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County gives condo plan second chance

A mediator brokers a pact between the county and a developer who wants to build condos near Pop Stansell Park.

By YUXING ZHENG
Published November 12, 2005

PALM HARBOR - A Pinellas County representative has agreed in principle to a plan that would allow a real estate broker to develop 14 condominium units near H.S. "Pop" Stansell Park.

The agreement came after a 90-minute mediation session, the second of two, in which neighbors of the property opposed the project.

Property owner Tracy Harris Jr. and Ethel Hammer, a representative for Pinellas County, agreed on a plan Thursday that would rezone Harris' property to allow a total of 14 condominium units in three buildings.

Mediator Richard Davis still must submit a final report before Harris can reapply to the Pinellas County Commission, which denied his initial rezoning application in April.

But the agreement troubled some residents of the quiet neighborhood north of Pop Stansell Park and west of Eighth Street N. They believe condominiums would disrupt the character of the neighborhood, lead to an increase in traffic and clear the way for larger, multifamily projects that would crowd the area's single-family homes.

"It'll set a precedent for the entire area where it would be open to bigger structures and condominiums," said Nolley Nance, who has lived for two decades in his house two blocks north of Harris' property. "West of Eighth Street, we were hoping we could keep it a low-profile neighborhood."

Harris owns and lives on the parcel just south of the 1.43-acre property he hopes the county will rezone. He purchased the northern parcel in January for $900,000.

The three proposed condo buildings would be spread over both parcels. In 2001, the southern parcel was rezoned to allow five multifamily dwellings per acre, and Harris hopes to rezone the northern parcel for the same. The northern parcel includes one house, which Harris is renting out but said would likely be torn down for the condominiums.

If approved, the new zoning would allow for the same five units per acre allowed under its current single-family residential low zoning. The height maximum also would remain the same at 45 feet. The new zoning would simply allow Harris to build the units as condominiums or townhouses rather than single-family houses - exactly the type of change some neighbors oppose.

The condominium units would likely sell for at least $750,000 each, Harris said. One to three stories of living space would be built atop a level of parking. Docks would allow access to Sutherland Bayou for all the property's residents, he said.

"It's better for the neighborhood than what they realize it's going to be," said Harris, 63, a real estate broker. "I think (neighbors are) understanding the pluses more than they were at the beginning."

The plan could change slightly if Harris receives the right of way to use Pennsylvania Avenue. If Harris receives the additional land, he plans to add two units to the center building and move the northern building closer to the property line. The rezoning, if approved, would still allow Harris to build single-family houses.

At least one neighbor Thursday said she supported the conceptual plan because the three proposed buildings would lead to less environmental damage than 14 houses.

"What he's proposing to do has the least impact on the things I care about: the existing mature trees (and) that the roadway can be put in as a gravel road," said Terry Fortner, 52, an Ozona resident who owns her late grandmother's house on the block north of Harris' property. "It allows all the residents to have access to the water without increasing the density."

Thursday's mediation hearing was a rare step for the county.

Despite the county staff's recommendation to approve the rezoning, county commissioners sided 5 to 1 with concerned neighbors in April. Commissioners denied the application without prejudice, opening the option for Harris to ask for mediation. It was the first case to go to a special master hearing since 1997.

Paul Cassel, the county's director of development review services, was adamant that the county would not allow the new zoning, if approved, to extend north of Pennsylvania Avenue. The four blocks north of the street are all zoned for single-family residential low.

Philip Remedios, who owns a waterfront house two blocks north, said that doesn't guarantee neighbors won't subsequently apply for rezoning, an easier task if adjacent parcels are already rezoned.

He said his family moved to the neighborhood because it does not include condominiums. He's convinced approval of Harris' condominiums will attract other developers and lead to a long-term drop in property values.

"I would hate for North Pinellas residential communities to lose the Old Florida charm for the sake of development," he said. "Is this what Florida needs? More condominiums?"

Yuxing Zheng can be reached at 727 445-4163 or at yzheng@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 12, 2005, 00:54:17]