BCC Minutes 04/19/1995 S (LDC Amendments) SPECIAL MEETING OF APRIL 19, 1995,
OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COHMISSIONERS
LET IT BE REHEHBERED, that the Board of County Commissioners
in and for the County of Collier, and also acting as the Board of
Zoning Appeals and as the governing board(s) of such special districts
as have been created according to law and having conducted business
herein, met on this date at 5:06 p.m. In. SPECIAL SESSION in Building
"F" of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida, with the
CHAIRPERSON:
VICE CHAIRMAN:
following members present:
ALSO PRESENT:
Bettye J. Hatthews
John C. Norris
Timothy J. Constantine
Timothy L. Hancock
Pamela S. Hac'Kie
W. Neil Dotrill, County Hanager
Kenneth B. Cuyler, County Attorney
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Call to order the 5:05 meeting
regarding Land Development Code for Wednesday, April 19. Mr. Dotrill,
would you lead us in an invocation and pledge.
MR. DORRILL: Father, this evening we -- we give thanks
for all that we have, but this evening, Father, we focus on our
colleagues and fellow public officials who are in Oklahoma City, and I
think in addition to our concern and the concern of the nation of this
type of activity but specifically at this moment our prayers and
support would go to those individual government officials and
employees and their families and specifically individuals who may have
lost a loved one today, and our hearts go out to them. We would ask
that you touch them this evening and in the days ahead specifically.
Father, we ask that you bless our meeting here this
evening, that it would be fruitful and beneficial to Collier County,
that you bless our time together. We pray these things in your Son's
holy name. Amen.
(The pledge of allegiance was recited in unison.)
Item #3
ORDINANCE 95-31, AMENDING ORDINANCE 91-102, AS AMENDED, THE COLLIER
COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE - ADOPTED
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: We are tonight on the second
hearing of advertised public hearings regarding amendments to the Land
Development Code.
MR. HULHERE: Thank you. For the record, my name is Bob
Hulhere with the Development Services Department. At the first
hearing, we -- we went through all of the proposed amendments and
there were only -- there was really only one amendment that the board
directed staff to make some changes to, and that was the political
sign amendment which is on page 28 of your agenda package, and it's
paragraph three. And if we were successful in following the board's
direction, we changed the proposed language to read as underlined,
"The number of such signs shall be limited to two signs for each lot
or parcel per bulk permit issued for each candidate or issue." And as
I understood the direction, we weren't going to deal with whether it
was two -- single-faced or double-faced, just simply two signs. And
if you happen to get there and put a V sign which counts as only one
sign, then you would -- you would have a V sign, but two signs per
parcel. That was as I understood the directions. COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Correct.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: So we're going to count a V sign
as one sign. So they could have two V's?
MR. HULHERE: Yes. If it meets the definition of a V
sign or a code, it currently -- the code does say the V sign is only
one sign, and I think there's an angle. And if it -- you know, if
it's not separated out too far, then it counts as only one sign.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: All right. So what -- what we're
specifically dealing here with then is all the little teeny signs that
get put out there in --
MR. HULHERE: That's correct.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: -- in multiple numbers?
MR. HULHERE: That is correct.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. Many multiple numbers.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: That's the jab amendment.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Is that jab?
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: That's the jab amendment.
MR. MULHERE: Now, there were no other comments on any
of the other changes at the last meeting; however, I know there will
be some on some of the changes at this meeting.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: I did have one concern I brought
up the last meeting regarding -- and I'll look for the one. It was
regarding the requirements in PUDs. I'd ask you instead of -- kind of
to clarify the meaning of requiring certain development criteria of
clubhouses and facilities, that it be in conjunction with, say, a
percentage of or a -- You know, as I read it, this is kind of
confusing. It really isn't clear, and I know we probably have some
folks here tonight to talk about that. And I would just like to
suggest -- This is the second hearing and not the first. If there are
significant -- and I'll ask if this is the board's desire. If there
are significant language changes being proposed this evening that
staff has not either looked at or is not ready to propose specifically
this evening, rather than spending two hours over changes tonight, we
may be better served by withholding those changes until the next cycle
and taking another try at it. I just -- I would be concerned about us
doing something tonight that we have to do again in six months.
MR. MULHERE: There are some -- I'm sure there are some
people here to speak to this issue. I received some phone calls
relative to this language and -- both on the dedication of public
facilities as well as the amenities, both sections of that. It's on
page -- I'm sorry. We're on page 16 of your agenda package, 15 and
16.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Constantine.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I agree with Commissioner
Hancock. That's the purpose of having two public hearings, is the
first one we can get into the in-depth needs to change any wording.
(Commissioner Mac'Kie entered the meeting room.)
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: The second one I think is
more -- the purpose is more designed to do the tweaking and so on and
so forth. So if there's something -- I agree wholeheartedly. If
there's something that we haven't seen before and is a major change,
unless we have wording specifically suggested, I think it would be
better suited, unless it's something out of the ordinary, to do that
in the next cycle.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. Why don't we -- If you've
got other changes that you need to go through -- MR. MULHERE: No.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Why don't we hear from the public
speakers.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: What -- Let me ask, what section
of this is causing you a problem with it? The paragraph that's number
two on page 16 seems fine to me. I don't know -- Is that the one or
is there something else?
MR. CUYLER: I think that staff and perhaps the board is
aware of some concerns that some members of the development community
may express at today's meeting. You may have to listen to those to
find out what the -- what the discussion is. I think from staff's
perspective, item number one and item number two are separable. I
think that both -- in both of those cases, it's an attempt to try to
correct some problems that we've had. With regard to two, I think
those are the kind of problems the board is probably even more aware
of than staff because you're the ones that get the call from the
homeowners when the pool doesn't go in or something is late.
I think from staff's perspective -- and I'll let Bob say
what he wants to say -- item number two can wait as long as you want
it to wait. I think item number one, I'm not telling you, you have to
do it tonight. Obviously you have the discretion to continue that,
but I would suggest that you have some good reasons put on the record
as to why that language is not acceptable or if -- if we can tweak
that tonight and get that done. Obviously the basis for that, as you
can read, is where we get PUD commitments, we've been running into
problems. I mean, it's not stopping county government. But, on the
other hand, we need to define in the PUDs if somebody has to do
something, how they do it, when they do it. I don't think staff is
tied exactly to this language. Obviously we're at the hearing. I
don't think staff knew about this, that there were any problems with
this until yesterday. If we'd known about it a couple of weeks ago,
we might have been able to work on this and have it ready for you, but
I think you need to hear from your public speakers and find out
exactly what they're saying.
MR. MULHERE: I would add that one of the issues that --
The citing is incorrect. It's 2.2.20.3.7 and then that's --
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: That changes everything.
MR. MULHERE: And the other issue is that this -- the
direction that we had relative to developing some language for
dedication of the public facilities has involved in some circumstances
in the past not just PUD fezones or PUD amendments but also straight
fezones and conditional uses. Sometimes with the conditional use the
board -- the staff will recommend and the board will approve a
requirement to dedicate some right-of-way. And so staff in amending
this placed some language in there, took out the reference to PUD
rezoning and placed in the words rezoning and conditional use fezones
or conditional use approvals. And, in fact, that section really deals
only with PUD procedures.
So we would recommend that we -- we take this exact
language or whatever language the board approves, if the board does
approve language tonight, and place that language in the appropriate
section under conditional use and the appropriate section under fezone
as well as within the PUD section. And I have those sections. And,
for the record, for a straight fezone, it would be section 2.7.2.8.1.
And under conditional use, it would be 2.7.4.5.1. Both of those
sections deal with stipulations, conditions, and safeguards.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: And which language is this
specifically that's before us?
MR. MULHERE: It would be under -- all of the language
under number one currently except that we would take out -- We would
put the appropriate reference in, whether it be conditional use,
fezone, or PUD under the -- in the appropriate section. COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Mr. Cuyler, before we go much
further on this, this seems to read that within the PUD document, the
developer or the builder, whichever, developer I presume, will spell
out at what point in time in the progress of the development he's
going to have different amenities available. Is the county taking on
a burden of becoming -- We're already in the middle between the
builder and the buyer, you know, because they come to us when it
doesn't happen. But I -- I don't feel good about the possibility that
if this is in a PUD ordinance, that we're going to get caught in the
middle of an argument between the developer and a difficult
dissatisfied buyer, and because we aren't enforcing his perception of
what ought to be, that we wind up in a legal battle.
