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04-26-49 APRIL 26TH, 1949 Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Derlay Beach was held in the Council Chambers at 7:30 P. M. with Mayor J. L. Saunders in the Chair, and City Attorney John Moore, City Manager Charles E. Black, and the following Council, men present: L. H. Brannon, John N. Kabler, Nell E. Mac~iillan and Walter A. Roth: a quorum being present. Pr~'f of the publication of a Notice of Public Hearing for the purpose of determining whether The Municipality of Delray Beach, Fl~ida, shall be decontro- lled, and exempt from the provisions of the F~ederal Housing and Rent Act, was presented and spread upon the minutes as follows: "NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Public Notice is hereby given that on the 26th day of April, 1949, at 7:30 P. M. a public meeting shall be held by the City Council in the Council Chambers at the City H~_11 in Delray Beach, Florida for the purpose of deter- mining whether The Municicipality o? Delray Beach, Florida, shall be de- controlled and exempted from the provisions o~f The Federal Housing and Rent Act of 1947, as amended. Said public hearing being held pursuant to said Act. J. L. SAUNDERS Mayor ATTEST RUTH R. SMITH City Clerk (Seal) Published April 15, 22, 1949 AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION Delray Beach News Published Weekly De!ray Beach, P~_~m Beach County, Florida STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF PALM BEACH Before the undersigned authority personally appeared Willies. K, Morri~o~ who on oath says that he is publisher of the Delray Beach News, a weekly news- paper published at Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida: that the attached copy of advertisement, being a Notice of Public He~rinE in the matter of City of Delr~y Be~ch - Rent Decontrol was published in said newspaper in the issues of April 15. 22. 19&9. Affiant further says that the said Delray Beach News is a newspaper publishe~ at Delray Beach, in said P~lm Beach County, Florida, and that the said newspaper has heretofore been continuously published in said P,lm Beach County, Florida, eac~ Friday and has been entered as second class mail matter at the Post Office in Delr~y Beach in said Palm Beach County, Florida, for a period of one year next preceding the first publication o~ the attached copy of advertisement; and affiant f~rther says that h..~e has neither paid nor promised any person, firm or corporation any dis- ~ounty, rebate, commission or refund for the purpose of securing this advertimeman~ APRIL 26TH, 1949 for publication in the said newspaper. CSi~ned) William K..Morri~on Sworn to and subscribed before me this 22 day of April. A. D. 19&9 CSi~ned) .K. athryne ,P., Morrison Notary Public State of Florida at Large. My commission expires July 27, 1952. Bonded by (SEAL) American Surety Co. of N. Y." Mayor Saunders asked for expression from the audience, for or against the decontrol of rents, in this City. Mr. Edgar A. Vaden addressed the Council, and explained at length that he felt the Rent Control Act was still needed for the protection of tenants, and recommended that it be retained a little longer. In his opinion the control of rents would not affect tourist accomodations, either summer or winter, but would protect the non-transient class of tenant. Mr. Marring, local ~ent Control Agent for Palm. Beach County, addressed the Council at the request of the Mayor. He ex~)lained that under the present amended Rent Control ~Act those units which are rented only in the winter are exempt from control. However, if that unit goes back under control by b~ing rented in the summer, it is automatically controlled at the summer rate. If a winter rate was in existance, and legal, that winter rate would also stand, but if there was no winter rate it would have to be established under this amended Act as above. Units that were decontrolled in the winter of 1945 and 1944, and rents were then increased out of line, would go back to the rent that was legally in effect, not the increased rent. Mr. Martin presented a copy of a decontrol survey made by the Agency in August of 1948. He stated that there was not S~fficient information in the survey to justify decontrol of this area under the 1948 Act. City Attorney Moore, with reference to this survey, stated that the Rent Facilities Board of this County did not confirm this report made last August, because conditions which prevailed at that time do not prevail at this time. The following communications which had been filed with the Council re- lative to the decontrol of rents in the City, were then read: "KIWANIS CLUB of Delray Beach, Florida April 22, 1949 Honorable Jack Saunders Mayor Delray Beach, Florida APRIL 26TH, 1949 Honorable sir: At our regular l~mcheon meeting, held April 21, our Public Relations Chairman proposed a motion that we endeavor to have Delray Beach rent decontrolled This motion was carried unanimously by all members present, of which there were 64. I trust you will bring this before the Council at your next meeting. Yours very truly, ~Si~ned) .Frank H. Seelv. Jr. Frank