him very small. Mr. Heeb feels they
can't describe every piece of property in the City. That would
be an issue he feels would go to the Code Enforcement Board who
would decide.
Mr. Madewell referred to Staff's Section 21- 34.06, Item C and
stated it is referring to recreational vehicles, campers and
watercraft. It states in Item C: The items described in Section
A not exceeding 24 feet in length may be parked or stored in a
driveway or immediately parallel to a driveway but not in the
public right -of -way. His point is if the this was good enough to
be proposed by the City Manager, right there it is what they are
talking about on the driveway. Mr. Heeb feels instead of
describing the vehicle, they should be describing the property.
Mr. Madewell feels if it is good enough for City Manager Hooper,
he doesn't think Council will have a problem with that. He
doesn't agree with the 6' height or 24 feet.
Mr. Holland concurred with Mr. Madewell. He referred back to
Item C and feels the most important issue they are dealing with
is not in the public right -of -way. He thinks adding the extra
five feet corridor of air space is just taking more property away
from the homeowner. The City has never mowed his ditch or
cleaned pipes under his driveway. He feels a five foot corridor
is excessive. Mr. Jenkins stated the actual property line right -
of -way doesn't bother him at all except he is thinking about what
Council will say about the visibility issue. He would prefer to
use the actual property line. City Manager Hooper feels if
someone has a boat that is at the property line and it is a
safety hazard, it will apply in other areas of the Code.
Chairman Card entertained an amended motion. Mr. Heeb made a
motion to adopt his proposal, second by Mr. Sylvester. Mr.
Sylvester proposed to amend the motion to eliminate Item (2),
second by Mr. Jones. Chairman Card asked if there would be any
objection to amending that on Mr. Heeb's part. Mr. Sylvester
feels it is not needed because you can't violate someone else's
property. There is another section they have already agreed on
that it has to be stored on your premises. Mr. Ross stated it is
in violation of Section A which they have already approved.
Page -13-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Heeb stated it is already a violation except for putting in
an exception for written permission from your neighbor. Mr. Ross
asked Mr. Sylvester if he is making a motion to make an
amendment, second by Mr. Ross. Mr. Jones agreed with the
proposal because he feels they should not be interfering in
people's lives to this level. The motion CARRIED 11 -3. Mr.
Heeb, Mr. Jarrett, and Mr. Holland voted NO.
Chairman Card asked if there was further discussion of the
motion. Mr. Ross stated the motion being Item C which
incorporates the first paragraph and Item 1 of Item C. Mr.
Jenkins amended the motion to take his paragraph A, eliminate
paragraph B. Chairman Card asked Mr. Jenkins to read his
amendment. Mr. Jenkins stated that would be to substitute Mr.
Heeb's C and paragraph one of the following: for the purpose of
this section A the term front yard shall be defined as a section
of yard between the dwelling and the street to which it is
addressed. The next section would be B but would read like
Section C.
Mr. Jones asked for a point of order. He didn't know how they
got to this point where they are using Mr. Heeb's as their model.
He doesn't remember hearing anything saying they were going to
use Mr. Heeb's model for everybody to modify or adjust to their
needs. He asked what about the other 13 people here. Chairman
Card stated it was suggested by Mr. Jenkins that they go from the
bottom and go up to attempt to find things they could agree with
in the last meeting. They were still doing that at the end of
the meeting. At the end of the meeting there were three sections
they had not done. They now have a motion on the floor and
approved language. Mr. Jones again asked how did they get to Mr.
Heeb's model. He feels it sounds like all the others are going
to be ignored unless they go through every proposal. Chairman
Card stated the way they got to it was in an attempt last week to
find a consensus. He further explained Mr. Heeb suggested it and
Mr. Jenkins agreed and stated they should start at the bottom.
Mr. Heeb stated his was the most organized. Chairman Card stated
it was suggested and then Mr. Jenkins made a suggestion to it and
there were no objections from the Committee at the time. Mr.
Jones stated he feels he covers things pretty well too. Chairman
Card stated if he would like to put that in as a proposal he
could propose that at any time in New Business. He informed him
he could propose it now also because they are in discussion.
