Good evening, everybody, and welcome to the City Commission this November 18th, 2025. If you all could please find a seat. Is my mic on? Okay. Just, okay. So thank you all for coming tonight, everybody. For those of you who are here for the first time, welcome, and we appreciate your participating in our program tonight. We begin with our Pledge of Allegiance, and then we have a few agenda announcements, and then we, before we begin our evening meeting, we have certain presentations. Tonight's presentations will recognize individuals, organizations, or events that are taking place in our city, and there will be five tonight, so then we'll get on with our meeting. So let us begin by my inviting Willie Brown, who's in the fifth grade at Rivalent Play Program, to join me at the podium and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Is Willie here? Hand on your heart. I'm going to start.
I pledge allegiance to the flag for the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Very good, very good.
Okay.
So if you could just take a moment with me and share this moment of silence together. Thank you. At this point, I have the honor of announcing some of our long-term employees who are retiring, and tonight we just have one. She has been with us for 25 years, Sharon Foster, administrative aide in the police department, so she is retiring. Congratulations, Sharon.
Thank you so much for your service to your city. So, Miriam, I'm sorry. I would be remiss if you didn't recognize also Jolene Chisholm of our office, who also has retired this month. And how many years has she been with us? Oh, that's a horrible thing to ask the boss. All right, cool. Congratulations. What's her name again? Well, it was 12 and 6 months or so, but 13, we'll call it. Very good. Congratulations. Jolene Chisholm.
Okay, Mr. Clerk, could you please call the roll?
Vice Chair Herbst. Commissioner Glassman.
Here.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman. Here. Commissioner Sorensen.
Commissioner Sorensen, it will be delayed. He's attending a play that his daughter is in across the street.
And Mayor Trent Tulles.
Here. So there will be a couple of agenda announcements. PH2 is going to be removed from the agenda tonight at the request of the developer. And there's going to be a walk-on motion regarding the Hall of Fame partners and the comprehensive agreement and related agreement changes. So will someone please move to approve the minutes as is and the agenda as amended? So moved. Moved and seconded. Please call the roll.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman.
Yes.
Commissioner Sorensen is not present. Vice Mayor Herbst. Yes. Commissioner Glassman. Mayor Trent Tulles.
Yes. And those minutes and the agenda as amended are now approved. So tonight's first presentation, I'd like to invite Susan Leone. Susan, where are you? There you are. Susan is our Chief Education Officer. And tonight we're going to recognize students from Dillard High School and the Dillard Innovation Zone Student Recognition Program. Susan, press the button under the speaker. There you go.
Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. The City of Fort Lauderdale recognizes that acknowledging and valuing students can significantly increase their self-esteem and their self-confidence. Recognition empowers students to more fully engage in their education and in their community. The Student Recognition Program here is based on the eight essential core character traits as identified by the school board of Broward County. Tonight we are recognizing students from Dillard Elementary School and Joshua Lubin.
As your name is called, as your name is called, if you could please come up to the podium and join Ms. Leone.
He's coming.
There you go.
Yes. Joshua is in fourth grade and he is consistently recognized by both staff and students and peers as helpful and dependable. And he goes out of his way to assist others and contribute positively to his school community. Next we are going to do Rock Island Elementary School. She's an outstanding scholar and exemplifies what it means to be a leader both in and out of the classroom. She shows a deep sense of responsibility in all that she does. As a true citizen of her school community, she participates in activities with enthusiasm, volunteers her time, and sets a positive example for others. Congratulations. Next up we have Sunland Park Academy. We'd like to welcome up first grader Calvin Augustin. Calvin exemplifies all the traits of having a good character. He is helpful to his peers and his teachers and is always so well behaved, makes the honor roll, and gets good grades. Congratulations, Calvin. Next we have Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, Karuche Decius. In fifth grade, Karuche exemplifies good student behavior and consistently excels both academically and socially. She is known for always putting her best foot forward, whether it is in class or during extracurricular activities. Through active participation in school and community organizations, she continues to grow as a well-rounded individual, shows teamwork, initiative, and a desire to make a difference in her community. Congratulations. Next we have Westwood Heights Elementary School, fifth grader Christy Antoine. Christy is a model student who manages and excels academically and socially. She's referred to as helpful, kind, willing to cooperate with her classmates and in classroom discussions. Her teachers describe her as being respectful and demonstrate self-control in all situations. Congratulations to Christy. Next we have Parkway Middle School, seventh grader Caden Rowland. Caden exemplifies resilience, determination, and academic excellence. He's been faced with challenges that easily could have stopped him, but he has overcome those obstacles. He is a story of perseverance, hard work, and unwavering commitment to success. He represents the best of his school. Congratulations, Caden. Next we have William Dandy Middle School. We'd like to bring up seventh grader Brittany Civil. I believe Brittany's joining her sister, no? She demonstrates outstanding leadership and a clear sense of purpose. The school is proud to say she exemplifies academic excellence and is always a leader. Under her leadership, the debate team has won multiple competitions. Congratulations. At this time, we're going to go to Dillard K-12 High School, and we'd like to welcome 11th grader Madeline Cruschel. I'm sorry, it's Madison. I said the wrong thing. I apologize. Madison displays all eight essential core character traits in class and in school. She is helpful to others and compassionate about her work. Madison exhibits true leadership and is a great asset to the Dillard K-12 school and community. Congratulations.
That doesn't exactly say that.
Come on, John.
Stand up. So for our next presentation, again with our Chief Educational Officer, Susan Leon, we're recognizing the City of Fort Lauderdale Scholarship Fund presentation in partnership with the Broward Education Foundation. Susan.
Yes, thank you so much. The City of Fort Lauderdale recognizes the importance of education as a critical springboard to a prosperous economy and encourages traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities beyond K-12, including higher education institutions, continuing education, and workforce development. We are providing 12 scholarships. Two scholarships for each of the six public high schools in the City of Fort Lauderdale have been allocated to support this vision. As the mayor mentioned, this is in partnership with the Broward Education Foundation. The 2025 City of Fort Lauderdale Scholarship recipients are from Stranahan High School, Emily Artabi. Emily, where are you going to school? Where? In Fort Myers. Congratulations. Congratulations. From Fort Lauderdale High School, Karim Bordez. I should mention that a few of the students could not be here tonight as they are away at school. Also from Fort Lauderdale High School, Raina Chavez Capon. From Sheridan Technical High School, Jadour Delaveau. She's attending FIU and could not be here tonight. From Winn Rogers Education Center, James Lynn Honoree. Is mom here? No, okay. From Dillard 612 High School, Sean Newman. Sean is attending Full Sail University. Also from Dillard 612 High School, Jameera Jefferson. Jameera is attending Bethune-Cookman. Also from Dillard High School, Kiani Flowers. Okay, thank you. Thank you for coming in her place. From Segal Alternative High School, we have Melissa Pierre. Melissa is attending Kaiser University. From Sheridan Technical High School, we have Giovanni Saito. Giovanni is at FAMU, so he could not be here tonight. From Stranahan High School, Danae Silvestri. Danae is attending Palm Beach Atlantic. And from Segal Alternative High School, Alvinson Vassar. Attending Broward College. And those are our 12 scholarship winners. So the city of Fort Lauderdale is partnering with Broward Education Foundation to provide these students a scholarship. At the time of the award is a $1,000 scholarship. However, that is turned into 30 credit hours through Florida prepaid. So it's actually worth more than the dollar amount.
That's great. Thank you, Susan. And good luck, kids, in your higher education. Our next presentation, I'd like to invite Commissioner Glassman, who will be presenting a community appearance award, to Z-Rock Dermatology. Wow. Dr. Ziraga and I'm going to kill this name. Dr. Wong Kidderock?
Dr. Wong Kidderock.
