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Study casts a light on shade

A high-rise project prompts a rare review in St. Petersburg.

By STEPHANIE GARRY
Published June 17, 2007

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ST. PETERSBURG - For 18 years, Sally Ann Lawson's garden has raced toward the sun, converting light into growth and covering her yard like a jungle.

Now development is sprouting. As downtown grows up across the street from her Old Northeast home, her plants could gain an adversary - shadows, in the Sunshine State.

A 32-story building has been proposed, right across the street from her house. Because of its proximity to Lawson's neighborhood, the city for the first time required a shade study, a part-architectural, part-astronomical review that maps how a building's shadow will travel throughout the day and year.

The studies are becoming more common in Florida as high-rise development grows and technology becomes cheaper. But the question of what shadows mean is something city planners don't yet have an answer for.

To Northerners, shadows mean frigidity in a already cold, dark winter. In Florida, shade can mean relief from a blistering summer.

To Lawson, 58, who owns two adjacent houses on Fifth Avenue, it means the difference between scraggly plants and a thriving garden. She pointed to a passion fruit vine, with just one red, fountain-like blossom.

"It doesn't grow very well here. It grows great in the front, where there's sun, " she said, pointing to a plant-choked fence.

Shade studies began in the urban north, where tall buildings and slanted light make sunshine a precious commodity, said Trent Green, a professor of architecture and urban design at the University of South Florida.

Sunshine, or in architect parlance, solar access, became an issue in the 1970s during the energy crunch. Designers were looking for ways to maximize the sun's warmth to reduce the demand for winter heating.

Ralph Knowles, a distinguished professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Southern California, published a 1979 book introducing the idea of a solar envelope, a space that limits the size and shape of a building to lessen its shadow, to help planners respect the neighbors' right to sun.

Al Santiesteban, an architect with the Tampa firm of Smith Barnes Santiesteban Architecture, which did the shadow study for the Fifth Avenue project, said his firm used to do a shadow study in Florida every few years. Now it does a few every year.

It's another tool

Shadows can be long or short, a blessing or a curse, depending on location and time of year.

The earth's tilt creates the seasons. Summer occurs as the northern hemisphere leans toward the sun. In winter, the hemisphere is pointed away, causing the sun to appear in the south and casting long shadows to the north.

John Hixenbaugh, a city zoning official, considered these factors when he requested the study. He knew that by being to the south of the Old Northeast, the proposed project would cast the longest shadows of the year right across the neighborhood.

If a similar situation arises again, Hixenbaugh said he's likely to request another so that neighbors know exactly how they'll be affected.

"It's just another tool in my belt, " Hixenbaugh said.

The city hasn't discussed whether to include solar access in its development guidelines, said City Council member Jamie Bennett, adding it would be hard to reconcile the developer's right to the land and the neighbor's right to the sun.

"That's one that we're going to have to think through, I'm afraid, " Bennett said.

The importance of shadows in Florida, compared to northern states, is debatable. On one hand, shade is sought in the sweltering summers. And shadows are shorter because the state is close to the equator.

"In most cases it's a surprise to people how little impact it has, " said Santiesteban, the architect behind this shadow study. For development, "It's mostly helpful, rather than a deterrent."

Home buyers pay 10 to 15 percent more for property with shade trees, noted Ron Weaver, the attorney for the Fifth Avenue developers. On the longest day of the year, the proposed project's shadow would affect only a couple of blocks for a few hours.

"It's not like it's a constant creation of a canyon, " Weaver said.

Even Hixenbaugh said he was expecting more dramatic results.

But then again, this is the Sunshine State. Light is what people come here for. And shadow isn't just a literal issue - it reflects bulkiness.

"It makes you feel small and insignificant, " said Nancy Foster, who owns La Veranda Bed & Breakfast, which is across the street from the proposed development. "If it casts that much shadow, there's something wrong with it."

Project not approved

The Fifth Avenue project that started this debate in St. Petersburg was not approved by a planning board, which said it wasn't in harmony with the neighborhood. Most residents objected to its size and density more than its shadow.

The developer, Fuel Group International, is appealing to the City Council. Weaver, the attorney, said he expects a revised proposal to be released next week that would call for a shorter building.

But shadow is likely to be an ongoing issue as downtown continues to revitalize and property values force developers to build higher.

Knowles, the California architect, said most cities that recognize the right to sun adopted codes after residents demanded it.

It first happened to Los Angeles in the 1980s, Knowles said. A tall building overshadowed and ruined a neighborhood, where falling property values led to a desertion; now it's a parking lot. When a similar project was proposed near another neighborhood, the residents forced the city to legislate.

St. Petersburg architect Tim Clemmons has proposed his own project, a seven-story condo called 475, near the Fuel Group site. Clemmons believes the city needs guidelines on how much shadow is allowed so residents can be guaranteed they won't be cast in darkness.

"We're just starting to talk about this for the first time. It's kind of growing pains, " Clemmons said. "It's a normal process of growing up."

Peter Belmont, who lives in Fareham Place downtown, installed a $22, 000 solar energy system in his home this spring. He's been urging the city to recognize solar access in its development code.

"We're still clearly continuing to grow and to develop, " Belmont said. "It's appropriate, we ought to be doing it, so the sooner we have it as part of our code the better."

[Last modified June 16, 2007, 23:15:33]