A
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
JUNE
19, 2007
The Lake County Board of
INVOCATION
AND PLEDGE
Commr.
Cadwell gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
AGENDA
UPDATE
Ms.
Cindy Hall,
ANNOUNCEMENT
Commr.
Cadwell announced that they had officially gotten the School Board’s request to
have the school impact fee and the road impact fee discussions on separate
days, regarding the discussion at the June 18 workshop. He stated that they would make sure they
honored it.
MINUTES
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously,
by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of April 24, 2007 (Regular
Meeting) as presented.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously,
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Minutes of May 15, 2007 (Regular
Meeting), as presented.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried
unanimously, by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Minutes of May 22, 2007
(Regular Meeting), as presented.
CLERK
OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried
unanimously, by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent
Agenda, Tab 2, Items 1 through 7, as follows:
List of Warrants
Request
to acknowledge receipt of list of warrants paid prior to this meeting, pursuant to
Chapter 136.06 (1) of the Florida Statutes, which shall be incorporated into
the Minutes as attached Exhibit A and filed in the Board Support Division of
the Clerk's Office.
Southwest
Florida Water Management District Governing Board Meeting
Request to acknowledge receipt of Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Meeting scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 29, 2007.
Finance
and Administration Committee Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Workshop to be held
sometime after 2:00 p.m.
352-796-7211
or 1-800-231-6103
Internet:
Water/Matters.org
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 for
Deer Island Community Development District.
Central
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Central Lake Community Development District Proposed
Budget for Fiscal Year 2008.
Notice
of Public Hearing – Doral Estates Homeowners
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Notice of Public Hearing:
Lake
County Board of Adjustment, Friday, June 15, 2007 at 1:00 p.m., in the County
Chambers, 2nd Floor-Round Administration Building, 315 West Main
Street, Tavares, Florida
Re:
Public Hearing No. BOA #38-07-3
Owner:
Doral Estates Homeowners
Requested
Action: The owner is requesting a variance from the Lake County Land
Development Regulations, 10.04.02 Common Boat Docks, Common Boat Ramps, and
Common Recreational Areas to allow a common boat dock to be located on a tract
of land that is not specifically designated for a common boat dock, boat ramp
or common recreational area on the recorded Plat; to allow the common boat dock
to be located on a tract of land that is not within the platted subdivision; to
allow relief from the setback and landscaping requirements for common docks;
and to allow the common boat dock to be located on an ingress and egress
easement or right-of-way which is not located entirely within the platted
subdivision within which the common boat dock is to be located (+/-.15 acre).
Ordinances
from the Town of
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Ordinances from the Town of Lady Lake as follows:
2007-10
An Ordinance of the Town of Lady Lake, Florida amending Article II of Chapter 8
of the Code of Ordinances entitled, “Occupational License Tax” by changing the
term “Occupational License” to “Business Tax Receipt”, and revising current
fees, and establishing new rate structures.
2007-11
An Ordinance of the Town of Lady Lake, Florida granting a special exception use
for a duplex on certain property in the town of
Notice
of Commission Service Hearing – Aqua Utilities Florida, Inc.
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Notice of Commission Service Hearings
To
Aqua Utilities Florida, Inc.
The
office of Public Counsel and all other interested persons
Docket
No. 060368-WS
Application
for increase in water and wastewater rates in Alachua, Brevard, Highlands,
Lake, Lee, Marion, Orange, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, Sumter,
Volusia, and Washington Counties by Aqua Utilities Florida, Inc.
Issued
May 30, 2007
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried
unanimously, by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the
Budget
Request for approval of the following Budget Change
Requests:
1. Budget transfer
- County Fire Control Fund, Department of Public Safety, Fire Rescue Division. Transfer
$100,000 from Reserve for Operations to Operating Supplies. Additional funds
are necessary to cover fuel costs. Significant emergency fire rescue operations
during the past few months and the continual rise in fuel costs have caused the
need for additional funds. Funds are available in Reserve for Operations. After
this transfer, the balance in the Reserve for Operations account will be
$1,592,234.
2. Capital Substitution - Stormwater Management
Fund - Parks MSTU, Department of Public Works, Parks and Trails Division.
Substitute $27,000 from Improvements Other Than Buildings - Fencing for Parks
to Improvements Other Than Buildings - Canoe Launch -
Environmental Services
Request
for approval to advertise amendment of Section 21-158 of the Lake County Code
to comply with the revised State Statutes.
Request
for approval of the Petroleum Storage Tank Compliance and Enforcement Contract
#GC683 between the County and the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, which is a replacement for the expiring contract #GC514; approve
the addendum to the existing contract in order to provide for an expiration
date of June 30, 2007.
