Loading...
DSAC Minutes 01/07/2009 R January 7, 2009 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida, January 7,2009 LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Development Services Advisory Committee, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 3:30 P.M. in REGULAR SESSION in Conference Room #610 in the Collier County Community Development and Environmental Services Center, 2800 N. Horseshoe Drive, Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: William Varian Charles Abbott James Boughton (Absent) Clay Brooker Laura Spurgeon Dejohn Dalas Disney David Dunnavant Marco Espinar (Absent) Blair Foley George Hermanson Reed Jarvi Thomas Masters Robert Mulhere Reid Schermer Mario Valle (Excused) ALSO PRESENT: Joe Schmitt, Administrator, CDES Judy Puig, Operations Analyst, CDES, Staff Liaison Catherine Fabacher, LDC Manager, Zoning & Land Development Phil Gramatges, Interim Director, Public Utilities Nick Casalanguida, Director, Transportation/Planning Bob Dunn, Director, Bldg. Review & Permitting Gary Mullee, CDES, Operations Support Manager, Budget Manager Ed Riley, Fire Code Official _____..,..__.._..m___ _.._----_." DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA January 7,2009 3:30 p.m. Conference Room 610 NOTICE: Persons wishing to speak on any Agenda item will receive up to three (3) minutes unless the Chairman adjusts the time. Speakers are required to fill out a "Speaker Request Form," list the topic they wish to address, and hand it to the Staff member seated at the table before the meeting begins. Please wait to be recognized by the Chairman, and speak into a microphone. State your name and affiliation before commenting. During discussion, Committee Members may direct questions to the speaker. Please silence cell phones and digital devices. There may not be a break in this meeting. Please leave the room to conduct any personal business. All parties participating in the public meeting are to observe Roberts Rules of Order, and wait to be recognized by the Chairman. Please speak one at a time and into the microphone so the Hearing Reporter can record all statements being made. I. Call to order - Chairman II. Approval of Agenda III. Approval of Minutes from December 3, 2008 Meeting IV. Staff Announcements/Updates A. CDES Update - Joe Schmitt . Discuss possible work hour reduction . Review times - Building and Planning . Budget B. Transportation Division Update - Nick Casalanguida C. Public Utilities Division Update - Phil Gramatges D. Fire Review Update - Ed Riley V. Old Business A. Road Impact Fee Comparison chart - Nick C. B. Dates for LDC 2009 Cycle - see attached executive summary w/proposed dates discussed at the December 2, 2008 BCC meeting (item 16A8) C. Review of DSAC municipal code (functions, powers and duties) regarding future agenda items VI. New Business A. Chairman and Vice Chairman for 2009 B. Time change for meetings VII. Public Speakers VIII. Committee Member Comments IX. Adjourn Next Meetina Dates February 4,2009 CDES Conference Room 610 - 3:30 pm March 4, 2009 CDES Conference Room 610 - 3:30 pm April 1, 2009 CDES Conference Room 610 - 3:30 pm January 7, 2009 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:35 PM by Chairman William Varian and a quorum was established. Chairman Varian read the procedures to be followed during the Meeting. II. Approval of Agenda Tom Masters moved to approve the Agenda. Second by Robert Mulhere. Carried unanimously, 9-0. III. Approval of Minutes - Decemher 3, 2008 Meeting The following correction was suggested: On Page 3, the CBIA lawsuit may not have been filed in Court. Reed Jarvi moved to approve the Minutes of the December 3,2008 Meeting as amended. Second by Reid Schermer. Carried unanimously, 9-0. IV. Staff Announcements/Updates A. CDES Update - Joe Schmitt, Administrator . Work hour reductions may be necessary due to insufficient revenue . Voluntary early separation has been offered - waiting for response . Most economical option: 4-day work week (closed on Fridays) · Option: requesting inspections on Friday - premium cost must be paid · A copy of the Financial Impact of the Decrease in Fund I3I Activities Report was distributed to the Committee Chairman Varian stated the building industry has concerns regarding unpermitted and/or unlicensed work being done without any supervision during a 3-day weekend if County closes. Another concern is the closure of the Contractor Licensing Department. Joe Schmitt stated he would bring the concerns to James French, CDES Operations Manager. He stated similar cost-cutting measures will be taken throughout the County. (Charles Abbott arrived at 3:40 PM.) There are four investigators and one supervisor who cover the City of Naples and Marco Island, as well as the County. He stated he would examine the situation and suggested DSAC make a recommendation noting the industry's concerns regarding the degrading of service. (David Dunnavant arrived at 3:44 PM) A "hot line" will be installed to facilitate reporting of unlicensed work or unlicensed Contractors, especially during off hours. Joe Schmitt outlined the costs CDES is required to pay. Personnel services are approximately 80% of his