##VIDEO ID:wB4aMmUySjc## [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Music] please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 [Music] 1 good morning everyone and welcome to the November 12th meeting of the city of Miami beaches historic preservation board Debbie would you like to kick us off um good morning everyone good morning members of the board welcome to the uh November 12th meeting of the historic preservation board um this morning we are expecting I believe one more member so we will have six members present uh Mr Meyer is absent today um with that I'm going to turn it over to Nick ceris um for some announcements thank you Debbie and good morning Mr chairman and members of the board today's meeting of the historic preservation board will be conducted in a hybrid format with the board physically present in the commission Chambers at Miami Beach City Hall and applicant staff and members of the public appearing either virtually either in person or virtually via Zoom to participate virtually in today's meeting the public may dial 1888 475 4499 and enter the webinar ID which is 8817 4834 7488 pound or log in to the Zoom app and enter the webinar ID which again is 817 48 3474 88 anyone wishing to speak on an item must click raise hand icon if you're using the Zoom app or dial Star 9 if you are participating by phone if you're appearing on behalf of a business a corporation or another person you need to register as a lobbyist with the city clerk's office if you haven't registered yet you should register before you speak to the board you don't have to register as a lobbyist if you're speaking only on behalf of yourself and not any other party or if you're testifying as an expert witness providing only scientific technical or other specialized information or testimony in this public meeting or if you're appearing as a representative of a neighborhood association without any compensation or reimbursement for your appearance to express support of or opposition to any item expert Witnesses and representatives of neighborhood associations shall prior to appearing disclose in writing to the city clerk their name address and the principal on whose behalf they are communicating if you're an architect attorney or employee representing an applicant or an objector you must register as a lobbyist these rules apply whether you're appearing in favor of or against an item or encouraging or arguing against its passage to be modification or continu and lastly Mr chairman I'd like to swear in any members of the public or staff will be testifying today please raise your right hands do you swear or affirm that the testimony you'll give in this proceeding is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth thank you okay thank you Nick um Mr chair the first order of business this morning is the approval of the October 8th uh meeting minutes do I have a second second all those in favor okay thank you um moving on we do have I was notified early this morning that we do have one request for a continuance this morning um this is item HPB 24628 which is 900 Ocean Drive uh an application was filed requesting a certificate of appropriateness for modifications to the east side of the building including uh a variance from from the required setbacks um the applicant I was notified is requesting a continuance to the January 14th meeting they would like to do a little bit more Outreach um and staff has no objection to this I do see uh Monica Anon who is representing the applicant on the call um but if you have any questions for me I'm happy to answer I I just have a question that I was going to bring up and maybe they can answer ahead of time is I was a little concerned about the uh original mango sign going away if this is still going to be mangoes I couldn't understand why they wouldn't be figuring out how to keep that sign okay um and I don't have an answer to that question but um but that gives them a chance by the time they come in January absolutely um Mr chair would you like to hear from the applicant Monica good morning good morning board good morning staff thank you Monica and on behalf of the property owner and yes we are requesting a continuance to the January hearing and Mr brein we will make sure to um have those plans revised to show our sign we are mangoes and we will always uh intend to be mangoes so uh recognition is important and we'll make sure that we have our revised Plans by then great thank you Monica um we will need public comment anyone uh wishing to comment on the request for continuance see none do anybody a motion to approve the continuance I'll move to approve the continuance I second okay all those in favor okay see you in January Monica thank you have a great day happy holidays everyone yeah I would recommend keeping the package if if that works for you the uh first regular application on the agenda this morning is HPB 24624 um this is 2618 Collins Avenue an application has been filed requesting modifications to a previously issued certificate of appropriateness for the partial demolition renovation and restoration of the existing structure and the construction of a one-story rooftop Edition specifically the applicant is requesting approval for the construction of two rooftop additions modification to public interior spaces and a new rear pool and deck plan and variances from the required setbacks thank you Debbie this application as Debbie said is a modification to a previously approved project from from 2018 that included the renovation and restoration of the building and the construction of a one-story rooftop Edition the applicant is currently requesting approval for modifications to the lobby the introduction of several rooftop additions and the reconfiguration of the pool dech within the lobby a new interior design is proposed to be introduced including a stair accessing the second level staff is supportive of the new design which is generally consistent with the postwar modern era however staff would recommend the restoration of the stone-clad wall along the north side of the lobby consistent with the previous approval three small partial on story rooftop additions are proposed to be introduced one at the second level and two at the roof level all the additions are completely out of the colins Avenue line of sight but two are within the Indian Creek Drive line of sight the board May modify the line of sight requirements according to the criteria outlined in the staff report and staff finds that all of the criteria have been set ified finally the applicant is proposing to reconfigure the pool deck area staff has no objection to the new design but would note that the new pool deck requires variances the first variance is a modification of your previously granted variance to locate the pool deck within the Indian Creek Drive front yard the modified variance request is to reduce by 15 Fe 5 in the required front setback for a pool deck of 20 ft in order to construct a pool deck at a setback of 4' 7 in from the West property line the second variance is a new variance to reduce by 4' 6 in the required side interior setback for a pool deck of 7t 6 in in order to construct a pool deck at a setback of 3 feet from the south interior side property line the applian is proposing to introduce this new swimming pool in deck within the area of the existing swimming pool the new pool complies with the required setbacks but the new deck encroaches into both the front and side interior setbacks staff finds that the retention of the existing contributing building and the unique condition of the property with two front yards creates practical difficulties warranting the granting of the variances and with that staff is recommending approval okay thank you Jake um board members let me know if you have any questions if not I believe the applicant um is in the audience in the audience morning everybody grah Hur Howard El Fernandez L and tap and his 200 South pis G Boulevard if I could have the team come up uh and and just to jump up in case I falter uh T we're representing ta Miami Hotel LLC which is the property owner that is Mr Jorge Bravo right there we've got Jeff gaml from claro development you guys can sit you don't need to stand behind me I don't need that much protection uh songia from fab design architect uh Vincent filzi are landscape architect detect so as you'll see I'm going to take you through the slides briefly but as you'll see all these changes are intended to reduce the intensity of the approved project we think it it is a a significantly improved and higher-end development with these revisions so guys if you can put the slides up I'll take you through it so subject property we are sandwiched in two ways we sandwich between Collins and Indian Creek which has led to the unfortunate reality that we have two fronts which necessitates the variances that Jake laid out we're also sandwiched between two 1990s condos we've got the kaar condo to our North and the lake beach club condo to our South L Lake Beach was built in 1991 capar was built in 1997 they're both very similar in their layout they have ground floor parking and they got four residential levels above them I did want to uh spend a little time here because you may I'm sure you all received there's a petition um sent out by the kaar folks in opposition to the application and I know that Miss giovano I'm sure I mispronounce that name Monica chovan is here um who you know she sent out the petition um and what you'll see in that petition I just want to address it briefly raises concerns about loss of a view um noise and disruption and you know as soon as we received the copy of that petition we reached out because we saw there was some appeared to be some confusion this as Jake and Debbie explained this project has been approved since 2018 so the the single story Edition that was approved is being built and is only getting improved with this revision it's not a two-story Edition it's not a new project so and as you'll see I'll take you through it I think every change that we've made to that roof is an improvement that benefits both our neighbors turning back the clock uh building was uh originally built in late 1951 open as the Prince Michael is a hotel architect was Roy France it is three stories I'm going to apologize again for there's a little bit of confusion in the plans uh and I think this might have led to the misunderstanding that there was two level two floors being added the first floor on our plans is shown as the first and second floor but is really a single story right because this the rear is slightly higher that's where the hotel rooms are than the lobby so it's a three-story building which has a one story roof top Edition on it that's it so uh again that's the existing approval single story rooftop Edition and as you'll see with an active roof deck and a pool and it had up to 107 hotel rooms depending on which version of it uh you had so as compared to 107 which was the last hearing approval we're down 22 hotel rooms in this project we removed all active roof decks that should be a plural because there's three of them in the approval we removed all basement FL floor area and we think we've created an overall upgrade in the quality of the project so starting at the ground level I'm talking to focus on the pool this is the approved plan you can see the pool down on the bottom left that that was the ex that's the location of the existing pool the historic pool when they built that pool originally they pushed it all the way to the southern end of the property line so it basically the pool itself was against the property line so there was no way to have any kind of access out of the pool on the whole Southern half of it which we think is a significant safety concern so what we're proposing to do is uh squeeze that pool together uh stretch it out a little bit and push it off that property line so now we can properly set the pool back provide a deck all the way around and as you'll see it gives us an opportunity for more buffering of of our neighbor to the South this this shows you basically the the port the variance that was approved in 2018 you can see the whole pool itself is in the SEI this is the variance as proposed today but that is all the pool is completely out of it and all we have is the decking on the on either side and as Jake explained we are snake bit by the fact that Indian Creek is a front as well as Colin so we have two front setbacks where in a in a normal situation that would be a rear so we we agree with staff that there's a practical difficulty created here that justifies that but it also is an opportunity it it's given us the opportunity to add Landscaping on that entire Southern uh portion of the property where there was none historically so now we can have a buffer I'll be at 3 feet but it gives us the room to do planting there to buffer our neighbor and as you can see this is what Vincent's come up with all that planting on the southern Edge uh is being added so we think that's an improvement so that's why we're going to ask for your approval of the redesign pool deck today so turning to the building itself this is the approved floor plan the lobby you can see the restaurant in the southern portion and then you had rooms behind the general layout Remains the Same we're improving OB we believe we're improving the quality of the lobby uh we're also adding you can see that pink stairwell there it's not really going to be colored pink it's pink because it's new but it it gives us access to the second floor which is now we're replacing hotel rooms with meeting space which is in line with uh a first class uh operation a small Boutique first class hotel is what we're trying to get here you also see we're adding uh bathrooms to the pool so here's the approved second floor 100% hotel rooms here's the proposed second floor you can see on the Eastern portion of the of the floor we've removed all those hotel rooms against Collins and that is going to be open meeting space accessible from the stairwell from the lobby so again in line with a with a high-end kind of Boutique