OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Local Planning Agency Meeting – June 11, 2025

City Commission & Boards — Wednesday, June 11, 2025
BodyDunedin, Florida
SessionCity Commission & Boards
DateWednesday, June 11, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:48

Transcript — Verbatim
0:20

That's always fun to do, but I keep missing, you know.

0:29

The June 11, 2025 meeting of the local planning agency of the City of Dunedin will now come to order.

0:39

The local planning agency is an advisory board of citizens appointed by the City Commission.

0:46

This board is comprised of volunteers who represent the thoughts and concerns of the community.

0:53

The purpose of tonight's meeting is to make recommendations to the city commission regarding each item on the agenda.

1:01

Tonight's format will be as follows.

1:04

I will introduce each item on the agenda after which the city representative will present information about it.

1:12

Thereafter, the members of the local planning agency will have an opportunity to ask questions of the city representative.

1:21

Finally, anyone from the public may come forward.

1:25

Those from the public wishing to provide comment will need to approach the electoran, state your name and address, and then utilize the microphone at the speaker's lectern in order for their comments to be recorded.

1:41

Individual speakers will be limited to three minutes of speaking time, and we kindly request that speakers are respectful of the countdown clock.

1:52

Citizens speaking on an agenda item or during citizen comment will not engage in loud boisterous and or disruptive speech or conduct.

2:05

All right.

2:06

Any speaker that has continued inappropriate or irrelevant comments will be requested to relinquish the podium by the chair.

2:16

That's me.

2:18

The first item on our agenda is to approve the April 9 2025 LPA minutes.

2:26

Are there any corrections, additions, or demetions to the minutes?

2:31

No.

2:33

Super.

2:34

Hearing none, do I hear a motion to accept the minute minutes as submitted?

2:41

Motion to accept.

2:43

Thank you.

2:44

It has been moved and seconded to accept the minutes as submitted.

2:49

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

2:56

Thank you.

2:58

All right.

2:59

We are we are now open for public input.

3:03

Does anyone from the public wish to speak on any of the items of this evening?

3:11

We were just doing as you can be sworn in.

3:16

And Chair, that's just for the minutes.

3:18

We're just asking for public um comment on the vote for the minutes.

3:23

Sorry, I misunderstood that.

3:28

The second item on the agenda is recommendations, recommendation to the city commission regarding ordinance 25-0.

3:39

Amending chapter 11 of the Land Development Code Historic Preservation and Resolution 25-13, amending the certificate of appropriateness matrix as required by chapter 11 of the Land Development Code.

4:06

I think you need to.

4:08

Okay.

4:09

I recuse because I sit as chairman of Historic Preservation Advisory Committee currently.

4:17

Thank you.

4:19

And maybe excused if the bat.

4:22

Okay, sure.

4:29

All right.

5:00

Good evening, Chair and Committee or local planning agency.

5:03

I'm Frances Leong Sharp, planner two for the City of Dunedin, as well as the staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee.

5:12

What we have here this evening is our historic preservation ordinance and our certificate of appropriateness matrix update.

5:24

Her name is Blair Blair Knightley from Kimley Horn.

5:28

She, alongside with the city attorney and myself, we will be providing a presentation to you about giving you a I guess an overview of what's uh changed in our historic preservation ordinance as well as the uh COA matrix.

5:50

Oh yes.

5:52

So before we um jump right into the ordinance itself, um just to give everybody a background of the historic preservation ordinance that we have in place today.

6:03

Um this whole effort um in terms of our historic preservation program with the city um started all the way back in 2015.

6:12

Um there was a workshop that took place uh with the city commission as a result of the interest in wanting to create a historic preservation program.

6:23

And then from then on in 2018, our first iteration of the historic preservation ordinance was uh adopted, and then fall in the following year um we did some amendments to the ordinance in an effort to become a certified local government, uh, which is a like essentially a certification from the state to indicate that we do have a program that follows the Department of Interior standards from the national um guidelines.

6:55

And then as a result of having that ordinance in place, um there are um items that the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee had felt that there needs to be a little bit of a cleanup after a few years of implementations.