Isn't that what I just said?
Close. Close. Thank you, Mayor. At this time, also, if I may... Do you have a picture of the... Well, Vice Mayor, Herb, could you also join us? And I'll explain to everybody, also, Drs. Wong Kidderock and Ziraga, along with everyone on your team. We also have, from the Community Appearance Board, we have the chair, Matt Till, and I believe Jeffrey Ward as well. If there's anyone else from that board, please, and in a few moments, I'll let you introduce your team, which is really great. And we do have a video. Want to do the video first? Sure. So we'll do the video first, so then you'll know why these people are so deserving of this award. So let's go to the video.
For a lot of Delgo, it's a show that survives.
Oh, I see it's you. Wait. Oh, here we go. Wait, wait.
Can we start that again on the top so we can see that?
For a lot of Delgo. Show it's a vibe. Where the streets and the dreams collide. Cover appeal.
Got to show it's a vibe. Bravo.
Again, I wanted to thank Vice Mayor Herbst for letting me do this presentation. Typically, the District Commissioner presents the WOW Awards for these structures in their district. Actually, I've been a patient of Ziraga, I guess, for almost the full 10 years that they've been in business. And when I saw what they did with this structure, I actually said to my doctor, Dr. Wong Kitty Rock, you really need to apply for the City WOW Award. So we got them the application. They did it. And the rest is history. What an amazing, an amazing transformation. So thank you, Vice Mayor, for letting me do this.
Oh, I appreciate it.
Yeah. That's right. I will say this is right over the bridge from my district. It's really, it's really like just around the corner. It's almost District 2. It's so much on the border. And that's why it's so exciting that I get to do this. And especially as I age, I can't wait to take care of some of the Botox treatments and other things that might be coming my way. So far, it's just been those regular checkups. But let's get on with this. Let's get on with this. I think you're ready for treatment. I am. Thank you. You know, I can always count on my friend the mayor for a kind word. So it's really nice. This is a pleasure to present. I want you to know that Z-Rock Dermatology's journey to this moment has been shaped by vision, dedication, and a deep commitment to Fort Lauderdale. For Dr. Juan Kitty Rock and Dr. Zaraga and the Z-Rock Dermatology team, this building has always been more than a workplace. It has been a dream. After renting this space for 10 years, the opportunity to purchase the property allowed them to transform that dream into reality. A one-of-a-kind dermatologic skin center designed to provide exceptional medical, cosmetic, and surgical care. Partnering with Smith Building, the team embarked on an extensive renovation that reimagined the property inside and out. The exterior was completely refreshed with new paint, architectural accents, eyebrow soffits, palm trees, upgraded parking, and enhanced departmental areas, all working together to create a striking modern aesthetic that beautifully revitalizes the building originally constructed in the 1960s. Inside, the transformation is just as impressive. What was once two separate office suites is now a spacious, unified medical facility that has expanded from eight exam rooms to 20. Z-Rock upgraded its laser technology, added fire sprinklers, installed advanced security systems, and made numerous improvements to enhance safety, efficiency, and the patient experience. Every detail reflects Z-Rock Dermatology's commitment to creating a welcoming and patient-focused environment. The doctors and their team wanted the building to mirror the high standard of care they deliver each and every day, and the renovated space serves as a natural extension of those values, thoughtful, modern, and designed with patience in mind. Today, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission and the Community Appearance Board are proud to present a WOW Award to Z-Rock Dermatology for enhancing, improving, and beautifying our community, and for demonstrating what it means to invest in Fort Lauderdale. Congratulations. Thank you, Commissioner.
We're extremely humbled. We didn't expect anything like this.
We partnered with Smith Building.
They were great to work with, and we're excited to offer this new facility that not only looks the part, but also delivers the best in committed patient care, unparalleled community service, and state-of-the-art technology and services designed for the residents of Fort Lauderdale. So thank you.
Connie and I have both lived here for 20-plus-odd years, so we consider this home, and we've seen the explosion that Fort Lauderdale and Oakland Park has gone through. So we're very fortunate to be a part of that and to continue to beautify the landscape that is Fort Lauderdale, since this is our home. Here, let's go in front, because there's so many of us. Let's go next. Go right.
Commissioner Glassman, you might as well stay up there at the podium.
I'll stay.
Okay. And I'd like to invite Michael Albetta, president of the Lakeridge Civic Association, who will receive a proclamation declaring November 22, 2025, as the 10th annual Unity and the Community Grocery and Turkey Giveaway Day here in the city of Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Albetta.
And company. Company. Do I have the whole list? Go ahead. I'm going to let you do that. After we do this, you're going to invite the whole team. Okay?
This is right here. There's more, but they're not here. Okay, that's okay. We'll get to it. Okay, very good.
Michael likes to direct a little bit. That's all right. Have you noticed that? That's okay. I'm very proud to present this proclamation from the office of the mayor, city of Fort Lauderdale, and this is in recognition of the 10th annual Unity in the Community Grocery and Turkey Giveaway. And, folks, if you have never experienced this, I will tell you that it is really something to see. Because what time do we see people lining up on Sunrise Boulevard? Two o'clock in the morning the day before. It's really an incredible experience, and kudos to every single person behind me for this. This is a proclamation that was requested by Commissioner Steve Glassman. Whereas, on Thanksgiving Day, Americans come together to celebrate an American tradition, grateful for the blessings of family, community, and country. And whereas, the Thanksgiving holiday reminds us to recall the spirit of compassion and mutual responsibility to all humanity. As we gather around tables surrounded by loved ones, in humble gratitude for the given bounties we have received, especially now that families are in great need due to cutbacks in food assistance, and whereas, in an effort to make Thanksgiving better for those who would otherwise go without a traditional holiday meal, Pastor Dwayne Black and the Sanctuary Church, in partnership with the Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Rescue Departments, Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kier, and his mobile exemption education team, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, St. Anthony's Homeless Ministries, Food Rescue U.S., South Florida Hunger Coalition, and scores of volunteers will be at the Sanctuary Church to distribute groceries and turkeys to thousands of people. And whereas, the annual Unity in the Community Grocery and Turkey Giveaway being held this Saturday, November 22, epitomizes the spirit of generosity and compassion, allows us to share our time and resources throughout our community with the less fortunate, whether it be in the form of sharing a hearty meal, extending a helping hand, or providing words of encouragement. And whereas, although many challenges have forced us to alter our system of face-to-face meal delivery, we will not allow these circumstances to dampen our spirits or prevent us from feeding our neighbors. And whereas, the mayor and city commissioners are elated to issue this proclamation in recognition of the 10th anniversary of this event, and do thank all those involved in making this giveaway a success, particularly community and civic activist and my friend, Michael Albetta, for all his hard work. Now, therefore, we, as city commissioners of the city of Fort Lauderdale, do hereby proclaim November 22, 2025, as the 10th annual Unity in the Community Grocery and Turkey Giveaway Day in the city of Fort Lauderdale, and dated this the 18th day of November, 2025, and signed by our mayor, the Honorable Dean J. Trentalis.
Thank you.
It takes a village to put this together, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, Commissioner, it's good seeing you, and also to the great city agencies of Fort Lauderdale, from the fire department to the police department, the gentleman in the back, and to neighborhood support, Jania Robinson, and it goes on. It's just, ladies and gentlemen, if you don't, if you never saw this, it's unbelievable. My first time doing this, 10 years ago, BSO asked me, how many people are going to show up? I said, I don't know, maybe a couple hundred. 5,000 people showed up. Literally. 5,000. We emptied up, we emptied three huge tractor trailers of food, and we gave this food away, and it's been continuously happening. Now, from, ladies first, I have Vanessa here, Vanessa Apothecar. She's from District 4, and she's been, she's a great inspiration. This young lady here is Jolene Mullen from Hunger South Florida Coalition. Just phenomenal. And she has these vouchers, and commissioner, is that on, they're going to be given these vouchers with the turkey, and they're going to be asked to go to Carter Park on the Tuesday following, so they have the option of getting fresh produce. Yeah. Come on. Give it up. St. Anthony's Homeless Ministry. This man has been with me for 10 years, and this is Steve Buckley. He's, and if you, his last name is synonymous with Fort Lauderdale City Hall.