experience is what we're trying to bring here and get business Travelers into this building you can see that's kind kind of the theme here we're removing the quote unquote party elements of the of the hotel uh this is the third floor 100% hotel rooms no real change there so this is the rooftop Edition I'm going to spend a little bit of time on the roof this shows you the lower roof which is the third floor and then the fourth floor kind of that saw tooth is the new uh addition there's Active Space in the approved plan on both the East and on the west there's access by stairs that go up to the roof of the addition um we have removed all that publicly accessible space there's no more uh access to that roof the third floor roof at all you the brown areas of the new of new rooms we're proposing that's the addition that uh Jake discussed being added to that the roof we're just basically extending it around it's tucked very far back you'll see it in the renderings this is the approved roof plan right so you can see again on on the on the roof of the addition pool new pool Cabanas Active Space we had a there was an elevator that accessed that space and then stairwells down to allow people to gather on the roof of the historic structure all is gone that's completely removed no no access to the roof of the addition at all you know other than obviously mechanical access but the whole idea is that this is going to be a much quieter more a better neighbor with this change so summary no occupied roof decks and the pool is gone from the roof so elev ations wanted to point out one thing when we're looking at these elevations the top is the is the approval the bottom is the proposed with these changes our overall height goes down by 8 feet we lose the elevator that was necessary to access that roof deck so we lose 8T in the total height of the building um by these changes so again no you can see the the new elevation still honors the historic facade oh I don't know how that happened guys this time it wasn't my fault I didn't touch anything okay that's a front so rear from Indian we calling a rear but it's the second front from Indian Creek you can see again the removal of uh if you look on the top left of the of the approved drawing you can see those Cabanas all that activity the stairwell down to this to the third floor roof deck all that's gone in the revision now it's quiet and peaceful there you also note on the right side of the new elevation you can see the addition of those two hotel rooms tucked back in line with the rest of the building South elevation uh again you can see uh the focusing again on the roof you can see all the Cabanas and all that activity on both the top top and on the two lower roofs all gone and removed and you can barely there's barely any difference at all in with the addition of those two rooms on the Southeast corner of the building North elevation very important to our neighbors to the north obviously top one is the approved uh again I'm going to harp on this again all the Cabanas that were against that wall against that property line plus all the activity there you can see the the elevator override that's all gone in the revision so again a much more pleasant and quiet neighbor we are making we are proposing minor revisions to the windows we're ning them a little bit on the North facade to reflect the new room layout but generally that side Remains the Same three more minutes if I could that would be fine we're almost we're almost at the end I think this is an important drawing to focus on uh this is our insitu view you can see Lake Beach to the left Kar to the right and the new building is the middle we are now at or below the height of our neighbors with this revision and again none of that activity that was right up against Kar is going to occur anymore with this revision so we think an improvement to the overall design a better neighbor uh to the in our neighborhood renderings this is a view obviously from Collins as with the previous plan you can see that the the new fac the new addition is tucked back far enough that you don't see it and and the and the historic facade is it Remains the star of the show view hovering above Indian Creek you can see again the the push back nature of the of the approved Edition the on the upper right hand corner is where those new wind uh those new rooms are uh for they change the rooftop addition again tucked way back off of Indian Creek so you know you can you can't you're seeing it here because you're hovering 20 feet in the air but you can also see again the Improvement to the pool deck and a little bit of that additional Landscaping we're able to add with it here's a little detail of the pool deck showing tucked off to the right hand side just off frame is the new landscape buffer that the change to the pool allows us to provide so in summ let me get to that portion uh this application represents a significant reduction in impacts over what was approved uh a reduction in hotel rooms a removal the most important the removal of all rooftop activity period right there's no more pool access there's no more elevators up there there's no more people walking downstairs to the lower deck level uh and of course a reduction in overall height by the removal of that elevator over override the new pool design will improve safety for our guests and will allow for additional buffering to our neighbors to the South so with that we would ask for your approval this morning we have no objection to staff's conditions so we would ask for your motion to be subject to staff's conditions and I'd like to reserve time for a btle thank you thank you very much Graham are there any questions for the applicant I wanted to ask about the about the wall that the staff the stone wall in the lobby you didn't really cover the lobby at all in your in the presentation but they talk about the um recommending to keep the stonecloud wall along the north end of the lobby as previously approved to set the plan yes we we have no objection to returning that wall okay great and I we can show you the where it would loc I can get the plans back up and show you where it would be if you could you do that that be great can you guys put up part two instead of part one here to be aest about this but let's just show me part two so this is the set so let me get let me get to the right spot and guys you can stop me if I go overshoe okay so on the plan it is basically here correct correct So it's b if you look at if you look there's a stone clad the then you have the line of the window and then it basically continued into the lobby so we have no objection to reintroducing it there darn it hold on let me show you the the um the lobby plan so this is that wall here behind the valet so we had shown it as stucco with a this it's probably not stco I apologize I'm insulting the design but uh we had shown it as a different material but then you can see the the stone-clad wall so we will reintroduce it to match what was the historic design we have no objection to that great thank you any any other questions for the applicant no yes um just on the stone you're are you reintroducing the same stone or is it a stone a new le Source Stone well by the time we got the condition that was already demolished so we're going to have to reintroduce it so it's so that that if you go to the the property now that that inner wall is gone so we're going to have to reintroduce that that stone wall and and Brian if I could just um add to that so I was not aware that it was gone but um that being said because this the stone is existing on the exterior yes currently yes um it would be the same stone that is supposed to wrap inside which is kind of a really nice postwar modern uh character defining feature so because we have the existing Stone we will work with the applicant to get a uh close as possible match so that might be tricky but we will work and they will Source different stones from different areas of the country and we will figure out a way to match it because that's important and yeah right I had a couple of questions that don't really relate to the application relate to the property I took my bike over there rode all the way around and I noticed there's a lot of damage to the exterior wall are you repairing that wall or are you replacing that wall are you putting a new wall up the perimeter wall like on Indian Creek and and wrapping around to the condominium to the South Side the walls all been almost knocked down on that's to be repaired to match what was there historically okay and there is no and there is no entrance in from Indian Creek even though it's considered a frontage the other thing I noticed is with all the demolition uh I believe you're supposed to retain the terazzo flooor in the lobby but there's nothing to protect the terazzo flooor that's there I was watching them you know tearing down everything inside to to the columns and there's not a thing to protect that floor so how are you going to restore that floor we're going to but my name is Jeff gaml I represent the ownership for the project uh we're going to be repairing the floor with tazzo uh professionals to match if there is damage of course we've removed uh you know uh walls that will not be coming back Etc so it would be a matter of patching the floor okay cuz there's no protection down on the floor right now whatever little bit was still there the cement everything's just falling right down on top of it I was watching it so okay that was my concern thank you there is a a historic uh Prince Michael logo at the entrance and I know for sure that was carefully protected you are correct on the outside there's something down but on the inside nothing understood any other questions hearing none then um we have uh board disclosures I met with the applicants counil and did a site visit all right open public hearing uh any members of the public wishing to comment please come forward or raise your hand on Zoom good morning Bo my name is Monica chaviano and I'm here representing the neighborhood um I'm I purchased an apartment next door at Kar um in 2023 so growing up in Florida I've seen a lot change um one of which is you know the neighbor the neighborhood of Miami Beach growing up I always wanted a property on Miami Beach so fast forward to now um or fast forward to 2023 purchase my new home right I received the notice in the mail that was pretty vague in terms of the additions and the changes that were being made so I wanted to come forth spoke with um other property um owners from the building to voice our concerns and understand what the additions what the Chang are being made to the property um so with that I wrote a couple things down so we had a petition made um specifically towards the addition to the building again the language in um the notice was pretty vague I wasn't sure if there was two floors one floor what was truly being changed from the additional requests with that speaking to the other residents understanding our concerns there's a petition that we signed with a total of 32 um members that signed against the addition the reason being is which I wrote in the petition not sure if you guys have it negatively impact the property value of the neighboring character being a um own owning a property it's impacting not only the view but I I worked very hard to be able to afford this property and this um these changes will directly impact not only my view but there will also be other people being able to look into the property that I own which will again decrease um decrease the value of the property increase noise and distruption from tourism if you're local from Miami Beach this is very much a hidden J gem you know it's away from the riffraff of Ocean Drive I know it's something that we're working very hard to preserve given all the spring break ordinance that we've put in place this is a very small little gem and it's important to preserve these things because in the future if we keep giving away our views our beaches to the tourists there'll be none left for residents like myself that has worked really hard to be able to afford this and then none nonetheless disruption from work from home environment I work from home the construction next door is already interrupting my ability to be able to afford the apartment that I just invested in not to mention they add an additional floor I'm I'll close here um not to mention if they add an additional floor um it won't give I won't be able to work from home I'll need to find other places to be able to work which will directly impact me um so again here representing the residents of cop AR the neighboring building um thank you so much for your time I'm not sure if there's any questions thank you thank you very much for stepping up and and talking to us uh are there any questions well the only thing I would say is that the approval of this building was before you bought your property so maybe you should have done a little investigation as to what was going to happen with that property ahead of time they're not asking for anything you're you're asking to not have them build an addition that was already approved in 2018 they're doing an amazing job by removing the rooftop addition when everybody else in the whole wide world is trying to add a rooftop addition so you guys should be very happy with that in my opinion thank you yeah any other questions or comments no yeah I just want to rate territor trade just said it's I mean actually you're getting a much better uh a much less intrusive building route so what was approved before was much more was higher had more uh tourists coming in so now they lower the height of the building so it's less blocking your building and the kind of clientele they will be attracting is much less the r the clientele that will be party on the roof deck pool and making more noise that probably will disturb you even more so I think at the end you're getting a much better compromise at this point yeah all right um Debbie are there others um yes thank you very much really appreciate you thank you and I I think the purpose was really just to