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No strike 3 on waterfront plan

By MIKE DONILA
Published March 15, 2007

The third time was the charm for Clearwater. Since 2000, city leaders have been trying to convince voters to approve a big-ticket rehabilitation plan near Coachman Park's waterfront. Tuesday they succeeded. A look at the votes:

9,589 to 13,125

Yes-to-no vote in 2000 referendum

5,787 to 6,466

Yes-to-no vote in 2004 referendum

6,411 to 5,833

Yes-to-no vote in Tuesday's referendum

The plan was ambitious, but required a lot of public trust.

If approved, developers would transform Clearwater's waterfront into an active area designed to lure pedestrians and jump-start downtown's economy.

The year was 2000 and city residents weren't buying it. Nor did they buy it in 2004.

A lot has changed since then, and the initiative that was finally approved Tuesday night is a shell of what was originally proposed seven years ago. But the city's curse has been lifted.

"It's a very definitive step forward ... that seemed to resonate well with the voters," said Ed Armstrong, a Clearwater attorney active in local politics. "It was a very realistic project and ... it wasn't so overwhelming that it would be intimidating."

Voters approved the city's almost $11-million plans to build a 129 boat slips, a promenade, boardwalk and fishing pier near Coachman Park. City leaders have promised the project will be self-supporting and even profit-making within three years of construction.

"I think in the long run, in retrospect, everyone will see that this was really a great day for Clearwater," said Mayor Frank Hibbard.

Hibbard said the 2000 plan was "poorly conceived," but he liked a slimmed down 2004 version that included Coachman Park enhancements and a parking garage.

He said the city one day might ask residents to approve other plans for the area, but "only after we prove that this project is a good one and get it running."

* * *

In 2000, the waterfront revitalization plan was touted as one of the biggest votes in recent history, a $300-million privately-financed project designed to transform the waterfront. Leaders pledged new cafes, shops and parks would pump up the city's economy.

But voters eventually decided the tradeoff - loss of control of some of the city's premium waterfront property - was too big.

The developers would build an array of public and private amenities, including a library, a botanical garden, apartments, a movie theater, a pier and three downtown parking garages.

But the package would require the city to lease some of its waterfront land to the developers for $1 a year for up to 99 years.

Voters soundly defeated the plan that July, with 58 percent voting in opposition.

Contrite city leaders held a number of public forums the next few years to figure out just what residents wanted. The consensus, they discovered, was that residents wanted to get rid of the Harborview Center's waterfront parking lot, and they wanted some type of boat facility.

A less controversial plan was brought before voters in 2004. Clearwater this time would build its own recreation facilities like boat slips, docks and an amphitheater on the waterfront. The Harborview parking lot would be removed and that area converted to part of Coachman Park. But the city would build a parking garage at the bottom of the bluff behind City Hall.

Voters rejected this plan, too, but by a much smaller margin - 5.5 percent. City leaders again went back to the public. "What we learned was that residents clearly were most enthusiastic about the boating facilities," Hibbard said.

The city further slimmed down its plan, garnering voter approval Tuesday, albeit by a thin margin of 578 ballots.

"We think that this is the start of the redevelopment of the downtown, so that we can build the tax base back up there and keep property taxes down in other places," said Ray Ferrara, a local business leader and chairman of the political action committee Citizens for a Beautiful, Active Waterfront. "It's going to make the downtown look a lot better and become more attractive."

* * *

But not everyone is happy, and those who fought the project say they'll remain vigilant as work on it progresses.

"If they're going to build the boat slips, I wish they had overwhelming approval because I think it's going to cost us money," said Anne Garris, chairwoman of Save the Bayfront, which fought against the three proposals.

Garris said Save the Bayfront should be credited with forcing the city to scale back its plans over the years.

Incoming Councilman Paul Gibson, who opposed the city's boat slip plan, pledged to "look closely and make sure the city keeps the commitment it made to the voters" that rental fees, not city money, would pay for the boat slips.

City projections contend the slips during their 40-year life span, will generate about $9.6 million in profit.

In the next several months, the city will take bids from companies, asking them to design the project. The city also will begin seeking a number of county and state permits.

Construction is expected to start in late 2008 and wrap up within a year.

Fast Facts:

March Madness

What: NCAA Tournament, First Round

Who: No. 16 seed Eastern Kentucky (21-11) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (28-6)

When: Tonight, 9:40, Winston-Salem, N.C.

The skinny: Countryside grad Julian Mascoll, a senior at EKU, tries to make history; a top-seeded team has never lost to a No. 16 seed since the NCAA Tournament began seeding in 1979.

[Last modified March 14, 2007, 23:45:16]