costs. (George Hermanson arrived at 3:47 PM) 2 January 7, 2009 Discussion ensued concerning the "unfreezing" of one position in Contractor Licensing. A question was asked regarding whether or not there was an increase in unlicensed activity. Bob Dunn, Building Director, stated violations have increased and 72 citations were written in December by only two Staff members due to the holidays. There was further discussion concerning Fund l3l (Land Use and Permitting) and Fund l13 (Building Dept.). Gary Mullee, Budget Manager, stated if the County were closed for one day, approximately $5,000.00 per month would be saved in electricity costs alone. Fund ll3 has a slightly better reserve structure but is losing money almost as quickly as l3l and will be depleted in the near future. Fund 13l 's revenues are critically low. While Fund 13l technically has $l-M in reserves, it has $l.8-M worth of commitments which are currently due. Susan Istenes, stated the type of projects coming into Zoning are primarily small changes and insubstantial changes that are not revenue generating. The biggest fee generator in the Zoning Department was plats and plans - plats for single-family residences. She also stated due to the slowdown in new construction, there are no plats to review. Joe Schmitt stated another large expense was the cost to provide verbatim minutes for the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners. The cost is $6.00 per page, and most transcripts run between 300 to 400 pages. He stated he will try to maintain a core competency within CDES, but staff wi]] be reduced by 20%. While the County was understaffed in 2002, he cannot make payroll for March, 2009. There was further discussion concerning allocations, budget line items, and the proposed 4-day work week and the impact of the shorter work week on inspections. A suggestion was made to utilize a private provider to conduct inspections. If a time- specific inspection is ordered from the County for a Friday, a higher premium fee will be charged. Discussion continued. A question was asked concerning whether or not the Planning and Land Use Department was "top heavy." PUD Monitoring and efficiency were also discussed. Collier County's complicated process was compared to Lee County which is more streamlined. A suggestion was made to examine the process as well as Staff. Creating the position of a Hearing Examiner was also suggested as well as simplifying the Land Development Code. Chairman Varian summarized: · Examine repetitiveness of reviews to streamline · The economy needs the building/remodeling industry to survive - permits for projects cannot be delayed · The level of service cannot drop 3 - ....-..------.~.._"..,.-..---~..----.-.-..,-,,-".~%,..-.....-..-.... .~...,_.~-,~ ~ _.~,~~....."~~_.._____n.____ ."_..._ _____,_. ",_. January 7, 2009 Chairman Varian cited George Hermanson's email which was distributed to the Committee and stated the Committee should draft an LDC Amendment regarding recommendations to streamline the LDC review process for presentation to the Board of County Commissioners B. Transportation Division Update - Nick Casalanguida · A copy of the Road Impact Fee Rate Comparison Chart was distributed to the Committee. It will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners on January 13, 2009. He stated the BCC was given an option to accept the proposed Study and defer implementation for one year or to reduce Transportation Impact Fees by 30%. · He stated the DOT's Consumer/Construction Price Index was recently released and prices dropped again in December. · The north section ofCollierNanderbilt Beach Road will be finished by the end of January, 2009. · The North Brook Bridge has been completed. · Working with the DOT regarding modifications to the Immokalee/I-75 Interchange. · All CEIs (Construction Engineering Inspections) have been brought "in-house" and will no longer be sub-contracted out. All Collier County Project Managers will perform the CEIs. A Committee member stated the combination of declining economy and the high cost of doing business in Collier County is driving developers out of the area and they may never return. There was discussion regarding the figures contained in the Tindale-Oliver Report versus the roll-back amounts. If calculations were incorrect, exceptions should be made in specific categories. It was suggested that the 2006 rates were not necessarily the best choice to use. It was noted the DSAC Committee previously did not recommend adoption of the study rates. The Productivity Committee had recommended the 30% roll-back. A copy of the 2006 Study will be provided to the Committee via email. Costs were requested for the two new pedestrian bicycle bridges built over the river tributaries near Vanderbilt Drive and for the two on Golden Gate Parkway near Golden Gate City (by St. Elizabeth Seton over the canal). Mr. Casalanguida stated the design of the pedestrian ways was chosen by the neighborhood MSTU Committees. Regarding landscaping along Vanderbilt Beach Road: the BCC authorized $1.8 M for three projects but the estimates submitted totaled $2.8 M. The Board directed new bids should be requested from the vendors. C. Public Utilities Division Update - Phil Gramatges 4 . -_._----,.