MR. CUYLER: There is that potential. I think number
two depends on how badly the board wants this. I do have some
concerns along that line, and we need to be very careful. I think
asking the developer to set out his time frame, there's nothing
illegal about asking him to do that. When he doesn't meet the time
frame -- we've had a couple Code Enforcement Board cases for things
related to this. Now, in those cases, we had more than just a PUD and
somebody saying, yeah, this is going to be a golf course community or
this -- we're going to have a swimming pool. There, in fact, were
some commitments that were a little unusual, and those cases gave us
the ability to go in and go after those developers that weren't doing
what they said.
But in the average case, you need to want to do this a
lot in order to put this in, because to some extent, it's going to
involve you. I know the board's very conscientious about citizens
coming in and saying, "Our pool wasn't built. What are you going to
do," and I know that nobody likes to say,"Sorry. That's not our
bailiwick. We don't do that." And this gives you the ability to at
least have the developer set out his time frame and this is a little
unusual.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: I saw you both at the same time.
Commissioner Mac'Kie.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Just if anybody's counting votes,
not only do I not really want to do this, I really want not to do
number two. I mean, I think it's a very bad idea.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: I'm concerned about regulating
ourselves -- regulating ourselves into a corner that we're not going
to be able to escape from without a lot of litigation but -- and
that's a question. Commissioner Constantine.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: It seems like there may be a
happy medium here. I don't know that you need a calendar as far as,
okay, by June of 1997, we'll build X, Y, Z. However, there may be a
way or it seems to me we are not being intrusive or obtrusive at all
to have trigger mechanisms before you can build certain percentages
within that PUD, before you can -- if it's a PUD with -- yesterday,
626 residential units, perhaps the clubhouse should appear by the time
-- and I'm picking this number. I don't know what it is. Maybe Bob
can help me -- but 50 percent of that is done or something, because we
do run into problems frequently, and there is absolutely nothing we
can do right now short of some of the unusual --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: But do we want to get caught up
in an enforcement environment like that? I mean, we've all talked in
the last two and a half years that this board is completely changed,
that more government is bad government and this -- this is regulatory
without really knowing what the cost benefit of going into it is going
to be and I'm -- I'm very concerned that the cost is much greater than
the benefit. That's for us to discuss.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Well, I just -- It is
regulatory. If we're going to have the growth -- I know, Commissioner
Hac'Kie, you don't have the growth concern in your district the same,
so the concern is probably smaller. But when you have a development
with eight or 900 people moving in and -- you know, a big part of that
is either the clubhouse facilities or the golf course facilities or
what have you. Maybe the majority of the board thinks just leave that
up to the court system or what have you, but it seems to me if we are
going to have and indeed encourage development, then we take some
responsibility with that.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Mac'Kie. I'm sorry.
We've all got something to say on this now.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE:
talking here?
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE:
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
Yeah.
Just -- I'm sorry. Who's -- Who's
I haven't had a shot on this so
Okay. I'll hush.
The whole reason this came about
is a very valid reason, and I think we can point at one particular
development and say the residents were promised something, it wasn't
delivered, and so the need that this board feels to make everyone play
by fair rules to say, when you promise something, you have to deliver,
is I think an admirable approach. This particular language, in my
opinion, doesn't give us any greater flexibility or increased
enforcement, if that's what we're seeking, than we had under the
previous situation because if I draw a PUD plan and I put in the
center of it clubhouse facility and we pull our last building permit
and walk away without a clubhouse facility, I think anyone has a valid
case to walk into court and say, "It was promised as a part of a plan
that I was shown and it's not there. You're liable."
If we put this language in here, that scenario doesn't
change in any way. It may change in the form of Code Enforcement
action coming at an earlier stage than it would otherwise, but as we
realized, some crafty people can switch their assets 72 hours before a
Code Enforcement hearing, and you still can't get, you know, blood
from a turnip.
So I'm concerned that -- I think the intention here is
valid. I think it's -- it's -- The intention is well meaning and
good, but I'm not so sure that we're really giving ourselves anything
here or giving ourselves something that is useful in the way it's
presented.
So if we can find a way to say when you make that
commitment, you have to a make good on it, and the board is going to
stand behind and push as best we can, I'm all for that. I just look at
this particular language, and I don't think it gets us there. It may
be a broader application than what we're really trying to seek because
according to this, I mean, throw in -- if they show a little boardwalk
and a little island and a lake with a little boardwalk going across to
it yet don't mention it in their marketing plan, they're now bound to
that boardwalk and that little island. So once you have some artistic
planner out there drawing in the middle of a lake, you know -- if they
show boats at a dock, you know, does the dock have to be built. I'm
just concerned that it's a gross application to a specific problem,
and it may create more legal problems for the county to become
involved in than we want to. So I share a significant level of concern
with Commissioner Matthews and Commissioner Mac'Kie, but I certainly
don't fault the reason behind wanting some mechanism. I just don't
know that this is the correct wording for it.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Norris.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Okay. Thank you. There --
Commissioner Hancock's correct, that this is in response to a certain
development, but it was more than one. It was maybe -- maybe more in
response to one developer with more than one developments, and we've
had recurring instances of developers trying to finish a project
sales-wise before they completed the amenities with the potential that
they would never complete the amenities, and that's not good, and this
I see is a fairly simple way to correct that problem in the future. I
think Commissioner Constantine's exactly right. We should never try
to tie this to a calendar, but other trigger point mechanisms such as
numbers of units sold, and then if the amenity is not produced and
completed by that time, it's a very simple matter not to issue any
more building permits, and so you do have the leverage that you need.
I don't see this as being any more onerous to the county
from an enforcement aspect than any other of the codes that we have to
enforce. We -- When someone brings in a PUD, there's any number of
things that we have to enforce on that PUD, of course. And let's --
let's not lose sight of the fact that the developer himself is going
to voluntarily put these amenities into his master plan along with the
trigger point mechanisms that say when they have to be built. So it's
not -- The county is not going to force a developer to -- to any type
of schedule that the developer doesn't bring forward himself, and I
think that's very important. This is pure consumer protection, and
it's certainly something that we can do for our citizens that may turn
out to be very valuable in the future.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Well, let's -- If there's not
additional comment, why don't we go to the public comment. MR. DORRILL: Miss Cawley.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: I do want to ask Mr. Cuyler a
question based on something Commissioner Norris just said. Does this
language, in your opinion, in fact, have the potential to increase the
county's position and involvement in litigation?
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Mr. Cuyler, before you
answer, I'm going to agree with you, that this wording doesn't do what
I'm looking for it to do, and we can change that accordingly. And I'm
pleased to hear you say if we can come up with wording that achieves
that, that you're okay with it. But I don't disagree. This wording
in and of itself doesn't do exactly what John and I have laid out --
what Commissioner Norris and I have laid out and -- and -- but my hope
is we can adjust that and do exactly what he suggested and that is
protect the consumer.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay.
MS. CAWLEY: Do you need to answer?
MR. CUYLER: I hope not.
MS. CAWLEY: I didn't know -- I didn't know if the
question had been answered.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: I think Commissioner MAtthews is
right. We'll go ahead and hear the comment and see if we are at a
workable position before proceeding. I think that's a good idea.
MS. CAWLEY: Good evening. Barbara Cawley with Wilson,
Miller, Barton and Peek. First, I'd like to apologize for not being
at your first hearing. I had a little surgery and I was sort of laid
up so I didn't know this existed until yesterday.
I would like to encourage the board to do as the
majority of the board has mentioned so far, is to delay this until the
next cycle to give everyone a chance to really come up with language
that is workable to do the things that you want to do. I think what
we've got is a baseball bat hitting a gnat or a monster killing
another monster.
Part of the reasons that I say that is -- are some of
the things that you've said here tonight I agree with. This is
generally a civil matter between people that buy in a project and the
developer. If a developer has shown in his sales documents that he's
going to have a certain size clubhouse or swimming pool or whatever,
that is a binding contract with the people that live in the project.
A PUD is a generalized document that allows certain uses within a PU
-- within the project and not that they have to go in there. We give
developers the right to build single-family units all the way to
multi-family units within these projects, but we don't require them to
have a mix of everything that we give them the use for.
And the same thing for, like, a recreational tract. In
the PUD document, we could have anything from horse trails to tot lots
to boat docks to clubhouses to swimming pools, but that doesn't mean
they have to build them all, and it gives him -- them, the developer,
the ability to look at the market and look at the people within his
project and build them.
It's a little bit different than building a golf course.
A golf course is an actual use within your PUD. You have a separate
section, a golf course district, within your section. If you want to
use that property for anything else, you have to come in for a PUD
amendment. You can't just not build your golf course and use it for
something else. All the PUDs have always been that way. So you're
not putting yourself at risk that the developer won't build a golf
course without your approval. You have the ability to come back and
approve that.
I think this language -- you're asking for your phones
to ring. If they aren't ringing already, you're putting yourselves in
the middle of the civil suit between the property owner and the
developer, and you're asking for a lot of phone calls as far as I can
see.
