C.O.N.A. of South Pinellas County

Charley- a near miss we're all grateful for.

Aug 17, 2004

CONA Newsletter August 2004

OUR PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear Neighbors:

This month's meeting will allow us to look into the future of Pinellas County through the eyes of one of the future county commissioners. We pay almost as much in taxes to the county as we do to the city. However, we generally get little attention from the county and expect few results.
There are several issues that are important to neighborhoods that can only be solved on a countywide basis.

Animal Control, also known as the dog catcher, is done by the county. As you know, they don't catch the dogs! If you catch the dog, they will pick up the dog. This is a problem in many neighborhoods. We had a presentation about possible uses for the old Toytown landfill as a cluster of ball fields. The county commission will decide this. Clearly, the county takes the lead on transportation issues and controls or influences most of the spending. How that is co-ordinated matters everyday. The county and city (not just St. Petersburg) fights, cost all of us money and result in poorer service. Criminal justice (police, sheriff, jails, and courts) are influenced by the county commission since they adopt the budget for the sheriff and the courts.

My point is simply that county government effects our lives. Please come and hear what they
have to say. As importantly, let the candidates know what is important to you. Back to St. Petersburg, the codes committee will have met again before our meeting. We look forward to the continuing effort to improve the code enforcement ordinances and the implementation of them. We should be clear. Code enforcement works in St. Petersburg. Our frustration is simply how long the process takes. The challenge is to find methods to speed compliance without causing a backlash from ordinary citizens and at the same time to make the slumlords take care of their
property.

Hope to see you at the CONA meeting.

Sincerely,

Karl Nurse President, CONA


PARTNERSHIP NOTES
Neighborhood Partnership Office
Susan P. Ajoc, AICP, Director
Neighborhood Partnership Program
City of St. Petersburg
P.O. Box 2842 St. Petersburg, FL 33731-2842
Phone: (727) 892-5141 Fax: (727) 893-5323
Email: Susan.Ajoc@stpete.org

Neighborhood Partnership Grants:
Final deadline for the FY 2005 Neighborhood Partnership Grant application is Friday, September 3, 2004, by 5:00 p.m. No late applications will be accepted.

And the Winner Is..?…
Annual Neighborhood Partnership Awards Social will be held on Thursday, September 23. Please watch your mail for additional information.

Mayor's Mentors & More:
School has started again and the Doorways Students need mentors! For more information, please call Gail Eggeman at 892-5189 or e-mail
mentoring@stpete.org

Important Meetings-

The City has scheduled an number of Public Meetings to present the current LDR proposals. In addition to presentations, the City is soliciting public input on these proposals. See page 5 for more information on the LDR process

SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOODS, CORRIDORS AND CENTERS
>WEDNESDAY AUGUST 18 6:30 PM.
LYNCH MUSIC CENTER ST. PETE COLLEGE 6605 5TH AVE. N.

>MONDAY AUGUST 23RD 6:30 P.M.
ST. PETERSBURG MAIN LIBRARY 3745 9TH AVENUE NORTH

TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOODS, CORRIDORS AND CENTERS
>WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH 6:30 P.M.
St. Petersburg Main library 3745 9TH AVENUE NORTH
>MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13TH 6:30 P.M.
BAYFRONT CENTER 400 1ST STREET SOUTH

NEIGHBORHOOD RELATED ISSUES
>WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20 7:00 P.M.
SUNSHINE CENTER AUDITORIUM 330 5TH STREET NORTH
For more information, contact Bob Jeffrey at 551-3254


PROPOSED STREET VENDING ORDINANCE
City Council is considering a proposed ?“Street Vending?” Ordinance that could address concerns about panhandling and newspaper sales from the medians and sides of heavily traveled roadways. See page 5 for more on this issue. The follow schedule is of City Council Meetings where the issue will be addressed.

>City Council Workshop: Aug 26th.

>First reading of Proposed Ordinance: Sep 2nd

>Second Reading & Public Hearing: Sep 16th.


NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS RECOGNIZED AS CRIME FIGHTERS
Police Honor Coordinators at National Night Out
By Officer Chip Wells & Conrad Weiser

On August 3, Neighborhood Crime Watch participants from all over the city came together to celebrate the 21st annual National Night Out. National Night Out is a nation-wide event that encourages neighborhood camaraderie as part of the fight for safer streets.

This year?’s event included sandwiches, fried chicken and assorted finger foods. There was also a door-prize drawing for car protection ?“Clubs?”. Bill Donielle, (formerly the SPPD Public Information Chief), served as the host introducing Mayor Baker and Police Chief Harmon who offered gratitude for the Crime Watch volunteers who have been the eyes and ears of the department over these 20 some years. Bill recalled organizing our Crime Watch in 1982 with just a handful of volunteers?…..a few of which are still serving, several will be honored tonight. A video dedicated to our crime watch participants was the high point of the evening followed by the St. Petersburg Police Department awards of plaques to a very special group of eight Crime Watch Coordinators who have been involved in the Neighborhood Crime Watch program for over 20 years. Each recipient spoke of the importance of neighbors looking out for neighbors. As a token of appreciation for their dedication to the program each was presented a plaque by Mayor Rick Baker and Chief Charles ?“Chuck?” Harmon.


SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE CONA NEWSLETTER ON-LINE
The CONA Newsletter is now available online. It is posted on our website and, if you prefer, it can be sent to you by email.

The email feature can save CONA printing and postage expenses as well as provide a fast and convenient way to read the newsletter. We will of course, continue to send paper copies to our members who prefer it that way. To sign up for email delivery, simply send an email message to Steve Plice asking to be put on the electronic list. Steve?’s email address is: steveplice@verizon.net

Visit our website at http://stpetecona.org


WHAT ARE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS (LDR's)?
And why are they being rewritten?
By Bob Jeffery

LDR's guide all built development and redevelopment within the City. They regulate building and site uses, occupancy loads, parking standards, building sizes and in some cases design standards. More generically, they are responsible for creating the overall framework of the city and directing the urban form of our community. The existing Land Development regulations were last re-written in 1974. What was put into place during that process were a set of regulations which did not work with the existing framework of land within the City. This has lead to many disappointments regarding development in the recent past .

During the Vision 2020 process, Mayor Rick Baker announced his intent to create and adopt a new set of LDR's which are tailor-made to the existing land patterns, promote the desired character of St. Petersburg and allow development and redevelopment to occur with greater ease.

Creating the new LDR's has been a public driven process. During the Months of August and September, a series of public meetings will be held to showcase the proposed LDR changes. While the new LDR's will not go through the adoption process beginning until the spring of 2005, now is the time for the public to learn more about these proposed changes and to become familiar with their content. To assist the public in this matter, a series of public meetings is scheduled to cover this information. The following is the schedule of public meetings in August, September and October. In addition to these other meetings will be scheduled in the near future and we will send you this information. .

Bob Jeffrey can be reached at 551-3254


STREET VENDING ORDINANCE TO BE CONSIDERED BY CITY COUNCIL
By Steve Plice

The ?“first reading?” for the proposed Street vending ordinance, scheduled for August 5th, was deleted from the City Council Agenda in the days before the meeting. The City?’s staff cited concerns expressed by Police Chief Chuck Harmon and others as reasons for removing this agenda item.

City Council, however, did not go quietly into the night. The Council?’s agenda, after all, belongs to the Council and not to City Staff members. The issue was discussed at the August 5th Council Meeting and, in deference to the last minute concerns, it was referred to a Council workshop. The workshop, scheduled for August 26th, is a less formal Council meeting where issues may be discussed but no formal Council action is taken.

After the workshop, a proposed ordinance, possibly with modified language, is scheduled for ?“first reading?” on September 2nd.

Council rules require that every ordinance be given a ?“first reading?”, a ?“second reading?” (at a subsequent meeting), and a pubic hearing before Council may vote. The ?“second reading?” and public hearing for the Street Vending Ordinance is scheduled for August 16th. This will be an evening meeting and residents are invited to address City Council and express their views on the proposed ordinance.

The Street Vending Ordinance is intended to address issues of panhandling and sales of newspapers from medians and major intersections. The problem is more severe in St. Petersburg than other parts of Pinellas County because the Sheriff's Office is enforcing a County ordinance that prohibits these activities.

CONA has already taken a position in support of the Street Vending Ordinance and everyone is encouraged to speak to the Council Members and atted the September 16th public hearing.


WELCOME HOME FAMILY FESTIVAL
Saturday, October 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at St. Anthony's Park, 12th Street between 7th and 9th Avenues North. Admission is free.

Primary sponsors are Resurrection House, St. Anthony's Health Care, and Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg. The entire community is invited to spend a day of fun with music, games for children, food, health screenings, dental kits, and storytelling for kids provided by the Mirror Lake Library.
∆ Koats for Kids--a project supported by Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg and area businesses, churches, and individuals to provide new jackets for at-risk children in the community. Tom Begley is coordinating this project for the Kiwanis organization.
∆ Literacy--collecting children's books to distribute to shelters and other programs for at-risk youngsters and providing story sessions for children from babes in arms to teens, featuring St. Petersburg Library staff from Mirror Lake Library
∆ Health screenings provided by St. Anthony's Health Care to promote awareness of good health practices
∆ FUN! Foods and beverages to buy, live music, and a variety of inflatable games and other activities and crafts for children

Resurrection House at 800 Eleventh Street North, adjacent to St. Anthony's Park, is the organizer of the Welcome Home Family Festival. Founded in 1987, Resurrection House is a private, nonprofit organization serving the needs of Tampa Bay families with children who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
For more information on plans for this free event, call 727-823-4742.


DOWNTOWN COURTYARDS TOUR
Saturday, October 16, beginning at 3 p.m. Tour will last about 2 hours; reception at 5 p.m.

Sponsored by the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA), the walking tour features interesting courtyards and gardens often unseen by the general public. Half the proceeds from the event will benefit American Stage, to be used as scholarships for students wishing to enroll in theatre classes. Last year's beneficiary was the St. Petersburg Free Clinic.

Among stops on the October 16 tour are American Stage, 211 3rd Street South; Charles Court townhomes, 4th Avenue South between 3rd and 4th Streets; the Beacon condominium, 5th Avenue South at 3rd Street; and the Tramor Cafeteria, an indoor space designed to look like a courtyard at the St. Petersburg Times Building on 2nd Avenue South.

The tour will end with a reception on the garden deck at Bayboro Inn and Hunt Room, 357 3rd Street South.

Tickets are $20 per person. For reservations, send checks to DNA Courtyard Tour, PO Box 1003, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Space is limited. For more information, visit the DNA website, www.stpetedna.org, or call Sydni Shollenberger, chair of the 2004 tour, at 727-550-0096.


POSSIBLE SITES FOR MONORAIL/EXPRESS BUS AND LOCAL BUS INTERMODAL SERVICE CENTERS

The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council plans a community meeting for August 26th 4-7 pm

They are looking at potential sites in the Gateway area and downtown St. Petersburg for an intermodal center that could serve high speed rail, monorail, express bus, local bus,
intercity bus, etc.

Public input is invited at an informal presentation.

Main Conference Room
4000 Gateway Center Boulevard, Suite 100
Pinellas Park, FL
Located near US 19 and Gandy Boulevard

EUCLID HEIGHTS VOTES REDUCE SPEED LIMIT TO 25 MPH

Using provisions of the City?’s Traffic Calming Program, Euclid Heights has voted to reduce the speed limit on all streets in the neighborhood except for 16th Street and 54th Ave. N.

As funds become available, the City will install the 25 MPH sighs.

The neighborhood?’s boundaries are on the north : 62 Ave N. on the south: 46th Ave N, on the East M L King St, and on the west


LIMITS ON THE SIZE OF BUILDINGS COULD BE REMOVED!
Our current building code contains provisions that could allow unlimited heights on buildings in the downtown area

By Timothy J. Baker
President, Downtown Neighborhood Association

Developer Grady Pridgen has submitted plans for two condominium projects, which if approved would seemingly remove all limits on building size in downtown St. Petersburg. Using a clause in the downtown zoning ordinance that has never before been invoked, Mr. Pridgen claims that both of his projects should be exempt from the usual constraints on size. He has also lobbied publicly for removal of limits on size for downtown buildings.

The zoning ordinance for downtown regulates building size through the use of something called Floor/Area Ratio (FAR), which relates the total floor space within a building to the size of the lot on which the building sits. The base FAR in most of downtown is 3, which means that on a 1,000 square foot lot, a building with a total floor space of 3,000 square feet would be allowed. That could come in various configurations, such as a two-story building with 1,500 square feet on each floor, or a three-story building with 1,000 square feet per floor.

However, in addition to that base FAR of 3, various bonuses can be earned by a developer by such means as having extra green space on the lot, planting extra trees or exhibiting public art. Normally, these bonuses can push the FAR up to 5 or 5.5. But, there is also a clause in the ordinance that says that If enough bonuses are earned, then the city allows an unlimited building size. The current zoning ordinance has been in use for more than 20 years, yet this provision has never been used by any developer.

In both of the projects Mr. Pridgen claims a bonus for the use of an alternative fuel source. The code says the alternative source of energy must be "for providing space heating or cooling or hot water needs of the building." Mr. Pridgen says his projects qualify for this bonus because "the architect will abide by the Florida green building code as well as implement solar energy." No details are given as to what the solar energy would be used for, and there is no evidence in the drawings submitted of any solar apparatus. Also, Florida does not have a "green building code," although there are some private programs by which buildings can be certified as being "green." If Mr. Pridgen does not qualify for these bonuses, then both projects would fail the test for unlimited size and would have to be made roughly half the size he is proposing.

In both projects, Mr. Pridgen also claims a bonus for having additional green space, which at least in one case seems to be some sod on a rooftop. Again, if the projects do not actually qualify for this bonus, then they would have to be scaled back.

One of the projects is called "Bayway Lofts," and is a high-rise condominium building proposed for 3rd Avenue North, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. A recently submitted plan replaces one that was blocked last year by the Federal Aviation Administration, and which had also failed to win support from city planning officials. The new proposal calls for a 29-story tower, which would be about 375 feet tall. That height would meet the limit set by the FAA for the site. The original proposal called for a 42-story building with a height of 584 feet, which the FAA rejected on the grounds that it would present a hazard to airplanes flying in and out of Albert Whitted Airport. The new plan calls for a five-story parking garage, 350 condominiums and some ground-level retail space.

"Fourth Street Lofts" is proposed for a small site on 4th Street North between 3rd and 4th Avenues, adjacent to the Pennsylvania Hotel.

The submitted plans state that the building would contain retail space on the ground floor, with 40 residential "lofts" above. The height is variously listed as 11 stories, 12 stories, and 222 feet. However, the number of stories is deceptive, since each story would be some 20 feet high, or about double the norm. This is because the planned condominiums would have 20-foot ceilings. The height of 222 feet would correspond to about 20 stories.

The FAR listed in the application is 9.4. As with the "Bayway Lofts" project, Mr. Pridgen claims that this building should be allowed an unlimited size because it qualifies for all allowable bonuses, including for use of alternative energy, and for extra green space.

The first hurdle for the projects is the city staff, which must review the plans before sending them along to the Environmental Development Commission (EDC) with a recommendation. The EDC is a volunteer board that must approve site plans for large projects, such as this one. In most cases, although not always, the EDC goes along with the recommendations of the city staff. Thus, a positive review by city staff is important to developers. After going through the EDC, the projects would also have to be reviewed by the City Council, to see if they comply with the terms of the Intown Redevelopment Plan, which is a sort of master plan for downtown that has been in effect for the past 22 years. Issues such as building design and how a project fits into the neighborhood are fair game for discussion by the council.

The EDC must hold public hearings on the site plans. The council review does not include a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to examine the submitted plans should contact the EDC secretary at 551-3342.