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Tourism goal: more guests in less space

Pinellas officials say easing building rules would help turn around faltering hotel prospects.

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published August 30, 2006

LARGO - Tourism boosters made a plea Tuesday for Pinellas government officials to help stem the loss of hotels before it cripples the county's biggest industry.

Facing soaring property values and taxes to match, small hotel and motel owners in beach communities have sold their property to condo developers. Since 2001, the county's inventory of 40,000 rental rooms has dropped by 5,000.

"It is quite serious," said Carole Ketterhagen, executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. "The state of Florida is having the same problem. We need more commercial lodging."

The solution she and local lodging executives proposed: a change to countywide building rules that would greatly increase how many rooms can be developed on a piece of land.

County commissioners, mayors and planning officials were sympathetic but wary about moving too far or too fast. Explosive development in beach communities has sparked a political backlash from residents opposed to high-rises blocking gulf views.

St. Pete Beach voters booted out a prodevelopment commissioner in March and ran a successful petition drive to put questions on the Nov. 7 ballot that could change how the city makes development decisions.

This year, Indian Rocks Beach voters rejected a shopping/residential complex, and Madeira Beach retained two commissioners opposed by development interests.

"Everybody's had enough," said County Commissioner Susan Latvala. "Just going from a single-family house to a duplex sends people over the edge."

Clearwater City Council member Hoyt Hamilton said hoteliers faced financial pressures as the value of beach property skyrocketed and tax bills followed suit.

Current rules in the city allow development of 40 rooms per acre, too few for a viable hotel, or 30 condos, he said. "That decision takes about two-thirds of a second from an investment standpoint," said Hamilton, whose family owns the Palm Pavilion hotel in Clearwater Beach.

If Pinellas diminishes as a tourist destination, the county's economy would take a big hit, warned hotel executives. The industry employs more than 85,000 workers and generates nearly one-third of county sales tax revenues, they said.

Planning officials floated alternatives that would allow developers to build from 45 to 150 rooms per acre, depending on the size of the site. That would represent increases of 50 percent to 200 percent over current rules.

Cities within the county would be free to adopt or reject any new rules, said David Healey, executive director of the Pinellas Planning Council, which includes representatives of the county's 24 cities, the School Board and County Commission.

County Commissioner Karen Seel expressed concern the proposals didn't include height restrictions. "I don't want it to look like Miami Beach," she said.

The group agreed to a motion by County Commission chairman Ken Welch that planning staffers "move forward cautiously" with a formal proposal to county commissioners.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

[Last modified August 29, 2006, 22:57:46]