understand the language as I mentioned it was It was kind of vague an addition to a floor taking out removing some things so I just wanted clarification and then again just to voice where we're coming from as a neighboring building really appreciate that thank you for your time board oh wait wait for oh for Monica and more of a comment to to Monica but to also to anyone else um so I just want to reiterate that or make sure that everyone knows watching that all of this information is available online I understand that the notice may be limited in what it's actually portraying to you but everything that they're showing us today is available on the city's website and available for someone to go look at even the 2018 approvals would have been available for someone to go back and look at um it's not to say that you needed to do this but I want everyone to know that it is available and if you can't find it ask somebody that can help you find it because it exists um and it helps you become a more informed Citizen and neighbor um and I think it's just very important for everyone to know thank you appreciate it so no now that you mentioned that I mean I think sometimes for residents it's very complicated to find things and then you call the building department the planning department and then you get a voice message somebody will call you back they call you three days later and you're in the meeting of something else you don't pick up the phone so maybe we could start implementing putting a the link on the um the notification residents where they can find the files online so that will cut a lot of steps trying to find okay so if it's already there I never received one so I haven't yeah it's on there the print is very small but Monica even you know after this meeting if you have any questions if you want to sit down with someone and kind of go through the plan so that you can report back to to your neighbors to know exactly what's what's going on you're welcome to reach out to me directly thank you I appreciate it I think now the time to stand up and just really understand and you know because it said some changes to the rooftop it was the opportunity to come up and and voice our opinion so thank you very much thank you I think there's one more right yeah I mean I guess just kind of you know in conversation with this this issue I think that we have I I I understand where you're coming from because I read these notices you know where I live and a lot of times I think that they're not written in the the most direct way they they appear to me like a La firm wrote them that is not providing much information that is kind of you know providing very little information and there's not there's not really a context so I guess I am curious from the city's perspective um if there are rules and parameters for those notices and if we can be a little more I totally agree with with with the city I I understand because you know I I do this we come we come here we spend all the you know like a week going over all these files and everything but everybody in the city doesn't do that and we don't know you know that Debbie is here and all these resources but I'm just curious if perhaps in the Public Communication aspects that the city gives if if there could be a little more direct and you know communication and perhaps some more context so that you could have gotten that before you you know you came here and then you guys could have had a discussion internally you know with your condo board yeah that would be helpful because reading through it it's you know says it's Mis it's misleading so I I do appreciate that call out all right lindsy you're lit up no no okay um other I guess that that is a question though sorry that was a question to to Debbie um or to Nick just in terms of what are the parameters um that the city gives to applicants on those Communications and who determines that and how that how can that be potentially amended to to solve this problem in the future perhaps so uh staff does prepare the noticing there there are legal requirements for the noticing the the location date and time of the meeting as well as a general description of the request if you've ever received one of these mail notices you know there's not a lot of room in fact we put as much as possible on including you're correct all the legal code sections and and how the application was filed including now the zoom information a lot of added information um in including the link where you can find the plans so it's really kind of jammed in to the notice there's not a lot of room the this particular case is even more complicated by the fact that it's a modification so we put the original request I even get confused when I read when I'm writing some of these the original request and then we say specifically the applicant is now requesting the following um I don't know how much more descriptive we can get we're also if there's a variance which which was the case here we have to uh notice that there's a variance and from which portion of the code the variance is requested from um the best the best scenario here is for the plans to be available to the applicant I think we can do better in terms of directing the the members of the public when they receive the notice exactly where to go to find the plans because you know the plans may have 40 different minor changes and you know it's not practical to think that we can write all of that and and make it even clearer that might actually get more confusing um so I think looking at the plans is the most helpful I get emails all the time asking you know when people get these notices what are they doing and I and I totally that's a reasonable question right because it's not super descriptive in the in the narrative on the notice and now with our agenda system I'm able to send someone the link for all the plans all the documents and then I say please review and call me or email me if you have any questions I'm happy and I to do this frequently to sit down with someone and kind of go through the the plans uh Page by Page um but I think we can do better with advertising that to members of the public like you didn't know that you could reach out to me you may not have been able to find my contact information so I think we can do better with that and then even just a little bit further like you know with the other boards where there's oversite too I think it would be helpful for people to know okay if this is the planning board this is who I should be speaking to if this is historic preservation Board of adjustment you know it's there may be different representatives and that contact information I think could be really helpful I agree yeah yeah because you know it when submitting the petition you know if someone reached out hey by the way this is the link or here's the information this is what you can reference that would be helpful um first time in front of the board right but again just wanted to make sure to understand what you guys were doing because there was an amendment being made we figured it was the time to see if it was possible to take back the addition being made already but I it seems to be that's not the case here but again vocalizing as a neighborhood um vocalizing as someone that purchased next door I thought it was important to stand up thank you thank you very much thank you thank you very much um are there other members of the public yes on Zoom I see Daniel Caldo hi Daniel do you swear or affirm the testimony you'll give in this proceeding is the truth all truth nothing but the truth yes I do thank you so much uh good morning board members Daniel Calo calling remotely um and thank you all for your service so as far as this particular application we support the application subject to the staff conditions we know this has been a long time that the project has been under development and so we're looking forward to it being completed but we're also very thankful for the neighbors for coming in and I wanted to mention too that our organization has a website with a Blog which shares all of the different projects in answer the meeting so Monica you're welcome to connect with us at mtpl.org and thank you all very much thank you Daniel our next uh speaker is Maria Romero hi Maria do you swear affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding is the truth all truth nothing but the truth yes I thank you you have three minutes yes um thank you very much for the board to allow me the time I have a couple of questions I'm not exactly clear of what will be in the rooftop Lounge is that additional hotel rooms or uh what was the change to what would be the structure and who will be there because that will be directly on the light of sight of my balcony in Kar which I've been a resident since 2001 um second um to Echo what the council woman said I've received these notices over the year and they're hard to understand and hard to reach and when you're busy and working it's it's difficult to understand them so the more that you can make it easy or direct us to uh Layman's language of all of these various things in the future and third um I have know that the developers Builders might be there um I've asked U we've asked that you do not begin work before 8: a.m. which happens routinely so I kindly request that you keep that because it is right next to us just a few feet away from our balconies on the south side of kar and that's it that's what I have to say thank you Maria our next speaker is Javier hi Javier can you say your full name for the record yes my name is Javier Diaz do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth all truth nothing but the truth I do thank you you have three minutes yes um I actually have a couple of questions first of all thank you very much for allowing me the time to speak now um I was looking at the renderings that the the property developer was showing and I don't know if they can bring back the front elevation or the rear elevation where you show the approved condition and the proposed condition now is that possible um I I think what we'll probably do is collect your um your questions and then have them address them afterwards because I have a few questions I'm trying to take notes on this yeah I'm sorry so so so I do have a few comments that I want them to clarify uh I do um I don't know if I said it before but I leave a cabar I'm a new new owner uh bought my apartment this year but uh I used to live at Lake Beach which is the other building that is affected so I'm kind of familiar with the construction at the site um but from what I've seen the on the renderings that they showed it seems like uh the wall or the rooftop addition now it's going to be rooms and it's going to be higher even though you're saying it's lower that wall is going to be taller now and it's going to block even further The View on the north side of the building um and um I I mean I'm not too sure but I don't know if the building meets the minimum setbacks on that side uh it seems that the wall the the building wall is very close to the property line uh which if you compare to our building K Mar is further back like where aart where the balcony start so if you're making the wall now even closer and taller isn't that encroaching into the existing like maybe setback uh so I wanted them to clarify if that's H you know if they have a variance to do that or not because it seems like it's taller now and and the other concern that I have is that the building seems to be bigger now like it has more loads um so is that going to be a problem for our foundation because we don't want to have cracks or anything going on in our building due to that construction how they gonna how they planning to strengthen or build a new Foundation and if they're going to monitor our building so we don't have any settlement or any issues with that so that those are my two questions great thank you very much so I have the um rendering of the rooftop is at higher than before the building setbacks and the foundation all those questions to be asked thank you very much how you um anyone else wishing to comment see none no okay um so did you Graham did you take notes on that so we had uh Maria Romero was asking about um uh what's the rooftop Lounge she called it um asked about that she talked about the notices and then she also asked about not beginning work before 8: a.m. and then Javier talked about the um again the rooftop whether it's higher or not um building setbacks and the impact of any foundation work sure let me let me see what I can't answer if we could put the slides back up I think this will help on the elevations okay so this is the north elevation the elevation that faces capar you know as I blathered on about during our presentation the biggest change here and hopefully you folks online can see this is the removal on the top here of all that activity that's just the pool deck that's approved on top of the rooftop Edition this is the rooftop Edition which is basically the same in the the new version which is hotel rooms it always been hotel rooms there's no lounge or anything there but what we're losing is all the people outside here people outside here on the on the other side oops uh and then the people all the way in the TP tip toop roof we um to answer Maria's question about construction hours I just talked to Jeff we well we're committing to no longer no earlier than 8:00 a.m. um here today so if there has been activity going on before that it will no longer um you know I guess the other the other question that Javier asked about size it's not getting any bigger it's it's actually getting smaller we're losing bulk on the building as I talked about before so it's not getting any taller it's getting shorter um and we're losing that elevator override and of course you're losing all that activity as to the construction I don't know Jeff do you want to talk about the method of construction sure so uh similar to the previous design of this uh we are actually reducing the structural uh addition because we're removing the rooftop pool and the rooftop occupied areas which have an assembly load so