The other -- The other problem is the issues generally
occur when you have a bankrupt developer. We have so many good
developers in this community that have done everything and more than
they have said that they're going to do within their PUDs. We have
some marvelous projects in this county that have tremendous numbers of
amenities, and they're put up -- up front or at the time when it's
necessary for the residents of their PUDs. To have language put in
that will -- that will really hurt all the good developers because we
have one problem developer I think is sort of a bad way to run -- to
do it. It needs to be a really real problem from a large standpoint
before we -- we start amending the code for new regulations.
And the one other point that I'd just like to make is
the idea about not issuing building permits when -- if somebody hasn't
done what they're supposed to do. That will actually hurt an
individual property owner within the project who may want to build a
house, and now the project has a moratorium on it basically because
the developer is gone and he hasn't built a clubhouse or a swimming
pool or a tot lot, and I can't pull my building permit to build my
house because of him, and I think that doesn't really solve the
problem that you're looking for as well. So I just suggest let's
delay this.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Barbara, one of the things that
you and I -- Just jump in there, Pam. I'm sorry.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Yes, Pam.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: -- Is flexibility. You know,
what about if in the PUD you've got a tot lot and it turns out you
need a racquetball court? That's one that I'm worried about.
MS. CAWLEY: Well, you know -- and one of the things we
have in our language that we write inside our amenities for projects,
we do -- we give this broad range, and they can put in a tot lot or a
racquetball court, but they aren't bound to put in either one unless
the people in their community really want it and it serves their
needs.
Now, I think a golf course and a clubhouse are issues
that maybe those are the two that need some looks, but that's
something that you even get problems with in terms of a bankrupt
developer or an agreement between two big companies like Breckenridge,
I'll even say, and Lely -- they had a battle between them, and to
force the county in the middle of their lawsuit because Breckenridge
hadn't built what it was supposed to build, I think you're putting
yourselves into an uncomfortable situation so --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Thank you. Commissioner Hancock.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: That last comment was along the
lines of what I was thinking and for some -- I was thinking of Lely
where they have single-family. And a developer typically will come in
and purchase a tract of land and then will do their internal
development on that tract. And if the main developer or main property
owner does not provide a facility after someone else has purchased the
tract for development, to tie the two in a sense that this one can't
build because this one failed is -- is -- actually, in effect, the
county would be acting in a way that would eventually bankrupt
everyone who's purchased something in there.
So we could probably go around this all day and actually
all end up agreeing that, okay, maybe this doesn't do what we want to
do. I guess the question for me is, I don't want the situation we've
had before where the half-completed pool sits for nine or ten months,
and I want to find a way that if we can build into the front end,
whether it is a PUD or whether it's a fezone or whether it's --
MS. CAWLEY: I think that's really a code violation of a
building permit, and it's very simple. You have that authority right
now. It's a safety issue. If somebody hasn't built their -- finished
building their swimming pool and it's sitting there half built and in
violation of their building permit, you have ability to remedy that
right now, and I think the same thing with the clubhouse. You're
giving -- You're talking about a code violation. You're not talking
about a PUD violation.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. Thank you, Miss Cawley.
MS. CAWLEY: Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Constantine.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: That's true if we're talking
about a half-built facility, but that's not our only concern is that
which is half built. I guess I see this as a miniature version of the
responsibility we have countywide. When a particular area of the
county gets "X" number of people, then we provide library services or
we provide park services or we provide the different recreational
amenities that we have promised all our citizens, and I see that we
need to hold developers to the same standard. When they get to a
certain level, they need to provide those activities which they have
committed to do. It's almost a parallel idea there. I think the
place to do that -- and this wording, again I agree, is inappropriate,
and we will likely have to bring this back; however, I do not want it
to die in that six-month period. This isn't going to go away. But it
may be in the planning process. We keep talking about building
permits, and you may have within a development several different
plats, and those are where you're going to get -- where you're going
to get the developer to pay attention, is if he can't do anything with
the remaining empty property unless he fulfills his obligations on
that which has already been developed. I think that's where you're
going to get their attention more than individual building permits.
that may be an angle we'll want to look at in the six-month period.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: If I may follow up, we -- we may
be arriving to a consensus that today is not the appropriate time to
either approve or to squash this completely, but it may be more
appropriate to direct staff and those in the industry to work together
on this and to come back with something understanding that this board
does want more of a commitment regarding facilities, specific
facilities such as clubhouses and pools on the front end instead of on
the back end, and the best way to do that I don't think has been
arrived at in this -- in this document. In other words, there's
probably a better way to build this mousetrap, and this may just be
the first step.
So, again, rather than talking around it for an extended
period of time, I'd be more than happy to make a motion that we -- on
number two specifically that we remove number two from the LDC
amendments and that we direct staff to work with people in the
industry so that during the next LDC amendment cycle we see language
that achieves the desired result that you've heard here today but that
has a correct and fair application.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: I'll second that.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. We have a motion and a
second. Is there further discussion on the motion?
There being none, I'll call the question. All those in
favor say aye.
Opposed?
There being none, motion passes 5-0 for deleting item
two of -- located on page 16.
Mr. Hulhere, one other concern that's come up --
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: And the motion was also to
work it and revisit it in six months.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Thank you. The motion included
directing staff to bring this back in the next cycle after working
with the industry.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS:
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS:
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS:
That's what I was going to --
Is that your next move?
Yeah.
Okay.
When -- When -- When you're
reworking this thing, one of the -- one of the comments that's come up
-- and Hiss Cawley was correct in saying that building permits may
not be the appropriate handle, because in the instance of the
subdivision I live in, we buy our lots from the developer, and then we
go and secure a builder to build our homes, and the builder pulls the
permit after we've already paid our "X" numbers of dollars for the
lot. And in our covenants, we have up to four years to do that. The
development could go haywire sometime after I've bought my lot, and it
would be unfair to --
MR. HULHERE: I understand.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: -- preclude someone from building
if they've already paid their money for their lot --
MR. HULHERE: We certainly don't want to --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: -- if they choose to.
MR. HULHERE: -- punish the citizen.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Yeah. So that's -- that's --
that's another point that needs to be worked into this.
Okay. Are there any other changes that we're looking at
on this?
MR. DORRILL: One -- One additional speaker on this on
point one is Mr. -- MR. HULHERE: I think item one is a whole 'nother ball
of wax.
MR. DORRILL: Mr. Anderson.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce
Anderson.
MR. ANDERSON: Good evening. For the record, my name is
Bruce Anderson. I'm here on behalf of Barton Collier Companies. We'd
like to speak with regard to paragraph one of this same section that
you were discussing, and our preference would be that you either deny
approval of paragraph one changes or likewise as you did with two,
defer them, for us to work with the staff and try to achieve a
consensus on that.
I would note that you do seem to have a bit of a notice
problem on this one because this section of the LDC addresses PUDs
only, but within the body of this language here you also are
attempting to address any kind of rezoning or conditional use.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: So maybe we want to get Ken's
advice.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Mr. Cuyler, you want to address
that.
MR. CUYLER: That's a matter that Mr. Hulhere had talked
about at the beginning of the meeting. I think that because of the
broad notice with regard to the title of this item, Mr. Hulhere was
talking about figuring out whatever you finally want to do with this
language and inserting it into the appropriate sections as opposed to
having the reference to straight fezones and conditional use in the
PUD section.
MR. HULHERE: We generally try to advertise, I think as
Ken said, with a more -- a little bit more broad because we don't know
necessarily what the board direction is going to be and if we have to
change something -- So when we advertise, we advertise really by
article and not by specific section. But Mr. Anderson is correct,
that the citing -- If we're talking about 2.2.20.3.6, that's
incorrect, and it should be .7 or -- or were we talking about --
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: The conditional use fezones.
MR. ANDERSON: No. I was talking about the fact you're
trying to address conditional uses -- MR. HULHERE: Oh. The conditional uses. Yeah. Yeah.
MR. ANDERSON: -- of fezones in a section of the Land
Development Code.
MR. HULHERE: No. We -- We addressed that one earlier.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Bruce, what's wrong with this?
What -- What's -- What's wrong with the concept on this one?
MR. ANDERSON: The problem is that the county is -- is
-- is, in effect, trying to bank land for future use which is clearly
prohibited by case law. What you're doing right -- with -- with this
proposal is for the county to, in effect, take the land, not title to
it yet, but take all use of it now and pay later.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: But it doesn't say that. It says
that -- that we're going to -- we're acknowledging that we're going to
take it, that you have given it, and as of effective date sometime in
the future. So it's not taken until the future date.
MR. ANDERSON: But we're not allowed to use it, are we?
