CCPC Minutes 03/24/2008 GMP
March 24, 2008
TRANSCRIPT OF THE GMP AMENDMENT MEETING OF THE
COLLIER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
Naples, Florida
March 24, 2008
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Planning
Commission, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted
business herein, met on this date at 5:05 p.m. in SPECIAL SESSION
in Immokalee, Florida, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN:
Mark Strain
Lindy Adelstein (Absent)
Donna Reed-Caron
Tor Kolflat (Absent)
Paul Midney
Bob Murray
Brad Schiffer
Robert Vigliotti
David 1. Wolfley
ALSO PRESENT:
David Weeks, Comprehensive Planning
Margerie Student-Stirling, Assistant County Attorney
Page 1
REVISED AGENDA
COLLIER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION WILL MEET AT 8:30 A.M., MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2008 IN THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING ROOM, ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, COUNTY
GOVERNMENT CENTER, 3301 TAMIAMI TRAIL EAST, NAPLES, FLORIDA.
NOTE: NO LA TER THAN 3:00 PM, THE CCPC INTENDS TO ADJOURN THE
HEARING, THEN RE-CONVENE A T 6:00 PM TO HEAR ITEMS 4.8. AND 4.C.
NOTE: INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO 5 MINUTES ON ANY
ITEM. INDIVIDUALS SELECTED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF AN
ORGANIZATION OR GROUP ARE ENCOURAGED AND MAY BE ALLOTTED 10
MINUTES TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM IF SO RECOGNIZED BY THE CHAIRMAN.
PERSONS WISHING TO HAVE WRITTEN OR GRAPHIC MATERIALS
INCLUDED IN THE CCPC AGENDA PACKETS MUST SUBMIT SAID MATERIAL
A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE RESPECTIVE PUBLIC HEARING. IN
ANY CASE, WRITTEN MATERIALS INTENDED TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE
CCPC SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE COUNTY STAFF A
MINIMUM OF SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC HEARING. ALL MATERIAL
USED IN PRESENTATIONS BEFORE THE CCPC WILL BECOME A
PERMANENT PART OF THE RECORD AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR
PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IF
APPLICABLE.
ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION OF THE CCPC WILL
NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS PERTAINING THERETO, AND
THEREFORE MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE
PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY
AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED.
I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
2. ROLL CALL BY SECRETARY
3. PLANNING COMMISSION ABSENCES
4. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. CP-2006-1, IRE-ADVERTISED FOR 5:05 P.M. ON MARCH 24, 2008 AT THE IMMOKALEE CAREER & SERVICES
CENTER, 750 SOUTH 5th STREET, IMMOKALEE, FL 34142.J Petition requesting an amendment to the
1m ok I e PI n n mm k Are Ma t r PI n F t r a d Ma nd M eries
(IAMP/FLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Urban-Mixed Use District/Low Residential Subdistrict
to Urban-Commercial District/Commerce Park at Silver Strand Subdistrict to allow Business Park zoning
district uses; Industrial uses; select uses from the General Commercial (C-4) and Heavy Commercial (C-5)
zoning districts; and uses allowed within the General Office (C-1), Commercial Convenience (C-2) and
Commercial Intermediate (C-3) zoning districts of the Collier County Land Development Code, not to
exceed 1,000,000 square feet of gross leasable floor area, on property located on the East side of
Immokalee Road, approximately ~ mile south of Stockade Road, in Section 15, Township 47 South, Range
29 East, consisting of 164.87:t acres. [CoordInator: Michele Mosca, AICP, PrincIpal Planner)
B. CP-2006-2, [HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN BY THE PETITIONER] Petition requesting an amendment to the Golden
Gate Ar a Master Plan in lith I en ate Ar a Ma t r Plan F ture La d Use a n M erie
(GGAMP/FLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Residential Estates and Neighborhood Center
Subdistricts to NEW Estates Shopping Center Subdistrict, to allow commercial land uses consistent with the
General Commercial (C-4) zoning district of the Collier County Land Development Code at a maximum
intensity of 225,000 square feet, for property located at the NW corner of Golden Gate & Wilson
Boulevards, in Section 4, Township 49 South, Range 27 East, consisting of 4O.6:t acres. [Coordinator:
Michele Mosca, A1CP, PrincIpal Planner)
- 1 -
C. CP-2006-S, [TO BE HEARD AT 6:00 P.M.) Petition requesting an amendment to the Golden Gate Area Master
Plan (GGAMP), to change Conditional Uses Subdistrict by adding subject site as an exception to locational
criteria so as to allow expansion of the existing church use on the adjacent property onto the subject
property, located on the west side of Santa Barbara Boulevard, 1/3 mile north of Golden Gate Parkway, in
Section 29, Township 49 South, Range 26 East, consisting of 3.S4:t acres. [Coordinator: Thomas
Greenwood, AICP, Principal Planner)
D. CP-2006-7, Petition requesting an amendment to the Future Land Use Element. includino the Future Land
Use Mac and Mac Series (FLUElFLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Urban Residential
Subdistrict to the (NEW) Italian American Plaza and Clubhouse Commercial Subdistrict in the Urban
Commercial District, to allow a clubhouse not to exceed 20,000 square feet and up to 26,000 square feet of
commercial uses consistent with the C-1 through C-4 zoning districts of the Collier County Land
Development Code, for property located at the southwest corner of Airport-Pulling Road and Orange
Blossom Drive, in Section 2, Township 49 South, Range 25 East, consisting of 5:t acres. [Coordinator:
Corby Schmidt, AICP, Principal Planner]
E. CP-2006-8, Petition requesting an amendment to the Future Land Use Element. includino the Future Land
Use Mac and Mac Series (FLUE/FLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Urban Residential
Subdistrict to the (NEW) Airport/Orange Blossom Commercial Subdistrict in the Urban Commercial District,
to allow up to 50,000 square feet of commercial uses consistent with the C-1 through C-4 zoning districts of
the Collier County Land Development Code, for property located on the east side of Airport-Pulling Road,
330 feet south of Orange Blossom Drive and adjacent to south of Italian American Club, in Section 2,
Township 49 South, Range 25 East, consisting of 5:t acres. [Coordinator: Corby Schmidt, AICP, Principal
Planner]
F. CP-2006-9, Petition requesting an amendment to the Future Land Use Element. includino the Future Land
Use Mac and Mao Series (FLUE/FLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Rural Lands Stewardship
Area (RLSA) Open to Habitat Stewardship Area, to make corresponding changes to acreage figures in
RLSA Policies, and to increase the cap on early entry bonus Stewardship Credits in RLSA Policy 1.21, for
property located west of Lake Trafford in the RLSA, in Section 33, Township 46 South, Range 28 East,
consisting of 191.80:1: acres.
[Coordinator: David Weeks, AICP, Planning Manager)
G. CP-2006-10, Petition requesting an amendment to the Future Land Use Element. includino the Future Land
Use Mac and Mac Series (FLUElFLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Rural Lands Stewardship
Area (RLSA) Open to Habitat Stewardship Area, to make corresponding changes to acreage figures in
RLSA Policies, and to increase the cap on early entry bonus Stewardship Credits in RLSA Policy 1.21, for
property located east of Immokalee in the RLSA and within the Area of Critical State Concern, in Sections
13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27, Township 46 South, Range 30 East, consisting of 2,431.80:t acres.
[Coordinator: David Weeks, A1CP, Planning Manager)
H. CPSP-2006-12, [TO BE CONTINUED] Staff petition requesting an amendment to the Future Land Use Mac
(FLUM), to change the FLUM designation from Urban-Mixed Use District/Urban Coastal Fringe Subdistrict
to Conservation Designation, and make correlating text change to reference a new map of the site, for the
County-owned Mar-Good Park property located on Goodland, adjoining Pettit Drive, Pear Tree Avenue, and
Papaya Street, in Section 18, Township 27, Range 52, consisting of 2.5:t acres. [Coordinator: Tom
Greenwood, A1CP, Principal Planner)
I. CPSP-2006-13, Staff petition requesting amendments to the Future Land Use Element and Future Land
Use Mac and Mac Series lFLUElFLUMI. Cacitallmcrovement Element. Transcortation Element and Macs.
Recreation and Ocen Scace Element. Economic Element. and Golden Gate Area Master Plan Element and
Future Land Use Mac Series. to change the allowance for model homes in Golden Gate Estates; to extend
the Transfer of Development Rights early entry bonus in the Rural Fringe Mixed Use District; and, to make
corrections of omissions and errors and other housecleaning revisions so as to harmonize and update
various sections. [Coordinator: David Weeks, AICP, Planning Manager)
13. ADJOURN
3/17/08 CCPC AGENO" TO CONSICER 2006 CYCLE GMPAs OW/MK
- 2-
March 24,2008
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'd start out and say good morning like
we normally do, but it's evening, and this is a rarity for Collier County
Planning Commission. So good afternoon or good evening, and
welcome to the March 24th meeting of the Collier County Planning
Commission.
And for the first time that I can recall, we're holding the meeting
here in Immokalee and. I hope this is precedent for more to come.
So if you'll all please rise for the pledge of allegiance.
(Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you. And if the secretary will
please do the roll call.
Item #2
ROLL CALL BY THE SECRETARY
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Midney?
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Present.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Present.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Ms. Caron is here.
Mr. Strain?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Vigliotti?
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Present.
COMMISSIONER CARON: And Mr. Wolfley?
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Kolflat and Mr. Adelstein are
absent.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And Paul, it's a real good thing to see
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March 24, 2008
you here tonight on time. And I'm sure the road traffic wasn't as bad to
get here as it normally is for you.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Not yet.
Item #3
PLANNING COMMISSION ABSENCES
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So it worked out just fine.
Planning commission absences. Our next meeting will be Friday
mornmg.
And David, I believe the only issue we have Friday morning is
number 13 that you distributed; is that correct?
MR. WEEKS: Also petition 12.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Which is?
MR. WEEKS : Was continued from your 17th meeting. This is a
property -- county-owned property on Goodland for a map
designation.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It was readvertised for the 28th, youtre
right.
MR. WEEKS: I had incorrectly stated the 17th it was being
readvertised. It was continued from that date. A second neighborhood
information meeting, however, was advertised and held, because the
first one was incorrectly noticed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does any member of the planning
commission here know if they're not going to be here on Friday the
28th -- not here, it will be actually in the Collier County complex like
usual starting at 8:30 in the morning.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: This Thursday?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: This coming Friday.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: This coming Friday I might not
make it.
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March 24, 2008
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Anybody else?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, we'll still have a quorum. Thank
you.
Part of the application thatts coming up today, David, is the
transportation section. That's really going to be real important. Nick
has circulated various e-mails prior to today's meeting on some issues
of concern on the impact of the road. I thought he was going to be
here.
Do you know ifhe's still planning to make it, and maybe late? Do
you have any idea?
MR. WEEKS: Our understanding is also that he would be here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well, Ijust hope he shows up
before we go too far then.
With that, we'll go into the advertised public hearings. We have
MR. WEEKS: Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, sir?
MR. WEEKS: Pardon the interruption.
Because we did not bring nameplates, I wonder if it might be
appropriate to -- though the role has been taken, I'm not sure if it was
in order or not, but to have each commissioner identify themselves for
the record?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Good idea.
Paul, we'll start with you.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Paul Midney.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Brad Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Donna Caron.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mark Strain.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Bob Murray.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Bob Vigliotti.
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Dave Wolfley. Sorry, I'm busy.
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March 24, 2008
Item #4A
PETITION: CP-2006-1
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There's a little off button on that that
works.
We're here for one purpose tonight, and that's for the transmittal
hearing for CP-2006-1. It's a petition requesting an amendment to the
Immokalee Area Master Plan, and Immokalee Area Master Plan
Future Land Use Map and Map Series. It's concerning approximately
one million square feet of commerciallindustrialland to the south side
of town.
And with that, we normally proceed with the presentation by the
applicant, discussion by the planning commission, presentation by
county staff.
Then when we finish with the questions of county staff, we then
ask for comments from the public. We ask the public to try to contain
themselves in about five minutes or so. There's some discretion in that.
We just don't want to get too long into too many different people talk
talking at one time.
So with that, Mr. Varnadoe, it's all yours.
MR. VARNADOE: Thank you, Mr. Strain.
F or the record, George Varnadoe, on behalf of Silver Strand III
Partnership.
And Mark told you what we're here for is to try to change the
Immokalee Area Master Plan to a new subdistrict for a commerce or
business park.
I have several consultants also here on behalf the applicant. But
tonight you're going to hear from me, then Bob Mulhere, our Planner,
and Russ Weyer, our Economic Consultant. And others are here to
answer your questions.
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March 24, 2008
Location. I'm sure you all came right by it. This is Immokalee
Road, Stockade Road. We're over here somewhere.
165 acres approximately in this location on the east side of Immokalee
Road.
Our neighbors are ourselves, Barron Collier interest on the
property down to the south, property to the east, property to the west
across Immokalee Road.
Our other neighbor is the county facility and we have a Collier
County Landfill, and we have a Collier County stockade and a
transportation maintenance facility there.
Also approved is a conditional use earlier for a concrete
manufacturing facility on this approximately 15 acres in this location.
The property is within the Immokalee urban area, and is the
southernmost parcel in the Immokalee urban area. It's currently
designated urban low density residential, and zoned ago with a mobile
home overlay.
It's also within the community redevelopment area, although it's
not in a sub area that is designated for redevelopment.
It is also in the heartland rural area of critical economic concern;
one of the three areas in the state so designated by the Governor as
adversely affected by extraordinary economic events. The recognition
that economic development and diversification of the economy is
vitally important to the community in that executive order setting off
that designation.
The intent is to create a commerce park which will allow a mix
of industrial and commercial uses. And part of the aim is to serve the
rural land stewardship area and the Immokalee area as growth occurs
in this area. And we think it's ideally located from that perspective.
Being south of most of the Immokalee urban area, as far as serving
people in the RSLA, they will not have to go through the urban area to
transport goods or services to that area. However, by being in the
urban area, it's also close enough for workers who enter the
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March 24, 2008
Immokalee area to earn their living in this park without having a long
commute.
The business park or commerce park is an essential step in
building a viable economic development program to diversify the
economic base in Collier County, particularly eastern Collier County.
The proposal is for a million square feet total, 30 percent of which
could be commercial.
I hope everybody received the revised Exhibit 4-B that I
transmitted electronically on Friday. Ifnot, I have other copies that
attempted to clarify that wetre not seeking all of the C-1 through C-3
uses, but that some of those are appropriate and the exact list of which
we can determine at the time of zoning.
I would note that although it was in the staff report that some
time ago we appeared at a joint meeting of the CRA Advisory
Committee and the Immokalee Master Planning and Visioning
Committee and presented this project. And my recollection, although I
couldn't find my notes, was that they had a vote and actually endorsed
the project. But we have members of that committee -- those
committees here which correct me if I'm -- my memory's getting
faulty.