there will be a new structure introduced inside of the building uh that structure will be a steel structure with a minimal impact uh to to the uh Neighbors when the work is done we can follow standard protocol for monitoring any crack development or anything on neighbors buildings during that time so there will be interior New Foundation worked on its selective locations to support the steel columns that will hold this new fifth floor or fourth floor structure okay thank you uh Graham could you just address maybe with the plan up the just go over the setbacks like where the existing building is and plan and and any um changes to the uh in the new building hold on let me look at the get the the two site plans up I think that will be helpful hopefully so here's the approved site you can see again the well I can't even read that measurement of of the existing building line on the north but you can see on the new version nothing's changing we're not getting any closer um in this change versus what was already approved so it's basically the same building line that was there before not basically it is so that setback is I cannot measure it you guys remember the number on the five feet because the historic the historic setback was five yeah the addition does come yeah then you can see the addition is pushed back um further back that's the saw too there that's that building line so I think that hopefully adequately answered that yeah thank you uh thank you very much uh okay now we're at the stage of uh board member comment and there seems to be some board member comment yes would you like to ask can you just tell us how much area you are adding as per the approved plan and how much area you be adding now I mean in closed space air conditions SP is any is any one got the math in front of them I we pull the ples out of you guys could always get up and help me you know uh just kidding okay so the uh let's see is it showing here son I can answer that the second floor addition is 262 Square ft and the two additions on the roof total 1,217 ft that how does compare to what has been approved before that was what that was my question you sure it's basically a trade I think we're we're trading the F that was in the basement right for that those new additions so basically it is based on this number we have exactly the same F between the two projects exactly the same F but the distribution changes so more of the f is located on the rooftop with those yeah without those two new rooms on the southern side that's basically the biggest and how what's the the sum of those two rooms that's on the pool or the non the not pool deck deck yeah sorry didn't you have that number J yeah the two new the two new rooftop areas total 1,217 square ft okay there it is it looks like the previously approved rooftop um was 5,762 Square ft so here it is in here's the plan right so you can see the the the this is the two new rooms that's an adjustment to that room to extend that little Fin and this is the the pink is is this uh what is this this is just hallways Etc accessing that and that's is this another room here no what is that um oh that's mechanical yeah so sorry apologize so this is mechanical we have a we have a new hallway accessing these two new rooms here and then we've added that so that's the extent of the the new F of the room all on the southern side basically away from kmore all right thank you very much um so now it's time for a board member comment and I'll maybe just go down the go down the line would um okay would Ray would you like to start well first off in the early 90s when everybody was conding buildings this was up for a condominium project and I actually looked at purchasing something there but chose to buy at The Mantel I'm happy I picked the mantel now but anyway um I think you've done an excellent job with with the project everybody as I've said before would be coming to us wanting to add the rooftop and add the pool and all of that and neighbors going whoa what is this you had already had that approved and now we're coming back to remove that in the neighbor's best interest and put the pool on the first level and your variances regarding deck it's not being bringing a building closer to the to the edges or whatever so I think you've done an excellent job and I I fully approve of it thank you Laura uh good morning thank you for the presentation um I really love the plans I thought the the landscape was very much improved and they seem like rational requests um for variance based on you know basically the pre-existing conditions of the pool um and overall I think you guys are doing a great job to enhance the historic building so I really hope you do bring back all the character defining features all those details are are critical um in these somewhat um humble buildings but thank you very much Ryan no okay Elizabeth no just thank you so much for the presentation and I I'm happy to see the changes I think the end product would be much better for than the regional one so I'm very happy with it see so I'll Echo everything that was said by my colleagues here um I appreciate um the incorporation of the recommendations by staff um bringing that uh Stone clad wall um into the interior um as was typical at the time um I appreciate you know the changes that are being made um you know to improve um you know the contribution to the neighborhood um and then uh I'm going to take a moment of privilege I I if you don't mind so I also wanted to say that back to what we were talking about earlier I understand the concern from residents wanting more clarity um but I I wanted to be very clear um on a couple of things so the notice that is sent to the residents is legally required to include certain information and you know as we are limited like what can go on there right only certain information can fit on the piece of paper that is sent out I mean everyone on this board has you know the packages that we received I think anyone here will agree that to provide all of that in paper form to all residents required to be notified is nothing other than impractical right I think laur's about to hold one up that's just one of the packages that we're looking at today um and and we get all of that and we still regularly have questions for applicants that we have to get answered here so by no means do I want to discourage people from coming from the board what I wanted to make sure um that all residents know is that the information is available and sometimes you will do better and get further um if those conversations are had before they get to the point that they're in front of us um and to that extent you know don't shoot the messenger gram but you know the contact information for the applicant as well as their attorney is readily available on the website as well um and I know we have in the past actively encouraged communication you know not that this was a big issue today this was a relatively seems to be resolved now that we're here um but as a resident you know the information's available sometimes it does take some work to find it but I know that um uh all of our contact information is on the board uh the number of phone calls I've gotten on my cell phone um you know and typically I refer them to the city um and so while it may seem directed at you it really isn't I'm looking at you but I I just want to make sure that everybody knows that this is available and I really don't want us to create any doubt as to the legal sufficiency of the notice that goes out because I think that's very important um that everyone knows that the notice when you get those notices first of all it's important for you to check your mail a lot of people don't so good for you for checking your mail um and when you get those notices that's a notification that something's going on and that's giving you enough information to go and find find out more should you choose to a lot of people just don't care or you know they throw it right in the trash or hopefully they're recycling um but I just wanted to bring that up um before we continue and I'm done now thanks great no wonderful points thank you Lindsay and uh I I'll just add that I think the having been on the approval process in 2018 and seeing this again I think the most significant um this most significant change for the building and for the residents and for the Neighbors is moving that pool off the roof so you're not hearing people screeching and laughing at at midnight up in the pool down into to the ground level and I think therefore you know that that was such a smart move uh thank you for doing that it brings it back to the historic relationship between the pool and the hotel obviously water is a very important thing for all of us who live here in Miami Beach um and uh so I I completely understand the need for the two variances which we haven't really spoken about but I do think it's very important that you're able to walk around the entire pool and that the variances for the deck are are something that I um particularly welcome uh approval of but um yeah so thank you very much for this and thank you for coming forward and um kind of being here to help us help us have this important conversation so with that um I guess we will uh take uh we need two votes one for the variances and one for the certificate of appropriate so um do I have a motion to approve the certificate of appropriateness right I second okay let me call the role U Miss Weinstein bman yes Mr Erick yes Miss level yes Miss carmago yes Mr Breslin yes Mr Stewart yes okay and uh now is there a motion for the uh approv of the two variances I'll make that motion again second okay I'll call the role Mr Erick yes Miss level yes Miss Weinstein Burman yes Miss cararo yes Mr Brin yes Mr Stewart yes okay congratulations thank you thank you thank you again for your patience deie I have one thing that maybe I bring up to uh that was brought up here I think every time that there's a a construction project that goes on there should be somebody that works on that project and that their name is available to the neighboring uh especially when it's residents to call and complaint I mean that woman should have been able to call and say hey 8: a.m. is the time and they could agree to this a long time ago she didn't have any idea where to go to and I think that that's something that the city needs to do with any of these projects in the future that yeah and that information should be available with their building permit so the city's building uh department has you can search for building permits online with the contact and it should have uh the owner's contact information as well as the contractor contact information but we will look into that and that would be post posted on the construction site as well I don't know if there's a posted requirement the permit the permit number should is requireed the permit number but not necessarily the contact info with the permit number we don't know I don't know okay okay ready to move on to the second uh regular application this morning is HPB 24635 uh this is 21st Street an application has been filed requesting modifications to a previously issued certificate of appropriateness um specifically the applicant is requesting the Demolition and reconstruction of the ptic coare um so this particular project was approved by the board in 2021 um it's an existing uh post-war modern structure uh the seagull hotel I think most of you will will be familiar with this project um and 2021 the applicant came before you for some uh significant renovation of the building along with new additions as part of a uh project for the bulgary hotel since that time uh the applicant has received a full building permit they are actually mobilized on site and are performing construction currently um in June of this year the engineer the contractor and then the the structural engineer for the project noticed some significant concerns with the Portico share there had actually been portions and you'll remember we had a some a rash of bad weather um this property gets a a lot of wind um in its location and there were portions that seemed to be falling from the ceiling of the ptic coare um the engineer immediately restricted access to that particular area in order to evaluate the current conditions um they did investigate it and thought that the Portico share could be saved consistent with the previous approval of the board but then a short time after that actually larger more concerning portions started to fall we were as staff we were contacted almost immediately by the applicant so I really want to thank them for that they didn't just go out there and say oh it's falling down let's let's get rid of it it's a it's a safety concern let's get rid of it they actually address address the safety concern by restricting all access to this portion of the property called staff immediately um we talked with with the applicant we saw some the photographs in the initial structural uh evaluation and um we did determine and we are supportive of the application that the best course of action not only for the historic building because remember this portical share is tied into the inside of the building um in order to prevent any further damage of the main structure as well as to provide a safe working environment for the construction crew we do think the best course of action is to allow the Demolition and reconstruction we do have uh very good documentation of the picare and the the applicant has advised us they had already performed a 3D laser scan of this structure so we don't have any concerns about an accurate uh reproduction of the picare and we are recommending approval any questions for St from the board no seeing none welcome good morning good morning board members Nick notto with the law firm of bills in sunberg our offic is look at at 1450 brickl Avenue Suite 2300 I'm joined today with my by my colleague Carter McDow our project engineer Yousef hackam and our project architect Patricia SRA um I don't think I could teed up any better than than Debbie already has I have a full presentation but I I don't want to over complicate