The clerk will now swear in people -- all persons wishing to
speak to give testimony to tonight's quasi-judicial items.
>> stand up. Do you swear the testimony --
>> these are the folks who will want to give testimony this
evening. >> do you swear the testimony
you're about to give in this proceeding is the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
[ individuals: I do ] >> application dr-2025-0002
request for design review approval for the development of
a new project called main street exchange.
we've been waiting for this for a long time.
consisting of a three or four-story mixed-use building,
comprising an 89-room boutique hotel, marketplace, theater,
food hall, restaurants, social establishments, retail spaces,
and a parking garage on a 1.78-acre parcel located at 830
douglas avenue. Has anyone had any ex parte
communications regarding this item?
[ members:no ] >> thank you.
george? >> mr. Chairman, thank you.
members of the board, committee, lpa, george kinney.
since this is in the downtown core area, also seated to my
right is my colleague, bob ironsmith from the economic
development commission. If it's all right we'll quickly
go through a power point and hit on the land development code
provisions of the project. I'll turn it over to bob, who
will talk about the economic aspect of it.
the applicant is here with their team.
they're prepared to present a presentation to you all, as
well. Again, thank you to the lpa for
this consideration. This is application
dr-2025-0002, as was noted by the chair.
this is a design review approval for the main street exchange.
bill mazas along with krikor kassarjian, I believe.
830 douglas avenue in dunedin, florida.
it's approximately 1.78-acre site.
land use plan and zoning plan, I'll get into, in a little more
detail, in following slides. The existing use, as most of you
know, is a vacant three-story office building and parking
eafer. Thearea.
the aerial in this slide shows you where it's located off main
street and douglas. To the rear is mu monroe street.
it does face three public rights of way.
very quickly, on the project description, again, the main
street exchange will consist of a three and four-story mixed-use
building comprised of 89 boutique hotel rooms, a
marketplace, theater, food hall, restaurants, social
establishments, retail spaces, and a parking garage, as was
mentioned. You can see one of the
renderings center to the screen there.
and then you'll see a street view to the lower left.
and a survey to the upper right. From a land use land
perspective, this acreage is comprised of two separate
parcels. The parcel against main street
and the parcel against monroe street.
the black line separates those two parcels.
it is, however, entirely under one land use designation.
that is the activity center designation.
this activity center designation permits up to 30 dwelling units
per acre for temporary lodging, it goes up to 50 units per eric.
there's no -- and a maxim maximm impervious surface ratio.
from a zoning po standpoint, it is in the downtown core.
street type a and street type c. There are some minor
distinctions between what can happen in those two categories
with regard to height. I'll get into that in one
minute. Again, the height request for
the street type c portion of the parcel, I'll defer that to the
next slide. There is a step-back requirement
the board is aware of that's required for any project in the
downtown core that exceeds two stories in height.
ten-footstep-back requirement. There are some iterations to
that that I'll also speak to very quickly.
the hotel rental unit minimum floor area of 300 square feet
and maximum floor area of 600 square feet for all 89 rooms do
comply with that special requirement in the land
development code. This is just a breakdown of that
street type I was mentioning. Street type c is to the rear
against monroe as you see in the slide to the right.
the difference between that and the street type a from a height
perspective is street type c, you can ask for with commission
approval a fourth floor, up to 43 feet in height.
the applicant is requesting that as part of this application.
for the type a portion of the parcel, maximum height is
36 feet. This plan does comply with both
of those height requirements. From a compatibility
perspective, I'll spend just a minute on this.
the surrounding properties are all zoned downtown core.
it's consistent with what the zone is.
existing development on the surrounding urban downtown
activity area is a varied mix of one, two, and three and
four-story buildings with residential and mixed uses.
mixed-use developments are encouraged in this category in
the activity center land use. A mixed-use development with a
variety of permitted uses, including boutique, marketplace,
food hall, theater, and all these things that are part of
this particular ask are encouraged by the downtown core
zoning and through our economic development perspectives.
from a design standards standpoint, as you know, each
design review must be thoroughly vetted against design standards
outlined in the land development code.
I'm going to walk through a couple of them.
they are compliant with all of them.
I'll provide a little bit of detail to each with respect to
the open common space, vertical mixed-use developments are
required 50 square feet per 1,000 square feet of
nonresidential space. Total square footage for this is
roughly 117,745 square feet. So at least 5,888 square feet of
open space must be provided. The applicants are providing
more than 6,000 square feet. From a parking, loading and
stacking standpoint, all street loading, parking and stacking
are provided. I'm sure the applicant will show
you a little bit of that in their presentation as well.
they did provide for a transit pull-off area and for bicycle
and golf cart amenities. You'll see that as part of their
site plan. Off-street parking requirement,
to satisfy that, the main street exchange plans to operate a
valet service between ground parking area and 318-space
parking garage that is to be built 700 feet north of this
project area and south of skinner at 968 douglas avenue.
125 spaces in the new parking garage will be dedicated to the
valet parking operation. Which will ultimately result in
a 36-space surplus for the project.
applicant has indicated that a significant number of employees
working at the main street exchange will be required to
park at the off-site garage to free up parking for hotel guests
and customers. So, as part of this, there is
what's called a resiprical or revocable parking agreement.
it's part of your package that will be going forward to the
city commission, which ties these two buildings together.
from an architectural style standpoint, the applicant has
opted to utilize an alternative architectural style.
I'm sheufer they'll talk more about it in their presentation.
basically they married a number of different styles to create
the style that you see in the renderings in part of the backup
in exhibit a. Predevelopment score of 122
points was obtained. Only 100 is required.
we're comfortable they'll meet that provision.
from a public art perspective, as the board knows, any project
requires .5% of the total project cost to be dedicated to
public art. In this case, the applicant has
at least initially indicated that art will be placed on site
as opposed to a payment into the public art fund.
I wanted to hit quickly on the citizen participation plan.
one is not required here. I want to compliment the
developer to getting out in the public and getting this project
widely considered by a number of different groups.
bob will talk about some of the participation they had at the
cra meetings, chamber of commerce and other folks.
they have been out there. They've really responded to all
of the comments they've received to this point.
and particularly to staff comments.
from a traffic impact analysis standpoint, this project --
there is a chart in your staffing where you can -- it
talks about the daily trips. And it looks at the net
difference between the existing site and what the proposal will
be. That net difference is about
3,659 trips with 567 of those trips being am/pm peak trips.
because this project generates more than 300 peak trips, we did
have to do a peer review. We have our peer review, jerry,
in the audience. He performed the peer review on
behalf of the city. If you have questions about that
peer review, happy to bring him up as well.
although I don't think he really (inaudible).
we'll make him if he has to. So that's really it.
that kind of hits the design standard evaluation.
again, a little bit on the traffic and parking.
I kind of went over it. I wanted to show you a picture
of that parking garage that they're planning up the street.
the valet parking is proposed by the parking garage.
through a revocable parking agreement they will then tie
that to the project study. Additional multimodal inclusions
for the project overall have been included, including some
deeper sidewalks. Again, transit, bicycle and golf
cart amenities. Some additional detail that was
offered by the applicant. I believe it's in exhibit I,
some of that detail. A compatibility statement and
exhibit showing the height and mass of the surrounding
structures. Some of those bicycle and golf
cart provisions or amenities to be included in the project.
they also provided some commitments or responses related
to undergrounding of utilities. They provided estimates on
delivery vehicle sizes, types and frequency of deliveries.
there are narratives for justification to go to the
commission and ask for that four-story, for that type c
street portion towards monroe. And a waiver of the passageway
requirements. Justification for -- they are
also requesting -- I wouldn't say a waiver to the
ten-footstep-back but a modification.
in some places they do step back.
but in other places they architecturally configured it.
so they are asking for a ten-footstep-back but the waiver
is in your packet with no objection from staff.
they included some amenities, which will be open to the public
versus hotel guests only. They also provided a fiscal
impact memorandum. As I mentioned, they have been
to the development review committee as required for design
review. They've been to the
architectural review committee and really responded to
everything that they've asked of them.
staff determination perspective, staff finds application
dr-2025-0002 for design review is consistent with the
applicable review criteria for approval subject to the
following conditions. They are standard conditions.
applicant/developer is responsible for meeting the
minimum criteria for the land development code and acquiring
all the jurisdictional permits and approvals.
construction plan shall be consistent with the approved
design review plans and drawings.
city commission approval of the revocable parking requirement
agreement for the valet parking operation as a means of
satisfying off-street parking requirements.
and it shall expire in 12 months if it's not approved in that
time. >> bob ironsmith.
downtown economic director. There are great projects we've
had recently in our downtown. One is victoria place.
