10/15/2024 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF CLEARWATER
October 15, 2024
Roll Call
Present 5 -, Board Member Aubrey Haudricourt, Board Member Mike Mastruserio,
Board Member Andrew Hupp, Board Member Andrew Park, and Alt. Board Member Kurt
Hinrichs
Absent 3 — Chair John Quattrocki, Vice Chair Michael Boutzoukas, Board Member
Diane Achinelli
Also Present — Jay Daigneault —Attorney for the Board, Matthew Mytych —Assistant
City Attorney, Lauren Matzke — Planning & Development Assistant Director, and
Rosemarie Call — City Clerk
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
A. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (Activated at 00:21:30)
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m.
Attorney Daigneault welcomed all to the meeting and requested a motion
to select a Chair for the meeting as the Board's Chair and Vice Chair will
not be in attendance today.
Board Member Hupp moved to appoint Board Member Hinrichs as
Chair for this meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
B. ROLL CALL
C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE PRIOR MEETING AUGUST 8, 2024
Board Member Haudricourt moved to approve the minutes from the
August 8, 2024 meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
CDB 2024-10-15 1
D. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD RE: ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA - None.
E. REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCES (ITEMS 1-1)-
1. Case: TA2024-07002 —Amendments to the Community Development Code Level
Three Application
Applicant: City of Clearwater, Planning and Development Department
Request: Amendments to the Community Development Code to require a percentage of
landscaped areas in front yards for residentially zoned properties, clarify the use or
organic mulch, establish regulations to allow the use of artificial turf citywide, limit the
use of nonliving landscape materials, update property maintenance standards, establish
new, update existing, and delete definitions, establish a fee for an artificial turf permit,
and update section references.
Associations: Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition, Board of County Commissioners,
Pinellas County School Board
Assigned Planner: Jayme Lopko, Long Range Planning Manager; email.
jayme.lopko@myclearwater.com; phone: 727-444-8776 (Activated at 00:26:05)
In response to a question, Planning and Development Assistant Director
Lauren Matzke said staff is seeking a continuance to the next meeting.
Board Member Haudricourt moved to continue Case TA2024-07002,
Amendments to the Community Development Code, to the November
19, 2024. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
F. CONSENT AGENDA: The following cases are not contested by the applicant, staff,
neighboring property owners, etc. and will be approved by a single vote at the beginning
of the meeting.
Board Member Hupp requested to remove Items F1 and F2 from the
Consent Agenda.
Bill Jonson requested to remove Item F.3 from the Consent Agenda.
Mr. Daigneault said since there is less than a full board, applicants have a
right to continue the item to the next regularly scheduled meeting. He also
advised that the Board cannot approve anything with less than four
members voting affirmatively.
Applicants in attendance declined to continue their item to the next
meeting.
CDB 2024-10-15 2
1. Case: FLD2024-07017 — 691 Harbor Island Level Two Application Owner/Applicant:
Brooke Enterprises, LLC
Representative: Brian J. Aungst, Jr., Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen, 625 Court
Street, Clearwater, FL, 33756; phone: (727) 444-1403; email: bja@macfar.com
Location: East side of Harbor Island approximately 650 feet north of Harbor Passage.
(0.257 acres)
Request: Flexible Development approval to construct a 548 square foot dock, 95 feet in
length with two covered boatlifts as accessory to the detached dwelling use located in
the Low Medium Density Residential/Island Estates Neighborhood Conservation
Overlay (LMDR/IENCOD) District for the property located at 691 Harbor Island.
Requested is a deviation of dock length and boatlift setback. (Community Development
Code Section 3-601.C.1.g)
Associations: Island Estates Civic Association, Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition,
Board of County Commissioners, Pinellas County School Board
Assigned Planner: Melissa Hauck-Baker, AICP, Planner III; email-
Melissa.Hauckbaker@MyClearwater.com-
mail:Melissa.Hauckbaker@MyClearwater.com; phone-727-444-8769 (Activated at 00:38:08)
Attorney Mytych requested that Melissa Hauck Baker be accepted as an
expert witness in the areas of general planning, zoning, redevelopment
planning, land development code, land development code amendments,
special area plans, overlay districts, site plan review, landscape
architecture, historic preservation, comprehensive sign program, and all
other matters she is about to testify.
Board Member Hupp moved to accept Melissa Hauck-Baker as an
expert witness. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
Ms. Hauck-Baker provided a PowerPoint presentation.
In response to questions, Ms. Hauck-Baker said the seagrass bed is
considered an environmentally sensitive area, the dock code specifically
addresses that in order to seek deviation for a dock at a single-family
property, the deviation of a dock of lesser length poses a threat to the
marine environment, natural resources, wetland habitats, or water quality.
