Alex Dambach, AICP

Planning Supervisor

Peter Schwarz, AICP

Assistant Director

Issue Statement:  IDI Downtown, LLC, applied for site development plan review to construct 10 townhouses on a 27,509 square foot site located at 1027-1034 NE 34^th Court.  In accordance with Section 24-272(A)(6)(a), Planning and Zoning Board development review, as well as, a Modification of Required Yards in the DMUD District in accordance with Section 24-78 is requested.

Recommended Action:  The Planning and Zoning Board review the project for regulatory compliance in accordance with Section 24-272(A)(6)(a) and consider a recommendation to the City Commission regarding the request for a Modification of Required Yards in the DMUD District in accordance with Section 24-78.

Description:  The subject property is located on the north side of NE 34^th Court between NE 10^th Avenue and NE 11^th Avenue. The site totals 27,509 net square feet with 200 feet of street frontage along NE 34th Court.  An existing single-family dwelling and a duplex would be removed for this project.

• Surrounding Properties:  Surrounding the site are single-family, duplex, and multi-family dwellings.  There are commercial business along NE 11^th Avenue about a ½ block away. 

• Zoning: This property is in the Downtown Mixed Use District, within the Neighborhoods sub-area.

Proposed Construction:

The applicant proposes to clear the site, unify the parcels, and construct 10 townhouse dwelling units in two buildings with five units per building.  These buildings would have modern-style architecture. 

• One building would front directly on the street. Its units would contain rear-loaded internal garages and front entrance doorways facing the street. Its facade would include second floor balconies and first floor canopies over the entrances and windows. 

• The rear building would have front-loaded two car garages and entrance doorways facing a one-way circulation alley that would loop around the front building.  This back building would also have balconies and canopies. 

Open space would include private rear yards for the back units, common landscaped areas at the ends of the buildings, and small front yards for the front units.  In addition to the two car garages, there would be two additional common parking spaces at each side of the rear building.  Each townhouse unit would have 1,917 to 1,957 square feet with three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms.  

Downtown Mixed Use District (DMUD) Reviews:

• The Planning and Zoning board is to determine if the site plan meets the standards and requirements of the Oakland Park Land Development Code and forward its recommendation to the City Commission.

• The applicant requests a modification of the required rear yard to have a setback of 26’7” where 30’ is required.  The applicant proposes street-facing balconies and canopies over the entrances and windows for the front building and requests to have a deeper front setback to accommodate these features and have a smaller corresponding rear yard.  In the DMUD, and other special zoning districts, setback modification requests can granted if the meets the criteria identified in Code Section 24-78(C). 

Balconies and canopies are permitted to encroach up to one-third into the required 5-foot front setback, or 1.67 feet.  The applicant proposes to build the project with a front setback of 6’8” in order to have enough space for 3’ deep balconies.   

Findings and Applicable Codes

The Development Review Committee (DRC) reviewed the site plan and request for setback modification, as required under Section 24-78.  The applicant also provided a statement of justification for its request.  The DRC found that this project meets the criteria for granting a yard modification, finding that there is continuity of the proposed rear yard with the other existing dwellings on the block, many of which have rear yard setbacks of 12-15 feet. The DRC also found that the proposed architectural features, including the balconies, encourage public pedestrian interaction, and there is continuity between the architectural features and scale of this project with the adjacent properties. 

District Regulations

DMUD Neighborhoods Subzone Bulk Requirements

Sec. 24-78. - Modification of required yards in certain zoning districts; criteria for modification of required yards.

(A) The development review committee may, in conjunction with site development reviews of downtown mixed use district, federal highway mixed use business and entertainment district and mixed use land development projects, consider a request to modify the setbacks or yards as required by the respective land development code provisions, and may recommend to the planning and zoning board and city commission approval of such request provided that the criteria set forth below are met.

(B) Commission consideration of yard modification shall take place at a duly noticed public hearing and according to quasi-judicial procedures.