7:09

Um we've had um 25 uh local landmarks uh designated homes uh to date.

7:17

And here uh we have to you um this evening is um the changes that we would like to modify within the ordinance as well as the uh COA matrix.

7:32

Thank you all.

7:32

Uh Blair Nightingale is Kim Lane Gordon, thank you for the time tonight.

7:36

Uh so I'll kind of just go over what we the major changes that we are recommending.

7:42

Oh, is it wrong?

7:43

Sorry.

7:44

Sorry about that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Public Engagement████████10%
Community Engagement███████9%
Land Use Planning█████7%
Procedural███4%
Procurement███4%
Veterans Affairs██3%
Environmental Protection█1%
Stormwater Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Local Planning Agency Meeting – June 11, 2025

The Local Planning Agency (LPA) of Dunedin met on June 11, 2025, at 6:00 PM to consider two main agenda items: a recommendation to the City Commission regarding updates to the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Certificate of Appropriateness Matrix (Ordinance 25-02 and Resolution 25-13), and the appointment of a new alternate member to the LPA. The meeting included extensive public comment and board deliberation, resulting in a conditional recommendation for the ordinance changes and the unanimous appointment of Tim Young as an alternate member.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of April 9, 2025 LPA Minutes: Motion by Mr. Stanek, seconded by Ms. Kynes. Passed unanimously. No public comment.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joe Farrell (Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors, representing 25,000 members): Expressed concern about the City Manager’s ability to initiate a historic district without 100% property owner approval; stressed property rights; questioned intervener status and drawn distinctions between voluntary designation and third-party initiation. Noted that historic homes are more expensive to maintain.
  • Ryan Saunders (250 Lyndhurst Street): Detailed a scenario where storm-damaged homes could trigger a City Manager–initiated historic district, leading to a moratorium on permits under Section 111-1-7D. Asked for clarification on contiguity of districts and alignment with the 2035 Comprehensive Plan. Requested clear cost information for COA applications and appeals be included in FAQs.
  • John Shine (217 Aberdeen Street): Recalled the building moratorium during the Character Overlay process, which froze construction for two or three years and dramatically increased costs. Argued that the City Manager could effectively force inclusion in a historic district without 100% property owner consent, leading to expensive legal battles and loss of property value.
  • Alan Veach (HPAC member, 1366 N. Lotus Drive): Stated that the process is 100% voluntary and that the City Manager only has authority to start the application process, not to force designation.
  • Karen Mullins (HPAC member, 678 Oakwood Drive): Emphasized that Dunedin’s historic character is at risk; urged board to vote in favor of the ordinance.
  • Jim Davis (Dunedin Boat Club board member): Noted the Boat Club’s 97-year-old building was recently demolished after hurricane damage; asked how the new ordinance could help them designate the site as a historic landmark.

Discussion Items

  • Recommendation on Ordinance 25-02 and Resolution 25-13 (Historic Preservation Updates)

    • Staff presentation by Planner II Frances Leong Sharp and consultant Blair Knighting (Kimley-Horn). Key changes include: simplifying the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) matrix to reduce City Commission review to demolition over 20% and relocation; creating staff and HPC (formerly HPAC) approval levels; adding definitions; adding mitigation language; enabling designation of Local Historic Districts with 100% property owner consent or, in extraordinary circumstances, by the City Manager; updating notice and landmark designation processes.
    • Board questions focused on the City Manager’s initiation power, the nature of “extraordinary circumstances,” the 50-year threshold for significance, appeal processes, storm damage and resiliency, and the potential for undue burden on property owners.
    • City Attorney Jennifer Cowan clarified that the City Manager can only apply for a historic district, not approve it; that the process is quasi-judicial with notice to all property owners; and that “irreparable harm” is a legally definable term. She also noted that the current ordinance allows HPAC to initiate landmark applications, but the proposed ordinance restricts initiation to property owners.
    • Public comments raised concerns about the City Manager provision, potential moratoriums, and costs. Staff and HPAC members reiterated the voluntary nature of historic districts.
    • Motion: Vice Chair Benjamin moved to recommend approval of Ordinance 25-02 and Resolution 25-13 to the City Commission, subject to additional clarification via a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document addressing the City Manager initiation process and storm damage procedures, and also to consider an expedited process for City Manager–initiated applications. Seconded by Ms. Caron. The motion carried unanimously.