Staff is not allowed to approve administratively a dock that goes over
seagrass beds. The property owner would need a licensed professional to
conduct a benthic survey and document the existing conditions. She said
if there is a question as to why a dock is being designed in a certain
manner, such as an environmentally sensitive resource, a benthic survey
is needed. If an application did not mention the seagrass beds and met
CDB 2024-10-15 3
the length/width/setback requirements, staff would be charged with
approving the county application based on city code. She said Pinellas
County is the only issuing entity for a dock or boat lift. The code requires
that boatlifts and catwalks must have a minimum setback of 10 feet. The
project is subject to a 10-foot side setback requirement back to the boatlift.
In response to a question, Attorney Mytych said staff will provide the
Board information regarding sea grass beds at a later date.
Applicant representative Brian Aungst requested Al Carrier be accepted as
an expert witness in all aspects of civil engineering, site design, permitting,
marina design, dock design, and marina and dock permitting. He provided
a copy of Mr. Carrier's resume.
Board Member Park moved to approve Mr. Carrier as an expert
witness. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Mr. Aungst and Mr. Carrier provided a PowerPoint presentation.
In response to questions, Mr. Carrier said the report submitted by Quest
cites what was found and its location. If the proposed slip was parallel to
the seawall, only one slip could be located instead of two. He said
residential docks are permitted to moor two boats. One of the restrictions
placed by the Clearwater Harbormaster was that there be no tie poles
located farther than the dock as shown on the application. Mr. Aungst said
boatlift sizes are not for the Board's consideration. He said the only
neighbor impacted by the applicant's request approved the 5.6 setback
and Pinellas County requires the proposed dock length due to the
seagrass bed. Mr. Carrier said boats are allowed to extend beyond the
roof, but the proposed roofline is to cover the boat.
Attorney Mytych said the Harbormaster stipulated that no tie pilings be
allowed past the end of the proposed roof structure to the east. Mr. Mytych
said this stipulation would be an additional condition of approval.
One individual questioned if the slips would be parallel to the seawall.
Mr. Carrier said the bow of the boat will be facing into the seawall. The
boats will not be parallel to the seawall because it may impede on the
neighbor's riparian rights to the north and south if they build a dock in the
future.
Mr. Aungst said city approval is the first step in the approval process. City
code requires that the dock length not impact the marine life or the sea
grasses. He reviewed the request and said the applicant accepts the
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condition of approval that there be no tie poles extending seaward of the
roof structure.
Board Member Park moved to recommend approval of Case
FLD2024-07017, 691 Harbor Island, based on the evidence and
testimony presented in the application, the Staff Report and at
today's hearing, and hereby adopt the Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law stated in the Staff Report with conditions of
approval as listed, to include the additional condition of approval
that no tie pilings be allowed past the end of the proposed roof
structure to the east. The motion was duly seconded and carried with
the following vote:
Aye: Chair Hinrichs, Board Members Mastruserio and Park
Nay: Board Members Hupp and Haudricourt
Attorney Daigneault said since the motion carried with a 3:2 vote, the item
will be agendaded for next month's meeting.
2. Case: FLD2023-05011 — 685 & 689 Bay Esplanade Level Two Application Owner(s).
Peter Pan Developments LLC and Peter Pan Dev
Applicant: Housh Ghovaee, Northside Engineering, Inc., 300 S. Belcher Road,
Clearwater, FL, 33765; phone: (727) 822-4151; email: housh@northsideengineering.net
Location: Southeast corner of Bay Esplanade and Somerset Street. (0.313 acres)
Request: Flexible Development approval to construct a nine-unit Resort Attached
Dwelling use in the Tourist (T) zoning district, Old Florida Character District of Beach by
Design for the properties located at 685 and 689 Bay Esplanade. The building will not
exceed 50 feet for the first 60 linear feet south of Somerset Street, will not exceed a
maximum height of 65 feet elsewhere and 14 parking spaces are proposed. Requested
is flexibility for height. (Community Development Code Section 2-8031. and Beach by
Design)
Associations: Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition, Board of County Commissioners,
Pinellas County School Board
Assigned Planner: Melissa Hauck-Baker, AICP, Planner III; email-
Melissa.Hauckbaker@MyClearwater.com-
mail:Melissa.Hauckbaker@MyClearwater.com; phone: 727-444-8769 (Activated at 01:29:37)
Attorney Mytych requested that Melissa Hauck Baker be accepted as an
expert witness in the areas of general planning, zoning, redevelopment
CDB 2024-10-15 5
planning, land development code, land development code amendments,
special area plans, overlay districts, site plan review, landscape
architecture, historic preservation, comprehensive sign program, and all
other matters she is about to testify.
Board Member Hupp moved to accept Melissa Hauck-Baker as an
expert witness. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
Ms. Hauck-Baker provided a PowerPoint presentation.