I call them signature redevelopment initiatives.
this is another signature project.
this is one that there have been past developments that we wanted
to get going. Didn't quite happen on this
project for a number of reasons. This one checks all the right
boxes for us. It has gone before the cra
advisory a couple of times and received their approval
unanimously for it. We look at this project from the
regulatory perspective, but what other boxes does it check?
a hotel is very attractive in the downtown environment.
what we call a captive market. Those 89 hotel guests, they're
going to the restaurants, cafes, stores and retail.
they actually help preserve the small-town feel.
otherwise, what you're going to see is a lot of restaurants,
different breweries. You want a balance.
to make others successful, like the book store, you want that
captive market. The hotel kind of provides that.
the food hall with the culinary kiosks, that's a different
experience, which attracts a lot of people.
and is very interesting. The developer, bill mazas, and
his team, have put together an interesting project.
it's just something which is an activity engine for us.
you have to remember, this has been kind of sort of a dead
zone. Nothing has happened on this
property for as long as -- geez, I've been here almost 30 --
well, 30 years. I can remember ocean optics had
an office in here. After that, it's been dormant
for a long period of time. This is what we call adaptive
reuse. Changing the nature of it.
making something that's interesting for the downtown.
something people want to go to. Signature project like victoria
place. This is what we feel this is
going to be. We like the u-shape of it.
it has an open courtyard. It doesn't overpower main
street, another great feel. The developer has really
invested quite a bit and given a lot of thought to it.
he has prepared these renderings.
as george has mentioned, they purchased the old art incuba it,
o, r for parking. He recognized he needed
additional parking for this project.
there's going to be sop additional public parking that
will be available, too. We are thankful for him doing
that. All in all, this is something
that I think is long-time in the waiting.
something that will mean a lot for downtown.
it goes to the nature with the cra, with the downtown
improvements we created an environment that's conducive for
this type of investment. We created these capital
projects. Currently at the city and
downtown, we're investing over 25 million in the capital
projects approximate this is what we're getting attracted.
and there are other projects looking to come on board
downtown. This ties in very, very nicely.
it also takes -- really looks at the opportunity for walkability.
we want something walkability. Hotel guests will stay here.
they can walk east, west, north, south.
that's what we want to see. Have the valet parking 700 feet
away is very good. George mentioned earlier, which
I think is important to note, the previous building that was
here was a bank. Deborah probably remembers it.
first federal or something like that.
this current building is 41-feet tall.
this project is going to be 43 feet tall with a step-back
with the fourth floor. That's also very important,
which george just kind of mentioned.
you can really appreciate and like the presentation by the
developer and his team. I'm here to answer any
questions. This checks all the boxes we're
looking for. >> lpa any questions of the
staff? >> bob, we're going to be losing
parking space during the demolition of the ocean optics
property, 55 spots? >> yeah.
>> how is the timeline of the construction of the new ramp?
and what will be the gain for the public once that's
available? >> lose about 55, which we
currently lease from the developer, ocean optics.
prime parking spots. We still have some underutilized
parking. He will get his parking garage
built first. So another 125 available for the
public. We're continuing to move forward
with the downtown city public parking lot on scotland and
douglas. We're a year and a half away or
so on that one. Near-term, him building that
parking garage will take care of this situation.
>> so your answer is he's going to build the new parking garage
before he builds the other project?
>> I'm going to let him speak. He's looking to going forward
with the parking garage. In for site plan review right
now. He's moving quickly with that.
build this project, I'll let him talk, will take some time.
I imagine y he will have this parking garage up and running.
there will be a time period where there's no parking in
front of ocean optics during this transition.
no question about it. People will have to park in the
parking garage or other lots we have available.
initially, it will be -- people will get a little inconvenient.
we saw that with skinner boulevard, too, and what the end
product is we saw when it turns out.
>> blearvbelieve it or not, I he another question.
construction, for the buildings, pilings, footings?
construction hours given the amount of residents hearing
construction noise during the construction.
>> I'm going to defer to the developer.
george can talk about the business hours.
there is a code requirement on that.
>> yeah. Provisions in there for the
hours of operation. You can ask for exceptions for
that for unique situations through the city manager.
I anticipate that they'll follow the noise ordinance.
>> you know, everything is different construction.
we didn't see much with the artisan.
>> I have a question for construction, george.
will this require any road closures?
or is it something -- [ speaker off mic ]
>> I haven't talked about any road closures with this.
we're pretty strong that we're going to work in a way we don't
see that kind of disruption. >> I just didn't know if you
asked for any road closure. >> it's a fair question.
the parking lot, there was talk about road closure.
a permanent road closure. We need to work something out.
that's something that needs to be negotiated, and mediated.
I do. >> is that it?
soorp. Super.
let's hear from the representative, please.
>> good evening, brian aungst, macfarlane, ferguson and
mcmullen. On behalf of the applicant, bill
mazas and mazas development. Very excited to present this
project, main street exchange, to you.
it uniquely delivers a dunedin downtown experience and builds
on the cultural, social aspects that have been so successful in
downtown and in the downtown core over the last several
decades. This project was dlubtly and
thoughtfully conceived by aan all-local development team with
decades and decades of experience.
and bill mazas, a lifelong resident and business owner.
his office is directly across the street from the construction
site. He will be actively managing it.
next slide, please. The site has a 1976-era vacant
building. It's not quite an eyesore.
I would say it's getting eyesore adjacent.
one beautiful thing about this project and the sister project
of the parking garage, you're eliminating two eyesore sites.
in one fell swoop, in one complementary project that will
instantly revitalize and infuse economic development.
not only that, the aesthetic and cultural nature will be improved
by both of these projects. It's a special signature project
as mr. Ironsmith laid out. Here is the site plan.
we have our civil engineer here, traffic sc engineer and the own,
mr. Mazas. It has over a 14-foot sidewalks.
it invites you into that theater entrance, which will be a
boutique theater. We have the 89-unit boutique
hotel. The food hall is seamlessly
integrated into the pinellas trail.
we have videos to show you as well.
we boant belabor the point on the seut plan.
if you have specific questions on the site plan we can come
back to this slide. South elevation facing main
street. Next slide.
north elevation. Then we're going to go to the
west elevation. And to the east elevation.
west elevation is the food hall. That is interacting with the
pinellas trail. You can see there's multiple
pedestrian entrances and interaction with the trail.
next slide, please. You can complete this, george,
until we get to that. Perfect.
I'm going to ask our architect to come up and provide some
testimony regarding the architectural design and
compatibility of the project. Thank you, john.