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: You can use it until that date
you're ready to rip up whatever you put down there. Go put -- you
know, have a street dance, but be ready to have a street.
MR. CUYLER: And I don't want to interrupt Mr.
Anderson's presentation -- I won't after this -- until he -- until he
gets through. But, I mean, these are commitments that the developer
is committing to as part of the PUD process as -- what are referred to
as exactions or whatever as a result of impact, and I'll make any
comments after Bruce finishes.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. Commissioner Hancock.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Mr. Anderson, correct me if I'm
wrong, but the way things are currently done, if I write a PUD and say
that as a part of the fezone -- PUD -- regardless of whether it's a
PUD or not, as a part of the fezone action, I'm going to dedicate to
Collier County a 60-foot right-of-way and give the legal in exchange
for impact fee credits. Okay. That's currently the way things are
done. At the time that I actually dedicate and convey that land to
the county, I go out and get an appraisal of the land at that time,
and that becomes the impact fee credit. Is that the way things are
done right now?
MR. ANDERSON: That is correct.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: I'd like to hear from Mr.
Archibald on that because I'm not sure that's exactly correct. So if
that's on the --
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay. Yeah. Because I need to
clarify that because I'm trying to walk through this.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: If that's the premise.
MR. ARCHIBALD: I might be supporting Bruce but at the
same time trying to get the price down. What we're looking at in
terms of -- Well, let me answer --
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: We don't care who you support as
long as you get the price down.
MR. ARCHIBALD: Right now in each PUD document,
depending upon the benefits to the public and the benefits to the
public, we sometimes use either the market price, or in many, many of
the board's actions, the board has put into the language of the
development document that the value that that developer paid for that
property is the property value that the government should pay for it.
That value that's in a lot of the documents is much less than the
value of an appraisal of fair market prior to rezoning.
So contrary to what Bruce is commenting on, there may be
some language that could be provided here that would give the county a
better leverage to get at least the price of the land before rezoning
or even less. That's not in that language. And I think that since the
board has approved many PUDs where the language relates directly to
the county buying the property based upon the value that the developer
just bought the property from a prior owner at, then those kinds of
conditions, if reflected in here, may result in a lower price to the
county but obviously no higher than what's shown here in terms of the
value of the property immediately prior to the land use action.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Let me --
MR. ARCHIBALD: Thoroughly confused everyone.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Let me see if I can figure this
out, in my mind, what you've said compared to what this says. John
Doe owns a piece of property and he fezones it to a PUD, and in that
PUD he includes public facilities, that he's going to dedicate land
for a library or a fire station, you know, what have you. It doesn't
matter. He completes the zoning process, and then he sells the land
to a developer. The developer has -- is required to make the actual
deed transfer.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Yes.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: And based on this wording, the
value assessed will be on the day or the market value at the time he
transfers the land, not the time he bought the land. Is that -- Is
that what I'm hearing?
MR. CUYLER: No. I think -- What -- What this language
is supposed to do -- and George has raised a wrinkle. But what this
language is supposed to do is to make sure that the value for the
impact fee credit does not take into account the fact that you are
increasing the value through your own rezoning action and that the
credit is set two or three years from now.
I think George indicated that sometimes he can get a
deal that is better than the market value at the time of rezoning. I
think he's suggesting that you put something in effect that it shall
not be in excess of the value of the land prior to the fezone.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: That's what -- what -- my
question. He's -- He's raised a scenario that he tries to go through
now where he tries to work with the property owner and develop the
price that's agreeable to both, often less than whatever the market
value was. But what I've read here is that said credit shall be based
on the market value of the set-aside land prior to the rezoning action
as determined by an accredited appraiser. Now, that fixes the value
at the property owner's price when he fezones. Is that -- MR. CUYLER: Just -- Just prior to the fezone. And
you're correct. We -- That might be good to put something"no higher
than. "
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: "An amount not to exceed."
MR. CUYLER: I think staff was looking at it from the
perspective we don't want to pay the inflated price at some"X" days,
you know, after the fezone, and George is indicating, well, sometimes
we can even get a lower price than this. I think if you put "not
higher than," then that will allow George to do the --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Yeah. "An amount not to exceed
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Right.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: .... the market value."
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Some language -- Let me suggest
that we just make it, "a negotiated price not to exceed the market
value prior to fezone," something to that effect.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Sounds good.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: You're not jumping in on this,
Bruce. Is there a reason?
MR. ANDERSON: I don't want to be rude.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: I meant in agreement.
MR. ANDERSON: I don't want to be rude. Under --
MR. DORRILL: Don't be argumentative either.
MR. ANDERSON: Well, under -- under case law today, if
you were to go condemn someone's property, the jury is permitted to
consider the reasonable probability of a change in the zoning in
determining what the value that should be paid is. And my question is,
is it your intention by this language to get rid -- you know, avoid
that case law requirement.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Anderson, what we're talking
about here today is not going to condemnation. These will be
voluntary agreements. If we have to go to condemnation, then we've
got a whole new scenario, and none of this is going to apply
obviously.
MR. ANDERSON: Well -- I'm sorry. Your point is well
taken but this -- this relates to the issue of just compensation. And
because a jury would be allowed to consider that in a condemnation
action in determining what just compensation is, you are precluding
that from being factored in in arriving at just compensation under
these circumstances.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: We're permitting -- We're
suggesting that we'll permit the property owner and the county to
negotiate a price that does not take that into account. That's all
we're saying.
MR. CUYLER: That is exactly what we're trying to avoid.
You know, it's double-dipping to have, you know, a speculative
inflated price as opposed -- as a result of nothing but a PUD fezone
and then to have the credits given on that inflated price. I mean,
that's the staff's position as I understand it and it's logical.
MR. ANDERSON: That -- That might work if you went ahead
and took the land at the time of rezoning. But the problem is, when
you don't take it at the time of rezoning, the property owner still
winds up paying the ad valorem taxes on the property that's going to
be dedicated to the county. He doesn't pay his ad valorem assessments
on the basis of the value of the land before it got rezoned. He's
going to pay higher ad valorem taxes and it would be -- you know, if
you want the land, go ahead and take it and pay for it at the time of
rezoning, but it's all cut and dried.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Bruce, if he buys a PUD,
isn't he aware -- I mean, that property -- he's aware of the use or
lack of use of that property from day one. I mean it's -- MR. ANDERSON: Right. That's correct.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: So it's the property -- the
initial property owner who went through the fezone and sold the
property to a developer subject to the PUD ordinance.
MR. ANDERSON: Or he may have held onto it after he got
it rezoned.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: He may have. Either way the
property owner knows what he bargained for, and certainly a developer
who purchases that property knows he's buying it subject to. So I
can't see what the concern is.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: You're asking the county to
create a greater value through that PUD fezone and then to pay for
that greater value that they have just created. COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: That's right.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: And that doesn't -- That
seems inappropriate.
MR. ANDERSON: Not -- Not necessarily. No. No. Let me
give you some examples where this is not going to fit nicely and
neatly. You've got a situation where you've got ten acres that are
supposed to be dedicated to a school site. The location will be
determined later. How in the world -- Another example is future road
right-of-way. If we want you to reserve 100 feet, we may not need
that much when it comes time for the actual road construction. We
only may need 60. We may only need 80. Under those circumstances,
how do you get an appraisal done at the time of fezone when you're not
sure either where the location of the property is going to be or how
wide you're really going to need. That's the practical problem.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: George looks like he's got a
response.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: I think we have a practical
answer coming.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Yeah.
MR. ARCHIBALD: Keep in mind what we're trying to do
here is cap or control the cost of impact fee credits. COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Nobody's writing a check.
MR. ARCHIBALD: So, in fact, in most cases that value is
going to be turned into an immediate impact fee credit. So in most
cases, whether it's school impact fees or road impact fees or park
impact fees, that impact fee credit is going to materialize for the
benefit of that landowner fairly quickly, and the provision that we're
looking for here is within some time frame so that if the county
immediately needs that for a park or for a roadway, we have the
mechanism to be able to gain that quickly or hopefully have some
method so that we can, in fact, contain the value of it and also be
able to have that for use, but in the meantime that credit is like a
check that can be used by a developer.
MR. ANDERSON: That's fine when you're going ahead and
acquiring -- taking title to the property in a timely fashion. But
when you are not taking title to the property in a timely fashion, we
do not get the impact fee credit made available until the -- until the
actual time of conveyance.
MR. CUYLER: Aren't we always willing to take the
property in advance if we can get the property in advance? I mean,
are there reasons why we wouldn't want the property?
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Pay taxes.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Take those off the tax roll.