In response to questions, Ms. Hauck-Baker said a resort attached dwelling
is a dwelling that can be rented for any time period. An attached dwelling
is limited to a minimum 30-day rental period in a residential district. Ms.
Matzke said the difference between a resort attached dwelling versus
overnight accommodations or a hotel use is the density because it is still
limited by the residential density, which is fewer units than a rooms per
acre calculation for overnight accommodations. Ms. Hauck-Baker said the
reason the item is before the Board as a Level Two application is due to
the height, the applicant is proposing to go up to 65 feet. If the height was
limited to a maximum of 50 ft. for the entire structure, the application
would have been handled as a Level One by the Development Review
Committee. She said if the property was not located in the Old Florida
Character district, the proposed structure could go up to 100 feet. The
proposed project is being designed to meet the anticipation of the fulfilled
completion of Beach by Design. She said the existing development is non-
conforming and the parking is in the right-of-way area. The development is
located within the FEMA flood hazard level, when it floods, the first floor
residential units lose everything. She said the proposed building will
comply with FEMA requirements.
Attorney Mytych said Beach by Design lays out the range of heights and
the different levels of approvals based on the desired height are outlined
in the code.
A concern was expressed with the proposed height.
Applicant representative Housh Ghovaee reviewed the request and said
the application before the Board is a result of working with staff throughout
the application process.
Two individuals spoke in opposition.
Board Member Mastruserio moved to recommend approval of Case
FLD2023-05011, 685 & 689 Bay Esplanade, based on the evidence
CDB 2024-10-15 6
and testimony presented in the application, the Staff Report and at
today's hearing, and hereby adopt the Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law stated in the Staff Report with conditions of
approval as listed. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
3. Case: TA2024-08003 — Murals and Downtown Window Signage Level Three
Application
Applicant: City of Clearwater, Planning and Development Department
Request: Amendments to the Community Development Code to clarify definitions for
artwork and murals (applicable citywide) and to modify window signage standards in
Downtown.
Associations: Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition, Board of County Commissioners,
Pinellas County School Board
Assigned Planner: Lauren Matzke, Planning & Development Assistant Director; email.
lauren.matzke@myclearwater.com; phone: 727-444-8702 (Activated at 02:02:19)
Ms. Matzke reviewed the proposed ordinance described in the staff report.
One individual expressed concerns that the diagrams are not drawn to
scale and that there is not enough diversity in signage in the Downtown
area.
Ms. Matzke said there is a variety of signs allowed in the Downtown sign
code. The sign code was designed to be hierarchal in nature.
Unfortunately, business owners do not always take advantage of all the
types of signs that are allowed.
In response to questions, Ms. Matzke said code does not allow the entire window to be
covered by signage. The proposed amendment changes the total window coverage
from 10% to 25%. She said, in Downtown, new construction or sites with major
renovations, are required to have clear storefront windows.
Board Member Park moved to recommend approval of Case TA2024-
08003, Murals and Downtown Window Signage, on today's Consent
Agenda based on evidence in the record, including the application(s) and
the Staff Report(s), and hereby adopt the Findings of Fact and Conclusions
of Law stated in the Staff Report(s). The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
CDB 2024-10-15 7
G. DIRECTOR'S ITEMS
Board Member Mastruserio requested consideration to implement the
prayer as part of the meeting agenda as it was done years ago.
Discussion ensued with consensus to schedule the discussion for next
month.
H. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 2:58 p.m.
Attest:
Chair, Community
velopment Board
CDB 2024-10-18 8
ALBERT P. CARRIER, PE, PSM
Civil Engineer, Land Surveyor & Mapper
TRANSYSTEMS
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering
University of South Florida
1993
PROFESSIONAL
REGISTRATIONS
Florida PSM No. LS6488
Florida Civil PE No. 53990
Dept. of Environmental
Protection Qualified
Stormwater Management
Inspector
FDOT Advanced Certified Work
Zone Traffic Control
PROFESSIONAL
AFFILIATIONS
Florida Surveying and Mapping
Society
National Society of Professional
Engineers
Florida Engineering Society
American Society of Civil
Engineers
Former: Certified Floodplain
Manager
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
31 YEARS
ALBERT P. CARRIER'S, PE, PSM engineering experience included extensive civil
site design and permitting of commercial, residential and governmental facilities
including roadway, drainage, utility design, marina design, land planning, feasibility
studies and environmental permitting.
Mr. Carrier is the Surveyor in responsible charge for land surveying, planning,
computations, and preparation of condominium and subdivision plats; boundary
and topographic surveys; right-of-way surveys; construction and utility layout;
hydrographic surveys; environmental jurisdiction determinations; section
breakdown; erosion control lines; accident surveys; as -built surveys; coastal
construction control line survey, elevation certification, supervision and on-site
inspections.
