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Commission rezones North Flagler site to allow Apogee condo plan after developer reduces height and units
Summary
The commission rezoned 1.45 acres at 4906 North Flagler Drive to a Residential Plan Development (RPD) for the Apogee project after the developer reduced the proposal from 46 to 39 units and scaled back a tower height waiver; the approval included six waivers and a private neighborhood escrow agreement for street improvements.
On March 17 the City Commission approved Ordinance No. 51-25-25, rezoning approximately 1.45 acres at 4906 North Flagler Drive from MF-32 (multifamily high-density) to a Residential Plan Development (RPD) to allow a proposed condominium project known as Apogee.
Brian Seymour of the Gunster law firm said the applicant, Related Group, revised the proposal after Planning Board and staff review. Seymour said the project was reduced from 46 units and a 287-foot tower to 39 units and a 21-story tower approximately 235 feet tall, and that the team increased parking to 99 spaces (17 over the required minimum). He said the resubmission eliminated one previously requested waiver and substantially reduced the height-setback waiver by trading reduced height for increased setbacks.
Planner John Roach described site design measures to reduce visual impact across North Flagler Drive: the two-level parking garage and amenities will occupy roughly half the site at approximately 40 feet, while the taller tower is set farther back from Flagler Drive (Roach said the tower is set about 325 feet back from the Flagler frontage and occupies roughly 18% of upland area). Roach said the applicant increased landscaping and layered buffers along the Flagler frontage and split driveway access into two one-way entries; the team requested a waiver for the required 125-foot separation between access points because the parcel is narrower than that standard.
Staff reported a traffic study showing a reduced PM-peak-hour impact (the applicant said the project generates at most 12 trips during the PM peak hour after unit reductions). The applicant also committed to continue working with the Northwood Harbor Residential Neighborhood Association on construction logistics and other mitigation measures; the developer provided a private escrow agreement committing $250,000 toward Spruce Street infrastructure design and improvements for the neighborhood, which the applicant described as a private agreement.
The rezoning required six waivers (reduced from seven earlier in the process), including a waiver of minimum acreage for an RPD (the code contains conflicting 2-acre and 10-acre references; the applicant requested a site-size waiver), waivers linked to height-to-setback requirements for MF-32 zoning, and a waiver for driveway separation. Staff found the request met rezoning and site-design standards and recommended approval. The commission read and adopted the ordinance; the motion carried unanimously.
