This morning the Pinellas Planning Council is scheduled to vote on land-use changes that could enable the construction of a high-density affordable housing project in the Greater Ridgecrest area outside of Largo.
While there was little public opposition to the project in July when the Pinellas County Commission gave it preliminary approval, the Planning Council will have the benefit of plenty of public input.
More than 250 residents of neighborhoods surrounding the property now have signed petitions opposing the idea. That gives the Planning Council the opportunity to give this land-use change a much-needed airing out.
Terra Excavating Co. owns the 18.43-acre property located on 134th Avenue between Pine Street and 125th Street SW, just north of Ulmerton Road. The property initially was a source of dirt the company needed in its excavation work, and later a dumping ground for construction debris. It is an eyesore, covered with weeds and mounds of debris.
Terra is negotiating to sell the property to developers who are interested in building apartments. Somewhere between 20 and 100 percent of the units would be available for low-income people. In July the County Commission approved Terra's request for a land-use change and density bonus that will allow construction of 207 apartments on the land. That is more than 11 units per acre - well above the five units per acre now allowed there.
The county staff strongly urged the county commissioners to turn down the project, for two primary reasons: The density was inappropriate in what is predominantly a single-family residential neighborhood, and the project could concentrate too much low-income housing in one area. Just across the street from the Terra property is Rainbow Village, a 32-acre public housing complex operated for many years by the Pinellas County Housing Authority. Staff planners also worried that approval of Terra's request could set a precedent for far higher densities throughout Ridgecrest, which has traditionally been a single-family area.
However county commissioners, citing the need for affordable housing in the county, seemed to think the idea was just fine. They approved it unanimously.
Most of the surrounding residents didn't find out about Terra's plans until after the County Commission meeting. Now they know, and they don't like it. While they don't like the ugly landfill either, they fear that so much low-income housing nearby will erode their property values. In response, Nick Kotaiche, vice president of Terra, said that the project would only be an improvement over what is there now, but "if they oppose us that much, we'll just stay there."
Today's affordable housing complexes, being built regularly by developers to obtain tax credits, can be indistinguishable from high-end apartment complexes. A couple built in recent years in Clearwater and Oldsmar are examples.
Amenities such as swimming pools and computer labs, lush landscaping, good architecture, and attractive entrances make them great places to live and raise few complaints from neighbors.
And the need for affordable housing in Pinellas County is great and will only grow in the future as mobile home parks, which now provide substantial affordable housing, are redeveloped. The county even provides a density bonus to developers to encourage them to build homes for working people with low incomes.
However, Terra's request for 11 units per acre raises the specter of a quite different sort of project. And those who live in the modest but well-maintained single-family homes around the property are right to complain that such a project just is not compatible with their neighborhood.
The Planning Council understands the need for affordable housing in Pinellas, but also the need to preserve neighborhoods. It will keep those needs in mind as it weighs the question of whether the changes sought by Terra would lead to an incompatibility with the county's comprehensive plan.
