City Council Workshop

City Hall City of Palm Coast 160 Lake Avenue Minutes Palm Coast, FL 32164 www.palmcoastgov.com City Council Workshop Meeting Mayor Michael Norris Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri Council Member Charles Gambaro Council Member Ty Miller Council Member Raymond Stevens Tuesday, December 10, 2024 9:00 AM City Hall - Community Wing City Staff Lauren Johnston, Acting City Manager Marcus Duffy, City Attorney Kaley Cook, City Clerk  Public Participation shall be in accordance with Section 286.0114 Florida Statutes.  Other matters of concern may be discussed as determined by City Council.  If you wish to obtain more information regarding the City Council’s agenda, please contact the City Clerk's Office at 386-986- 3713.  In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 286.26, Florida Statutes, persons needing a reasonable accommodation to participate in any of these proceedings or meeting should contact the City Clerk at 386-986-3713, at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.  City Council Meetings are streamed live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PalmCoastFL.  It is proper meeting etiquette to silence all electronic devices, including cell phones while Council is in session.  Any person who decides to appeal any decision of the City Council with respect to any matter considered at this meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, may need to hire a court reporter 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. A CALL TO ORDER Mayor Norris called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. B PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG AND A MOMENT OF SILENCE C ROLL CALL City Clerk Kaley Cook called the roll. All members were present, with Vice Mayor Pontieri appearing virtually. D PUBLIC PARTICIPATION City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 15  Public Participation shall be held in accordance with Section 286.0114 Florida Statutes. And pursuant to the City Council’s Meeting Policies and Procedures: (1) Each speaker shall at the podium, provide their name and may speak for up to 3 minutes. (2) The Public may provide comments to the City Council relative to matters not on the agenda at the times indicated in this Agenda. Following any comments from the public, there may be discussion by the City Council. (3) When addressing the City Council on specific, enumerated Agenda items, speakers shall: (a) direct all comments to the Mayor; (b) make their comments concise and to the point; (c) not speak more than once on the same subject; (d) not, by speech or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the City Council; (e) obey the orders of the Mayor or the City Council; and (f) not make any irrelevant, impertinent or slanderous comments while addressing the City Council; which pursuant to Council rules, shall be considered disorderly. (4) Any person who becomes disorderly or who fails to confine his or her comments to the identified subject or business, shall be cautioned by the Mayor and thereafter must conclude his or her remarks on the subject within the remaining designated time limit. Any speaker failing to comply, as cautioned, shall be barred from making any additional comments during the meeting and may be removed, as necessary, for the remainder of the meeting. Members of the public may make comments during the public comment portion of the meeting. Please be advised that public comment will only be permitted during the public comment portions of the agenda at the times indicated by the Chair during the meeting. Raymond Gunter discussed a flood control ravine next to his house, people driving on his property, and discussed a code violation notice left on the garage door. Mayor Norris asked the resident to work with Ms. Grossman, Code Enforcement Manager. Carrie Purdy discussed aged community swimming pools, lack of open community pools during the winter season, and pools as an important community amenity. E PRESENTATIONS 1 ORDINANCE 2024-XX AMENDING CITY OF PALM COAST ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 17, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT; AS AMENDED, TO ADD ARTICLE V, SHORT-TERM VACATION RENTALS Ms. Johnston opened the item. Mr. DeLorenzo, Chief of Staff, presented the topic to Council. City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 16  City Council held discussion on the following topics: including the background check requirement, daytime noise and code enforcement, making it clear in the STR owner advertisement that the property is in a residential neighborhood, support for a private enforcement company, fines for violations, applicable laws and signage within the rental home, ensuring that the platform runs background checks, current Ordinance language, affidavit during the application process, a request to update the occupancy language within the Ordinance, inclusion of language, enforcement for repeat offenders, consensus to add items to the required postings, dwelling units versus rooms, requirement to include language in the house advertising and in the household rules, and consensus to require additional language in the home advertising. Mr. DeLorenzo, Ms. Grossman, and Attorney Duffy provided a response to Council questions and comments. Mayor Norris asked Commander Finn, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) liaison, what the