this um as you guys have heard you approved this project for the bulgary hotel back in June of 2021 an amazing project I think bulgary hotels there's 10 around the world and the only place in the United States they've chose to have one is in this city which I think is remarkable um shown on our cover page of our slide that I think you could if you could pull it up um this is a rendering of the hotel the project that you approved and we're we're really just today just talking about the pork casare structure which you see me highlighting here I'm going to skip ahead to kind of the Highlight Reel that Debbie mentioned um this is the existing condition um that is you know it it it's it is what it is um unfortunately the original plan we we plan to restore the porer and save the existing P por cair um as Debbie mentioned we were we were held up after the approval by some litigation we now have a full building permit and as we we organized on site and started to perceive the construction our construction team started to recognize you know chunks of concrete falling from the POR aair um our engineer Yousef was contacted immediately did an inspection um shored the structure and and cordoned it off so that none of our construction crew were at risk we immediately contacted staff and and now we're here um simply asking for a modification to our application so that we may demolish and reconstruct uh the porc aare um as it was originally designed and to Debbie's point it is in your backup we did do laser Imaging scanning of this structure so we do have uh all of the technical detail we would need to to reconstruct this accurately showing you just some of the pictures um that are taken by our construction team on site uh with this this last this last set here um kind of being the existing condition as it's been corned off and we we haven't touched it since waiting for this hearing um you can see the Shoring in place you can see um part of where they cut into the roof to examine to see whether we could save it um unfortunately we determined that it was it was too far gone for us to do that so um with that I have our project engineer here if you have any technical questions for him to answer otherwise we respect the request your approval uh thank you very much for time great thank you very much any um board member questions for the applicant seeing uh none uh any board disclosures no no seeing none any members of the public wish to speak um on Zoom I see uh Daniel Caldo yes hi good good morning s Daniel seral with Miami Design preservation League we are obviously happy to see this project moving forward we did review the application we understand uh some of the safety issues that have been caused by the long-term abandonment of the property and the need to reconstruct the ptic coare we do believe that is in keeping with the overall design and program for the site and we do look forward to the new Hotel reopening under the bulgary flagship thank you okay thank you Daniel Mr chair I see know other members wishing to comment all right uh thank you very much uh then we will close public comment and um open it up to board comment anybody would like to say something Ray go for it I just want to commend you for not coming back to us say oh GE we have to tear it down and now we want to build this big elaborate Port ker and that you really want to replicate it I give you a a great deal of credit for doing that thank you all right would you like to say anything I don't know great job thank you Brian yeah I mean look just uh succinctly as possible we're appreciative of the fact that you didn't demolish it and you know act you let us know you know right away informed us we have reviewed the engineer you know opinion and letter and seen the the documents and I also think just generally speaking for us like as a board we should be very conscientious of people's time when they do something like this especially when they've already gotten the full approval before our board so I would after my colleagues make comments I would like to make a motion thank you very much Elizabeth anything to add just want to thank you so much for doing the scanning of the structure to make sure you can replicate as close as possible to the original so that was great step towards the right direction thank you okay um nothing L see okay I I had one question um just about how you did the scanning um is anybody here who could speak to that uh who was worked on the scanning do you speak to the laser Imaging just like what Laser Technology did you use to scan it was it photogrametry was it was it actually using a laser like good morning Yousef hasham structural engineer uh I have nothing to do with this ler scanning oh okay but uh this is this is technology that is available that they do all the time it's it's laser Imaging 3D scans they they move they move the scanner around the property and then they scan the whole thing and they Stitch it in the the computer right I understand I was just wondering what specific technology they used in this case but like what the brand was and things like that if you if you had anybody here I understand that you wouldn't come prepared for that but it was just just I thought I'd try okay anyway thank you very much nice to see you so um with that uh do we have a motion make a motion okay thank you I would like to make a motion to approve the modification to the previously existing certificate of appropriateness um subject to the conditions described by staff great second second okay um let me call the role Mr brein yes Miss Weinstein Burman yes Miss level yes Miss carmargo yes Mr Erick yes Mr Stewart yes Miss did I call Laura okay congratulations thank you thank you it's okay it's okay it was a moment no um okay let's see moving on to to the next application we have HPB 24627 this is 8240 Byron Avenue an application has been filed requesting a certificate of appropriateness for the construction of a new multif family Residential Building on an existing vacant lot including one or more waivers in a variance to reduce the minimum required driveway width um as noted in our staff report um staff has given a brief history of this particular site it is currently a vacant site um prior to the Tatum Waterway expansion of the NorthShore historic district designation um there was a a building here that was contributing on the national register of historic places um but in 2019 uh there was a fire the building was subsequently demolished uh pursuant to an emergency demolition order and was is no longer there when the when the expansion of the NorthShore District was designated in 2021 since there was no building there that was um you know not considered a a contributing building so I just wanted to outline that history um the current proposal is to construct a new 4unit uh four-story multif family residential building on the vacant site uh the new structure does have a small Lobby and seven parking spaces the parking spaces include uh mechanical lift parking so this board does have the authority to approve the mechanical lifts typically larger projects that have more than 20 residential units do require a full planning Board review but we have outlined our analysis for this very modest introduction of mechanical parking um and have no objection to that um staff is supportive of the design of the overall contemporary uh new building uh the distribution of architectural form we believe has resulted in a new residential structure that is compatible with the residential uh historic district um in this regard the third the three story portion so above the Second Story um has actually been set back um 25 ft maintaining the lower scale character of the neighborhood um further we have noted that the building does incorporate several architecture ual features including tapered columns decorative screening and curved slab edges that subtly recall the predominant postwar modern or mimo architecture within the NorthShore historic district um we have two very minor concerns um that we have addressed in our recommended uh conditions in the draft order um one is we do believe there's an excessive amount of Paving um in both the North and South sidey yards we are recommending that the southern walkway um be either reduced or eliminated to be replaced with additional Landscaping um we also believe that this would serve to mitigate light and sound from the ground level parking area to the adjacent property uh second we are concerned that the uh trash shoot vent stack that projects above the third level deck um is adding unne Neary height the perception of an unnecessary height at least um and we are act asking that that be um screened that so it's more consistent with the architectural vocabulary right now it's kind of designed as a unique design feature that we don't think um is as compatible as it could be with the remaining architecture so we are asking that to be um further developed and and we're confident that we can do that uh at a staff level with the applicant uh finally the applicant is requesting a waiver the waiver is specific to the height of the parking level So currently the requirement is that a minimum height of 12 ft above Base Florida elevation plus one be provided um the board however May wave up to 2 feet um of this requirement so that you would have a 10- foot is the minimum um in this particular instance the applicant is only asking for a 1ot height waiver um we do believe that this helps ensure greater compatibility with the adjacent lows scale structures of the district and are supportive uh the one variance request is to reduce by 2 feet the minimum required driveway of 12 feet um in order to provide the driveway of of 10 ft now it's important to note that this is within a an overlay zoning District this overlay zoning District requires a maximum curb cut of the 10 ft um further so we do believe that that unique regulation warrants you know reducing the driveway to 10t as well further the the very small number of units here we you know four units we don't don't believe that there's going to be any significant Conflict by reducing the driveway by 2 feet it also helps reduce the The Hardscape Paving for for the for the site so we are supportive of the application in accordance with the uh draft order and I'm available for any questions thank you very much Debbie any any questions for Debbie about the staff report no no yes I have one question just for purposes of historical information you talked about um that the previous building was demolished in 2019 prior to the designation in 2021 I was looking at it looks to me to my lay person's eye that the building next door is of similar character so just to kind of discuss it that even if it were something that would have needed to have been preserved absent this that there is another one of like kind literally next door right yes it's a twin um like many of our buildings are the next door neighbor is is an identical twin of the previously exist building on this site and I just have one question about the um about the paving on the North and South when you were talking is it that is it the walkways themselves or is it um the like the the impermeability of the walkways or is it um shade or it's you know we always think that uh you know even though per permeable pavers do exist and we do require them um in most instances that natural Landscaping with natural soil is not only the most resilient but in this case on the south side we think it would be a huge benefit to the neighbor to have natural Landscaping because to buffer the parking area so you we do think that would be beneficial for multiple reasons and that that's our recommendation we're not sure and I know we've talked with the architect back and forth obviously any ESS paths that are required by the fire department we would not want to eliminate um but to to the extent possible we would like to add some some landscape offer along that edge got it okay thank you very much all right all yours yes good morning Mr chairman board staff Michael Larin here representing the applicant with me today is bbec amanian and his father Hassan Amman sitting behind me they are the applicants today the architect is Eduardo Paro Fernandez and my colleague uh Ben is here with me today as Debbie described you this is a three-story 4unit multif family Residential Building next slide or can you pull up so the property location it's a vacant lot on the west side of Byron Avenue just north of 82nd street it's just under 6,000 square ft in size next Slide the property is located in the rm1 uh zoning District it's also part of the Tatum Waterway expansion I'm sure you all know that the Tatum Waterway expansion came under some litigation it was an attack by an owner in the South End saying that it shouldn't be there because it's impossible because all these buildings are too low thankfully the courts did not see it that way and sustain the city's designation attempt so we're here today because you all continue to have jurisdiction over the Tatum Waterway next slide so these are the context photos you can see different angles from Byron next slide and this is a different angles of course from the Waterway see it's a pretty substantial lot um and we have a great beautifully designed building by Eduardo who I'm going to turn it over to right now and let him walk you through his Design This is the new presentation we need to switch the presentation to the on the presentation click on the presentation hey that's not yet but we need to we need to switch it to the other presentation they need another presentation yeah apparently my technology is sorry we're complicated like that I still need help when did you send in a revised presentation Fray yeah they I got a call from the city do you have a presentation yeah I got you this one here yes is that correct one and then you have to switch back to ours all right so my name is Eduardo Antonio Paro Fernandez can you hear me well I'm the founding principal of contemporary Design Studio arational planning I'm going to spare you um much about the side because you've already seen if anything