City Commission Workshop Meeting

City Commission Work Session Meeting Minutes February 23, 2024 (APPROVED) 2/23/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Commission Members Present: Mayor Jack Hilligoss, Danny Krueger, Keith Thompson, Robin Gibson, Daniel Williams Staff Present: James Slaton. City Manager; Jennifer Nanek, City Clerk; Autumn Cochella, Growth Management Director Mayor Hilligoss called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. 2. City Manager Comments James Slaton, City Manager, said this meeting will not take the whole day. We will review two draft Ordinances concerning neighborhood design that are being worked on. These will come back again for review at a work session and for approval at a Commission Meeting. This is an opportunity to provide input and to have discussion. There will be lunch coming in. 3. Discussion - Neighborhood Design Autumn Cochella, Growth Management Director, gave a presentation on the proposed TND (Traditional Neighborhood Design) Ordinance. Ms. Cochella said this ordinance was drafted by DoverKohl and partners after some revisions. She wanted to touch on some segments for discussion and questions. [Begin Slide text] General Purpose of the TND Ordinance: - To support the development of a new traditional neighborhood by a willing developer through incentives. -To adopt clear standards for the design of a neighborhood to be considered a TND. -To prioritize development within the City’s Preservation and Infill Area What is a TND? A Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) is either a new or infill development that creates, or contributes to an existing, complete, walkable neighborhood consisting of a mix of uses including residential, commercial, and civic uses and a range of building types such as single detached homes, cottage courts, townhomes, duplexes, rowhouses, live/work units, corner stores, main street buildings, and the like, each fronting streets and public open spaces, all connected by a fine network of low- speed, tree-lined streets, alleys, and shared-use paths. [End Slide text] homes, cottage courts, townhomes, duplexes, rowhouses, live/work units, corner stores, main street buildings, and the like, each fronting streets and public open spaces, all connected by a fine network of low- speed, tree-lined streets, alleys, and shared-use paths. [End Slide text] Ms. Cochella said the draft Ordinance contains the definition of a TND. She shared the Growth Framework Map adopted with Lake Wales Envisioned. It identifies the "limited growth area". This map only applies to TND. This is not development across the board. [Begin slide text] Limited Growth Area Priority Area identified on the Growth Framework Map. Sensitive natural and agricultural areas not suitable for intensive development. These areas serve the community better as protected or limited growth areas, where development that does occur is low intensity or clustered and accompanied by dedicated open space. The ecosystem benefits provided by the wetlands and low-lying areas around Lake Wales serve critical stormwater management and aquifer recharge functions and should be protected from extensive impervious cover. Planned Growth Area Priority Area identified on the Growth Framework Map. Agriculture and development are both suited to the well- drained soils of the Lake Wales Ridge. When seeking the appropriate balance between conservation, agriculture, and development; growth should be planned in an orderly manner to not strain infrastructure and to support the local tax base. Sprawling low-density development does not generate enough tax revenue to pay for basic services over the long term, and focusing new development in planned growth areas will help the community grow in an orderly and fiscally responsible way. Preservation And Infill Area Priority Area identified on the Growth Framework Map. Existing developed areas should support both preservation of historic neighborhoods as well as infill development of underutilized or inefficiently used lands. Several sprawling commercial corridors in Lake Wales are ideal candidates for infill and retrofit. Encouraging new development at appropriate intensities, fitting their existing urban context, could relieve development pressures in other, more rural areas of town. Intent The intent of this Ordinance is to support the development of new walkable neighborhoods while protecting the natural and scenic resources of the Lake Wales Ridge. To achieve the goal of promoting well- designed new neighborhoods that efficiently utilize limited land, the Ordinance requires traditional neighborhood development patterns along an urban-to-rural transect to effectively organize the many variables that create walkable places and support responsible land stewardship. [End Slide text] Ms. Cochella said that the Intent statement is in the Ordinance. She shared a picture showing an Urban-to- Rural transect and explained that the term describes development patterns and the different zones. Assigned Districts are something like an Industrial Park or something that doesn't fit into categories. We don't have an urban core zone we are more of a town with an urban center zone. The goal of this ordinance is that somebody that is wanting to build a TND they can come in and everything in here tells them how they have to layout the distribution of different mixes of uses, where things are going to be organized within the plan. She shared a slide showing different types of sub districts and the permitted uses with in. Then there is a slide showing the distribution within the sub districts. [Begin slide text] Subdistrict Distribution All proposed development is subject to the distribution of Sub districts as identified in Table 3. The maximum size of one TND shall be 300 acres. New development that is proposed to be larger than 300 acres shall be designed to consist of multiple TNDs each compliant with this Ordinance and each with their own Neighborhood Centers and Open Space networks. For proposals less than 30 acres in size, applicants may identify and assign sub districts to adjacent development no more than ¼ mile outside the immediate project boundary in the Regulating Plan in order to demonstrate compliance with the intent of this section [End Slide Text] Ms. Cochella then reviewed incentives to build a TND. This will attract people to build a TND. the immediate project boundary in the Regulating Plan in order to demonstrate compliance with the intent of this section [End Slide Text] Ms. Cochella then reviewed incentives to build a TND. This will attract people to build a TND. [Begin Slide Text] Incentives to Build a TND - Density increase – more dwelling units can be built -Intensity increase – Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) can be increased *Floor area