-._...._.".,_..__.,,--"~,..--,....~~--,-,,-""~..__.- ." January 7, 2009 · Two large projects were completed (expansions ofthe South Water Plant and the feeding Well field) and will provide approximately l2 M gallons of capacity · Figures for the 2010 Budget are being compiled · Revenues were almost 40% less than last month due to lower consumption of water A question was asked about a piping connection problem regarding directional bores. A Utilities reviewer stated "policy" requires the three connections. Mr. Gramatges asked for specifics of the situation to be emailed to him to research. D. Fire Review Update - Ed Riley, Fire Code Official · A written report was submitted to Committee members · 882 reviews were completed in December · A tracking software was installed to pinpoint the percentage of contractor approvals and disapprovals and the problem areas · A second newsletter containing information based on the statistics compiled by the tracking software will be distributed · Classes will be developed to train contractors to increase the approval rates · Revenues have declined but the department has secure reserves - staff reductions are not anticipated V. Old Business A. Road Impact Fee Comparison Chart - Nick Casalanguida (See Item IV. - B above) B. Dates for LDC 2009 Cycle Catherine Fabacher, LDC Manager, distributed a copy of an Executive Summary concerning the Cycle. · The Sign Code is being revised with completion anticipated for February- March, 2009 · DSAC is "to consider any amendments which the Board deems in the best interest of business per their discussion on June 24, 2009, that is given conceptual pre- approval by the BCC before the commencement of the 2009 cycle (March l, 2009)." · The current procedure is for the issue to be placed on a Consent Agenda in order to petition the BCC for conceptual approval for addition of an LDC Amendment. Discussion followed concerning DSAC's powers and duties. Ms. Fabacher stated the purpose of the LDC was to provide most, not all, of the answers. Staff is to interpret the Code and when a problem was presented, an appeal could be made to the BCC for a decision. Joe Schmitt stated he would inform the BCC (through an Executive Summary or a memorandum) that additional Amendments will be added to the Cycle Review based on DSAC's recommendation. It was noted that June l, 2009 is the last day to submit drafts of proposed Amendments. The Committee decided to reinstitute the LDR Subcommittee. 5 ""_'_'~"_'__'~_~_"~~M'_~_"'._______ ~'--~'-"'--"~-""'-""-'-'-~--'-'-"'--"'-'---'~'- January 7, 2009 Ms. Fabacher suggested the author(s) present explanations ofthe Amendment(s) to DSAC during its March, April and May meetings. She also suggested convening the March, April and May meetings at an earlier time. There was discussion concerning changes made by the Environmental Advisory Committee ("EAC") after DSAC had approved an Amendment. Ms. Fabacher will schedule the Subcommittee's meetings and will present the proposed schedule at the next DSAC meeting. C. Review of DSAC Municipal Code (Postponed) VI. New Business A. Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman for 2009 David Dunnavant nominated William Varian to serve as DSAC Chairman for the 2009 term. Second by Reed JarvL Motion carried, "II-Yes," with one abstention. Mr. Varian abstainedfrom voting. Robert Mulhere nominated Thomas Masters to service as DSAC Vice Chairman for the 2009 term. Second by Blair Foley. Motion carried, "II-Yes," with one abstention. Mr. Thomas abstained from voting. B. Time Change for Meeting Chairman Varian suggested moving the meeting time to 3:00 PM. Judy Puig stated the Operations Staff meets on Wednesdays between l:OO and 3:00 PM. She will notify Mr. Schmitt of the proposed time change. VII. Public Speakers (None) VIII. Committee Member Comments Clay Brooker suggested revising the Agenda to allow a speaker from the public to be heard at the beginning ofthe Committee meeting. The item for "Public Speakers" will follow "Approval of Minutes" in next month's Agenda. George Hermanson suggested the members should prepare lists of issues for discussion specific to their disciplines concerning the LDC Amendments. By consensus, it was decided the LDR Subcommittee should meet in January. Last year, Subcommittee meetings were held on the 3'd Wednesday of the month (January 28,2009). Ms. Fabacher will reserve a room and inform the Subcommittee of the time and location. Catherine Fabacher stated a "school" for authors of LDC Amendments will begin in March to teach how to write Amendments and invited the Committee to attend. She will bring the calendar to the next DSAC meeting. 6 .- -'"~"'-"'-"-------"._-'~-._---_.._.~~-_._.~...._.,~--..,'--- January 7, 2009 DSAC Meeting Dates: February 4, 2009 at 3:00 PM (time change to be confirmed) March 4, 2009 at 3:00 PM Aprill, 2009 at 3:00 PM There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order ofthe Chairman at 5:21 PM. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE William Varian, Chairman These Minutes were approved by the Board/Committee on as presented , or as amended 7