MR. ARCHIBALD: There's a few cases out there, but I
believe the majority of the cases will be if we're going to identify
properties that are needed and we're going to give that value in terms
of impact fee credit and obtain that property. Yes, there's cases out
there where the improvements that we need are so many years away, that
we may want to handle that very specifically in specific language in
the PUD or the DRI, but I would think that would be more of an
exception to the rule. The rule in most cases will be, we identify
the need. The developer gets the value in terms of credits.
MR. CUYLER: I will agree with Mr. Anderson on one
thing, and that is there are unique situations that pop up, but that's
what the PUD is for. I've never seen a developer that wasn't able to
solve a problem that the developer had in a PUD document, and I think
that this -- you know, the county generally is able to solve its
problems in the PUD document. As long as we have some underlying
ability to require that, then I don't have any doubts that the
parties, like they always do, will work out the appropriate language.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Hancock.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: As someone who has sat across the
table from George on a project and George wanted something and I --
and I as a representative of a property owner thought, "Well, wait a
second. You know, you don't know if you need it but you're asking for
it. Where is the compensation." I mean, I've sat on the other side of
this argument, and there is a valid point here, and that point is that
if you are going to tell me I can't use this for anything, then, okay,
go ahead and take it. Now, if every time you're going to take it,
then we don't have a problem here as far as I'm concerned, you know,
because if you want a 60-foot right-of-way and you're going to give me
that impact fee credit right away, great, take it and let's go. But
in those unique situations where there's a time delay between the
approval of the fezone and the period in which the county is willing
to accept that property into its inventory, I think we do have -- in
general sense, is a land rights issue there. You're saying I can't
use it subject to an approval or because of an approval yet you won't
take it off my tax responsibility. That's the one point I'm hearing
that I don't -- I don't have a real clear answer as to an issue of
fairness.
So I'm -- I agree. I like this because it says if we're
going to set it aside, the county is going to pay prerezone prices for
it which, you know, is going to be cheaper than ten years down the
road after the property is rezoned and we come in and say now we need
it. But those situations where we don't take it at that instance but
tell them as a condition of their approval that you can't use it and
they continue to pay taxes on it, I do have an equity question there.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Hac'Kie.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: My question was just for George
in trying to understand how the process works. I fezone a PUD and you
tell me that you might need some roadway and so you identify the
potential acreage and the price is set under this scenario as the
prerezone price and I get a half a million dollars worth of impact fee
credits under this financial analysis. Tomorrow I want to go build my
clubhouse, and when I go to pick up my building permit, I have to pay
my impact fees. You haven't taken my road yet. Do I get to use my
credits?
MR. ARCHIBALD: In most cases, the project that you're
talking about is going to be near term, and if the developer is going
to proceed with that project, then, in fact, I'm going to want that
right-of-way, and I'm going to want that right-of-way immediately, and
I'm going to want to enter into an agreement to give the developer the
impact fee credits so that the scenario here that we're dealing with
in time really is a land use question of are we rezoning property
ahead of its time.
Now, in most cases if we're talking about properties
within the urban area in a developing zone, then we've already
identified the infrastructure we need. We've already identified the
time frame in our Comprehensive Plan and our Growth Management Plan
when it's going to be needed. In terms of right-of-way, that's easy
to answer. I want that right-of-way as soon as I can obtain it. In
the case of parks and school sites, that's not the case. That park
site and school site may end up being something on a --
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Well, look at Pelican Marsh.
They traded. You know, what used to be a school site is now a
development and Pelican Bay and -- you know, and those things change.
I'm getting confused the more we talk about it. I thought this was
simple we know we need streets. We want them. We want to know when
we're going to get them, and we're willing to give you a reasonable
value for them. Now I'm getting more confused about it.
MR. CUYLER: I think the language in the document -- the
reason that it's structured the way it is, is because the county wants
to make sure that the credit isn't given and used and building permits
taken out and the project -- along the lines of what you were talking
about before with the amenities. The project moves along its merry
way and we don't need the right-of-way yet. Then it comes time for us
to get our right-of-way and there's no hammer left to get the
right-of-way.
COHHISSIONER HAC'KIE: Is this a problem? Are there
cases where this -- I mean, we all know what we were talking about in
the section two problem. Have we had a problem with these issues?
MR. CUYLER: Yes. Generally. I'm not saying that
they're overwhelming but I think that -- I thought, frankly, it was in
everybody's best interest to tighten the thing up. I would think --
developers don't like us coming to them and say it's time for the
dedication. They say, "Well, our project's not far enough along. We
don't want to do it right now." You know, then everybody is in a bad
spot.
MR. ARCHIBALD: If I could comment, in most cases, again
from the process standpoint, if, in fact, there's something the county
needs and there's something that we recognize being a different time
frame or time table where it's not appropriate for one reason or
another, I think either the county's going to see that or the
developer is going to see that, and he's going to address that very
specifically in his PUD document.
So I think in those exceptions to the rule when you're
dealing with a park site or a library site that may be many years off
and the county doesn't want to maintain a vacant piece of property for
ten years, in those cases I believe the DRIs and the PUDs that are on
the books, they've already addressed those concerns. They already
have stipulations where, in fact, we come to terms with how those are
going to be addressed. What we're doing here is, of course, making
sure that we don't provide a windfall for a landowner or a developer.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Norris.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Cuyler, I think the -- one of
the valid points that's been discussed here is that if we ask for
dedications but we're not ready to take the dedications at this point,
then the property owner is going to be left paying taxes on something
he knows he's not going to be able to use in the future, and that I
agree is not fair. Is there a simple mechanism that we -- if we
require dedications of a park site or a school site or any kind of
site that we may or may not use for some time period, can -- is there
a simple enough mechanism where we could just remove that set amount
of acreage from the property tax roll?
MR. CUYLER: It needs to transfer out of the developer's
name on the tax rolls in order to get it off the taxes.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: We might as well just take
the property if we're going to do that.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Absolutely.
MR. CUYLER: Right.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: At least own it.
MR. CUYLER: Right.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I would think that would be
the least cumbersome.
MR. CUYLER: And, to tell you the truth, I'm probably a
little less concerned with -- The thing that keeps popping up is
right-of-way. I mean, that seems to be the crux of a lot of the -- a
lot of the issues and roadways.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Yet George has always been very
effective in this, and what I'm hearing from him is, on the average,
we are probably paying less for right-of-way now on the average than
we may of this requirement. Did I pick that up from one of your
earlier statements?
MR. ARCHIBALD: Yes.
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: I have to commend George. I know
from dealing with him, he's very effective at getting right-of-ways.
MR. ARCHIBALD: The board has developed over time an
informal policy to the staff that, in fact, we're looking to pay what
the landowner paid for the raw property. So staff has its direction
to try and negotiate based on that value. That value many times would
be much lower than the value represented here although the value
represented in item one here is still a small percentage of what the
land is worth after the fezone occurs.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Archibald, does it settle your
concerns to add the language that I suggested earlier, that the price
would be negotiated but limited to that market value, the land set
aside before fezone not to exceed that -- negotiated but not to exceed
that market value before fezone?
MR. ARCHIBALD: I think that's the direction that we
should be going in. The remaining language under item one may need to
be changed accordingly or modified. But, yes, that's the direction
that's going to result in a big dollar savings for the county.
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: I think I have Commissioner
Norris' language. In the fourth line of the area that's underlined
where it says, "Said credit shall be based on," if we insert, "an
amount no greater than the market value of the set-aside land prior to
the rezoning action," that would -- that would mean that if George can
get it cheaper, by God, do it. If you can't, then we've set a limit.
Now, this does not address what Mr. Anderson has brought up regarding
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: There's a couple of places where
that language could go, not just --
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: Is there? Okay. Other than
that?
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: (Nodded head.)
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay. I was just looking for a
smooth transition there to try and get -- if George can get it for
less than that because the board has set a policy to say at the time
the property was purchased, then he should continue going ahead and
trying to do that. I don't want to handcuff him. But we still
haven't addressed Mr. Anderson's concern regarding, if you tell us we
can't use it yet you're not going to take it -- CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: What do we do?
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: -- where do we go from there,
because that is a fairness issue, and I think it happens regularly.
MR. ANDERSON: I have two more good fairness points too.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: This might be something that we
really can't resolve tonight. I'm serious. It sounds like we've got
some wordsmithing to get where we want to go.
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I don't know if I'd go that
far. I don't know if I agree wholeheartedly that it's a fairness
issue because this -- unlike other government takings, it's not like
the south blocks where the government shows up, says, well, we want
the property, and we're not quite prepared to pay for it now, but,
geez, we're going to make permitting difficult and such. This is --
COMHISSIONER MAC'KIE: I'm here to tell you, from the
outside it's a lot like that.