H. Seely, Jr. FRS :cbm Secretary THE BEACH TAXPAYERS LEAGUE Delray Beach, Florida April 26, 1949 To The'City Council Delray Beach, Florida Gentlemen: At a meeting of the Executive Committee of ~he Beach Taxpayers League held on Monday, April 25, a resolution was passed favoring immediate decontrol of Delray Beach Under the new rent law. Yours very truly, Secretary-Treasurer DEG:h (St~ned) Dorothea E. Galvin A RESOLUTION OF THE DELRAY BEACH PROPERTY OWNERS PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION, REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE NECESSARY STEPS TO HAVE RENTS DECONTROLLED IN THIS CITY. WHETEAS, the Delray Beach Property Owners:Protective Association feels that the present Rent Control law, which establishes ceiling rentals at reduced summer rates if apartments or hotel rooms are rented during the summer months, and WHEREAS, the growth and progress of the City will be greatly hampered by forcing these accomodations to remain closed for six months of the year, and WHEREAS, local merchants will suffer from lack of business during these summer months if tourists can not be accommodated, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Delray Beach Property Owners Protective Association~ of the City of Delray Beach, that the City CoUncil be requested to take 134 APRIL 26TH, 1949 whatever steps are necessary to request the Governor to consider the decontroll- ing of rents in this City immediately. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 26 day of April, 1949 CSi~ned) ..M.M.. DeWitt President" Mr. M. M. DeWitt, President of the Property Owners Protective Assoc- iation stated that a p01e had been conducted ~y this Association to obtain public opinion for or against the decontrol of rents, which resulted as follows: For decontrol 181 votes Against 6 votes Not Voting 2 votes Mr. Kenneth Montgomery, a member of the Realty Board, then addressed the Council. He believed that the biggest crowd ever was here last winter, and with the exception of three days during February, ample accommodations were available. At the present time many houses would be available for summer rental from $ 35.00 to $ 75.00 a month, if not under rent control. He also contended that a person would feel free to build apartments to take care of the continued growth of the City and tourist trade, if he felt he w~uld be able to get a fair return on his money. Councilman~ MacT~illan then stated that there was no doubt in his m~nd that people favored the decontrol of rents, and moved that the Council go on record as favoring such decontrol. The motion was seconded by Councilman Brannon. Mr. Frank P. Gracy, from the audience, then'~moved that it be declared the sense of this meeting that decontrol of rents be put into effect. The motion was seconded, and the vote in favor of the motion was unanimous, ~with the ex- ception of the one dissenting vote of Mr. Vaden. Upon call of roll on the foregoing motion of the Council, the motion carried unanimously. Mr. J. M. Cromer asked the people present to write letters to Governor Fuller Warren, advising him of expressions heard at this meeting, and urging h~m~to approve the decontrolling of rents in this City, as essential to the growth of the community. Mr. Ed. Schellenberg, Speaking for the Chamber of Commerce, stated that they were in favor of decontrolling within the City. The following Resolution was then introduced, and same was read in full: RESOLUTION NO. 735 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY C0~CIL OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, PROVIDING THAT THE CITY OF :DELRAY BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHALL BE DECONTROLLED AND THAT THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE II, OF THE HOUSING AND RENT ACT OF 1947, AS AMENDED, SHALL BE TERMINATED IN SAID CITY. 135 ' APRIL 26TH, 1949 WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, has given public notice and has held a public hearing pursuant to the Housing and Rent Act of 1947, as amended, for the purpose of hearing evidence on the question of whether said City shall be decontrolled, and whether the provisions of Title II, of the Housing and Rent Act of 1947, as amended, 50 US Code, APP., Sec. 1881 and all subse~uent sections, shall be terminated in said City, (proof of publication of said public hearing is attached hereto and made a part hereof), and WHEREAS, due publicity and notice of such hearings was given by all local newspapers in said City, and WHEREAS, the evidence at such hearing clearly established that, upon the closing of the Boca Raton Army Air Field the demand for rental housing accommodat- ions was greatly diminished; that it is anticipated that there will be no rapid increase in population in said City so as to create any unusual demands for add- itional housing accommodations; that there are no colleges, universities or industries in or around said City; and that there is a large amount of new con- struction of housing accommodations in said City, and in the vicinity thereof. NOW, THEREFORE, Be it resolved by the City Council a£ the City of ~elray Beach, Florida, as follows: 1. THA~ THERE NO LONGER EXISTS SUCH A SHORTAGE OF R~TAL HOUSING ACCOMMOD- ATIONS SO AS TO REQUIRE RENT CONTROL IN SAID CITY. 2. THAT THE PROVISIONS OF TYTLE II OF THE HOUSING AND RENT ACT OF 1947, 50 US CODE, APP., SEC. 1881 and ALL SUBSEQU~T SECTTONS AS AMENDED, BE AND THE SAME HEREBY ARE TERMinATED IN THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA. PASSED in Regular Session on this the 26th day of April, A. D. 1949. (Signed) J, L. ~aund. ers President, City Council APPROVED: ATTEST: (Sizned) J. L. Saunders MAYOR (Sizned) Ruth R. Smith City Clerk SEAL" A motion was made by Councilman Brannon, seconded by Councilman M~cMillan, that the foregoing Resolution No. 733 be passed and adopted as read, and dispatched to the Governor in Tallahassee with haste. Upon call of roll the motion carried unanimously. At the request of the City Manager, a meeting With the Finance Committee was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 3rd, at 7:30 P. M. Upon recommendation of City Manager Black an appropriation of $ 75.00 was authorized in a motion by Councilman MacMillan, seconded by Councilman Roth, and unanimously carried, to send firemen to a Firemen's School and Convention to be held in Jacksonville May 5th through 7th. APRIL 26TH, 1949 The Council agreed to also meet with members of the Plumbing Board on Tuesday, May 3rd, in the Council Chambers. The following letter from property owners along the west right-of-way of the Intracoastal Canal, north of Atlantic Avenue, was presented and read in full, and referred to the Zoning Board for consideration: "Delray Beach, Florida April 21, 1949 City Council, City of Delray Beach, Delray Beach, Florida Gentlemen: We, the undersigned, who own property in the City of Delray Beach, Florida, whichproperty lies contiguous to the west right-of-way line on Canal Street, respectfully petition'and request the City to abandon that portion of Canal Street which lies north of Atlantic Avenue and which is not within the right-of-way of the Intercoastal Waterway. Said Canal Street, lying north of Atlantic Avenue, is not in use at this time and only small portions of said street have ever been used. We think that by abandoning Canal Street, this property wo.~ld come on the City tax rolls,~which would result in a ben.fit to the City as well as to the undersigned and others who own property lying contiguous to the west right- of- way of Canal Street. Sincerely yours, 1 Fisher Lane (Si~ned) V~neyard Land 909 N. E. 4th. St. (Si~ned) Irvinm L, Ric~ 3 Fisher Lane (Si~ned) Ruth White Baker 915 N. E. 5th St. (Si~ned) Mrs. Salem E, Reitler" On'motion of Councilman Roth, seconded by Councilman Kabler, unanimously carried, the Council authorized the payment of balance due on membership fee for the current year, in the Florida League of Municipalities, of $ 65.00. Mayor Saunders stated that daily copies of the Journal of the House of Representatives at Tallahassee were on file in the City Hall, and anyone in- terested was welcome to read them. A letter from Mr. P. L. Dunbar, of the Office of the County Engineer together with proposed Resolution were then read, as follows: April 21, 1949 Mr. Charles Black, City Manager, City of Delray Beach Delray Beach, Fla. 137 APRIL 26TH, 1949 Dear Sirs: On Dec. 18, 1939 Zook Palm Nurseries, Inc., deeded to the City of Delray Beach the North 8 ft. of Blocks 141 and 149 for the purpose of increasing the width of Atlantic Avenue from 50 ft. as shown by plat (E. of Canal) to 66 ft. or 33 ft. on each side of centerline. This deed is recorded in Deed Book 605 p. 459, Palm Beach County Public Records. In connection with the right-of-way for the approach to the .oroposed new bridge across the Intracoastal Canal the State Road Department has requested that we secure from the City a formal dedication of that 8 ft. for public road purposes as part of State Road 806. I accordingly enclose the form of resolut- ion the Department has requested and trust your City Council will cooperate with us in adopting it.~ It is simply a formality as the 8 ft. already forms part of the road right-of-way and the Department is not asking for a change of title. I suggest that after adoption the certified copy of the resolution be mailed to me so that it may be recorded and I will take care of forwarding it to the State Road Department. Should you consider it desirable I will be glad to attend the meeting but I think this letter explains the matter fully. Very truly yours, O?FICE OF COUNTY ENGINEER (Si~ned) Pomoero~v L. Dunbar by Pomperoy Le Du~bar, R/w Agent." RESOLUTION NO. 734 On Motion of Councilman MacMillan, seconded by Councilman Brannon, the following Resolution was adopted. WHEREAS, pursuant to agreement by and between the Florida State Improvement Commission and the State Road Department of Florida, the State Road Department proposes to construct and maintain a portion of State Road 806, Section 9375, at Delray Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida; and Whereas, title to the land hereinafter described is vested in the City of Delray Beach, and said land is necessary as right of way for said State Road 806; and Whweras, the State Road Department