Board
of Adjustment
Regular
Meeting
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The Board of
Adjustment of the Town of Melbourne Beach, Florida met in regular session on
Present were Chairman
Robert Schaefer, Vice-Chairman Mike Rowe, Members Xochitl Ross, Gail Gowdy, and
David Wildman. Also in attendance were Town Manager
Chairman Schaefer
called the meeting to order.
Approval of Minutes
Member Wildman made a
motion to approve the
Appointment of Chairperson
Member Gowdy made a
motion to re-appoint Robert Schaefer as Chairman, which was seconded by Member
Wildman. The motion carried.
Appointment of Vice Chairperson
Member Wildman made a
motion to re-appointment Mike Rowe as Vice Chairman, the motion died due to
lack of a second.
Member Gowdy made a
motion to appoint David Wildman, which was seconded by Member Rowe. The motion carried.
Public Hearing
Member Gowdy
disclosed that Mrs. Baxton spoke to her about the Chevron Station, she advised
Mrs. Baxton that she was not able to discuss this matter with her. Member Gowdy also advised that she had, as a
public record request, asked for a copy of Ordinance 85-7 and a copy of the
Town Commission Meeting Tape in which Commissioner Guglietta brought up a declaratory judgment. She stated that she had met with the Town
Manager and spoke with the Town Attorney.
Member Ross advised
that she has asked a question of Town Hall regarding what was the previous
business at
Chairman Schaefer read
the variances for consideration; he noted that these variances were continued
from the
Mr. Steven Schwartz, Planning and Zoning Board Liaison
entered the meeting at this point.
Variance Application 08 -2006 Town of
7A-37(f)(7)d. – 7-C, General Commercial
District rear yard setback; Minimum yard
requirements – rear yard corner lot setback adjacent to residential zoning - 25
feet from lot line; In order to allow
construction of a new building less than 25 feet from the lot line,
specifically 7 feet for a requested variance of 18 feet;
7A-37
(f)(8)a. – 7-C, General Commercial District front yard setback; Minimum yard
requirements – front yard canopy and pump setback 30 feet from lot line; In
order to allow a construction of a new canopy less than 30 feet from the lot
line, specifically 25.9 feet for a requested variance of 4.1 feet;
7A-37(f)(8)b.
– 7-C, General Commercial District curb cuts required for a gasoline service
station – In order to allow construction of one curb cut rather than the two
required on each street frontage, specifically for a requested variance of two
curb cuts;
7A-50 Off
Street Parking required for the combined uses including service bays, gasoline
pumps, and retail sales – In order to construct 25 of the required 27 parking
spaces in a manner that complies with code requirements and two spaces that do
not comply with code requirements, specifically for a requested variance of 2
parking spaces;
7A-50
Loading zone requirements in order to locate the loading zone in the access way
to the garbage dumpster contrary to code requirements, specifically for a
requested variance of 1 loading zone.
The
property is legally described as The East 50 feet of
This application was submitted by Thijs Stelling, property
owner of the site located at
Mr. Thijs Stelling,
Chairman Schaefer
read answer one, from question number one of Vice Chairman Wildman’s letter of
Mr. Michael Joachim
was sworn-in by Vice Chairman Wildman.
Mr. Joachim spoke of Appendix A, which addresses the storage tank
regulations required by DOT. He then
read the written answer regarding granting the variance. (Attachment B)
Mr. Michael Joachim spoke
about bringing the gas station up to
Vice Chairman Wildman
spoke about the rear setbacks variance of 18 feet. Mr. Joachim stated that there must be a
separation of the pumps from the building.
There was a discussion regarding the depth of the bays to accommodate
larger vehicles.
Mr. Ray Caito was
sworn-in by Vice Chairman Wildman. He
spoke about the second question regarding DOT’s requirements which has caused
the need to redesign the facility. (Attachment C)
A discussion ensued
regarding the size of the convenience store, the bathrooms meeting ADA
requirements, that the store is a little over 2,400 square feet, and the
average store are not less than 3,000 square feet, with there being 12 coolers,
and an average store would have 15, that this was an allowable use of the
property.
