1. CITY OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH – DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Flagler Avenue Retail-Residential Project #SP-6-05
July 11, 2005
Summary
1. Applicant: Will Miller, 100 South Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach
2. Property Owner: Phyllis May Et. Al., 257 Minorca Beach Way, New Smyrna
Beach
3. Request: site plan approval to allow construction of a mixed-use building
consisting of 8,850 square feet of retail, seven residential units and seven
garages in three buildings.
4. Subject Area: The subject area consists of approximately .56 acres, is zoned
MU, Mixed Use and is located on the southeast corner of South Pine Street and
Flagler Avenue.
5. Recommendation: Staff recommends the Planning and Zoning Board approve
the site plan with conditions (see below).
6. Findings
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Subject
Parcel
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2. LPA/PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD
JULY 11, 2005
SP-6-05 FLAGLER AVENUE RETAIL-RESIDENTIAL PROJECT (CLASS III)
(1) The applicant’s stated purpose of this development is to provide a vertically
mixed-use development. The applicant must have a site plan approved by
the Plan Review Committee and the Planning and Zoning Board before the
City will issue a permit for development.
(2) This approval would constitute an approval of a site plan that received Plan
Review comments on May 13, 2005. To date, the site plan does not have all
the signatures of the Plan Review Committee members, indicating the plans
meet the technical requirements of the City. Addressing these issues and
receiving approval from all PRC members should be a condition of approval.
(3) One concern of many within the community is to replace buildings,
particularly in high visibility areas such as Flagler Avenue, with architectural
styles that fit the character of the area. Although the existing building on the
site is over 50-years old, it doesn’t necessarily seem to have an overall
redeeming architectural style. The owner of the property would like to
remove the building and construct a nice piece of architecture that will add
to the community. This is a laudable goal and should be encouraged by the
community.
(4) As indicated above there is a concern that new buildings on Flagler Avenue
fit the character of the area. It is difficult to determine exactly what the
character of the area is now that many of the smaller single-family home-like
buildings have been removed and replaced with newer buildings that have
little in common with the historic buildings remaining. Recently some
buildings have been constructed on Flagler Avenue that many consider not
conforming to the neighborhood character. This should not be construed as
a negative reflection on the owners but more of a lack of knowledge of
appropriate architectural style. To address the problem of future
inappropriate construction on Flagler Avenue, as well as other areas, the
City is in the process of trying to determine what is appropriate for the areas
and will hopefully soon adopt architectural standards that all new
construction must meet. In the mean time staff is working with local
architects and developers to try to design architecturally appropriate
buildings.
(5) Determining the appropriateness of a building can be fairly complicated and
takes experience. Items to look for include the massing and height of
buildings, building setbacks, building frontage on a street, construction
material and particular styles. The City has design guidelines that illustrate
these concepts. See Exhibit A. For example, if all the buildings in a
neighborhood are constructed in the craftsman or bungalow style, it may not
be appropriate to construct a building in the neighborhood having a
Mediterranean Revival style. Another example is if most buildings in the
neighborhood have a setback from the street between five- and ten-feet, it is
not appropriate to construct a new building with a setback of 25-feet.
(6) The proposed building associated with the subject site plan has several
features that City staff feels is appropriate for the Flagler Avenue area.
These items include the setback of the building, the massing and height of
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3. LPA/PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD
JULY 11, 2005
SP-6-05 FLAGLER AVENUE RETAIL-RESIDENTIAL PROJECT (CLASS III)
the building, the use of the building awnings and the vertical mixed use
having non-residential uses on the first floor and residential used on the
second floor. However, staff has a few concerns with the subject building in
that it is to be constructed with possibly inappropriate materials. From the
elevation drawings it appears that the exterior is constructed with glass and
keystone and most buildings along Flagler Avenue do not have an
overwhelming amount of glass and none have keystone. Also, there are
curves in the building whereas there are no curved buildings elsewhere on
the street. The applicant has indicated he is willing to work with City staff to
address some of the concerns.
(7) The proposal includes the demolition of a historic structure. That will require
approval from the Historic Preservation Commission, which should be a
condition of approval.
7. Recommendation
Approve the site plan with the condition that:
1. All Plan Review Committee comments are addressed and all members sign-
off on the plans.
2. The applicant obtains permission from the Historic Preservation Commission
to demolish the historic structure onsite.
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