Alex Dambach, AICP

Planning Supervisor

Peter Schwarz, AICP

Assistant Director

Jennifer Frastai, Director

Engineering and Community Development

Issue Statement:  Blackwood Partners, LLC and Blackshore Partners, LLC applied to rezone the current site of the Oak Tree Golf Course from Open Space (OS) to Planned Unit Development (PUD).  City Code Section 24-54 “Planned Unit Development” permits larger tracts of land under unified control to be planned and developed as a whole with a greater amount of flexibility by removing some of the detailed restrictions of conventional zoning.  This PUD includes regulations for building setbacks, density, and open space.    This item seeks to rezone to the PUD with accompanying master development plan regulations. 

Recommended Action:  The Planning and Zoning Board consider the request for rezoning to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with accompanying master development plan for the property and make a recommendation to the City Commission regarding the adoption of an Ordinance for rezoning this site.

Background: The subject property is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of N.W. 21st Avenue and N.W. 44th Street; the property also has frontage along Prospect Road.  The 140.7 gross acre property is currently vacant.

·       Surrounding Properties:  The subject site is mostly surrounded by residential uses. Oak Tree Estates is a single-family residential community to the North. Lake Emerald is a multi-family community to the South. West of the site are single-family and multi-family residential communities. East of the site are single-family residential communities.  Northeast of the site are industrial and commercial areas. 

·       Current Zoning: Open Space (OS)

·       Proposed Zoning: Planned Unit Development (PUD)

·       Current Future Land Use:  The entire site is designated in the Future Land Use Map as Parks/Recreation (P/R)

·       Proposed Future Land Use: A Future Land Use Map amendment is being concurrently processed for the subject site to be designated as Irregular Density at 2.88 dwelling units per acre.

This project has two other corresponding applications:

·       Plat: There is a plat review pending for this property as another agenda item.

·    Land Use Plan Amendment: A Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) was reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board on July 9, 2018 and is pending second reading before the City Commission.

Proposed Project:

The applicant proposes to build up to 405 dwelling units consisting of the following:

·       273 single-family detached houses

·       132 attached townhomes

·       Internal Infrastructure

·       Private roadway network with sidewalks on both sides of the street

·       Community Center

·       Other site amenities

The application includes a Master Development Plan encompassing several attached documents, in accordance with Section 24-54(H), that includes the site plan, street naming plan, building façade designs, and other project details, and it encompasses the future regulations for this development.  This Master Development Plan is to be adopted as a component of this rezoning Ordinance and permits site development accordingly.

The application also includes a Unified Development Agreement as required by Section 24-54(D).  This agreement is to be signed by the applicant and the City.

Site Amenities:

            The applicant has proposed the followed site amenities:

·       Club House with community pool.

·       A 9.3 acre Public Linear Greenway Park along the northeast, east, and south perimeters of the property.

·       Lakes for storm water retention and passive recreation.

·       Passive and Active recreation areas.

·       A 14.6 acre open space area for use by residents of Oak Tree Estates

·       Walking and bicycle trails along the main central roadway, in the Linear Greenway Park, and in the open space area for use by Oak Tree Estates.

Site Enclosure:

·        Gated Community.  

·        Perimeter:

·       5’ tall berms combined with 6’ tall concrete walls in areas with home directly abutting the perimeter.

·       Lake front view along N.W. 44^th Street will not be obstructed by berm, hedge, or wall where no homes are directly adjacent to the street.    

·        Vehicular Access:

·       Main entrance for residents and visitors located on Prospect Road. 

·       Secondary resident-only entrance located on N.W. 44^th Street. 

·       Emergency Access:  There are two additional emergency access points controlled by gates under control of emergency agencies:  One located along N.W. 44^th Street and the other along N.W. 21^st Avenue. 

Stormwater:

The site’s stormwater management system is designed to provide on-site drainage for the proposed development and for the adjacent Oak Tree Estates neighborhood (required by current easement). Both water quality and attenuation requirements are met in the proposed lake retention systems. A surface water management permit application with Broward County EPGMD is required and under review.

Open Space:

City Code requires a PUD to have a minimum of 35% open space.  This City can credit up to 40% of the open space area as lake or waterway surface in accordance with Section 24-54(F)(11) of the Land Development Code.

·       The project provides a total of 35.5% open space or 49.3 acres.    

·       Lake surface area requested to be credited as open space consists of 13.21 acres, consisting of 27% of the open space area provided. 

·       Public Access:  The PUD applicant will design, construct, and maintain a 9.3 acre public access linear park along the eastern, northeastern, and southern boundaries of the site.  This linear park is to include walking and biking trails and siting areas overlooking the project’s lakes. 