sheriff's office can do for daytime noise violations. Commander Finn shared about FCSO efforts. Public Comment: Eric Josten discussed noise ordinances and provided recommendations, discussed boating rules and regulations, encouraged clarifying the allowable amount of people, and believed STR owners should be required to maintain a residential character. Jenna Davisson, local short-term rental owner, shared about background checks run through the platform, restrictions that would eliminate same day rentals through the requirement for the homeowner to run background checks, and responded to various complaints. Kathy Davisson, local short-term rental owner, discussed the Council's decisions affecting the ability to pay for their mortgage, reiterated that Air B & B runs background checks, and asked Council to consider the "little people" who own local short-term rentals. Mike Solara, resident of the C section, would like to see the rules being discussed put into place and supported an external management company. Joel Davisson, local short-term rental owner, encouraged backgrounds to be done by the platform, discussed maximum occupancy, recognized the issues occuring in the C-Section, and shared concern for impacts to local business owners. Mark Stancel shared that not all homeowners concern themselves with loud renters, encouraged solving the problems, and proposed Code Enforcement agreements and suggested clauses. Quinn Cressey, with the Canal Community Coalition (CCC), shared concern for Air B & B advertising on the city website, lack of extensive background checks City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 17  on Air B & B renters, daytime noise, parties and the issues for neighboring homeowners who are home during the day, and shared thanks to the FCSO. Julia Connell, CCC, asked how the City will handle repeated violations and how the City will verify that the background checks have been done. This item was scheduled for a first reading on December 17, 2024 and a second reading on January 7, 2024. 2 PRESENTATION - DONATION FROM THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NOTRE DAME COUNCIL #10514 FOR THE PURCHASE OF A SAFE HAVEN BABY BOX Lauren Johnston, Acting City Manager, opened the item. Kyle Berryhill, Fire Chief, presented the topic to Council. Topics presented included: Safe Haven Law, Safe Haven Baby Box, Knights of Columbus, Lease Agreement, Budget, and Council direction. City Council held discussion on the following topics: appreciation for the initiative, support for a public/nonprofit initiative, guardianship of the infant and potential liabilities, request for a legal analysis, and clear signage. A representative from the Knights of Columbus provided details of the annual fee to be covered by the Knights of Columbus, packet of information within the box, discussions with the Safe Haven organization, details of the lease, and a hotline offered by the Safe Haven organization. Council provided consensus to move forward with the project. 3 PRESENTATION - UCF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ANNUAL REPORT Ms. Johnston opened the item. Craig McKinney, Economic Development Manager, provided background for the item. Michael Oppenheim, Area Manager for the Florida SBDC at UCF, presented the item to Council. Topics included: Florida SBDC Network, mission & vision, services provided, training, Client Service Summary & Impact for Fiscal Year 2024. City Council shared thanks and support for the Small Business Development Center. 4 PRESENTATION - UNITED STATES TENNIS ASSOCIATION GRANT AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES Ms. Johnston opened the item. City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 18  Laura Bowen, Executive Director, presented the item to City Council. Items presented included investing in tennis, support for public parks, the USTA growth grant, program management, sanctioned events, financial benefit to the City, and next steps. City Council held discusison on project timeline, thanks for the initiative, and focus and programing on wheelchair and adaptive access at the facilities. Public Comment: Agnes Lightfoot, President of Friends of Tennis, and Nikki White, shared excitement for the new courts, discussed the long-term use of the tennis facility, asked the City Council to keep a few things in mind including maintenance of the facility, asked who will make the decisions for the restaurants, and wanted to know what the partnership would look like. Mary Ralston, local pickleball player, shared her love for pickleball, wanted to know how the courts would be run and maintained, and wanted to ensure attention was given to pickleball. Kim Cirillo described pickleball as the number 1 fastest growing sport, shared about its explosive growth in Palm Coast, and wanted to see more information about pickleball. Randall Shu sought to get a clear idea of how the USTA provides services, discussed league play in the area, and hoped to hear how the services would be provided. George Opelka, local tax payer who is largely involved in local tennis, commended the City facilities, discussed his close involvement with the USTA, the need for first class service, and supported the collaboration. Scott Furman discussed his history of playing tennis, his transition to pickleball, was interested in knowing what pickleball facilities the association is a part of, and wanted to know how they would run a pickleball facility. Mayor Norris asked about net avility for pickleball at Holland Park. Mr. Hirst shared about the courts, maintenance, and rentable nets at the Community Center. 