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Letter to the editor

Protectors of Al Lang Field cry foul over new land use rules

By AARON SHAROCKMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published August 8, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - After nearly seven years of often turbulent public negotiations, the city is poised to pass a sweeping land use plan that city leaders hail as a model of popular democracy.

Yet, as the City Council meets Thursday to approve the city's growth plan, some boisterous critics remain.

They think the vote Thursday could threaten the future of Al Lang Field, a treasured piece of St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront that will soon be without the prospect of an occupant for the first time in its 90-plus-year history.

The critics, mostly aligned with the city's Downtown Neighborhood Association, worry that a provision in the new land laws would allow the city to turn a cherished baseball stadium into a tower or steel and concrete - offices, shops or condos.

In a broad planning discussion that has already dragged on for years and will likely fill several hours Thursday, the fate of the historic baseball diamond is one of the few matters not couched in generalized, thick development regulations.

Such murkiness is why people have complained so loudly.

A zoning clash

The point of contention is the future zoning district of Progress Energy Park and Al Lang Field. The Downtown Neighborhood Association says it should be classified with the city's other downtown parks. City officials in the economic development department say the land should instead be classified with the row of condos and shops on Beach Drive.

The park classification comes with significant height and development restrictions.

It reflects "the hope of the neighborhood," said Marilyn Olsen, a director of the downtown association board.

The other category - the one the city staff is proposing - does not.

"We think it's important to maintain a little flexibility," said Rick Mussett, a senior administrator who oversees the city's economic development efforts.

In either case, the development potential of Al Lang is limited.

According to the City Charter, the city could not sell the stadium or lease it for more than five years without a citywide referendum.

And the zoning regulations do not change the stadium's land use. To change that, the City Council, Pinellas Planning Council, Pinellas County Commission and the state Department of Community Affairs would have to all agree.

To some, like council members John Bryan and Bill Foster, that makes the argument somewhat irrelevant. The only possible scenario that would not trigger a city election, they say, is if the city one day decided to use the land for a new City Hall.

"I don't think we'd spend that type of money ... without a referendum anyway," Foster said.

But their argument also bolsters residents' point: If the city cannot envision a scenario where Al Lang is something other than a park, why not make it part of the law?

Al Lang's future

When it comes to the 90-plus-year-old waterfront ballpark, some residents are worried because the stadium's fate is uncertain.

The Devil Rays, which have used the field for spring training since 1998, said they are planning to move to Port Charlotte starting in 2009.

But unlike before, when the St. Louis Cardinals followed the New York Yankees and the Devil Rays followed the Cardinals, there are few if any possibilities for finding a replacement. If another team is not found, Mayor Rick Baker has said the city would consider demolishing the stadium and turning the three-block complex into some type of park.

But the city has asked for flexibility should the game plan change. To what? The city says it doesn't know.

"I think all the city is saying is, let's have a thoughtful discussion in two or three years when we know what the future is," said Bob Jeffrey, an urban planner who helped craft the new development regulations. "There are already lots of protections for that property in place."

The new regulations, if approved Thursday, will take effect Sept. 10.

Fast Facts:

If you go

The City Council will discuss the new regulations at 6 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 175 Fifth St. N.

[Last modified August 8, 2007, 01:21:23]