Environmental Permitting includes FDEP Environmental Resource Permitting, FDEP
Submerged Land Lease, FDEP Certificate Documenting Waterward Boundary Line,
FDEP Butler Act Surveys, SWFWMD Environmental Resource Permitting, Pinellas
County Water Navigation Control, Commercial and Multi -Use Dock Permitting, U.S.
A.C.O.E. Environmental Permitting and Municipal Permitting.
PROJECT EXPERIENCE:
Crystal Island Roadway and Drainage Improvement
Project Manager for the reconstruction of approximately 2.0 miles of residential
roadways on Crystal Island. The work included the reconstruction of the roadways
including base, sub -base asphalt and curbs, upgrade of the stormwater collection
system and 13 stormwater outfalls, replacement of the sanitary sewer forcemain
with a subaqueous directional drill, replacement of the seawalls and box culverts on
Flamingo Drive and upgrade the potable water services. City of Madeira Beach
Boca Ciega Drive Roadway and Drainage Improvement
The project is a cooperative funding project through SWFWMD and FDEP that
involves roadway, drainage, utilities, TMDL water quality improvements and
permitting for a 48 acre residential neighborhood. Stormwater BMPs include
Pervious Concrete and Nutrient Separating Baffle Boxes. Services include right of
way and topographic survey, civil engineering, permitting and construction
management. City of Madeira Beach
Harbor Drive & 2nd Street Drainage & Roadway improvement
Project Manager for services including right of way and topographic survey, civil
engineering, permitting and construction management for the roadway and
stormwater improvements including a new stormwater outfall and wapro check
valve. City of Belleair Beach
Druid/Corbett Roadway & Drainage Improvements
Project Manager for services including right of way and topographic survey of
approximately two miles of residential roadways, preparation of construction plans,
specifications and permitting for the re -construction and resurfacing of
neighborhood roads, stormwater collection improvements and potable water
distribution improvements. Town of Belleair
ALBERT P. CARRIER, PE, PSM
Civil Engineer, Land Surveyor & Mapper
TRO:NSYSTEMS
PROJECT EXPERIENCE (CONTINUED):
Althea Roadway & Drainage Improvements
Project Manager for services including right of way survey of a transportation corridor, preparation of construction plans,
specifications and permitting for the re -construction and resurfacing of neighborhood roads. Utility relocations and
stormwater improvements were also provided. Town of Belleair
INDIAN ROCKS ROAD / PONCE DE LEON TRAFFIC CALMING & ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS
Project Manager and project engineer for services include boundary and topographic survey of a transportation corridor and
addition of a traffic calming roundabout. Preparation of construction plans, specifications and permitting for the re-
construction and resurfacing of neighborhood roads. Utility relocations, stormwater improvements, and a complete
replacement of the existing potable water system were also provided. Town of Belleair
COREY AVENUE INTERSECTION
Preparation of construction plans and specifications for intersections to meet ADA criteria, provided construction inspection
services and certifications of compliance. City of St. Pete Beach
SEMINOLE WATER FRONT PARK
Project Manager for the design, permitting and construction management of the 8 acre passive park adjacent to Lake
Seminole. Park amenities include a limit -less playground, ADA accessible exercise trail, boardwalk/fishing pier and kayak
launch. City of Seminole
MARINA DESIGN & PERMITTING
Project engineer for the design & permitting of public, commercial and multi -use marinas including bathymetric survey and
submerge land lease surveys. Projects include KOA St. Pete, East Shore Resort Clearwater, Galati Yacht, Papaya Street
Observation Pier — City of Clearwater, Marine Max Gulfport, Village at Tierra Verde, St Petersburg Yacht Club —St Petersburg
and St Pete Beach sites, Shipwatch, Mariners Cove Marina, Turtle Cove Marina, Salty Rim — St Pete Beach, Marriot —
American Legion Drive, Doc Fords — Bay Pines, Hampton Inn — Tampa, Regatta Point Marina — Palmetto, Wharf — St Pete
Beach
ST PETE BEACH CLASSIC - CITY OF ST PETE BEACH
Maintenance of Traffic design for the annual 5k, 10k and''/: marathon race, since 2007.
LAND SURVEY PROJECT EXPERIENCE:
SOUTH PLANT STREET FROM WEST KENNEDY BOULEVARD TO WEST BAY STREET - CITY OF TAMPA
Right-of-way and topographic survey for reclaimed water distribution project
WEST BOY SCOUT FROM NORTH MANHATTAN AVENUE TO INTERNATIONAL PLAZA - CITY OF TAMPA
Right-of-way and topographic survey for the reclaimed water distribution project