CITY OF NORTH LAUDERDALE

CITY OF NORTH LAUDERDALE

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

TO: Mayor and City Commission

FROM: Richard D. Sala, City Manager

BY: Tammy L. Reed-Holguin, Community Development Director

DATE: January 30, 2007

SUBJECT: Site Plan SPR 04-06 (Amendment)

MCS Charter School Institute

Vacant parcel generally located behind existing Charted School facility at 5420 N. State Road 7 (South of Prospect Road and west of SR 7)

Amendments to the approved final Site Plan (SPR 04-06 – May 25, 2004 City Commission meeting) to construct an off-site parking lot in a Mobile Home Park (MH) zoning district to support an existing CF use.

APPLICANT: Temple Messianique, Inc.

Background:

The applicant, Temple Messianique, Inc, has been operating a place of worship and day care center from a facility located at 5420 N. State Road 7 since 1980. In 2001, a zoning change (from limited manufacturing and industrial to institutional and educational zoning category) was granted by Broward County to provide proper zoning for the operation of a charter school from the same location. Due to serious building, fire prevention and zoning code violations, the charter school operation was closed prior to the annexation of this property into North Lauderdale.

One of the zoning code violations pertained to the lack of parking spaces required for this operation. The existing site facility has no vacant area that can accommodate additional parking; therefore, the applicant acquired approximately 4 acres of vacant land. This parcel is located south of Prospect Road and west of State Road 7, generally behind the applicant’s existing facility. The applicant intends to construct employee parking and a pick-up/drop-off area for school buses only on this off-site location. The specific extent of the anticipated use is explained in Attachment A, and made a part of this report.

In early 2004, the applicant submitted a Site Plan application to construct an off-site parking lot to accommodate the charter school operations. After considerable review and discussion by the City’s Administration, Development Review Committee and the Planning & Zoning Board, staff recommended approval of the site plan to the City Commission. The Commission granted approval on May 25, 2004 and site plan order 04-06 was issued and signed by all parties.

In addition, much of the discussion during the DRC review of the original site plan in 2004 focused on the safe mobility of the children on the premises and fire access issues. The applicant had intended to establish a traffic flow and drop-off area for children that accessed an easement from an adjacent property owner and provided circulation plan on the subject property. Representatives from the Broward County School District also participated in the DRC meetings.

The applicant decided to address these issues by restricting transportation of students to school buses that will circulate and drop off students at the southern point of the subject vacant property and provide a secure walkway to the school. The buses would access the property from Prospect Road. On-site parent drop off in automobiles was eliminated except in cases of emergency. As a result, the fire access lanes were significantly improved providing increased and compliant safety procedures. Gates were to be erected at both entrances to the site restricting traffic on the site, but providing EMS/Fire Rescue with access mechanisms to open the gates when necessary.

Overview Of Current Amendment Request:

Since that time, the applicant and his contractors have been working on the renovation of the interior of Building B to accommodate the charter school and on the off-site parking improvements to support the use of the building. In August 2006, the applicant was granted a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) for 90-days with six conditions including buses only – with no parent pickup or drop off and full compliance with the approved site plan and/or any approved amendments to the site plan. Due to incompletion of the site work, the TCO was extended for another 90-day period at the request of the applicant and will expire on February 12, 2007. Please be advised that our Building Official has determined that the Florida Building Code does not accommodate additional extensions of a TCO. In order to complete all work indicated on the site plan within this timeframe, the applicant has submitted a request for amendments to the site plan. These amendments include changes to the access and traffic circulation which was the crux of much of the prior discussion while approving the original site plan.

The Development Review Committee met on Monday, December 18,2006 to review the requested site plan amendments. Although advised of the meeting during a preliminary review of the site plan the previous Friday, the applicant did not attend the DRC meeting. Written comments were provided to the applicant the next day. A revised site plan was submitted on January 19, 2007 and DRC met again on January 22, 2007 to review. The item was pre-advertised so it could be heard by the City Commission on January 30^th.

The major amendments to Site Plan Order SPR 04-06 requested by the applicant include:

Condition #L- The applicant will construct, at its sole cost and expense an eight (8’) foot wall around the perimeter of the property as depicted on the site plan.

Condition #O-The affected property owners must execute easement agreements providing access to the parking lot from Prospect Road and State Road 7.

A third amendment is required to accommodate a request from Broward County Traffic Engineering to provide two openings in the barrier wall on north end of property located along the south side of the circular driveway to be used by buses for student drop off.

Members of the DRC again expressed concern regarding the safe movement of children on the property. Their comments regarding the changes are as follows:

1. They are particularly concerned that the applicant is requesting that access from Prospect Road be removed from the site plan at this time and that the only access now being proposed to the site is off of State Road 7 and through the utilization of access/easement agreements from adjacent property owners. The applicant’s representative indicated that their engineer prepared a written report regarding the safety issues associated with this access and they would provide a copy to the City and he would present the results at the City Commission meeting tonight and answer any questions. At the time of this memorandum being prepared, the applicant had not submitted a copy of the report.