>> good evening, chair, and members of the lpa.
my name is john pantazas. I'm the architect for main
street exchange. It's been close to three years
in planning. As we know, the site sits on a
prominent location for main street.
and also is adjacent to the pinellas trail.
our main focus in this design was to keep the respect of
dunedin's character. And also bring the downtown core
vision that everyone had. Our building does comply with
adaptive zoning. It's already received
architectural review committee approval.
since then, we're still refining and still listening to staff
comments and community feedback. One of the concerns was the
scale. And obviously it's a prominent
project. That would be a concern.
we set the building back on main street.
we provided public plazas. We broke down the facade.
we provided multiple expressions with balconies, canopies and
building materials to reduce that massing.
and maintain a pedestrian scale experience.
while the standards and styles are well suited for smaller
buildings, because of this projproject's mixed use and sizf
it -- it has the retail, food hall, the theater, and the
parking deck. It has a roof-top gathering
space. It has it all.
it requires a little more flexibility.
so we took a hybrid of all the styles in the cooper johnson to
create a pattern that would reflect the eclectic downtown
fabric to break down the massing.
we design this had project to activate the street and trail
and create public gathering spaces.
we appreciate the city's guidance on this and request
your support. >> don't go too far, john.
ual ask hum to talk about the parking garage in a mun.
yawl see how this will complement and work together.
the heights in the surrounding area.
you're familiar with these properties.
the artisan is right next door, a four-story multi-residential
condo with retail on the bottom. Several properties are either
hotels that are three or four stories or multi-family
residential projects that are three or four stories.
it's important to note the land use is activity center.
activity center is where you want to have your most intensive
multi-use projects. You want live, work, play.
dunedin has captured that brilliantly.
this project captures it all together in one extraordinary
multi-use project. The next slide will show
additional height comparisons. Again, this would be from the
last slide. We're very committed to the
compatibility of the height for this project.
the maximum height is 43 feet. We'll go through the flexibility
requested. You can skip to the last bullet
point at the bottom there, george.
as we stated, we're requesting city commission approval of four
feet. The city code allows these
developments in the downtown core to go to four stories.
this isn't a variance request. We're not asking to exceed the
code. We're trying to prove we met the
conditions to get granted that fourth floor.
we believe that we have. This is to accommodate the hotel
rooms, rooftop bar and event hall and those alternative
accessory spaces. The 10-foot set-back is any
floor two floors or above is required to be stepped back ten
feet unless you receive a waiver.
this site has been architecturally designed with
extremely interesting modifications.
balconies, different breakup in the architecture.
and is interesting from an architectural perspective and
certainly, we believe, meets that waiver requirement.
next slide, please. This is a short video.
this is, obviously, from the douglas side going towards main
street. And then here is the theater
entrance on main street. And here you'll see the
interactivity with the pinellas trail, food hall, landscaping,
and the very generous pedestrian-oriented aspects.
now we want to talk about the parking garage, which is
currently under construction. I do want to answer those
questions from board members. We've demoed the industrial
yard. We are going through permitting
for the parking garage. We're hopeful to have a
groundbreaking for the parking garage in about a month or so.
mr. Mazas' goal is to have the parking garage completed in this
year, 2026. If the main street exchange
development review is approved, the specific request before the
board tonight, it will probably take six months to go through
building permitting. Before we could demo that
site -- and we're probably going to have our second hearing in
front of the city commission in april.
I'm unavailable for the march 18th meeting, by the
way. I do need to let staff know
that. That's spring break.
we'll be out of town with the kids.
we'll have that in april. That would put you toward the
end of summer, early fall for the groundbreaking for main
street exchange, which should be a month or so before the parking
garage is ready to be open. Obviously, mr. Mazas is
incentivized to get that parking garage as open as quickly as
possible. There are no proposed street
closures for construction for either the parking garage or
main street exchange. Next slide, please.
you can go to the end of the last elevation.
I'll ask mr. Pantazas to come up and describe the architectural
features related to the parking garage.
>> yeah. This is an interesting companion
to the project. We're requesting a second
parking structure. This will be a separate one, 70.
it's primarily used for valet and public parking.
that's the main part of it. Architecturally, the parking
deck is designed with coastal vernacular in mind, reflecting
the dunedin character. Decorative brackets.
horizontal layering and mangrove inspired screening effect.
to kind of soften the mass that you typically see for a garage.
light coastal palate is chosen. Whitewash brick elements that
make the structure feel warm and bring it down to a human scale.
I think together, this parking deck, with the main street
exchange, is a well-koord naughted system.
and it will be supporting the downtown activity.
I think it's a very vital key to this whole thing.
I hope you support this. >> excellent work.
architectural -- hopefully you all agree with the arc.
the architecture is very well, thoughtfully designed.
I want to show you the breakdown for specific uses.
on site at main street exchange -- there will be 133
spaces and a structured parking garage.
basically the texas doughnut, parking in the middle, in the
center of the building with the uses around that.
there are 89 valet spaces in the douglas garage that are required
to meet the code minimum of 222 spaces.
we're actually going to have 36 valet spaces in excess of that.
we'll have a total of 125 valet spaces that are dedicated to
this project. You have 133 spaces in the
project itself. You have 125 valet spaces.
those valet spaces, plans are to first come, first serve.
it won't be restricted to the hotel but whoever is using the
main street exchange will be allowed to valet as that need
comes with the 133 spaces being occupied.
next slide, please. That parking garage, now we're
talking about the 968 douglas parcel.
the stand-alone parking garage has 318 spaces.
we have 125 of those restricted through the revocable parking
agreement for the valet use for the main street exchange.
that leaves 193 additional parking spaces, which more than
makes up for any of the surface parking currently on site.
that says city employees. That's a typo.
remaining for the public or businesses, first come, first
serve. I think that is obviously a
very, very, very attractive aspect of this project.
the fact that mr. Mazas was automobile to get both sites
under control and develop them in a coordinated manner is a
beneficial aspect of this project.
next slide, please. This is another short video
showing the parking garage. That's the pin pinellas trail s.
part of the pinellas trail that had never been particularly
aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
this will definitely be an improvement with the
landscaping. Pedestrian and bicycle access to
the garage. Similar to the artisan.
I'm sure you've all been in that garage.
they've done a good job making that garage connected and
walkable and also having the bicycle parking.
that's the video. I'll ask our traffic engineer
gene cald, ra to come up here on the traffic study.
and we'll be wrapping up here shortly.
>> thank you. Good evening, chairman and
fellow board members. Jane caldera, traffic engineer.
I've been practicing traffic engineering in the tampa bay
area and pinellas county for 38 years.
in coordination with staff, we looked at the traffic impacts of
the main street exchange, mixed-use development and at the
same time look at the traffic impacts of the proposed douglas
street parking center and specifically the valet operation
between the two. So what you see in front of you
here, as you're familiar with the area, the main street
project is in the lower left. And the parking structure,
approximately 700 feet to the north.
the green dots represent all the different study intersections
that we looked at in the traffic study.
so the traffic generation for the main street exchange
mixed-use development, we'll get a.m. And p.m. Peak hours,
analyze both conditions. A.m. Peak hour will have the
biggest impact on the adjacent roads.
our estimates are 230 vehicles coming into the project in the
p.m. Peak hour and 192 exiting. So that's just associated with
the project. If you go to the next slide, on
top of that, we're going to add the valet traffic.
if you're coming to the project and it had 100% of the parking
on seut, you would come in, stay and leave.
in this case, because roughly 38, 40% of the parkin will be
valeted, we're reassigning and kind of double counting those
cars. Also in the p.m. Peak hour,
we're looking at approximately 74 cars coming in, getting
valeted. That car being driven up
700 feet and as a return, 61 cars.
we've looked annot just the impact of the development.
but the additional traffic on douglas for the back and forth
valet. That was accounted for.
next slide talks about capacity in a pie chart format.
your two adjacent roadways are two-lane roadways,
15-mile-an-hour and 25 on main. According to statistics in
pinellas county, 750 vehicles in a peak direction.
this pie chart shows you in the purple areas, main street and
douglas have roughly 130 trips out there today.
our project would be adding 43 estimated on main street and the
higher number of 152 on douglas. That's where the primary access
points are. What that leaves is between 400
and 500 for each roadway as what we call available or excess
capacity. We're not anywhere close to
hitting the limit of the roadway capacity.
next slide. This is just another slide of
really the same information. Just shown in more of a bar
format with the green being 750 cars and the other colors
representing the existing and additional traffic from the
project in blue. To wrap that up, we studied all
the intersections. I think there was seven of them,
in detail. And the roundabouts on skinner
working very well. They'll continue to work well.
they're very well designed to work out.
I think dot looked at a 30-year horizon for those.
very good horizon there. And the intersection at main and
douglas. It's currently operating at
level service b as in boy, in the peak hours.
for those not familiar, the level of service on roadways is
similar to grading in school. A is the best and f is not
acceptable and means you need to improve.
the level of service b is going to be able to be maintained with
the addition of this traffic. We don't feel there will be
noticeable significant impact. I'm available for questions.
thank you. >> jane, can I ask a question
quickly? >> yes.
>> I want to understand the flow a little butt.
the entrance to the exchange is a one directional view.
the traffic coming out is going to be a left turn on douglas, a
left on monroe? Or if it's capacity, then it's a
left up douglas, and left into the ramp.
really, all the traffic will be on douglas except for a little
bit on monroe. >> right.