My grandfather was mayor.
Right. His grandfather was mayor of Fort Lauderdale. And without the least, my dear good, my friend is, Pastor Dwayne Black from Sanctuary Church. Come on.
Very quick. I'm sorry. I just want to thank the mayor and the city commission for all their help that they've been giving us. They've been supporting this. You guys are always out there and down there making sure it happens. The city police, the fire department, thank you guys so much for all you do. Public Works, thank you so much. We couldn't do this without you all.
Absolutely. Thank you. And by the way, happy birthday to the city manager. Yes, absolutely.
See you down Saturday. Thank you, folks.
And thank you for all the good work you do for our community. Finally, I'd like to invite Brian Volker and Anthony Fajardo. Hello. Brian is the Florida Urban Forestry, from the Florida Urban Forestry Council. And Anthony Fajardo is our Director of Development Services. And they will be recognizing the city of Fort Lauderdale with the Outstanding Tree Ordinance Award from the Florida Urban Forestry Council. Mr. Fajardo.
Good evening. Thank you, Mayor. Anthony Fajardo. Like you said, this is for an award for the landscape ordinance that we did. It was adopted in October of 2024. We think that, you know, this was obviously a big, heavy lift, and we have members of the Ad Hoc Committee and members of staff, so I could ask them to come up and stand up here with us. Come on. We were awarded the award from the Florida Urban Forestry Council. As you said, I'll turn it over to Brian Volker.
So, hi, all. My name is Brian Volker, and I'm a consultant and a consulting arborist with Chen Warren Associates, actually proudly headquartered here in the city. And I'm also on the Florida Urban Forestry Council. And so, the Florida Urban Forestry Council were a not-for-profit group made up of government representatives, private and municipal arborists, utility arborists, landscape architects, and tree advocates. And our mission is to promote the value, enhancement, and sound management of urban forests through leadership, collaboration, guidance, and education. So, we have what we call our Friends of the Urban Forest Awards that we give out annually, and these recognize outstanding achievements of organizations or individuals in their efforts to manage, promote, educate, and advocate for urban forests. So, these awards are given to sometimes individual professionals, sometimes for an outstanding tree project or landscape project. Also, candidates can be urban forestry programs for municipalities, lifetime achievement awards, and lastly, the outstanding tree ordinance award. And we're proud to issue this year's outstanding tree ordinance award to the city of Fort Lauderdale. So, a little quick background on that. while establishing a goal to increase canopy cover, the city recognized that old growth trees were being lost to development, so it was counterproductive to the goals. So, the existing code had mitigation fees that were outdated and often paid as a cost for doing business. So, the comprehensive plan called for updating the land development regulations to improve tree protection. So, over the course of two years, incorporating countless hours of collaboration with experts and professionals within the green industry, city staff successfully created an improved landscape and tree preservation code, which was adopted by the city in October of last year. And some standout achievements for that, for the new code, are preservation, preservation regulations were strengthened, more specimen trees are protected, and this was done by lowering the condition threshold that you needed to be considered a specimen tree. And also, the city recognized they looked at different species and said, let's not set the same size goal for all the species. Some trees will never get to be the magical 18 inches that you usually think of as a specimen, so they were smart enough to say, hey, let's look at how big these trees get at maturity and so specimen trees can be smaller than 18 inches. Also, the fees for removing trees were increased and credits were provided to retain and protect specimen trees throughout site development. So, on behalf of the Florida Urban Forestry Council, we'd like to say congratulations and thank you for your efforts to protect our urban forests. This is the award from the Florida Urban Forestry Council. Great.
Well, thank you for all the good work you do. We appreciate the recognition. There's been a lot of discussion about how the city can enhance its tree coverage here in the city and so we're going to do our best to make it happen. Want your picture?
I'm going to show
where the training spot is.
Hey,
don't say that too loud. What am I wrong with that?
Oh my God. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
It's going to look so good in my office, don't you think? I don't think I have any room. Worthy of a nomination. Okay, thank you everybody and thank you for your patience for those of you who are here on an agenda item. So now we begin the main part of the meeting and at this point we are going to review and vote on what are called consent agenda items. The consent agenda items are voted on all at once unless a member of the commission chooses to pull an item and will discuss it and vote on it separately. So at this point I would ask each member of the commission if they have an agenda item they'd like to pull. Start with the vice mayor. Do you have any agenda item? Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? None. I have none. Commissioner Glassman? None. And Commissioner Sorensen?
None.
Okay, so I know there are a number of people who have signed up to speak on a couple of these agenda items but I suspect it's just to ask questions unless Carla Roundtree you wanted to speak on CR5 this is concerning scholarships you're okay or do you want to speak? Yeah. So you're good? Okay, great. and Joe you're good. Okay. I sung your praises this afternoon and what a great job you do at the Museum of Science. Thank you. Okay, so do I hear a motion to approve the consent agenda items? So moved. Seconded. Please call the roll.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen?
Yes.
Vice Mayor Herbst? Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trentals?
Yes. And all the consent agenda items are now approved. You're welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting but otherwise your item has been approved. Thank you. Moving on to motions. M1, motion approving an increase in the contract cost capacity for the purchase of liquid oxygen in Vert Air Inc. Someone like to move the item?
Moved.
Second. Moved and seconded.
Any questions? Please call the roll. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman?
Yes.
Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trentals?
Yes, and M1 is now approved. M2, motion approving an agreement for invitation to bid a Hendricks Isle small water main replacement Murphy Pipeline contractors. Someone like to move the item? So moved. Do I hear a second?
Second.
Moved and seconded. Please call the roll.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glossman?
Yes.
Mayor Trentals?
Yes, and M2 is now approved. M3, motion approving the final ranking affirms negotiated fee schedules and agreements for requests for qualifications regarding the Parks Bond Master Plan Design and Management Program. Someone like to move the item? Move.
Second.
It's been moved and seconded. Please call the roll.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst?
Yes.
Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trentals?
Yes, and that item is now approved. M4, motion approving and authorizing the execution of a revocable license with RD3B LLC for temporary right-of-way closures on East Las Olas Boulevard and a 20-foot alley right-of-way in association with the Andare mixed-use development agreement, excuse me, development located at 523 East Las Olas Boulevard. Okay. Would someone like to move the item?
Moved.
Do I hear a second? Second. If you move and seconded, please call the roll.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst?
Yes.
Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trentals?
Yes. And M4 is now approved. Moving on to resolutions, we have one resolution tonight. Ah, a resolution appointing Sherry McCartney as city attorney of the city of Fort Lauderdale effective December 15th, 2025. There you are. Someone would like to introduce the resolution? Introduce. The resolution has been introduced. Anyone have any questions or comments?
Yes, I would like to, there's a couple items on the contract that I would like to discuss.
With Sherry?
With us? Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Go ahead. Yeah, go ahead. All right. Again, Sherry, congratulations on the appointment. Looking over the contract that's been negotiated with the mayor and what has been brought forward, looking over previous contracts, I'm concerned with the amount that has been listed for the $350,000 and trying to get an understanding of what we've been used to as far as the increase and from a city attorney to city attorney through the previous contracts has been an increase of an average of 5% to 7%. And what's being asked is over the amount that was posted in the job description and, what is it called? The job announcement?
Yeah.
Okay. So that's, I would like to discuss that tonight, please.