2. The DRC was also concerned about the impact the project would have on the property owners on the east side of the project if the 8 foot wall is not built. As for this change on the site plan, the committee agreed that the only way they could consider the request to remove the requirement to construct an eight foot wall along the east perimeter of the vacant lot from the new parking lot to Prospect Road was for the applicant to agree that there would be no activity on this vacant lot.

3. The DRC recommends approval of the change to provide two openings in the barrier wall located along the south side of the circular driveway to be used by buses for student drop off as this complies with a request from the BCTE. Other comments were provided to the applicant and his representative during the meeting on January 22 and again in writing on January 23, 2007.

The attached site plan was received from the applicant on January 26, after a series of revisions to address staff and DRC comments. The applicant did not provide updated landscape, paving and drainage plans. Therefore, they are not a part of this amendment approval. The attached plans are from the previous approval for informational purposes only.

Staff has also included in this agenda item numerous letters communicating the discussions between the applicant and the staff regarding this project.

In order to move this item forward, cognizant of the pending expiration of the extended TCO on February 12, 2007, should the City Commission be desirous of granting the amendments requested by the applicant, the City Administration recommends that approval be contingent upon compliance with the conditions listed below.

Recommendation

The City Administration would like to request that the Commission make a motion to approve the proposed amended site plan subject to the following conditions:

1. The applicant shall comply with applicable City Codes and Florida Building Codes.

2. All terms, conditions and provisions imposed by the Planning and Zoning Board, City Commission, DRC and Staff including all life, health and safety Codes pertaining to this development shall be met prior to the issuance of building permits.

3. The DRC, Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission reserve the right to impose any additional requirements deemed necessary during subsequent approval reviews.

4. Every step shall be taken by the applicant to conform to environmental regulations.

5. Copies of all applicable permits and approvals by other regulatory agencies shall be provided to the City prior to issuance of building permits.

6. The applicant shall obtain proper approvals such as Certificate of Occupancy and Business Licenses.

7. All conditions set forth by the City engineer shall be met.

8. Prior to the issuance of building permits, the applicant shall provide written verification that all County impact fees associated with this project have been paid.

9. The applicant shall comply with all provisions contained in Chapter 102 “Vegetation” of the City Code and shall submit detailed landscaping plans for review prior to City Commission approval.

10. At no time will private vehicular traffic inter-mix with the bus route through the parking facilities.

11. Fencing will be provided to assure the safety of students walking from the school bus drop off location and the school facility and a 3-foot barrier wall with reinforced concrete and two feet of fencing above will be provided to restrict students from re-entering the drop off area.

12. The applicant will construct an eight foot wall around the southeastern perimeter of site as depicted on the site plan where there is permitted business activity.

13. There shall be no type of activity of any kind on the vacant parcel until such time as a site plan amendment to provide for activity is approved. In addition, the vacant property must remain clear of construction debris and overgrowth, so as not to become a nuisance to any neighboring property.

14. At such time as the applicant/property owner desires to establish a use in Building “A”, the applicant/property owner shall submit a site plan amendment that insures legal and sufficient vehicular access to the Property, including, but not limited to access to the Property from Prospect Road.

15. The applicant shall provide confirmation from Broward County that platting is not required for the vacant parcel where the parking lot will be constructed.

16. The applicant will provide confirmation from the Broward County School Board that the charter remains in effect and they have met all requirements of the County prior to opening the facility.

17. The affected property owners must execute easement agreements providing access to the parking lot from State Road 7.

18. The applicant must provide for a sprinkler system in Building B. (Please note that improvements to Building A were initiated prior to the Annexation of this area and remain within the jurisdiction of Broward County.)

19. The applicant will stripe the area to the south of Building A as Fire Lane Only as depicted on the site plan.

20. All existing and proposed fire hydrants must be shown on the plans.

21. The Broward County School District will require emergency evacuation plans to be provided prior to the opening of the facility.

22. There will be no parent pick-up or drop-off. All transportation to and from the school will be provided by buses. In the event that students walk to school, the applicant will provide crossing guards at the intersection of Prospect Road and State Road. Proof of certification of the crossing guards will be provided.

23. In the event that any problems arise, as a result of the operation of this establishment, such as noise, parking, traffic, and/or other nuisances, the applicant shall make all improvements required to mitigate these nuisances so as not to negatively impact adjacent commercial/residential areas.

24. This site plan approval is subject to the variance approval (VAR 04-01) and approval of special exception (SEU 04-03) that are being reviewed concurrent with this request.

If the Commission concurs with the applicant’s request, a motion is in order as follows:

“ Motion to approve amendments to the approved Site Plan (SPR 04-06) with conditions as outlined in staff’s memorandum to construct an off-site parking lot to support a Community Facilities (CF) use in a Mobile Home (MH) Zoning District.”