>> they're not going to looping around on main street and
crossing the trail. Hopefully, this won't increase
traffic at any of the trail crossings.
correct? >> that's correct.
on the pie chart, we're looking at 152 on douglas, but only 43
on main. That reflects main going
eastbound up toward the hospital in both directions.
douglas will have the vast majority of the traffic impacts.
>> I have a question for you. When did you -- what time of
year did you do this report? What month?
>> we did the data collection in the summer.
it was july. What we do, though, is factor
those numbers up to peak season conditions as required.
it's kind of a standard. We increased those volumes to
represent the peak season for pinellas county.
>> jane, real quickly before you go, I think board member
benjamin pointed out how complimentary the traffic that
will be egressing from the main street exchange will be able to
access the garage on douglas. Can you talk about this concept
of stand-alone parking garages in and of themselves do not
generate trips. People do not come downtown to
vuft a stand-alone parking garage.
that's what gets all the folks coming here off the street and
into a great parking spot. Can you address that briefly?
>> sure. To clarify what brian said.
the 318-space garage, the valet precaution we already talked
about. The traffic available to the
public, the 193 parking spaces valuable, they're not bringing
in -- they're to supply the existing -- parking for existing
uses and demand that's already there.
they don't generate new trips. Only time parking garages would
generate new trips is if you have a park and rude for a rail
station, airport, or something of that nature.
thank you. >> thank you.
next slide, please. This is showing the revocable
parking agreement. I won't get into the details.
this is close to second to last slide.
I wanted to reorient you. We started looking at the site
plan. The yellow is what is required
for the minimum sidewalk for pedestrian access.
the red is what the city requested.
in orange, in excess of 14 feet. In terms of set-backs, this is a
very compatible project that really leans into the
pedestrian-oriented nature of downtown dunedin and will serve
the public very well. Next slide, please.
you can go through very to the very last conclusion at the
bottom. Therefore, again, we
respectfully believe we provided the substantial evidence
necessary for the waivers and slight modifications we
requested approximate we support the arc's recommendation, the
cra's recommendation and the staff recommendation.
and we are happy to answer any questions that you have and
hopefully we'll have your support as well.
thank you. >> you can ask whoever you want
directly or I can direct the questions.
however you would like to handle it.
>> when I first saw this -- and I have dlubtly not tried to see
it. Because I knew I would
eventually sit on this board. And I really do appreciate that
you took two whole styles, which is new orleans, french creole
and the med rev, which I love. And you see a lot of in miami.
the thing that bothers me that I really thought about is how
much -- how many pops of color do you need before it begins to
take the eye away from the true design, which is a thing of
beauty? Now I'm seeing an orange slice.
I'm seeing this green thing. I'm seeing pink, and blue.
it distracts the eye. >> the computer renderings are a
little bit more vibrant. But it would be luke a softer
wash. If you currently look through
downtown, you can see those colors.
>> I understand exactly what you did.
I looked at downtown. Those are little, tiny shops.
tiny. One is green.
one is, you know, red. One is purple.
and I get it. >> the majority of the building
is brick. The majority of the building is
brick. And there's two different brick
types, a light and a dark. When you're dealing with a
massing, you want to break it up.
like if you were to do a monotone or something in that
nature, what happens is it becomes, I guess, like an
institutional kind of feel. So you want to create that
interest. And what we do have is we have
balconies. We have the rails, the canopies.
it all has a certain play. But we are still looking at the
colors. We are looking at it.
the initial response was when we were first looking at it, when
you do a whole slide presentation of downtown
dunedin, you see the colors everywhere.
you do. So from the very first concepts,
it has been taming down more, and more, and more.
and also some of the more traditional elements are coming
into play, as we're detailing the project.
so, yeah. I do understand that.
but also think that making something monotone or a little
more serious, it would actually create an institution-looking
kind of building. We're not trying to build a
federal courthouse or city hall. We're trying to create some
activity. >> can I say something?
I agree with deborah. I'm sorry.
>> did you finish? >> yes.
>> so I agree with her. It's a beautiful building.
it's gorgeous. I love the brick.
I love the architecture of it. I just totally agree that
sometimes less is more. And when I'm looking at this,
I'm looking at so much. And you're talking about an
institution. But the design and the concept,
if you take that -- just like I said, sometimes less is more.
the sides are beautiful. They're simple.
they're clean. Then the only thing that I have
a hard time with is the front of the building that I'm looking at
toa theater that reminds me of ybor city.
that's my personal opinion. I love the building.
I love the two-tone, the rooftop, the lights.
it's very simple, european. Until you start getting in with
all the colors and the throw to. That's just ...
[ speaker off mic ] >> that wasn't a question,
route? Just to give us feedback?
>> yeah, it was just feedback. >> I still have a question we
sort of hopped over. >> I'm sorry.
>> sorry. >> here's my question, as an
architect. And I get -- I've been listening
to you. Now you can hear me.
I'm a classicist. This is going to have to last
way past my lifetime. So how much color becomes
kitsch. And only you can answer that.
>> true. How much color becomes kitsch.
you can ask yourself on this one question, does this building
look like it's multiple styles or a blend?
>> this looks very clean. It has color.
I thought about that. It has color in the signage.
it has a beautiful art piece. And it has lighting.
but otherwise, it's really clean.
>> right. And so, you know, we are looking
at toning the colors. In this slide presentation and
things like that, the chroma pops out.
it's not really a fair presentation of the color.
but as far as, you know the marquis, the theater, that's a
gesture to the main street kind of element.
when you see the cooper johnson guidelines.
you see those images in that particular ordinance package.
you do see those. Is it the final-final?
it's close. Things could be toned down.
by the time we do all the details and work it out, it's
... But there is an elegance in that project.
I do feel that. I feel what you're saying.
that it's simple. Clean.
>> it's very beautiful. The med rev.
I just -- >> without the red canopy, how
do you know it's not a cafe? >> again, that's something only
you can answer. When does color take way from
and become really kit ki kitsch. >> as john sawed these are
conceptualizations. The main thing we're trying to
convey here is the physical design.
building as opposed to the actual colors.
if you would like to recommend as a board that we work with the
staff to tone down or bled the colors better, that's something
we're happy to do. Let us know.
we're happy to work on that. >> other questions that we have?
>> I do. I have ticky tacky type
questions. >> sure.
>> the ramp that could be done by year end this year.
which is phenomenal. The exchange.
we're looking at six month before we start construction
after the commission approvals, what's the duration of the
construction before that may open?
and then also can you tell a little bit about the
construction? Again, my question, pilings,
footings? What kind of noise might they
experience? >> good evening, chair, and
members of the lpa board. Bill mazas with mazas
development. To answer your question
specifically, the duration of the project, from the minute we
finish the designs, which we're looking at anywhere from six to
nine months to get the construction package done.
we submit. We go through approvals.
I'm sure it will go back and forth a couple of times.
after that, a two-year construction window is
reasonable. In that period of time, our
goals are to take the garage. We're hoping by end of year,
worst case scenario, first quarter of 27, the garage will
be completed. I think timing wise, we're going
to try to work with the city. This has been a project that's
taken multiple years just to get it to where it is today.
we've had dozens of meetings. Dnd chamber of commerce.
we've listened to everything they've said.
we've gone back, redesigned, come back again.
our goal is to try to make it as minimally impactful for the
downtown as we can. We understand we're going to
work together with the city. And, you know, I heard road
closures. These are b big projects.
they're not easy. But we're going to get through
it, figure it out. We're going to make it work.
>> I'm just trying to understand, what should we
expect? We understand construction and
are excited for it. What will it be like?
will it be -- >> the building is going to be
post tension. So you're not -- we don't have
piles being driven in the ground.
correct, john? [ speaker off mic ]
of course, the garage is going to be precast.
so that's a little bit more difficult, more complicated.
big pieces are being trucked in with that, we'll have to come up
with a plan that works for the businesses and workforce
everybody. [ speaker off mic ]
>> I believe I understood utilities will be undergrounded.
excellent. Will there be a backup
generator? From a storm resiliency
standpoint. We do lose power in the core
sometimes during big storms. That's a great facility.
one, if it was to maintain power.
certainly for the guests. But also as an emergency
facility if we were to get hit by a major storm.
