HEX Transcript 01/14/2016 January 14,2016 HEX Meeting
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
COLLIER COUNTY HEARING EXAMINER
Naples,Florida
8`l January 14,2016
LET IT BE REMEMBERED,that the Collier County Hearing Examiner, in and for the County of
Collier,having conducted business herein,met on this date at 9:00 a.m.,in REGULAR SESSION at 2800
North Horseshoe Drive,Room 609/610,Naples,Florida,with the following people present:
HEARING EXAMINER MARK STRAIN
ALSO PRESENT: Raymond V.Bellows,Zoning Manager
Rachel Beasley,Planner
Eric Johnson,Principal Planner
Heidi Ashton-Cicko,Managing Assistant County Attorney
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AGENDA
THE COLLIER COUNTY HEARING EXAMINER
WILL HOLD A HEARING AT 9:00 AM ON THURSDAY,JANUARY 14,2016 IN CONFERENCE ROOM 610
AT THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT/PLANNING®ULATION BUILDING,2800 N.
HORSESHOE DRIVE,NAPLES,FLORIDA
INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO 5 MINUTES UNLESS OTHERWISE WAIVED BY THE
HEARING EXAMINER. PERSONS WISHING TO HAVE WRITTEN OR GRAPHIC MATERIALS
INCLUDED IN THE HEARING REPORT PACKETS MUST HAVE THAT MATERIAL SUBMITTED TO
COUNTY STAFF 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE HEARING. ALL MATERIALS USED DURING
PRESENTATION AT THE HEARING WILL BECOME A PERMANENT PART OF THE RECORD.
ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION OF THE HEARING EXAMINER WILL NEED A
RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS PERTAINING THERETO, AND THEREFORE MAY NEED TO
ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD
INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED.
DECISIONS OF THE HEARING EXAMINER ARE FINAL UNLESS APPEALED TO THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
HEARING PROCEDURES WILL PROVIDE FOR PRESENTATION BY THE APPLICANT,
PRESENTATION BY STAFF, PUBLIC COMMENT AND APPLICANT REBUTTAL. THE HEARING
EXAMINER WILL RENDER A DECISION WITHIN 30 DAYS. PERSONS WISHING TO RECEIVE A
COPY OF THE DECISION BY MAIL MAY SUPPLY COUNTY STAFF WITH THEIR NAME, ADDRESS,
AND A STAMPED, SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE FOR THAT PURPOSE. PERSONS WISHING TO
RECEIVE AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE DECISION MAY SUPPLY THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS.
1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
2. REVIEW OF AGENDA
3. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES: December 10,2015
4. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS:
A. PETITION NO.VA-PL20150001166—Alberto Bolanos requests a variance from Section 4.02.01 A.,
Table 2.1 of the Land Development Code to reduce the minimum side yard accessory structure setback
line from 30 feet to 27.6 feet for a permitted detached exercise room with a bathroom that is currently
under construction on property located on the West 180 feet of Tract No. 129,Golden Gate Estates Unit
No. 97, south of Immokalee Road, approximately 1000 feet west of Logan Blvd. in Section 29,
Township 48 South, Range 26 East, Collier County, Florida. [Coordinator: Eric L. Johnson, Principal
Planner]
B. PETITION NO. SV-PL20150002301 — WCI Communities, LLC requests a variance from LDC
Section 5.06.02 B.14.b, which allows one boundary marker sign with a maximum sign face area of 24
square feet at each property corner of a residential development,to instead allow one v-shaped boundary
marker sign with a maximum sign face area of 36 square feet on each of the two sign faces, for the
proposed LaMorada residential development project located on the southeast corner of the Immokalee
Road and Woodcrest Drive intersection, in Section 25, Township 48 South, Range 26 East, Collier
County,Florida. [Coordinator: Rachel Beasley,Planner]
5. OTHER BUSINESS
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS
7. ADJOURN
January 14,2016 HEX Meeting
EXHIBITS
DESCRIPTION PAGE
VA-PL20150001166
A-Staff Report 5
B-Legal Advertisement 5
SV-PL20150002301
A-Staff Report 12
B-Legal Advertisement 12
PROCEEDINGS
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Everybody,good morning. If you-all don't mind taking your
seats.
Welcome to the Thursday,January 14th meeting of the Collier County Hearing Examiner's Office.
If everybody will please rise for Pledge of Allegiance.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Thank you.
I have some housekeeping announcements to make. Speakers will be limited to five minutes unless
otherwise waived. Decisions are final unless appealed to the Board of County Commissioners,and the
decision will be rendered within 30 days.
With the amount of cases we have today,these will probably be resolved within 10 days,so hopefully
we won't be taking the full 30.
With that in mind,review of the agenda;there are no changes. There are two public hearings
scheduled for today.
***The approval of the prior minutes;I have reviewed the December 10th minutes. They're
approved to be recorded as submitted,which takes us to the first advertised public hearing. It's Petition No.