Okay. So what would you like to discuss?
The amount, I believe, is really above what we should be paying for our city attorney. It would be set in a preference that I don't think is the best for our city. What we have done in the past has been, again, like I said, as the posting, it listed, if I'm not incorrect, mid $200,000 for salary. And we're going, if we say $250,000, we're talking about $100,000 over what was posted for the position.
Well, I think when we, when I discussed this contract with Sherry, we tried to give parity of the city attorney with the city manager. And it was the city manager's contract that we used as a template, not only with regard to salary, but with regard to other aspects. And I felt that it was time that we paid our city attorney the amount equal to the city manager. Their jobs are different, but their responsibilities are equal. And so it is a recommendation to the commission, and I present it to the commission. And so this is what we had tentatively negotiated.
Anyone else have any comments? Mayor, I share the same concern, so thank you very much. I am in full support of Sherry as our city attorney, but as I shared with her, I'm not supportive of the salary. I was not supportive of the salary for the city manager. I voted against the contract for the same reason. I believe when we post a salary and a job announcement, we ought to stick to it. I don't believe we should go above what we tell folks that we're hiring that we're going to pay them. I think we set a bad precedent with the city manager. I think she's doing a great job, but I don't think the salary was the appropriate one, and I think it's led us to where we are now with this particular salary. Again, this is no comment on the two ladies involved. I think they're both incredibly competent, and I'm happy to have them on board, but I will not be supporting the salary.
Thank you.
Okay. Anyone else have any comments? Go ahead. Sure. Thanks, Mayor. So, Commissioner Beasley-Pittman and Vice Mayor Herbst, what do you think the salary should be?
Well, I think we can come to among us, we can come with something that is representative of what Sherry does and her history for what her expertise is and her experience. Again, I just feel that the $350,000 is above what pertaining to the city attorney. when I've looked at it and HR can help me walk through this, but looking at the duties, I want to stay with apples to apples. I don't think that the city attorney's, excuse me, city manager's responsibility should be compared to that of the city attorney's. The city attorney, I believe, has less oversight with the employees that she oversees. Our city manager, she's basically over the whole city, the employees, she has a larger overview that she's watching and working with. So that's one thing. I want to be fair, I just feel that this $350,000 is not where we need to park. If you're asking me, what I would need to know is what was the salary of the previous city attorney? All right, so do we,
Dwayne is making, as a deputy, he's making $290,000. So where do you feel the city attorney should fall there?
Is that, sorry, Mayor, is that as the
interim city attorney? Deputy. He's making right now, he will be making
as deputy city attorney $290,000. So that is what I was making as interim and based on the contract that the commission agreed and approved, you agreed not to reduce my salary without return to deputy?
Okay, so as interim,
he's making $290,000.
And as deputy, he'll be making $290,000. Okay,
all right, that helps.
So I use that as a benchmark and thought that as we were looking to certainly attract great talent, which I think Sherry is, and with her experience and background, her having even been a city commissioner, her having, you know, worked for, worked in government for a long time, worked in a prestigious, still works for a prestigious law firm here in Fort Lauderdale. I just feel that the amount, and whether or not you want to compare it to the city manager, that's your choice, but I just felt that using Duane's salary and what we are currently paying the city manager, I thought my recommendation to the commission was that we should keep it on par with the city manager, and that's why I recommended this, especially since it's in relation to the deputy. It's not that much more than what the deputy is making.
I would have to concur with that. I think when you look at it in that perspective, it makes perfect sense.
So you asked me what I think would be appropriate. So I think 10% above the deputy would be appropriate, which would bring it roughly to 320. So, you know, having been involved in a lot of hiring decisions through the years, and generally when you hire a position, when you post a position, you post a salary range, and this, again, has absolutely nothing to do with the individuals involved, but if you talk to anybody in HR, you post a range out there, and for all of our city positions except for the staff at this level for the charter positions, but when we post for all of our other positions, we always are very clear that we hire at the bottom of the range, so all of our positions, we hire at the bottom of the range. For our executive staff, you know, we may hire at the middle of the range. We rarely, rarely ever hire at the top of the range, and it's unheard of to go above the range. I think this is the first time when we hired our city manager that I think in my career I've ever seen that, and I've been working for a lot longer than I should have been, but I've never seen that, and I think, again, I think that set a bad precedent, and I think that's sort of why we're finding ourselves where we are today. When you do that, you're creating a ratcheting up, if you will. You're creating an arms race amongst positions, and I just don't think that's the right way to do it. So when we talk about a lot of our other positions within the city, we always try to make sure that we have at least 10% above. So if you look at all of our union contracts, we try to make sure so we don't have compression amongst our staff, that we have a 10% between supervisors and the people they supervise. So I think with Mr. Spence at 290, I would be comfortable at 10% above that at 320. Thank you.
Thanks. Thanks, Vice Mayor. Mayor, can I ask Jerome to come up? Is that right? Raquel or Mayor? Yeah. Jerome, thanks for being here. Where did, on the job description, who set the salary range?
Good evening, Mayor. Commissioners, Jerome Post, Director of Human Resources. When the brochure was written for the recruitment, the HR staff consulted some of the local agencies for comparisons. That language in the brochure was also reviewed with the Citizens Committee or the Search Committee, and everybody seemed to be in agreement it would be in that area. I will say that those figures, however, I don't believe took into consideration salaries of commensurate positions south of us. I think we took mostly the Broward County, Palm Beach County, those areas. Thanks. And the range on the job description was what again? I believe it was, we listed it as high 200,000s.
Okay. Okay. Great. Thank you, Jerome.
If I may add one comment, I know 290,000 has been listed for DeWayne Spence's salary. I took the salary out of our infrastructure system this afternoon, and I'm showing 298,000 as his salary, which I believe includes the COLA that was recently applied.
This is for DeWayne?
For DeWayne, yes.
So it's 298,000, not 209,000. Okay. Correct. So now we're inching closer to 330. Well, in any case, this is what I recommend to the commission. I think it's fair and reasonable, and I think that based on her background and her abilities, I mean, someone would like to make a resolution
and see where it goes up or down. So, Mayor, one other comment on this is the city manager's role, I think is, Commissioner Beasley-Pittman's point, is a very big role, huge portfolio and huge number of employees that the city manager oversees. The city attorney oversees far fewer employees, yet the city attorney is a critical role with high expectations, at least from my point of view, in terms of demands of availability 24-7, long working hours with a high, high-pressure job with no job security. In other words, Mayor, I saw in the contract that he negotiated a four-year contract, but, Jerome, correct me if I'm wrong, being a at-will state, the city attorney can be terminated by the commission at any point.
That is correct, but there would be provisions for payables, et cetera, upon separation within the contract.
Right. Yeah.
So this...
So at-will is only if there's no employment agreement. If there's an employment agreement, you have to follow the terms of the agreement. So it's not... So at-will is only if you're... If you're... You know, if there's no agreement.
Right, but...
We have provisions in here about terminating... Sure, there's a severance. Yes. You included a severance
and so forth, which understandable that that severance would require to be paid and other provisions, and there is nothing barring termination for whatever reason may be. I mean, generally. Without cause. Yeah. Is that right, Jerome?
That is correct. The commission can vote to terminate the contract with no reason at all for that matter. Exactly. However, the payables would apply by the terms of the contract.
Agreed. So that, to me, Mayor, this is... And that's true, correct me if I'm wrong, Jerome, but that's true for all charter officers. Is that right? Correct. They are at-will, can be terminated at any point by the city commission without cause. Correct. That is unique to charter officers, Mayor, in my view, and just... In my view, that makes it a very... It's just one of the reasons it's a challenging role being a chartered officer, in my view, and as a result, it is... Compensation matters to attract and retain top talent. So I support where we are with the $350,000, and Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve... Resolution. A resolution, David, for salary, for Sherry McCarney for $350,000. Introduce... Introduce.