Growth Management
Request
for approval and execution of a release of Fine. Property Owner: Benito B. Delos
Request
for approval and execution of a Release of Fine. Property Owner: Willie V.
Turner, Case#2004090038 - Commission District 1.
Request for approval and execution of a Release of Fine.
Property Owner: Willie V. Turner, Case# 2004090039 - Commission District 2.
Information
Technology
Request
for approval of new policy for telecommunications and computer equipment.
Procurement
Request for approval of the following: (1) declare the items on the attached lists
surplus to County needs, (2) authorize the removal of all of the items on the
attached list from the County's official fixed asset inventory system records,
and (3) authorize the Procurement Services Director to sign vehicle titles.
Public Works
Request
for authorization to release a maintenance bond in the amount of $362,554.65
posted for Lakewood Ranches. Lakewood Ranches consists of 149 lots and is
located in Section 1, Township 19 South, Range 27 East. Commission District 4.
Request for approval to submit an application for a West
Central Upland Invasive Working Group grant for $25,000, and to commit $25,000
from General Operating funds as matching funds to support this Grant. Approval
to provide $50,000 up front project money for which $25,000 would be reimbursed
upon completion, if the Grant is awarded to Lake County - Commission District
3.
Request
for authorization to release a letter of credit for maintenance in the amount
of $48,219.00 posted for Palisades Phase 2D.
Request
for authorization for the final plat for Palm View Acres and all areas
dedicated to the public as shown on the Palm View Acres plat. Palm View Acres
consists of 2 lots and is located in Section 13, Township 20 South, Range 26
East. Commission District 3.
Request
for approval to file the
Declaration of Restrictive Covenants for Palatlakaha Environmental Reserve with
the Clerk of the Court as required by the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection Land and Water Conservation Fund (LCWF), Project Number 12-00517
(DEP Contract Number LW517), on the fifty (50) acres owned by the County -
Commission District 3.
Request
for approval and authorization for Chairman to execute satisfaction of liens
for the attached three (3) road assessments - Commission Districts 2, 4 and 5.
Request for authorization to accept the final plat for
Emerald Pond, and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Emerald
Pond plat, accept a maintenance bond in the amount of $97,889.00, execute a Developer's
Agreement for Maintenance of Improvements Between Lake County and Build
Florida, Inc., and execute Resolution No. 2007-92 accepting the following road
into the County Road Maintenance System: Emerald Pond Loop (Co. Road No. 3453).
Emerald Pond consists of 45 lots and is located in Section 14, Township 19
South, Range 25 East. Commission District 1.
Request for authorization to release a letter of credit
for maintenance in the amount of $48,273.00 posted for Palisades Phase 2C.
Palisades Phase 2C consists of 39 lots and is located in Section 11, Township
22 South, Range 25 East. Commission District 2.
Request for authorization to accept the final plat for
Foxchase and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Foxchase final
plat, accept a performance bond in the amount of $986,241.38, and execute a
Developer’s Agreement for Construction of Improvements between
Request for authorization
to accept the final plat for Blanchester Estates and all areas dedicated
to the public as shown on the Blanchester Estates plat. Blanchester Estates
consists of 6 lots and is located in Section 19, Township 18 South, Range 27
East. Commission District 5.
Request for approval and
execution of a purchase agreement with First Baptist Church of Lady Lake, Inc.,
for a portion of the property, in conjunction with the CR 466 Road Widening
Project in the
Request for approval and
execution of a purchase agreement with B.C. Dickerson (aka Beverly C.
Dickerson) and Betty J. Dickerson for right of way and authorization for the
Chairman to sign any and all documents necessary for closing, in conjunction
with the Edwards Road (#7009) Project, located in the Lady Lake area, located
in Section 27, Township 18, Range 24 - Commission District 5.
TOURISM
FIVE
PERCENT TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX
Mr. Greg
Mihalic, Tourism and Business Relations Director, related that the Tourist
Development Council (TDC) had a special meeting on May 30 to discuss the issue
of the fifth penny sales tax and that they made three recommendations to go
back before the Board. He specified that
one of those was that the Board pass the Ordinance to levy the additional penny
of Tourism Development Tax and direct staff to advertise and bring that back to
them. The second item recommended was
that the BCC designate another source of funds for arts and cultural facility
upgrades and repairs, which were not eligible for use of the tourist
development taxes under Florida Statute 125.0104. He stated that the third recommendation was
that the TDC would solicit grant applications, and that they did not currently
know how to levy the additional money from the tax, which would be
approximately $550,000 a year. He
further explained that they brought forward a grant application process, a copy
of which was given to the Board along with the guidelines, for the Board to
review and approve the process to allocate the fifth penny of the Tourist
Development Tax.
Commr.
Cadwell commented that it seemed like the framework the TDC had put together
was what the Board was leaning toward the last time they talked about that, and
that it set up a process for projects to come through their system.
Commr.
Stivender, the liaison to the TDC, stated that she wanted the Board’s approval
of this before the TDC meeting on June 20 to go over the application.
Mr. Mihalic
pointed out that there were $25.2 million of requests for $550,000 of money.
Commr.
Renick stated that she wanted to have the vote separate for each issue, and
wanted to know if the TDC was just asking them to look into designating a
source of funds for arts and culture or whether it was in any way binding.
Commr.
Stivender responded that it was a way of letting the Board know that the TDC
wanted them to look into how the County could fund the other projects that did
not meet the tourism tax criteria.
Commr.
Stewart commented that she thought that was important, because businesses
locating in
Commr.
Stivender stated that the request was for staff to look at other funding
availabilities.
Commr.
Cadwell stated that they might want to change the wording in the
recommendation, because they did not want to give the inference that they will
definitely fund that, but they would look at it.
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried by a vote of
4-1, the Board approved the advertising of the ordinance for the levying of the
additional fifth penny of the Tourism Development Tax and directed staff to
research other sources of funding for the arts and cultural facilities that did
not meet the eligibility of the Tourist Development Tax.
Commr.
Hill voted “no.”
PUBLIC
HEARING
LIBRARY
IMPACT FEE FUND APPLICATIONS
Ms. Wendy
Breeden, Library Services Director, informed the Board that they had eight
applications for funds for library impact fees before them, which were ranked
and rated initially by the member library directors on March 30, and then were
approved by the Library Advisory Board on April 19. She related that they initially had nine applications,
but that the County Attorney’s Office found that one of them did not meet the
rational nexus, so they were not bringing that one forward for approval.
Commr.
Cadwell noted that they had gotten some e-mails about
The
Chairman opened the public hearing.
Mr. Jim
Page, a resident of Lady Lake, who had been a former member of the Lake County
Library Board for 18 years, stated that he was against Mount Dora receiving $250,000
in impact fees, because he thought it was unfair for them to receive money from
the impact fee fund when they had not paid into it and participated in the
funding. He related that ten years ago,
one of the major concerns of the Library Board was the ability to receive
funding outside a normal course for construction grants. He stated that three years ago, all of those
in the library business were greatly concerned and happy to see the impact fee
for libraries, because it would give them an opportunity to bring the County’s
libraries up to date to the standards that had been set forth in the many
studies that had been made. He requested
that the $250,000 allocation to
There
being no further individuals who wished to address the Board, the Chairman
closed the public hearing.
Commr.
Cadwell commented that he was the liaison to the library system and had worked
with
Commr.
Stewart noted that the
Commr.
Cadwell stated that they were in the process of looking at this issue, and
reported that
Commr.
Renick stated that they might want to handle this differently in the future,
but she would encourage cities to have an additional library impact fee, if
that would help them accomplish their goals.
On a
motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by
a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the eight applications for funds from the
Library Impact Fee Fund to the City of Umatilla, the City of Leesburg, the Town
of Lady Lake, the Town of Montverde, the City of Mount Dora, the City of
Tavares, the Cagan Crossings Library project, and the print management project
and the budget transfer in the amount of $910,435 from Library Impact Fee Fund
reserves and appropriation of funds.
REPORTS
–
RESCHEDULING
OF JULY 3 MEETING
Ms. Cindy
Hall,
Commr.
Cadwell commented that it was fine with him.
CERTIFIED
PUBLIC MANAGER’S CLASS GRADUATES
Ms. Hall
announced that Ms. Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager,
Commr.
Cadwell inquired how long the graduates had to participate in the program.
Ms. Hall
responded that it was for about two years and that it was a very intense
commitment with a lot of homework and time invested. She also commented that it was very
worthwhile program with the graduates learning a lot going through the program.
RECEIPT
OF SHIP EMERGENCY FUNDS
Ms. Hall
informed the Board that $5 million in SHIP emergency funds were allocated to
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER RENICK – DISTRICT 2
HANDICAPPED
RAMPS AND OPEN AIR VENDOR ISSUES
Commr.
Renick stated that she had received some concerns about handicapped ramps and
wanted the Board’s agreement to ask staff to look at how other counties handled
that. She also stated that another code
issue they probably had heard about concerned open air vendors, and she thought
that they might need to look at open air vendors and to direct staff to also
show what other counties do in terms of that issue.
SCHEDULING
OF IMPACT FEE MEETINGS AFTER 5:00 PM
Commr.
Renick stated that many people were interested in the impact fee issue and
whether the Board would consider having those meetings at 5:00 p.m., and she
asked the Board whether it would be appropriate to have a different meeting
time.
Commr.
Stewart commented that she had heard the same concerns from residents, who
wanted to get to the meetings to voice their opinions.
