Clearwater wrestles with height limits on buildings, considering opposing concerns of residents and economic development.
By JENNIFER FARRELL
Published September 3, 2003
CLEARWATER - How tall is too tall for buildings in downtown Clearwater?
City officials grappled with that question Tuesday as part of their debate on a 20-year plan meant to shape future redevelopment.
Sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, city commissioners recommended approving the exhaustive new document, which calls for a revamped Coachman Park and millions of dollars for beautification and other improvements to the downtown core. Also planned are a downtown marina, a monorail to the beach and a parking garage on Osceola Avenue.
Meanwhile, the plan will serve as a road map of sorts by creating six unique "character districts" with general design guidelines meant to guide development.
But questions about height dominated talks Tuesday, and city commissioners are expected to continue the debate Thursday during a public hearing at City Hall.
In the heart of downtown, where city officials hope for the most intense redevelopment, the new plan includes no restrictions on height. Outside that core area, commissioners have agreed to raise the proposed ceiling from 50 to 75 feet in the commercial and residential areas surrounding Town Lake.
But Mayor Brian Aungst and Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton said they don't want to turn away good projects that end up 5 or 10 feet too tall.
"There has to be some element of flexibility," Aungst said. "I just have a real problem with absolutes."
Commissioner Frank Hibbard, though, said the city needs to set meaningful limits. By creating too flexible parameters, property owners demand top dollar for their land and developers, in turn, push for the maximum height, he said.
"Some of the property owners think the sky is literally the limit," Hibbard said.
Glenn Warren, chairman of the Downtown Development Board and a downtown business owner, warned commissioners that plans to limit buildings east of Myrtle Avenue to 75 feet will hobble redevelopment efforts.
"This kind of a plan gets in the way of the freedom of a developer," he said, adding later: "They'll go somewhere else."
Meanwhile, neighbors in the historic Old Clearwater Bay section of the city have lobbied city officials to shrink height limits that would allow buildings 150 feet tall next to their single family neighborhood.
Earlier this year, the neighborhood successfully fought luxury high-rise condos proposed at the Clearwater Bay Marina. One tower was planned at 138 feet and the other at 127 feet.
On Tuesday, Rowland Milam, president of the Old Clearwater Bay Homeowners Association, said he wants commissioners to outline firm guidelines that would allow building heights to transition more gradually.
"Once this is decided," he said, "It's decided and it can't be changed."
Commissioner Whitney Gray was ill Tuesday and did not attend the meeting. The rest of the commission hesitated making a decision on height restrictions without her input.
Rather, they asked city planners to bring back options on height incentives for developers willing to help pay for public amenities, such as a parking garage, or expensive streetscape improvements. Other incentives already in the plan include relaxed zoning regulation, some matching funds and tax breaks.
