Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 06-12-2007 regular agenda — reading text

the two jurisdictions they have contemplated and discussed either a Development Agreement and/ or an Interlocal Agreement to deal with all the interaction and joint sharing with the City of Mary Esther. Jason Gabriel, attorney with Edwards Cohen representing Wal- Mart, first introduced the team of Lucas Anthony, civil engineer with Kimley- Horn; David Sims, landscape architect with Kimley- Horn; David Muntean, traffic engineer with Kimley- Horn; Michael Blinn with BRR Architects; and Cindy Marciglio with Wal- Mart. He stated the reason for the meeting is to formally introduce themselves and show what is being proposed at the site. He said Wal- Mart does highly value and place a premium on community dialogue as they have held various meetings and conversations with surrounding property owners, the J school board and other stakeholders in the area, arid they will continue to do so. Mr. Gabriel then touched on a few aspects of the project. He pointed out the site on Highway 98 is approximately 10. 5 acres located at the intersection of Highway 98 and Wright Parkway, with a little over 5 acres located in the City of Fort Walton Beach and the remainder in the City of Mary Esther. He mentioned the portion in the City of Fort Walton Beach has a Highway Commercial zoning and land use designation, and the portion within Mary Esther has a residential type zoning and land use. He said the proposal will present both Fort Walton Beach and Mary Esther with a unique opportunity to develop the parcel into a single development as opposed to one that would be half commercial and half residential, and effectively address all the issues related to any development of that tract whether it be traffic issues, buffering, landscaping, etc.  u__________. 284 Council Workshop 5- 21- 07 WAl-MART PROPOSAL cont. Mr. Gabriel said Wal- Mart in particular has the ability and the commitment to ensure that the end result of the development is something that everyone can be pleased and proud of. He went over some of the features of the proposal for a Wal- Mart Supercenter that will have a grocery component and a retail Mart, the component, will be between 120- 124, 000 square feet which is half the size of a typical Wal- architecture with a coastal approach, various pitched' gable roof, canopies, columns, windows, tower hatches, and other features for an aesthetically pleasing store. Bill Garvie and Dr. Pullen arrived at 5: 40 p. m. Mr. Gabriel pointed out the store has been positioned so the land buffer between the Kingston Court neighborhood and the store itself has absolutely no traffic whatsoever traversing through the back, he pointed out a landscape buffer with a creek running through it which provides a nice amenity of landscape visual and sound buffer between the back of the store and the houses. He mentioned they will also place either a wall or a nice iron rod fence that goes all the way up the west side of the property and a mason aesthetically pleasing wall along the north portion of the property to adequately buffer the site from Fort Walton Beach High School. He said they will implement a lighting system throughout which will be set in a downward direction with light shields to achieve a zero spill to the surrounding areas and there will be heavy vegetation throughout that will serve as both a visual and sound barrier between the properties. He mentioned the traffic issue and noted there already is traffic in the area and there will be traffic associated with the development; however, Wal- Mart has the unique ability to comprehensively address traffic issues that exist today and those the community will be facing tomorrow. He said Wal- Mart has committed itself with partnering with both the Cities of Fort Walton Beach and Mary Esther, as well as the School Board and the surrounding community to ensure safe and efficient traffic circulation at the intersection. He mentioned that is above and beyond the regulations and requirements that Wal- Mart will already have to meet with the County, the Florida Department of Transportation, all Federal and State regulations. He concluded there is ten acres that will be developed into something whether it be a neighborhood of 25 homes on one- half and a Walgreen' s on the other, it will be developed and they are confident what they are proposing is. a first class compact development which will appropriately compliment that area and that section of Highway 98. He expressed his gratitude and thanks for hearing their proposal. A question was asked about the vegetation behind the building, the height of the trees compared to the wall, and whether the building will be visible from the lots on the west. David Sims, landscape architect with Kimley- Horn, stated the tree heights vary from 12- 15' up to 50- 60' and they would be able to see through the trees. The question was asked if there would be an automobile shop on the site. Mr. Gabriel said there would be no automobile it will be retail and grocery, that the property is 10. 