On a
motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to put the scheduling of the impact fee
meetings for 5:00 p.m. on the Agenda.
On a
motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by
a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to schedule the transportation and school impact
fee meetings at 5:00 p.m. on different days.
NATIONAL
TRAINING CENTER (NTC) REQUEST REGARDING SOCCER FIELDS
Commr.
Renick stated that she had received a letter from South Lake Hospital regarding
partnering with the NTC, which was requesting funding to provide labor,
equipment, and product for field maintenance of their soccer fields for the
benefit of Lake County residents’ children.
She commented that she just wanted to share the letter with the Board,
and that it might be something they wanted to put on the Agenda to talk about
in the future to see if that would be something they would be interested in
doing to have more fields available in South Lake County.
PLAZA
COLLINA MEETING
Commr. Renick
stated that it was her understanding from the meeting that they had regarding
Plaza Collina that the developer agreed to meet with the City of
Commr.
Stivender stated that she did not think so, because it was already in the
process. She commented that if they were going to start a new policy in looking
at new site plans, then they needed to decide that, but the ones that were
already in the process of meeting the requirements that were in the Codes would
not be subject to that.
Commr.
Stewart commented that this was an individual case, and that they committed to
this meeting at the Board’s last meeting.
She was surprised that they had not scheduled that meeting by now.
Commr.
Cadwell asked Mr. Sandy Minkoff,
Mr.
Minkoff responded that the
Commr.
Stivender commented that she believed that what they committed to was that they
would have a meeting, but it was not contingent upon whether their site plan
was stopped in the process.
Commr. Cadwell
commented that the common sense inference would be that if they went ahead with
the site plan before they had the meeting, nothing on the site plan would
change. He stated that they had to make
sure that it worked within the legal process, however.
Mr.
Minkoff commented that he did not believe that the site plan was in the
position to be approved yet, so it may very well be that they could follow up
and make sure that they had the meetings and that it would not be an issue to
do that.
Commr.
Renick stated that this was about some issues in terms of buffering,
landscaping, and other issues that she believed would be relatively simple to
work out, and would not be about the Walmart issue, and she did not understand
what the problem would be.
Ms. Cindy Hall,
Ms. Kathy Allison, a paralegal with Akerman, Senterfitt,
addressed the Board and stated that she was not in any position to make any
commitments on behalf of their client, but that she would say that they were in
the process of arranging a meeting with the individuals that had raised concerns
and raised these issues. She noted,
however, that there was always the understanding that they would be allowed to
move forward with the site plan, which had been in the process since November
of 2006. She also related that they have
had numerous DRS meetings which were open to the public, and at which many
people were allowed to make comments.
She also commented that the site plan was available for review on the
fifth floor of the
Commr. Cadwell wanted the record to be clear that the
Board was not asking staff to not obey their own laws, but staff was saying
that they were not ready to approve that yet anyway, and the Board was
encouraging the applicant to make sure they met before that date.
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER CADWELL – CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 5
CERTIFICATION REGARDING VOTING
MACHINES
Mr. Sandy Minkoff,
Commr. Hill inquired about
compensation for those machines.
Mr. Minkoff explained that the Bill
stated that if the revenues from the sale exceeded the cost of the new
machines, they would give the County those monies back, but that there was not
a great possibility of that. He also
pointed out that the County was required either way, whether they let the State
do it for them or did it themselves, to buy the new machines, and that it was
prudent to let the State pay for it.
On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded
by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
approved the option recommended by the Supervisor of Elections of letting the
Secretary of State sell the old voting machines and purchase new ones for the
County and for the Chairman to sign certification provided by the Supervisor of
Elections.
VOTING DELEGATE AT 2007 NACO
CONFERENCE
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
approved the appointment of Chairman Cadwell as Lake County’s voting delegate
at the 2007 NACo Conference.
CITIZEN QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
No one wished to address the Board
during the Citizen Question and Comment period.
RECESS AND REASSEMBLY
The Chairman announced at 9:40 a.m.
that they would recess until 10:00 a.m.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT
PRESENTATION - PRESTIGE CONCRETE
PLANT IN OKAHUMPKA
Commr. Cadwell stated that Commr.
Renick requested this presentation and that this was not a public hearing, but
that they would be taking public input and give people an opportunity to ask
questions.
Commr. Renick stated that there had
been concrete plants elsewhere that have had problems that she thought could
have been avoided by making sure that everything was addressed the way that it
should have been in the site plan. She
specified that some of the concerns included noise, dust, screening, and
buffers. She mentioned that the Prestige
plant was moving to the Industrial Park in Okahumpka, and she did not just want
to move the problem and wanted to make sure that everything was done right on
this site. She related that staff had
been working on this to address all the different issues, and she thought that
this meeting might bring up some concerns that they had not thought about. She stated that they wanted to make sure that
Prestige did everything that they could to be a good neighbor so that they did
not ruin anyone’s quality of life.