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: You don't mind if I -- well,
if I finish my sentences. I don't think it is in that as you assemble
the entire PUD, there is give and take on any number of fronts, and I
think this is part of that. You are making that give in order to make
the rest of that PUD possible. So this is not identical to one parcel
being the government threatening to take or whatever. This is part of
a PUD. This is part of that trade-off. I don't see it as black and
white as perhaps Bruce does.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner MAc'Kie.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Two cautions and an apology for
interrupting you. It isn't just -- As drafted, it isn't just PUDs.
It's any fezones and any conditional use. So that is a little danger
zone there about whether or not the opportunity to negotiate exists.
And mine -- mine is for Ken. I'm just feeling troubled
by -- I don't want somebody in an eminent domain case against the
county to come up and say, see, here's the board's policy, by God.
They don't give a dang what the law is. They say we're going to --
we're putting it in our ordinance that we're going to take it and get
it as cheap as we possibly can and, you know, case law be damned.
That makes me a little nervous to adopt that as an official policy.
Yeah, MArge.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: He says, yeah, MArge. I've got
it.
COMHISSIONER MAC'KIE: I think I've got it.
MR. CUYLER: I think the -- the difference in this case,
and somebody spoke to it a little earlier, is you're talking about
rights and obligations, and I understand there is a -- you know, to
some extent a fairness consideration, but, you know, it's a cost of
doing business. A developer comes in. He wants certain rights. He
explains to the board why he should have those rights, why he's
consistent with the comp plan, why he wants the density that he wants,
and a part of his cost of doing business is to, you know, account for
his impact. And, you know, whether the county takes the property
tomorrow or takes it in five years, he knows that he's got to give
that land.
And I think all the staff is trying to do -- I mean,
staff is not trying to be unfair in this. They're just trying to set
some time frames, when are you going to do it, what are you going to
do, how are you going to do it, what are we going to base it on, so we
don't -- you know, George -- if we could put in there the developer
pays what George says, I'd be the first one to think that's the best
language we could do, but, you know, there comes times when George
loses his ability to negotiate something, and somebody says, it's not
in the PUD. I'm not doing it, or, I'm not paying "X" amount of money.
I'm only going to -- or I'm not going to do it for "X" amount of
money. I'll only do it for this. And I think if you have some basis
in there for staff to work with -- and, you know, George does an
excellent job, and he's saved the county tons of money over the years,
and we hope he continues to do that, but if that falls through,
there's some basis in there for staff to act on.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Is there some reason that we
might want to consider putting language in this, that -- Mr. Cuyler,
that, in effect, says in the event the public need for that land is
delayed, thus and so could be negotiated, or something so that there
is a negotiated arena?
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: I don't understand what you mean
by "arena."
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Well, if the --
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: A big stadium full of seats.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Yeah. A big stadium. You know,
we bring --
COHHISSIONER HAC'KIE: Baseball is back.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: We bring 150,000 people there to
talk about it. No. No. What I'm talking about is if the use for
that public land for a library or a park is going to be delayed for
ten years or so before the county actually has a need and wants title
to it and the county in -- when the developer does his site plan or
whatever it is, the county makes it known that I don't need that land
right now, that we provide some avenue where we can address this
problem when it comes up. It doesn't sound to me like it's in every
instance, but it's often enough that we need to address it, but I
don't know how to do it. I mean, I'm not a land attorney.
MR. CUYLER: You may want to -- Maybe this will satisfy
Bruce's concerns, but when it talks about the impact fee credits only
being effective after the conveyance, I would not object to, "unless
otherwise approved by the Board of County Commissioners," or some
general language to give you the ability because ultimately you're the
one that has to look at these conveyance anyway. I mean, I think
staff wants the board to be aware of these things and look at these
things and just make decisions on them and have something to tie the
developer when the time comes. But if you decide that, you know,
we're going to give the impact fee credits in "X" PUD, we understand
we're not yet going to ask for that conveyance for six or seven years
or whatever it may be, I don't have any objection to that as long as
that's an informed decision on the part of the board.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Could I just suggest that if
Mr. Anderson has any final comments so we can see if there are any
other public speakers and then try to decide where we're going to head
with this.
MR. ANDERSON: I do have a couple of more points.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Can you do it very -- We've spent
a lot of time on this, I know, but if you can do it quickly, I would
appreciate it.
MR. ANDERSON: The proposal ignores the fact that even
unzoned agricultural land is going to increase in value over time, and
it does not take that into account when you have the delayed
conveyance because you're tying it -- There needs to be some factoring
in in this formula to account for an increase in ag in the value of
similarly situated ag land.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: I.e., infill land.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Once again, Mr. Anderson, I don't
mean to interrupt your presentation, but I just don't agree with you.
What we're dealing with here is the negotiation process between the
county and the developer on the PUD. This is all voluntary. If it
comes to a point where nobody can agree, then we're going to go to
court and settle it that way if it comes to that. So I don't think
your concerns are valid here.
MR. ANDERSON: I respect your position.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: You just don't agree with it.
MR. ANDERSON: Reasonable men and women can disagree.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Can you get to the second point?
MR. ANDERSON: My second point is there is a --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Or you had a question. I'm
sorry.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: I did. I'm sorry. I did have a
quick question on the last thing. Quick. Quick. I promise. What?
Do you have dinner plans?
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: What? Do you have a dinner date?
COMHISSIONER MAC'KIE: Have you got a date?
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: He's got a date.
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Yeah. I just flew in from
Tennessee today.
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: Well, it worked. I forgot my
question. Good job.
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Thanks. Sorry about that.
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: Oh. Remembered it. Sorry. You
said on unzoned ag land, the value may go up. I don't see how that
applies because we're talking about this only applies at the time of a
fezone. In other words, the fact that it's part of a PUD or part of a
fezone action, if unimproved or non-zoned ag land goes up, well,
that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about decisions --
MR. ANDERSON: But you're not paying just compensation
at the time you make the taking, at the time you take the property.
COMHISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay. You're right. Reasonable
men and women will disagree, and I disagree with you on that. MR. ANDERSON: Okay.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Can you move on to the second
point, Mr. Anderson?
MR. ANDERSON: Please. Thank you. My last point is --
and Mr. Cuyler may be able to address this in what he was talking
about -- is that when you give impact fee credits -- I'll give you an
example. The value of land in 1995 prior to its multi-family rezoning
is $950,000. In 1995, $950,000 would buy you 100 multi-family units
worth of road impact fee credits. Five years from now road impact fees
are not likely to be the same as they are today. Let's say, for
instance, they've doubled. If they have doubled by the year 2000,
then the value of the impact fee credits that are based on your 1995
valuation have been cut in half so --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Let me interrupt you right there
because we have Mr. Hargett who's been doing our impact fee reviews,
and he's telling us some of them ought to be reduced, not increased.
So it goes up and down. It's going to go both ways.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: And, again, as I was sitting here
thinking earlier, one of the reasons when I went through writing and
working on PUDs -- one of the reasons that we were so amenable to
writing in, you know, impact fee credits at the time of development --
you know, that we'll get a credit for impact at the time of
development was because, yes, the property value goes up, but it's
kind of like rolling the dice. We had assumed impact fees would go up
also. So you're hoping that you see a joint rise. And, Bruce, I
don't know if there's anything we can do to ever guarantee that that
would be consistent. And, again, Mr. Cuyler made a comment about the
cost of doing business and I -- it's kind of a general term. I don't
really like to use it too much, but there may be some concessions that
are required at that point, and I just don't know that we can
guarantee that impact fee credits will equal in ten years what they
equal today for the same number of units. That's -- That -- I think
that's too cumbersome to actually even broach. I don't know if you
could define language that would provide for that, but it would be
very difficult.
MR. ANDERSON: We'd certainly like to have the
opportunity to try.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: I take that back. You will find
language that you think does it but -- MR. ANDERSON: And, lastly, that 90-day period within
which to comply with the county's demands to deed the property may not
be sufficient. I would recommend that you build a little flexibility
in there. You don't always have control over third parties.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: I had a problem with that also
because it stated that failure to complete the dedication within a
90-day period may result in recommendation to the board of
reconsideration of the conditional use approval or rezoning the
subject parcel from a -- That sounds good except that what if they've
already started building? How can we reconsider their conditional use
or fezone if they've already begun building because the dedication
didn't work out down the road?
MR. HULHERE: I think that was one option whereas,
otherwise, it's provided for in 1.9.2.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay.
MR. CUYLER: What is 1.9.27 Prosecution?
MR. HULHERE: Yeah.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: I '-
MS. CAWLEY: Can I -- Can I make one -- Oh, I'm sorry.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: I just want to comment on the
difference in impact fees from one year to another, whatever they
might be. I mean, Mr. Archibald had just brought up the case that
sometimes the fezones and the PUD agreements are done so far ahead of
time that it's unreasonable to do them when they're done and they've
just been done too soon. That's -- That's the roll of the dice. I
mean, I can't -- I don't see how we could possibly deal with that.
