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Plan revives hopes for corridor

Largo's redevelopment plan has been retooled to assist poorer residents who would be displaced.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published July 22, 2006

LARGO - City leaders have resuscitated a plan to revitalize the Clearwater-Largo Road corridor, hoping to make the area a vibrant place where people will live, work, shop and play.

The City Commission on Tuesday granted initial approval to the plan, which was retooled after it was rejected last September by county commissioners, who said it lacked affordable housing incentives for developers and protections for mobile home residents.

City staff spent months reworking the plan, adding elements to address the county's concerns. The plan now incorporates the city's mobile home transition ordinance adopted in May.

Modeled after a similar county ordinance, it provides rental assistance and housing counseling for uprooted mobile home residents.

"We're very excited about the prospects of what could happen on Clearwater-Largo Road," said Mayor Pat Gerard. "Were hoping this is it and we can move forward."

Ron Bortolini, a resident and business owner in what's known as the Clearwater-Largo Road Community Redevelopment District, hopes the plan gets county support.

"We need to move forward on this, and we need to bring investment into our corridor," said Bortolini, owner of Durable Coatings paint store.

Eleven years ago, city officials designated the corridor a "blighted area," and a year later they adopted a plan to revitalize about 77 acres near the roadway. The new plan expands the district to 288 acres.

Bortolini, who provided input for the original plan, said he's generally pleased with the new plan, but he wishes city staff had solicited more public feedback in recent months.

The proposed plan separates the area into four key character districts:

- The city home area would have primarily townhomes and condominiums.

- The neighborhood residential area would include single family homes on small lots.

- The mixed-use district would chiefly feature dining, entertainment and shopping on lower floors and offices and homes above.

- The professional office district would include mainly offices and medical facilities.

The plan, which allows 7.5 units per acre in the neighborhood residential district and 15 units per acre in the mixed-use and city home districts, also encourages developers to set aside units for affordable housing, providing incentives that would allow up to 40 units per acre in the city home district if certain criteria were met.

Boosted by reduced impact fees and other city incentives, Clearwater-Largo Road has seen its share of improvements. A handful of restaurants line the corridor with new or renovated storefronts.

The corridor, however, still has pockets of blight and some crime-plagued mobile home parks.

The plan incorporates additional elements to support neighborhood businesses, entice developers and attract new retail and offices to the district.

It also includes aesthetic and safety improvements, such as landscaping, crosswalks and decorative street lighting, to enhance the area's pedestrian appeal.

The plan also needs to be reviewed by County Commissioners and the Florida Department of Community Affairs. The city expects final approval of the plan by the end of the year.

In other action, city commissioners gave initial approval to an additional homestead exemption for senior homeowners and initial approval to changes in community development fees and increased fire inspection fees to help cover civilian inspectors.

Commissioners also set a maximum property tax at the current rate of $4.28 for every $1,000 of taxable home value. The first public hearing for the property tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 5.

The details:

The proposed Clearwater-Largo Road Community Development District

Area: expanded from 77 to 288 acres

General boundaries: Ponce De Leon Boulevard on the north, CSX Railroad on the east, Fourth Ave NW on the south and the Pinellas Trail on the west

Businesses: 75

District population: about 3,000

Housing units: about 1,700

Mobile homes: about 6,000

Source: Clearwater-Largo Road Community Redevelopment District Plan

[Last modified July 21, 2006, 21:04:33]