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Safety Harbor residents victorious

The city limited building heights and rejected increasing density in the Lisa's Court area.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published August 17, 2005

SAFETY HARBOR - Nearly everyone agreed it was an unusual turnout for a Monday night work session.

Before it started, residents started filling the rows of seats at City Hall. When every chair was taken, they lined the back and side walls of the room, and City Manager Wayne Logan nearly put the overflow in the lobby to watch the meeting on closed circuit TV.

Only one topic could draw such a crowd to 750 Main St. lately.

Redevelopment. Especially when it pertains to the residents' treasured south side of town.

They were there to oppose increasing density from four units per acre to 10 in the Lisa's Court and Abrahamson Triangle area, and to support limiting building heights to 25 feet throughout most residential areas.

Clearwater attorney Erik Abrahamson, who owns five of the seven cottages in the area, argued with Logan and Assistant City Manager Ron Pianta about density.

He said it isn't fair to hold Lisa's Court, a motel with eight units on a half acre, to such a low density.

But resident Kathleen Earle was ready for him.

"It's about wanting to save the integrity of our downtown," she said.

Earle, who helped start a petition for density and height limitations, had previously presented 270 signatures to the city. At the work session, she handed the city clerk 92 more.

"Is it too late to sign?" shouted a woman in the back.

The crowd laughed and clapped.

A parade of residents and developers followed Earle. They appeared to agree with one thing: Redevelopment is not a bad thing, if it's done right.

At the end of the session, commissioners decided unanimously to retain the current density of four units per acre and to limit building heights to two stories in most residential areas within the redevelopment district.

"It was a small victory, but it's not over with," resident Debbie Hempel said. "It's part two. But I know we're not going to give up the fight. Beware of the south side of Safety Harbor. We're pretty persistent."

Hours after the commission took a stance on the Lisa's Court area, the commission voted 5-0 in the other direction, approving a zoning change that would increase the density on land on Main Street east of McMullen-Booth Road to up to 7.5 units per acre.

Developer Kent Runnells wants to build 18 luxury townhouses on the land, replacing three houses and the Woodhaven apartments. Each would be about 2,600 square feet and cost about $500,000.

"We're not in the old part of Safety Harbor, and that's what helped us," said Runnells, the city's mayor from 1993 to 1996.

City Commissioner Kara Bauer said the area was home to transients, and she voted for the project because "there needs to be some improvement there."

"If you come around that corner now, you see the Woodhaven," she said. "It's not exactly what the Chamber of Commerce wants on their Web site."

Plus, she said, Runnells will be subject to all kinds of limitations on height and setbacks.

City Commissioner Andy Steingold, though he also voted for the change, said he remains concerned about piecemeal development in the city.

"We're not setting the tone for how we see this town developed," he said. "Is there going to be a condo here and a townhome there? There needs to be some sort of blueprint."

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 01:09:16]