And Mayor, if I might just add, I think it's also important not to have in that legal department, which is so vital to our city, any kind of compression, like just... It should be a natural flow. I believe that other attorneys under the supervision of D. Wayne make approximately... the top folks make approximately 20, 23% less than he does. That would actually, if we consistently made that salary throughout to the top, Sherry should actually be at $356,000. So $350,000 to me is very well within that range. I just think that it doesn't make any sense for her position to be so close in percentage to the next position in that department when we see that natural progression of salaries down the line after that. So I think this makes perfect sense.
May I ask a question? I am hearing the discussion here. Is this... Has this been the protocol before with the previous city attorneys? Has the percentage been this way that we're discussing right now, this separation between city attorney, deputy, and city attorneys? Has that been a policy and a percentage that we are abusing or is this something we're implementing from this point forward?
I don't know the history. I can weigh on this because I know the history. So the previous city attorneys were nowhere near close. Mr. Spence is... Prior to Mr. Spence, we have not had a deputy city attorney. So he's the only deputy city attorney that I think we've ever had as far as I can remember. It was going back four or five city attorneys ago. It was a policy not to actually have a deputy city attorney. We had a senior assistant city attorney, but we haven't had a deputy city attorney at least for the last two plus decades that I'm aware of. The senior assistant city attorney has a salary range that is prescribed. The charter officers do not have a salary range. So there was never any risk of there being compression. That does not exist in these roles. So it's never been remotely close. Mr. Harry Stewart, who was a city attorney going back into the mid-2000s, was actually the highest paid individual in the city at a point in time. Prior to that, the city manager was the highest paid charter officer in the city. There was a point in time when I as the city auditor was the highest paid charter officer in the city, and all of that had mostly to do with who had the most seniority because people were turning over. And what we did historically was whoever the new charter officer was was brought in at the lowest salary. So when I was hired as a charter officer, I was the lowest paid of all the charter officers. Except when Harry was hired. Except for the city clerk.
Except when Harry was hired. Harry was hired at around $350,000.
No, no, he was not. Mayor, please, no, he was not. He was, he was, because I was at $155,000. He was, he was right around $200,000. George Gretzis was on. Harry? Stuart? Yes, no, absolutely. In the mid-2000s, he was not hired at $350,000. I promise you that. I don't say he was hired at $350,000.
But he was, he was, he was getting $350,000. At the time he left after 20 years. But wasn't there a point when he wasn't there in 20 years?
What are you talking about?
But wait, wasn't there a point when Harry was making more as a city attorney than the city manager was at the same time? Yes, that's what I'm saying.
So what I'm saying is it would rotate around depending on who was the most long-tenured charter officer at the time. So after Harry left, the city manager was then the most highly paid of the charter officers because that city manager was the longest-tenured. So it rotated around. It wasn't based on the position. It was based on who had the most tenure at the time because of the raises that we would get every year. So again, as I was saying, there was actually a point in time when I, as a city auditor, even though I started as the lowest paid of the charter officers, wound up as the highest paid simply because of compounding of time. So when we hired in new charter officers, they got less money and so again, I wound up being the highest paid charter officer for a point in time until the city manager eventually eclipsed me. So it wasn't based on position. It was based on tenure in the job. Okay.
Let me ask this because I'm trying to understand as well. I did request the contracts from the previous city attorneys and if someone could tell me what year that Harry Stewart was resigned or was relieved of duty because the last contract I'm showing for him, he retired. Okay. 2012.
Okay. He began, I think, in 2002. So he's there for 10 years. I'm holding
the contract for 20 years. 2006 is what I'm holding.
Yeah, but he was
at that point it was He was hired in 2002. Okay. And that contract was 224,000.
Well,
that was 23 years ago. I understand. Listen, I understand that I'm just showing and explaining what we have done in the past looking at the past contracts. And again, I will say it again, I'm uncomfortable with the increase that we are going from one attorney to another when the practice has been basically anywhere from 5% to 6.7%. And again, this has nothing to do with Sherry and her ability to do this job. I just do not feel that this is setting the right precedence and what we should be doing as a city at this point.
Okay. All right. Any other comments or questions? There being none, there's a resolution on the floor. Please call the roll.
Please call the roll. Yes. A resolution of the city commission of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, appointing Sherry L. McCartney as city attorney of the city of Fort Lauderdale effective December 15, 2025 and fixing her compensation therefore. Commissioner Beasley Bittman? No. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst?
Again, Sherry, welcome on board. This is no reflection on you, but no for the salary.
Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trenton? Yes. And that resolution is approved. Congratulations, Sherry. Looking forward to seeing you on the 15th. And if you can come any sooner, if you can get here any sooner, we'd love that too. Okay, very good. Okay, thank you. Okay, PH1, resolution approving the acceptance of the 2025-2026 state housing initiatives partnership funds in the amount of $1,321,921. Would someone like to introduce the resolution?
Introduced.
Carly, you signed up to speak. Would you like to speak? Come on.
Good evening, Mayor and City Commissioner. So cool, I counted. The only thing you can't read. So when I look at it, it's the authorizing use of program income. Okay, this is Michael. Nice, man. Good evening, everyone. All right, so on PH1, when it says the use of program income and then approve the allocation of SHIP funds for administration costs. So this improvement is for the program itself or just for the administration of the program?
I can begin to answer that, Mayor. Okay. This is approving our allocation of SHIP funds and how we itemize the funding through various initiatives. It does incorporate some administrative costs, which there's a cap on, but by and large, the funding is for programs that we allocate for on an annual basis.
Okay. Okay, so then it'd be, you have set aside of exactly like with the program income portion, right, that's separate of what the administrative costs would be are.
Correct.
Okay. Thank you so much. You're welcome.
Anyone else wish to speak on this item? Do I hear a motion to close public hearing? PH1. Second. If we move
and second it, please call the roll. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trentos?
Yes. And public hearing is now closed on PH1. Would someone like to introduce the resolution? Introduce. Resolution has been introduced.
A resolution City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, accepting the 2025-2026 State Housing Initiatives Partnership funding in the amount of $1,321,921 and approving the recommended funding allocation for the SHIP program fiscal year 2025-2026, authorizing the City Manager or his or her designee to use earned program income in the estimated amount of $50,000 in addition to the fiscal year 2025-2026 SHIP award for a total estimated funding amount of $1,371,921, authorizing the City Manager or his or her designee to allocate 10% of the total SHIP funds plus 5% of any program income towards the City's program administrative costs, delegating authority to the City Manager to execute all documents necessary or incidental to receive and administer the SHIP funds and providing for rescission of conflicting ordinance of conflicting resolutions providing for an effective date. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glossman?
Yes.
Mayor Gentiles?
Yes. And PH-1 is now approved. PH-2, second public hearing, a resolution authorizing a development agreement between the City of Fort Lauderdale and 901 North Federal Owner, LLC. Do we remove that,
Mayor?
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Thank you for reminding me.
Is that delayed to date certain or what was the
just removed? They just asked to be removed. Okay. I don't think the deal is cooked yet.
Okay. Thanks, Mayor.
PH-3, public hearing quays a judicial ordinance approving a rezoning from residential single-family duplex medium-density RD 15 district to the residential multifamily low-rise medium-density RM 15 district. Anyone wishing to speak must be sworn in. The Commission will announce any site business communication or expert opinions received that make them a part of the record. Vice Mayor, do you have any disclosures?
So, I do not,
but my staff met with the applicant. Okay. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman?
None.
I met with the applicant and their attorney. And their attorney, yes. And Commissioner Glassman?
Simply emails with Heidi Davis, attorney.
And Commissioner Sorensen?
