Newberry City Commission approves Special Use Permit for concrete batch and truss plants, moves ahead with chipsealing SW 30th Avenue
BY DAVID LIGHTMAN
NEWBERRY, Fla. – At their May 27 Special Meeting, the Newberry City Commission discussed updating the Fireworks Ordinance, passed updates to the Vacant Properties Ordinance and Abandoned Vehicles Ordinance, approved a Special Use Permit to allow 53 acres adjacent to the planned NC Ranch development to be used for a concrete batch plant and truss plant, authorized the chipsealing of SW 30th Avenue, and discussed updating the rules for parking major recreational vehicles.
Proclamations and announcements
The meeting began with a proclamation declaring May as Building Safety Month. Building Inspector David Meyer said, “The Building Department has been completely replaced since February because of issues before I got here.” Meyer said they have issued 208 permits from January 1 to April 18 of this year, placing them on pace to issue 780 permits for the year; this includes both new construction and renovations to existing construction.
Fire Chief Jason Lyman announced some promotions within his department. David Voigt was promoted to Driver Operator. Michael Malsom was promoted to Lieutenant. Kevin Farr was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief. Interim City Manager Dallas Lee added that Lyman himself was recently promoted to Fire Chief.
Mary Diaz of the Suwannee River Water Management District said she was there to invite everyone to a meeting at 5 p.m. on July 1 in Bronson that will go over changes to flood zone maps and allow for input from members of the public who feel the changes are inaccurate; after this meeting, making changes to the maps will be more difficult. She said two properties in Newberry will be going from Low/Moderate to High Risk for flooding, and they will need flood insurance. The meeting will be held at the Dogan Cobb Municipal Building, 660 East Hathaway Avenue, Bronson.
Fireworks Ordinance
The first item of business was the first reading of an amendment to the Fireworks Ordinance, with the second reading anticipated for June 9. Director of Community Development Stacey Hectus said they can add any additional days to the existing fireworks sales periods, which are three weeks before and one week after the holidays of New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and Independence Day. Hectus said the ordinance allows the City to hold fireworks displays, but anyone else must apply for a permit. Also, Hectus said, the current ordinance allows for only two vendors on non-residential property, but that number can be increased or decreased by the Commission. Agricultural uses of fireworks, such as to scare away pests, are allowed without permits, Hectus said.
Commissioner Monty Farnsworth said he would like Veterans Day added to the list of holidays when sales are permitted. After more discussion, Commissioner Mark Clark made a motion to move forward with updating the ordinance, adding Veterans Day to the holidays listed above. Commissioner Rick Coleman seconded the motion. It passed 4-0, with Mayor Tim Marden absent throughout the meeting and Vice Mayor Tony Mazon acting as Mayor.
Vacant Property Registration Ordinance
The next item was the second reading of an ordinance updating the Vacant Property Registration Ordinance. As discussed at the first reading, this ordinance requires the registration of vacant properties and properties that are in mortgage foreclosures. Hectus said, “I know this is a going to be a big boon, especially for the CRA, because that’s one of the things that the goals of the CRA is, to get rid of the blight, and this helps us keep track of those properties and keep on top of them.”
Farnsworth made a motion to approve the ordinance. Commissioner Donald Long seconded the motion, and it passed 4-0.
Abandoned Vehicles Ordinance
The next item was the second reading of an ordinance repealing and replacing the Abandoned Vehicles Ordinance. As discussed at the first reading, this ordinance allows City staff to remove abandoned vehicles from public property. Code Enforcement Officer Greta Moreau said she had added some additional information since the first reading: abandoned vehicles includes those with no tag or an expired tag, vehicles that are inoperable, and vehicles posing a danger to the public due to their location or condition.
Long made a motion to approve the ordinance, and Farnsworth seconded the motion. It passed 4-0.
Special Use Permit for a concrete batch plant and truss plant
The next item was approving a Special Use Permit for Norfleet Industrial Park. City Attorney Scott Walker said the permit is “to allow the concrete batch plant and truss plant with the accessory structures” on a combined total of approximately 53.62 acres of land that are zoned either Industrial or Agricultural. The City Clerk swore everyone in, as it was a quasi-judicial matter.