Mr. Jarrett asked if they are still in the discussion stage.
Chairman Card stated there is a motion on the floor. There was a
point of order and a request for information. None of this is in
iron at this point.
Page -14-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Jenkins again read his motion to read if they were to take
and substitute for Mr. Heeb's C the following: A for the purpose
of this section the term front yard shall be defined as the
section of yard between the dwelling and street to which it is
addressed because he feels they need to define that. Eliminate B
altogether. Section C the parking storage of any watercraft boat
in the front yard shall be restricted to the driveway or
immediately parallel to the driveway on the exterior side from
the house or dwelling. Section D for visibility and safety
purposes. They are going to eliminate D if they just go with the
property line. He stated it would be to substitute A & C from
his proposal for Mr. Heeb's C and (1), second by Mr. Holland.
Mr. Sylvester stated with the exception of the reference to the
exterior portion of driveway, he sees no reason to amend
something but perhaps change the wording to include exterior.
Other than that it's the same thing. Mr. Jenkins stated what he
is trying to get at is the way Mr. Heeb's is worded the guy could
put it in front of the house off the side of the driveway
parallel. Mr. Sylvester stated if they add the word exterior
like Mr. Jenkins did in his C to Mr. Heeb's C it is the same
thing. Mr. Jenkins stated but that doesn't take care of his A
getting in there. Mr. Sylvester stated A is a definition and
doesn't know if it needs to be in there. Mr. Heeb asked Mr.
Jenkins to read the entire motion with his amendment so everyone
has a clear understanding.
Mr. Heeb asked Mr. Jenkins to read the amended motion with what
the amended text would be. Mr. Jenkins stated the amended text
would be for the purpose of this section the term front yard
shall be defined as the section of yard between the dwelling and
the street to which it is addressed. The next paragraph would be
the parking storage of any watercraft boat in the front yard
shall be restricted to the driveway or immediately parallel to
the driveway on the exterior side from the house. Then D would
still need to be in there. For visibility and safety purposes
all watercraft boats parked in the front yard area described in
Section A above shall be kept out of that portion of the driveway
or front yard that extends into the right -of -way, second by Mr.
Holland. Chairman Card asked for discussion on the motion. Mr.
Jarrett feels they need to stick with the property line in the
wording. Mr. Jenkins stated they could add that in as an extra.
Mr. Jenkins stated extending to the right -of -way property line or
not beyond. Chairman Card asked what the proper terminology is.
City Manager Hooper informed him property line. Chairman Card
stated the city right -of -way is not the proper terminology. City
Manager Hooper stated the city right -of -way is the road. The
property line is on your side.
Page -15-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Jenkins stated he was trying to get the point across to
people that the property line is not at the road, it is set back
further. Mr. Sylvester feels the term driveway is too
restrictive. He feels it has to be that portion of the parking
area that extends or the proposed parking area. Mr. Jenkins read
Section D to read for visibility and safety purposes all
watercraft and boats parked in the front yard area described in
Section A above shall be kept inside the property line and not
extending over the property line on that portion of the yard that
is actually the City's right -of -way. Chairman Card asked Mr.
Jenkins if he was amending his motion. Mr. Jenkins stated yes
that was the amendment.
Chairman Card asked Mr. Jenkins to read exactly how this thing
reads. Mr. Jenkins stated they will substitute paragraph l: for
the purpose of this section the term front yard shall be defined
as the section of yard between the dwelling and the street to
which it is addressed. Paragraph 2: the parking storage of any
watercraft boat in the front yard shall be restricted to the
driveway or immediately parallel to the driveway on the exterior
side from the house. Paragraph 3: for visibility and safey
purposes all watercraft boats parked in the front yard area
described in Section A above shall be kept inside the property
line and out of the portion extending over the property line
which is actually the City's right -of -way. Mr. Jarrett stated
looking at what Council has given them it is pretty short and
precise. If they go into paragraphs and sub paragraphs, they are
going to run into the same problems they are. He suggested they
work from their proposal and change any wording in that. Mr.