(C) No modification of required yards or setbacks shall occur except according to the following criteria:

(1) By adjusting the location of the structure on the site, an architectural and/or engineering study can graphically demonstrate that a superior site development as relating to shadows and/or compatibility with adjacent low density residential neighborhoods will result from such adjustment; or

(2) By adjusting the location of the structure on the site it is found that:

(a) There is continuity of yards between the proposed development and adjacent properties; and

(b) There is continuity of architectural features with adjacent properties which encourages public pedestrian interaction between the proposed development and the public street; or instead of (a) and (b) above, it is found that:

(c) There is continuity of architectural features with adjacent properties; and

(d) There is continuity of urban scale, including height, proximity to the street and relationship of building size, with adjacent properties.

(D) Additional requirements for modification of required yards:

(1) All other land development code requirements are met.

(2) The intent and spirit of the dimensional regulations of the applicable district concerning yards as relating to air, light and shadow is maintained.

(Ord. No. O-2007-011, § 2, 5-2-07)

Sec. 24-263.1. - Free-standing residential base standards.

The Downtown Mixed Use District base standards for free-standing residential uses (those projects which are only residential uses and not mixed with commercial uses) that include duplexes, garden apartments, townhouses and villas are as follows:

( Ord. No. O-2017-014 , § 2, 10-18-17)

Sec. 24-272. - Development review procedure.

The development review committee, which shall include an urban designer and any other designees assigned to the committee by the city, will review all development applications pertaining to any property located in the Downtown Mixed Use District for compliance with the provisions of this Article XX and its companion Oakland Park Downtown Mixed Use District Design Guidelines. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the requested modification is compatible with the desired character of the Downtown Mixed Use District and is consistent with the provisions of this Article and the Oakland Park Downtown Mixed Use District Design Guidelines.

(A) Process for development approval.

(1) Pre-application meeting. A developer or property owner shall submit a development application at least two (2) weeks before a scheduled development review committee meeting to be scheduled for a pre-application meeting on that date. The development review committee may provide oral or written comments on plans at the pre-application meeting.

(2) Formal development review committee meeting. A developer or property owner shall submit the complete development application at least two (2) weeks before a scheduled development review committee meeting to be scheduled for a formal development review committee meeting on that date. The development review committee (DRC) shall provide written comments on the development application at the scheduled meeting.

(3) Required developer response. The developer or property owner shall respond to the development review committee's comments within thirty (30) days of the formal development review committee meeting. The development review has a right to table development applications due to lack of response or incomplete response by a developer or property owner. An application may be reconsidered with a new development review fee with a written request after three (3) months of inactivity.

(4) Staff discretion. City staff has the sole discretion to hold a second formal development review committee meeting with the developer within two (2) weeks of receipt of the developer's modifications if the developer is deemed non-responsive to the development review committee's comments and or the submittal includes major amendments

(5) Revisions to approved site plan.

(a) Minor amendment: The development review committee, after receiving staff recommendations may approve "minor" changes and deviations from the approved site plan which are in compliance with the provisions and intent of this article, and which do not depart from the principal concept of the approved site plan. All other requested changes and deviations shall be referred to the city commission.

(b) Major amendment: The city commission may review and determine that requested changes and deviations from an approved site plan constitute a substantial alteration to the character of the development and thus require that the requested changes be subject to the same procedure as required for new application. Substantial changes would include alteration of the intensities, density, design, public amenities or modifications to minimum code requirements and approved conditions.

(6) Final approval. City staff shall report to the planning and zoning board and city commission on site plans reviewed by the development review committee submitted for development and redevelopment in the Downtown Mixed Use District.

(a) Planning and zoning board consideration. City staff shall report on the development review committee's comments at the first possible planning and zoning board meeting. The planning and zoning board will determine if the site plan meets the standards and requirements of the Oakland Park Land Development Code. The planning and zoning board will forward its recommendation to the city commission.

(b) City commission consideration. The city commission reserves the right to schedule and to hold a formal hearing within forty-six (46) days of the planning and zoning board's review of the development review committee's comments. If no formal hearing is scheduled within the forty-six (46) days, development may proceed as approved by the development review committee.

 (Ord. No. O-2004-030, § 2, 12-1-04)

The Planning and Zoning Board review the project for regulatory compliance in accordance with Section 24-272(A)(6)(a) and consider a recommendation to the City Commission regarding the request for a Modification of Required Yards in the DMUD District in accordance with Section 24-78.