This will be similar to a business park with expanded uses. And
that's a unified project under one control and a parklike setting with
fairly low structural density, well landscaped. So it's going to look like
a project as opposed to a scattering of industrial uses on industrial
zoned land.
The business park subdistrict, as they exist in our Land
Development Code and our Compo Plan today in my opinion is too
restrictive. And I don't know anybody who's successfully used that in
the time it's been in our books since 1994, I think.
I pulled off the county website some PUD's that had industrial
components that were some meaningful size, and note that none were
developed using the business park subdistrict. All seemed to have
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March 24, 2008
more flexibility in the types of uses.
The City Gate Commerce Park, which I was involved in back in
1988,2,926,000 square feet total, of which 33 percent is commercial.
The Creekside Park of Commerce, which I also was involved in,
810,000 square feet, of which 23 and a half percent is commercial.
Westport Park of Commerce, which is I guess the southwest corner of
951 and Davis Boulevard, another project I was involved in, 568,000
total feet, of which 61 percent is commercial. East Gateway, which I
was not involved in, 450,000 square feet total, of which 44 percent is
commercial. And Tollgate, which is 898,000 square feet, of which 39
percent is commercial. All of those have uses that go beyond what
would be allowed under a business subdistrict zoning.
I guess one conclusion you could draw from that, and I don't but
you could, that it's okay to have a good mix of different kind of
commercial and more commercial in these projects in the urban area,
but what about Immokalee? I mean, why should this be restricted as
the staff would have us restricted?
Now I need to address the staff report. They claim that we did not
address compatibility. And I think they probably do not have anything
in writing from us as to compatibility.
I am pointing out our surrounding land uses. We have the Collier
County Landfill in this location, we have the Collier County Stockade,
the transportation maintenance facility, and we've got a concrete
manufacturing facility.
And I would ask you, which is more compatible, a mix of
commercial and industrial uses or single-family homes in that
location?
In Pages 10 and 11 of your staff report, they said we also did not
address how the proposal furthers the redevelopment plan -- that is,
the CRA redevelopment plan -- or how the proposal furthers the
GOP's of the Immokalee Area Master Plan and how it furthers the
goals of the rural area critical economic concern designation.
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March 24, 2008
I think in fact we did address those with the data analysis we
supplied. But we did not draw the logical conclusions that can be
drawn from that for staff, I guess.
The rural area of critical economic concern, the goal there is to
incentivize economic development in the area as the state has
recognized that this is one of the areas that really needs economic
development in order to help the community.
As far as the CRA is concerned, the staff report says that the plan
identifies an overarching economic development goal and objectives
aimed at, among other things, of recruiting new businesses to
Immokalee.
And the Immokalee Area Master Plan, Policy 6.1, which I can't
see now, says the county shall support economic development
opportunities throughout the Immokalee urban area.
What all three of those have in common, both the area of critical
economic concern, the CRA and the Growth Management Plan for
Immokalee say that Immokalee needs economic development and
more economic development.
The fiscal analysis which we provided shows that during
build-out there'd be over 2,100 new jobs and a direct-to-indirect sales
generation of $183 million annually, indirect and direct employer
earnings of$63 million annually, and at build-out over 3,100
permanent jobs, direct and indirect sales of over 275 million, and
employee earnings of about 95 million on an annual basis.
I think that the conclusion that I draw and the logical conclusion
is that this plan we're proposing does further the goals of all three by
bringing economic development to the Immokalee urban area.
In addition, projections are that at build-out the contributions to
the CRA would be approximately $700,000 per year. That's after
build-out. And that would certainly help the CRA achieve their
redevelopment goals.
I'm going to ask Bob Mulhere to address some planning
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March 24, 2008
considerations, and then I'd like to come back up and ask you your
indulgence to take Tammie Nemecek out of turn, because we've been
working with the EDC on helping with this private/public partnership
between the county and EDC for economic development.
So Bob?
MR. MULHERE: Let me just get settled here, and hopefully
won't drop anything. I can use my rather substantial stomach here to
hold this up.
For the record, Bob Mulhere with RW A.
Mark, you think that's funny. It's true.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You're the last person I would think
would have to say that, but go --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah, I made at comparison
myself.
MR. MULHERE: I just hide it well because I'm tall. Mr.
Varnadoe has asked me for the record to quickly establish my
professional qualifications, which I will do.
Professional Planner. I have slightly over 19 years of experience.
From 1989 through 2001 I worked for Collier County. The last four of
those years as the Planning Services Director.
Since 2001 I've been employed as Senior Vice President and
Director of Planning for RW A. And I was certified by the American
Institute of Certified Planners in 1994.
And in 2001 I received a master's degree in public administration
from Florida Gulf Coast University.
So I have my resume, which I'd like to put in the record. Which I
will do, but I leave now or this book will fall.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's okay, leave it.
MR. MULHERE: Thank you.
Okay. As George indicated, I've reviewed the proposed
application related to the planning related -- professional planning
related manners. And specifically related to consistency with the
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March 24, 2008
Growth Management Plan, since this is a Growth Management Plan
amendment. And in particular, as it relates to the Immokalee Area
Master Plan.
At the outset, I may be stating the obvious here, but I just wanted
to say that, you know, itts understood and accepted that from time to
time there are going to be amendments to the plan. And I think it's also
understood and accepted that those amendments should be
appropriate, and clearly it's required that you have to submit the
appropriate level of data and analysis that both the staff will review
prior to making a recommendation to the board, and ultimately DCA
will review after transmittal. And I think we've addressed those issues.
I'd like to talk a little bit about compatibility. And I think -- I'll be
brief, because I think George really went over that.
But just to reiterate, from my professional opinion, given the land
uses that surround this piece of property and the fact that much of the
surrounding land use that's currently under ago and undeveloped is
owned by the applicant, clearly this piece of property along
Immokalee Road is more compatible under the proposed commerce
center designation than it would be as low density residential. Given
the stockade, the Collier County Landfill, the concrete manufacturing
facility, and I think there's a Collier County maintenance facility as
well there.
Talking about locations for the commerce center and why this
particular location is appropriate and why was it selected, in part those
are driven by the fact that the business park district is not very flexible
in terms of its allowances and the uses that are allowed.
The commerce center industrial district is flexible, but it appears
to us that the intent was that that really was only intended for one area
of geography in Immokalee.
I'd like to hand out that language to you, if I could get somebody
to help me. Otherwise this --
MR. VARNADOE: I'll do it.
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March 24, 2008
MR. MULHERE: Thank you.
Now, this is from the Immokalee Area Master Plan. It's just one
page. Contains the commerce center industrial subdistrict, which is
one paragraph, and it contains the business park subdistrict, which is a
few paragraphs.
If you take a look at the commerce center industrial subdistrict --
and by the way, the staff report goes into detail analyzing the existing
conditions in the Immokalee area related to the various areas that
allow for commercial and industrial uses, identifying the developed
and undeveloped acreages. And really, this part of my presentation
goes to that analysis.
The commerce center industrial subdistrict, the purpose is to
create a major activity center that serves the entire Immokalee urban
designated area and the surrounding ago area. And it's to function as an
employment center for industrial and commercial uses, including
those in C-l through C-5 industrial and the business park zoning
district.
Now, it also indicates that it includes the Immokalee Farmers
Market and related facilities. And permits higher intensity uses
including packing houses and so on and so forth.
Again, that district certainly allows for significant flexibility and
actually more intensity and more flexibility than we were seeking in
the commerce center designation in asking for C-l through C-3.
Additionally, it appeared that this was intended to specifically apply
only to that piece of geography where the Farmers Market is in the
surrounding lands. Hence our request for a specific subdistrict known
as the Commerce Center at Silver Strand.
The other question that was asked is what about the business park
district. And again, we would iterate or suggest to you that that doesn't
have the kind of flexibility that we're looking for. It's rather restrictive.
You can see in the language that I provided you that there's a
very limited number of ancillary uses, commercial uses, secondary
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March 24, 2008
commercial uses that are allowed in the business park district than the
Immokalee Area Master Plan.
And again, as Mr. Varnadoe indicated, there really have been no
-- there has been no utilization of the business park designation. There
is one project that I'm aware of in the urban area on Collier Boulevard
that was, I believe, zoned business park or zoned PUD but using the
business park provisions, which remains undeveloped. So some 13
years after that language was inserted in the code, we still don't have
it.
And I can attest to the fact that that is a problem, because I am --
I work integrally with the Economic Development Council and am a
member of their board, and one of the things that we have continued
to work on is creating a climate where adequate supply of land is
designated and eventually zoned to allow for the types of uses that we
want to see to create economic diversity. I won't steal Tammie's
thunder, but it's important that I say that as part of my presentation.
So I think that should explain why we looked at a separate
designation.
Now, I also want to just for a moment talk about that commerce
center. The staff report indicates that there's 135 acres of undeveloped
-- or 138 acres of undeveloped land in the commerce center industrial
subdistrict. And I have one more thing to hand out to you.
That's true. But just like so many of the other examples, that
doesn't make those lands appropriate or conducive to what's being
proposed here. The fact that you may have undeveloped land, I think
you have to dig in a little bit further. And this is a list of separate
property owners within the commerce center industrial designation
under the Immokalee Future Land Use Map.
And you can see that there are some I think four -- I think I
counted, I think there was 49, 48 or 49 separate landowners, many
parcels less than an acre or two acres in size.
It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to assume that there
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March 24, 2008
would be an aggregation of parcels that could be then master planned
and developed to accommodate a commerce center, the likes of which
we are proposmg.
And that is really true in almost all of the designations that are
dealt with in the staff report where there is some degree of vacant
land. It's either too small or too disjointed or not appropriately located.
As Mr. Varnadoe pointed indicated, this location here is really
quite good, since it can serve the surrounding lands without
necessarily drawing unnecessary traffic through the center of town and
down Main Street. So we think it's an appropriate location.
I want to talk a little bit about the mixture of uses. We -- we've
provided language that gives us flexibility with the condition that at
the time of zoning we would narrow down the list of uses. And I guess
I feel it's important to reiterate that at the comprehensive plan,
particularly when youtre talking about an opportunity for economic
development, it's really critical to retain that flexibility. We simply
don't know what types of businesses at this point in time we will be
able to attract. But we know that with a million square feet and over
3,000 employees, at least according to the model, at the time of
build-out, we're going to need some additional commercial uses to
support the daily needs of those employees.
We've limited it to C-l through C-3. Those uses are already
limited in terms of scope and scale, and we would further limit it at the
time of zoning to specific uses that we feel are appropriate, or
eliminating those that we feel are inappropriate. And of course you
would have the -- the planning commission and the board would have
the opportunity to review that as well.
I think Mr. Varnadoe already went over the other types of
commerce park or commerce center PUD's that exist in the urban area,
all of which contain a significant component of commercial uses.
Even the one designation in the Immokalee Area Master Plan
called the Commerce Center Industrial that's supposed to be the major
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March 24, 2008
activity center and major employment driver has C-1 through C-5 and
business park uses allowed. Seems appropriate to allow them in this
commerce center as well.
The concept is supported by the Immokalee Master Plan Vision
Committee, the East of 951 Committee -- I'm not sure if I have that
exactly right; I looked at the preliminary report.
They recognized and spelled it out right in the preliminary report
that the eastern part of Collier County was really the only opportunity
left for large-scale developments that will allow for the kind of new
economic diversification that we are striving for. That in the urban
area for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the lack of large
parcels of land, not the least of which the incredibly high cost of land
in the urban area, and also the traffic impacts.
And also the fact that I tried to pern1it a 40-acre business park
and couldn't get it permitted because of neighbor objections.
So it's not going to be a very easy thing to accomplish, but we can
accomplish it in the eastern area of Collier County and the east of 951
Visioning Committee recognized that.
This supports the CRA, it doesn't detract from the CRA. And I
guess I'd like to go to that issue for just a few minutes.
This proposal will reduce trip impacts on the east-west -- over
time on the east-west Immokalee Road. Because if we're successful
and we have significant employees working out of here from the
surrounding lands, the need for those employees to drive west in the
morning and east in the afternoon is reduced. And that will have a
beneficial impact in terms of --
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Could you explain that east-west?
Because this road is north-south.
MR. MULHERE: Well, I'm talking generally in terms of Collier
County. Immokalee is east and the coast is west. And right now if
there's no employment opportunities, most folks are heading west for
employment and then east to go home. And that's what I mean, yeah.
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March 24, 2008
I understand the road turns and heads north and south there, but it's
still the same concept.
This commerce center development will result in significantly
increased tax revenues, which will benefit the CRA, not detract from
it. The model estimates in excessive of $700,000 per year in TIF, tax
increment financing, for the CRA as a result of this project.
This is different than the down -- one of the questions that's come
up is, well, won't this detract from the effort to redevelop the
downtown area, and primarily focusing on Main Street? And I would
submit to you as a professional planner that the two are completely
different, that one does not detract from the other, that one actually
will benefit the other, that this will benefit the downtown
redevelopment and the Main Street redevelopment.
I would submit that not only the TIF incremental financing that
we've already discussed, tax incremental financing, but also the fact
that it's just different. These uses will be different.
Really, if the downtown Main Street area of Immokalee is to be
successfully redeveloped, what needs to happen is that folks need to
concentrate on getting -- on furthering the elements of the downtown
Main Street area that are beneficial to redevelopment. It's diversity, it's
on-street parking, it's mixture of uses. Especially focusing on a
mixture of uses that would be different in the daytime and different at
night, such as restaurants and offices.
Focusing on the small town Main Street feeling of Main Street,
Immokalee and the diversity -- I think I already said that. This will be
the kind of components that will result in a successful development,
not the fact that this fairly large commerce center will in any way
detract from that.
What you have is high pedestrian activity, you have on-street
parking. You have a physical condition that supports a mixture of
these daytime and evening uses. If we can get them there, we'll be
successful.
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March 24, 2008
So I really don't see that there's any computation between the
commerce center and the Immokalee downtown or Main Street area.
So in closing, it's my professional opinion that it's clear that this
location is appropriate for this use. Commerce park is compatible with
the existing land uses we've discussed.
The needs analysis and the economic data submitted with this
petition really do make it very, very clear that the proposed project
will diversify the economy, it will bring needed jobs to the
community, it will substantially increase TIF funds for the
implementation of the CRA, and the overarching theme and goal that
you heard George talk about that's there both in the Immokalee Area
Master Plan and in the rural area of economic concern and in the CRA
is economic diversity and economic development. And this is the kind
of opportunity that doesn't come around every day to advance that.
With a willing landowner who will at no small risk take the
opportunity to do exactly that.