Traffic:

Internal Circulation:  Applicant is proposing a fifty (50’) foot wide right-of-way for the project’s main central roadway and forty-two (42’) foot wide rights-of-way for side streets/cul-de-sacs. The street width is to be 20 feet.  These streets would be lined on each side with 2 food wide valley gutters and 4-8 foot wide swales.  All streets are to have minimum five-foot wide sidewalks on both sides.  The internal streets are proposed to have names that are not similar to other street names in Oakland Park or Broward County and to have type names (Avenue, Place, etc.) that correspond with the directional identifying system for greater Fort Lauderdale.   The Fire Department and the Broward Sheriff’s Office found the proposed names acceptable for the purposes of finding a property during an emergency.

There are eleven cul-de-sac street segments in the proposed development.  Under Section 24-96(D), dead-end streets are required to be no longer than 400 feet and have a 70’ diameter turn around at their ends.  The applicant has proposed longer cul-de-sac dead end streets up to 475 feet in length, but with 100-foot diameter turn arounds which have been accepted by the Fire Department as meeting its requirement.

Surrounding Streets: The applicant provided a traffic report with a detailed assessment of the impacts of the proposed Oak Tree Development on the local roadway network.  The applicant proposed improvements to the intersection of N.W. 21^st Avenue and Prospect Road to Broward County as part of its land use plan amendment review.  The County accepted these improvements as adequate. 

Furthermore, there is a Broward County Transit stop for Bus Route 11 along NW 21st Avenue just south of Prospect Road. This stop is acknowledged on the master development plan.  Broward County has required the inclusion of a bus stop sidewalk pad at this location with easement area, as applicable, for a bus shelter.

N.W. 44^th Street: The Applicant will design and construct the segment of N.W. 44^th Street from N.W. 21^st Avenue to the City line.  Enhancements will include the design and construction of a round-a-bout at the project’s entrance on N.W. 44^th Street and additional enhancements east to N.W. 21^st Avenue as provided in the attached exhibit.  The improvements require approval of Broward County.  The Applicant and City staff are working with the County for approval of the conceptual design. 

The streetscape enhancements are to be constructed during the first phase of the development project.  The traffic circle is to be constructed as part of the second phase.

Lot Configuration:

This project proposes to include 273 lots for free-standing single-family dwellings.  These lots fall into three size categories. 

·       137 lots would be approximately 40 feet wide with the following regulations:

·       66 lots would be approximately 53 feet wide with the following regulations:

·       70 lots would be approximately 67 feet wide with the following regulations:

The largest lots would be north of the development’s central roadway closer to the Oak Tree Estates neighborhood.  The 40- and 53-foot wide lots would be interspersed in the southern and central areas of the development. 

In reaction to concerns raised by City staff about narrow spaces between dwellings, the applicant adjusted the site layout to limit the number of instances in which a dwelling with the minimum side setback of 5 feet is located adjacent to another parcel with a minimum side setback of 5 feet (resulting in 10 feet between such houses). The applicant positioned many of the 40-foot lots at ends of blocks or adjacent to open space tracts to lessen the occurrence of minimum spacing situations.

Architecture:

The PUD plan proposes a mixture of architectural facade styles for each of the nine available dwelling types including Craftsman-inspired, Victorian-inspired, and Low-Country-inspired designs. 

The proposed dwelling types are summarized as follows:

Single Family Homes:

Townhomes:

3.     Findings and Applicable Codes

Comprehensive Plan:

The site is designated for Parks and Recreation Use in the current Future Land Use Map of the City of Oakland Park Comprehensive Plan.  A Land Use Plan Amendment application is pending to designate this land as Irregular Density for up to 2.88 dwelling units per gross acre to allow for residential development at the subject site.  The City Commission has adopted the requested designation on first reading and transmitted the request to the State and County for their required reviews.  The State authorized this designation, and the Broward County Commission approved this designation with conditions at the June 4, 2019 meeting.  The City Commission will consider the final adoption of this designation immediately prior to consideration of this rezoning request. 

Development Review Committee:

The site plan has been reviewed by the Development Review Committee, and it has been found to comply with the minimum standards under PUD zoning of the Land Development Code with the staff recommended conditions of approval. 

Findings:

Proposed is the conversion of an abandoned golf course into a new gated housing development with 405 homes.  The project was initially proposed as a denser development that included multi-family dwellings.  Below is a comparison of the various aspects of the project based on the way the initial proposed application for the project and the current pending project for consideration:

As a PUD development, City Ordinance provides for a greater amount of flexibility by removing some of the detailed restrictions of conventional zoning. 