>> that's something we're definitely looking at.
>> okay, good. >> I have a question.
parking, is it paid parking? The one on douglas.
>> the one on douglas? >> yeah.
>> the way we're looking at it, parking is a supply and demand
thing. We obviously understand that
parking is a very sensitive issue in dunedin.
that's why we've taken it seriously.
I believe it's fair to say that during the week, really it
doesn't milwaukee sense. When you do have special events,
when you do have times when the downtown is quite active, we
will be looking to charge a fee. But it's going to be something
that's affordable. We understand it's a very
sensitive issue. We're looking at parking systems
to make it very simple. When dunedin tried to go
parking, it became a big issue with citizens.
they were upset. I think it was more -- I heard
it was complicated. I heard you it had to put your
license plate number in. We're going to try to make this
painless and ease. Today with the smart phones and
technology, if you're signed up with an app, there's going to be
a license plate recognize nution.
to where when you're signed up and your car shows up, the gate
will go up. You'll pay right from your
phone. But again, the fee, I wouldn't
be so fixated on that. We're not a city.
we can't put a special assessment on something to cover
the cost of the garage. We're actually paying for this
garage. And we need to recover some of
its expense. Again, it's going to be a matter
of being sensitive to the city. >> other questions?
george, will there be a development agreement following
with this? And or -- I'll stop there.
>> no. They met all the code
provisions. No development agreement.
>> okay. And since the parking garages
seems like it's going full speed ahead, obviously we won't be
seeing that at all specifically? Just that parcel coming to this
lpa? >> you may see it in the future
in the form of a rezoning. What's interesting about that
particular parcel, it's zoned downtown industrial, one of only
two. The adjacent parcel toward
skinner is zoned downtown industrial.
so I believe -- I don't want to speak for the applicant.
I believe there's an intent to create some retail space at the
bottom portion of that garage. They'll be looking to rezone the
property from downtown industrial to downtown core.
>> good. That leads to my next question.
looking at the renderings it appeared there was some retail
to that garage. It was going to mesh in with
everything else there. Because it would be f faux reta.
but it didn't make sense to me. >> right now the zoning, as
mr. Kinney said, is downtown industrial.
which allows for parking garages.
we did not have to go through development review.
ivelg, we did take it to the arc.
we wanted to make sure we would meet the architectural style
element for -- just like the artisan has, retail activated.
that will require a downtown core rezoning.
we're not there yet. We want to get the garage up.
that retail will not be there when the garage opens but a
process that we'll be back. You'll be back seeing this for
rezoning at some point. >> thank you.
with the replacement out there, how deep will you be going with
that? Do you have a feel?
[ speaker off mic ] >> for which parcel?
>> for the exchange. >> 13825 iconic boulevard,
clearwater, close consulting engineer on the project.
for the most part, the main portion that we'll be taking
out, excavating will be for the underground vaults.
there's nothing on the geotechnical report that
requires any soil replacement or anything at this time.
the majority would be foundations, footers,
underground storm vault. >> I thought I read something in
there on the four-story part of that.
that you were going to have to do some additional work to make
sure that the ground could support the four stories.
[ speaker off mic ] is there a depth to that or ...
>> I'm not 100% certain. Usually, replacement goes
20 feet, 30 feet down. Are you familiar with vibr all,
replawvment? >> I am a bit.
the reason I'm asking, too, as the name sounds, there are
vibrations involved. Looking at the nawbs around
that. But also not wanting to effect
dunedin's oldest drinking water well which is 100 or so feet way
from that. >> we don't go that low.
it's by far the least evasive. It's not the pounding of those
columns. I think it's a good
recommendation. >> great.
thank you. >> I have a question.
>> go. >> where's my little thing?
so reading the notes, what type of fencing will be around the
building? I thought I read something on
the bottom there was fencing that's going to be around the
building. >> are you talking about for
construction or once it's built? >> that was my question.
>> which project are we talking about?
>> the exchange. >> the exchange has no fencing.
>> so there's no fencing whatsoever?
I was looking at that. In notes I was looking at, it
said something about a fence. It's required but they haven't
decided. >> maybe during construction?
>> okay. Then what type of fence will be
around there for construction? >> I'm sure it's going to be a
construction fence. It will be driven in.
one of those nice decorative -- >> it will be code compliant for
sure. >> I have one more question.
then I'm done. Condo hotels.
are you selling the hotel rooms? >> no.
>> a couple quick questions. On the parking ramp, I notice
there's a north and south entrance.
is it one way? Or are both of those both ways?
>> which garage are we talking about?
>> parking ramp on douglas, industrial arts building.
>> the parking ramp is one way. So, on the south side, that is
the actual entrance to the garage that takes you up and
brings you down. The other side is just a side
access road that puts you behind the building for servicing trash
and all other type. We'll have golf cart parking,
too. >> they can go in the building
when they deliver deliveries? >> correct.
>> and then are we locked and loaded with the county on trail
access landscaping, all that? >> obviously, they would like to
have a connection to the trail. We've been successful in the
past to get easement from the county or right of way.
>> that's still in the works? >> absolutely.
>> okay, folks? >> I have one.
>> go ahead. >> if you have noise complaints
during construction, will you do noise monitoring or mitigation?
>> I think the answer is we'll do whatever is require bid the
city to be code compliant. We're not going to be a problem.
if it takes extra noise monitoring, we're going to fully
comply with the noise code and construction limitation on
hours, decibels and whatever else is required.
>> bill's office is right there. >> yeah.
bill's office is right there. We'll be able to find him.
>> he will be effected. >> as much as anyone.
>> in douglas as you come up on main street, are those staying
or going away? >> the one island on douglas
will stay. The other will go away, to make
room for bus pulloff and his parking garage.
>> thank you. And then jane, with the
stacking. And with the valet, the normal
number of cars coming down douglas and the valet going back
and forth, are you seeing stacking issues with trying to
get out of the parking garage? Or the valets are going to be
pucking up the cars and getting them north again.
the cars stacking up to try to go through the intersection at
main street. >> that is one of the things we
looked at. The queuing or stacking from the
traffic signal. I believe the numbers in the
current version of the traffic study is about 115 feet.
so it won't reach the outbound location from the valet
pull-through. That's the 90th percentile on
the queue. On average it's 60% of that.
we don't see there's going to be stacking from the signal
interfering with the in and out from the valet.
underneath itself, when they go in, we've got a lot of width to
be able to stage cars. They unload.
wreef got a lot of room to hold cars underneath before they exit
and go up 700, 800-feet north. We don't anticipate the valet
operation interfering with the traffic signal.
>> thank you. From your report, one of them
talked about the current traffic being 2850 vehicles a day.
another part talked about 369 trips.
it's not like for like. I guess it was additional trips.
that caught my eye as a big number.
I don't know if that's a big number --
>> it always seems very big. I think what was reported in the
analysis -- I did a recent count.
there was somewhere around 2800 average daily trips.
that's both directions on main street.
now that will split between douglas and main street with
more on douglas. Daily capacity of main street is
14,800. So we put those two together and
on whole be conservative, 5,000 or 6,000.
we're not even half of the 14,000, which is the daily
capacity of the roadway. You can look at generalizations
and things. You can't fine tune operations
on a daily basis. I think you interpreted that
right and it will be well below the daily capacity.
>> the way you explained it was absolutely fantastic.
thank you for that. I'm trying to remember if there
was one other part to that. Maybe because of the way you
explained it doesn't matter much now.
if ocean optics was being fully utilized at this time, there
would be that traffic on the roadways as well and what that
estimate would be to kind of fill in the blanks with what
you're going to have with those 4600 extra trips.
talking way from if ocean optics was there, if it was fully
functional, what those trips would be.
>> I think that was a comment in the comment letter from the
engineering consultant. When we did the counts, ocean
optics was not active. There wasn't much parking going
on there. In the traffic study, I did
provide stuments of if it were to be reoccupied, square footage
as an office building what it could generate.
that was not used in our calculations.
it was really just shown for informational purposes.
we didn't take any credit for that.
we didn't need to. It's not prowpt to do if it's
not in full operation. >> luke I said, once you
explained it, it made so much more sense.
and seems like there's plenty of capacity for that.
