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CLEARWATER - In the end, Grady Pridgen got what he wanted: a chance to build homes and businesses on industrial land next to the county landfill.
After three trips to the Pinellas County Commission in two months, the St. Petersburg developer finally succeeded Tuesday in getting a countywide policy changed so he could move forward with a mixed-use community on property the county once hoped to buy.
But it did not come easy. Pridgen needed the support of at least five commissioners, and that's exactly how many voted for the amendment, which changes the county comprehensive plan to allow residential development on certain properties zoned for industry.
Commissioners Bob Stewart and John Morroni objected.
Pridgen still must present a development plan to the commission and reach a consensus on how far back the homes will be from the county's solid waste facility.
Pridgen envisions a horseshoe of high-tech manufacturing buildings, offices and parking garages along the north, east and south edges of the 130-acre property. At the center, he sees a man-made lake. Along 28th Street, he wants restaurants and retail shops, with condominiums and apartments towering above them in three- to six-story buildings. There's even going to be a hotel, he says.
It is also contingent upon commissioners adopting a separate ordinance Jan. 20 that would let them determine how far residential properties can be from a county-owned solid waste facility.
"I think it was a good compromise," said Pridgen, who bought the property from the city of St. Petersburg for $4.9-million in October 2002. His bid came in slightly higher than the $4.6-million offered by Pinellas County, which wanted the property for future expansion of its solid waste facility.
Initially, Pridgen planned 2.6-million square feet of office space, warehouses, retail outlets and hotels for the property.
A few months ago, he decided to add homes. The city of St. Petersburg supported him. But the county's solid waste officials raised concerns about the proximity to a county-owned sod farm to the north. They warned that allowing homes that close could create a problem when the time comes to begin using that sod farm property as a landfill within the next 15 years.
"I am not going to support anything that is going to prohibit or potentially be a roadblock to the solid waste plant," Commissioner Bob Stewart said before voting against the policy change. "This would not be an issue if the city felt that way, and chose to sell this property to the solid waste facility."
But other commissioners said the county succeeded by getting St. Petersburg and Pridgen to agree to limit the number of industrial properties eligible for residential development by establishing strict criteria. Assistant County Administrator Jake Stowers said that only Pridgen's sod farm, the former Stauffer Chemical Plant and an industrial park in Oldsmar qualify - equaling less than 400 of the 10,000 acres of industrial land in the county.
As part of Tuesday's vote, commissioners maintained some authority over his project, as well as any others that fit a narrow description worked up by county attorneys in the hours leading up to the meeting.
The policy change would allow residential development on 25 percent of some industrial properties of 100 acres or more, but only after the County Commission approved a master development plan for the site that matches the county's vision for economic development.
When they review Pridgen's plan, commissioners will consider the relationship between the homes built and the demand for housing created by employment on the property. They would like the residential portions phased in with the other uses. They want to have an idea of the nature of employment created at the project and to see that some of those jobs are higher wage jobs.
"We will have the review of this, and that gives me a greater comfort level," said Commissioner Karen Seel. "We are past the point where we could buy the land. We have to deal with what's on our plate today."
- Michael Sandler can be reached at 727 445-4162 or sandler@sptimes.com