Commr. Stivender thanked staff for
all their efforts and related that as they started getting e-mails from
everyone concerned about the project, staff met with a Prestige representative
and the residents closest to the Industrial Park and had done a wonderful job
educating the people about the project.
Commr. Renick related that the day
before, the Board had a workshop where they discussed improved standards for
any industrial sites, and she was pleased that they had moved forward to do
that.
Mr. Wayne Bennett, Planning Director,
Division of Planning and Community Design, Growth Management, stated that he
would give a brief staff presentation on some of the key elements involving the
ready mix concrete site of the Prestige Concrete Plant, located in the
Commr. Stewart inquired why the City
of
Mr. Bennett responded that they
received a letter of unavailability from the City of
Mr. Bennett went on to explain that
this plant was a ready mix plant, which would not involve the production of
block. He also commented that the cement
material was being brought in by truck and being loaded into the silo on the
site, and there was equipment associated with the silo that controlled the
intake of that material into the silo and prevented the dust from that material
from escaping using valves that controlled the pressure as material was being
delivered into this particular facility.
He opined that this feature should do a lot toward alleviating the
concerns of nearby residents. He stated
that they had worked with the applicant to enhance the landscaped buffer along
the south property line, with a lot of existing large trees staying along the
southeastern boundaries to provide the benefit of an additional buffer. He also added that they would be building a
berm up to the aggregate bin walls, resulting in larger and taller
buffers. He concluded by saying that the
staff had reviewed this and it had been through three series of comment
sessions on the site plan review, and at this point, Prestige had completed
everything that the County had asked them to do with regard to the site.
Commr. Renick commented that a
problematic issue in
Mr. Bennett showed on the overhead
map where the trucks would come into the site, which he commented was further
away from the edge of the property. Mr.
Bennett explained that they had a condition of site plan approval that asked
them not to idle the trucks in the earliest parts of the morning, when their
first deliveries would occur, which would be between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00
a.m. He stated that one truck at a time
would come through, pick up its materials and water, and go out at the farthest
position away from the adjoining residences as they could get on the site. Mr. Bennett also mentioned that there was not
to be any loudspeakers on the site, with communication being done by radio
between the operator and the truck driver, and the types and location of light
from the site was to be mitigated.
Mr. Gary Cooney, an attorney
practicing in Leesburg, addressed the Board on behalf of Prestige, and stated
that it seemed like a lot of the questions they had for Mr. Bennett were more
about the operation than the site plan.
He related that Mr. Thomas Lang, who was in charge of the plant siting
and operations for Prestige, had put together a power point presentation for
the Board. He also commented that Mr.
Lang had various experts with him in fields such as DEP and traffic type issues
and that his presentation would supplement what Mr. Bennett had explained. He also mentioned that they were going to
show them a plant that they currently operated in Daytona, which was a
prototype. He emphasized that he did not
believe that Code Enforcement has had any issues with the Prestige plant in
Clermont since Mr. Lang had been in charge of it.
Mr. Thomas Lang, General Manager of
Construction and Operations for Prestige, stated that he was hired in April of
2005 to assist the company to adjust to the booming growth in the area. He mentioned that they had gone to great
strides in the last year to straighten out the operations of the Clermont plant
by cutting back hours, relocating equipment on the site, and putting up
additional sound barriers. He started
his power point presentation by showing what they looked at to locate a new
facility, such as market location, site location requirements, permitting requirements,
highway access, site design, facilities and equipment layout, and plant
operations. They serviced a market
within a 15-20 mile radius, which would be Leesburg, Groveland, Tavares, and
Clermont for this site, and looked for property that was already zoned heavy
industrial. He commented that he saw
that the Rogers Industrial Park met their requirements, had highway access, had
similar facilities next to it, and that there was no residential property
bordering it, and that they felt that the Industrial Park was an ideal location
for them to locate their business and felt they could design an operation that
could meet all of the requirements in the Codes that were in place. He also stated that at present the company
had no plans to expand this facility any bigger than the current plans. He mentioned that the DEP permits, as well as
permits for stormwater, air, sewer/septic, potable water, and fuel tanks were
all in place or waiting approval.
Commr. Cadwell inquired that in
regard to potable water, how many employees would he have.