Yes. Site visits and meetings with Heidi Knapp. Okay. Three people have signed up to speak.
Let's see. Alex Sheffer. Alex, are you here? You're good? Okay. Are you with the group? Okay. Same with Daniel, but Ted and Sarah. Are you here still, Ted? Oh, there you are. Come on up.
You're on deck. All right. Hello, everybody. My name is Ted and Sarah. I'm the president of the River Oak Civic Association. You know, not everybody... I thought of the Republic. Oh, the Republic. Oh, okay. Absolutely correct. Don't confuse me. The... Not everybody sees this city as an economic development project. Some of us were actually born here and grew up here and see things a little bit different. It's only natural that we do. Um, this area, this development here is going on a piece of property that when it was before planning and zoning, Steve Gannon at that meeting said, this looks like a piece of property that time forgot. That was his description. And that's an accurate description of this. To lose this one more thing, again, for us people that grew up here, it seems like every time we're just getting slowly eroded away. The one thing that I'm... is the traffic situation. Now, I know the St. Jerome Church, Father Joseph Maloof, is not really happy about this development being built there. Southwest 26th Street is a narrow one-way road heading west. So now, actually, State Road 84 is actually 25th Street. So this runs parallel next to State Road 84. When you're going west, that is also the pickup lane for St. Jerome's Elementary School. That's where the cars line up on Southwest 26th Street. And so we're going to... You want to build this right there on top of them. And on the right side, on the State Road 84, there's three pieces of property, 980, 1000, 1020, because I know these developers and these have the potential of being live-local projects, which will be right there, we're also bordering 26th Street. So we have a small one-way street heading west, which is a pickup for an elementary school, suddenly just going to be inundated with development. Go ahead. Go ahead. And then the one thing, when you're going west down 26th Street, it just veers off to the right on State Road 84. You can only go east. So if you want to go west, you have to go make a left and actually cut through Edgewood neighborhood in order to loop around. There's only two entrances to State Road 84 from Edgewood. One is on 9th Avenue and one is on 15th Avenue. So you're going to just cause a lot of traffic going into the neighborhood. And I know they're not happy about it.
How many units are we talking about here?
How many? 67. That's with a 6 and a 7. Yeah. And then like I said, on this side of 26th Street is going to be live local. Guaranteed. It's coming. Because I, you know, and yeah, I know. That's how I said it.
So the question is, take what we can while we can control it as opposed to take what is coming thrown at us while we can't control it.
It just seems like with everything that's going on, the neighborhoods are losing. And this is a loss for the neighborhood. No doubt about it. For one thing, these woods are just fantastic. I mean, when we went, I still go to Mass at St. Jerome. When I, when we were as a kid and we went to 10 o'clock Mass, I did not go home with my parents after Mass. I had to change out of my church clothes and into play clothes and we'd head right to the woods and play in those woods all day long. And this is just another thing where us people that grew up here are losing, you know, what was, that meant so much to us. Okay. Thank you so much.
Heidi, do you want to come up and respond to some of these things?
Hi, Heidi Davis with the law firm of Gunster here tonight on behalf of the developer and owner of the property. I have a whole presentation. Do you want me to make a presentation? No, no, no, no. Okay.
Tell us a little bit about the traffic concerns.
Okay. So, can I put up my, and I can show you a slide. Yeah. I think it'll help a little bit just on there. I think it's Edgewood. Okay. That's it. What's that all about?
Okay.
Okay. Hold on. Perfect. Okay. Here we go. This is the aerial view of the property. Property is a five acres. It's the north five acres. This is only for the rezoning of this property. So, this is what is up before you tonight. As you can see that, as Ted said, 26th Street is a one-way street going west. There is a stop sign at the end. You could either make a left on 14th Avenue or a right that would put you on State Road 84. Then you would have to go east. And there's three opportunities for you to go and make a U-turn if you wanted to go back to 95. What we're proposing, and we did talk to the, to St. Jerome's church and school. And if you can see, I don't even know if I have a pointer here. Do I? Is that pointed? Oh, here. Here we go. Oh, cool. So, the traffic for St. Jerome comes in there. They have two schools. So, this is the elementary school and this is the more of the middle school. It comes in on this, on 26th, but it immediately comes in through their loop and comes back out. It doesn't come down 26th Street. There is no traffic from St. Jerome's on 26th Street at all. One way to the west.
It's one way to the west. Correct. So, the people that would be exiting your,
your, have to go west.
So, they won't even go.
They will not go.
Near the St. Jerome traffic.
They could come in, but it's different times. So, if you're talking about peak times, the school starts at 7.50 a.m. because I know that because I sat on the corner for 40 minutes and watched traffic one day come through.
Okay.
So, four cars went continuing on 26th. Everybody else made the loop and left or makes this loop and left. Okay. So, none of this is affecting St. Jerome's Church for that traffic-wise.
Because people can't go east.
Correct.
Okay. Okay. It goes to the light.
There's a light here.
Yep.
And there's a light here, over here.
And what about the street on the south side of the property?
This side? 28th Street?
Yeah. I don't...
I think it already has... And, Ted, maybe you can help me. Does it have speed humps here?
That's...
I think it has speed humps here.
That's two-way, correct?
Yes, this is two-way.
But that's not even adjacent to your property?
No. No. This is... And we only have one way in and out and it has to go west.
And everyone has to go west on 26th.
So, what we're proposing... Yeah. And we have to dedicate 25 feet as part of our flat plat on the north side of the property. Okay.
Okay.
So, technically, you know, there's enough right-of-way, but nobody in the neighborhood, the church does not want it to be two ways. They want it to continue one way here.
Right. So, if I live in your new... What's your new project called?
It's called Edgewood Oaks.
Edgewood Oaks. Okay. So, if I live in Edgewood Oaks, I can come in... I can come in on 26th Street, right?
You can come in on... Yep. 9th to 26th.
That's 9th Avenue, right?
Right.
So, I take a right on 26th Street to come in, right? But I can't go back out that way. Correct. I have to go out by 9th.
Correct.
Okay.
So, what we are proposing... Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. Okay. Keep going.
So, where is 9th?
9th is right here.
You come in off 9th, Mayor. You don't leave at 9th.
Right.
So, you... What do you come in on? You come in... Yeah. So, 9th Ave, you go southbound on 9th, and then you're going westbound on 26th Street. Right. And how do you exit? Yep.
You go here...
Yep.
...and you have a choice to go make a U-turn right here to go back to 95. Right. Or you can come down and go here, and this is a light over here.
Where are you pointing?
This is 15th, right here.
What did you say? 15th?
15th.
15th. Has a light. So, you come out at 15th?
You can come out here at 15th, or you can come 14th and make the U-turn here, or if you miss it here, if there's traffic, you can go down here, or you can go all the way to 9th, catch the light, and go back.
There's choices. So, there seems to be a neighborhood concern that that exit point is now going to be inundated with all the cars that are coming out of Edgewood Oaks. So, explain to us how that's not going to be the case.
Okay. So, 67 units is approximately 30 trips. And our Carl Peterson is here. Hi, Carl. 30 trips per day? No, peak trips. Peak trips. Peak trips. Okay. And that is one car every two to three minutes coming out. Okay. So, if you guys just sat here for two minutes, that would be one car. That's what they estimate. Okay. And then wait for two minutes more and there. Okay. So, what we're proposing, and I think cut through traffic is something that the neighbors are concerned with also, and we have come up with a plan. Okay. To do some traffic calming. And we will work with the city to make sure that it will be implemented, that we can do this. So, we want to make sure that this is a safe intersection right here. Because right now, it's not. Because people can come down here and make a left. This is racetrack. While people are lining up and trying to cut through and all cut through here, this is an existing condition today. What we're proposing at this stop sign is to make a right turn only. So, if you're coming down 26.