ratio (FAR) is the measurement of a building's floor area in relation to the size of the lot/parcel that the building is located on. FAR is expressed as a decimal number, and is derived by dividing the total area of the building by the total area of the parcel (building area ÷ lot area). -Reduction in impact fees -Administrative Approval – no public meetings or hearings TABLE 1: TND INCENTIVES Preservation and Infill Area / Planned Growth Area 50% increase in underlying permitted density or intensity. Reduction in applicable impact fees, as per Ordinance ____. Limited Growth Area 25% increase in underlying permitted density or intensity. Reduction in applicable impact fees, as per Ordinance ____. TND incentives shall apply to all projects for up to 12 months after approval. If a project remains unbuilt during this timeframe, it may be eligible for reauthorization of incentives for additional 12-month terms, as determined by the Growth Management Director. [End Slide text] Ms. Cochella said the most attractive to developers is the Administrative approval. They can move straight through to site development or civil engineering. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked how are we assured that they meet the Ordinance. There must be some kind of monitoring. Ms. Cochella said that would be her job. Anytime someone came in with a plan, the Planning staff will make sure it meets the intent of the Ordinance. However, planners are not new urbanist planners so they may need to use a consulting firm to make sure they are achieving the TND goal. Mayor Hilligoss asked to confirm that the developer would not have to go to meetings such as the Planning board or Commission. Ms. Cochella confirmed this. Mayor Hilligoss said this may appear to be a lack of transparency to the public. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked about the public records related to the process. The best way to handle critics would be complete disclosure of decisions made concerning a project. Ms. Cochella explained that they create records of all meetings with developers and the decisions made. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked if those records are kept. Ms. Cochella said all records are kept in a project file. She reviewed the documents and information that is required of any developer that comes in. All of this is part of a project file. Jennifer Nanek, City Clerk, asked what the retention is on these records. Ms. Cochella said these records are permanent. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked about requests to review the file. Ms. Cochella said project files are kept on all projects not just ones that go before Commission. Mr. Slaton said this is not a new process. Commissioner Krueger said we are looking at different expectations with this. Ms. Cochella said they do would be complete disclosure of decisions made concerning a project. Ms. Cochella explained that they create records of all meetings with developers and the decisions made. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked if those records are kept. Ms. Cochella said all records are kept in a project file. She reviewed the documents and information that is required of any developer that comes in. All of this is part of a project file. Jennifer Nanek, City Clerk, asked what the retention is on these records. Ms. Cochella said these records are permanent. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked about requests to review the file. Ms. Cochella said project files are kept on all projects not just ones that go before Commission. Mr. Slaton said this is not a new process. Commissioner Krueger said we are looking at different expectations with this. Ms. Cochella said they do public records requests all the time on these and are handled quickly. Ms. Nanek said these files are maintained digitally and can be emailed. Mayor Hilligoss said we need to address higher density and reduction of fees. Many of those who are champions of the Lake Wales Envisioned Plans have criticized the Commission on these points recently. He is concerned about no meetings but understands this is an alternative track. He is glad to deal with fewer of these at Commission level. What is being asked for are things some are unhappy with. This may shift additional workload to the Planning staff. Ms. Cochella said that it is unlikely they will be flooded with TND applications. They will be ecstatic if we get one. Mr. Slaton said we have to heavily incentivize this is that it is a tough market for TND neighborhoods. Some of the projects already approved with enthusiastic developers are having a hard time selling lots because they can't find builders to build in this market. Part of this is the income levels in Lake Wales. We have a project is coming back to modify the TND elements because they can't sell the lots. Ms. Cochella confirmed this and said this is Lakeside Landing that includes alley loaded townhomes. That was months ago. This costs $20,000 more per home. The builders don't want to build alley loaded stuff. She has asked the land use attorney to explain to the Planning Board and Commission why this is coming back and the effort made to get someone to do this. Mr. Slaton said there is a perception that if we put these rules in place then the TND will come. It just won't work that way. He has met with 4 TND developers brought to Lake Wales by Victor Dover. They have not proposed one project. If this is what we want we have to make it worth their while. Mayor Hilligoss said we need a proof of concept somewhere. He was concerned about this from the Volk/Zimmerman report was that there is not a market. The numbers are pretty clear. We have to create the market somehow. This is a big stretch. He is glad we are not putting the whole City on hold to make this happen. There is a vocal segment of the population that this is what they are expecting. Mr. Slaton said many people have different ideas of what a TND project is. Commissioner Thompson said some citizens interpret Lake Wales Envisioned is designed to discourage development. Some don't understand how urban sprawl is designed. Some members of the public have a flawed understanding of Lake Wales Envisioned. They have pushed the Commission to adopt something they don't understand or they don't want to understand. We are dealing with something that he is not sure how to address. Does Lake Wales know what it wants or what it is asking for? Mr. Slaton said that a prime example of this is the proposed Lake Alta project. This project included increased density in the core, alley loaded, and front porches. Ms. Cochella said that is the most TND thing that has been thought of and people are screaming about it. Some proposed developments that have a few alleys and mixed housing types that the public likes but these