All but one member of the Dunedin City Commission favor the 6-month ordinance that has businesspeople upset.
By GRACE CHENG
Published August 5, 2005
DUNEDIN - A moratorium on building heights in Dunedin was the subject of extended debate among residents and commissioners at a public hearing Thursday.
This was the first reading of the ordinance, which would put a six-month moratorium on buildings taller than 50 feet.
Consulting firm HDR will review the city's land development codes during that time and make recommendations to the city on future height restrictions.
The commission decided Thursday that the moratorium would not affect developers who had submitted a development order request to the city by Thursday. The original ordinance stated that it would not affect projects that went through a site plan approval before July 7, but many thought that unfair.
With the exception of Commissioner Dave Eggers, the five-member City Commission agreed that a moratorium would be in the best interest of the city.
"It's not like we're just absolutely stopping development," Mayor John Doglione said. "I like the definition of a pause to take a breath."
Many developers and residents told the commissioners that a ban on building heights would stifle future development.
"There is nothing that any developer can do from the day this is passed until the thing is completely over," said Mike Mackenzie, a developer with Lehigh Broadway, which has a preliminary site plan approval for its urban center on Broadway. "Everybody affected won't be able to work."
The Dunedin Chamber of Commerce also took issue. "It would be detrimental to redevelopment," chamber chairman Dave Carson said.
The chamber suggested that if a moratorium had to occur, the effective date should be no sooner than Jan. 1, 2006.
Those in favor of the moratorium said that it would give city officials time to figure out where they want the city to go.
"This is a great little town," said Dunedin resident William Morgan. "If it changes to become anything other than a great little town, it won't be the same."
Commissioner Bob Hackworth said he feels the city does not have a good handle on the growth in Dunedin, and the moratorium would help it get back on track.
Commissioner Deborah Kynes agreed. "I'm not trying to annihilate progress, but to temper that progress so my great-grandchildren can say, "I love Dunedin,' " she said.
Developers can now build up to 80 feet in some areas, even higher if their property is in a flood zone.