This is on the State Road 84? Yes.
You can only make a right turn.
Okay.
So, it will not go back into this neighborhood. It will alleviate this intersection from, it's kind of a dangerous, well, is it dangerous? That's what Carl said. A little uncomfortable right here. Ted can attest to it. I'm sure. Not now. But I'm sure you can. And we also would like to put traffic calming down on 12th Terrace and 13th Terrace in the sense of speed, tables. Just in case there's cut through traffic, it'll slow it down here.
Okay.
So, we want to work with the city, the developers committed to doing this, and we think it's a really great solution for this.
And Heidi, if I can jump in here, Mayor. So, this is, Mayor, in our conversations with Kitty McGowan, the president of Edgewood, and other leaders, including Tom Tuberville, as the vice president, Heidi and the team have been great hearing their concerns and addressing them. So, the top concerns from a traffic perspective of the Edgewood leadership is, one, Mayor, making sure that Southwest 26th Street remains one way. They do not want to see that become two ways because of the impact on traffic going eastbound. Furthermore, they are very concerned about Southwest 12th Terrace and Southwest 13th Ave, the impact of cut through traffic going southbound, basically, on those streets. And so, what they have asked, Heidi, and Heidi, correct me if I'm wrong on any of this, but my understanding of what they've been asking for is, basically, speed tables there on Southwest 12th Terrace and 13th Ave. And so, obviously, as you know, Mayor, that would be run through the Transportation Mobility Department, but that's the hope from a traffic standpoint.
And the developers fully committed to doing that?
Those are their big traffic concerns. There's a couple other concerns I'm happy to share with you, Mayor, but those are, I just want to talk traffic first. Yep.
Okay, very good. Thank you. Go ahead, Commissioner.
Or are you guys sure?
Oh, sorry. Go ahead, Commissioner. I mean, Sorensen. You look alike.
Call with me next again. Mayor Trantale, this is Commissioner Sorensen. Commissioner Sorensen, this is Mayor Trantale. Thank you. Good to meet. The, another concern, Mayor, that I know Heidi's been talking, working with the neighbors, is stormwater. As you know, Mayor, Commissioners, Edgewood was severely impacted by the storm. Love y'all. Bye. Severely impacted by storms, floodwater. And so the concern of the Edgewood Civic Association is what impact will raising this property, as all properties have to raise to female elevations, what impact is that going to have on the surrounding homes and the church and businesses around it? And so the understanding that I've understood is that Heidi and the developers have agreed to retain all stormwater on site, on property, so that there's no runoff further impacting surrounding properties, Mayor. Is that, Heidi, am I saying that right?
That's exactly right.
Okay. So that's the stormwater, which was, so traffic, stormwater are two of the big concerns. And then, as Ted talked about, trees are another major concern. And you see here the incredible canopy that's there. And so, Heidi, I'll turn it over to you in terms of the specifics. But I think it'd be helpful to go through what you're doing, what you've agreed to with the neighborhood on the trees. And then, lastly, we'll get to parking. Thanks.
Okay, perfect. So this site, as you know, has a lot of trees on it. And what the developer and has been working really hard with at Broward County, who that's where the agency that we have to go through with removing any permits, as well as the city, is that this is a little under five acres parcel, but we are, the developers committed to putting a conservation easement of over an acre of the property. And it's on this is outlined in, I guess it's like an orange color. So there's existing trees that are really mature on the northwest corner that you can see just from the rendering here on the southeast corner, along the entire rear and the sides are all going to be preserved in perpetuity through a conservation easement. There's trees that will be relocated into these conservation easements as well from the middle of the property where there's some healthy, maybe some trees that could be relocated will be. So, like I said, we've been working really hard. It'll be a preservation area, conservation area for over an acre of property on the proposed plan. We're also planting new trees to get Edgewood Oaks canopy within the development. There's also street trees that need to be planted along and also anywhere else that can be done for mitigation as well. So it'll be filled with trees. We're going through, like I said, the developers really committed to saving as many healthy trees on the site as possible and relocating the ones that can be relocated into these areas.
But, Heidi, what will be the net ratio of trees? Because you're going to be removing a lot of the trees in the center of the site. So are we going to lose trees? Are we going to gain trees? What's the net result?
You're definitely gaining trees because for every tree that needs to be removed that cannot be relocated, you have to plant double trees. Okay. And there's a formula with the county that requires that you plant more trees than what you take away.
Okay. All right. So, Mayor, one piece with this that is really positive about the trees is Heidi mentioned this conservation easement. So basically, we're getting over 20% of this property would be in a conservation easement protecting that canopy. That's correct. I'm saying that right. That's correct.
There's also another issue that we wanted to bring up real quick was this. So, on the west side of the property, the first picture along the top left is along 26th Street. So, this white wall is along the property of Ecoar and this property. So, this white fence will be moved back within the property line 25 feet along 26th Street. It'll be improved with street trees and a sidewalk. It'll save these trees so you can see the mature trees right here. The sidewalk will be meandering around them so we don't have to take those trees off. Now, on the other three photographs on this slide is on the west side of the property and the wall again is Ecoar's property. This wall, when we go through it, will be dedicating another 25 feet eastward of this white wall. So, this is an existing right-of-way, city right-of-way that's unimproved. It was dedicated pursuant to a plat that the neighbors to the west dedicated to the city. So, we have to do 25 feet as well. So, there will be a 50-foot wide right-of-way that's unimproved here. And what we're trying to do and maybe we would love to work with the city and maybe try and figure out how we can do this because we're going to dedicate this property but we want to put it into a conservation easement because there's these mature trees along this side that we want to preserve in perpetuity. So, instead of dedicating for right-of-way, maybe there could be an easement over it but we want to work with engineering and as we go through our DRC, we want to find a way to be able to preserve those trees in perpetuity as well.
Is the picture on the upper left the existing property?
On the right? On the right of the wall?
No, I'm asking the picture on the upper left, is that a picture of the existing property?
Behind the wall? Or behind the fence? Tell me what you're talking about. To the left? No, to the left with the fence?
To the left of the road.
No, that's across the street.
That's across the street.
That's that future mixed-use development. I believe that was approved.
Okay, so the picture on the bottom, what is that?
That is looking north in the right of way to 26th Street.
But that's not the property?
On the other side of the wall. To the right of the wall. So everything
on the right-hand side is the property?
Yes.
Okay. So those trees
Right there.
that are on the bottom right-hand corner,
Yes.
Those aren't your trees?
Yes, they are.
Those are your trees?
Those are our trees.
Okay, and those are staying?
Those are 25 feet moving back. The wall or the property line will be moving 25 feet back so it will be dedicated to the city.
Right. Those trees are staying?
Yes.
Yes.
But we want them preserved Right. In the 25 feet as well.
Right. Okay.
Yes.
And the picture on the upper right-hand corner?
Upper right.
Yes.
Same view. It's just a different...
Right. But that's your property too, right?
Yes. We own the top... Only the top five acres so this goes ten acres down. Okay.
Mayor, the other concern of neighbors, you know, so kind of four big ones the other big concern is parking. So, as you know, with townhomes, I mean, you know, as with any home of a size you can, you know, fit a lot of people in. So, the concern is are they going to have sufficient parking on site because there, as you see... Yeah, let me see. On the top left. Yeah, the top left picture you were looking at, Mayor, there is not space for parking. It's a tight, narrow road so we really can't have parking there and then if you... It's not pictured here but if you look basically at the... Go back to the area. Yeah, maybe the area. Yeah, so thanks. So, if you look at the streets just to the west of the property, again, equally tight and just not... It's not going to be good for the neighborhood to have congestion there for parking. So...
