2014-1218 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting December 18,2014 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida minimal variance as possible. Commissioner Goldman said this building has a potential to have an iconic quality but it could be iconic positive or it could be iconic negative. Marissa Amuial said the building speaks for itself as a really beautiful, sweet, elegant, modern building compared to the 400 building which is a very bulky building and it loses a lot of visibility out towards the water. With their building you will not be losing that visibility. Rabbi Kaller said that 125 feet is not accurate because Parks Towers which is an approved building by Milton and Associates,is on the same block,same street,the same unity of title and they are at 290 feet and so the variance we are requesting is actually 35 feet. They realize it is more about the volume rather than the height,and this is a very skinny and elegant building that is going to be an iconic building for good, and this will be the first image in sight as the vehicles come into Sunny Isles Beach. City Planner Hasbun said in answer to Commissioner Goldman's question, yes the 400 building is 201 feet and also Rabbi Kaller had mentioned that Parks Towers has been approved for two towers being 290 foot towers. Also for the record, this is in Town Center where we allow for a unified project to have towers with 290 feet. She also wanted to mention for the record that they have been working with the developer for the last six (6) months and originally the developer had requested a much higher variance for the Tower,they were around 385 feet and we were able to work with them to bring it down to 325 feet. Vice Mayor Aelion said that during his campaign he advocated the importance of the protection of what we have on the west side,the life style,traffic impact,etc. He has learned through the last four(4)years that each site plan has to be looked at on its own merits for its impact,mostly two aspects: one is the life style of the residents, and second is the day to day life of traffic,etc. He is drawn to the entrances of our City,it has transformed itself. When he first comes into the City he sees The Regalia which is a beautiful building. When he comes from the South, besides the Tropicana, we have the towers of the Trump I, II, and III, and basically when you look at the entrances to the City except the one from the Lehman Causeway,he sees this project as a positive for the betterment of the whole. Even though this is an exception with variances being requested, he will be approving the project. Commissioner Levin said the condominium upon which it will be constructed is now under contract,the City owns it right now. To not approve the variance would not cause damage to the property owner at this point because it is only contractual interest. She knows that in the event the project was not approved, the City would retain ownership of the property. She understands from her conversation with Rabbi Kaller that this is a joint venture between the company that would actually build and develop the condominium and the Chabad,and so they have their own financial arrangements. While she agrees and understands that the property is unique in size and location, as she said it isn't already owned by the Chabad, it is owned by the City and so she does not know how much that really plays into it. She also thinks the unique location of the property being on the bridge as you are coming over,it is really close to the bridge. She thinks the building is beautiful, she loves the glass and the design. The setback variance is minor, it is 2 '/2 feet, she understands it is necessary, and so she does not have a problem with that. She did look at the building itself and the elevation and the height of the bridge is 35 feet, and the fifth floor which is where the first unit will be 26 feet above the top of the bridge. The second and third floors are each approximately 16 feet ceiling