5 PRESENTATION - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2024 UPDATES Ms. Johnston opened the item. Craig McKinney, Economic Development Manager, presented the item to Council. Topics included: 2024 Economic Development Updates, Sites & Buildings Readiness, Workforce, Collaborative Partnerships, Recruiting, and Marketing. City Council held discussion on the following topics: website accessbility and interactivity for commercial realtors, SAP priority list and to know what Economic City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 19  Development needs exist, the positives of westward expansion, ability to enter public-private partnerships, diversification of income, capitalizing on munitions production, available property on Hargrove Grade, charter amendments, site stability, and doing everything possible to bring jobs and industry to the City. City Council requested action items and associated costs. Public Comment: Steve Carr found the discussion great and believed the City was heading in the right direction. 6 DISCUSSION - CITY COUNCIL REVIEW OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND THE MEETING SCHEDULE Ms. Johnston opened the item. Attorney Duffy presented the topic to Council. Topics presented included: governing rules on policies and procedures, roles and responsibilities in meetings, rules of debate, Business Meetings and Workshop Agendas, updating policies and procedures, and suggestions. City Council held discussion on the following topics: consensus to adjust sections as suggested, including an additional workshop on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m., workshopping large development Ordinances, public comment at the end of a business meeting agenda, limiting beginning public comment to 30 minutes, reviewing policies and procedures to clarify the terms meeting and workshop which are used interchangeably throughout the document, consent agenda dollar amount cap and provisions set by other City Charters, and allowing the parliamentarian to decide questions of order. The item will return to City Council at a future Business Meeting for adoption. Public Comment: There were none. F PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Remainder of Public Comments is limited to three (3) minutes each. There were none. G DISCUSSION BY CITY COUNCIL OF MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA Gambaro shared about discussion with new State Representative, Sam Greco, sharing the focus of the new leadership and reiterated the importance of selecting the top one or two projects. H DISCUSSION BY CITY ATTORNEY OF MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA There were none. City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 20 I DISCUSSION BY CITY MANAGER OF MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA Ms. Johnston shared about an upcoming Starlight Parade and shared thanks for the conversation and direction at the recent strategic planning meeting. J ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Kaley Cook, CMC, FCRM City Clerk City of Palm Coast Created on 12/11/24 21  City of Palm Coast, Florida Agenda Item Agenda Date: December 17, 2024 Department COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Amount Division CODE ENFORCEMENT Account # Subject: ORDINANCE 2024-XX AMENDING CITY OF PALM COAST ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 17, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT; AS AMENDED, TO ADD ARTICLE V, SHORT-TERM VACATION RENTALS Presenter: Jason DeLorenzo, Chief of Staff Attachments: 1. Ordinance 2. Business Impact Estimate Background: Council Priority: B. Safe and Reliable Services UPDATED BACKGROUND FROM THE DECEMBER 10, 2024, WORKSHOP MEETING: The following changes were made to the Ordinance, per Council direction at the December 10, 2024, Workshop Meeting: • Sec 17-68 (8) (C) Added - "The background check can be done through a vacation rental platform such as Airbnb, Vrbo, etc;" • Sec 17-71 (B) Deleted - "twelve" and added "ten" • Sec 17-72 (G) added - ..."to comply with the provisions of Section 35-53, Sound Level Limits, of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Palm Coast and..." • Sect 17-73 added - "The background check can be done through a vacation rental platform such as Airbnb, Vrbo, etc." UPDATED BACKGROUND FROM THE SEPTEMBER 24, 2024, BUSINESS MEETING: Council requested the following changes to the Ordinance:  Deleted language that the STR does not apply to Single family dwellings occupied on a full-time basis by the owner as an on-premises, permanent resident and that has been declared and continues to be declared as homestead by the Property Appraiser.  Sec. 17-71 – Subsection 5. o Deleted "of primary exit." from "Battery powered emergency lighting of primary exit. Battery powered emergency lighting which provides illumination automatically in the event of loss of power shall be provided for a period of not less than 90 minutes to illuminate the primary exit." - At the last meeting the Council wanted the STR owner to be required to have some sort of emergency lighting. I believe the language now meets their intent.  