>> anybody else? >> is that it?
>> I've got one more. This is to go with stormwater.
sorry. I couldn't be more organized.
>> that's okay. >> with the stormwater.
you're putting in an ai system. Are you designing that to the
mum of what's required? Are you going above and beyond
it in any way with that? Where is that outfall going to
go? >> outfall will go to the north
on to monroe street. There's an inlet right there on
our side of the street. It will be connecting to that.
the stormwater system is standard, 25-year storm event.
there will be a little bit of a free board.
there will be a lull bit of extra capacity.
>> okay. And then I'm assuming that would
end up ultimately in the dot pond on broadway?
>> honestly, I don't know. >> you jst know where it's
going from your property. Got you.
that's the last of my questions. >> we're going to open up for
public input. Does anyone from the public?
please, come. >> norm herman, edgewater drive.
from an engineering perspective. Has there been an engineering
analysis of noise from the hbac for the hotel area and for the
restaurants and so on? For example, decibel levels at
different times of the day? Thank you.
[ speaker off mic ] >> good evening.
my name is peter. I spent most of my life here in
dunedin and almost all of my professional life in
hospitality. When I came to dunedin in the
mid '70s, downtown looked very differently than it does today.
boarded up windows. Overgrown lots, spaces.
very little activity. Tumbleweeds and garbage in the
street. I opened bon appetite during
that time. I have been fortunate and
honored to be involved in dunedin through bon appetite and
other interests in the downtown in honeymoon and caladesi
island. And how this development can
help a place to flourish. I share that only to say this.
dunedin matters to me. I care deeply about how it
continues to evolve. I'm here to express my strong
support for the project proposed by mr. Mazas.
from my perspective, this is exactly the kind of thoughtful,
mixed-use development that contributes to a healthy
downtown while strengthening dunedin's culture and sense of
place. After lifetime in this industry,
I have learned that successful communities are built when
people are invited into spaces that bring together art,
commerce, and human connection. When offering my support, it's
because I've looked closely and considered a long view.
this project has my full endorsement.
mr. Mazas has my complete confidence.
I believe this development will be a meaningful ed ution to the
city of dunedin. And I respectfully encourage the
council to support it. Thank you.
>> thank you. >> hello.
my name is charlie alkaline. I live 245 jefferson avenue.
I'm here in dunedin representing dunedin public theater
foundation. We are excited about any good
projects going on downtown. We like idea of this project.
we're considering competition with what we're looking at tp
just want this board to know and we were not involved in any of
this planning. We sat through the first cra
advisory when they went through the inside.
what they had as a theater was a long event room.
which is fine. But we don't know what kind of
iteration it's gone through since then.
so, we are just concerned about the marquis looking like a
theater. Yet it looks like all downtowns
used to be. I'm not sure the theater in
there is what it's actually going to be.
we're just looking at competition.
we did have one meeting about that project.
it didn't look luke the place they had was going to be able to
do what we're looking for. Because we are trying to do --
our mission is to create a professional, fully equipped
theater facility for the purpose of programming live theater,
dance, film, music, and other performing arts and events in
the city of dunedin. We don't mind the different
event space. In some of the literature it's
called an event space. It's called a theater.
and marquis may be misleading with what they actually have in
there. We want you to consider that as
it goes into the final programming.
we don't mind competition. We just want to milwaukee sure,
you know, tea not misleading and we know what we're getting into
tp that's it. Thanks.
>> thank you. >> my name is father bob sewick,
pastor of st. Francis of assisi, the catholic church across the
street from here. I've been sitting here, a fellow
citizen, listening to the detailed concerns.
you've obviously done your homework.
it's very impressive to me as a citizen here.
I find this project to be expeuting.
exciting. We have youth in our community.
this draws attention, some place they can go and be involved, I
think more so than before. There are so many positives to
this. Are there negatives?
probably so. I can't see them.
I'm sure there are. In the overall, this is a
cultural dynamic, addition to one of the most beautiful
communities we have here in this part of florida.
so I strongly recommend favorable approval of this.
and I want to thank you all for your diligence.
thank you. >> thank you.
>> I live on 445 palmetteo street.
I was born and rawfd here. And I remember when there were
only a few places to go out. We would go out in high school.
I love the idea of more restaurants, bars and retail.
but I feel like this takes away from the coastal vibe of
dunedin. The giant buildings will swallow
up the charming restaurants like salty soul, sandpiper.
if we keep allowing more of these buildings, how log is it
until those small buildings are torn down?
I lived in austin. Not sure if you're familiar with
rainy street. It was a cute little street full
of charming bungalow houses that were turned into bars.
it was the best place to go in our residency.
they tore down a couple of houses, built a multi-story
building. Like this, one building after
another. They completely destroyed the
uniqueness of rainy street. I kind of feel like that's
what's going to happen here. Maybe not we already have two
giant buildings right down there.
what's stopping any others? I'm also confused about the neat
to build another hotel since grand street isn't full at all
11 months of the year. Why not milwaukee it permanent
housing or other things? Even on the grand street website
today, the only month it sold out is march.
and every time I walk by, it's empty.
I feel like we could use it for something else.
thank you. >> thank you.
is there anyone else? >> I live at 1429 san mateo
drive. I'm familiar with living
downtown and a little north of downtown.
and I support the project. I think it's nice to have the
theater, to have something for children, families to go to.
a lot of downtown restaurants aren't suitable for younger
people. This gives us one extra thing.
as far as the colors, I like it. Dunedin is an artsy applause. P.
I like the coastal vibe. If it were all beige it would
look institutional and boring. I don't have a problem with the
marquis either. I like the idea of all the
parking that's being added. That's a benefit for everybody.
right now sometimes during events there's not sufficient
parking downtown. And I just like the whole thing,
the rooftop, the theater. I can see the gentleman who
spoke about the theater. I guess he would want to know if
we could use it for things like the fum festival or public
performances. Which I'm not really sure if
that's something you're planning or not.
and I hope that the parking fees are not too high.
that was a huge thing the last time.
and it will keep people from coming downtown.
you know what happened. Everybody knows what happened
who lived here then. I just wanted to add that.
and I'm in support of it. Thank you.
>> thank you. Is there anything else?
applicant and staff, do you have a response to anything that you
heard? >> good evening again.
brian aungst on behalf of bul mazas and mazas development, the
plunt. You heard a lot here tonight.
what has been imparted is just how, again, dlubt deliberately d
thoughtfully this project was developed.
a lot of input from the arc, the cra, and even more valuable
input tonight from you, which will be incorporated.
we look forward to hearing your final discussion and what those
recommendations might be. In terms of the hvac, I did want
to address the specific questions.
obviously, it will be on the roof.
which is standard for mechanical equipment.
it will be code compliant. Any issues, it will be
inspected, repaired, fixed. It will be on roof, as is
standard for any type of development of this nature.
I did want to give bill the final word.
just last bit from me, this shows you what a high quality,
unique project that can be developed by an all-local
development team of folks who really care and live here.
thank you. >> the space that we're
developing is a multipurpose space.
it will be available to the theater and other theaters, and
anybody who wants to -- possibly, you could have, you
know, a black box event. You might have a comedy show or
a recital. We're developing a space that
could be multi-purpose. I don't queut know if it's just
a theater, if that will always be full.
that's why we had to be mindful to this and realizes we had to
bring something to the downtown. We're calling it a multi-purpose
space. Will it be a performing hearts
theater? Probably not.
will it be enough to host events and do things in there, and
shows? Yes, it will.
>> would you be willing to have a conversation with that group?
>> absolutely. We've spoken a couple of times.