  • Recommendation for New Alternate LPA Member

    • Three candidates attended and spoke: Larri Gerson, John Shine, and Tim Young. Each described their background and qualifications.
    • Motion: Ms. Kynes moved to recommend Tim Young for the alternate position. Seconded by Vice Chair Benjamin. Unanimously approved.
    • Member Deborah Kynes recused herself from the historic preservation vote due to her role as Chair of HPAC; she filed a Form 88 Memorandum of Voting Conflict.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 25-02 and Resolution 25-13: The LPA voted unanimously to recommend approval to the City Commission, contingent on the creation of a detailed FAQ document and consideration of an expedited City Manager process. The recommendation includes clarifying the City Manager’s initiation authority, storm damage procedures, and timeline for permit holders.
  • New Alternate Member: Tim Young was recommended for appointment as an alternate LPA member (unanimous vote).
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for July 9, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

That's always fun to do, but I keep missing, you know. The June 11, 2025 meeting of the local planning agency of the City of Dunedin will now come to order. The local planning agency is an advisory board of citizens appointed by the City Commission. This board is comprised of volunteers who represent the thoughts and concerns of the community. The purpose of tonight's meeting is to make recommendations to the city commission regarding each item on the agenda. Tonight's format will be as follows. I will introduce each item on the agenda after which the city representative will present information about it. Thereafter, the members of the local planning agency will have an opportunity to ask questions of the city representative. Finally, anyone from the public may come forward. Those from the public wishing to provide comment will need to approach the electoran, state your name and address, and then utilize the microphone at the speaker's lectern in order for their comments to be recorded. Individual speakers will be limited to three minutes of speaking time, and we kindly request that speakers are respectful of the countdown clock. Citizens speaking on an agenda item or during citizen comment will not engage in loud boisterous and or disruptive speech or conduct. All right. Any speaker that has continued inappropriate or irrelevant comments will be requested to relinquish the podium by the chair. That's me. The first item on our agenda is to approve the April 9 2025 LPA minutes. Are there any corrections, additions, or demetions to the minutes? No. Super. Hearing none, do I hear a motion to accept the minute minutes as submitted? Motion to accept. Thank you. It has been moved and seconded to accept the minutes as submitted. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Thank you. All right. We are we are now open for public input. Does anyone from the public wish to speak on any of the items of this evening? We were just doing as you can be sworn in. And Chair, that's just for the minutes. We're just asking for public um comment on the vote for the minutes. Sorry, I misunderstood that. The second item on the agenda is recommendations, recommendation to the city commission regarding ordinance 25-0. Amending chapter 11 of the Land Development Code Historic Preservation and Resolution 25-13, amending the certificate of appropriateness matrix as required by chapter 11 of the Land Development Code. I think you need to. Okay. I recuse because I sit as chairman of Historic Preservation Advisory Committee currently. Thank you. And maybe excused if the bat. Okay, sure. All right. Good evening, Chair and Committee or local planning agency. I'm Frances Leong Sharp, planner two for the City of Dunedin, as well as the staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee. What we have here this evening is our historic preservation ordinance and our certificate of appropriateness matrix update. Her name is Blair Blair Knightley from Kimley Horn. She, alongside with the city attorney and myself, we will be providing a presentation to you about giving you a I guess an overview of what's uh changed in our historic preservation ordinance as well as the uh COA matrix. Oh yes. So before we um jump right into the ordinance itself, um just to give everybody a background of the historic preservation ordinance that we have in place today. Um this whole effort um in terms of our historic preservation program with the city um started all the way back in 2015. Um there was a workshop that took place uh with the city commission as a result of the interest in wanting to create a historic preservation program.

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