5 acres and is compact so shop; 000 square they are limited on what can be put in there which is why the store is limited to 120- 124, feet. It was commented the main entrance appears to be off Wright Parkway and there is an entrance off to process, and it Highway 98, and it was questioned on the number of cars the Highway 98 be able was mentioned during football season the northbound traffic on Wright Parkway is closed. Mr.Gabriel ~ replied with Highway 98 being a State Highway they are working with the Florida Department of Transportation in the traffic patterns, which will have to go through their permitting implementing process. He said they have met with the School Board, and will continue to do so, to talk about north. He said were put on notice on certain occasions a portion of . they potential improvements going Mr.Gabriel Wright Parkway is cut off, so they will have to take that into account with their operations. confirmed that the existing businesses will remain. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. Council Workshop 5- 21- 07 285 WAL- MART PROPOSAL cant. Millie Thrush, 316 Sudduth Circle, questioned whether Wal- Mart would develop the alternative development mentioned, such as homes. Mr. Gabriel stated that would be by another developer and clarified he mentioned there are two conflicting land uses for that property. Doug Reed, 842 Santa Rosa Court and member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, expressed their problems with the project because of people wanting to park in the church parking lot and issues with traffic. He said to consider it is buffering residential, a church, and a school and it will have a tremendous impact. Mrs. Thrush expressed her concerns with the project and suggested if Mary Esther turned it down to consider changing the zoning to mixed- use. Lou Ann Rathke, 320 Harbor Place and member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, expressed concern over the safety of the children in the afternoon when the schools get out. Mr. Gabriel stated they are working very closely with the City and the School Board to go over the traffic issues. He mentioned David Muntean with Kimley- Horn produced a comprehensive traffic study of the area and did spend a couple of days for several hours walking up and down the site during the school let out hours and rush hour. David Muntean, transportation engineer with Kimley- Horn, mentioned the strict review they will have to undergo by the Florida Department of Transportation regarding access and the provision of turn lanes to get in and out of the site on Highway 98. He pointed out the left turn lane going in and the right'furn lane going in at the entrance on Highway 98 and mentioned that they are required to make it 19h9 enough to store vehicles as needed and for the deceleration of vehicles as they slow down to traVel through the area on Highway 98. He said they have to meet and satisfy those requirements and there is a combination of State and Federal guidelines and requirements they have to follow. Mr. Muntean went through a series of slides that showed what is going on with the traffic and pedestrians on Wright Parkway at the High School and the elementary school across the street. He mentioned the traffic is typical for nighttime games and every high school has to have special traffic arrangements made during a high school game as they cannot provide enough lanes for special events and they have to have good traffic management with all the different parties working together. He said that is one of the issues they will continue to talk about with the School Board. He pointed out some situations taking place such as vehicles making a U- turn in the middle of the street to get in line for the elementary school; pedestrians crossing in the middle of the street, not paying attention to traffic and not using the signalized pedestrian crosswalk; vehicles making a left turn out of the high schobl onto Wright Parkway where there is a no left turn sign; and he noted there is no sidewalk provision from the high school toward Highway 98. He said some of the measures are out there to take care of these situations but they are not being used properly and suggested the public be re- educated. He said there are some opportunities to team with the School Board to come up with some possible solutions and they are willing to work with the School Board to see if they can make it better than what it is today. It was questioned why there were no slides of the end of Wright Parkway near Highway 98. Mr. Muntean explained they did measure the traffic and number of pedestrians and there were only 4 or 5 people who walked all the way to Highway .98 from the school. He said the number of vehicles they measured and the level of operation at the intersections all came within the acceptable level of standards that they are required to get reviewed by the Florida Department of Transportation, and they did not run into any problems in that area. He explained they looked at the 4: 00-6: 00 pm and the 2: 00- 4: 00 pm periods,