just mention how much of an expansive view you get to the southwest and north on taton Waterway um the lot itself you see the context where you have buildings from the 1920s to the 70s uh for the most part detached uh with open front yards there is no enclosure on the streets you have the Waterway as the predominant uh Fisher in the back and crespy buou and the rest of the island as the background you see the on top potential for um a closer relationship to the water and the boting lifestyle that it affords and you also see how the predominant scale of the buildings around tends to be four to five stories fairly compact relatively sizable and yet when you go to the minutia the the actual buildings in the context you see a that tends to be white or in light colors big Windows particularly in the front and back stock of bands that surround the whole building and provide a continuity and elements like the chimney that stand out in this case in a traditional Mediterranean Spire example this other building for example you have the prominent roof parid with the rounded Corners that defines it and the balconies as the main element with a vertical divider that is very poignant in this repeater also in the back and is for the most part a very uh symmetrical building if you look at the one right next to it is far much more Dynamic given its sheer horizontality that is emphasized not just by the sto bands but actually by the wrapping overhangs with some emphasis above the entrance and finally the big building across the street it manages to break itself down to something more uh um palatable from a scale standpoint yet still with a strong horizontal a l motif of the balconies being Tre as such as a discontinuous bands with the rounded corners for for softening them up and all of these are syntactic elements many of which derive in most examples from the local myo vernacular which is the predominant uh prevalent language in the context of the neighborhood at large and which we are to talk if we want to set up a successful dialogue in the design the building on top of that we get the successive requirements of all the zoning requirements as they supersede and of we impose over each other and push design decisions within the tight envelope of the lot you see the red lines being the setbacks for the building itself with the blue one for parking that luckily is just a little bit more um it's just why there allows some whe room to make the parking just enough to to fit in and uh you have this 10 foot wide Corridor on one one side that is meant to preserve views towards the Waterfront and the front setback that steps back as you go over the 32t height and uh that's meant precisely to keep the roof AIS St bulkheads out of side from across the street and also the massing of the building once you are above that height you have on top of that for example the additional requirement to have a minimum amount of landscaped area just outside of the required yards and equivalent to at least 5% of the net loot area all of these successive requirements and the language that we are to engage uh Drive the design of this new proposed uh for dwelling unit apartment building which is detached which keeps the front open just like its neighbors which is very Bel and long with this horizontality that is also defined by the wrapping overhangs the tips of which get pulled to the front and back just enough to break with a otherwise stale a simple rigid volume of a massin that tries to optimize the use of the very scarse uh floor area that is allowed by the F and uh you have the the stair has this anchoring supporting element that uh confers an overarching symmetry to the whole building you have the taper columns at the corners which are meant to provide some movement vertically to the eye as it contrasts or complements the horizontality to prevent it from being feeling too long and also to treat the corners in such a fashion that they don't feel boxy again in what is a very simple geometry the third FL meaning is what pulls back uh to keep with the uh requirements uh that we just mentioned uh with the exception of a sliver of the trash enclosure that couldn't be pushed further back that is shaped as a decorative element and the chimney in one more point of visual connection to the pre-existing chimney of the small building to the left and this proposal deals with the dichotomy of having a building that has its access sequence from the street from the front and yet it is fully focused on the waterfront for several reasons in the sense that uh it's the liveliest uh uh Frontage out of the two uh we want to maximize as I said this interaction with the the nautical and water lifestyle that is one of the Hallmarks of Miami Beach and that's why we have the living rooms and all the social spaces here and I also want to notice how you see the building in the context of this random neighbors and uh how well it fits in terms of scale going back to the front we have the stair screen that opens up so it is fully visible from the sidewalk as you approach it on the way to the elevator before getting to the elevator as is one of the requirements of the zoning ordinance and then it closes and w WS around this element for further emphasis the lobby is pushed back to Ze zilly guard precious square feet and also to use this space in front as a a location for excisable amount of the extra Green Space that we need to provide within the building envelope the parking garage just follows suit on the other side for the sake of emphasis notice as well how the windows on the side concentrate towards the front and back at the corners so you maximize angle views out and the whole amount of them the whole opening area comes limited by the fire separation requirements notice as well how the the top of the building just Rees back uh as required and again this capability to raise and open or otherwise flatten and close this versatility is what makes this element of the green ideal for this building in the sense that it can morph for all the different uses that we need throughout it and just convey a Unity of design coherence when seeing the building as a whole for example here when we mask the parking mechanical parking and we have to save consume valuable inches and try to make it as flat as possible with an almost fabric like quality as it is inter moven just enough to provide the screening that is required notice how the site is so tight that even the accessible parking space has to partially spill outside the building and that's why the screen is not happening at the level of the exterior facade just because uh there is no space luckily the as I mentioned earlier the parking setb is a little bit more generous and again in the back you see how the balconies are rounded up to uh set up another dialogue with the the crown of the building to the left and also the balconies of the building to the right and we keep this vertical divider as another connecting element how much more time do you need two more minutes two more minutes more than enough thank you thanks and again the floor plan the sidewalk to or the walkway to the South you see that a portion of it has to be there for the accessible aisle next to the parking space it also provides the ramp that provides that that guess what the the accessible route and in my experience I'll get on that later is something that we will need no matter what you have here just the axonometric floor plans you see one typical unit on the second floor again living in the front bedrooms I mean I'm sorry living in the back bedrooms in the front same for the third floor just the bedrooms are showed to to one side to get a little stair to provide access to the mezzanine where the actual master bedroom is overlooking the massive uh tall 22t high living room to the left and yet access to the roof for maintenance of the air conditioning equipment and the roof of Terrace and the Very compact resist perola and roof aess that prevents it from being seen all around uh either from the across the street or or across the Waterway F and then our requests in my experience I bring here one example of the building I 425 CR that we designed I could bring you at least two other uh projects that I've done historically the fire department once you have an activated use in the back they require you to have two separate me of IG all the way to the street so I agree with the concern Le from staff that I would prefer to see more Landscaping on the sze but I know this will come back to to BOS and we just try to deal with it as much as possible or or as well as possible if anything as a Counterpoint the fact that you're providing the walkway on the side makes sure that the intended purpose of preserving the views to the water is kept because you will not have outgrowth of landscape material that would prevent those views from actually being preserved and that's that's it thank you so much great thank you Eduardo and Mr chairman I can discuss in depth the request for mechanical parking the waver request for the height of the understory and the variance for the width of the driveway at your convenience okay thank you thank you very much um so I guess we'll go to a board questions for the applicant would you like to start amaz Brian would you like to start uh I have a question for the architect I'm sorry Mr fernandz iuo Fernandez um on the thank first of all thank you for your um description and narrative about the building and the the context around the neighborhood was very very helpful I'm curious and I particularly like in the front the vert um you know that vertical screen um I have a few questions on that in terms of just from a maintenance point of view and from like a water point of view and everything how does how does that work like in the front with water intrusion it works as well as fish scales deal with water with any fluids inside where you have them as ribbons with an angle even when they are flat and they are not perfectly vertical they still keep us a little bit of an angle precisely for shedding water you make sure that they are either clear anodized so they the coefficient of friction is very little so the water sheds just by gravity is have you make sure not to have a very porous paint that would get dirt and water to build up into a cake obviously as with any other building from time to time you will have to do some pressure washing uh but I foresee it being very kind from a maintenance standpoint and then on the in the back I'm curious because I love the verticality in the front and I love um you know all of the you know the when how you describing the the overhangs and just kind of like the angularity of the building is really quite nice I was just curious on the divider that divides those two units was that the only was that the only solution that you came up for that it just feels I mean I'm just being honest if it it feels like out of kind of not like like it looks out of touch for your whole design that's a problem where you show you too much of a good thing so the problem is that the site is very tight and uh we trick the eye a little bit in making the runs look wider than it is but if you do a quick math you'll see that the lot is 50 ft wide you take 10 ft away on the south you take seven and a half on the North the whole building is like 30 35 ft wide when you divide that in half for every apartment that is sharing one half of the building that's about 17 ft or something of just for these living rooms and such so it makes it very very hard because if you do it you want it to be something that is sizable bulky masculine enough so you don't commit the scene of being halfway through it works in the front because the stair has a certain heftiness to it in the back you're trying to maximize maximize views from the inside because precisely we are engaged in the water and we also wanted to have one element that is still the same language mind you is the same screen with the flatten portion of it so when you see for an angle not as frontal as here you still see the visual connection but also is a deference to the local language that we have which is not The King's English but it's a very distin distinctive a a dialect so to speak that we don't want to be just totally uh ignorant of we want to make sure that we integrate in a residential building that is not meant to be a landmark yet doesn't mind being interesting enough and and modern enough as well is it is that line the same angle throughout out is it directly stra yes sir and it just turns on at the top in between the little Planters you see there as the division between the private rooftop Terraces as well so it feels like a whole thing so when seeing at an angle and farther far the the addition the vertical addition of the parts get red as a much bigger element that provides continuity and splits the whole thing half but in other words on the first on the first floor it's the same width than it is on the second and the third yes okay and then we have this portion in the back I mean I didn't delve much into the floor PL because of time obviously but a we aim to comply with the requirement to mask the parking from the the Waterway which is equally important as Street if if not more and uh in terms of usage I say well let's have a proper outdoor space particularly for the the folks on the second floor that do not have the private roof to Terraces for their own expansion and uh and outo living so they can just bring friends and and have a space with a little restroom with a pool uh with access to the the actual new dog which is very livable and enjoyable CU that's one thing with Miami vision I mean we want to make use that this valuable resource we have which is our Waterfront is used for public uses in those cases where it makes sense but even if it is for private use that is not just ignore and the buildings just give the back to the water and uh and uh it's a it's a sorry thing to see we want to make good use of it can I ask you a question about can you pull up the ground floor plan please absolutely well this is not my presentation but uh I'm sure there's