Mr. Lang responded that on site, a
Ready Mix operation had anywhere from 2-3 people there permanently, and
everyone else were truck drivers who were in and out all day. He stated that he based their permit on an
average of 12 people, putting them significantly below the threshold of the
requirements. He then explained about
the site layout and stated that there were two entrances into their
facility. He also pointed out that they specifically
designed this facility to block sound from going out to the south, and that the
sound would not be louder than a background sound and blend in with the other
facilities in the Industrial Park such as the Rinker Plant and the grinder from
the mulching operations. He stated that
he worked with staff significantly on the landscaping, and he planned for trees
12-14 feet high, some planted on an 8-foot berm, making the buffers up to 20
feet high in some places, along with keeping as many of the natural existing
trees there as possible. He commented
that the site was designed so that they had direct access to the Turnpike, CR
48, and CR 33, without having to travel on any local roads, since it was
important to stay on roads that were designed for truck traffic.
Mr. Lang showed some pictures of
their Daytona facility, which would be a prototype for the one in
Okahumpka. He pointed out that the top
of the silo in the picture was clean, showing that they knew how to load a silo
without discharging cement off the top of the silo, due to pinch valve systems,
sensors in the tanks, vacuum operations, and other factors that they utilize to
minimize dust that traveled offsite. He
mentioned that normally the water was on 24/7, except if they were not
operating for 2-3 days, but that they recycled all the water onsite. He also assured the Board that they would put
in place the best business practices that they had already in place in several
of their facilities. He stated that they
would be doing sound tests, and since they owned part of the road going in,
they might not even have to bring the trucks on site in the early hours of the
morning. He commented that during start
up, he would be reviewing how the plant operated.
Mr. Lang stated that Prestige was not
the same company that it was two years ago.
He admitted to being a 24/7 operation, because the market demanded it to
deliver material, and that normally business startup was about 4:30 a.m. to
5:30 a.m. so that the trucks could leave their plant to be on site at 6:00
a.m., to be able to pour before the heat of day in the afternoon. He noted, however, that they put in the best
practices they could to mitigate sound at those times of day.
Ms. Leslie Campione, an attorney
representing the Homeowners of Arlington Ridge Subdivision and ECP Development,
a large property owner to the south of CR 33 that was in close proximity to
this site, commented that she thought that the Board could do something to
prevent the Prestige plant from going in at that location, even though the
property was properly zoned, had an urban expansion land use, had gone through
the site plan process, and was in an industrial park. She opined that this plant would have a
detrimental impact on the Arlington Ridge subdivision, and requested that the
Board prevent this site from being used as a 24/7 concrete plant. She stated that provisions in the
Comprehensive Plan required that the Land Development Regulations (LDR) protect
incompatible land uses from one another.
She opined that these were the types of operations that really needed
more buffering and more distance than other operations, because of factors such
as trucks idling, air brakes, and beeping at 4:00 a.m., which would be
different than what the residents were currently hearing. She stated that there would need to be
Conditional Use Permits (CUP) with very specific conditions on them and greater
distances between them and residential uses.
She suggested to the Board that they looked at their LDR’s and got
regulations in place that would place those types of uses in a separate
category that would require a CUP with some criteria that would address the
types of conditions that would protect incompatible uses from one another.
Ms. Campione stated she had sent a
letter out regarding the central water and sewer connection requirement for
industrial uses that was in the Comprehensive Plan. She commented that she did not agree with
staff regarding this issue, and stated that Comprehensive Plan Policy
1-1.14(4)(F) and (G) in the Future Land Use Element, which addressed general
land use location criteria, had no requirement for central water and sewer
services for any other use except for industrial uses, where it stated that
they shall be served by central utilities and water and sewer services. She
stated that she disagreed with staff, who looked at the equivalent residential
use of potable water to allow a waiver or exception. She commented that the reality was that this
plant was going to use a lot of water for uses such as washing down the trucks
and using it for the materials, and would have an impact on the aquifer. She urged the Commissioners to look again at
this issue and at the mandatory connection to decide whether they agreed with
the way their staff was interpreting this issue, and pointed out that they had
the authority to make the final decision of whether to let the staff’s
interpretation replace what the Comp Plan actually said.
Ms. Campione pointed out some
discrepancies and observations she noticed from reading statements from the
meeting that was held, one of which was that in the staff report, it was
reported that they should not use maple trees on the berm because they were
susceptible to dust, which showed that they were acknowledging that there was
going to be dust leaving the site or on the berm. She also noted that there was mention of using
strobe lights instead of the beeping sound at one of the meetings, but she did
not find that in the staff report as a condition. She also noticed a discrepancy in the
distance that was between Arlington Ridge and the site, stating that Prestige
claimed at the meeting it was 550 to 660 feet, but the measurement that her
group took was 400 feet. She also
commented that she thought there were more remote sites available for Prestige
to move to that would be suitable for them.