I believe that concludes my presentation. Again, I think it's
consistent with the goals, objectives and policies, and warrants your
approval. Thank you.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I think we probably do. I just don't
know ifthere's a timing issue with the EDC's discussion that you
wanted to have.
Is Tammie pressed for time? No? Because we do have -- I'm sure
there's going to be some planning questions. Is there a reason why
they wouldn't be appropriate now, from your perspective?
MR. VARNADOE: However you want to do it, Mr. Strain.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. As far as the planning
commission goes, why don't we start out -- is there any planning
issues?
Mr. Midney? I would assume you'd have plenty of questions.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Yeah, and I'm not -- questioning
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March 24, 2008
doesn't mean I'm against the project, I just have some things that I,
you know, would like to clarify in my mind. It sounds like a good
idea.
I guess the first thing that comes to mind is we have an Airport
Industrial Park which we're trying to develop which belongs to the
county, and we're trying to recruit people to lease this area.
Will having this other large private park be in competition with
what we're trying to do now with the airport park?
MR. MULHERE: Well, I would answer that in two ways. And if
you want more specific information, we've got the consultants here,
Russ Weyer, for example, that can talk to this.
But in general, the needs analysis that we conducted still shows
significant need, even in consideration of the proposed Airport
Industrial Park and -- or the existing Airport Industrial Park and the
proposed trade center -- tradeport.
So there's still significant need. And again, I think as this
commerce park unfolds and comes into the zoning stage, you're going
to get a better idea of the exact nature of the uses that will be in there.
And -- I mean, to an extent they're going to compete, but they're
not going to detract from one another, because there's need well above
and beyond all three of those already identified by the EDC study and
the independent study that we had done by Russ Weyer.
Tammie will talk about the EDC study.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Aren't we having trouble, though,
finding people to lease space at the airport now?
MR. MULHERE: And you know what, maybe Tammie can talk
about that.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Go ahead, yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Paul, the--
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Oh, I'm sorry.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Fred, really, you're a member of the
public, I'd rather have the applicant's experts and professionals
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March 24, 2008
respond first, and then we'll bring up members of the public.
And Bob, if you're here to answer questions --
MR. MULHERE: I think I can--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- then you need to answer them.
MR. MULHERE: Yeah, I think I can.
And what I would suggest to you is that I don't know the degree
to which the airport is having some trouble -- the Airport Industrial
Park is having trouble finding tenants. I'm not intimately familiar with
what type of tenants they're looking for.
But as I understand it, you know, there are limitations on -- that
land is I think through a long-term lease, a 99-year lease or something.
I don't know if a business owner can come in there and buy that
property. That limits the pool of potential tenants. Because some
people want to own their property.
And I think Tammie will address it further when she gets up here,
won't you, Tammie?
MS. NEMECEK: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Yeah, that's just an area that I
would like elaborated, not necessarily by yourself but --
MR. MULHERE: No, I understand.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: -- something that I would like to
inform myself about better.
MR. MULHERE: It's a good question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anything else, Paul?
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody else have any questions that
relate to planning or Mr. Varnadoe's presentation before we go into
the others?
(N 0 response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Bob, I have a couple.
The commerce center industrial subdistrict that you spoke about
in detail, I think you said it has more uses in it than you would need in
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March 24, 2008
the one you're proposing.
MR. MULHERE: It allows more -- it allows C-l through C-5.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. So all the function of that district
works for you.
MR. MULHERE: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. That's already an existing type of
industrial subdistrict. In looking at the amount of GMP language
you're submitting, which is a page plus, two pages to create a new
subdistrict when all you would have had to done is go into the GMP
and modify two sentences in that commercial center industrial
subdistrict to make it more flexible area-wise, why wouldn't have that
been an opportunity?
MR. VARNADOE: I think, Mr. Strain, that we tried to rifle-shot
this. We tried to specif -- had it specifically tailored to what we
thought we wanted to do. I felt, as Bob did, that that was a site specific
one-time opportunity, and a one-time geographical position in the
county in the county.
And if staff doesn't like what we're doing now, what do you think
the reaction would have been if I'd come in and said I want C-l
through C-5, all the industrial and all the business park uses.
I mean, we tried to really take a rifle-shot at what we thought we
wanted to do. Will it work for us? Yes. If that's your question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, that's -- Ijust thought we're going
a long way to get to a rather quick ending on that process, so -- Bob, I
have -- are you familiar with the new Immokalee master plan that's
being circulated, or has been around?
MR. MULHERE: No. I mean, I went on line, Mr. Strain, and I
looked at everything I could get. It took me a long time to get some of
the information, but I did track down everything that I could. But I did
not find any new, other than the one that we have, draft that was in the
staff report.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I have a copy of one of the proposals.
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March 24, 2008
There's been many. And in there was a lot of language promoting
industrial and business growth in the community here. And I went
through it very carefully, and there's a lot of tabs here. There's
probably two dozen different notations of policies in the new Growth
Management Plan that Immokalee has attempted to write that you
absolutely do meet, that meet the intent of the project you're trying to
go forward with, and certainly meets the intent from everything I can
see that the residents of Immokalee who put this plan together is there.
It's a good plan so far. There's obviously some changes needed to
it, but I think that the plan would strongly support your projects.
I might suggest that between now and the time you get into
adoption at the BCC you actually look at it and reference the fact that
there's probably 20 policies here that you do meet. In fact, not meet,
you go farther than that in the intent of what you're trying to do here
today.
I know that doesn't play out in staffs regard. Staff had to look at
this purely by the Immokalee Area Master Plan as it exists. And to be
honest with you, that's much vaguer in the needs of Collier -- of
Immokalee than the new plan thatts being proposed.
Again, the new plan isn't adopted, but it sure goes a lot farther.
MR. MULHERE: So it seems as though they've taken that goal
and broadened it and made it more specific.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Absolutely. They've gone in and actually
listed industrial needs. They've shown industrial need far greater than
what you're requesting here for both commercial and industrial
properties currently in the Immokalee Master Plan.
All that is a basis to me why youtre actually going in a right
direction. So I didn't have a problem with it and I was going to read it
all for the record, but there's just too much here. We'd be here for
another hour going through those policies.
I though strongly think you ought to include some of these in
your reference material --
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March 24, 2008
MR. MULHERE: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- as a potential for the future.
Any other questions of -- Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah. Mr. Varnadoe stated that one
of the benefits to this district will be that it will lessen traffic into the
Immokalee downtown area. Yet one of the goals of the Immokalee
Area Master Plan is to generate activity downtown.
So if I am a restaurant owner and you have a million square feet
and 3,200 people working there, sort of a captive audience for me,
why would I choose to do something downtown in Immokalee versus
doing something in the business park? And why will you not hurt
downtown Immokalee?
MR. MULHERE: Well, I mean, I think there's a couple of basic
planning considerations here.
Number one, the Immokalee Main Street area really needs to
focus on attracting a mixture of uses that have differing hours of
operation. Of the fact that there's on-street parking and there's a Main
Street that's a major thoroughfare for truck traffic has always been a
problem, and it continues to be a problem.
So it's a little bit of a dichotomy. Yeah, they want activity and
they want more people, but no, they don't want more truck traffic and
they don't want more high speed traffic, motor vehicle traffic.
Now, one way to address that might be through some parking
sheds or some parking structures that would allow folks to park in a
central location and then have some pedestrian activity. Even surface
parking would work too. It just takes up more space.
And so, you know, if we think about -- if we think about even
other areas of redevelopment that have been successful -- I'm not
comparing the two in any way except for the illustration of the
love/hate relationship of more traffic, more activity and more traffic,
you know, Fifth Avenue. The activity is great. But, you know, there is
a desire to control the volume of traffic, particularly during the day. At
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March 24, 2008
night there's usually not so much traffic so that you can accommodate
those other uses because you don't have as much business traffic.
I do agree with you that, you know, that if we went in there and
developed, I don't know, 100,000 square feet of shopping center with,
you know, restaurants and entertainment uses and the kinds of uses
that should be focused on for downtown in this commerce park, then
we might detract from the downtown area.
That's not our intent. And we feel that the restrictions in C-l
through C-3 on those types of uses severely regulate those. For
example, we're not going to build a shopping center. Now, we might
have a restaurant. When you've got 3,000 employees, perhaps some
people want to walk to get a bite to eat. On maybe not go that far as to
drive to downtown. On other days they might want to hop in the car
and go out en masse and celebrate somebody's birthday, and that
would be beneficial to the downtown area. So I really don't see it as in
any way competing.
And I think it's a question of choice. I mean, I worked for many
years in the food and beverage industry, and the people used to
complain when a restaurant opened next to your restaurant. Well, the
fact is, if you do your job and you do it well, you're still going to be on
top. And I would say the same thing is true of the Immokalee Main
Street area.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody else have any questions of Bob
while he's up?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Bob, I've got two more.
MR. MULHERE: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There was a note in the staff report that
said the following: The petitioners did not address the goals and
objectives of the redevelopment plan in their submittal, nor did they
provide data and analysis to demonstrate that the proposed project
furthers the plan, as requested by staff.
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March 24, 2008
Could you just address why and -- why you did not provide that
to staff?
MR. MULHERE: Yeah, I mean, I think basically we would
disagree with that. We would argue that the data and analysis that we
provided does in fact demonstrate that we are consistent with the
comprehensive plan, and that it more than sufficiently leads one to
that conclusion.
If we didn't expressly state that in a way that was obvious beyond
us submitting our application and asking for this and then submitting
the data and analysis, I would have to apologize. But obviously it's our
opinion that we did address that and address it sufficiently.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, and the second question, Mr.
Varnadoe had already answered about compatibility. So thank you.
Okay, George, if you wanted to continue with your presentation.
MR. VARNADOE: Thank you.
I told you earlier that this project was central -- a central step in
building a viable economic development program to diversify the
economic base in Eastern Collier County.
As I'm sure you all know, as well as I, the EDC has been working
on a public/private partnership with the Board of County
Commissioners to create highways, job opportunities all over Collier
County, but particular in Eastern Collier County.
I think Tammie can tell you how the public/private partnership
has identified diversifying the economy in this area as a priority.
And what I'd like -- one reason I want to get Tammie up here is
that as far as I'm concerned, she's what -- we can sit here and talk
about theory, about what would be competing, what wouldn't be
competing, what would work, what wouldn't work. That's great in
theory. But she's where the rubber meets the road.
EDC is the one out actually trying to attract businesses and
industry to Collier County, particularly Collier County. And that's
why I'd like you to hear from her at this point in time, as opposed to
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just a member of the public. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, sir.
MS. NEMECEK: Good evening, Commissioners. Tammie
Nemecek, President of the Economic Development Council of Collier
County.
The EDC has established in 1997 a public/private partnership
with the Board of County Commissioners for the purpose of working
with the county and the business community and the community at
large in order to help create new opportunities for high wage job
creation throughout Collier County.
I would tell you that for the past probably eight years of our
work, a lot of it has been built on looking at capacity within the
county. And I would say that looking forward probably the next 20
years will still be built on looking at capacity here in Collier County
and understanding what it takes in order to help achieve the economic
goals that we have for our community.
And it really comes down to the opportunity for us to have
sustainability within Collier County. And it's hard to talk about, but
it's true, the economic times that we're in right now I think helps to
underscore what this public/private partnership was established to do,
which was to bring in new high wage jobs, lessen the cyclical cycle
here in the community, lessen the season -- our dependence on
seasonal jobs with the construction industry, with tourism, with the
service and agricultural industry that we've had historically in Collier
County. I think you can see today with the times that we're in how
much this is truly needed.
We have worked over the last number of years with landowners,
to encourage them to create capacity with lands here in Collier County
that would be suitable and attractive to companies wanting to locate in
the community.
We market the community on a regular basis to businesses, to
site selection consultants; we work both locally, as well as on a
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March 24, 2008
regional basis, not only with the coastal counties but also the heartland
counties that make up the south central part of the state.
We're a partner with rural area of critical economic concern and
the catalyst project to try to attract companies into this area and into
the heartland area.
And what we continually find is that in order to be able to market
the area, you have to have something to sell. We have been working
with the airport to address a question earlier with regards to the
compatibility or competition that might persist with the airport. And I
will tell you that the airport has had a long haul in being able to get it
off the ground -- no pun intended -- with regards to the permitting
issues at the airport.
Federal level, state level, panther mitigations, those types of
things have severely hindered the opportunity for that airport to grow
probably at a pace that we'd like it to grow.
I would tell you that the extension of the runway, or lack thereof,
has also hindered the opportunity for that airport to grow. But if you
look at the master plan for the airport, most of the property that's being
designated at that airport is airside property versus industrial property.
So -- and in addition to that, we talked a little bit earlier about it being
leased property versus purchased property.
So there is an opportunity for us to work with companies and be
creative in what we do with the property that's owned by the airport.
But again, it comes down to is there truly enough land at the airport or
even with the Trade Port Technology Park that's being proposed to be
able to have enough capacity to meet the goals of our economic
diversification projects.
And I would contend no, we did about two years ago now a
study, which has been updated as part of this report, which was what
we called the land use conundrum, which looked at what we wanted to
achieve for job creation goals here in Collier County, looking at the
property that was available, very minimal property in the coastal area,
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March 24, 2008
lots of property in the eastern part of Collier County, but none of it
properly zoned to be able to attract businesses.
And what we found, we were thousands of acres shy of being
able to sustain the type of job growth that we want to sustain.
And the issue that we also have is the fact that even if we found a
company today to go through the process of permitting that property
and getting it up and operational for that company to site there is close
to a two and a half year process.
So we're encouraging and we have been working with
landowners to encourage them to look at the land that they have
available, find out what land could be suitable for this type of
development, and start the process now so that when we want to be
able to site that company in Collier County, we're not waiting two
years. Because the companies won't wait with us.
And we've found that a lot with working with the airport and
waiting for the permits there, is that by the time we got anywhere near
or thought we were near getting the permits ready to go, the
company's plans had changed and things have moved on.
So I think it's important that you understand that the need is
definitely there. For us to be able to have some flexibility and
creativity from the landowner's perspective to be able to look at their
property and say how can we position this property to be able to
sustain the job growth opportunities that we see that the companies
would love to locate here if we had suitable property, and the
marketability of it. For a company owner to come into a place where
there's some commerce park types of uses within that park is very
attractive to business owners of today. They like that mixed use.
Having the Main Street actually in close proximity is an added benefit
for them, especially with the good work that the Immokalee Master
Plan Envisioning Committee is doing, is that you have some variety of
options, it's not just one option.
And we do deal with a lot of the companies and the employees
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March 24, 2008
that come into the area. We have the same issue. If an employee's
looking at this area and there's only one location to go, they're very
reluctant to come to the area, because there aren't other places for
them to work.