Sect 17-71(B) o Updated the language to Maximum occupancy so it does not apply to  Transient occupants that are one-year of age or younger; 22   In Sec. 17-72 –Required Postings - added o All animals must be on a leash when not on owner’s property in accordance with Sec 8-31(f) City of Palm Coast Code of Ordinances. UPDATED BACKGROUND FROM THE SEPTEMBER 3, 2024, BUSINESS MEETING: Council requested the following changes to the Ordinance:  Section 17-67 - Definitions o Added  Short term rentals do not apply to Single Family Dwelling occupied on a full-time basis by the owner as an on-premises, permanent resident and that has been declared and continues to be declared as homestead by the Property Appraiser.  Section 17-68 - o (A)  Effective Date March 3rd, 2025 o (A)(2)(E)  Added  A statement that recreational vehicles, boats and trailers may not be parked in the front of the house, except for temporary loading, unloading and cleaning. o (A)(3)(E)  Changed one (1) responsible party's to (3) three. o (A)(8)(C)  Added  Has completed a background check on the occupant who is renting the unit and said occupant certifies that all guests in the rented unit shall not be registered as a sex offender.  Section 17-71 o (B)  Changed to maximum limit of ten (10) transient occupants o (C)  Added  Recreational vehicles, boats and trailers may not be parked in the front of the house, except for temporary loading, unloading and cleaning.  Section 17-72 o (D)  Added  The parking prohibition of RV’s, boats, and recreational trailers except for temporary loading, unloading and cleaning;  Section 17-73 o Changed language to state  The Responsible Party shall be required to obtain confirmation of a nationwide background search that the prospective renter is not a registered sexual offender and also the prospective renter certifies that all guests in the rented unit are not registered sex offenders. ORIGINAL BACKGROUND FROM THE SEPTEMBER 3, 2024, BUSINES MEETING: On June 4, 2024, City Council directed the City Attorney to provide new legislation to all of 23 City Council regulating short-term rentals, aka Airbnbs within the areas of the City’s jurisdiction. Section 509.032(7), Florida Statutes in which prevents a local law, ordinance, or regulation prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals. Single-family residential neighborhoods and their required infrastructure are generally designed to accommodate typical single-family residential homes with two (2) to three (3) persons per household on average. Local governments apply design standards tailored for residential neighborhoods for their roads, driveways, emergency services planning, public shelters, emergency evacuation plans, solid waste collection, utilities, and buffers, and also tailored in assessing their infrastructure impacts and their corresponding fair and proportionate impact/connection fees. Permanent single-family home residents inherently understand and know their physical surroundings, to include any safety gaps and potential risks to their families, because they have daily familiarity. Short-term vacation rental occupants, due to the transient nature of their occupancy, are unfamiliar with local hurricane evacuation plans, the location of fire extinguishers, and other similar safety measures that would readily be provided to guests in traditional lodging establishments. Short-term vacation rental owners may live elsewhere and not experience the quality-of-life problems and negative impacts associated with larger, unregulated short- term vacation rental units on residential neighborhoods. Short-term vacation rentals with no application of mitigating standards when located in residential neighborhoods can create disproportionate impacts related to excessive occupancy, noise, trash, and parking. Short-term vacation rentals locating within established neighborhoods can disturb the quiet enjoyment of the neighborhood, lower property values, and burden the design layout of a typical neighborhood. Short-term vacation rentals with no application of mitigating standards when located in residential neighborhoods can create disproportionate impacts related to their size, excessive occupancy, and the lack of proper facilities if left unregulated. The City desires to encourage short-term vacation rentals that are safe, fit in with the character of the neighborhood, provide positive impacts for tourism, increase property values, and achieve greater neighborhood compatibility. The City seeks to balance respect for private property rights and incompatibility concerns between the investors/short-term vacation rentals and families/permanent single-family residences in established residential neighborhoods through the use of reasonable development standards. These regulations are deemed necessary by the City Council to preserve property values and to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of permanent residents, lot/parcel owners, investors and transient occupants and visitors alike. These regulations are being proposed to City Council to supplement, but not to replace, any existing federal or state law or regulation, or other controls within established residential neighborhoods served by a homeowner’s association. These regulations do not regulate duration or frequency of rentals but are intended to address the frequent change of many transient occupants housed within a single-family dwelling within an established residential neighborhood. This ordinance additionally 24