Title
A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood, Florida, Acknowledging Specific Green And Sustainable Practices Within The Proposed "Nautilus Apartments," Located At 3500 Washington Street; And Considering A Waiver, With Conditions, Of Chapter 151 Of The Hollywood Code Of Ordinances ("The Green Building Ordinance"); And Amending The Approved Site Plan To Reflect The Change; And Providing An Effective Date. (12-PW-59A).
Body
Staff Recommends: Approval of the attached Resolution.
Explanation:
On January 3, 2014, the City Commission (the "Commission") passed and adopted Ordinance No. 2013-23 and Resolution No. 2013-350 which approved Automatic Investments South, Inc. (the "Applicant") request for Waiver, Rezoning, Master Plan, Design, and Site Plan for the construction of an 84 unit residential building and surface parking in an existing 193 unit, two-building, apartment complex, with surface parking and amenities located at 3500 Washington Street.
The City of Hollywood's Code of Ordinances requires all development projects which are larger than 20,000 square feet be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System of the USGBC, certified by the FGBC as a Florida Green High Rise Residential Building or a Florida Green Commercial Building, or certified under another recognized certification program approved by the City.
Pursuant to Section 151.158, the Applicant, Automatic Investments South, Inc. has requested a waiver of the green building certification; indicating in their application that compliance with this requirement would create an unreasonable burden due to uncertainty with the overall timing and cost for completion of the project.
The code allows for the certification requirement to be waived in an emergency situation or under documented circumstances in which compliance with the requirement would be cost prohibitive, would create an unreasonable burden on the construction project, would have a negative impact on a historic structure, or would defeat the intention of certification. It also indicates that under these circumstances, a reasonable effort will be made by the Applicant to maximize the number of green building practices included. As such, the Applicant has committed to meeting the intent and purpose of the code by designing and building to Green Building Coalition (FGBC) Green High Rise Residential Building standards (Exhibit B).
Therefore, following review and analysis of the application and its associated documents, and in support of the Green Team's recommendation (Attachment III) Staff has determined the proposed green and sustainable practices comply with the intent and purpose of the Green Building Ordinance, and therefore recommend approval following conditions:
(a) The Applicant file an application to an acceptable certifying agency prior to the issuance of a building permit and continues the process until determination of the designation.
(b) That green and sustainable practices shall be designed and built as indicated by the FGBC Green High Rise Residential Building Checklist as set forth in Exhibit "B" or as approved by staff to satisfy minimum threshold requirements for FGBC Green High Rise Residential Building certification (50 points); and
(c) As necessary, the Applicant shall provide affidavits of compliance certified by accredited professionals, as determined and approved by Staff;
Staff is currently working with the Green Team on amending the green building requirements. However, based on the amendments anticipated, at this time Staff believes this request would still be necessary.
ATTACHMENTS
EXHIBIT A: Survey
EXHIBIT B: FGBC Green High Rise Residential Building Checklist
ATTACHMENT I: Application Package
ATTACHMENT II: Applicable Regulations
ATTACHMENT III: Green Team Recommendation
Recommended for inclusion on the agenda by:
Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, AICP, CEcD, City Manager
Jaye M. Epstein, AICP, Director, Planning