MR. ANDERSON: You have control over when the dedication
is made.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: You have to be on the --
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Can you say it with the same
enthusiasm again.
MR. ANDERSON: You have the control over when the
dedication is made and the impact fee credits are given.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: I understand. Yes, Hiss Cawley?
MS. CAWLEY: Could I -- Could I make one -- I've been
sitting here listening and I -- I --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Let's try and wrap this up.
MS. CAWLEY: I can't help it. One of the things that I
see in here is that you're also talking about schools, and I think
we've really been focusing on roads quite a bit and my feeling -- my
question is, have -- I don't believe this has been run by the school
board to see if they're interested in taking possession of a piece of
property within 90 days after they give notice or if they're -- you
know, if they have a different procedure under state law in how they
take control of property, and it seems to me that we're -- I mean, we
may want to exclude schools from this, if nothing else. I mean, we're
kind of putting ourselves in the middle of a whole different group.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Are you trying to delay his death
tactic now?
MS. CAWLEY: I'm -- I'm really not but I -- it just
occurred to me that they do have their own procedures in terms of how
they obtain property, and here we are putting another procedure on top
of it, and I don't know that we want to do that. I mean, it may get
real complicated, because that's a whole different agency that we're
dealing with.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Fine. Mr. Cuyler, is it
appropriate right now to close the public hearing? I think that was
the last speaker.
MR. CUYLER: It would be, yes. No one else is
registered.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Close the public hearing. Do we
have a discussion?
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I'll make a motion we approve
the changes to the Land Development Code as we have in front of us
with the note we had agreed 5-0 to delete item two of the two we were
speaking of, item two as it appears on page 16, period.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: I have two --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Do you want to amend it?
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: Yeah. I have two requests in
that regard. The first is Mr. Archibald had mentioned that he is
sometimes able to go below what this provides for, and I would ask
that it be inserted that the -- in paragraph one that where it states,
"said credit shall be based on," we insert, "an amount no greater
than," and then it continues, "the market value of set-aside land
prior." That's the first part.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I'll amend my motion.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: The second part is do -- does
this board feel the need to deal with what I've termed for no -- for
lack of better words, the fairness issue of if they want to set the
land aside or we ask them to set it aside, yet we don't need it for a
period of time, the fact that the property owner continues to pay
taxes on that land or that that land may increase in value and there's
no specific compensation for it -- I recognize that that's a part of
this. If we approve this, that may very well happen and I --
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I have no objection to us
exploring that in the next cycle and seeing what we come up with, but
I'm not going to amend my motion to reflect that. I think it's -- as
has been stated, this is all part of a negotiation we're trying to
come '-
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: I'll second the motion as amended.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: -- to some sort of an
agreement. I will amend to include your first point.
MR. CUYLER: There may be some bugs, and staff will be
back to you in the next cycle or whatever cycle is appropriate if
there's some bugs in this that the Development Community lets us know
about or whatever.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Norris, you have
amended the motion as -- You seconded the motion as amended?
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Yes.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. Discussion? Commissioner
Mac'Kie.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Just I -- If we are even
contemplating that there are gnats, much less bugs, you know, we're
talking about people's property. We can't --
MR. CUYLER: Well, only in the sense --
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: -- spend six months --
MR. CUYLER: Excuse me.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: But we can't fezone this. We
can't do this again for six months. So in six -- For the next six
months, people are just going to have to live with it who -- you know,
that's just wrong.
MR. CUYLER: Well, I meant bugs in the sense that even
if you tell us to go work on this language for a year, there's going
to be bugs in it. We always have bugs in all the language that we do
in one way or another that affects people's property. I think that
this language, you know, is where we want to be, and if Bruce comes to
me and says, "I've got a PUD and here's something you guys didn't see.
Would you take it into account," staff and I will be the first ones
to say, yeah, we'll get it in front of the board and do that.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: My last comment just --
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Let's me ask a question. Let me
ask a question that may alleviate your concerns. COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Okay.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Cuyler, if we find something
that is unexpected in a PUD application that causes some harm to the
applicant, does the board have the ability to waive that requirement
and to approve this PUD with an amended -- MR. CUYLER: Yes.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: -- language in it?
MR. CUYLER: Yes. There's -- There's a provision in the
Land Development Code that's --
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: But we're talking about more than
PUDs here. If you guys want to make this just PUDs, then I'll be more
seriously thinking about supporting it.
MR. MULHERE: We could put -- I was just going to offer,
we could put the .... whereas otherwise approved by the BCC" in the
second paragraph. We're talking about the 90 days of notification by
the county that the property is needed for certain pending
improvements. I mean, we could put some flexible language in, "or as
otherwise approved by the BCC during the fezone." I mean, that would
address -- That would give the board the opportunity to look at those
issues.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Is the motion maker willing to
consider that? If he's not -- COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I'm sorry. I wasn't paying
attention, Bob.
MR. MULHERE: You were thinking about Tennessee.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: A little moment of honesty.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: No. I was looking --
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: The 90 days.
MR. MULHERE: What I was suggesting is that we could
provide some language in there that states, "whereas otherwise
approved by the BCC during the fezone action --
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Yeah.
MR. MULHERE: -- or PUD action --
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: That's fine.
MR. MULHERE: -- or conditional use action."
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: But that's only with regard to
the 90 days how quick they have to give it to us, not -- not the other
issues. How -- It's all as otherwise approved if it's -- MR. MULHERE: Right.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I mean, that doesn't seem to
give us anything extra, but if that will make people happy, I'll be
happy to include that as part of the motion. COMMISSIONER NORRIS: I'll amend.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. We have another amendment
to the motion, and that is to include in -- and I'm not sure exactly
where, Mr. Mulhere. You'll have to tell us where.
MR. MULHERE: I was talking about the second paragraph,
shall be deeded -- the fourth line, "or dedicated to Collier County
within 90 days of receipt of notification by the county that the
property is needed for certain pending public improvements or as
otherwise approved by the Board of County Commissioners during the
rezoning conditional use or PUD zoning action ....
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: So we can make allowances --
MR. MULHERE: -- as the case may be.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: - in that process.
MR. MULHERE: What I was suggesting.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: The motion maker has accepted
that as an amendment. The second has accepted it?
COHMISSIONER NORRIS:
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS:
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
attorney.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS:
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK:
Yes.
If there's no further discussion
Just a question of the county
Commissioner Hancock.
In your opinion, the language --
if this is adopted as such, do we have any legal problems concerning
not taking the dedicated area at the time of fezone? In other words,
for us saying that this is the price -- the price is prior to the
fezone but we don't want it for four or five more years, if we wait
that time frame, do we have a legal problem in doing that?
COMHISSIONER MAC'KIE: The lands banking issue is
basically the question.
MR. CUYLER: In my opinion, we do not because of the
nature of the process. If this were an outside governmental action of
some sort where you were either through a regulatory taking or a
physical taking taking their property, that would be one thing, but
through the nature of the PUD process, no, I think that they have a
commitment to you to account for their impacts and whether -- you
know, whether you build the road tomorrow or whether you build it in
four years because that's when they're going to impact, and I think
you're allowed to do that.
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: Because I don't mind keeping Mr.
Anderson in business. I just don't want to be in court with him.
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: The landowner, the builder,
whomever, has the opportunity to decline the agreement at any time
which is the difference, I think, between a taking --
MR. CUYLER: Or to prove that he doesn't have the impact
that the county says he has.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: One more question.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner MAc'Kie.
COMHISSIONER MAC'KIE: I just have to ask to see if I
can find a way to vote for it. Are you willing to make this to apply
only to roads and not to parks and schools and other dedications?
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: No.
MR. CUYLER: Bob, this language -- it says, "where the
term Collier County is used in this section shall be construed to
include Collier County water sewer district, any other agency, or
dependent district of Collier County government." You have read this
to include the school because the schools are included in the PUD
section in terms of impact-related dedication?
MR. MULHERE: That's correct. And, actually, that
language was in there prior to us making any changes, schools. Schools
was -- has been in the code.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: But it didn't relate to these
same issues.
MR. MULHERE: No. It did not -- It did not relate to
these same issues.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: And that's the significance.
MR. MULHERE: One other very brief item. Mr. Anderson
asked me to put on the record and I just think it's appropriate that
obviously this language would not apply to existing PUDs unless they
came in and went through a PUD amendment in which case then we could
apply this part of the section.
MR. CUYLER: But this language will go in the straight
fezone and the conditional use sections -- COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Just for my own clarification
MR. CUYLER: -- if it passes.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: -- I'll repeat my motion.