are not TND neighborhoods. She agrees that Lake Wales does not know what it wants. Commissioner Thompson said many want no development at all. Ms. Cochella said many can't agree what developments should look like. Mr. Slaton explained that with the Save our Homes Act from 1992 and double homestead exemptions new development pays the bills in Lake Wales. The new taxable construction pays for our services. The new neighborhoods have higher taxable values, private roads and sidewalks. The new neighborhoods subsidize the older neighborhoods. Mayor Hilligoss said another concern said the rural to urban transect is idealistically wonderful. A noticeable transition from one community to another is wonderful. There are many people coming to Florida and we can't stop this. We have a communication problem. Lake Wales Envisioned is not a panacea for the ills related to growth. The question is "Is it doable". Ms. Cochella said many hoped this code was going to become the rule and then that would have stopped development. She asked about the planning in progress resolution. This was used for developments coming in while the Lake Wales Envision process was ongoing. Once these Ordinances are adopted should staff still use the resolution to evaluate the developments coming in? Mayor Hilligoss said he liked the aspirations but they are subjective so they rely on the planning staff to interpret for the Commission. Mr. Slaton said they are not regulatory. Ms. Cochella said once these things are in code she anticipated the Ms. Cochella said many hoped this code was going to become the rule and then that would have stopped development. She asked about the planning in progress resolution. This was used for developments coming in while the Lake Wales Envision process was ongoing. Once these Ordinances are adopted should staff still use the resolution to evaluate the developments coming in? Mayor Hilligoss said he liked the aspirations but they are subjective so they rely on the planning staff to interpret for the Commission. Mr. Slaton said they are not regulatory. Ms. Cochella said once these things are in code she anticipated the aspirations to go away and staff can use the code. Commissioner Thompson said we should always use the aspirations to show to the public that this is what you have tasked the Commission with. We need to listen to the public on what they want. Some request zoning that is not in line with Lake Wales Envisioned. They shouldn't be regulatory but may need to be talking points for Commission and staff. Ms. Cochella addressed the issue of zoning. We don't have agriculture use in the City, that is the county. Right now when a property comes into the City they are assigned the least intensive zoning and land use that we have, Low Density Residential and R 1A zoning. This gives the property owners development rights. They have expectation to develop residential on the site. They come in with an overlay, our PDP process, and do something completely different from what is LDR and R1A. Lately whenever annexation is requested the Commission gets a petition for annexation and a zoning and land use and a plan concurrent with it. If the Commission doesn't like the plan they can reject the petition to annexation. They can stay in the county and develop there. George Kramer, Inspire Placemaking, has said through the Lake Wales Envisioned Process that we have a rural land use designation but we have no corresponding zoning. In the future we can have a corresponding zoning. When someone comes into the City they can have rural land use designation and rural zoning and no development rights yet. They get the zoning and land use when they come forward with a plan. This is important. She gave Lake Alta project as an example. It had a public land use for years and auctioned by the City. It was purchased very cheap and assigned residential zoning and land use increasing the value of the property because now it has development rights. So now the Commission will have a plan to look at before they assign development rights to ag land. Deputy Mayor Gibson said that he intends to emphatically stress that it is the Commission's job to create value especially in the CRA it is our life blood. He thinks the aspirations should stay. It is okay that they are subjective as the ideals in the Declaration of Independence were aspirational. The phrase "due process" in the Constitution is tough to define but we need to start somewhere. We need to retain our aspirations or subjective goals. This is where we are going. Then we go from general to specific. Commissioner Williams said he agreed with the aspirations, that they should get us to a place. People are confused about the aspirations. We need to say what this means as we approve these Ordinances. This is what the aspirations mean now. We utilized them. Commissioner Thompson said that the aspirations are quasi regulatory. These aspirations are used to influence new development. Once these are passed, staff should not worry about interpreting the aspirations. This becomes our job. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we need to distinguish between aspirations and regulations. Having aspirations are essential and they need to be identified as such. Commissioner Krueger said the small group of vocal people is really small compared to the population of Lake Wales. Do they represent the views of the majority of the Lake Wales population? He suggested writing flexibility into the ordinance. Use phrases "as much as possible". Mayor Hilligoss said that we are incentivizing and not mandating. This is separate track. Many are not hearing this. We will get blowback on this and we need to anticipate this. Mayor Hilligoss said he is in fine with land owners submitting a plan before getting the right to develop. This might dampen interest in annexing into the City. They might develop in the county. There is no stopping development. Ms. Cochella said there is a benefit to annexing into the City. They have rights to water and sewer. In most jurisdictions a PDP is a zoning designation. We are unique in that it is a special exemption use permit overlay to the existing zoning. Most developers are used to coming into a City and apply for PDP zoning anyway. Commissioner Thompson said he agrees that it is a vocal few but there is a growing group listening to this vocal few and they are interpreting that what we are doing with Lake Wales Envisioned is not what was intended. He doesn't know what to do about it. Many are concerned about this growth. He is trying to explain to the citizens that contact him how they are interpreting the Lake Wales Envisioned Plan and writing ordinances to reflect that. Many think that Lake Wales Envisioned will fix this out of control development problem. He doesn't have a way to address this false impression. Deputy Mayor Gibson said that we need to stick with the aspirations. We need to do what is possible to achieve them. We need to do what we can in this corner of the world. Lake Alta is a good example. We need to handle the situation. The character of our town can be saved. We don't go where we lose control. Commissioner Krueger said this small group will never be satisfied no matter what we do. The issue is development problem. He doesn't have a way to address this false impression. Deputy Mayor Gibson said that we need to stick with the aspirations. We need to do what is possible to achieve them. We need to do what we can in this corner of the world. Lake Alta is a good example. We need to handle the situation. The character of our town can be saved. We don't go where we lose control. Commissioner Krueger said this small group will never be satisfied no matter what we do. The issue is never the issue, the issue is the disruption. We need to do a better job of communicating to others. