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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Dunedin Board of Adjustment and Appeal Meeting – April 15, 2026

City Commission & Boards — Wednesday, April 15, 2026

BodyDunedin, Florida

SessionCity Commission & Boards

DateWednesday, April 15, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 18:34

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

And uh I'd like to call the morning meeting to order.

0:04

Uh the Board of Adjustment and Appeal is a quasi-judicial body, and certain procedures must be followed by the Board and persons appearing before it.

0:13

The purpose of this meeting is to provide applicants the opportunity to present cases for the board for review by the Board of Adjustment and Appeal.

0:22

Uh although this particular meeting we're going to be reviewing minutes and selecting um board members.

0:30

The BAA is responsible to determine if any such applications comply with city regulations.

0:36

This meeting is open to the public and all persons present for have this hearing have a right to voice their views regarding the application being considered by the board.

0:46

If the competent and substantial evidence before the board does not meet the necessary standards set out in the code, the BAA has no recourse but to deny the request.

1:02

Sorry.

1:19

It is the responsibility of the parties to create and preserve a transcript of these proceedings.

1:36

And we're going to proceed with uh the first item on the agenda, which is the minutes from the prior meeting of September 17th, 2025.

1:47

And so I will need to have a uh a motion.

1:52

Make a motion to approach the minutes.

1:55

I second the motion.

1:57

And therefore the motion is approved.

2:00

Minutes from September 17, 2025 are approved with no changes.

2:07

Great.

2:08

The second item on the agenda is to identify and appoint uh members to the board.

2:17

We currently have three vacancies, one regular uh position, and two alternates, alternate one and alternate two.

2:27

Today we have uh attending uh Deborah, correct, uh and that's Deborah Williams, and we have Matthew.

2:37

Um Matthew Morrissey.

2:40

Welcome.

2:41

Um there any questions that the board members have of the applicants?

2:49

I have a question.

2:50

Um I was wondering what made you interested in becoming a member of the board.

2:54

I'm interested in becoming a member of that board.

2:58

Could we ask you to come and make sure that the it's on?

3:04

The middle button says push.

3:06

Thank you.

3:06

How's that?

3:07

Is that better?

3:09

All right.

3:10

Um as one who worked in real estate prior, um, I moved to Florida in 2014.

3:17

We bought a home here in Dunedin in 2020.

3:21

It is our dream home and our forever home, and we are very concerned about our town and our town remaining a small community and a lovely coastal community.

3:33

We um I am concerned about people um developers, residents, whoever it might be coming in and doing things to our town that takes away from the beautification of the town.

3:47

I am interested in people maintaining their yards, their property, and keeping things safe and crime-free in this town.

3:55

Uh as one who's worked um in this before.

3:59

I'm interested in the board of the adjustments, appeals, hardships.

4:04

I understand the food truck thing.

4:06

I had also in my life worked in um food service, so anything like that I'm very interested in.

4:12

I'm also interested in planning and the future of our community, and I'd like to keep it like a great community and a great place to live as we live in our dream home and I plan to live here until I'm no longer here.

4:26

Thank you very much.

4:27

To be clear, what we do on this board is we uh are in comp we determine compliance with the existing um codes.

4:38

And so if there is a variance that's requested of us, we then look to the staff to give us guidance and then make a decision amongst us in terms of how it meets the code, the application, and then rule upon it from there.

4:53

Um just want to be clear that you understand that that's our our function.

4:57

Okay, great.

5:00

And Matthew, did you have any comments or hello everybody?

5:06

Uh uh Matt Morris is my name.

5:09

Matt MAT like Matthew.

5:10

Um I'm here in a spirit of service.

5:13

That may sound like uh a kind of a simple thing, but I just moved to Dunedin in January.

5:19

Uh I come from Chicago, Illinois, born and raised and spent uh my entire professional career there until uh last year, and I retired.

5:28

And I moved here.

5:29

I'm very excited.

5:30

Last time I was in this room was several weeks ago with the state of the city address.

5:35

It was a wonderful uh presentation.

5:37

Really put on well.

5:39

Um I need some things to do to uh occupy my time, no doubt about it.

5:46

I play a lot of golf up at the uh the Needon golf club, but um I get the sol I got the solicitation.

5:54

The reason I showed up here is um through the website.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████50%

Personnel Matters████████████████████████████████36%

Community Engagement█████████████14%

Summary of Proceedings

Dunedin Board of Adjustment and Appeal Meeting – April 15, 2026

The Dunedin Board of Adjustment and Appeal (BAA) met on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at Dunedin City Hall, 737 Louden Avenue. The meeting convened at 3:00 p.m. and adjourned at 3:20 p.m. Members present: Vice Chair Patricia Morea, Members Lorne Schinbein and Virginia Lamberton; Member Jack Greenfield was absent. Staff present: Assistant City Attorney Noah Daiker, Community Development Business Manager Katherine Lachcik, and Deputy City Clerk Heather Drake. The Board approved prior minutes, recommended three new members, and elected officers.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes (September 17, 2025): Member Lamberton moved, Member Schinbein seconded, and the Board unanimously approved the minutes without changes. The transcript indicates a brief procedural correction was made to ensure a formal vote was recorded.