And it's the same with employers. As they look at this area are
there multiple locations, what's the full landscape of the community to
be able to site my company here versus just you can only have this
one choice and that's it and there aren't any other locations that we can
show the company.
So I will tell you that this is exactly what we're looking for from
an economic development standpoint. We did work with the
Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development to
expand the rural area of critical economic concern to include the entire
urban boundary of Immokalee, specifically because we knew that we
were working with this property to be able to include it in the RACEC
area, because we needed that land to be able to site the companies
here.
And we have been intimately involved with the Immokalee
Master Plan Visioning Committee in preparing the updated master
plan. And you'll see the references in there are very compatible,
because this is part of the full picture and global picture that we'd like
to see for Collier County so that we can again achieve the economic
diversification goals for the community.
So I would highly encourage you to transmit this. I think that this
is good for Collier County as a whole, and I think it's an excellent
opportunity for Immokalee to be able to have some variety in the
types of locations where companies can go and allow us to be able to
properly market the area to the companies that we want to site here,
which are high wage, high tech employers that look at Collier County
as a great place to have their business, and to be able to stay and have
lots of opportunities to grow.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Questions of Tammie?
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March 24, 2008
Go ahead, Paul.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Yeah, it sounds really good.
Explain to me again why the regulatory process would be so
much less here than at the airport.
MS. NEMECEK: No, the regulatory process is exactly the same.
The issue is, is getting enough land cited in Collier County now so
that at the time when we have these companies coming into the
community we have locations for them to go. I mean, that's the issue.
It's always been a chicken and an egg with us, we find a company
and then we look for the land. And that's what we've been working
towards with our land use analysis a couple of years ago was to try to
be proactive in working with landowners, both property owned by the
county as well as property owned by private sector individuals in
order to get the land sited, permitted, ready to roll today so that when
we get these companies ready to come into the community we're not
waiting two years to have it permitted.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: That makes sense. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody else have questions of
Tammie?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Tammie, you said you were familiar
with the Immokalee Area Master Plan that's being formed. I know the
chairman is here, so when he gets up, I do have some questions for
him later.
But I've read some references to your agency in that plan. Are
you familiar with those?
MS. NEMECEK: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I read them as though this is consistent
with the intentions of what your agency would be looking for, based
on those policies; is that --
MS. NEMECEK: Exactly.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- what you think, too?
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March 24, 2008
MS. NEMECEK: Exactly.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Thank you.
Any other questions?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. VARNADOE: Our final presenter is Russ Weyer to talk
about the demand side of the equation. So if anybody has any
questions before he and Mark get into this discussion about the FIAM,
this might be a good time.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, we do have to take a break around
6:30, so we'll have to see where we're at with Russ by then.
MR. VARNADOE: All right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you.
MR. WEYER: Good evening, Mr. Chairman and members of the
Collier County Planning Commission. I'll be kind of short and sweet. I
do have -- since we don't have visuals --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do you have copies for the court
reporter, too?
MR. WEYER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you.
MR. WEYER: I'll let them get passed out. They're only --
MR. MULHERE: I got it.
MR. WEYER: Thanks, Bob. Couple of quick slides real quick.
For the record, I'm Russ Weyer, Senior Associate with Fishkind
& Associates. We have offices again in Port St. Lucie, Orlando and
Naples.
And the applicant has asked us to take a look at the economic and
fiscal impact potential of this project on Collier County and on the
Immokalee area. And I'm going to cover five -- four quick areas and
then kind of a summary slide.
From the fiscal impact analysis side we utilized our fiscal impact
model that we have created when we worked through the DCA, and I
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March 24, 2008
currently am working with the staff of Collier County to get the model
that they have calibrated appropriately. They're doing a great job with
that, by the way.
And if you look at the fiscal impacts over 20 years, which is the
time frame you generally look at projects in order to determine their
fiscal impact on a jurisdiction, and their combined operating and
capital impact is approximately just over 17 and a half million dollars
over that 20 years.
And then what we tend to do is present value that back to today's
dollars so you get an idea in terms of what that would be in today's
dollars. And the present value of that net impact is $2.3 million.
In terms of the annual economic impacts, there are a bunch of
different models there. We utilize the Regional Industrial Multiplier
System, which is RIMS for short. It was developed by the Bureau of
Economic Development, which is a subset of the U.S. Department of
Commerce. They utilize the multipliers, depending on the jobs and the
type of businesses that are there.
And in terms of this project, the permanent and construction jobs,
all the way through the project is just over 3,200 people will be
employed. The total sales output, which is the generation of dollars
and as they roll through the economy is roughly 275 million. And then
the total annual earnings, of which approximately 40 percent of these
will be high wage jobs, is roughly 95.2 million on an annual basis.
That's what they will be putting into the local economy through the
employees.
In terms of the business park analysis, about two years ago, I
guess it was, I had worked with the Economic Development Council
of Collier County. We're not a member. We weren't paid to do this
study. I'm a resident of Collier County so I have a very vested interest
in our growth and how we go forward.
So we graciously I guess did the study for them in terms of
looking at business park land going forward.
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March 24, 2008
And when we did this, we took a look at employees and the
amount of employees that we have here and we ran it through a couple
of different scenarios; one, if the employment stayed the same as it is
now of 39 percent of our population being employed. And we also
ramped that up a little bit as our economy would change going
forward.
We held it constant for this study. And when we did the original
study, we roughly had about 3,700 acres short. And then we worked
with Michele here, she was very, very helpful in going through the
supply side of it and when we got it down to very good detail. So we
came up with a number that the county is roughly 2,000 -- just over
2,000 acres short of business park land, planning going forward in
terms of what our need will be. And that's taken out what is existing
and what has been approved.
So if you look at that again, the 2010 county deficit is roughly
401 acres. This project will again take care of roughly 30 percent of
that at that point in time. And then when you get out to the 2030
county deficit of 2,069 acres, this project will take care of roughly six
percent of it.
We were also asked during to do this analysis as well (sic) to take
a look at the Immokalee area CRA contribution that this project would
have to the downtown CRA. And accumulatively through 2018, that
would be roughly 4.7 million. And we utilize the county ordinance
2000-42, which explains how the CRA and the tax increment is
determined. And so roughly it will be about 700,000 annual that it will
be contributing to the CRA in terms of ad valorem dollars.
The project again, the county and Immokalee benefits. It
diversifies the economic base here. It's fiscally positive to the county.
It addresses a portion of the county business park needs. It creates
over 3,000 permanent and construction jobs, with many of them being
high wage jobs. It will add roughly $93 million annually to the local
payroll at build-out. And it adds significant dollars to the Immokalee
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March 24, 2008
CRA. And complements, not really competes with the downtown
commercial area, as Mr. Mulhere had suggested earlier.
With that point I'll be happy to take some questions.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have one.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Mr. Weyer, what is -- okay, I just
want to finish a note here.
There are a lot of questions that could be asked, and it's certainly
-- this is the most difficult part of this is the crystal ball. And you said
you used the RIMS study, is that what it was?
MR. WEYER: That's correct, the RIMS Multiplier System, yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: In looking at the staff report on
Page 9 where it references the retail growth and it references the
acreage and so forth, I looked -- you know, you look at some
percentages, and percentages often lie to you in terms of what, you
know, real is versus, you know, incremental.
I guess what my question would be is are we being -- and I'm not
against this project by any stretch, but are we being overly enthusiastic
in terms of what we think our R Y is going to be? You've said some
numbers here, you know, 700K to the CRA. When --
MR. WEYER: Well, again, that --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have compound questions, so
I'll just go a little further.
When is a big factor. It's incremental, I would think. I'm
assuming that the build-out is done, that's a 700K number? And if
that's true, when is the build-out? Is it when the physical structure's
done or when is it considered that it's occupied?
I need to understand more. I understand this is a growth process,
I understand it's a great envelope with an opportunity. But I want to
understand where your figures came from. And I'm sorry for the long
question, but can you give us a general response to that?
MR. WEYER: Yes, Mr. Murray, I will.
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March 24, 2008
I did do a memo to Michele here. And what we ended up doing
was we took a look -- first of all we took a look at the relationship that
Silver Strand would have on the CRA. And what we did is we take the
base year, which is 1999; that's the base year's terms of value.
Then we take on top of the -- the assessed value in 1999 was
880,000. And that's because it's agricultural land and that's --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I understand.
MR. WEYER: -- how it's done.
Then from there, based on as units are built and they show up on
the tax roll at their assessed value, you take the increment between
that new value and the old value and that's the CRA TIFF portion at
95 percent.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I understand that part of it. But
you don't realize that immediately.
MR. WEYER: That is correct. It is --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm trying to understand where
you cited $700,000 to the CRA. At what moment in time?
MR. WEYER: According to our tables, if the absorption goes the
way that the applicant has proposed, that would roughly start in the
year 2016 to 2017. And it will grow incremental at that point. Like in
2009 it will be 116; 2011 it gets to 238,000. So it's all based upon your
absorption schedule.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. I think Mark is going to
probably ask you a lot more detail than I would. But I looked at it, and
I love the idea of this thing happening, but I'm just -- I want to be
more reassured, I think, of -- maybe Mark will get it out of you what I
can't, that the numbers are not -- that they're not really just the ideal,
they're not really a good qualification ofreality. And they are crystal
ball so--
,
MR. WEYER: And again, it's based on A, the assessed value and
B, the absorption schedule.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Vigliotti?
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March 24, 2008
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: One quick question, Russ.
When you say 40 percent high wage, what delineates high wage?
MR. WEYER: That's roughly -- where's Tammie at? Roughly
around $43,000 a year.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody else want to ask Russ
anything?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Russ, five years ago you gave me a
working electronic model of the FIAM, and I appreciated that. But
you've learned never to give me another one.
MR. WEYER: I need to give you an updated one.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that would be fine if you so want
to volunteer. For the record note that, I hope.
So all I've had is the hard copy so I couldn't play around with it
as much as I would have liked to.
But in your report -- and by the way, the copy of the report that
was furnished to the planning commission was not numbered by page,
so it's a little hard to follow.
MR. WEYER: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Vigliotti just asked a question that is
relevant. It says, the current average wage in Collier County is 37,686
and the high wage job is 43,339. We're talking about Immokalee. Do
you know how that compares to the wages in Immokalee?
MR. WEYER: The Immokalee wages are a little bit lower, Mark,
but I dontt have the exact figure for this jurisdiction. I can get that for
you, though.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The questions I'm going to ask are more
out of a need to understand how you may have -- how this may have
applied specifically if you tailored the numerics to Immokalee rather
than Collier County, which includes the coastal area.
Honestly, I think if you did it would have probably come out
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March 24, 2008
better, not worse. But I'd like to at least know that some of that -- there
would have been a difference in some of those.
And you have different references in here. For example, under
the commercial needs analysis it says, the consultant's proprietary
retail demand model indicates that by the year 2030, will be a demand
of 113 acres of regional and community serving space and an
aggregate supply of 123 acres. And it goes on from there.
My question is, what is this proprietary retail demand model?
MR. WEYER: We have a model, Mark, that we have created to
take a look at retail demand. And what it does, and I'll give you a very
simple form, you would look at the project right here, and then we
take a look at spending -- first of all, we take a look at the spending
capability of the area, what they have the capability of spending in
terms of neighborhood, community and retail -- or, I mean regional. In
terms of those -- those are space sizes that the Urban Land Institute
utilizes, up to 100,000 square feet, 100 to 300,000 square feet, and
then over 300,000 square feet is general, the general parameters.
There's a little leeway in there.
Anyway, what we do in this model is we input all that data from
the DOR and all those places that talk about the capacity to spend.
Then on that model, if you have this center right here at this point, and
then it takes a look, we call it a gravity model, that you have a
propensity to spend at that site, goes down as you move away from the
site.
Which makes sense. Because you're going to have, in propria to
other centers that around, so that a person that's on the periphery of
that market area is going to tend to spend more of their money on an
area that's closer. So the further out they go would be kind of a
drive-by type situation.
So we take a look at that capacity to spend and the households
that are involved in that whole market area, and then we discount it
going out. And that's where we get our demand side.
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March 24, 2008
Then we take the supply side in that same market area and run it
through the same analysis. The places in all the supply side that's close
gets credited at 100 percent as supply. And then as you go out, the
supply side also gets discounted.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And how did that demand model become
tailored to the Immokalee market?
MR. WEYER: Well, it was done on the spending area. And
remember, our markets were -- we were looking at 20 and 30-minute
drive times. So it takes all of that market into account.
So it takes their spending capacity and also in terms of, like I
said, in regional and community and neighborhood.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Before the adoption hearing, could you
provide a copy of that model with the numbers in it that you used?
MR. WEYER: To you? Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: To me or whoever wants it. I'd certainly
like to see a copy.
MR. WEYER: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The following page under the same
section, it talks about allocation ratios. And it says, while an allocation
ratio of 1.44 is still significantly below the desired minimum level of
2.0, the market will still have sufficient allocation to adjust the future
demand in this case.
Where and who sets the level of 2.0? How did that came about?
MR. WEYER: Mark, that came about a while ago, believe it or
not from the Department of Community Affairs. They were looking
long term. And when you get out to the 2030, when they were doing
Growth Management Plan, they liked to have an allocation ratio
higher than one-to-one.
And the reason being is from planning purposes it allows for
flexibility out there. So if you have an allocation ratio of two- to-one,
that means you have in your FLUM and approved and also in the
ground you have enough commercial that is like two times the amount
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March 24, 2008
of the demand.
Then as you go forward to the 2030 time frame, when you get
there at that point you should be closer to the one-to-one.
And what will happen is markets are efficient. So what will
happen is that some of these people that have commercial that's either
in the FLUM and not have been planned or permitted at this point,
they're going to change it and go a different direction, because there's
going to be plenty of commercial at that point.
But it's a flexibility ratio that the DCA has utilized.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is the ratio generally the same for rural
inland communities as it would be for coastal tourist communities?
MR. WEYER: It -- yes, because they look at the whole county in
general.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Another page under fiscal impact model
analysis model --
COMMISSIONER CARON: Excuse me.
So it's not specific to the Immokalee area.
MR. WEYER: Correct.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And that's kind of generally the theme
I'm getting to is I'm not sure where the specificity is into this model.
You could take it and apply it almost anywhere. Immokalee is unique
in Collier County for sure, because most of this county's direction
tends to promote the tourism in the coastal area more than it thinks of
the farming communities. And I would want to make sure that if
whatever we try to do -- and I think the Immokalee Master Plan
Committee is now trying to do this too -- is look at issues that are
tailored to the Immokalee community, not the same necessarily that
apply to the coastal community in Collier County. And that's kind of
where I've been going in my reading of your document.
MR. WEYER: As I had mentioned, Mr. Strain, to the new CRA
Director, I'll be happy to help out here, so --
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March 24, 2008
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I notice you also calibrated the
model. I'm assuming you used standard Collier County calibration
numbers?