a FL here you have okay can you point out where all the all the gates will be in the in the property so gates for pedestrian access and access one gate here and another gate here because in our reading again of typology which is one of the first things that we do we notice that obviously given the setbacks that Prevail in this zoning in this area all the buildings are detached but unlike some other areas of the city where you see a continuous fence at the front and the front yard is privatized we notice that all of these buildings have a semi-public space that works as a transition between the fully public real of the street to the fully private real of the the actual building and we wanted to preserve that we don't want to be the old ball that they just fence this thing and this is mine and screw you understood but can can you tell me a little bit about what those Gates will be made of and where you show them very same treatment if you see the same yes sir so if you see the elevations let's see if they show up here somewhere it's that that material yes and it's open a in day well here in this rendering you get to see a li of it yeah they didn't look the same that's why I was wondering um what can you tell me a little bit about what the material is both on the on the again these are a aluminum rib yes not steel because steel we know it's close to the water no matter how well you treated is going to rust fairly fast so these are aluminum ribbons uh interwoven that uh we either open up a little bit we we pronounce the scales where we want visuals to go through as in the case of the stair and the fences or otherwise we flatten them like for example on the size I understand I understand you've explained that can you also point out where you show the gate for the garage yes uh let's see if we have an elevation here which is a rollup gate matching in color but not in in treatment with this it's what I'm sorry I missed it's a rollup rollup gate oh it's a rollup gate oh okay and you see it here same for the trash as well we managed to is it just to the is it just outside the trash room there yes those two parall I mean perpendicular to each other they have the same treatment they are aligned at the top okay the elevations show it probably in the package you have of the ual plans for the subar because we chose the things that we thought were worth highlighting in the presentation but you have more information in there great thank you very much absolutely okay any other questions for the applicant yes Elizabeth please so what's how thick is this aluminum mesh or the actual plate it I foresee it being about 1/8 of an inch when all the fins are closed and then as you open it to they stri when the fins are closed it might be about 1 inch when they are open might grow up to three and a half to four inches at most so in your drawings you show like this membrane floating in space that's kind of structure you need to keep it there and then how big is how often you need those structures because I think that will distur some of the lightess of what you're showing us here yes we obviously need to get a on um we foresee this being tendons that strategically particularly at the corners where they are solid and then have the sheer uh strength of the material allow it to by being interwoven and and biting one slightly into the other to can deliver from one side support to the other um to make sure that those vertical struts are as least visible as possible same as in the case for the the parking guard R where there is a 2X two steel element in the front and then there are rods meant to be interwoven in the flat section as well but that would definitely be detailed and subject to the approval of staff is that is there a roof over that or the roof stops at the glazing of the staircase the well there is no glazing other than the the guard uh at the 42 in high height but no it's fully open in that sense what what you see for example right here in the the slide that I'm seeing I don't know if you are to um is everything that is white that is used to the right of it is exposed to the elements in the front and back any other questions Lindy yes I had a couple of questions um so you discussed the fact that the units are split down the middle essentially so on the North and South Side the roof top Terrace um available to the twostory units that's not shared right that is separate space between the two units separate space hopefully they get to get along fairly well it's open that's what I'm that's what I'm Wonder well there is a there is a divider 42 in high to keep the the elevation of the perimeter um guard and we foresee planter boxes on top we hate to do buildin Planters because no matter how well you build and they eventually leak mhm so I chastize developers and contractors alike for that and uh try to make sure that where we want trees we just provide Standalone uh Planters added later that can drain onto the roofing water proof membrane or or roofing system and drain just like any other water falling on it okay um and then my second question and I think it's just a matter of perspective on one of the renderings the the seaw Wall height is it the same as both neighboring sides no we actually asked the public Wars Department what new seaw Wall height we are to provide because right now it's in not so good condition it's practice several spots and we have to rebuild it and they gave us the exact height that they they want us to to have which actually I had the design for a lower height and we had to retool it and and ramp up slightly to go up to the marina so how does the proposed seaw Wall height how does it compare to your neighbors that's what I was trying to find out rendering it looks the same I wasn't sure if you look at the rendering closer instantly you might see that is probably about a foot higher yeah I mean I'm just I'm Bing it here but I I recall because I don't know the exact Elation of the side thank you I was looking at a different one where it looks much closer that's why I wanted to know thank you no worries all right um so with that um we will now have board disclosures if there are any no no right no no no okay and then open it to the public okay okay I don't see anyone in the audience but on Zoom we have uh Jim Noble hi Jim do you swear affirm that the testimony you'll give in this proceding is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you you have three minutes thank you first of all um like to compliment uh Mr Fernandez U that's an exciting uh project and and and let me I guess I should introduce myself I'm an owner in the adjoining property on the North side at 8250 uh Byron Avenue uh the Byron Waterview condominium um and uh one of the question I have three items I'd like to mention uh to possibly address um one is uh um as an owner in the um on the southwest corner of of that building of the adjoining building to the north I would have preferred to have seen a larger setback on the North side um than than this bill the proposed billing seems to have a larger setback on the on the south side to the joining property on the South Side prer just for lines and to maintain um sunlight uh because this building even though it's it's only going to be four stories it's the equivalent of our five-story building and because it has obviously taller ceiling Heights um so that would be one consideration in terms of maintaining the the uh sunlight on our on our uh you know the sunshine um the uh I'd also uh suggest for consideration that both from a marketability that would that would also improve our sight lines and also perhaps enhance marketability of the proposed project is to have the balconies the fourth the fourth floor of the building not pushed all the way U focused on the on the canal but but and it it's it's dramatically set back from Byron Avenue but but but all the way against the canal but but position it in the middle Center it uh to the east and west so that there's balconies on both sides of the building that would help preserve sight lines on both sides of the building one of the things of particular value to me is our sight line of the canal that would be partially blocked by the uh because the the fourth floor of this building is already is pushed back as far to the West as possible and uh and the last thing is to make the applicant aware of potential construction issues the Byron water viiew condominium has not been properly maintained and we don't want to see any issues that that may have risen at Champlain Tower South um because of the joining construction uh there's they should before they did any pile driving or any any any kind of major construction to to make sure they check the conditions that uh join on the property on our property to the north because our property is has not been is extensive deferred m maintenance and we don't want to have any is issues as a result of the new construction going on joining us thank you very much let's let's take all the public comment and then we'll get back to these uh individual questions our next speaker is Daniel Caldo yes hi Daniel Caldo with myami design preservation Le um we support the project subject to the staff conditions the new construction appears sensitive and compatible with the surroundings we did have some concerns when reviewing the design regarding the central element of the facade which is a gray painted aluminum uh we believe that it would be good to also consider some Alternatives like breeze block or other compatible material that would be more in keeping with the myo design and we thank you for your uh service okay thank you Daniel uh Mr chair I see no other members of the public wishing to comment all right um well would you like to respond to the um to public the questions that uh Mr Noble presented sure um we will certainly reach out to that condo association in connection with construction management issues it's too bad that the building has not been maintained I I share his concern about it getting worse and exacerbated by construction so we'll figure out what we can do to live with them uh I'm sympathetic to his loss of view but you don't enjoy a view across a neighbor's property um and with regard to Daniel's uh design suggestion I think we're comfortable with aluminum but I'll have our architect speak to Daniel's suggestion um about that well first I wanted to thank Mr Noble for his kind words and um to an extent um at least on the ground floor which is the highest story we try to push back away from the water a little bit because we wanted to give enough room for the the uses that we have back there and also we were conscious of of views from from the building on the other side as you go up again the site is so tight as you might remember from the the floor plans I showed that we have to use every single single square foot available to fit the rooms with workable Dimensions that a bedroom cannot be any smaller than it needs to be the same goes for a kitchen and the the living room uh as a matter of property R yes there I mean you get to build up to where you can and where you're allowed to BU low and trying to be as sensitive as possible my job is to try and design as good a building as possible so at least it's Pleasant to look at um the The Wider serpac in the South was more than anything PR because you have the sun there and the Landscaping that was to survive would need some as well um as far as Mr Caldo um I would say that I honestly believe that if Morris lapidos was alive and kicking today he wouldn't mind experimenting within the same vocabulary that he used back in the 50s and he would have loved to toy around with the the technical possibilities that we have today you see that's the thing with a living tradition that it doesn't get Frozen in time you have Architects like Scotti being inspired by paladio padio being inspired by Michelangelo Michelangelo being inspired by bramante and breski yet at the same time you see a recognizable thread as they keep on building on the same tradition the local vernacular for Miami Bish of course is not classicism is a fairly new city but within that vernacular there is always room for exploration which is not to say that I wouldn't use concrete scre screens at any time in fact I've used them in Pro that I brought in front of this board it's just that I think for this particular building and for all the things we're trying to accomplish without metal screen that in my humble opinion is the best solution that we can use thank you Edwardo that's it Mr chairman okay um thank you very much uh now we'll open it up for board member comment anybody want to start uh not not to the applicant just for ourselves any comments whatever um obviously if you have more questions my only question and I forgot to ask it is is this going to be a an apartment building or a condominium building don't don't don't talk don't talk just let them talk do you want us to respond Mr chairman you can respond yeah all right apartments or Condes we haven't decided oh sir we need to the mic please yeah you didn't know you be on the spot huh Hassan my name is Hassan uh with one of the owner of this uh property um thank you for your time to uh review this uh plan we thank you Mike and Eduardo to did a great job uh to develop this plan after several months they were working on it um as far as condo or apartment we haven't really decided um because we primarily we're going to be residing in this building so we need to look at the um a few factors like as you know how we Finance it the construction and some of the banks they have um you know their favor on one class to the other class so we're probably going to decide to thank you thank you and as far as our discussion here thank you very much what I really like about this is I look at this as being a really Contemporary Art Deco building you know maintaining the tradition of what uh Art Deco was all about with the rounded corners and the eyebrows and everything else I just think uh today so many uh Lots people going and just like want to put in a big big box and a lot of glass and whatever I looked at this and felt it really