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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/24/1987Wednesday, June 24, 1987 The Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County, Florida, met in Special Session at the County Commission Chambers, _ 1840 25th Street, Vero Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, June 24,- 1987, at 3:00 o'clock P.M. Present were Don C. Scurlock, Jr., Chairman; Margaret C. Bowman, Vice Chairman; Richard N. Bird; Carolyn K. Eggert; and Gary C. Wheeler. Also present were Charles P. Balczun, County Administrator; Charles P. Vitunac, Attorney to the Board of County Commissioners; Joseph Baird, OMB Director; and Barbara Bonnah, Deputy Clerk. The Chairman called the meeting to order. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA Chairman Scurlock requested the addition of a discussion regarding the replacement of the Country Club Point Bridge. ON MOTION by Commissioner Eggert, SECONDED by Commissioner Bowman, the Board unanimously added the above item to today's Agenda. DISCUSSION RE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE COUNTRY CLUB BRIDGE Darrell McQueen of L.Loyd & Associates explained that after yesterday's meeting, they went back to the drawing board and feel they have come up with a possible solution to the problem of maintaining traffic during the construction of the new bridge. They recommend that the width of the proposed new bridge be increased by 2 feet, which will make the total width of the BOOK " Ft.' E L_ JUN 24 197 JUN 24 1987 BOOK 68 PAGE roadway 2711between barriers. By widening the new bridge, they will be able to maintain traffic during the initial phase of - construction. Southbound traffic will be put on the western portion of the new bridge, while the eastern portion of the old bridge is removed, after which they will construct the eastern portion of the new bridge. The bridge will be closed to northbound traffic. Anyone wishing to get to the Country Club Point area will have to enter 30th Street from U.S. #1, but southbound traffic will be able to use the bridge and exit the area via Country Club Drive. Mr. McQueen advised that we are looking at an additional cost of $10,000-$12,000 to maintain one lane of traffic. ON MOTION by Commissioner Bird, SECONDED by Commissioner Wheeler, the Board unanimously approved the widening of the proposed new bridge by 2 feet at an approximate cost of $10,000-$12,000. Mr. McQueen explained the detour signage that would be used during the construction of the new bridge. A "do not enter" sign will be used to barricade northbound traffic and a "bridge closed" sign will be placed on Royal Palm Place and Country Club Drive. He felt that most of the traffic will be local and that it would not take very long before people learned which routes to - take. Public Works Director Jim Davis wanted it made clear that even before we got to this point with the detour and maintenance of traffic, the County had some obligations regarding the bridge. The County was planning to put the wearing surface on the deck and put in the Jersey barrier, which is the barrier to the curb similar to the high barrier on the 17th Street Bridge. Director Davis advised that the Jersey barrier may be included in the L 1 2 y contract and that there may be some additional costs there, but pointed out that the County was going to do that work in any _ case. Commissioner Eggert asked if that cost was going to be an addition to the $100,000, and Director Davis explained that it was always an additional cost. Commissioner Bird suggested that we request the City of Vero Beach to share in the additional cost since the bridge will be serving city residents, and Chairman Scurlock stated he would telephone City Manager John Little about that possibility. Mr. McQueen advised that the County will need to give the City a check for $85,000, which is what is before the City now, and then they will put forth a change order for whatever the County works out with the City. He emphasized that the additional cost of $10,000-$12,000 does not include any additional engineering fees. PRESENTATION BY DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS, INC. Gail Harclerode, Executive Vice President of the Treasure Coast Builders Association, Inc., introduced Michael F. Shibley, Director of Land Use and Environmental Affairs of the Department of National Association of Home Builders, Inc. in Washington, D.C.. 3 JUN 24 1987 BOOK 6 f'Ai,t 664 'JUN 2 4 199 Michael F. Shibley — Director, Land Use & Environmental Affairs Dept., NAHB. BOOK 68 u'urrfib'5y Michael F. Shibley is currently the Direc- tor of the Land Use and Environmental Af- fairs Department of the National Associa- tion of Home Builders in Washington, D.C. with offices located at 15th and M Streets, N.W. (202) 822-0351. Mr. Shibley has been with NAHB since 1980. Mr. Shibley's experience has been in both the private and the public sector includ- ing two years with a private planning firm and five years on the staff of a Washington, D.C. area planning commission. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master's of Architecture in Urban Design from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As Director of the Land Use and Environ- mental Affairs Department, Mr. Shibley manages the budget and work program and committee work related to government reg- ulation of land development, he has spoken nationally on the subject and has frequently been quoted in major newspapers and hous- ing publications. He also organizes seminars on current land development topics, directs a program of technical assistance to builders and de- velopers, and coordinates educational prog- rams on land development which are pre- sented at the NAHB Annual Convention. Mr. Shibley is currently assisting in the design review and negotiations with local governments for projects which are part of the HUD Joint Ventures for Affordable i Housing. Mr. Shibley reviewed a slidefilm presentation showing some of the methods used by other communities around the country in the development of affordable housing developments. He noted that the most important element in all of this is that it takes a public policy commitment to make it work. Referring to a report by the Joint Venture for Affordable Housing, Affordable Housing: How Local Regulatory Improvements Can Help, Mr. Shibley explained that this report is the result of a collective effort - among public and private sector groups who share a commitment to the creation of more affordable housing. Linked through a series of coordinated projects and activities, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the other Joint Venture partic- ipants are producing a variety of materials on the subject of affordable housing. .4 4 r Mr. Shibley emphasized that the land cost is a big problem in most areas of the country, and to help solve this, they _ suggest leasing the land to the people to build on, or making available surplus land owned by a county or municipality, or making the building codes less restrictive by granting variances on lots that have been viewed as substandard. Another solution would to to allow lot splitting. To redistribute the cost of the land itself, new ideas in project development are being used in establishing street standards, parking layouts, streetscapes, design treatments, density, and subdivision regulations. Mr. Shibley concluded his presentation with slides showing different designs of clustered housing, widths of streets in those developments, extra parking and visitor parking, and ingress and egress of traffic. Chairman Scurlock felt that this county is already doing many of the things suggested in the presentation, but it seemed to him that here in Florida the marketplace dictates the cost of building. He asked Mr. Shibley if he has seen any government go out and buy a specific piece of land for use in a different concept of planning than the surrounding area and then allow local builders to go ahead and build the actual development. Mr. Shibley said that the only thing that comes close to that would be the City of Fresno, California, which donated a surplus piece of property to develop into affordable housing. Chairman Scurlock wondered if there was a way that a county or municipality could ensure that the savings derived through the construction of a cluster -designed development would go to the people buying the units, not into the pockets of the developer. He believed the only low cost lots here in Indian River County are located in older subdivisions, and pointed out that when you get into the federal programs, the bottom line is that after you are forced to put in roads and sewer and water systems, a new subdivision is not going to be able to compete with an older subdivision which does not have those requirements. The BOOK 8 I r�iUL L_ JUN 24 1987 JUN. 24 1997 BOOK 68 i -AGE 667 Chairman felt the main crisis in this county is going to come when the lots in Oslo Park and Paadise Park are built out and homes in the $30,000-$40,000 will no longer be available in this area. People who are buying their first home or people who have raised their children and are living on a fixed income and wish to buy a smaller home will not be able to find a house that is moderately priced. Commissioner Bowman left the meeting at 3:55 o'clock P.M. in order to attend another meeting. Commissioner Bird pointed out that if the county went out into the rural area where the land prices are more reasonable and created a high density project, it would be going against the policies we have established in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Mr. Shibley said his firm would be glad to analyze our ordinances to determine their impact on construction costs for developers, giving particular attention to determining the individual cost of a required sidewalk or other additional criteria. Whenever they can, they try to help communities by working with them to come up with ordinances that will allow affordable housing. The Commissioners agreed that would be worthwhile and expressed their thanks for today's excellent presentation. There being no further business, on Motion duly made, seconded and carried, the Board adjourned at 4:05 o'clock P.M. ATTEST: Clerk 6 Chairman