MR. WEYER: In some cases we did, but in some cases we were
specific to the Immokalee area. And out here in the rural area -- or not
the rural area, but the general fund and also in terms of the
unincorporated areas, we utilized those millage rates.
The person per household doesn't matter because all of these
numbers are basically driven off the employee number, not the person
per household number. So if you were to change that to 3.0 or 4.0 per
household, it won't change the fiscal results at all.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I was looking at more at some of
the taxable base, but I'll get into that one, because I did find some
items in the FIAM that I want to question.
Under your modified per capital method, one of your statements
surprised me. It says, furthermore, there is nothing peculiar about the
location or the type of this particular project that indicates that per
capita parameters estimated from the latest budgets would not be
reflective of actual costs and revenues.
That just struck me as odd considering the differences between
what would apply along the coastal communities and what applies out
here.
MR. WEYER: Again, in this case we didn't do the modified per
capita method.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. WEYER: Generally in a case -- I need a little bit of history
on the FlAM to let you know that the FIAM, when it was originally
created, there weren't a lot of impact fees around. So thatts why we did
the modified per capita approach.
But because when you have an impact fee, they generally set
those equal, because they offset each other. And ifthere's a developer
contribution, that makes up the difference.
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March 24, 2008
So we generally calibrate the model to include the impact fees.
And in this case again there's no residential involved, so we don't do
the modified per capita approach on the per person basis, it's done on
the per employee basis.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I notice the hours for the per employee
were stated in here. Again, I wasn't sure they were reflective of the
hours people here may work. 40-hour weeks may not be a dominant
theme around here.
It also looks like your projected revenues for an eight-year
development phase, I think the transportation model showed to 2012,
which would be a shorter phase.
I'm not sure who's right, I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference,
but I wanted to point that out.
MR. WEYER: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In your FIAM the property sales value
assumptions, your single-family type two, you value it at an average
of $500,000. Is that reflective of Immokalee?
MR. WEYER: No, Mark, we didn't change those. We could
have, but there's no difference. It doesn't drive the model in this case.
It doesn't drive the model at all.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In the model you use studies, Florida
population studies from 2005, and there are other studies from 2004.
Did you not have updated numbers?
MR. WEYER: When we submitted this, this was in 2006, so at
that time we did not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Good point.
I also notice your revenue stream, I couldn't find on there where
you've included impact fees. Did I miss it?
MR. WEYER: You might have. It usually fall -- like if you see
transportation, not ad valorem, there should have been under the
capital costs -- or the capital revenue should have had all the impact
fees in there.
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March 24, 2008
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, I missed it. It may have been
there, but if you get a chance at some point, just drop me a line or
something to let me know that it was included.
MR. WEYER: I don't think we would have missed that one.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't think so either, because it's a
substantial number. That's why it --
MR. WEYER: That's pretty substantial.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- wasntt as readily available.
You used a 2003 consumer expenditure survey conducted by the
U.S. Department of Labor. Was that tailored to locally in Immokalee
or was that again county-wide?
MR. WEYER: It was tailored to this area, the Immokalee area.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, then you talked about dollars and
cents of shopping centers and sales data, and it said, parenthesis, for
the county in question. I would assume that that was a countywide
analysis and it was an analysis under the aggregate market retail
demand.
MR. WEYER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: My whole point of this, and I won't
belabor any -- these points any further was probably hitting where Mr.
Murray and Mr. Vigliotti and Ms. Caron had indicated. This isn't
tailored to Immokalee as much as it might have been able to be. If you
can improve on it between now and the adoption hearing -- not that
this is going to show it as a negative project in any stretch of the
imagination, it will probably show just the opposite, but it might be a
good thing to have the record more localized, if it can be done that
way.
MR. WEYER: I will take a look at that, sir, and do what I can.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's up to you guys.
Do we have any other questions of Russ before we go to county staff?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Russ, thank you very much.
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March 24, 2008
MR. WEYER: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: David, it's -- or Michele, it's all yours.
MS. MOSCA: I didn't know if you were going to take a break.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, we'll take a -- well, what do you
think, young lady, are you ready for a break?
THE COURT REPORTER: Sure.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You are?
It's a good idea, Michele. Before you start, let's take a I5-minute
break. We'll be back at 6:35.
(Recess)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, everybody, we're finished with
our break, if you'll all resume your seats.
Russ and Paul and Brian and -- please, guys, let's resume our
seats here.
Michele, they're anxious to hear your comments tonight, so --
MS. MOSCA: Good evening. For the record, my name is
Michele Mosca with the County's Comprehensive Planning Staff.
Commissioners, staff reviewed the proposed amendment to
determine one, if additional commercial acreage is needed within the
market area, which also includes the RLSA, specifically the two
projects in the RLA (sic) presently: The proposed Big Cypress, as well
as the approved Ave Maria project.
Secondly, staff looked at is there a need, an additional need for
industrial and business park acreage to accommodate future
population growth and employment needs countywide.
Thirdly, stafflooked at the project, and does it in fact further the
goals of the Immokalee Area Master Plan, the redevelopment plan and
the rural area of critical economic concern.
And finally, stafflooked at the project site. Looking at it, is it
appropriate, that location, for the proposed uses.
As outlined in the staff report, staff determined that there appears
to be an adequate supply of commercial acreage within the Immokalee
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March 24, 2008
area, as well as within the town of Ave Maria and the Big Cypress
project within the rural land stewardship area.
All of that will -- well, it appears that it will accommodate
existing and future commercial demand.
Staff does agree with the petitioner, that there is a projected
future need for additional business park or light industrial acreage to
accommodate the population growth and employment needs
countywide.
And this is based on the petitioner's data and analysis, as well as
the economic analysis that was prepared by the Florida Gulf Coast
University for the Immokalee Master Plan Envisioning Committee.
Staff has also determined that the business park portion, and I
want to stress the business park portion, of the proposed project may
further the objectives outlined in both the Immokalee Master Plan and
the redevelopment plan, as well as the RACEC, or rural area of critical
economic concern designation. These include creating high-wage jobs
and diversifying the local economy.
Finally, staff has determined that a business park located at the
edge of the urban boundary that is developed in a park-like setting
could be compatible with the surrounding land uses and future
development.
Staff does not believe, however, that some of the other proposed
uses such as car dealerships, new or used, and auto repair shops are
compatible or appropriate at this location. We must remember that this
is the entryway or the gateway into the Immokalee community.
As further noted in the staff report, staff is recommending that
the CCPC forward this petition to the board with a recommendation
not to transmit to the Department of Community Affairs unless the
petition is found to be consistent with the transportation element of the
Growth Management Plan.
If the petition is found to be consistent with the transportation
element, staff recommends transmittal of the petition with business
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March 24, 2008
park uses only, as outlined in the business park zoning district of the
Land Development Code.
And I understand what some of the -- with the agents, what they
were saying about the business park zoning uses being restrictive. And
I believe staff could concur that some of those uses are restricted. But
if you do in fact incorporate some of those other commercial uses that
are integrated into the commerce park, that most likely would be
acceptable to staff as well.
But when we start talking about uses such as -- and if I can just
have a moment to pull them out -- heavy construction equipment,
rental and leasing, bulldozers and cranes, equipment rental and
leasing. Let's see, auto repair, paint shops, auto exhaust system repair
shops, tire treading and repair shops, auto glass replacement shops,
transmission shops and the overall catchall for all auto repairs
facilities.
If you look at the site, staff believes that it's not the appropriate
location at the gateway for those particular uses.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You need a break, or are you doing
okay?
MS. MOSCA: No, it's just -- it's dry.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any questions of -- I know we certainly
have transportation questions. And Nick thankfully made it here. We
thought we lost him somewhere in between here and there.
Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think I understand -- you want
some water?
MS. MOSCA: Yes, I do, thank you.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You cited the auto and the other
things that are in there, and I wondered myself, that seems a little
strange. Do we have a designation or are we just concluding because
of the road configuration that that's the gateway to Immokalee?
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March 24, 2008
MS. MOSCA: It is the very last section of the urban area. This is
the line between the rural land stewardship area and the Immokalee
urban area.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's where the stockade begins,
right, that area of it?
MS. MOSCA: This project is south of Stockade Road, yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MS. MOSCA: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So where is that line, though? Is
that Stockade Road?
MS. MOSCA: The urban boundary? No, it's --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: More south of Stockade.
MS. MOSCA: Stockade is at this line, this point.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MS. MOSCA: And the project ends here.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Down there.
MS. MOSCA: Uh-huh.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So you feel that based on those
facts -- and it's not a feeling, that's a knowledge then that you're
saying, that it doesn't comport with it.
MS. MOSCA: Well, when you look at perhaps -- let's just take a
look at the dealership, used or new vehicles. And you look at the
entryway or gateway and all of a sudden you come up into
Immokalee, there's the lighting, the parking lot, outdoor display and so
forth that's not compatible with an entryway.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think I could agree with you in
that context, but the way it was described to us, and we dontt -- and all
we have is a visioning, we don't have anything tangible to work with.
But is it in your mind, did you see this huge facility looming upward,
is that what it is?
MS. MOSCA: Not necessarily. But if you look at the structure of
the proposed subdistrict, 100 percent anyone of those uses, there's no
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March 24, 2008
mandate for a business park here, although I believe the intent is for a
business park, but there is no mandate. They could have, for example,
motor freight transportation warehouse, mini storage warehouse, and
then they could have a used car dealership lot.
I'm not saying that that is the case, but based on the structure of
the subdistrict text, that would be allowed. And you could have an
auto dealership -- I mean, auto repair and so forth.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, we'll ask the question
perhaps later about the auto dealership issues. But the business park is
restrictive, it really is. And I know that the EDC has been trying to
find a place to allow for development. And I heard what -- many times
I've heard what the EDC has stated, through Tammie and others. And
it is difficult for me to think in negative terms, because I do believe
that they do need a place.
And the commerce park -- youtd prefer a business park because
we could have what with it? I mean, not only is it more restrictive, but
there's also some other requirements, right?
MS. MOSCA: I think the biggest difference is the 30 percent
versus 20 percent of the secondary uses. And the 30 percent, I don't
believe staff would object to an increase of 10 percent for those other
secondary type uses.
The commerce park as they're proposing does in fact include all
of the business park type uses. But when we look at furthering the
goals of the Immokalee community within the redevelopment plan and
within the RACEC designation, you're looking for those high-tech
industry type jobs.
The auto -- what is it, the auto supply and so forth most likely
could occur elsewhere, developed elsewhere. And there are several
auto shops throughout the Immokalee urban area.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I could appreciate what you're
saying to me. It's interesting.
Have you been following with the restudy program, the new
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March 24, 2008
projected master plan, the various iterations? Have you been looking
at it and seeing that they want to have changes, they want to amplify
their opportunities?
MS. MOSCA: Well, the latest -- David, if you could put up the
latest map.
Staff did receive a submittal of the master plan, and I've been told
that it has changed. What we originally received were these areas here
where they expanded the CCI or the commerce center industrial
district and they increased the commercial on 29 all the way up to the
Lee County line.
I have not seen the latest version, nor have I seen the latest goals,
objectives and policies for the master plan.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That little gray or light blue
square below, just where that boundary is, the one below that, that's
the parcel we're relating --
MS. MOSCA: No, that's a water retention area within the rural
land stewardship area.
This is the proposed --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Oh, that is?
MS. MOSCA: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So that --
MS. MOSCA: And they mapped -- they actually had mapped the
business park on the Future Land Use Map.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So they have -- if they're
successful in that restudy, they'll get that as being inclusive of it. And
you're mindful of that.
MS. MOSCA: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But I understand your constraint
to operate under what the law is.
Thank you.
MS. MOSCA: You're welcome.
MR. WEEKS: Mr. Chairman --
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March 24, 2008
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron -- yes, sir?
MR. WEEKS: Sorry. If! may, to respond further to Mr. Murray's
question, a big distinction between the business park subdistrict is the
list of commercial uses that are allowed within the business park. The
primary uses are those high-tech light industry type of uses.
But in the business park subdistrict, if you look at the handout
that was provided to you by the petitionerts agent, paragraph C states,
commercial uses shall include and shall be limited to uses such as
offices, financial institutions, cultural facilities and fitness centers and
facilities. If you'll compare that to the applicant's language which lists
C-l through C-3 uses, plus some various other commercial uses as
already been discussed, such as auto repair, auto dealership, et cetera,
from the C-4 and C-5 categories. So a lot more commercial uses are
allowed under the proposal versus the business park subdistrict.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But if! may, that's within those
areas zoned business park or planned unit development with the
industrial designation. Does that have meaning there? Continuing on
C, you ended -- you ended with centers and/or facilities.
MR. WEEKS: Yes, because that's where the business park
subdistrict is allowed within the industrial designation or the CCI.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So it's almost like a park within a
zone and then a park within a zone, the way I interpret it; am I
incorrect?
MR. WEEKS: Correct. Within the industrial designation you
could have a business park, which would be far more restrictive than
the industrial designation itself.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Is it -- we usually work on issues
of appropriateness for certain classes of things. Is it appropriate in this
case as a Growth Management Plan to try to excise things that are
possibly deemed inappropriate? Is that appropriate here or should that
be done at a rezone?
MS. MOSCA: No, I would say that this would be the appropriate
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time. Because this really is the guiding document. And then you have
your rezone. So anything that is permitted by the Growth Management
Plan Amendment would be allowed to go forward in the rezoning.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you very much.
MS. MOSCA: You're welcome.
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: I would argue with you, Michele,
that there are some uses here that seem excessive if we are really
talking about some form of a business park, a commerce business
park.
I was a little curious about the example, though, that you cited of
a car dealership, new and used. If you consider coming down from
Lee County on 41 into Collier County, that is a gateway to the county,
41, and I'm looking at DeVoe and Mr. Vigliotti's Hummers being sold
right there as you enter our county. That's one of the first things you
see. And if that's just over the county into Lee, then go one mile down
the road and we have Germain Lexus sitting right there at an activity
center.
So as far as a gateway issue is concerned, I'm not sure that was a
good one to --
MS. MOSCA: Well, I would suggest that you're looking at two
urbanized areas. What you're looking at in this particular instance is
the rural land stewardship area. You are leaving the rural land
stewardship area and entering into the Immokalee community. If that
is an appropriate use, then the community will say this is an
appropriate use.
But from a planning perspective I believe that it's a very intense
use, lighting and so forth, when you're looking at agricultural lands to
the south.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Also, we talk a lot on these
situations about all these high wage jobs that we're going to create. Do
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March 24, 2008
we have a population that can support those high wage jobs? Do we
have the education in place? Do we have all of that in place in
Immokalee?