Mr. Stelling stated
that if he didn’t have a convenience store, he would not be able to have a
brand gas station. He spoke of a letter
from the Radiant Group (Attachment D) which relates their concerns about the
egress to the pumps, and the parking for the convenience store. It states that the layout of the building and
canopy are very important issues.
There was a
discussion regarding the underground storage tanks, then Fire Chief Seth Stark’s
letter dated
A petition with 594
citizens who would like to see the gas station built was presented to the
Board. The present gas station is 35
years old, with pre-existing zoning and needs to be modernized.
Mr. Victor Burke 2104
Rosewood Drive, was sworn in, he stated that he has listened to the
presentation, that is was logical, the Town needs the gas station, it takes
care of the community. He informed the
Board that Mr. Stelling helps in time of need, we do not want to lose a gas
station that services us, he said the Board should strongly consider it.
Mr. Mike Harris, 207
Fir Avenue, was sworn in, advised that he has lived in Melbourne Beach for 17
years, he grew up here and loves this Town, during a Hurricane, he lost his
home, Mr. Stelling was always there for him, he was considerate of his family,
without the gas station, the Town would be hurting.
Mr. Howard Dunn,
Ms. Swab,
Mr. Bruce Black,
Mr. Black reminded
the Board that the current gas station is an eyesore and falling apart.
Ms. Jean Marshall,
Mr. Stelling advised
that he has no definitive answer if he will leave or not leave; he has
potential buyers for his property and the property next door. He advised that if he doesn’t receive the
variances, he didn’t know what would happen in 2009, he was putting two million
dollars in the property, and would like to stay in
A resident from1403
Pine Street, sworn-in, spoke about the 2004 Hurricane when he watched as one of
Mr. Stelling’s employees was sitting on the ground with a two-volt generator
pumping gas out of the tank to help the residents and the Town’s Police
vehicles.
The public hearing
was closed.
Member Rowe made a
motion to grant the variances, which died due to lack of a second.
Vice Chairman Wildman
stated that he had a problem with voting for all the variances together as one.
Member Gowdy advised
that no real answer as to why he needs these variances, he has not proven that a
hardship exists.
Member Rowe said he
would build his new building while serving the community, with renovations
taking 8-9 months and the Town would still have its gas station.
Mr. Ragsdale advised
that he has worked with the applicant to design a reasonable configuration,
taking traffic circulation into consideration, moving the building back, it is
under the square footage allowed for that lot.
Vice Chair Wildman
asked if it was the minimum variance.
Mr. Ragsdale explained that it was the minimum to have reasonable use
for the gas station to work.
Vice Chair Wildman
stated that he was asking for an 18 foot variance. Mr. Ragsdale advised that that is the minimum
to make a reasonable use of the site as a gas service station with a
convenience store.
Mr. Ragsdale advised
that the applicant came in with a couple of renditions; that the building meets
the size that can fit on the land.
Mr. Caito informed
the Board that he had worked with Mr. Ragsdale for four months and then spoke
about the applicant’s possibility of having a branded gas station, meeting
their
standards.
Mr. Stelling advised
the Board that the 18 foot variance is needed to build his new building behind
the old one, the need for 50 foot bays to put cars, to serve the community and
stay in business, only shutting down 8-10 weeks instead of 9-10 months.
There was a lengthy
discussion regarding the size of the bays, the gas station to have the look of
the Town and a request that the applicant submit a rendering of the facility to
make certain that it fits with the motif of the Town Hall and Library, to
include a landscape buffer of small trees, which would be kept trimmed, which
would be a condition for the variance.
The variances would
be conditional that the gas station service bay facility stays with the gas
station according to the three uses that have been testified. Mr. Stelling agreed to build the facility to
match the look of the Library and Town Hall with a landscape buffer of seven
feet setback using trees and scrubs as was requested.
Mr. Caito stated that
he would do whatever he could to make it look like it belongs in the Town.
The variances go with
the land, if the variance was declared void, couldn’t use property for anything
other than what it was, it would be in violation. The variance on the land ties in with the use
of the building.
One more condition
was added, that the Interim Town Attorney Sack to check out that the usage
placed on the bays is enforceable.
The motion carried
4-1, with Member Gowdy voting nay.
The meeting duly
adjourned at
_______________________
Robert
Schaefer, Chairman
ATTEST:
_______________________
Lenore R. Milan, Town
Clerk