Anderson feels when he says it must be kept inside of the
property line it should end there. He doesn't feel the language
after that is necessary.
Mr. Loeffler agreed. Mr. Ross stated regarding the visibility
and safety purposes he feels it should read no boat or trailer
shall be parked on or protrude into the public right -of -way. Mr.
Ross feels number three is not necessary. Mr. Jenkins feels it
is good to have it in there because this keeps someone from
making the mistake of buying too big a boat. Mr. Ross stated it
does not tell them what they can do in side and rear yards, it
only tells them what they can do in the front yard. Mr. Jenkins
stated they need to add one more thing, that it doesn't define
the property line issue on the back and side. That is something
they will take care of when they do the final wording. Mr.
Holland seconded the amended motion. Chairman Card stated the
motion was seconded before he amended his own motion.
The motion FAILED 8 -6.
Page -16-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Chairman Card stated the time is 9:03 p.m. Mr. Heeb informed Mr.
Jones this is his opportunity to amend the motion on the table
with his ideas. The whole purpose was to get the discussion
going. Mr. Jones stated he has nothing to say right now. He
stated City Manager Hooper needs a document with some muscle and
leverage that they can rely on that will pass all inspections.
He feels they are beating a dead horse.
Mr. Sylvester made a motion to extend the meeting until 9:30
p.m., second by Mr. Ross. The motion CARRIED 14 -0.
City Manager Hooper stated the way to maybe simplify, if the
Committee can come to an agreement on certain points, they are
pretty good language crafters. He could come back and put a
language in front of them. It doesn't mean they have to accept
it. If they come to an agreement on points they are trying to
do. His understanding of Mr. Jenkins is in the front yard and a
definition of that. He can bring those back and the Committee
can work on that. He feels they are going to burn a lot of time
doing word crafting. He doesn't have a problem doing that.
Sooner or later that will have to happen. His intent is what he
wants to get done. He and the Attorney will make sure it is in
legal format. Chairman Card stated that was the start of the
discussion Mr. Heeb brought forward originally. He stated he is
open for anything from the floor.
Mr. Loeffler thinks they should go back and define what they
consider front yard, side yard, and back yard. He has no problem
with Mr. Heeb's proposal except for the 5 feet back from the City
line. He feels it should be to the property line as long as it
is out of the right -of -way. Mr. Heeb suggested he make a motion
to amend it to take the five feet corridor out. Mr. Loeffler so
moved using Mr. Heeb's language except the five feet. Mr.
Loeffler read no watercraft trailers or any parts therefore may
be resting on or occupying the airspace past the property line,
second by Mr. Holland. Mr. Ross stated this is already covered
in the existing City code. He was not aware regarding boats,
campers and trailers the City passed part of Section 21 -34.06
which prohibits any of these items projecting over the City
right -of -way or property line. Mr. Loeffler feels they should
just eliminate it.
Mr. Jenkins suggesting putting a referral to the other code. Mr.
Ross stated it would be part of this. Mr. Jenkins feels they
should keep everything together. Mr. Ross again stated it is the
same code and the same section. They are separating it for
discussion purposes. Mr. Jarrett suggested they regroup and type
out what they have already approved because it seems to be
getting out of hand and confusing as to where they are going.
Page -17-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Chairman Card stated he thinks the introduction of the additional
code has confused a lot of people. Mr. Ross stated there were
several items agreed to as a proposed code at the last meeting.
He requested that someone take that out of these minutes, the
items proposed by the Committee and list them. Chairman Card
believes Mr. Heeb brought that forward this evening with a new
proposal. Mr. Ross again suggested the minutes list the items.
Chairman Card explained the minutes are supposed to be a synopsis
of the meeting. Mr. Ross stated there were certain issues that
were not addressed last week and they are not all addressed here.
He thinks they need to itemize those issues and come back next
week and put their ideas together. He feels they need to talk
about what items they have not agreed on. Mr. Holland feels they
should work on this one thing.
Mr. Ross asked Mr. Holland to define one issue. Mr. Holland
stated paragraph C of Mr. Heeb's proposal. He doesn't want them
to divert their attention to what they have been working on. Mr.