MS. MOSCA: I don't believe, based on the demographics, that --
I don't believe -- based on the demographics, no, I don't believe that
the high wage employees, all of those employees will come from the
Immokalee area. That's probably a better way to put it.
COMMISSIONER CARON: But it could be an attractor.
MS. MOSCA: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anything else?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Not right now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yes. Is the intent to not have a
lot of traffic coming out onto Immokalee Road to limit it to these
perimeter roads or roads within the PUD, the ultimate PUD?
MS. MOSCA: The access is directly from Immokalee Road.
That's what they're proposing.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: But I mean for these other lots
that are alongside Immokalee Road, should they be accessed from
behind or are they intended to be accessed directly off of Immokalee?
I know that the PUD itself has to of course come off of Immokalee.
MR. WEEKS: I don't think we know what you're talking about,
Mr. Schiffer. Don't understand.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: When you look at this project, a
lot of the perimeter of it is alongside Immokalee Road. There's two
accesses shown on the master plan, and this is something we've never
seen.
MS. MOSCA: No, I haven't seen it either.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: But the -- my concern is that is it
intent of this PUD to have all of the access of those lots along
Immokalee come from behind, essentially from within the PUD, or
will there be multiple driveways alongside Immokalee Road?
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March 24, 2008
MR. WEEKS: We've never seen this before. We can't answer
that.
MR. MULHERE: Well, yeah, you can. I can answer that.
MS. MOSCA: Well, based on the map--
MR. MULHERE: I can answer it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Wait a minute, wait a minute. The court
reporter's got to take this down, because there is no video, so you've
got to refer to everything one person at a time, please.
MR. VARNADOE: George Varnadoe.
And this is typically the kind of detail we get into at the time of
PUD zoning, not at the time of Growth Management Plan designation.
But the idea is for a business park, and a business park youtll have two
or three entrances, and no, not to have every parcel have a driveway
off Immokalee Road. But that's not the kind of thing we get into at this
point in time, Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. But when we do get into
it, when you look at the exhibit you gave us, D, it's stating that the
principal access, but -- so you're saying that those lots along
Immokalee mayor may not be accessed off of Immokalee.
MR. VARNADOE: The majority will not be accessed off
Immokalee, Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The ones alongside Immokalee,
okay.
MR. VARNADOE: If they're not alongside Immokalee, they
can't be accessed off Immokalee.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Well, that's why I'm more
focused on the ones that are on Immokalee --
MR. VARNADOE: And I just told you --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- when you say they won't be
accessed off of Immokalee --
MR. VARNADOE: I didn't say all of them would not be, I said
the majority of them will not be accessed directly offImmokalee
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Road.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. And does D in the Exhibit
9-B kind of clarify that, or--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm sorry, where -- I think on--
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm looking at the exhibit that
was handed out. It's Roman numeral nine (sic)(B). Either that or it's
Exhibit IV-B.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: 4-B.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: 4-B, I'm sorry, yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: 4-B. And what was your question, Brad,
so we --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: D in there I guess is addressing
that?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Actually that's six.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: IV is 4.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I do agree that that's something
we'll deal with at the PUD stage.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Does that answer your --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm fine.
I do have one more question for Bob Mulhere later, but I can wait.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, let's finish with the staff report
first, if we could.
And Michele, it's just questions of you at this point.
Anybody have -- or David Wolfley, did you have a question?
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Yes. And it was something that
Michele stated. I mean, I happen to believe that auto repair shops is
needed as well as appropriate and compatible. And with 3,000 plus
employees there, they're going to need their vehicles serviced while
they're at work, generally. So I think it's probably a good idea.
I'm not exactly sure where all the people are going to be coming
from, but that I guess will get into transportation. But I think you
mentioned are they going to be sensitive to the surroundings. Well, on
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that same page they mention that roll-up garage doors visible from the
public right-of-way are prohibited. Well, that shows a bit of
sensitivity, not only to the surroundings, but they own the
surroundings as well. So I think theytre going to be probably pretty
sensitive to that. I just wanted to disagree with that.
MS. MOSCA: That actually is part of the business park
subdistrict, the language that's in here, except for the allowance for
outdoor storage limited to boats, recreational vehicles and other
recreational equipment. That does not appear in the existing business
park subdistrict.
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Well, I don't think they're going
to be putting that along Immokalee Road, though. I don't -- that's me. I
have no idea.
MS. MOSCA: And I didn't mean to state that they -- I don't
believe I did, there is the option to do that. I don't know this they will.
But the way that the subdistrict text is written, they can in fact do that.
If the market bears that they want those mini storage warehouses
along Immokalee Road and that's where it fits best, they may go ahead
and allow -- I mean, that would be allowed per the subdistrict. Just to
point that out.
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Well, that's discussion for a later
date, but -- okay, thanks.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions of Michele before
we talk to Nick?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Just one.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Michele?
MS. MOSCA: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Donna, did you have another question
too after Brad?
COMMISSIONER CARON: That's all right, he can go ahead
and then I'll --
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March 24, 2008
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Michele, would the -- this
project would fall under the architectural standards. So some of these
things you're putting are things that are covered in the architectural
standards, so can't we trust that?
MS. MOSCA: I believe so. And staff is just bringing up the fact
that you may see those types of uses that aren't in -- this map's a little
different, brings -- you know, sheds new light on the project.
But they could in fact have the type of development that I
mentioned, the used or new dealerships. Yes, they would have to meet
the architectural guidelines, unless amended through the Immokalee
master plan.
MR. WEEKS: Mr. Chairman, if! might--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEEKS: -- be so bold as to repeat something that Mr.
Schiffer himself has said in the past, his comment about putting
lipstick on a pig. You can make the use look better certainly by
architectural standards and landscaping, but ultimately if it's a
question of intensity of use such as an auto repair facility, the noise
that might be coming from that facility and other types of uses, you
can make the facility look more attractive or less offensive, or
however you want to phrase that, but the ultimate intensity of the use
may still be there.
And again, staff is looking at it from a regulatory standpoint.
That's our job in part is what is allowed, and if it's allowed, then that
means it could end up there.
And so what we're suggesting is that ultimately either one -- you
know, our ultimate recommendation is not to support this, but that if
you do, you may want to consider additional limitations and controls
on some of these uses.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: But David, we get into this
argument over what is something at the GMP stage. For example, here
we're discussing visibility of overhead doors. Is that a GMP stage
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March 24, 2008
element? I mean, again, the architectural standards discuss the same
thing and they would have a difficult time making them visible from
the arterial road.
MS. MOSCA: I think we got here looking at the specific uses,
because as I reviewed the petition there wasn't a need for additional
commercial. So now we're looking at the commercial uses. Is there a
need for additional park and industrial? Staff would say yes, based on
the information they provided.
Now, when you start breaking down into the commercial uses, is
there a need? According to staffs research, there are a lot of other
parcels that may be more suitable or that this commercial use could
locate to in Immokalee. Perhaps even within the core area where the
plan specifically states that the commerce center industrial district or
the commerce center mixed use district, those are the employment
areas.
And if the plan changes to allow development elsewhere
throughout the Immokalee urban area, then perhaps in the future this
might be consistent with those objectives.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And the question, David, at this
level is it appropriate to discuss access to this? In other words, I like
the idea of a commerce park, but maybe I don't like the idea of a
whole bunch of auto dealerships pouring out onto Immokalee Road.
The area Donna referenced they don't pour out on Immokalee Road,
they have, you know, roads that are coming through the back and
stuff.
Is that something at this level, or just let it go?
MR. WEEKS: It could go either way. I think you're generally
familiar with addressing those more site specific issues at the rezoning
stage. On the other hand, it is allowable to occur at the comprehensive
plan, most particularly when you come down to a narrower approach.
We're not talking about all urban areas now, we're talking about just
the Immokalee Area Master Plan, just as the -- another example is the
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March 24, 2008
existing Golden Gate Area Master Plan neighborhood centers has
some very specific limitations on development and criteria.
So when you narrow it down from the broader approach of the
entire urban area or the entire coastal urban area, as is the case in the
future land use element, down to in this case we're looking at 160
something acres; we're looking at a more narrowed focus. It may be
appropriate to look more specifically at limitations.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Because I know there are a lot of
areas in the north district of Collier, District 2 where we really do have
limited access off of 41. We have things obviously extremely visible,
but the access -- there's not 1,000 cars flying out of every which way.
MR. WEEKS: Right. If I may, sometimes the way we deal with it
in a comprehensive plan is to get down to a great level of specificity
saying, you know, this use is not allowed or access is not allowed
here, is limited in some way.
In other cases we simply raise the flag in the comprehensive plan
so that we can -- we know it's an obvious issue. It's not a matter of we
discussed it here at the plan amendment stage and then hoping
somebody remembers it at the rezoning stage, but actually stating in
the subdistrict something to the effect of access on Immokalee Road
will be carefully scrutinized at the rezone stage, again raising the flag.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: That's okay, I think I got questions
answered.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Good.
Thank you, Michele. And Nick, if you have a moment -- oh, wait
a minute. I'm sorry, Michele, Mr. Vigliotti has a question.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: One more thing. At times,
Michele, you questioned if we need all this different types of zoning
out there and different types of usage. But I think by tying the hands
of the petitioner with auto dealership and other usages, it's going to
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March 24, 2008
make it harder for them.
If after looking at the site plan, I'm sure the petitioner will be able
to move people where he wants and allow certain things in his own
judgment, which might change it a lot after him looking at the site
plan.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is that a statement or a question?
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: It's a statement.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Statement, okay. Then there's no need to
respond, I think --
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: No response.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- it was a statement.
Nick, if you have time -- I would like to caution the planning
commission members, we have to be out of this room by 8:30, I
understand. Does that include cleanup of the room, too?
MR. WEEKS: Yes, it does.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So how long does it -- I'm going to back
up here for a minute, because we're going to have to push this meeting
forward.
How long is it going to take to clean the room up by staff; do you
know?
MR. MILLER: Halfhour.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So we have one hour left. That
means we have to have public participation, and we have to have time
for us to discuss our motion.
Now, failure to do that, we have a continuation problem. So I
would stress to everybody here that we need to make our questions as
rolled up and concise as to one another's as we can. And Nick
unfortunately has a tough issue to discuss, so --
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: We're just getting warmed up.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, we need to unwarm, because we
have to get done here by 8:00.
Go ahead.
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MR. CASALANGUIDA: Good evening, Commissioners. For the
record, Nick Casalanguida with Transportation.
I apologize for being late, Mr. Chairman. I've been moving a
little slow since last Thursday's planning commission meeting.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's okay, tonight we just talked about
entries to communities, and it would have been appropriate to hear
that last week, or last Thursday.
Go ahead.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: We evaluate this project consistent
with Policy 5.1 in the five-year planning period.
I agree with Mr. Perry (sic), we discussed this many times.
Compo plan amendments maybe should be looked at more consistently
with the long-range transportation plan.
We looked at it both ways: 2015,2030. You have a problem.
You have a needs plan both in 2015 and 2030 that does not
nearly meet your financially feasible plan. In other words, none of the
roads listed in this review are financially feasible to be constructed. So
we have a consistency problem.
It's kind of neat, because I get to do a little bit of my back job.
What I used to do in my prior career is evaluate risk. What you have
to do is evaluate risk with this project. By approving this going
forward and with the legislative changes that might be going forward,
you may lose the ability to mitigate transportation impacts on a project
like this in a future stage.
When they propose for mitigation is a menu list what we've
discussed back and forth; improvements to certain roadways,
intersections, subsidies to transit, transit shelters, transit service. Those
are all good things that they can do. And I recommend that they
choose from that list and provide that.
What we've done on u.s. 41 is we've said to developments, you
don't get to go forward until you get with the rest of the group and find
a way to fix the roadway network that's adjacent to you.
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You're looking at almost 15,000 daily trips coming out of this
project. That's significant. Camp Keis Road and Immokalee Road are
two-laned undivided roadways. They're both scheduled to fail when
this project goes forward. The intersections along State Road 29, State
Road 82 are going to fail.
So my heartburn is to recommend approval is difficult, unless I
define what those mitigating circumstances are.
And the client has asked that we take this opportunity to kind of
put a menu on there and say that they'll do "one of the" or "more of
the" and we put a menu for it.
I'm fairly comfortable with that, except that when we come back
for the next hearing -- and I've checked with Mr. Weeks, we can
define it then -- that has to be defined.
One of the things wetve asked for is to say, do an agreement that
says you're being reviewed and approved under the current impact fee
rate and the current concurrency levels. Because we have a fear that
that's not going to be there when you get to the zoning stage. And if I
was the client, I wouldn't do it either. It puts them at disadvantage to
other projects coming forward at a later date.
But for you as a planning commission of the board, that's a risk
assessment you have to make. The roads aren't funded, they're not
required to fund those roads. And if legislation changes in the future,
you may not have the ability to stop them based on concurrency. It
may not be there.
So that's kind of where you're at with this project.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's a dreary way out, Nick, but
MR. CASALANGUIDA: It's the truth.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We appreciate your frankness. And it
was one that we need to understand.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Mark?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm sure you have -- Mr. Midney, why
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March 24, 2008
don't you start then and I'll go from there.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Could you explain the statement
concurrency may not be there?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Right now there's a proposal from the
secretary of Department of Community Affairs to eliminate
concurrency as you have it right now. To eliminate impact fees and go
to mobility fee; to modify the level of service standards and to
eliminate financial feasibility.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: What has the applicant said that
they would be willing to do in terms of helping the transportation?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: The idea was is we provided a menu
list and they said that they're going to evaluate that and further define
that moving forward towards transmittal, if the board moved to
transmit -- or adopt, I should say.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: So if we do move forward, they're
going to come back and they're going to say okay, we choose to do
such and such and such and such. Will that be before it goes to DCA
or after, or what?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I would hope it's before it goes to
DCA, based on what we're seeing right now.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Wouldn't that make their case a
lot stronger before DCA, if it was before?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I'd have a hard time not saying the
same thing to the Board of County Commissioners, that you're
assuming significant risk with this project if you don't have something
in place prior.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: And why aren't they willing to put
something concrete on the table now?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I think they said they'll work off that
menu list, and it's just further defining what that would be.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: I guess maybe when we get them
back again we can ask them for more specificity.
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March 24, 2008
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I think that's a good idea.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, anybody else have questions of
Nick?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Nick, you produced a sheet that was
e-mailed to us and it differs from the issues that were listed in the staff
report. In particular, in the staff report under the sentence prior to the
six issues that you listed you said, staff also recommends that the
applicant should consider and agree to the following mitigation
strategies which can be further defined at the next level of zoning
stage.
In the document you sent us bye-mail you said, staff
recommends that the applicant agree to consider one or more of the
following mitigation strategies to be further defined at the rezoning
stage.