Wouldn't each townhouse have parking? So, yeah,
and that's where, Heidi, maybe you can talk about the... Because they're going above the minimum requirement for parking mayor of that, which...
Are there garages? Yes, yes. Are they one car or two cars?
So, it depends on where you are. Most of them, it's a one car garage with either a one car in driveway, full driveway, so two for the smaller units and a one car garage with two driveways. Is that correct? That was correct, right? Yes. So, it's either two cars or three cars per unit and the requirement is two cars per unit plus a guest. So, we also have a ton of guest spaces as well plus a surplus of parking for visitors.
Okay.
I think those were the main issues that we discussed with the neighbors and that we are committed to doing and we would just, you know, want to put it on the record that the traffic improvements, preserving the trees and the conservation easement, not overflow of parking and preserving 100% of the stormwater on site. So, there's no spillage.
Can you take on stormwater from other parts of the neighborhood or just your own?
Probably just our own.
Yeah.
But I want you, in those... Was that ever a drainage area
for the neighborhood?
So, I was just going to say that picture that I was going to show you. The city has put drainage in the swale here or this back. So, you know, it can be used for drainage as well. Okay.
All right. Very good. Any more questions, Commissioner Sorensen?
No. Thank you, Mayor.
All right. You're welcome. Any other questions from any members of the commission?
Mayor, I just wanted to make a point because this was an interesting conversation and I really look at it as an exercise. And I just want to bring up what we talked about earlier in the day today when we had a communication from the Planning and Zoning Board. Uh-huh. Because what they said and what their issues were about maybe we need to figure out a way to have a higher level of review for projects like this, it makes sense. Look what's in front of us right now, a rezoning. Did we talk about rezoning at all or did we talk about a site plan for a project that's not on our agenda? So, I just wanted to make that point because it ties in. I think it muddles the record of this agenda item because I don't think it actually comports with what we were supposed to be doing at all. So, I just wanted to make this point and how it ties into what we heard earlier in the day as a communication to the commission. Thank you. Well taken. Thank you. Any further questions?
There being none, do I hear a motion to close public hearing?
Moved.
Second? Second.
It's been moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman?
Yes.
Commissioner Sorenson? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trent Ellis?
Yes. Public hearing on PH3 is now closed. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance?
Introduced. The ordinance has been introduced. Please call the roll. In ordinance amending section 47-1.6.B of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida Unified Land Development Regulations through the revision of the official zoning map of the City of Fort Lauderdale and Schedule A revised compilation attached thereto and by reference made a part thereof so as to rezone from residential single-family and duplex medium-density district to residential multifamily low-rise medium-density district, the north five acres of the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 21 Township 50 South range 42 East located north of southwest 28th Street west of southwest 9th Avenue east of southwest 12th Terrace and south of southwest 26th Street all said lands being in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. Commissioner Beasley-Bittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Mayor Trent Ellis? Yes. Thank you very much. The H3 is now approved. Thank you.
Thank you. This is the OFR 1 ordinance of first reading and ordinance amending the City of Fort Lauderdale Unified Land Development Regulations. I'm not going to read the whole thing. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance?
Introduced.
Okay. Any questions or comments with regard to OFR 1? There being none, please call the roll.
In ordinance of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida amending the Unified Land Development Regulations of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida amending section 47-13.20 entitled Downtown RAC Review Process and Special Regulations amending section 47-13.30 entitled Table of Dimensional Requirements for the SRAC District amending article 12 entitled Transfer Development Rights section 47-36.1 entitled Transfer Development Rights and amending section 47-37B5 entitled Tables and Dimensional Requirements for the Urban Uptown Village Zoning District to provide additional density for receiving sites utilizing the TDR program, extending the expiration date for certificates of eligibility, providing a calculation for available dwelling units at sending sites, incorporating ability to retransfer TDR units or floor area, providing for correction of Scrivener's errors, severability, repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions and an effective date. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman?
Yes.
Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst?
Yeah.
Commissioner Glassman? Before I vote,
I did just want to say thank you very much. I know that, well, it's okay. Hang in there. We deferred this and I thank everyone for that extra time. And I really want to thank staff and I want to thank for the patience. This was a long process and I don't know if Jay Adams is here this evening. He had a lot of questions. He probably is our largest owner of historic properties in the city and he had a lot of ideas of how this transfer of development rights should work because he really was hoping to see us get to a point where we are able to preserve properties and incentivize that for people that have those properties in this kind of a transfer of development right. So this was a long and arduous process and I'm very supportive. I want to see how this works or doesn't or do we need to tweak? I want to make sure that our minds are open to maybe tweaking this in the future. but really I just think Trish and Chris and Ella and Anthony anyone else that touched this you guys your patience was incredible. Every single question over months and months and months from Jay was answered. We met several times so I just want to say thank you because I know that it was a process and I know that you listened and you listened very carefully and I know that we'll pay attention to this. We'll see how this works. There are a lot of other options out there for owners to do and developers to do and we'll see where this fits in that realm of trying to offer something to people to preserve some of our historic properties. So I just wanted to say yes thank you I'll vote yes and again thank you to everyone who worked on this it was a long process. Okay thank you.
And Mayor Trenton.
Yes. So OSR 1 on first reading is now approved. OSR 1 this is an ordinance of second reading amending chapter 28 water, wastewater and stormwater limiting utility account establishment to property owners only. So I would like to introduce the ordinance.
Introduced.
The ordinance has been introduced. Any questions? Please call the roll.
In ordinance to the city of Fort Lauderdale Florida amending chapter 28 water, wastewater and stormwater sections 28-137 28-138 28-141 28-145 28-148 28-149 28-168 28-186 and 28-187 of the code of ordinances of the city of Fort Lauderdale Florida by adding and removing language to limit utility account establishment to property owners only repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen?
Yes.
Vice Mayor Herbs? Yes. Commissioner Glossman?
Yes.
Mayor Trentonis?
Yes. And OSR 1 is now approved on second reading OSR 2 on second reading and ordinance amending chapter 26 article 8 valet parking on rights of way and public parking facilities of the code of ordinances to establish boundaries for valet operations in the public rights of way. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance? Introduced. The ordinance has been introduced. Any questions? There being none, please call the roll.
In ordinance of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, revising certain sections to permit temporary valet operations in the rights of ways in the city of Fort Lauderdale as set forth in subsection 26-226 and subsection 26-232 of the code of ordinances in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in providing for severability, repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions, corrections of scriveners errors, and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbs? Yes. Commissioner Glossman?
Yes.
Mayor Trentonis?
Yes. And OSR 2 is now approved on second reading. Finally, OSR 3, second reading and ordinance of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, amending ordinance number C-12-26 as amended by ordinance number C-13-08 of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by revising the term of appointment to the Central City Redevelopment Advisory Board from three consecutive one-year terms to two consecutive three-year terms. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance?
Introduce.
The ordinance has been introduced. Any questions? There being none, please call the roll.
In ordinance of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, amending ordinance number C-12-26 as amended by ordinance number C-13-08 of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by revising the term of appointment to the Central City Redevelopment Advisory Board and providing for severability, repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions, correction of scrivener's errors and an effective date. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glassman?
Yes.
Mayor Trentonis?
Yes. And OSR 3 is now approved on second reading. We have a walk-on item, the motion authorizing staff to negotiate amendments to the comprehensive agreement and other related agreements with the Hall of Fame Partners, LLC. Would someone like to move the item?
Moved.
Do I hear a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded. Anyone have any questions? There being none, please call the roll.
Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Vice Mayor Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glassman?
Yes.
Mayor Trentonis?
Yes. And the walk-on item is now approved. City Manager, any further business of the City Commission?
Nothing further.
There being none. Meeting concluded. Thank you, everybody. Have a happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Thanksgiving. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.