Senior Planner Uma Sarmistha said her department did an extensive review of the property. Margot Mauer from NV5 gave a presentation on the requested concrete batch plant and truss plant, noting that the Commission had already approved land use and zoning changes for the plants. She said the proximity of the site to NC Ranch is important to minimize truck trips on existing roads, and it is very close to an existing rail line for receiving materials. Mauer said landscaping buffers will provide visual screening from the road, and acoustic engineers have determined that sound levels will not exceed those permitted by Newberry’s sound ordinance. Mauer said both staff and the Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the Special Use Permit with certain proposed conditions.
Sarmistha returned to the podium to discuss the conditions, which the applicant had already agreed to. She said the conditions include operating hours of 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday; the owner shall actively monitor sound and vibration levels to ensure they meet sound ordinance requirements; all noise complaints shall be documented and forwarded to the City Manager; a fire and emergency plan with the Newberry Fire Department shall be in place; dark-sky-friendly lighting is mandatory; regulatory violations from local, regional, state, or federal agencies must be forwarded to the City Clerk within 10 days; the owner shall fulfill FDOT traffic study requirements; the property must have a dedicated right of way for ingress and egress from the main road; overlay district requirements for landscaping shall be followed; and a wildlife protection study shall be completed prior to commencement of operation, with any gopher tortoises relocated to an off-site protected habitat.
Farnsworth asked, “Why the 4 a.m. start time?” Sarmistha said they need to start working before the trucks arrive in the morning. After some discussion about berms (raised barriers), Sarmistha said those details can be finalized as part of the Site Plan, which has yet to be discussed.
Long made a motion to approve the Special Use Permit with the stated conditions, and Clark seconded the motion. It passed 4-0.
Chipsealing SW 30th Avenue
Director of Utilities and Public Works Jamie Jones gave a presentation on a plan to chipseal SW 30th Avenue. Jones said they are requesting that the City Manager be authorized to execute a contract with Asphalt Paving Systems in the amount of $247,482 for chipsealing SW 30th Avenue from U.S. 27/41 to SW 202nd Street, with change orders not to exceed 15%. Jones said they would also like authorization “for the Mayor and staff to execute and file a maintenance map with the Clerk of the Court for what we’re maintaining currently.” Lastly, Jones said they would like authorization to use the remaining budgeted funds “for obtaining land rights where we can on the road in the case that we are able to pave it [in the future].”
Farnsworth asked how long it would take to secure all the remaining land rights, and Jones said approximately 12 to 18 months. Farnsworth said, “I’m kind of hesitant in approving a chipseal when I think we should be obtaining the land rights and actually paving the road.” Responding to Clark, Jones said, “We budgeted approximately $350,000 to start obtaining land rights in this budget cycle.” He explained that the requested $247,482 would come out of the $350,000, leaving approximately $102,000 to begin acquiring land rights.
Clark said he favored going ahead with the chipsealing, and impact fees from Newberry Ridge and other future developments can be used to eventually pave the road once all the land rights have been secured.
Long made a motion to approve the chipsealing, and Coleman seconded the motion. It passed 4-0.
Major recreational vehicles
The final item was discussing the parking and storage of major recreational vehicles. Hectus said a violation was issued for a boat that Code Enforcement felt was parked improperly, and after a Magistrate hearing, staff was directed to examine the ordinance and bring it back to the City Commission for discussion. Incoming City Manager Jordan Marlowe said the owner of the boat left an obscene message with the Code Enforcement Officer after the courtesy notice was issued and also attacked her on social media.
Hectus said the ordinance covers boats, boat trailers, travel trailers, campers, coaches, motorized dwellings, and houseboats. The ordinance requires such vehicles to be parked in a rear or side yard in residential neighborhoods, although there is a 24-hour grace period for vehicles being loaded/unloaded or cleaned. Hectus said they can decide to keep the ordinance as-is, change it, or repeal it.
Clark said, “This thing is really outdated.” Hectus suggested adding prohibitions against major recreational vehicles extending onto a sidewalk or street, including for reasons of safety and visibility. Marlowe said he agreed with including that language since impeding visibility is a major concern.
Clark said he didn’t agree with prohibiting all parking in front yards and said he wanted more time to discuss it with the City Manager and other staff.
Farnsworth said, “The ordinance should be done on its own accord, not in retaliation or justification for what the individual has said or done.” Marlowe said, “I did not mean to imply that.”
Clark made a motion to table the item pending further discussion, and Coleman seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
Final comments
During final comments, Interim City Manager Dallas Lee said, “The dedication ceremony yesterday at the Newberry Veterans Memorial Park was outstanding. That park looks awesome, and the turnout we got was incredible.” (Renaming the southwest section of Lois Forte Park was approved on the Consent Agenda.)