Public Comments & Testimony

Debra “Deb” Williams (applicant for regular member) expressed concern about preserving Dunedin as a small, coastal community; she spoke in favor of maintaining property beautification, safety, and crime-free neighborhoods, and noted her interest in hardship variances and food-truck issues. She said she had worked in real estate and food service and moved to Dunedin in 2020.
Matthew Morrissey (applicant for alternate member) stated he came in a spirit of service after moving to Dunedin in January; he described 45 years as a trial lawyer and familiarity with dispute resolution and fair hearings. He initially said he believed the Board’s decision was a non-binding recommendation. Vice Chair Morea and Assistant City Attorney Daiker clarified that BAA decisions are binding and may be appealed to a court.
Amanda Crescenzo (applicant for alternate member) said she wanted to be active in the community and had experienced neighborhood code-compliance disputes; she preferred to be part of the solution rather than on the complaining side.

Discussion Items

Board Membership Vacancies: The Board discussed one regular vacancy and two alternate vacancies. Vice Chair Morea explained the BAA’s quasi-judicial role: it determines compliance with the City Code and rules on variance requests, and it is not a code enforcement agency. Assistant City Attorney Daiker advised that applicants are not required to attend unless the Board requires attendance, and that the Board could postpone an appointment if desired. The Board initially considered waiting and asking staff to contact longer-standing applicants, including Jeremy Reynolds and Jonathan Darcy, before Amanda Crescenzo arrived and was nominated.
Election of Chair and Vice Chair: Although this item was not listed on the posted agenda, the Board proceeded to elect officers. Patricia Morea was nominated for Chair and Lorne Schinbein was nominated for Vice Chair.

Key Outcomes

Motion by Member Lamberton, seconded by Member Schinbein, to approve the September 17, 2025, minutes: carried unanimously.
Motion by Member Schinbein, seconded by Member Lamberton, to recommend Debra “Deb” Williams for the regular member vacancy: carried unanimously.
Motion by Member Lamberton, seconded by Member Schinbein, to recommend Matthew Morrissey for Alternate Member #1: carried unanimously.
Motion by Member Schinbein, seconded by Member Lamberton, to recommend Amanda Crescenzo for Alternate Member #2: carried unanimously.
Motion by Member Schinbein, seconded by Member Lamberton, to elect Patricia Morea as Chair: carried unanimously.
Motion by Vice Chair Morea, seconded by Member Lamberton, to elect Lorne Schinbein as Vice Chair: carried unanimously.
The Board noted that alternate members are required to attend all meetings and may be asked to serve on the dais if regular members are unavailable. All new member recommendations require City Commission approval before taking office.

Meeting Transcript

And uh I'd like to call the morning meeting to order. Uh the Board of Adjustment and Appeal is a quasi-judicial body, and certain procedures must be followed by the Board and persons appearing before it. The purpose of this meeting is to provide applicants the opportunity to present cases for the board for review by the Board of Adjustment and Appeal. Uh although this particular meeting we're going to be reviewing minutes and selecting um board members. The BAA is responsible to determine if any such applications comply with city regulations. This meeting is open to the public and all persons present for have this hearing have a right to voice their views regarding the application being considered by the board. If the competent and substantial evidence before the board does not meet the necessary standards set out in the code, the BAA has no recourse but to deny the request. Sorry. It is the responsibility of the parties to create and preserve a transcript of these proceedings. And we're going to proceed with uh the first item on the agenda, which is the minutes from the prior meeting of September 17th, 2025. And so I will need to have a uh a motion. Make a motion to approach the minutes. I second the motion. And therefore the motion is approved. Minutes from September 17, 2025 are approved with no changes. Great. The second item on the agenda is to identify and appoint uh members to the board. We currently have three vacancies, one regular uh position, and two alternates, alternate one and alternate two. Today we have uh attending uh Deborah, correct, uh and that's Deborah Williams, and we have Matthew. Um Matthew Morrissey. Welcome. Um there any questions that the board members have of the applicants? I have a question. Um I was wondering what made you interested in becoming a member of the board. I'm interested in becoming a member of that board. Could we ask you to come and make sure that the it's on? The middle button says push. Thank you. How's that? Is that better? All right. Um as one who worked in real estate prior, um, I moved to Florida in 2014. We bought a home here in Dunedin in 2020. It is our dream home and our forever home, and we are very concerned about our town and our town remaining a small community and a lovely coastal community. We um I am concerned about people um developers, residents, whoever it might be coming in and doing things to our town that takes away from the beautification of the town. I am interested in people maintaining their yards, their property, and keeping things safe and crime-free in this town. Uh as one who's worked um in this before. I'm interested in the board of the adjustments, appeals, hardships. I understand the food truck thing. I had also in my life worked in um food service, so anything like that I'm very interested in. I'm also interested in planning and the future of our community, and I'd like to keep it like a great community and a great place to live as we live in our dream home and I plan to live here until I'm no longer here. Thank you very much. To be clear, what we do on this board is we uh are in comp we determine compliance with the existing um codes. And so if there is a variance that's requested of us, we then look to the staff to give us guidance and then make a decision amongst us in terms of how it meets the code, the application, and then rule upon it from there. Um just want to be clear that you understand that that's our our function. Okay, great. And Matthew, did you have any comments or hello everybody? Uh uh Matt Morris is my name. Matt MAT like Matthew. Um I'm here in a spirit of service.

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