One of those documents is in error. Do you know which one it is?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: The second document you received
should be correct; the one that was in e-mail form.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the staff report saying that all six
should be agreed to wasn't the intention.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: That was not the intention.
When you say one or more is because you could choose to do
transit shelter or plus deficient intersections, or you could choose to
say I want to widen the road in front of my project as mitigation.
So it was kind of a what do you want to do, what would work at the
time that they came in at a certain level of development.
And remember, this project was submitted back in '06 at the first
time. So we're taking into account a pretty dynamic environment at the
state legislative level.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In the e-mail that you sent us, you
included a paragraph at the end that starts with the word however, and
I won't read it, because it's too lengthy. It talks about the processes
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going on at the state right now, and staff would cautiously recommend
to the BCC that it would be consistent to transmit this project with the
stipulation in the above paragraph, but that prior to adoption the
county will evaluate the project.
Now, this paragraph that -- you're actually referring to the six
steps that could be used to mitigate the problem. If those were anyone
of those used before you would know if was it the right one, their
traffic engineer would have to produce a report for you or a TIS
showing the impacts of that one through six type mitigation. And
whichever one worked they'd have to find one that actually solved
some of the problem for you. Is that a fair statement?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: That's a fair statement.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. And I think Paul, that's kind of
where (sic) you were trying to find out. Thatts how it would happen.
They would pick up one, they'd have to incorporate it into a TIS, and
if it proved to Nick that it functioned as it should, then that may be an
acceptable issue to use then. Is that --
MR. CASALANGUIDA: The difficult part with this application
-- you know, I've got Tammie, George and Fred here, and I don't know
which one is going to try and kick me the hardest when I leave this
room -- is you're trying to get -- you look at my financial feasible plan
and needs plan. You know you're short. As a matter of fact, you're $2
billion short in your long-range needs plan versus feasible.
If any of the dynamics change, such as impact fee collection and
concurrency, you could be looking at a wider variant in the future.
So without locking these folks down or a group of others down,
you are assuming a certain amount of risk. And I can tell you that, you
know, that will be evaluated when you go to the legislative session.
And I -- you know, I can't tell you that it's a good idea to not have a
contract or a DCA or a commitment in place prior to formal adoption.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's my next question. Would it
be wise for us to stipulate and recommend for stipulation that prior to
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adoption exactly such an action is taken, so that should the state
change their rules this county is protected in regards to this projects
(sic)?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I would recommend it and I've
discussed it with Mr. Varnadoe. And if I was working for the other
side, I would say the same thing, it puts them at a disadvantage if they
agree to those rules today and then the next person coming in doesn't
have to play by the same rules he had to.
So that's the way to go. It's just that's the risk they have to take if
they agree to an agreement like that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In the six issues that you noticed, I saw
one that I might want you to think about. In the Immokalee proposed
master plan there are numerous policies talking about pathways and
having those installed in the Immokalee area. It would seem with a
center like this fairly close to town that pathways for alternative
modes of transportation so citizens could have other ways to get there
from that project into town might be a consideration. I dontt know if
the impact will give you what you need, but is it one that was thought
of in your deliberation on this?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Not specifically on this project, but I
can tell you when we go into a four-lane divided, instead of doing
sidewalks on both sides we'd evaluate a multi-use path on this project.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Any other questions of
transportation at this time?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, thank you, Nick, we appreciate it
and we'll move forward.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: You're welcome.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right now at this point we normally
would hear from the public. We don't have sign-in sheets. Any
members of the public wishing to speak, please raise your hand and
we'll just go through it.
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March 24, 2008
Mr. Thomas, it's yours.
MR. THOMAS: My name, for the record, is Fred N. Thomas, Jr.
I'm the Chairman of the CRA Advisory Board for Immokalee and I'm
the Chairman of the Master Plan Envisioning Committee.
Following instructions that came from Varnadoe to one of his
people, I resigned in 2002 after 35 years in housing and
redevelopment. Prior to coming to this town, I was executive director
in three other towns, two in another state where I was in charge of
housing and redevelopment in those various towns.
I was on this planning commission for 11 years during the period
that we did the first Growth Management Plan.
I would have introduced some other folks in here from our
committee, but you all wore them out and they had to leave. We had
the executive director of our Chamber of Commerce here, we had two
other members of our Master Plan Envisioning Committee, and our
CRA here.
In order for you all to understand what's going on here, I've got to
give you a little history. The freeze of'89 crippled Immokalee,
because not only did we have a freeze that knocked our industry out,
followed by the NAFT A, followed also at the same time by a new
marketing strategy where retails are no longer marketing what's
available, they're marketing what you want. That's why you have these
big boxes that can sell you seven types of tomatoes, eight types of
apples and so on. Because it's not what's available, it's what you want.
That hurt our local farmers.
We went overnight between '89 and '90 from 45 small farmers to
three. From seven medium-sized farmers to three.
Now, over the past 10 years agricultural has grown but it has
grown in an absentee form, where the money is not recirculating back
in Immokalee.
When this first happened back in the Nineties, we told
commissioners you all need to help us do something with the airport
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so we can become an industrial hub of Collier County. And we've
been working very hard to try to do that.
We started the master plan process back in 2006. We should have
been finished now. But going through all the hoops we had to go
through we are not finished yet. And they had to reauthorize us so we
are going to be operating to 2009.
In order to make our plan work, and what we have on the books,
you need to know what's going on. Because a lot of things are
happening around Immokalee over which we have no control that
we're trying to react to and respond to.
One, we've got to get our road network right. We're talking about
we had to work with two other counties to get accelerated to look at
the 82 corridor and the 29 corridor. And we're talking about a 29
corridor that will come down to 82 from the north, circle around to the
east of the airport, hook up to 29 where it's vertical again. We're
talking about putting Little League Road from 846 all the way up to
82 to take off some of the traffic off of 29 and 82.
We're talking about straightening out Camp Keis Road. That's
already in the books, because this developer that we're talking about
now has already agreed to widen it to four lanes and provide the fill
necessary to widen it to four lanes so that we can take State Road 846,
which you all call Immokalee Road, straight over to 29, to facilitate
the growth, 10,000 rooftops of Ave Maria, 6,500 rooftops at Sarano,
just north of Ave Maria, and the rest of the development we're trying
to do to become the industrial hub.
There's something else happening, folks. The Seminoles are
going to bring a rezone location here with a high-rise hotel that they
already started digging a pit for.
And we see that as changing the dynamics of our downtown,
once we get the State Road 29 traffic off of it so we can function in a
totally different fashion. You're going to have developments of major
commercial boxes down near us.
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Now, what we see happening, what we're planning in our Master
Plan Envisioning Committee is tourist zone from the Seminole Casino
just north of Stockade Road up to State Road 29 and over around to
the Roberts Ranch. And in that zone would be Caribbean, if you will,
Gatlinburg. Where people can walk down the street, buy a Haitian
tam, a Panama hat and a Mexican sombrero. A real tourist zone
because of the magnet that the casino has already for our area.
Because when I first came here, we never thought of this as a tourist
destination point. Now that's realistic that we're going to be a major
tourist destination point.
Think of our location, folks. Right now with our limited access to
four-lane roads, we're within two and a half hours drive to the Orlando
Airport, the Tampa Airport, 90 minutes from the Miami Airport, 70
minutes from Ft. Lauderdale, 26 minutes from Southwest
International. We're in a perfect location to grow as an urban hub.
We have several problems that deal with that that we're trying to
deal with within our master plan and that is we have to have a master
plan that's got the road networks and what have you. We have to have
a Land Development Code that's more consistent with central Florida
than coastal Florida.
We lost Sky Truck because it takes too long to get a permit here.
We're trying to resolve that situation once we get the things in place so
that we can partner with the EDC and develop some high-wage jobs
that make this a perfect place for us to be.
I mean, we have everything going for us except one problem, and
that's on Horseshoe Drive.
This is a major thrust. In fact, I'm going to petition you, Mark
Strain, the Chairman of this board, that you don't let any petitions
come to you unless it comes through our Master Plan Envisioning
Committee so that we can review it and see if it's consistent with our
future land use plan, our future Land Development Code, because
that's going to make sense. Otherwise you're going to have stuff
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coming that it's going to be inconsistent with and we're going to be in
trouble anyway. You see?
We find this particular plan to be very consistent with our area
and what's going to happen.
And ma'am, 846 is not the gateway to Immokalee. The gateway
to Immokalee is coming from the north on 29. We in Immokalee relate
more to Fort Myers because it's physically closer than our back door
down here, okay?
So the kind of development they're planning on here with limited
access is a perfect development to help create the high-wage jobs. And
it's going to take it a while to get it developed.
But as soon as it starts clicking, we'll start bringing more money
in our TIF funds and help us do some of the things we want to do to
make Immokalee a better place to live.
But we need your support to help make these things happen. We
need your support to make sure that any petitions coming to you that
deal with the urban area of Immokalee comes through the Master Plan
Envisioning Committee so that we can give you a recommendation to
make sure that it is consistent with our future land use that we're
planning to get to, that we're just working as fast as we can to get
through. Because we've been trying hard for the last three years, two
years, two and a half years to make this thing happen.
And I'm willing to answer any questions that you may have for
me.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I've got a statement first, Fred.
MR. THOMAS: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: When you were on the planning
commission, did you ever meet out here in Immokalee?
MR. THOMAS: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We're meeting here tonight--
MR. THOMAS: And I appreciate that. Hey, hey, I appreciate
that.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- purposely --let me finish.
We're meeting here tonight purposely for the what you pointed out,
that we want the input from the Immokalee Planning Committee. We
knew you'd be here. Whether you were here or not, we wanted the
citizens' input as well. So we're doing exactly what you ask, probably
for the first time that I can remember in the history of Collier County.
And I've been here 30 years, probably like yourself.
So we are trying to get there, and I'm sure that by the time this is
all over we'll help everybody get there.
Anybody have any questions of Fred at this point?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No.
Thank you.
MR. THOMAS: Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You might want to ask the county staff
to distribute the most recent draft of the Immokalee Master Plan so we
could just -- the rest of the members here can get a taste for it.
MR. THOMAS: I made sure you had a copy, because I
hand-delivered it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I have gotten a copy, yes. But I think it
would be handy just to have it. Even in draft form.
MR. THOMAS: I think it would be good so they can start
looking at it, you know. Because wetve been trying to work hard to try
to get this thing through because, you know, Immokalee is not
competing with coastal Collier County. Immokalee is competing with
LaBelle, Clewiston. Do you know you can get a building permit from
start to finish for an industrial building in Hendry County in less than
a year? When you can't even begin to think of it in less than three
years here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, you're right. It takes a while.
MR. THOMAS: But when you've got a company trying to locate
in this area, where are they going to go? You ask the local packing
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houses, they're increasing their building up in Hendry County rather
than doing it here because of the time it takes, because of the
architectural standards, because of all these things that have no
function.
Remember, as your director of your housing authority, I could
only build -- even though I had money for 400 beds, I could only build
192 beds for an emergency facility -- I mean a shelter, because of the
county standard that had nothing of value to add to the building.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, Fred, the faster you can get that
master plan completed, the faster the LDC implementation part of it
can get done and the quicker we can get things on track to the way
they want to be.
MR. THOMAS: And as soon as David Weeks will review it and
get it back around to us, we'll be okay. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you, sir.
Are there any other public speakers that would like to talk here
tonight?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. George, we normally
accommodate a rebuttal. Do you have any comments that you need to
make or do you feel you want to address anything that was said here
tonight?
MR. VARNADOE: Just very quickly. I think that -- and I don't
mean to pick on staff, because we have these conversations all the
time.
But, you know, in a perfect little planner's world, you put this
kind of commercial here and this here and the business park here and
the industrial over there. And that just ignores reality in the market. In
order to make -- you heard testimony from Tammie, from Russ, from
our planner. In order to make this work, we're going to have to have a
variety of uses.
And we don't know exactly what we are, because we're plowing
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new ground here, folks. And to make this work, we're going to need to
have all the flexibility we can to get that critical mass and the synergy
to make this commerce park work.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay, the question was raised
earlier about the automobiles. And how significant is that to the plan?
MR. VARNADOE: What's wrong with it, Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I didn't ask that. No, no. I'm just
asking for a significant --
MR. VARNADOE: We have made a submittal. And I'm not in
favor at this point in time ofleading any of those uses. If staffs got
some particular problems, and this is the first time I've heard that is
tonight, we've got plenty of time between the transmittal and adoption
to deal with those one on one.
But to sit here and start picking through these uses tonight and
say we like this one and we dontt like this one, all we're doing is
reducing flexibility as we go forward. That's all we're doing.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: The question was raised
singularly having to do with automobiles. That's the reason I posed it.
MR. VARNADOE: Automobile -- they talked about repair, they
talked about sales, they talked about exhaust pipes, they talked about a
lot of different things.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, they were concerned with
the intensity and the audible intensity, even ifthe place looks nice.
And that was another factor.
I don't have a particular problem myself, and if the gateway is the
north and this is the end of it, it doesn't much make a difference to me.
But I just wondered if that was a significant part of it, and if it is then
you deserve the --
MR. VARNADOE: I don't know --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- opportunity to make that case.
MR. VARNADOE: Excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
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I don't know whether it is or it is not at this point in time. I can't sit
here and tell you what is going to be important three to five years from
now.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But it was included.
MR. VARNADOE: Absolutely. It included a lot of uses.
But who has -- you tell me who has the most to lose if this is not
an attractive facility. Who's got money in the ground, whose land is it?
It's not David Weeks, it's not George Varnadoe, it's not Bob Murray.
And I think we've got to give -- in this location, we've got to give
maximum flexibility and allow the landowner to take the risk and see
what he can make in this area.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer, then Mr. Midney.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And my question I think Bob
Mulhere can answer quickly.
And Bob, what my question is, the -- first of all, in the -- this
exhibit again, and it is 4-B, I believe, the gross leasable floor area,
what does the word leasable mean in that sentence?
MR. MULHERE: Well, it's defined in the Land Development
Code. I don't know if it's defined in the comprehensive plan. But
leasable is measured, you know, generally from interior wall, under
air, you know.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. So it would be -- I mean,
the word leasable in terms of ownership or something was what was
confusing me. I don't know, I've been doing the studies for the areas,
and the word -- I know what you mean, and we're meaning the same
thing.
The 45 percent of the maximum gross, if somebody buys one of
these parcels, essentially will you limit him to 45 percent? Is that what
that means, or is that a total all --
MR. MULHERE: You're actually reading from the Immokalee
Are Master Plan business park designation?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm reading from something that
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was handed to me tonight by the attorney. It's Exhibit 4-B, which is
what's going to establish the uses.
MR. MULHERE: Correct. And your question is?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The 45 percent. And my concern
actually is opposite of what you think.