Attached as an Exhibit are the proposed PUD regulations which include all the proposed development regulations and conditions attached to the rezoning which binds all successors in title to all commitments made pursuant to this rezoning.   

Pursuant to Section 24-54(D)(3) the Planning and Zoning Division certifies that the attached Master Development Plan meets the requirements of the Section 24-54, the Planned Unit Development (PUD) regulations, attached. 

Recommended Conditions of Approval:

1.     The applicant shall develop the property according to the Master Development Plan accompanying this rezoning application.

2.     Traffic:

a.      In accordance with the Land Use Plan Amendment, the Applicant shall design and construct and repave, including milling and resurfacing, the segment of N.W. 44^th Street adjacent to this property as reflected in the attached exhibit, NW 44^th Street – Draft Concept.   Said improvements shall be constructed in phases corresponding with the page entitled “Final Site Plan Phasing Plan” of the Master Development Plan. 

·       Prior to issuance of the final certificate of occupancy for a residential unit in Phase 1, improvements consisting of a road curvature with a median, and stamped asphalt with curbing and trees at the two locations depicted in the area between the proposed 44^th Street development entrance and N.W.  21 Avenue shall be completed. 

·       Prior to issuance of the final CO for a residential unit in Phase 2, improvements shall include the roundabout at the entrance on NW 44 St, and the roadway segment shall be repaved by that time. 

These improvements are subject to issuance of permits by the City and Broward County, as applicable.  The Applicant and City staff are working with the County for approval of the final design.   All improvements shall be constructed in the existing right-of-way and right-of-way required by County plat approval.

b.     Traffic mitigation improvements as accepted by Broward County shall be installed according to requirements in the County’s Land Use Plan Amendment Declarations.

3.     Landscaping:

a.      All proposed berms must meet a minimum maintainable slope of 3:1 throughout.  The berm slope or height shall be adjusted prior to the issuance of the site development permit.

b.     Lakes-water quality shall be addressed prior to issuance of site development permit, including:

                                                              i.     Identify and implement improvements that mitigate standing water issues and potential mosquito problems, and

                                                            ii.     Add aeration devices consisting of fountains to improve oxygenation

c.      Tree disposition plans are required through the City of Oakland Park and shall be included in the building permit submittal.

d.     Missing plant tags on the landscape plans shall be inserted as necessary in the building permit submittal.

e.      Statement indicating material availability is required in the building permit submittal.

4.     Fire:

a.      The HOA documents shall clearly state there is “No on-roadway parking permitted” and the “HOA shall be responsible for towing of vehicles parked on paved roadways or in fire lanes, with zero tolerance”. It shall further state that “failure to enforce no parking on paved roadways”, other than for deliveries, “will result in civil proceedings and fines”.(Section 9.7 of HOA documents does not do so.)

5.     Architecture

a.      Modifications to the approved architectural facades in the Master Development Plan shall be reviewed and approved by the DRC and approved modifications shall retain an adequate amount of window area, front porch area, and/or architectural trim consistent with the Master Development Plan.

6.     Prior to the issuance of the first residential (non-model) certificate of occupancy within each phase, the applicant shall grant utility and access easements within each phase, consistent with the approved Master Development Plan to the City of Oakland Park.

7.     In accordance with the Land Use Plan Amendment, the applicant shall design and construct a perimeter wall, as approved by the Eastland Cove Homeowners Association, along N.W. 21^st Avenue and Prospect Road, as was required during first reading.  The wall shall be constructed prior to the issuance of the first Certificate of Occupancy.   In the alternative, upon concurrence and written approval of the Homeowner’s Association, the Applicant may provide a monetary contribution based upon a contractor’s cost estimate.

8.     Prior to the issuance of first residential (non-model) certificate of occupancy, the applicant shall record a document acceptable to the City and County that grants a public access easement  for the land area along Prospect Road, N.W. 21st Avenue and NW 44th Street that is designated as a public linear greenway park . This document shall indicate the terms of the perpetual maintenance obligations of public linear greenway park, by the residential homeowner’s association.

9.     Prior to the issuance of the first residential (non-model) building permit, a draft copy of the homeowner’s association documents shall be submitted to the City. The homeowner’s association documents shall indicate language restricting overnight guest parking within designated guest parking areas.

10.  As required by the Land Use Plan Amendment, prior to the issuance of the first certificate of occupancy, applicant shall pay $40,000 to the City of Oakland Park, for the Repetitive Lost Area Analysis (R.L.A.A.) activities necessary for City of Oakland Park CRS mitigation strategy.

The Planning and Zoning Board consider the request for rezoning to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with accompanying master development plan for the property and make a recommendation to the City Commission regarding the adoption of an Ordinance for rezoning this site.