I've told them that we're open to discussion.
it's just we're not designing a company and one purpose.
when we calm up with the whole idea of development, there was a
lot of meetings. Right, bob?
we met a lot of times. We stat and looked carefully and
analyzed dunedin. What does this community need?
really it's about the community and the socializing.
that's what we tried to accomplish with this
development, is bring everybody together.
sometimes in a community, things get a little bit stagnant.
and you're going to the same places over and over.
what we can accomplish with mawn street is you're going to
strengthen the downtown. You're going to support the
local businesses, create jobs. There's going to be a
walkability to I think there's going to be a
reason for people to want to come and visit.
and, again, through the whole process we're going to work with
the city and the community. Like bob says, now our office is
here. Our base is here, so you can be
sure we have a vested interest to be sure to do it right
because we know you can come find us.
we want to do it right, and with that, we're going to be
sensitive to everything, and we're going to be working with
the city on this. Again, I thank everybody.
I'll take all the comments that come, positive, negative.
I request, kindly request that you support this project.
thank you. >> do we have the ability to
attract business conferences, wedding events and use that
space as well? >> absolutely.
so when we were designing the theater, originally, it was much
smaller, and when we started doing the design, we realized
that we were missing an opportunity.
you're missing that venue that can sit down 250, 280 people, so
we went back to the drawing board and tried to fix it as
much as we could. It's been a blessing we were
able to secure this other property and build a garage
because without it, and that was one reason why it took so long
to design this because as the ideas were coming, we were
realizing that parking was going to be our issue.
so, by securing the other site that parking issue went away.
so what did it allow us to do? In the development all of the
parking spaces that were up next to the theater, we took those
out, and those are going to be quick storage areas you'll be
able to stage different I stages, different setups.
it will be quick and easy to set up.
we're looking at it that it will be a huge benefit to the
downtown because now together with the boutique hotel you're
going to be able to host events. There's additional rooms in the
area. They'll be able to come --
people will go out, they'll dine, they'll visit the shops.
so I think it's going to be very good for the downtown of
dunedin. >> chair: thank you.
I think we need a motion, please.
>> I'll make the motion. >> what is your motion?
>> my motion is to approve with some consideration for tweaking
of softening of the colors on a very, very beautiful designed
med rev and french degree yol -e building.
in this motion I would ask that they do sit down with the public
theater group. I think that would be a very
important thing to look at that. And in the motion, I'm not sure
I can put this in the motion. I guess that's my motion.
>> chair: thank you. Is there a second?
>> I'll second that motion. >> chair: thank you.
thoughts? Before we take a vote.
>> if you want to add. >> actually, I'm good with your
additions, so, no, I think they're very well thought out,
and I think those are very important.
and one thing more of a comment, I just wanted to say I
appreciated the thoughtful design.
the expanded walkways going around main street and douglas.
that's not something you usually see a new design going in and
providing that extra space, basically extra public space.
and to me looking at it from above it is -- it's a very large
building, but looking at the renderings and getting the feel,
the renderings make it feel like it's something small, and
something dunedin friendly. I wanted to mention that.
also happy you included the bicycle's a multimodal and golf
carts because we are a golf cart community.
touch. >> chair: debora?
did you have something else you wanted to add?
>> no. Don't we need a second?
he seconded. Okay, no, I think we should vote
and make comment. Do you want us to make comment?
>> chair: once we vote. >> I got it.
I'm a little confused here. Okay, you know, the older I've
gotten. Things have to be right.
because, you know, I'm not going to be here in 30 years.
maybe when I was 30 I sort of had that conceptual thing.
you know, this is going to be here.
now I won't be here. But you all will and your kids
will and your grandchildren will.
I think so hard it's going to be something that's going to stand.
it's going to be a legacy. It's going to be a testament to
dunedin, and that's what I want. So those are my comments.
>> chair: thank you.
>> I just -- I want to take a moment to thank you.
you've put tremendous thought, and I've seen you in other
meetings listening to the input, and I can tell you you've
factored that. It's very attracting.
I agree with the energy it brings.
I love how you fit it into the area with the wide sidewalks,
with the trail. It is an exciting projects.
I think it's going to be an exciting economic engine for the
city. This downtown core is the heart
of our town. And this brings a whole new
dynamic of business opportunity for us, and also the parking
facility up there on douglas. ,it's tremendously exciting.
not only does it add capacity. I think I calculated 138 spots,
but its location, it actually keeps some of the traffic off of
the downtown core because they're pretty quick off skinner
into that ramp, and then they're walking, which is what we want
to do. Thank you for purchasing that
property, and adding that facility to it to make the whole
projected work, but it's got tangible benefits elsewhere too.
>> chair: final comments. >> thank you, we need this
garage so much. I love the up with on douglas --
the one on douglas. My biggest fear, when people
drive down douglas, the buses and everything else, they're
craze schism they speed. You have to stop there and try
to get across douglas. The only thing that scares me
about this is the valet. I have a son.
he was parked cars one time during a summer.
he was home from college with valet.
I'm so scared they're going to speed down douglas, park a car
and run back. That's my biggest fear is
traffic on douglas. Other than that I think it's a
great project. I love the garage.
that's my biggest fear is the traffic, like with valet.
that's it. >> chair: final thought?
>> I think it's a great project. I support it.
>> chair: super. All right!
then all in favor of the motion, please say aye.
are there any nays? The ayes have it.
thank you very much. [applause]
okay, folks you need to move along because we've got other
work to. Do.
folks, can you go outside and chat, please?
thank you! Okay.
folks f you're going to meet and greet, please do it out in the
hall.
please do your meeting and greeting out in the hall.
well, let's see if you need to. Keep moving, please
please keep moving. There we go.
all right! We're moving on to application
dr-2025-0003. Request for design review
approval for the development of a new four-story, three stories,
over-ground parking, multi-family residential
building with five dwelling units.
total of 0.21-acre vacant parcel located on skinner boulevard.
does anyone have ex parte communication regarding this
item? That's good.
staff? Do we need to be sworn for this
one separately? >> I think we're okay --
[indistinct] >> for both?
just wanted to be sure, thank you.
mr. Chair, again, george kenny, lpa member, on behalf of the
community development department.
this is application dr-2025-03. Again, design review approval,
project name is 440 skinner town homes.
owner is land development llc. Ap ally indication is ashley,
representative is dave, and brett green -- sorry, that is a
typo. The representative is actually
again brian who represented the last project.
the area's approximately 0.21 acres.
same land-use plan as you saw on the last project.
activity center, and also the same zoning district downtown
core. This is a street type c, which,
again, does permit you to ask for that fourth floor, and it
does require the stepback that can be waved by state commission
approval. It is currently vacant land, and
you can see from the aerial here its location.
there is a three-story structure behind it that was part -- it
was part of that parcel that included that three-story
structure and was basically recently carved out sometime
last year. Project description, a
four-story request. It's a multi-family residential
building with five dwelling units:you can see the floor plan
on the left-hand side and street view at the bottom left.
and one of the renderings to the right.
from a land-use plan perspective, it is activity
center, which is the planned category.
it does permit up to 30 dwelling units per acre and a maximum
ratio of 8.5, which the aptly capital meets.
you can see on the table to the lower right, the density
calculation. So six are permitted, five are
proposed, and of course five is what triggers design and review,
as the board knows. From a zoning district
evaluation standpoint. There are the three distinct
street types. This is street-type c.
it does comply with all the requirements, however, the
applicant is requesting the city commission consider the
fourth-floor addition, and requesting a waiver of the
10-footstepback. And all that backup material
narrative is in your packet. From a compatibility
perspective. You can see the map provided as
part of the background materials.
there are 25 propertieses that we looked at immediately
adjacent to the surrounding subject property.