Mr. Bob Merriam, spokesman and
resident of Arlington Ridge, Leesburg, addressed the Board to express the
sincere concerns of homeowners and residents adjacent to this particular
industrial park He emphasized that they
were strongly opposed to the construction of Prestige Ready Mix Concrete and
that it would affect the quality of life of the residents of Arlington Ridge
and the surrounding communities and presented the Board with a petition signed
by 559 residents and property owners expressing this opposition. He also stated that they had made a huge
investment in their homes and their plans, and they believed that that
investment would be affected in many ways.
He pointed out that the County’s Comprehensive Plan addressed preventing
and mitigating incompatible uses and that the Land Development Regulations
provided for conditions to be placed on site plan approval to mitigate those
impacts. He opined that County staff had
not adequately protected Arlington Ridge’s interests, and he asked the
Commissioners to get actively involved so that they were not all back there in
six months because of a nuisance. He
also was concerned because of the company’s track record and reputation. He noted that a 24/7 plant operation would
destroy the tranquility they currently experienced and would exceed ambient
noise levels in the area. He listed the
other concerns as added truck traffic to the area; propensity for excessive
lime deposits, which would detract from the appearance of their homes and golf
course; dust; their Audubon International Certification for their golf course
and community; odors; and environmental damage.
Mr. Merriam requested that if this
permit were approved, that staff impose stipulations that had already been set
forth in Case No. 2006CA511, which included no Saturday, Sunday, or holiday
operation or maintenance; limiting plant operations to normal business hours of
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; requiring employee vehicles to be parked on the site
property and not on the adjacent streets; and restricting the amount of ready
mix trucks on the site to 18 at any given time.
They also believed that the owner/operator should provide at least ten
percent of the cost of the project as a bond should any of those conditions be
violated.
Mr. Bill Cauthen, the attorney and
trustee for the Rogers Trust, stated that the property had been zoned heavy
industrial for many years, and that the adjoining property owners were
currently a junkyard, garbage vehicle motorpool facility, a 24-hour
incinerator, and a ready-mix and block plant that had been there for
years. He pointed out that they were a
501C3 foundation, which was a Leesburg oriented private foundation who granted
a number of dollars to other 501C3 foundations, such as the Salvation Army,
Leesburg Food Bank, Leesburg High School, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for
Humanity, and Lake-Sumter Community College and that this was going to mean
approximately $60,000 to $70,000 of additional money for them. He understood that this was not a zoning
issue, but a site plan issue; and if the site plan requirements, rules, and
ordinances were met, it should in fact be issued. He emphasized that as a tax exempt entity,
they took their fiduciary duties very seriously, and one of those was to
protect the assets of the foundation, one of which was this contract. He commented that if for some reason the site
plan was not issued, they would look at the reasons behind that very carefully.
Commr. Stivender asked how long the
Industrial Park had been there and the foundation set up.
Mr. Cauthen responded that the
foundation was set up at the death of Mrs. Rogers in Leesburg about 8 to 10
years ago, and the property had been zoned heavy industrial for several years,
but he did not remember exactly how long.
Mr. Dola Compton, a resident of
Arlington Ridge, addressed the Board and commented that the dust was caustic,
abrasive, and corrosive. He stated that
he worked on the trucks that brought in the cement to those kinds of places,
and opined that there was no way to get everything from the tank into the silos
without losing content. He stated that
the content built up over time and would get into the yards of residents. He also stated that the dust could cause a
rash on skin or could cause rust, scratching, and paint peeling on
vehicles. He commented that humidity
caused the dust to clump, which would form rocks that could stop the valves in
the machinery from closing, causing a lot of the dust to escape. He stated that this material should not be
around human beings or animals, and they did not want to see what happened in
Clermont to happen in Leesburg.
Mr. Gary Bidlack, a resident of
Mr. Gary Salzman, a resident of
Mr. Gary Grieco, a resident of
Ms. Capione addressed the Board
again, stating that the heavy industrial zoning designation did not mean that
“anything goes” on this site. She
suggested that, at a minimum, the hours of operation on the site plan be
restricted to normal hours of operation to match the hours of the other
businesses at the park. She commented
that a concrete plant would be more appropriately located in a centralized
location within the Industrial Park, where it was buffered and surrounded by
less intensive heavy industrial uses.
She opined that this was not just a site plan issue, but was a Comp Plan
issue, and she did not think the site plan could be approved until the water
and sewer issue was addressed.
Mr. Cooney came up to address the
Board again, stating that he had the impression that the meeting was to be an
information session, but it appeared that the meeting had turned into a request
for the Board to step in where it had no authority to prevent the staff from
doing what it was required to do under their own ordinances. He thought Ms. Campione’s assertion that the
staff had gotten the Comprehensive Plan policy wrong was incorrect. He stated that the assumption that the plant
would use a tremendous amount of water from the aquifer was inaccurate and that
this plant recycled its water internally.
