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Madeira Beach will use a consultant's suggestions to guide the city, but actual projects are down the road.
By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 19, 2002
MADEIRA BEACH -- The vision for the city's future came into clearer focus Monday as the City Commission agreed to present nearly all of a consultant's recommendations to the public in a formal hearing in August.
The draft master plan, created by a team of consultants that has been working with the city for months, includes such proposals as:
Reducing the speed limit on Gulf Boulevard.
Eliminating the city's commercial marine zoning district.
Allowing taller buildings in exchange for clearer views of the Gulf of Mexico.
Creating two special redevelopment districts in areas where developers have proposed new large-scale projects.
Giving neighbors the ability to assess themselves for improvements within their neighborhoods.
Not all of the proposals received unanimous approval, and some were changed slightly from the consultant's recommendations. But a consensus of the commission was reached during the hours-long workshop session Monday.
Commissioners scheduled the first public hearing on the master plan for Aug. 13. At that time, the commission will hear community reactions and cast the first of two votes that could put the plan on the city's books.
But even if the master plan is approved, city officials stressed that no changes will occur until city codes and ordinances are changed and actual redevelopment projects are scheduled.
"What we're trying to accomplish is a vision for the city," Commissioner Doreen Moore said. "We're not saying this will happen in the future."
Some of the strongest debate centered on whether or not to support varied speed limits along Gulf Boulevard. The consultants recommended speeds from 25 to 35 mph, with the slowest speeds in proposed "core, pedestrian-friendly" areas that would serve as neighborhood centers.
These areas would be centered at the following intersections: 150th Avenue near the Tom Stuart Causeway; 131st Avenue near John's Pass Village; and 140th Avenue, which is an entrance to several residential neighborhoods.
At the urging of Mayor Tom DeCesare, the commission agreed on a uniform 35-mph speed limit, arguing that visual changes included in the plan (wider side landscaping, center medians and on-street parking) would naturally slow traffic in the core areas.
Commissioner Charles Parker strongly opposed any change. "This is a major highway. We've got to keep the traffic moving. I think this is going to be a traffic frustration, and I don't go along with it at all," he said.
Even if the commission includes the lower speed limit in its master plan, it will not go into effect unless the state Department of Transportation agrees. "We still have to sell it to DOT," DeCesare said.
Other master plan proposals included:
Higher-density development in two special districts: Redevelopment of properties east of the Causeway bridge and along Gulf Boulevard between 131st and 133rd avenues would be encouraged by allowing a density of 75 units per acre.
"This would open the process to dialogue with developers. If you leave it as it is now, the developers won't even show up. This opens the door, but it doesn't say they can do it carte blanche," said James Moore, an architect and design principal with HDR Inc., the consulting firm that drafted the plan.
Neighborhood assessments: Neighborhoods would be allowed to initiate special assessments for projects to improve their areas, such as street curbing, landscaping and mini parks. A majority of the residents in designated areas would have to agree before such assessments could be levied.
Eliminating the marine commercial zoning district: This measure was presented as a way to increase development options available to owners of commercial marine properties. Current uses would be grandfathered, but no expansion of existing marinas would be allowed. The city's commercial fishing industry currently contributes about $30-million annually to the area economy, the commission was told, and employs about 340 people.
Critics of this idea say Madeira Beach is stepping away from its heritage as a fishing village.
Building heights: Developers would be allowed to add the equivalent of an additional floor of living space in projects along the Gulf of Mexico, provided they reduce the building footprints and do not increase overall density. This would allow more views of the gulf between structures.
Parking: The proposed changes would allow businesses in contiguous blocks to share parking spaces. The goal is to encourage redevelopment and reduce unnecessary parking lots.
Site plan review: Official review of site plans, currently conducted by the city's Planning Commission, would be turned over to the city's administrative staff, primarily to expedite the redevelopment planning process.
The commission made no decisions regarding prioritizing the more than $11-million in projects suggested by the consultants and removed any specific scheduling from the master plan.
Those projects include expansion of the Community Park at the base of the Tom Stuart Causeway, creating a "neighborhood center" at the intersection of Gulf Boulevard and 140th Avenue, redesign of Gulf Boulevard to calm traffic, and reconfiguring various intersections to calm traffic and enhance pedestrian usage.