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06-28-1999 - Workshop - Detached Oversized Garages , ~ ~ CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER WORKSHOP JUNE 28, 1999 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES CALL TO ORDER vice Mayor Roberts called the Workshop to order at 7:15 p.m. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Randy Allman Councilman James Gornto Councilman Myron Hammond Vice Mayor Gary Roberts Councilwoman Judith Lichter City Attorney Nikki Clayton City Manager Kenneth Hooper city Clerk Susan Wadsworth Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Excused Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present MEETING PURPOSE The purpose of the workshop is to address the situation with detached oversized garages in Edgewater. City Clerk Wadsworth informed Vice Mayor Roberts the amount of registered voters in Edgewater is 12,095. city Manager Hooper presented a report to Council on garages. Councilwoman Lichter asked to hear from City Attorney Clayton after the public input in reference to what she found after reviewing the information Councilwoman Lichter presented to her regarding regulations in Florida Shores. Jay Michael McKay, 1717 S. Riverside Drive, owns a garage on Riverside Drive. He feels Council is putting the City in untenable position even if their hearts are in the right place. He doesn't think you can have it both ways. He suggested the Council can not legislate what a person should be allowed to own and by prohibiting outside storage and setting limits on garage and accessory storage, he feels they are doing just that. He feels landscaping would be the answer not legislating the size of garages but providing guidelines to enhance and compliment the structure being built. Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, thinks a lot of the concern was with the aesthetics of this situation. He spoke about deed restrictions. He feels it's not the City's business to regulate aesthetics. He feels the people have a right to have their toys as well as a place to keep them. Elizabeth Donahue, 3205 Tamarind Drive, questioned Code Enforcement. She feels they need to have some kind of enforcement and enforce what we have or change it. If it is changed, there is going to be a lot of trouble. She is not pushing for restrictions. She would like to see some kind of code to enforce everybody. Bob Garthwaite, 10 Lee Drive, feels they need to put restrictions on height, square footage, aesthetics, and placement on the property. He feels the height should be cut down to between 12 and 16 feet. Square footage should be configured on what the amount of the main structure is. He feels aesthetics should be comparable to the main structure. If we cut them down in size, they can be placed on the property where they would be least offensive. ~ ....", Vice Mayor Roberts informed the public they aren't only talking about Florida Shores but the entire city. Councilwoman Lichter asked City Attorney Clayton what information she found out. City Attorney Clayton elaborated on what she found out about the information given to her by Councilwoman Lichter. Councilman Hammond spoke about the height limit of 12 to 16 feet and a person having a mobile home and it not fitting inside. Building Official Dennis Fischer commented on height and how much room would be needed for a roll up door. He further spoke about wall heights and the pitch of the roof. Vice Mayor Roberts feels the height is what really bothers people, not so much the square footage. Councilwoman Lichter feels the height limit would be alright at twenty-five feet. She feels if the garage was closer to the residence that it belongs to than to the house next door, it probably would look a lot better and not as confusing. City Attorney Clayton informed Council of a situation in Winter Park and Orlando. Vice Mayor Roberts further spoke about height being an issue. He would rather see restrictions on height and a little more liberal on square footage. It is less conspicuous when it is spread out in a lower profile. Councilwoman Lichter asked when they were rewriting the codes was there anything in the new update that at all remotely addresses itself to storage areas and garages. City Manager Hooper stated he kept the same 35 feet and 30% coverage. Mr. Fischer stated there is no definition in our current ordinance regarding detached or attached garages. It is in the building code but not in the definitions of zoning and that is something they have to go back and take a look at. There was a brief discussion regarding one of the garages on the list made out of aluminum. City Attorney Clayton asked if the garages on the list provided were all detached. Mr. Fischer stated that is just a few of the ones he knew about. There was a brief discussion regarding the definition of detached and attached garages. There was a brief discussion regarding airplane hangars being larger than the homes. Mr. Jenkins spoke about comments made during earlier discussion. Rather than seeing a restriction on the square footage maybe they could limit the number of large doors facing the road. Don't restrict it to no detached garages because he feels the detached garages are a lot safer when it comes to fire. Councilwoman Lichter asked Mr. Fischer about detached garages being closer to the house. Mr. Fischer explained detached is five feet or further away from the structure. He further commented if Council does a size restriction they may want to add additional footage to the setback. He further commented on existing setbacks. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about some of the older homes on Riverside Drive and the detached garages being in the rear of the property. Page -2- Council Workshop June 28, 1999 ~ ~ There was a brief discussion regarding one of the homes having two garages side by side. Mr. Fischer explained one of the garages is the house garage you just don't see the rest of the house and the other is a detached garage. Vice Mayor Roberts again spoke about height being the issue. city Manager Hooper informed Council he would come back with a recommendation of three choices at the July 19th meeting. Councilman Hammond feels the landscaping and the garage doors facing to the side could help the look a little bit. Councilwoman Lichter feels Code Enforcement kicks in too. She spoke about industrial use in some garages being brought to their attention. Vice Mayor Roberts feels some people get nervous when they see the larger garages go up because they think of a business enterprise going in there. It was the consensus of Council for City Manager Hooper to come back at the July 19th meeting with three choices. City Manager Hooper informed Council the two medians to the north will be started tomorrow. City Manager Hooper informed Council they will be advertising the gymnasium for construction on July 18th. The opening will be August 18th. The award for construction will be at the last meeting in August. The 90% plans have been completed. City Manager Hooger informed Council he would be going over the budget on July 8 h with the first hour and a half being the General Fund and the next hour being the Enterprise Funds. Vice Mayor Roberts stated he noticed a survey team working on Turgot Avenue and questioned if that is part of the paving part of the program through the Block Grant we are getting. City Manager Hooper commented on two projects going on that require surveys. Councilwoman Lichter asked if we have heard back from the State concerning the boat. City Manager Hooper stated we haven't heard back but he has talked to them by phone and we are first on the list. That boat will be moved. Councilman Gornto asked if there has been any word on a signal at the Post Office. City Manager Hooper informed Council Mr. Wadsworth is meeting with DOT and would let him know. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon being very nice and at the luncheon, the Library Board Chairman offering the Library as a place to put the fountain. If we have to move it, the Library might be a very good place to put it. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilwoman Lichter moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Minutes submitted by Lisa Kruckmeyer Page -3- Council Workshop June 28, 1999