He also pointed out that there did not appear to be a complaint about
the water and sewer central systems in the Rinker site plan. He also commented that they had done their
own noise studies so that they could locate their equipment on that site to not
be a problem. He also rebutted the
statements about the problems of other concrete plants and trucks, stating that
they did not perform the type of things described that other plants did and
they certainly would not maintain a plant with any type of debris or “fluff” on
the concrete.
Commr. Renick stated that she
understood that Mr. Lang was in a tough position of trying to restore a
reputation, and that they were trying to get a level of comfort. She explained that the reason for the meeting
was to have on record what they had been promising they would do. She stated that the two issues she was still
concerned about were dust and the 24/7 hours of operation. She commented that they had an obligation as
far as the health and welfare of the residents and the Comp Plan issue. She asked how they go about getting a
restriction on the hours of operation in this situation.
Mr. Sandy Minkoff,
Commr. Cadwell commented that the
Board created the laws, and the other departments enforced the laws, and that
it was all legal issues at this point.
Commr. Stewart stated that they had
two different legal interpretations of the Comp Plan that day, and she would
like to have an opinion on the central water issue.
Mr. Minkoff stated that they had the
ability to change their rules at any time, but the consequence was that if
someone had a vested right, the County would pay compensation. He also commented that if they took Ms.
Campione’s argument, they would not be allowed to have any type of industrial
development anywhere in the unincorporated County that did not have water and
sewer, and that other provisions of the Comp Plan allowed industrial
development in rural areas, but at the same time prohibited central water and
sewer in the rural areas. He commented
that it was hard to pick one sentence from the Comp Plan and to assign a
meaning to it, but that he did not think he could give an opinion about that
issue until he had a chance to look at it, and he would be willing to sit down
with staff and to look at it before they issued the site plan to make sure they
concurred.
Mr. Lang stated that their concrete
operation would be as he presented it.
He pointed out that they were next to a garbage resource recovery plant
that operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week continually and in close proximity
to Rinkers facility. He explained that
they did not run 24/7, but only about six hours. He emphasized that they specifically picked
this site because there was no residential property bordering them and they
were located next to businesses that were intense industrial activities that
ran 24/7. He stated that if they were
given a place that was in the middle of nowhere, they would gladly go there,
but they had to go to the places that were zoned where they could go.
Commr. Cadwell requested that Mr.
Minkoff meet with Ms. Campione in regards to the water and sewer issue and also
requested that he report back to the Board in regards to the County’s exposure.
Commr. Renick asked about the
monitoring program.
Mr. Bennett stated that staff had
responsibilities for monitoring a portion of the things that they were
approving as part of the site plan, and the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) would have responsibilities for monitoring the association
with their permits, which were the stormwater discharge permit and the air
pollution permit. He pointed out that
the development needed to be built in accordance with the site plan, and they
would have to approve any change to that site plan. He stated that they were starting to have
preconstruction conferences about trees that were being protected, and that the
Sheriff’s Department would be the ones that were required to enforce the noise
ordinance per the Code.
Commr. Renick asked about monitoring
things that were not specifically site plan issues, such as respiratory
concerns from dust, and if they could be held to the standards that they had
promised to uphold. She asked Mr.
Minkoff if she could legally make sure the other issues would be monitored.
Mr. Minkoff responded that if it was
in the site plan approval, it would be an enforceable condition. He added that in order for staff to insist on
that being in the site plan approval, there had to be support for it in the
Code. He stated that he believed staff
had put a noise requirement in the site plan.
Mr. Cooney stated that he believed
that for the Board to try to extract something from them when they were
supposed to just supply information was inappropriate and that he planned to
follow the rules set by staff in the site plan.
He also commented that they would not agree to the Board imposing on
them other conditions that their competitors nearby did not have.
Commr. Renick asked Mr. Minkoff if it
was impossible for them to have a monitoring plan for a company that they had
problems with elsewhere.
Mr. Minkoff reiterated that staff
could impose conditions in the site plan that were supported by the LDR’s. He stated that there was a monitoring plan
for the dust, because they were required to submit regular reports to DEP in
connection with their air permit.
Commr. Cadwell remarked that some
people in the audience might think that the Board just listened and did not do
anything, but assured everyone that they were trying to do everything they could
within the law and that they had a responsibility to the Constitution of the
State of
Mr. Minkoff commented that if their
opinion agreed with Ms. Campione’s, then the site plan would require central
water and sewer, and if it did not, then they would act accordingly.
Commr. Stewart commented that this
would happen over and over again if they did not do some long-range planning to
stop this from happening in the future.
Commr. Renick stated that she was
disappointed that the applicant was not willing to agree to an extra level of
monitoring.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the
meeting was adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
____________________________________
WELTON G. CADWELL,
CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
JAMES C. WATKINS,
CLERK