VA-PL20150001166,the Alberto Bolanos variance in Golden Gate Estates.
All those wishing to testify on behalf of this item,please rise to be sworn in by the court reporter.
(The speakers were duly sworn and indicated in the affirmative.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Thank you.
We will move right into that application. My first question is going to be,are there any members of
the public here wishing to speak on this item?
(No response.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: And I see none,so will the applicant's representative please
come to the microphone.
Good morning. You are?
MS.THOMSON: I'm Kyla Thomson,and I represent the petitioners,Alberto and Maria Bolanos.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: And for my disclosures,I have talked with staff,I've reviewed
the files,and I've met and talked with Kyla this morning as well as Jeff Wright on the telephone.
Exhibit A today will be the staff report.Exhibit B will be the legal description.
And,Ms.Thomson,the reason I asked you to come forward is there's--I've reviewed everything,so I
don't need you to make a formal presentation. There are no members of the public here interested in this. So
since I have read everything,I don't need you to repeat it,so we can move forward with that.
There are some staff comments or staff recommendations. I wanted to know if you had any
objections to those.
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January 14,2016 HEX Meeting
MS.THOMSON: No,we do not.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay.
MS.THOMSON: We do not.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Let me make sure there's nothing else that I have of you,
and then I do have a couple questions of staff.
I was going to get into a couple other items if there were members of the public here that had any
concerns. Since they're not here,I'll refrain from doing that.
And that's the only question I have of you.Thank you very much.
MS.THOMSON: Thank you.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Mr.Johnson,I'd like to clarify a couple things in your staff
report. One of them was that the minimum setback in Golden Gate Estates--I'm trying to find the page that I
found that on.
MR.JOHNSON: Eric Johnson. Page 5 of 9.It's under A,as in alpha.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: That's it. In that page you mentioned that the minimum setback
in Golden Gate Estates is 30 feet. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of 2.03.01,and I think it's
Section D of the Estates zoning element which talks about nonconforming lots in Golden Gate Estates.
Prior to sometime in the'70s,people were allowed to subdivide to acre-and-a-quarter lots as minimum.
Some of those got down to widths of 75 feet. It was realized at that time that those lots could not sustain
30-foot setbacks.Obviously,out of 75 feet you'd have 60 feet in setbacks.
So any nonconforming lot below 150 feet,I believe is the distance,is 10 percent of the lot width. So,
in essence,we do have some cases where lot widths will be less than 30 feet. And the reason that's important
to this applicant's situation and the way you wrote the report is they are only asking for a couple-foot variance,
2.4,I believe,from a 30-foot setback.
The fact that we do have existing setbacks in Golden Gate Estates,much less,makes this less
concerning from my viewpoint,and I wanted to at least get that on record.
Do you agree with those statements,Eric,as far as the setbacks go?
MR.JOHNSON: I'm being told to agree.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Ray,as the zoning director,do you concur with my
analysis of the setback?
MR.BELLOWS: Yes,you are correct.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Thank you.
And then the other thing I notice in your Page 4 under Growth Management GMP plan
consistency--I'm not sure who wrote this--the subdistrict is--it's the second sentence. The subdistrict is to
provide for mostly residential development on a maximum density of one dwelling unit per 225 acres.
Again,the exception to that is acre-and-a-quarter lots that were platted prior to whatever date that
cutoff was on.
And I believe that may be all I've got at this time. Yes,it is.
Okay. With that,are there any members of the public that wish to speak on this item?
(No response.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Eric,do you have any comments from staffs side?
MR.JOHNSON: Yes,I do. I just wanted to point out that,as indicated in the staff report,the
property's zoned E,as in Estates. It's located in the Residential Estates Future Land Use Map,Golden Gate
Area Master Plan Future Land Use Map,associated with Building Permit PR-DB20141122065. I've outlined
in the staff report how it relates to LDC Section 9.04.03.
Photo 7 of 9,or actually the photograph that I took,which is on 7 of 9 of the staff report,is actually due
east. And the petition did have an objection from that property owner.
Now,I neglected to take a picture of how the structure would appear from the actual house on the
abutting property owner. This picture is just due east.
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January 14,2016 HEX Meeting
The Wagners'house is a little bit north of this house,north of this photo. So I just wanted to point that
out.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: And I noticed the objection. They responded basically to the
information letter that was sent out. It says,yes,I have an objection to this variance. Do you have any
specific code-related objection they're logging just other than the fact they object?
MR.JOHNSON: Anything that's specific that they're asking about?
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: I mean,their objection basically says they object. Do you have
any more insight into why they're objecting?
MR.JOHNSON: No.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Is it a view issue?Is it anything involving this structure that you
are aware of?
MR.JOHNSON: I remember having a conversation with Mr.Wagner. I don't remember exactly
what his--you know,what his position is other than he's objecting to it. If I were to say my thoughts,then--I
don't want to,you know,misinterpret.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Well,I'm just looking for any documentation you may have.
