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Rethink condo height to make sure it's right

Members of the Clearwater Community Development Board on Tuesday telegraphed their discomfort with a proposed condominium project on Edgewater Drive, and in doing so, may have set a de facto height limit along the corridor. Seventy-five feet was just too tall, a board majority said. But 50 feet, or even a little more - that might be just right.

Board members appropriately ignored some of the baseless arguments residents raised against the project - for example, that the building would block their view of St. Joseph Sound or that a condominium was incompatible. Members focused on a legitimate issue: the building's height.

Dan and Terri Dennehy want to build a 77-unit condominium project on 2.5 acres on the east side of Edgewater Drive just north of Sunset Point Road. The property is occupied by two aging motels, the Bay Queen and the Edgewater Motel, which back up to a modest residential neighborhood.

The block is zoned tourist, which permits a variety of commercial, retail and residential uses. Buildings up to 50 feet tall could be built there with city staff approval, and buildings up to 100 feet with Community Development Board approval. The Dennehys wanted to tear down the motels and build a condominium building that would be 75 feet tall above flood stage. They could make the building shorter, their attorney pointed out, but they would have to cut down mature oak trees and cover more of the site with the structure.

The meeting room on Tuesday was jammed with residents of the Edgewater Drive area. Some supported the project because they liked the idea of having homes and neighbors there instead of transient motel visitors or stores. They hoped a project with condo units starting at $450,000 would spur a cleanup of the rough North Fort Harrison Avenue area. Supporters also noted that a new three-story Comfort Suites and a five-story condominium building under construction have already brought multistory structures to the neighborhood.

But more residents spoke against the project. Some of their arguments were specious: that the project would block their view of the water, though they currently have no view of the water, or that the building would keep eastern breezes from reaching sailboats on St. Joseph Sound.

Most effective were those residents who argued that a building 75 feet above flood stage was out of character with a mostly low-rise neighborhood and would cause a loss of their privacy.

Most of the board members agreed. One member also argued persuasively that 11/2 parking spaces per unit would not be enough to prevent spillover into the neighborhood.

In the end, the board didn't turn down the project, but voted to give the Dennehys and their architect until July to come back with a new design that will not be so tall. It was a good compromise that preserves the opportunity for redevelopment along a corridor that needs it. And the 90-day delay hopefully provides enough time for the developer to come up with a creative design that is not so tall, but still saves trees.

The headline on a Tuesday editorial about the Edgewater Drive project, Clearwater residents shouldn't fight condos, was inaccurate and did not reflect the position of the editorial, which stated, "Residents have every right to express their likes and dislikes about this proposed neighbor."

Also, the editorial said that a car lot could be built on the Edgewater Drive property under its tourist zoning. While the city code permits "vehicle sales and display" in that zoning category, it limits the vehicles to motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles.