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Letter to the editor

Boat slip plan gets smaller

Under a new proposal, Clearwater would have fewer public spaces.

By MIKE DONILA, Times Staff Writer
Published August 11, 2007

CLEARWATER - A beach hotel and condo developer has scaled down a boat slip project that upset some nearby residents, but it comes at a cost: The public will get fewer slips.

Even so, City Council members who approved the project's concept still think it's a good deal for the city.

"One of the dilemmas we face - particularly now with money being short - is that it's difficult for us to do a project like this without a partner," Vice Mayor John Doran said. "And the best part of this is that the partner is paying for all of it."

In December, the City Council agreed to let JMC Communities of St. Petersburg, developer of the Sandpearl hotel and condo project on the beach's gulf side, build a docking area a short walk away, on the beach's bay side.

The plan was to build 33 slips for the nearby Sandpearl project and 21 for the public in a basin on the east side of Mandalay Avenue, adjacent to city tennis courts and near a recreation center and parking area.

But some beach residents objected, saying the city was giving away valuable land and should build its own slips. They also feared the project would harm wildlife, create noise and cause pollution.

City officials countered, saying the city was getting a great deal on a project that would lure visitors.

A month later, JMC officials met with residents and agreed to reduce the number of slips from 54 to 42.

"We voluntarily downsized it because of the complaints," JMC attorney Ed Armstrong said.

The revised plan eliminates the slips proposed for the shallow part of the inlet and moves some slips to deeper water. The city now gets 15 slips.

Ken Robulak, a Belle Harbor resident who fought the project, said he's happy with the new plan because it addresses one worry: boating congestion. But he still has concerns about security.

Armstrong said someone from the Sandpearl, which is across the street from the slips, will be on call at all times to respond to problems.

Under the plan, JMC will pay the city $5,400 annually in rent. The city can renew the option every five years or buy the slips.

JMC would maintain the facilities, install security gates at the public docks and have Sandpearl staffers lock them at midnight.

If approved, work should begin in the fall and take up to a year to complete. Cost of the slips as initially envisioned was estimated at $1.2-million, but developers aren't sure how much the smaller design will cost.

The council is expected to vote on the proposal in September.

Boat slips are a hot commodity in Pinellas County because hundreds have been eliminated in recent years by big waterfront developments. Clearwater, though, has been working to add more.

Voters in March signed off on the city's plan to build 129 slips, a boardwalk and fishing pier near Coachman Park in the downtown area. The project, if it remains on schedule, could be finished sometime in 2009.

[Last modified August 10, 2007, 21:09:47]