This is to approve the LDC as amended with the exception of -- we'll
delete item two. We'll have the amendment as suggested by
Commissioner Hancock initially and also the Mulhere amendment
included.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. We have a motion. We have
a second. Is there further discussion? There being none, I'll call
the question. All those in favor please say aye.
Opposed?
Motion fails. Is there another motion?
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: I just -- I don't want to throw
the baby out with the bath water because I think there's a real
benefit to the county here. I think it's -- it set things-- sets
things on solid ground.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: What is your objection,
Commissioner Hancock?
COMMISSIONER HANCOCK: My objection is just the time
frame in which requiring land being set aside but it could be ten or
15 years before the county requires a dedication, yet it maintains and
stays on the tax roll. If we could tell him at the time of bringing
in the fezone or the PUD to say it's going to be five years so that
they know at that time that they have five years of taxes to pay on
that land, they are then making a value judgment as to whether or not
they want to enter that agreement. But if we give them an unspecified
time frame before we ask that the land be dedicated, they really don't
know how long they're going to have to pay taxes on it before it's
given to the county before the county asks for it. And, in fact, it
could be never. It could be 20 or 25 years before it's removed.
So I feel like we're not asking them to step into an
agreement. We're asking them to leave it open-ended. And this may
apply to more -- I know we're thinking big developers, but I think
this has some smaller application to five- and ten-acre parcels that
are now required to come in and do PUDs because of the overlay they're
within and so forth and I just -- I just think they're entering
something that they don't know the full fiscal effect of.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Well, I think just by the
nature of a development, you're going -- you take some risks. You
don't know what the market will be. We had one here yesterday where
they hadn't developed it and they wanted a change more to residential
because the market had changed since the PUD was approved originally
in 1987. The market changes, and I think the whole process is
speculative. And so to suggest that we need to make this one tiny
area of their PUD be -- or fezone, what have you, be absolute I think
is putting a cumbersome task on the county that none of the rest of
their project has in mind.
As far as a small thing, you reference this could have
an impact on small projects as well an individual with five acres.
I'm guessing that would be with some future road need we might have a
taking, but the amount of money you're talking there is going to be '-
I'm sure that owner -- It's a worthwhile amount, but it's going to be
next to nothing. If you have a five-acre parcel that they want to
build a home on and have rezoned to allow for that and we know we're
going to take 60 feet off the front lawn, when you start doing the
math on 60 feet times 200 feet and how much that adds up to in taxes
over five years --
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Why don't we consider this, that
within the PUD document, assuming that we're talking about a PUD --
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: But it applies to fezones also.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Okay. But most of these I
believe -- and correct me if I'm wrong. You guys do the land
planning. Most of this affects PUDs where we're looking at land
that's being rezoned as a PUD right now, and at some future point in
time the county is going to want land for whatever reason they want it
for. What if we were to include a request in the PUD that the county
take the property within a specified period of time.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: I can agree with that.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: And at least then the property
owner knows that within whatever the agreed upon time is -- and I
would assume that they should be able to agree upon that time -- that
the county has to take ownership of that property within that time.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Your suggestion is that that
would be negotiated during the PUD process -- CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Uh-huh.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: -- at the property owner's
request?
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Or fezone or conditional use
process since they're all similar steps.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: They're all related. Commissioner
Hac'Kie.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: For my money that just -- it's
got -- it gets -- you know, it's an improvement, but it's one example
of the problem that indicates to me we haven't thought this one out
carefully enough, and I don't know why the right thing to do isn't to
let this one wait for the next cycle.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Commissioner Hancock, are you
comfortable with Commissioner Matthews' suggestion?
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: It goes -- It really goes the
better part of the way to solving my concern for the simple reason
that I want the petitioner to know what it is they're agreeing to, and
if that time frame cannot be agreed upon, then the -- then -- you know
__
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: They don't have a PUD. They don't
have --
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Mr. Cuyler, are we going to have
a temporary taking at that point?
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Does the fact that sacrifice the
fezone --
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: I mean, we haven't done anything
__
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Can you not fezone then?
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: One speaker at a time.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Sorry. There's no court
reporter.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Yes, there is.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: She's invisible.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: In other words, if we say the
agreed time frame is five years and the petitioner says, no, we want
you to take it now because that's fair, you know, that's their point,
does the fezone then go away? In other words, is it not approved
because of that point?
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: That's up to this board.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I guess that's part of the
negotiation.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: It's a negotiated settlement. I
mean, I'm certain most -- most developers will want the county to take
it right now, and we're going to have George saying, gee, I don't need
it for six years, but I'll agree -- but I'll agree to get this going
to take it in four. I mean, that's a negotiated process.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I think it does what you --
and when I asked initially five minutes ago, what is your concern with
that motion and you indicated that they don't know, there's a variable
there of unknown, and that will give them a known. They may not be
happy that it's four years instead of within the year, but they will
know, and I think it answers that question.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Commissioner Hac'Kie.
COHMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Do we want to make this change
without having anybody advise us on what the financial repercussions
of this are to the county? I mean, now we've just said we're going to
right up front decide when we take the property off tax rolls whether
we need it or not. I just think it's another indication that this
process, this concept needs more thought.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Let me call Mr. Archibald back
up. Mr. Archibald, when we have people going through a fezone or a
PUD or conditional use and they're talking with you about what the
county's needs are going to be at some future point in time, do you
generally at that time in all of your vast experience -- and I know
you have a lot of it -- have a real good conceptual idea of when
you're actually going to need that property? MR. ARCHIBALD: Yes.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Yeah. I thought you would say
yes. And if the property owner were to say, I want you to take this
property now so I can get my PUD or get the fezone done now, if you
were to refuse to take that property, would you not be able to
negotiate some sort of an agreeable time frame at which you would take
it?
MR. ARCHIBALD: Yes, I could, if we had language like
this to back up those negotiations.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Commissioner Hancock, if
you're comfortable -- if that does, indeed, answer your main concern,
I'll make a motion we approve the LDC with the amendments as described
earlier with -- including the Hancock and Hulhere amendments and
including what now we'll refer to as the Matthews amendment, this
amendment as well.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: I'll second that.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: I have a question for Mr. Cuyler.
I keep getting caught in playing attorney, and I'm not one, so I'm
just going to ask this one more time, and then I'm either going to be
comfortable or I'm not with this. It's always been my opinion that
when you tell someone you can't use your land, well, then, by God,
write a check for it. I used "by God." That's the eighth time
tonight.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: That's the phrase of the
night.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Phrase of the night.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: You know, write a check for it.
It's my opinion on the Belle Head. It's my opinion on just about
every land acquisition program that ever came to man. Don't put it on
a list. Don't tell us you're going to take it unless you have a
checkbook in hand. Okay.
Is that -- obviously that's not written in stone legally
somewhere because it's going on in other ways, but I guess I keep
feeling like this -- that, again, saying five years, you know, then
everybody knows. We know what we're entering, and it becomes a
negotiated deal, in my opinion, but please set me at ease here. Are
we within a considerably reasonable -- Can you use those words
together -- legal position to do that?
MR. CUYLER: Yes. In most -- In many cases -- and I
don't want to tie myself in either. But in many cases you're correct
in your general statement. But when you have a petitioner who comes
to you and says, "Here's land. Here's how I propose to use it. I'm
within certain rules and regulations. I'm going to have 'X' impact on
the roads. I'm going to need to dedicate something," and Mr.
Archibald says, "You need to dedicate so much. We're not going to
need it for four years. Do you understand that? Yes, I do. Here's
your 600 units or whatever it is," that is not a taking. That is a
right and an obligation that co-exists under the development agreement
between the county and the --
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Provided it's tied to the impacts
created by the development itself. MR. CUYLER: Correct.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Okay. And if this should prove
ineffective or prove problematic at some point, do we have the ability
as a board to make an emergency amendment to the LDC? MR. CUYLER: Yes.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: All set.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: There's right and then there's
legal.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: We have a motion, and we have a
second to that motion. If there's no further discussion, then we'll
call the question. All those in favor please say aye.
All those opposed?
Motion passes 4-1.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Miss Filson.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: Does that finish with us for this
evening? Hiss Filson, you have changed. Are we finished for tonight?
MR. CUYLER: We are finished.
CHAIRPERSON MATTHEWS: We're adjourned.
There being no further business for the Good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by Order of the Chair at 6:36 p.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COHMISSIONERS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX
OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF
SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS
CONTROL
BETTYE J. MATTHEWS, CHAIRPERSON
ATTEST:
DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK
These minutes approved by the Board on
as presented or as corrected
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF DONOVAN COURT
REPORTING BY: Christine E. Whitfield, RPR