You don't have any documentation,or you haven't had a conversation specific to defining the objection?That's
all I was looking for.
MR.JOHNSON: I think it was just--I'll hang my hat on the letter that I received and the phone call.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Thank you.
Is that all for the staff report?
MR.JOHNSON: You know,in retrospect,I would have liked to have taken a picture of the structure
to the house and seeing that--the obstruction or vista,but it is what it is.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Well,there's about 27-plus feet distance still there with whatever
material is in that location. So we're talking a 2.4-foot variance,which I'm not sure a photograph's going to
have that much of an impact on that ratio between what they're asking for,the difference between a 30-foot
setback down to 27 feet. So I didn't find that a problem not to have that photograph you're talking about.
MR.JOHNSON: Ultimately,we're still recommending approval.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Thank you.
And with that,if there's nobody else,no other comments,we will close the public hearing,and a
decision will be rendered within 30 days,most likely within the next 10 days.
Thank you very much for your time today.
***The next petition is number S--sign variance,SV-PL20150002301. It's WCI Communities,
LLC,for the LaMorada residential development parcel.
All those wishing to testify on behalf of this item,please rise to be in sworn in by the court reporter.
(The speakers were duly sworn and indicated in the affirmative.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Are there any members of the public here to discuss this item?
(No response.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: None. Okay.
And,Mr.Arnold,I assume you are the representative of the applicant.
MR.ARNOLD: I am. I'm Wayne Arnold with Q.Grady Minor&Associates representing WCI
Communities. I have Kevin McKyton,who's with WCI, if you had any specific questions.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: My disclosures are staff--I've talked with staff,I've reviewed
the files,and I have talked with Mr.Arnold a couple of times.
Exhibit A will be the staff report. Exhibit B will be the legal description.
And,Wayne,I know you've been to these meetings before,and you know that unless I--unless some
members of the public show up,I'm not inclined to need a presentation. I have read everything.
So with that,I'll move directly into any questions I may have involving you,and I think the only one I
made a note of is the staff recommendations.
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January 14,2016 HEX Meeting
I think some clarification's needed on the recommendations. It says there will be no signed project
access on Immokalee Road. In your request for this,one of the basis for your request was that you weren't
going to have any signs at your secondary entrance on Immokalee Road.
MR.ARNOLD: Correct.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: When you said you weren't going to have any signs,what
specifically were you referring to? Because there's a lot of different kinds of signs.
MR.ARNOLD: The residential entry signs that otherwise they would qualify for under the Land
Development Code.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Like a wall or a ground sign?
MR.ARNOLD: That's correct. There would be,typically,the residential project name on either
side of the entrance. They're foregoing that for this corner sign that would be the boundary marker sign.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. And,Rachel,from staffs perspective,would you have
any problem clarifying your recommendation to reflect specifically the type of sign that they're saying they're
not going to be coming in and asking for?Because the way it's written now,it could even be traffic signs. It
could be any kind of sign whatsoever.
MS.BEASLEY: Sure. Rachel Beasley,for the record.
Yes,there are different categories of signs.And I said sign project access,so--which would be an
entrance sign,so I could clarify that more specifically if need be,yes.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. They may come in at some point in the future and want a
temporary sign or something else of the nature. I don't think the intention was to eliminate any kind of sign
whatsoever,but I hope it wasn't--
MS.BEASLEY: No,it wasn't.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Just if we get that clarification,then I think that's the
only issue I've had in review of your application.Other than that,I'm fine.
MR.ARNOLD: Thank you.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: 1 don't have any more questions of you,Wayne. Thank you.
MR.ARNOLD: Thank you.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Rachel,do you have a staff report?
MS.BEASLEY: Yes. The staff report was submitted with the recommendation of approval
contingent on the condition that there would be the clarification on the entrance sign that I will later clarify.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Yeah. Would you email me the clarification,because I'd like
that exact language subject to staffs review.
MS.BEASLEY: Yes.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Okay. Thank you.
And with that,I don't have any other questions. Are there members of the public here to speak?
(No response.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Hearing none,we'll close the public hearing,and a decision will
be rendered within 30 days,most likely within 10.
MR.ARNOLD: Thank you.
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Thank you-all for attending today.
There are no other items on our agenda today.So are there any other public comments?
(No response.)
HEARING EXAMINER STRAIN: Nobody's here.
With that,we'll adjourn the meeting. Thank you.
*******
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January 14, 2016 HEX Meeting
There being no further business for the good of the County,the meeting was adjourned by order of the
Hearing Examiner at 9:13 a.m.
COLLIE CO T7P)HE y. G EXAMINER
MA STRAIN,HEARING EXAMINER
ATTEST
DWIGHT E.BROCK,CLERK
These minutes approved by the Hearing Examiner on 1- z ,as presented ✓
or as corrected
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF GREGORY
COURT REPORTING SERVICE,INC.,
BY TERRI LEWIS,COURT REPORTER AND NOTARY PUBLIC.
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