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we are going to be criticized. We operate based on the consensus of the citizens we represent. For those that are vocal, we allow them their say. Sometimes there is value and they keep us honest. We are moving forward. Commissioner Williams recommended communicating to the small vocal group again about the aspirations especially in relation to Lake Alta. He is getting a lot of negative feedback. Some people don't want to know. There are decent people who are confused. We need to explain what the Lake Wales Envisioned is and get feedback. We don't need to spend too much time on this, we might slow down and explain our position. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the election is a good time to do this and explain where we are. Mr. Slaton asked Ms. Cochella is still doing a written analysis of the aspirations with the PDPs. Ms. Cochella confirmed that they are. Mr. Slaton asked if we should keep doing this analysis? Should we just refer to the code. Commissioner Thompson said he doesn't think they need to keep writing the report. The Commission might need a warning when there is a conflict. Ms. Cochella said this information is in the staff findings part of the memo. Mr. Slaton said the Commission can use then as guiding principles but not in a regulatory fashion. Ms. Cochella said they were a great tool for staff to guide development conversations. Deputy Mayor Gibson commended Ms. Cochella on how the reports are written presently. Commissioner Williams agreed. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the memos are understandable. He said the Planning and Zoning board is important as that where negotiation takes place. Ms. Cochella said most negotiations take place in the conference room. This can take months. Then it goes to Planning and Zoning board. Very minimal changes happen at the Planning and Zoning Board. If the developer is willing the staff makes changes based on Planning board recommendations then it goes to Commission with a recommendation from the board. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the Commission sets the standard to help staff with negotiations. Ms. Cochella confirmed this. That is how the aspirations are used. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the Commission can be the bad guys giving staff leverage in negotiations. Mr. Slaton said as much as this can be defined legislatively the better, the less negotiation that has to take place. Ms. Cochella said there is always flexibility in the code. There are always waivers and appeals. Ms. Cochella said she can be creative in interpreting the Land Development Code. Commissioner Thompson asked what the appeal process is. Ms. Cochella said they can appeal to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals and then to the Circuit Court. Mayor Hilligoss said he is concerned about managing communication and expectation. Some of the expectations of Lake Wales Envisioned were unrealistic. How do we communicate this to everyone? The movie on Lake Wales Envisioned has been shared at film festivals around the world. He has shared concerns about this from the beginning. Ms. Cochella said that when these Ordinances come to commission they can explain that a TND can be built now. Many say that more money can be made but developers aren't building these. So we are going to try and incentivize it. She can give regular progress updates to see what interest we are getting. Commissioner Thompson said the bigger conflict will be the PDP ordinance than the TND. Mr. Slaton said this will be reality. The meeting was recessed at 10:18 a.m. The meeting was reconvened at 10:27 a.m. Autumn Cochella continued with the presentation. She shared the three paths if this Ordinance is adopted. [Begin Slide text] Future Development Paths 1.) Build according to the standards of the underlying zoning -Lot sizes and widths will be standard to the zoning district assigned at annexation or zoning map amendment request. -Neighborhood is built according to adopted standard code sections for recreation Future Development Paths 1.) Build according to the standards of the underlying zoning -Lot sizes and widths will be standard to the zoning district assigned at annexation or zoning map amendment request. -Neighborhood is built according to adopted standard code sections for recreation space, street and sidewalk design, and landscaping. -The smallest lot allowed by standard zoning is a minimum of 6,000sf and 60 feet in width (R-1D). -Allows for subdivision walls and gated communities. -Requires a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board for a Preliminary Subdivision Plat and approval by City Commission. No Public Hearings. -Example neighborhoods: Scenic Bluff, Brookshire, Dinner Lake Estates, Sunset Pointe, Sunset Place, and Leighton’s Landing (under construction). [End slide text] Commissioner Thompson asked to confirm that these are what we are trying to prevent with Lake Wales Envisioned? Ms. Cochella said she didn't think so as we can still negotiate with developers on landscaping and we still require street trees. The thing is they can't get smaller lots than 60 feet so developers with smaller lots go through the PDP process. Commissioner Williams said they are not considered superior. Ms. Cochella said they are good neighborhoods but these don't allow creativity. Commissioner Thompson said many of the public, from ground view level, the standard subdivision with walls is the concern. Ms. Cochella said many people like walled subdivisions. They don't allow connectivity but people should have the right to live in one. Mr. Slaton said very few projects do this. Ms. Cochella confirmed this. Mayor Hilligoss said the idea was that our efforts was shut this down but we can't stop this. Mr. Slaton confirmed this. Commissioner Krueger said many retirees like the extra security of a gated community. Mayor Hilligoss said we are going to incentivize people to go in a different direction. Ms. Cochella said that through the PDP process you can build more houses on smaller lots. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we can apply the aspirations and do the possible. Mr. Slaton said we need a community with the flexibility to provide different types of housing to accommodate as many people as possible. Do we want to be exclusionary? Commissioner Thompson said the marketplace comes in to build what people want. He is concerned that many supporters of Lake Wales Envisioned is not about increasing density and that is exactly what it is about. Ms. Cochella said this process has a standard code to follow such as sidewalks on one side of the road, but she can still try to make it more functional. [Begin Slide text] Future Development Paths 2.) Apply for a Special Exception Use Permit to allow a Planned Development Project (PDP) -Waivers to reduce lot sizes, lot widths, and setbacks may be requested in order to achieve alternative neighborhood designs so as to provide for a mix of uses and/or housing options, and design creativity. -Neighborhood is built according to approved Waivers of Strict Compliance from the underlying zoning, and Conditions of Approval. -Does not prohibit subdivision walls and gated communities; however the connected street grid network requirement may make it infeasible. -Requires a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board for a Preliminary Subdivision Plat and Special Exception Use Permit for a PDP following a Public Hearing, and approval by City Commission following a Public Hearing. - -Example neighborhoods: Lake Ashton, Carlsberg Estates, Whispering Ridge, and Leoma’s Landing (under construction). -Requires a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board for a Preliminary Subdivision Plat and Special Exception Use Permit for a PDP following a Public Hearing, and approval by City Commission following a Public Hearing. - -Example neighborhoods: Lake Ashton, Carlsberg Estates, Whispering Ridge, and Leoma’s Landing (under construction). [End Slide text] Ms. Cochella said this is what we get the most. She said you can still build subdivision walls, they are not prohibited but may not work with the connected street grid requirement. These require two public hearings. [Begin Slide text] Future Development Paths 3.) Apply for a TND Regulating Plan (site plan) -Regulations for Setbacks, Lot Standards, Building Types, Permitted Uses, Building Design, Block Sizes, and Open Space are outlined within the TND Ordinance and are subject to the distribution of Sub districts defined within. -Code does not provide for gated or walled neighborhoods. -Can be approved administratively without public meetings or hearings. -Qualifies for a density/intensity increase, and impact fee reductions. -Example neighborhoods: No TNDs have been built, approved, or applied for within the City of Lake Wales to date. [End Slide text] Ms. Cochella said with this they can regulate building design which she can't do in the PDP process. In appendix A are a list of TND neighborhoods. Mr. Slaton asked to review the issue of impact fees to get a consensus for other reasons. Ms. Cochella reviewed the recommendations for percentage of impact fees reduction. There is a higher percentage of reduction for the infill areas than the limited growth area. Commissioner Krueger asked to confirmed that impact fees are per dwelling? Mr. Slaton confirmed this. Commissioner Krueger said the impact fees might be reduced for each one but we get more brought in. Mr. Slaton said that concept is correct. Deputy Mayor Gibson said understanding the balance is important. Taxpayers want a better living area. This is a way to get to get what we want from the private sector. What is the right thing to give up for a better quality environment? We balance this. We give up something to get something. Mayor Hilligoss said we need to incentivize the TNDs because we said we would. This will shift an unfair tax burden to lower income residents. Ms. Cochella said the TND residents will pay less in impact fees to build their houses. Deputy Mayor Gibson said that with the double amount the homestead exemption there is not a lot of taxpayers at lower income levels. Ms. Cochella said that the Mayor is referring to impact fee mitigation we are charging less for these. Mayor Hilligoss said we don't have enough affordable housing in the area. If we give impact fee mitigation to higher income level housing but don't give that benefit to affordable housing. Ms. Cochella said there are impact fee reductions for affordable housing. Mr. Slaton asked if the Mayor is referring to attainable workforce housing. Mayor Hilligoss confirmed that he is referring to more middle class housing. Those developers won't get that same impact fee reduction. He is not saying to not move forward but that criticism will come somewhere down the road. Mr. Slaton said those developments will come anyway. Commissioner Thompson asked to someday be educated about impact fees and new schools. How do new schools get built here in Lake Wales? Ms. Cochella said they kind of don't. She explained that for school concurrency they must coordinate with Polk County School Board. Polk County Schools and the Lake Wales Charter Schools do not communicate. Developers provide proof of concurrency that there are seats but not in Lake Wales. Impact fees go to the Polk County School Board. The students may end up going to a Lake Wales Charter Schools. For a new school to be built from impact fees it must come from the Polk Commissioner Thompson asked to someday be educated about impact fees and new schools. How do new schools get built here in Lake Wales? Ms. Cochella said they kind of don't. She explained that for school concurrency they must coordinate with Polk County School Board. Polk County Schools and the Lake Wales Charter Schools do not communicate. Developers provide proof of concurrency that there are seats but not in Lake Wales. Impact fees go to the Polk County School Board. The students may end up going to a Lake Wales Charter Schools. For a new school to be built from impact fees it must come from the Polk County School Board. Mr. Slaton said developments do have to prove capacity before they build. Commissioner Thompson asked when do we know? Ms. Cochella said the County has a division for schools. Commissioner Thompson asked if anything goes to Lake Wales Charter Schools. Ms. Cochella said no. Both Ms. Cochella and Mr. Slaton said this is brought up often. Commissioner Thompson said he has no idea where new students will go to school. Ms. Cochella said the County could build a new school in the Lake Wales area but the Lake Wales Charter Schools are not building new schools. Commissioner Thompson said there is no good answer for this. Mr. Slaton said the Charter Schools have to decide whether to grow or remain the size they are. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the Charter System does not have control over the growth of the schools. This was discussed. Mr. Slaton asked for a consensus about the proposed reduction in impact fees. do we want to provide extra incentives for development in the core? This was discussed. The Commission gave consensus to the proposed reductions. Mr. Slaton said if they don't work they can be changed. Ms. Cochella introduced George Kramer, Inspire Placemaking, to review the proposed PDP ordinance. Mr. Kramer introduced Ms. Pat Tyjeski, a principal with Inspire Placemaking who is experienced in Code writing. Mr. Kramer shared some of his background. He has toured TND communities and communities with TND features. He participated in the Lake Wales Envisioned process and spoke with many citizens about their concerns. Many people take different things from the visioning process. What they are discussing is consistent with Lake Wales Envisioned. There are personal preferences to this but these things will be good for Lake Wales. There will still be gated communities but that shouldn’t be all there is. The standards will have consistency with blocks, connectivity, street trees, sidewalks and parks and allow flexibility for future development concerns. The growth coming in is going through the PDP process. Hopefully some TND communities will come in. [Begin Slide text] 1. Start with the Streets A traditional block pattern with block lengths between 200 and 600 feet and a perimeter of less than 1,800 feet ensures connectivity, inclusivity and resiliency. Grid patterns provide space for pedestrian movement and environmental systems. They also have the unique ability to adapt to changing growth and density pressures. [End Slide text] Mr. Kramer said it is the City’s responsibility to guide how neighborhoods are built. Great neighborhoods have a standard block structure that promotes connectivity and helps with walkability. [Begin Slide text] 1. Connect the homes Plot size and driveway widths are controlled to ensure connections and provide sufficient space for vegetation. [End Slide text] Mr. Kramer said there is a lot of discussion about alleys. Alleys remove driveways. Commissioner Krueger asked if the concern about walkability and driveways. Is there a safety issue? Mr. Kramer said it’s a comfort issue. The tree canopy can’t be developed with frequent driveways. Ms. Cochella said it is more comfortable for people to walk around with less driveways. Mr. Kramer said there will [End Slide text] Mr. Kramer said there is a lot of discussion about alleys. Alleys remove driveways. Commissioner Krueger asked if the concern about walkability and driveways. Is there a safety issue? Mr. Kramer said it’s a comfort issue. The tree canopy can’t be developed with frequent driveways. Ms. Cochella said it is more comfortable for people to walk around with less driveways. Mr. Kramer said there will be a lot of front-loaded homes in new developments this section will define the standards. He showed slides of neighborhoods with a full tree canopy. The tree canopy is different when they are in yards instead of the 8 ft planting area. Commissioner Krueger said the picture with trees in the yard are not full-grown trees and is misleading. Mr. Kramer said trees in the yard are controlled by the homeowner. Trees in the planting area would be cared for by the City, homeowner association or CDD. Mayor Hilligoss said trees can depend on the homeowner so we need to define who is responsible. Deputy Mayor Gibson said it needs to be clear who owns the 8 ft planting strip. Ms. Cochella said this hasn’t been well defined in the past but lately it says specifically in the conditions of approval and is platted that way. Deputy Mayor Gibson said that if the City owns it then the City can contract with someone else. Mr. Slaton said we can decide this, if we want it. Mr. Slaton asked if we have the planting strip in our code now. Ms. Cochella said we don’t. We ask for it on a case-by-case basis. Ms. Cochella said there is a lot of flowery language and not very strong. In this draft most of that is stricken out. An 8-foot planting strip is in the code for a PDP. Commissioner Thompson asked about responsibility to maintain these features. Mr. Slaton said the City tries not to take on this responsibility. That is for an HOA to handle. Ms. Cochella said Code Enforcement is there to ensure they are maintained and replaced. Mr. Kramer asked about lot sizes and driveway width. He recommended smaller than 50 foot lots should be alley loaded. He showed a lot with recommended lot widths, driveways and alleys. Ms. Cochella said she anticipated a lot of discussion on this slide. Commissioner Thompson expressed concern about alley maintenance. If we require alleys then they should be maintained. The more stuff we put in the higher the costs of the homes and the homeowner association fees are higher. Ms. Cochella said the poor condition of alleys in the City are an argument against alleys. Do we want alley requirements for small lots? Commissioner Thompson said no. Commissioner Krueger said no. Mr. Kramer said many citizens want trees. A lot of small lots with 20 ft driveways will not allow a tree canopy. These are tough decisions. Ms. Pat Tyjeski said neighborhoods with small lots and attached homes with driveways are filled with trash and recycling bins. Ms. Cochella said a discussion with a developer was about whether we want mix of housing types or alleys. Which is more important? Deputy Mayor Gibson described a type of housing with shared walls and small lots that can be affordable and very nice. These are elevated and sometimes called row houses. Commissioner Thompson asked do we deal with that in this ordinance? Do we integrate as many TND elements as possible into the PDP process? Ms. Cochella said we have to decide about the alleys before we can move on to other elements. Mr. Kramer said this Ordinance is just about strong neighborhoods for Lake Wales. Mr. Slaton suggested alleys for townhomes with close curb cuts and narrow driveways on smaller lots if the Commission doesn’t want to do alleys. Ms. Cochella said she cares most about street tree plantings regardless of the width of lots. Ms. Tyjeski asked how many parking spaces are required per unit. Ms. Cochella said 2. Ms. Tyjeski said if there is a narrow lot, the house will occupy most of the lot. If there are 2 parking spaces then you will need a 40-foot setback defeating the purpose of having small lots. Some communities have on-street parking. Mr. Slaton said we