has requested the City of Delray Beach to dedicate the land herein- after described for public road purposes; and s&~d request having been con- sidered; Now, Therefore, BE IT RF~OLVED by the City Council of the City of Delray Beach that the request of the State Road Department be granted, and the following described land in Palm Beach County, Florida, to-wit: The North 8 feet of Block 1~:1 and 149 according to plat of fractional F~ of Section 16, Township 46 South, Range 43 East, recorded in Plat Book l, Page 25 of the Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida; containing .07 acre, more or less. 138 APRIL 26TH, 1949 be and the same is hereby dedicated and appropriated for public road purposes and designated and made a part of State Road 806; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be furnished forthwith to the State Road Department at Tall~b~_ssee, Florida. PASSED AND ADOPTED April 26, A. D., 1949. (Si~ned) J. L. Sa...unders President - City Council APPROVED: (Si~ned) J.. L. Saunders ATTEST: Mayor (Si~ned) Ruth R. Smith City Clerk" A motion was made by Councilman MacMillan, seconded by Councilman £ Brannon, that the foregoing proposed Resolution be adopted, subject to the approval of the City Attorney, and upon call of roll the motion carried unanimously. An application for permit to construct a CBS residence on Lot 1, Block 115, on the southeast corner of the N. Federal Highway and 2nd Street, was presented by the City Manager for the approval of the Council. Mr. Black explained that this application was for permit to build a residence in a. business zone, and would therefore have to comply with front set-back reg- ulations for residences. Ail other requirements were in order, according to plans filed with th~ Building Inspector. Upon motion of Councilman Brannon, seconded by Councilman Kabler, permit was approved, subject to meeting of frontset-back requirements for residences. The following three permits, which were considered at a conference meeting on April 21st, were presented for approval of the Council: 1. Application of E. B. Nichols to build an office building and .. canopies for used cars on his property on the southwest corner of SE. 1st Street and the Federal Highway~ subject to raising the ceiling height of the office building to meet requirements. 2. Application of the Nelson Trust to construct an office building on t'~e sohthwest corner of N. E. 2nd Street and the Federal Highway, which~ application complies with all requirements. 3. Application for permission to extend Parish House at Episcopal Church property on the northwest corner of South Swinton Avenue and 2nd Street in accordance with ~egulattons , with present porch of building to be later added over the set-back line, in violation of the zoning ordinance regulations. APRIL 26TH, 1949 A motion was made by Councilman Brannon , seconded by Councilman Mac- Millan that the former action of the Council in approving the three permits, be officially approved and ratified. Upon call of roll the motion carried unanimously. Councilman Brannon officially reported to the Council that another electrical light pole had been demolished at the corner of N. E. 8th Street and the Federal Highway, again urging the installation of a traffic light at this corner. City Manager Black pre~sented a request for permit to erect an awning to extend over the side w~lk from the building to the street in front of the store space occupied by "The Anchor Restaurant", slm~lar to the awning in front of the Tap Room. Upon motion of Councilman Brannon, seconded by Councilman Kabler, permit was approved as requested, subject to the approval of the City Manager. and the 'Building Inspector, all of the Councilmen voting in favor of the motion except Councilman MacMillan who voted "no". The Chief of Police was invited to attend 'the Special Meeting ofthe Council to be held on Tuesday, May 3rd at 7:30 P. M. to discuss a working schedule for his force, and present equipment while Patrolman James Grantham is unable to be on duty because ofan accident. The following Ordinance was then brought up for first reading and same was read in full: APRIL 26TH, 1949 The reference to "food stuffs" was considered discrimiinatory by some members of the Council and the audience, and it was suggested that these words be changed to "merchandise" which would prohibit all kinds of merchan- dise from being displayed on the public sidewalk. After discussion, it was the consensus of opinion of the Council that all merchandise, as well as food stuffs, should be kept off of the side- walk in front of store buildings, and a motion was made by Councilman Roth, seconded by Councilman Brannon that the words "food stuffs" be changed~ to "merchandise", and that the ordinance apply to all zoning set-back require- ments, or all property used as a public sidewalk. Upon call of roll the motion carried unanimously. On motion of Councilman MacMillan, seconded by Councilman Roth, the minutes of April 13th were corrected with reference to a statement that Councilman Roth voted on a motion, as he was not present at that meeting. The Council then adjourned. ATTEST: