Regular Council Presentations - September 26, 2023 at 5:30 PM

City Council

Regular Meeting

September 26, 2023

The City Council of the City of Titusville, Florida met in regular session in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 555 South Washington Avenue, on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. 

Mayor Diesel called the City Council meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Present were Mayor Daniel E. Diesel, Vice Mayor Joe C. Robinson, and City Council Members Herman A. Cole, Jr., Col USAF Retired, Jo Lynn Nelson, and Dr. Sarah Stoeckel. Also present were City Manager Scott Larese, City Attorney Richard Broome, and City Clerk Wanda Wells. Assistant City Clerk Jolynn Donhoff completed the minutes of the meeting. 

Mayor Diesel requested a moment of silence. He then led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. City Clerk Wells read the procedures for public comment and participation. 

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SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Employee of the Month for September 2023 - No action was requested. Finance Director Teri Butler recognized Fiscal Analyst II Tammy Wayner as the Employee of the Month for September 2023. She highlighted the nomination and presented Ms. Wayner with a plaque and gift. 

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Green Belt Project Summary - Grants Process - No action was requested. Special Projects Coordinator Heather Kenney presented a summary of recent improvements to the City’s grants process, which was the result of a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Project. 

Council commended Ms. Kenney on the improvements. Member Stoeckel discussed her familiarity and questions on the Microsoft SharePoint Collaboration Software and the City’s use of the software to facilitate notifications with other staff, assigning tasks, and prompting various levels of required approvals, etc. Member Stoeckel also discussed cyber security related grants. 

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All-Inclusive Park - Sand Point - No action was requested. Jason Snodgrass of the North Brevard Rotary Club gave a presentation that highlighted the following information on an All-Inclusive Park at Sand Point Park, including an all-inclusive playground, renderings of equipment, rubber surfaces, musical play features, delivery of equipment and construction schedule, groundbreaking ceremony, appreciation to the City’s Building Department and others in the community, etc. 

Council commented on the importance of the all-inclusive park improvements and their appreciation for the North Brevard Rotary Club. 

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Inclusionary Zoning Presentation - No action was requested. Community Development Director Brad Parrish gave a presentation that highlighted the following information:

1. Affordable housing. Staff advised these were restricted housing units, restricted by affordability and market rates, by income levels and controls of the property, such as deed restrictions, this type of housing being restricted for specified period, such as for 30 years, etc.
2. Exclusionary housing (the opposite of inclusionary). Slides with information were included in the Council agenda packet. It was based on exclusive land use controls and the zoning system currently used by the City, based on Euclidean zoning---a type of zoning system that only allowed one kind of land use per zone.  Examples: having commercial zoning districts, residential zoning districts, etc. that only allowed certain uses within each exclusive district.
3. Inclusionary zoning (IZ). Slides with information were included in the Council agenda packet. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), inclusionary zoning (IZ) practices referred to any kind of policy or ordinance that required or encouraged developers to set aside a certain percentage of housing units in a new or rehabilitated project for low- and/or moderate-income residents. IZ policies helped to integrate lower-income residents with higher-income residents, so that all had access to the same high-quality services and amenities.

• The City of Gainesville, Florida implemented IZ policies. Information learned from this municipality.
• House Bill 7103 (2019) and what exclusionary housing and inclusionary zoning (IZ) meant in the State. This information reviewed local ordinances, developer fees, linkage or impact fees, incentives to offset developer costs, parking, public engagement, etc.
• Completing a study was recommended if the Council desired exploring these matters.
• Learning from other cities exploring or implementing IZ policies, such as City of Daytona Beach, Florida.

Community Development Director Parrish advised that an agenda item requesting Council’s advisability was scheduled for the regular City Council meeting on September 26, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Diesel advised that a study would be critical due to having numerous options and it was important to understand any ramifications of all the options. Member Cole, staff, and Vice-Mayor Robinson discussed Member Cole’s questions on the Florida Statute’s definition of affordable housing and other parameters related to affordable housing. 

Member Nelson, staff, and Vice-Mayor Robinson discussed Member Nelson’s questions related to how some criticized that inclusionary zoning may increase the cost to build new housing, how affordable housing rents were set and whether this was based on information published by HUD, population statistics, the average median income in the area, etc. Additionally, Member Nelson and staff discussed her question on whether staff recommended implementing inclusionary zoning, etc. Staff indicated other communities first completed studies to research and identify the issues (researching items like available housing stock and cost analysis, what was the need in the community, etc.), in order to learn which IZ tools were appropriate for their specific cities. 

Member Stoeckel and staff discussed her questions on the City having previously transferred some of its zoning designations to Planned Industrial Development (PID) and whether this was used as a strategy to assist with providing affordable housing. The discussion also included whether the City had the ability to track how many citizens were eligible for affordable housing, whether citizens were applying for affordable housing, making a comparison of the need in the community, current available housing stock, etc. Staff indicated they would need to research the questions and return to Council. 

Vice-Mayor Robinson advised that the Titusville Housing Authority likely had the most accurate information to answer Member Stoeckel’s questions. The City Manager could obtain median income or this type of information. 

Mayor Diesel summarized that more information would be required on these matters. 

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Letters of Appreciation - No action was requested. City Manager Larese read the list of employee names that recently received letters of appreciation, which included the following Fire and Emergency Services Department employees:

Matthew Brun             Firefighter

Jenifer Robbins           Firefighter/EMT

Ronald Smith, Jr.        Firefighter/Paramedic

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Petitions and Requests from the Public Present (Open Forum) – 

Toni Shifalo read from a prepared statement that discussed her concerns on implementing inclusionary zoning. She commented that providing developers incentives harmed current residents in the ways she explained. 

Stan Johnston commented on sending an email to the City Council earlier in the day, the Rotary Club 4-way test, a prior meeting with staff to discuss the width of a right-of-way in the SNJ Oaks Project, his filing an affidavit regarding gross negligence, his concerns that a property survey or multiple surveys contained errors, etc. 

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With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.