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Power shifts; development questions remain

Neither residents nor officials have a clear picture of what will happen next.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published November 12, 2006

ISSUES AND OUTCOMES:

Last week, St. Pete Beach became the first city in Florida to give voters the final say on their comprehensive land use plan, a basic blueprint of what gets built, where and how. Here is a breakdown of some of the issues surrounding the outcome.

Who are the people most affected by how the vote turned out?

Hotel owners had the most to lose in this vote. The city was prepared to allow them to build up their properties up to 15 stories. Now, they are limited to the original five stories.

Residents who were against taller buildings have the most to celebrate. They now have control over whether any building in the city can grow taller than 50 feet.

What is the city's next step?

The city has to come up with a voting process that would detail how and when residents would vote.

So what can be built in St. Pete Beach?

Anything less than 50 feet has the green light and wouldn't need to go up for vote. Also, the City Commission can still give some businesses a special permit that would allow them to go taller.

Will all these new rules scare developers away?

Most developers do not want to deal with the added hassle of persuading voters to approve their plans, especially when they can just pitch their project to a city down the road with fewer restrictions. But it is unclear exactly how this will affect businesses in the city.

Does this mean the city commissioners are just lame ducks now? Do they have any say in what happens next?

Only changes to the city's restrictions on zoning and land use plans would have to be put in a referendum before the voters. The City Commission can still approve any development lower than 50 feet. Also, they decide how a referendum on development change would be worded.

The votes have been tallied up and recounted.

The campaign signs have mostly been taken down.

But the battle over development that has divided this small city for the past two years is far from over. Late last week, city officials and residents struggled to wade through the political and economic implications of the election results.

On Election Day, voters approved three amendments to the city charter that give them final say on any major zoning, density, and height changes. St. Pete Beach residents now have more power over what can go up in their city than voters in any other municipality in Florida.

They also repealed a major redevelopment plan that would have allowed, among other things, hotels to grow from a maximum of five stories to 15 stories. That plan was approved by the City Commission earlier this year when they amended the city's comprehensive land use plan.

Residents said they voted for the city charter amendments Tuesday because they did not feel elected officials could be trusted to stop the growth of tall buildings.

"All public officials, they don't spend thousands of dollars to get elected for nothing," said Wilma Walsek, 76, a retired secretary. "We live here. Why shouldn't we have a say on what they build and how they build stuff?"

For many, the election results brought more questions than answers.

Late last week, residents who had rallied to get the amendments on the ballot wondered whether the city would challenge the election results in court.

City officials questioned how they would come up with a voting process that was legal when they had no precedent to follow. City Manager Mike Bonfield said he wasn't sure if any vote on development changes would simply be an advisory measure for the commission to consider or the final word on what could be built.

Business owners fretted over the economic implications of a building permit approval process that will most likely scare away developers who do not want to have their planning proposals debated by voters.

All considered the possibility that the city's 10,000 residents might never meet eye to eye in the voting booth. The vote was split nearly 50-50, and in one case, the question on repealing the city's master plan was decided by just 21 votes.

"We are in a state of uncertainty," said Tim Bogott, president of Fortune Hotels Inc., which owns the TradeWinds Island Resorts. Bogott and other hoteliers in St. Pete Beach led a campaign in favor of the taller buildings.

With so many questions left up in the air, supporters and opponents of the ballot measures have said they are certain the political war will continue at least until March, when two of the city's commission seats will be up for election.

Harry Metz, a leader of the group Citizens for Responsible Growth, which got the amendment questions on the ballot, said he will run again for the District 4 seat, which includes Pass-a-Grille. Metz ran for that sit in 2005 and lost to Nancy Markoe, who was opposed to the amendment changes.

Commissioner Deborah Nicklaus, whose family owns the Sirata Beach Resort Hotel, has said she will not run for re-election. Linda Chaney, a vocal opponent to the city's redevelopment plan, has said she will consider running for that seat, which includes the hotel district along Gulf Boulevard.

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 11, 2006, 19:38:11]