MR. MULHERE: Oh, yes. No, that's an aggregate. I'm sorry,
that's an aggregate number.
No, we wouldn't necessarily have to limit -- there's going to be --
when you come in for zoning, you're going to have development
standards. It's going to be setbacks, height restrictions, okay? You
can't contravene those.
But it doesn't necessarily mean that each lot will be limited to 45
percent. In my view the way this is written, it is an aggregate gross --
it says use the word gross building coverage for the district. So it
would have been worded differently if it was intended to limit that to
45 percent on each lot.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And actually, I'm coming from
the opposite direction that you think.
The concern I have is the million square feet represents only
about 14 percent of the site. So are we fully utilizing the site? I mean,
to the horror of some of my fellow commissioners, I really think that,
you know, using the land to its maximum is as important as
diminishing what you can do on it. So is that million just pulled out of
the air or did you analyze this layout and realize that the best use at 45
percent of these lots is a million?
MR. MULHERE: No, I think it was bulk -- it was a combination.
It wasn't just pulled out of the air, it was a combination of things.
I mean, when you consider typically a yield of 10,000 square feet for
commercial uses, a higher yield for office uses and a higher yet yield
typically for industrial, depending on the intensity, that the million
square feet, you know, is a number that was derived at through that
process, partly.
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COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Did George want to answer that?
MR. VARNADOE: I wanted just to comment. Bob came late to
the party on this.
When we were first putting this project together, the intent was to
keep that park-light atmosphere and to have open spaces and
separation and not to have a typical industrial setting, if you would,
Mr. Schiffer.
So I think that's why you see the low yield, if you would, on a
square foot per acreage basis.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And just a quick response, there
is such a thing as too low also. But anyway, next. Thank you, Mark.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, Mr. Midney?
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Yeah, I don't really have a
problem with the industrial as opposed to the commerce. I think that
we have to take into account that Immokalee is not Naples. And what
might not be -- might seem a little bit intense in Naples, in Immokalee
we really need the industrial end of it. And so I'm really not concerned
that they're going to make this ugly.
I think that the landowner owns all the surrounding land and he's
going to do a good job of making it an attractive area that's going to
help our economy. But I am concerned about the traffic.
Mr. Varnadoe, have you looked at those six -- I guess a menu of
things that you can do to improvement the traffic flow? You know,
looking at the failing roads possibility in the future, which of those six
are you guys ready to contribute to?
MR. VARNADOE: None tonight, sir.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: But you've thought about it.
MR. VARNADOE: Well, we've helped Nick with the list of uses.
And this legislation that Nick talks about mayor may not pass. By the
time we get back for adoption, we should know the answer to that.
And if we don't, I assume we're going to have a real problem. But
if we do, I think really, and from my perspective, the perfect time to
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look at this at that level would be zoning, because compo plan doesn't
put a trip on the road and certainly not at transmittal hearing.
But I think that this is going -- as Mr. Strain I think alluded to,
this is going to take a lot more study to decide which ones of these
would have the most bang for the buck, to use the vernacular. Which
one of these are really going to have the most use. And I can't answer
that tonight.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: But you are definitely open in
principle to the idea that if you do push this road towards a failing
condition, that you would be willing to contribute to helping the road?
MR. VARNADOE: That's what these six are for, yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: And you agree with the principle,
the idea behind that?
MR. VARNADOE: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, George, I've got a question that
might help resolve some concerns.
Those square boxes you have on that plan --
MR. VARNADOE: This is very illustrative, let me just say that. I
mean, we think we've got the entrances fairly accurate, but the rest of
it is --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Just out of curiosity --
MR. VARNADOE: Go ahead.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- what's the general depth of those
square boxes?
MR. VARNADOE: Three hundred feet.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. You have a strip of square boxes
along 846. You have four items that have been questioned as to the
intensity and an entryway into the community. One is automotive
repair shops, another is motor freight transportation warehousing,
another is motor vehicle dealers, and the last one that hasn't been
mentioned, but I think I'll throw it in just for conversation, lumber and
other building materials.
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Would you have any objection to limiting those four uses to
anything but the strip along 846?
MR. VARNADOE: I think with the exception of the automobile
dealerships, no, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the repair shops, the motor freight
and the lumber could all go interior to your project. And the
automotive dealership, you don't want to make that commitment to.
MR. VARNADOE: I really dontt. I mean, I think if you're going
to have an automobile dealership it's going to have to have exposure to
the main road.
I'm not saying we're going to have, I don't know, we don't have
any plans yet, but I think if you're going to have one -- even if it
doesn't have direct access, Mr. Schiffer, say on the road, it's going to
have to have exposure to the main road.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if you have exposure you're going
to look a lot like the coastal area of Collier County.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Mark?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, Mr. Vigliotti, then Mr. Midney.
Go ahead, Bob.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Mr. Varnadoe, would you have
a problem doing only new car dealerships, not used autos?
MR. VARNADOE: I don't think so.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Primarily a --
MR. VARNADOE: Yes, sir, I think we can agree that -- if it's a
new car dealership, he's going to have used cars, but we wouldn't have
a used car dealership.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: You know what I'm talking
about.
MR. VARNADOE: Yeah, I do.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So before I go back to Paul, what
you just said then is the interior -- you wouldn't use that strip along
846 for two, four or six, which a lumber, the motor freight and the
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automotive repair. Nor would you use it for any used motor vehicle
dealers, it would only be new if you were to put them there.
MR. VARNADOE: (Indicating.)
THE COURT REPORTER: Is that yes?
MR. VARNADOE: Yes, I'm sorry. Be audible here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I understand. I got your head.
MR. VARNADOE: I wanted her to hear it, that's all.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead, Paul.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: I'd just like to, you know, reiterate
in case the planning commission don't know it. We don't have an auto
dealership in Immokalee of any kind. And a new -- an auto dealership
would be very, very nice right there. So I don't think we should
exclude that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, it's not, we're not doing that. In fact,
we just worked out the objectionable part, I hope.
So okay, are there any other questions of anybody involving this
project at this time?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hearing none, before anybody makes a
motion, we'll have a little discussion, because there's several different
sheets on which to make the motion from.
We got a hand-out tonight that doesntt vary much from the staff
recommendation hand -- first application on Page 17.
If you all turn to Page 17 and you look at what starts at B-2,
you'll find it's just a cleanup of the language that staff would have to
do regardless. Because for example, 2-E, you can't say that PUD's
shall be used, you can only encourage they be used.
On the following page, the only difference is H-2. H-2 the
applicant has actually struck a suggested better designation for H-2
than what staff has here. So I would suggest to the motion maker that
we accept staffs version on Page 17 and 18, with the exception ofH-2
from the applicant's handout, if we are so inclined to recommend
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approval.
And that the added stipulations that items two, four and six be
limited to uses interior to the project not along those parcels shown--
not within 300 feet of 846. And that number five for motor vehicle
dealers, the only motor vehicle dealers that could go within that first
300 feet would be new dealers.
And then we also consider adding a -- we require traffic
stipulations by defined by the adoption hearing and that we will -- that
language will be included to address changes at the state level, should
things occur that are needed for -- to secure our transportation funding.
That about sums it up that I would want a motion maker to
consider. And I would like Nick to ask -- Nick, if that conforms
enough language to get him where he needs to go by adoption.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I'm comfortable with that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: George?
MR. VARNADOE: I'm sorry, Mr. Strain, that last comment
about the state -- I just didn't catch it, I apologize.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Traffic stipulations as defin -- the
traffic stipulation you select will be defined by adoption, and by
adoption there will be language to include -- that will address any
changes at the state level should they occur regarding the changes in
the way roads are allowed to be funding (sic) through impact fees or
other concurrency elements.
MR. VARNADOE: I don't know what that means.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Could you say that again?
MR. VARNADOE: I apologize. I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm
just trying to understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's fine.
Nick under statements today indicated to us that there's a
possibility that the way we do impact fees and the way we handle
concurrency at the state level could change.
All I'm suggesting is that by the time of adoption some language
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is worked out to add to this GMP amendment that should the state
level concurrency or funding mechanisms for impact fees or items like
that change, the county will have some language in this document to
protect it for its funding of the road system that is needed.
Nick, if you can help me clarify it, because it's your issue, I
would certainly appreciate it.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I think the way you've structured it to
read, that they'll have defined their mitigation strategies prior to
adoption probably covers it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I think by that time you'll know what
you're up against with the state.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's fine. So that's fine. If that's fine,
then the only part that we'd want to consider then is the traffic
stipulations will be defined by the adoption hearing for the mitigation.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I'd say that's a safe way to go.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Now, those are suggestions.
Anybody else?
Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: One thing, Mark. In D of that, is
there a way we could limit the access to the thing via the arterial or via
the internal road? And--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I mean, we can make recommendations
now or we can do them at the time of zoning. I think zoning we might
get a better handle on what's going there, it might be a better time to
do it.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: A project of this intensity is going to
require signalized intersections at half-mile spacing. You're going to --
by the design guidelines we have with access management, you're
going to set this up to function properly.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The only thing I'm trying to
prevent, Nick, is a series -- what if a restaurant bought each of those
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lots and car dealers and stuff and there's cars coming in off the roads
on Immokalee. I would rather the thing be served from the internal
road than the external -- than Immokalee --
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I couldn't agree more. I think we -- and
this is a bad model, but the concept, the City Gate that's on 951, the
approach driveway queue links are too short. But that model would be
more appropriate where you have one or two driveways that serve as
access points with the reverse frontage roads that would feed all the
businesses that would be there.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So stay away from it now?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I wouldn't deal with it now.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: But David, your advice was
sometimes it's good to punt forward a couple of clues as to what we're
thinking.
MR. WEEKS: Yes, but I'll defer to Nick as the expert in
transportation. If you wish, you might include a statement that access
to the -- project access will be carefully scrutinized at the time of
rezoning. Again, raise a flag.
It has no regulatory effect, but it puts everyone on notice that
reads that subdistrict language that access is something of concern. If
you state nothing, then all this conversation here potentially is lost.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Fred Thomas, in his describing
of it, called it a limited access, you know, a project with limited
access. So would that be the words?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: There's an access management policy
that governs that. I mean, the only thing I can caution, 300 feet of road
depth for something this big is too short.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay, we'll back --
MR. CASALANGUIDA: We'll deal with that later.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Midney?
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Does your suggestion of -- does
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this differentiate between a commerce park and a business park?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Basically we'd be accepting the proposed
language that's on Pages 17 and 18. I think it's a combination of
industrial, business park and commercial. I mean, it's more than any
other individual one, but it's less than the Immokalee
commercial/industrial subdistrict. They didn't need that, they didn't go
that route, they went this route.
I think with their concession to stay 300 feet back for those
heavier intense uses and only have new car dealers along 846, it's a
pretty good deal. I mean, I think it's going to work.
Anybody else have any comments before we --
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay then, is there -- Mr. Midney, do
you want to make a motion?
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: I'd like to.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I figure it's your district, you should.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Okay. I would like to move that
we forward Petition CP-2006-1 on to the Collier County Commission
with a recommendation for approval, subject to -- for transmittal, I'm
sorry -- subject to the conditions that you have mentioned already.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, is there a second?
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: I'll second that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Wolfley seconded it.
Now for discussion. It's important that staff gets the stipulations
right. Is there any doubt from staffs part to what the stipulations are?
MR. WEEKS: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There is doubt?
MR. WEEKS: I think it would be -- well, I could read you what I
have.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Let me tell you what I think they are and
you can tell what you got, and Mr. Midney and Mr. Wolfley can
decide if they agree with it.
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March 24, 2008
We're going to be utilizing the description on Page 17, starting
with B-2. The language on 17 stays as the staff recommended it, with
the corrections shown.
On Page 18, the language stays the same till it gets to H-2. H-2
uses the language in the handout from the applicant that we received
today. It talks about more selective uses for commercial. And it has a
final sentence that says, the exact uses to be permitted will be
determined at the time of rezoning.
Now, on top of that, the applicant has agreed that items two, four
and six will not be within the first 300 feet of the frontage along 846.
And they also have agreed that if they do utilize number five along
846, for the first 300 feet will be for new car dealers only.
And then the last thing was that by the time of the adoption
hearing, we will have received -- they will have determined what
traffic mitigations they're willing to utilize in regards to Nick's
concern that he had itemized in his staff report.
Mr. Varnadoe?
MR. VARNADOE: At the risk of snatching defeat from the jaws
of victory, let me see if we could kind of change the 300 feet to would
not be on the parcels fronting Immokalee Road. We have them 300
feet today. It could be 280 at the time we come in for zoning. Would
that be acceptable --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the only concern I have is if you
put too shallow of a parcel there, you're right back on top of
Immokalee Road with some of those more difficult uses. We're
looking at a minimum distance from Immokalee Road. I don't believe
I was intending to say parcels, I said you wouldn't be within 300 feet.
If you think your parcels are going to be more shallow, what's the
shallowest parcel you'd have there?
MR. VARNADOE: Right today -- today we're very, very -- you
know, at the conceptual stage they are 300. But those -- the ones
you're you talking about, I don't have any real concern with it.
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March 24, 2008
Because those we're talking about putting back here anyway.
So let's just go with your -- the 300 feet is acceptable.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think that would be a good move.
MR. VARNADOE: That's fine.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, David, now do you have the
language that you --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, one quick thing?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, before--
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Read back the thing about -- it
almost sounded like you had to have car dealers on Immokalee Road.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, I said if they utilize number five and
it is for new car dealers, those can be along Immokalee Road. But if
they're not, they have to -- used car dealers cannot be along
Immokalee. That was the intent.
Mr. Midney, are those stipulations in line with your motion?
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: (Nods head affirmatively.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You better say yes so she can write it
down.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Mr. Wolfley, is that in line with
the second?
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other discussion on the motion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
MR. MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
MR. WOLFLEY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Aye.
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March 24, 2008
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All those opposed?
(No response.)
Motion carries 7-0.
And with that, we will continue this Growth Management Plan
hearing until Friday morning at 8:30.
Oh, wait a minute, Margie, this one was separately advertised.
Do we need to continue it or --
MS. STUDENT-STIRLING: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- do we need to adjourn it?
MS. STUDENT-STIRLING: No, because the other one is being
continued from the other advertised --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So we can adjourn this thing.
Is there a motion to adjourn?
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: So moved.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Vigliotti.
COMMISSIONER WOLFLEY: Second.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Seconded by?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'll do it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer.
All in favor?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
MR. MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MIDNEY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
MR. WOLFLEY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
COMMISSIONER VIGLIOTTI: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion is over -- meeting is over. Thank
you.
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March 24, 2008
*****
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 7:48 p.m.
COLLIER COUNTY
PLANNING COMMISSION
Mark Strain, Chairman
These minutes approved by the board on
presented or as corrected
as
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