Bailot stated City Manager Hooper is going to take the verbiage
and put it together to make it sound right. Chairman Card stated
they have eliminated number two. Everything else is as it
stands. They still haven't voted on the proposal with the
amendments. Chairman Card stated the current amendment is
eliminating five feet. The motion CARRIED 13 -1. Mr. Heeb voted
NO.
Mr. Heeb rephrased the motion as now amended. Watercraft and
watercraft trailers may be parked or stored in a driveway
immediately parallel to the driveway along the side of a house or
in the back yard subject to the following exceptions: No
watercraft or watercraft trailer or any part thereof may rest on
or occupy air space past the property line. Mr. Ross stated that
is already prohibited by Code. Mr. Jarrett asked what comes into
play as far as people that can park it in the back or side of the
house. Mr. Jenkins stated they can put it anywhere they want.
Chairman Card stated it basically says anywhere they want except
any watercraft or watercraft trailer or part thereof may rest or
occupy airspace past the property line. Mr. Ross feels this is
unnecessary because it is already prohibited in the existing
Code. Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Heeb if he would be willing to amend
that by adding Mr. Jenkins Section A, the definition of front
yard. City Manager Hooper suggested putting that in under
definitions. It was the consensus of the Committee to do this.
Mr. Anderson stated Section 1(c) is saying that the five foot
corridor would be eliminated. Chairman Card informed him that is
correct. Mr. Madewell stated it has already been done. Chairman
Card stated the language has been modified and that has been
eliminated. There was no further discussion. The motion CARRIED
13 -1. Mr. Anderson voted NO.
Page -18-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Chairman Card stated they still have two items to discuss if they
want to do so. Otherwise they can revert to a period of
administration and what they are going to do the next time. Mr.
Bailot made a motion to save the other two items until the next
meeting, second Mr. Madewell. The motion CARRIED 14 -0.
NEW BUSINESS
Dis cussion of the storage of R V 's motor homes and campers in
residential areas
This item will be discussed at the September 7 th meeting.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Se next agenda (September 7) and any administrative items that
remain
Chairman Card stated they will discuss the last two paragraphs of
Mr. Heeb's proposal and move on to a period of new business
discussion regarding R.V.'s, etc. Everyone was in agreement.
Mr. Jenkins asked if the last two paragraphs were B & D.
Chairman Card informed him yes.
City Manager Hooper stated when they convene at the next meeting
he will take this and put it with the Code adopted and hand out
where they are today. He will underline what they will discuss
next week and mail it out so everyone has it in advance. Mr.
Loeffler asked for Page 17 of July 20 meeting.
Mr. Madewell stated reverting back to City Manager Hooper's
proposal, it is cut, dry and simple. He is urging everybody not
to make as big an issue out of this as it seems to be. They can
change what they don't like.
Mr. Ross stated they need to remember what they are doing now is
not the code they are proposing to City Council. They are
agreeing upon the principles of the items that are going to make
up that code. That was discussed at the very first meeting.
They are agreeing on the principles, not the verbiage. Mr.
Jenkins stated Section C that they just worked on of Mr. Heeb's
is actually C, D, and E of the proposal. Chairman Card asked for
further comment. Mr. Ross feels numbers need to be addressed.
It was mentioned in the original proposal as three total of these
three items. He feels they need to think about this. Mr.
Jenkins stated in addition he would like everybody to consider
major and minor when considering the number issue. He spoke
about jet skis, a small trailer or a utility trailer. They don't
want to restrict a person for something small by putting a blank
number out there.
Page -19-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000
Mr. Heeb feels they should restrict the number allowed in the
front yard. Chairman Card stated the City will do whatever they
ask them to do with regard to supporting them on language. What
they provide is what will be carried forward to City Council.
Mr. Loeffler feels they will reword it. Chairman Card stated
what they provide should be in a finished format. They will
provide the Committee support to do that. City Manager Hooper
stated he is going to rewrite the work. They are going to have
to approve it before it leaves this Committee.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, Mr. Madewell moved to
adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Lisa Bloomer
Page -20-
Land Dev. Code Review Cmt.
August 24, 2000