I would point out that only one existing structure exceeds two
stories in that analysis, and that is that three-story
structure building. Observed numbers of stories is
1.4, with an average height of 17.96 feet.
this would be a larger project than what currently exists on
the ground around it. Staff has advised the applicant
on several occasion that is a one to two-story project would
probably be more appropriate in this location.
we also suggested at the on set of this project that a
three-story project might be possible subject to development
review of a compelling compatibility analysis, and more
specifically to kind of compliment that building that's
exactly right to the rear of the property.
we do -- I just want -- I do want to point out that staff
hads consistently stated that the current four-story project
would not be supported. You will not see a positive
recommendation at the ends of the presentation tonight.
the applicants are aware of this.
the surrounding area's predominately built out and
includes a mix of use, ranging from low to medium-density to
commercial and retail. One other aspect of this, and
bob might speak to this a little bit.
the urban context has certainly been modifyd this area due to
the completion of the complete street skinner boulevard
project. And staff, as part of that,
finds that the public realm has been created and consistently
framed by the modest mass and the height of the structure
fronting the corridor. And, again, staff would consider
a four-story project to be disruptive to the consistency of
that corridor in that realm that's been created.
there are no additional planning efforts or development programs
for development to take a form greater than that existing.
that's kind of important because we've had other projects where
you're looking at a catalyst project to spark something, and
there's a plan or something in place to ask for something out
of context to get something started.
that's not the case in this area.
again, there are no four-story buildings that exist or
otherwise planned area surrounding the project site
north or south of the newly-redesigned skinner
boulevard. In fact, the more recent
development has been limited to not more than two stories.
rounding out the compatibility evaluation.
the three-story structure to the north of the subject property
was part of the same parcel at one time as I mentioned, and
that's really that picture you see on the right-hand side
there. That was part of a building
permit and a plaque from some time ago where you can see that
three-story structure to the rear was constructed, and at
that time it was anticipated there'd be a complementary
building where the subject building is being proposed.
so, from a summary standpoint, requesting approval of the four
story with a maximum height of 42 feet, and weigh the
10-footstep back along skinner boulevard, and approve their
proposed design. A four-story, 42-foot high
multifamily residential building as proposed together with
dominate patterns with the limited vacant lands in the
area. We would be considered
incompatible from a staff perspective.
from a design standard evaluation.
how they comport and the elevations.
from a common open-space perspective, residential
developments are required to provide 100 square feet of
common open space per dwelling unit.
a total of 1,116 square feet of open space shown on the green
space plan, which would comply with that requirement.
from an off-street parking perspective, this type of
development requires 1.5 spaces for each dwelling unit for five
units, minimum of eight spaces would be required, and ten are
provided. It meets that standard as well.
from an architectural style standpoint.
I want to be fair here. There's been some recent
submissions to the staff that came in yesterday and the
evening before. Staff has not had an opportunity
to review, though, so we don't know whether those comport what
the arc was requiring from those submissions, so we can't really
provide you any information on that at this particular point.
but we would say the ark architecture review committee
did review subject to conditions.
those conditions were articulated in the chronology if
you have an opportunity to look at that.
the arc did request that either staff or the applicant did bring
back those conditional changes, and that that has not been done.
from a sustainability standpoint, there's a
predevelopment score of 105 points.
100 is required as the commission knows, so it does
meet that public art is proposed on site at 0.5% of the total
project cost. Just very quickly on park impact
fee as well. This type of proposal would
generate approximately $8,000 per unit for park impact fee or
just short of $40,000 in total. From a committee action
standpoint, the committee saw this project on july 17th, 2024,
and the review committee did see the project on june 3rd, 2025,
and considered the project and recommended the project to the
lpa suggest to the conditions in your background.
in fairness again, that statement says the applicant is
likely not to adjust the applications.
they have been addresed, but they came in yesterday.
we've not had an opportunity to review those and gone back to
the arc as requested to the lpa. From a staff determination
perspective. The application is inconsistent
with the criteria for physical compatibility of the proposed
application with the surrounding environment set forth in the
land-use element of the city comprehensive plan.
and, again, in addition staff finds that the arc
recommendation was based on conditions that may or may not
have been addressed at this point, but certainly not taken
back to the arc at this points, and so for that reason we are
not recommending this project. And happy to answer any
questions. But, this is a downtown cra
project, so bob is here too if you have questions.
>> bob, economic development director.
in alignment with george. The city has spent a pretty good
invest m on skinner, $14 million to create the complete streets.
george mentioned the urban context has changed and find it
incompatible with the four-story component there.
>> okay, well, I saw -- this is sort of strange.
I've never really seen this probably ever, that the staff
came forward and said, I don't think you said it was kind of
incompatible. I think you said it was
incompatible. >> in my opinion, yes.
>> in your opinion, but here are the four things reading over
this that did not meet the recommendations of you said the
architecture review committee. One was additional illustration
and a architectural expression n the east elevation.
two was to have variable material instead of fiberglass
shingle. Three was additional screening
for the parking area, and four was arborist report of existing
trees and a full landscape plan drawn by a landscape architect.
now, you said you got something but you have no earthly idea
whether they've met these conditions.
>> that's correct. We received -- we received a
submission yesterday and the evening before that indicated
that they had adjusted the provisions, but we have not
reviewed the submissions. >> you have not verified that
the conditions have been met. >> right.
so, what do you usually do? Postpone and give them a right
to verify or? >> that's the prerogative of the
applicant. I will tell you that staff's
position regard throes this -- regardless to this is the
height. >> you would go up to two, but
it's at four, correct? >> our suggestion from the very
beginning. We've got documented
correspondents saying the city would support one or two
stories. Potentially look at third story
because of the structure that is to the rear and the precedent
that was kind of set by that building permit.
>> chair: other questions? >> I want to look at this from a
interspective. We have this beautiful, complete
street. We've also talked about we're
fully developed, so for the most part we're trying to increase
density because that's going to drive economic energy and so
forth. This property has some density
to it, and when I look at the view there's several properties
bordering that thing to the east and west that are older,
dilapidated properties. What is your position or
thoughts around could this be a catalyst you get something like
this and leads to improved development of some of these
other lots to the east and west as well as potentially straight
across the street to get more density out of those?
is it and ultimately not only improve the economics of the
situation for the city, but creates a buffer for the
residential behind that from the skinner street.
what are your thoughts on that? >> great question.
a couple of things. Number one, there is no future
plan to look at a more aggressive scale and mass than
what is sitting out on the ground.
we would encourage development. We would reencourage that in a
lesser mass and scale. For instance, staff would be
willing to potentially support a three-story project that maybe
doesn't exceed the height of the existing structure behind that,
but once you get beyond that it's not really a catalyst in
the sense that we don't have a vision for that particular area,
other than the vision that is created through the community
reinvestment area, and the cra master plan.
and quite frankly, that's the reason the compatibilities
provision in there to look at the surrounding area and think
about what's coming and see if we can make that determination.
where we fall is kind of in the middle of that.
you don't need to be one story, but we just think four is
completely out of place. If you think about it from a
visual perspective as you're walking down that street, what
you're going to see is this, this, this, and then this.
and it's just -- from a public realm perspective it doesn't
make any sense without any assurances there's any
incentives to develop that area. >> the driver of the story, when
I look at the floor plan layouts.
it's a two-story ceiling to add a third bedroom in that mid
space to have a gigantic master or primary area on the top
floor. Is that right?
your thoughts, would that be that, no, we should shrink that
primary, put the third bedroom up there if they want three
bedrooms to bring that height down?
is that kind of the idea? >> yes and no.
we don't necessarily look at the design aspect of it.
from other peck spective, more about code analysis and kind of
bringing in that cra perspective.
we don't take that deep of dive. >> that's the developer.
>> so is the representation -- [indistinct]
>> yes. >> hello again.
>> thank you, mr. Chair. >> what was the economic driver
of that design? >> sure.
we'll get into our presentation. It won't be nearly as long as
the last one. We have our architect here, and
the owner representative, mr. Rienhold.
brian aungst. I want to start by saying we
always strive to get staff reng- staff recommendation of support,
always, always, always. I got involved with this case
back in august. At that point in time there had
been another attorney handling it up to that point there was no
longer able to handle it. What I saw when I got involved
with this case is that once again this site, it's
0.21 acres, but from a land-use perspective; it has an activity
land use. As the staff report points out,
the activity center does incentivize intensity.
it also has a downtown core zoning.
as the staff report points out, the downtown zoning creates the
opportunity to help revitalize the downtown economically
visually and functional to provide a multi-use center,
which includes residential and multifamily development,
including luxury condo, as is being proposed here.
it almost seems to me, and, again, we meet all the code
criteria. We're not asking for a variance.
we're asking for what's allowed by code, and we're meet n our
opinion, subjectively those criteria.
what we have a disrespectful agreement with the staff is the
compatibility of the 42-foot height.
by code we're allowed to go to 34 feet.
and so, we are allowed to ask for a waiver of up