can allow alleys as an option with an incentive. Ms. Cochella said the incentive to building alleys is you can build more units and make more money with a smaller lot. Commissioner Thompson said interpretation and perception is important. He has a hard time explaining this to citizens. Ms. Cochella said when we bring these Ordinances through to Commission, we can show the differences side by side. Mr. Kramer said the biggest difference is at the TND is regulating the architecture of the home. Commissioner Thompson said the connection between the two is alleys. Mr. Slaton said not every builder has rear loaded products. Mayor Hilligoss said we aren’t telling builders how to build the house we are designing neighborhoods. Do alleys say to a builder how to build a house? Mr. Kramer said a builder doesn’t have to build on a 50 ft lot. Mayor Hilligoss said the cost of maintenance of alleys may make homes unaffordable. Mr. Commission, we can show the differences side by side. Mr. Kramer said the biggest difference is at the TND is regulating the architecture of the home. Commissioner Thompson said the connection between the two is alleys. Mr. Slaton said not every builder has rear loaded products. Mayor Hilligoss said we aren’t telling builders how to build the house we are designing neighborhoods. Do alleys say to a builder how to build a house? Mr. Kramer said a builder doesn’t have to build on a 50 ft lot. Mayor Hilligoss said the cost of maintenance of alleys may make homes unaffordable. Mr. Kramer said bigger lots, with more infrastructure will cost more. We can reduce many amenities to make homes affordable but what do we want people to live in? He wants this discussion to be about what we want our kids to grow up in? This is not a value judgement between gated communities and TND. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we should set priorities with what constitutes a good neighborhood. His priority is street trees. Ms. Cochella said that from a practical standpoint from meeting with developers. Anything below 50- foot-wide lots it doesn’t make sense not to alley load them. They are okay with this. Street trees can be accommodated in 50 ft wide lots. If they build 40 ft lots or townhomes it doesn’t work with street trees. Is it reasonable to say below 50 ft wide lots we require alleys? Commissioner Thompson said that line is great. Mr. Slaton said 50 foot above we do front loaded, below 49 ft we do alleys. There was consensus on this. Ms. Cochella said she feels good about this. Developers can still maximize their densities. Mr. Kramer said people need somewhere to walk to. [Begin slide text] 1. Provide Open space Establishing a maximum distance to and size for neighborhood parks ensures the incorporation of sufficient and easily accessible open space within the neighborhood. These spaces are vital for social interaction and when well-designed, can cultivate social cohesion and improve resident well-being. [End Slide Text] Mr. Kramer said there is recognition of demand in Lake Wales that is strong with walkability and parks they can access. Ms. Cochella asked Mr. Kramer to discuss connectivity to the outside. Mr. Kramer said it will cost a developer more to meet the block standards as opposed to a gated subdivision. Developer costs are reduced but then it is the City’s cost to serve the neighborhoods because of the lack of connectivity. Mr. Slaton asked Mr. Kramer to show the visual. Ms. Cochella said they won’t be able to have subdivision wall as they can in some PDPs. Developers can still do this through standard subdivision process. Commissioner Thompson said he sees his neighborhood in the sample. In the PDPs the Commission he sees a lot of long curved streets. What are we are trying to do? Ms. Tyjeski said with more intersections you might be more cautious. Ms. Cochella said in rewriting the PDP regulations is an action step of Lake Wales Envisioned. Our current language is 25 years old and calls for long curvy roads in the PDP. For traffic calming more intersections help. Mayor Hilligoss said in some subdivisions have long curvy roads then speed bumps are added and the nearby homeowners are listening to that all day. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked what the smaller lots on the sample grid are? Mr. Kramer said townhomes. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked what the next larger sizes are. Mr. Kramer said they are cottage lots or single family detached. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked if in this example some of the lots are affordable? Mr. Kramer said they can be more affordable. There will be different price points. Ms. Cochella said production builders are not providing affordable solution for housing. The CRA should focus on this. Builders are trying to make money. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked how does the CRA promote affordability. Commissioner Thompson said infill projects are a possibility. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the Lake Alta project is a big statement for us. Ms. Cochella agreed. She said we are clustering housing on existing infrastructure and preserving green space. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we are creating housing people can buy. Mr. Slaton reviewed points. Ms. Cochella said production builders are not providing affordable solution for housing. The CRA should focus on this. Builders are trying to make money. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked how does the CRA promote affordability. Commissioner Thompson said infill projects are a possibility. Deputy Mayor Gibson said the Lake Alta project is a big statement for us. Ms. Cochella agreed. She said we are clustering housing on existing infrastructure and preserving green space. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we are creating housing people can buy. Mr. Slaton reviewed the Lake Alta project and said this is a poster project for the CRA. Deputy Mayor Gibson said that increment went through the roof on a small piece of property. Mr. Slaton said, regarding the street grid, if the southern road is Chalet Suzanne Rd or Buck Moore how will the street grid work. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we have projects on Buck Moore. Ms. Cochella said they aren’t building this street network because the County has controls over the number interruptions to their roadway. Mr. Slaton said he doesn’t know if you want to cut into a road with a 50mph speed limit. We need to address this. Mayor Hilligoss asked if we can write the code based on the road it connects to. Mr. Slaton asked about frontage roads like Leoma’s Landing. Ms. Cochella said Leoma’s Landing built a frontage road with houses facing the road. She said it would have been nice to not have the wall but a pedestrian landscaped area. Developers will not want the expense of an additional road. Commissioner Krueger asked if you would want to live in a home facing a busy road. Ms. Cochella said with landscaping that has grown in would look nice. A landscape berm would work. Mr. Kramer said there is a segment in the draft that addresses this. [begin text] In the event that existing site constraints prevent street connectivity standards from being achieved, waivers may be granted, provided that the applicant demonstrates street connectivity to the greatest extent feasible. [End text] Mr. Slaton said that was great. Problem solved. He recommended a break to get lunch. The meeting was recessed at 12:03 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 12:15 p.m. Mr. Slaton asked if we can review park requirements and what is being proposed. Ms. Cochella said right now in the PDP section we don’t have recreation standards we rely on the standard recreation code. This would have its own recreation standards. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we should discuss priorities and how to organize the way we get something done. Mr. Kramer says sometimes open space meets the requirement but not the spirit or intent. We want homes being in walking distance of a park or public space. We have regulations on minimum size and location. We have a 5-minute walk standard which regulates size and location. Mr. Slaton said a large development would have several of these parks. Mr. Kramer said they would have to meet the standards. Mr. Slaton asked about retention areas, will they count towards the open space? Commissioner Thompson said several people have said they don’t want their children playing on retention areas. Ms. Cochella asked if they mean wet or dry ponds? Commissioner Thompson said he isn’t sure. We may not get everything we want. He is interested in efficiency. Mr. Kramer said the way it’s written it doesn’t say. The Commission would have discretion. Ms. Cochella gave examples of when the stormwater pond might work and when it wouldn’t. Things like slope would come into play. There are standards. Stormwater ponds can be a good feature if they are wet. Deputy Mayor Gibson said stormwater ponds can be a wasted opportunity for many developments. They should be included in the development. They can be aesthetically pleasing. Ms. Cochella said the open space and recreation areas are one of the first things she looks at when a project comes in. Did they design with the park space in mind? Commissioner Thompson asked about these issues in conjunction with the Lake Alta project. He agrees with Mr. Gibson that this will be quite a statement. This addresses parking, alleys, a park, and improving the value. This is a poster child for Lake Wales Envisioned. Ms. Cochella reviewed the Lake Alta project. Lake Alta isn’t a park it is a dry lake bed. There was a misunderstanding about what would happen with the lake. Some thought it might be a parking lot or have playground equipment. The developer will clean it up but leave it natural. He is building  Commissioner Thompson asked about these issues in conjunction with the Lake Alta project. He agrees with Mr. Gibson that this will be quite a statement. This addresses parking, alleys, a park, and improving the value. This is a poster child for Lake Wales Envisioned. Ms. Cochella reviewed the Lake Alta project. Lake Alta isn’t a park it is a dry lake bed. There was a misunderstanding about what would happen with the lake. Some thought it might be a parking lot or have playground equipment. The developer will clean it up but leave it natural. He is building attainable homes with front porches. The lake will be open space but it won’t be a destination park. She will review this at the Planning and Zoning Board Tuesday. Commissioner Thompson said he understand that 28 units will be a lot and there are parking issues. Commissioner Thompson confirmed that the parking will be in alleys. Ms. Cochella confirmed this. This is low density residential is what they are building to. They are clustering it to leave more open space. The developer could build on the lots he owns now. Ms. Cochella said she was surprised at the opposition. Mr. Slaton said he was surprised at the opposition to the ADS manufacturing facility. Commissioner Krueger reiterated that the issue is never the issue. The revolution is the issue. Deputy Mayor Gibson said he supports the project and said that the residents will be okay with this once it is built. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked about legal action between the developer and previous owner. Ms. Cochella said the owner is suing the previous owner, Mr. Kebabjin, for misrepresentation about the lots. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked if this lawsuit will affect the project. Ms. Cochella said it doesn’t. Mayor Hilligoss said there were outright lies said about this project and others. Deputy Mayor Gibson said we want to work with this developer. Commissioner Thompson asked about the plan for the CRA to give the property to the developer. Mr. Slaton said the CRA will soon be asked to consider giving the property to the developer for the open space. The CRA owns the Lake Alta property now. This was discussed. Ms. Cochella asked if the Commission is comfortable with the two ordinances with the tweaks as discussed. The Commission gave consensus. Mr. Slaton said that, regarding the two ordinances, if anything doesn’t work as intended changes can be made. Ms. Cochella said these will go before Planning and Zoning before it comes to the Commission. Commissioner Thompson said this is an improvement and is in favor of getting this on the books. 4. CITY COMMISSION AND MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Hilligoss said we need to give thought on communicating this to the public. Commissioner Krueger said we should present the broad idea on how these changes will benefit all of Lake Wales. Then we need anecdotes and quotes from citizens that say this looks good. Commissioner Thompson said we need quotes from experts or professional opinions. Deputy Mayor Gibson recommended help from consultants such as Victor Dover. Ms. Cochella said that Victor Dover’s team wrote the TND Ordinance but isn’t sure if they feel that should be the only path of development. Deputy Mayor Gibson asked for copies of the materials presented. Ms. Nanek said she would send them to the Commission. Mr. Slaton said no one around us is building neighborhoods like this so these will be unique and distinctive to Lake Wales. Deputy Mayor Gibson said he likes that, being unique and distinctive. 5. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 12:49 p.m. _____________________ Mayor ATTEST: ____________________ _____________________ Mayor ATTEST: ____________________ City Clerk