was blending in very well with the neighborhood okay thank you very much um Laura would you like to say anything or come back to you um thank you so much for the presentation I think it's a beautiful project thank you um on a on a difficult uh site 50 feet wide which is typical but I think you've um you know maximized the in an appropriate way and in a contextual way um to the historic district so thank you and thank you to ownership for um doing such a great job thanks yeah I'll Echo um my colleagues it's really thoughtful uh I love your presentation um you really really thought about the area and about incorporating a lot of details and and I think a lot of moments into the building that that one would remember if they walked by it so um congratulations thanks I I I love the the screen I'm just a little bit of a skeptic when it comes to some of those things and I but I you gave a very good answer about the Angles and I'm very obessive about what what I do so I I see if I'm involved I I can give you my word that everything that is humanely possible will be done to make it work and look like it is in the Rand I hate to see buildings that are let down yeah especially that rendering of the screen because that one is actually quite good and you can we use good people to to do rendering so that's good to know that it will look like that thank you lth yeah no I just Echo the compliments you receive from my colleagues down the table but I still um I have a little I'm a little concerned with this aluminum screen I'm a littleit skeptical uh of the outcome and I am me I appreciate your watching your full dedication to make it work but I've seen like other aluminum screens in other buildings in the city and with time and the weather the maintenance is not always there and sometimes it's beyond maintenance and you need to redo and it doesn't happen very often so there is a deterioration that ends up taking away the beauty of the building um and also I'm a little bit concerned once you start adding the structure that will be required to make the screen stand there the impact of that and the lack of maybe the lightness that we see now in the rendering no we we we know that the the air Airy character of it is a it's main charm if you will so we'll be extremely careful as to how to support it in as unobtrusive a way possible we've done it before and uh we've been working in Miami Beach for several years we have an excellent relationship with staff who we only have excellent work for we commend the the tremendous work that they do and we have a very open communication with them so they they are very clear about making themselves heard about the things they like and they like not so I I trust that we'll get to something that that works through the building per approval process I so then and as you go ahead developing the details for that yes I would like you to keep your mind open to other Alternatives maybe a little bit more thre dimension know I've seen some very pretty ceramic perforated box that could be beautiful for here and the maintenance of that is much easier so just keep that if they the the shapes the visual quality to it work I'm more than open to it I'm I'm not committ I don't sell aluminum pieces myself so I don't have a Vester interest so I just care about the building working thank you okay Lindy hi oh um so I think first off I'd like to say I do think you've done a really beautiful job designing this project and and I thank you guys for bringing forth um uh you know something you know at least in keeping with the building next door and the building across the street um but also an updated um version of that I I will say um I don't I don't think it's going to deter me from supporting you today but I was a little bit concerned because you know if you look at all the the drawings it's uh pictured in uh context with the building next door which is five stories but that one and the one across the street and like an occasional one down the street is of the same Hye but most of the other are the lowrise twostory um so it gave me a little bit of pause um I I don't know I just felt the need to say that um I um I do like the idea of the aluminum I was asking Debbie over here kind of in a sidebar I know there's a building south of fifth the Lou house um where they use the aluminum side the aluminum loers essentially right um as their um as their exterior and kind of in a nod to the louvered Windows um of the uh like the vernacular style I guess um that was down there um so I appreciate the updated interpretation yet nod towards the you know the use of Breeze Block in the myo that sort of thing um so so thank you for bringing this project forth it's clear that you guys have put a lot of work into this if if anything just to further convey what inform the decision one of the reasons why we also had the 10 foot setback on that side was to provide for a transition a tapering between a lower building and the higher but also if you look at that white little building when the first time I saw it in detail because I drive there from time to time it reminds you of the bach Town buildings you find in places like in St pit beach in St Petersburg or or in the Florida Keys the thing with those is that they were the prevalent building types and that's what you saw uh uh in Miami B when Miami wish was like s pit beach and and the floridia keys decades ago as it becomes denser inevitably it the type of buildings and the heights within the confines of the proof zoning ordinance they morve I mean even Paris was a village at some point and we just tried to to do the best we can within those circumstances I'm going to um start my comments with a question for you Debbie just to see um whether we whether your thoughts on the on the the vent the trash vent is it I was thinking it might be possible to bring that um the screen that's already on the roof Terrace to kind of engage it it would mean more was visible from the street of that's on that floor on that level uh than is currently there now but it would it would also mean the elimination of that horrible like just kind of thing sticking out so in an otherwise very nice project so is that something you'd that's you know at first we wanted it eliminated then we realized it's a trash Sho and there are certain requirements above the roof so it couldn't be eliminated and then we went to I think what you're describing well if it has to be there then it should be something that's more consistent with the vocabulary of the exist of the design so yes our idea was potentially maybe that screen to kind of wrap it maybe it's not you know maybe it does get slightly heftier which I think it might in composition with the existing building look better maybe it's not round maybe it has a curve to it but it's not just kind of this round anomaly that sticks out it just the what the vent itself or the uh or the screening yeah the stand long element you mean it's the aluminum material it looks like it's the same material you're using down on the uh well you different than the gates but it's it was higher because at some point we were just toying with the idea of actually emphasizing this chimney to take something from the little building next to us but then they chastized us and then we just lowered it to as much as we could within the minimum requirements that we have right I I have this internal debate that you're having right now that yes if you mask it you make it more you make it bulkier more visible versus just letting it be what it is and and just kind of out of sight whichever way you want us to go we we will play with that I I think be given the profile of your building and the way in which you're emphasizing um the kind of Corners the volumes I I would recommend that the that the fence above that it that the fence Embraces Embraces it go scale down version of what the stair is doing further down right I would say I would say that's the case I would also um recommend that the um that you look at Ceramic uh ceramic tiles for this uh for this Central feature um this screen because there are I agree with Elizabeth there are some really really nice products out there and um to get something that looks like this with as little structure as you've indicated it should um is going to be challenging pretty impossible not impossible it's challenging but we love a challenge but uh anyway um and then I was just noticing on the rooftop you have just it looks like there's green is there a is there a planter at the at the top of that of that metal screen there is a planter a further back on top of the stairs basically or a series of Planters within the the compliance of the screen for privacy between the two uh portions of the roof of the front that act as private teres to the master bedrooms okay got it did you want to say something I was going to say that was what we were discussing earlier between the two Terraces the private Terraces with the units correct yes okay it's just that some Peaks up over the over the top okay um and uh let's see there was that and then of course and I think I don't have any um problem with the personally with the waiver or with the the variance um so I was just going to mention that for the um to you and for our colleagues and uh yeah so with that we'll need um we will need two votes we'll need a certificate of appropriateness um and um I would hope that we would get one um maybe one um if somebody could um a motion a motion that would maybe engage something about that the staff recommends about the roof or the the rooftop um and possibly exploring some of the some of the other materials for that for the screen in the front um so if anybody would like to if like to move that I'd be happy to get that motion um I can give it a try but I can't make it okay so I'll make a motion to to approve the proposed design uh including the recommendations from staff and the further study of uh incorporating the trash stacking to the design of the metal screen on the rooftop and explore ceramic tile as a oh and then exploring alternative materials for the screening of the stair such as perforated ceramic elements yes we agree subject is St always a second I I'll second it second okay okay let me call the rle Mr Erick yes Miss Weinstein Burman yes Mr Breslin yes Miss LEL yes Miss carmargo yes Mr or Mr Stewart yes okay that passes and then we need a second motion for the uh variance the driveway variance I I'll move that we um approve the variance from is it 12 feet to 10 feet is that correct correct second okay let me call the role Miss Weinstein Burman yes Mr Brin yes Miss carmago yes Mr Erick yes Miss lble yes Mr Stewart yes great thank you all for your time appreciate it thank you so much for Cong your kind words nice project okay Mr chair that concludes the regular agenda I we do have the discussion item um where we just wanted to provide you an update at the October meeting um the board updated the board with regard to I mean staff updated the board with regard to 1436 Pennsylvania Avenue this is also known as The Rose Cottage it is a building um it's a contributing building in the Espanola Way historic district that's owned by the Miami day County school board at the October uh meeting the um board did provide some recommendations to the school board including uh requesting that the demolition be delayed uh in order to allow time to fully document the building board also requested some information about the history of the building and the the school board's involvement in the property and then finally um we extended an invitation to school board member staff as well as school board members to attend this meeting um we gave them the zoom information um and the inperson information uh we did hear back that they acknowledged the receipt of these recommendations um while we've met internally to discuss um the steps forward we have tried to set up a meeting where a member of the Schoolboard staff would be you know attend a meeting um so far we have not been successful um as far as the site I know Jake's been by the site a several times there's not a ton of activity at least as of last late last week there wasn't other than f Ing and there does appear to be an attempt to what is it Jake removing the portion of the tree like there's kind of a tree that's impacting the the existing structure um and so that's our update we did however Jake and I were playing detective and we did find some really interesting information from a 1955 Miami Herald article um this article um says that the school board actually purchased this property in 1954 for a um amount of $7,750 so I know that had come up before how you know when is how long has the school board owned this when you know do they buy it was it a donation well we believe that this article is accurate and they purchased it for for just under $18,000 in 1954 did um they did not the article did not say um I know it's been used um over time for Community meetings The JCC was involved in in the property to to some extent many years later The JCC um who we have also been been speaking with um had a proposed partnership um that never went forward um to turn a portion of the property into housing um you know so we're we're actively still reaching out to the school board um but we haven't had any success um in scheduling the meeting I want to thank Leslie Rosenfeld who is our liaison to All Things schools in this city um she does an excellent job she has amazing contacts um so she has been assisting the city with riching out um but so far we have not been successful in having a dialogue has there been any more indication about what the what that site might be used for or any indication from them no from my conversations personally with the school board you know going back months um they currently do not have a plan for that site how long has it been vac a long time I would say you know over a decade well thank you very much you're welcome really appreciate that and that's all I have today other than wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving thank you same to you thank you okay we're adjourned y thank you