A Publication of the Pinellas Planning Council
PPC Hosts EAR-Based Amendment Forum
Presenter Gail Easley gives participants an
introduction to the EAR-based amendment processThe state-mandated growth management process requires local governments in Pinellas County to submit Evaluation and Appraisal Reports (EARs) and EAR-based amendments within the next three years. As part of its approved work program, the PPC is working with local governments in Pinellas County to provide assistance in preparing these documents.
To educate participants on current state requirements and provide hands-on training, the PPC hosted an EAR-Based Amendment Forum on September 12th, 13th, and 14th at the Harborview Center in downtown Clearwater. The event featured presenters from The Gail Easley Company, Florida Department of Community Affairs, Pinellas County Planning Department, Pinellas County School Board, Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, as well as PPC staff.
Approximately sixty people attended the forum, including local government staff, elected officials, planning and zoning board members, consultants, and students. While most represented communities in Pinellas County, others traveled from surrounding counties. Consultant firms Tindale-Oliver and Associates, Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart, WilsonMiller, Renaissance Planning Group, and Wendy Grey Land Use Planning helped sponsor the event.
The forum was divided into two parts. “Get acquainted” sessions were held on the 12th and 13th, and provided an introduction to the EAR-based amendment process for a general audience of local government representatives. The 14th was devoted to workshop training classes that addressed the technical aspects of preparing a plan amendment, designed for the staff or officials who will be responsible for authoring and/or adopting the amendments in their communities. All of the slideshows and other materials from the forum have been posted on the PPC web site (www.pinellasplanningcouncil.org). The site provides a central location for downloadable documents, helpful web links, and other information about the comprehensive plan evaluation and amendment processes.
If you have any questions or would like further information about the EAR and EAR-based amendment processes, please feel free to contact Larry Pflueger at 727.464.8250 or lpfluege@pinellascounty.org.
Temporary Lodgings Discussed
On August 29th, the PPC, the Board of County Commissioners acting in their capacity as the Countywide Planning Authority (CPA), and the Tourist Development Council held a joint meeting at the EpiCenter to discuss issues affecting the tourism industry.
Carole Ketterhagen, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, gave a presentation describing the loss of temporary lodging units in the county. She indicated that in the past several years, Pinellas County has lost an estimated 5,000 of 20,000 units as hotel and motel properties were redeveloped as residential condominium projects.
Hotels and motels on the barrier islands
are an essential component of the Pinellas
County tourism industry.The presentation was followed by a discussion of related issues-including condominium conversions, loss of lodging room inventory, competition, taxation, insurance, and affordable housing-and potential methods for addressing them. PPC staff has been discussing these subjects with the Council since June of this year, in follow-up to recommendations included in the updated Countywide Plan and Pinellas by Design: An Economic Development and Redevelopment Plan for the Pinellas Community.
David Healey, Executive Director of the PPC, presented proposed changes to the Countywide Rules relative to temporary lodgings. The presentation addressed county tourism benefits and issues, existing and proposed temporary lodging density and intensity standards, and other regulatory issues, including accessory uses, operating characteristics, transportation concurrency management, and coordination with related statutory provisions.
The consensus of the group was that the PPC should move forward cautiously in addressing the matters identified during the discussion. The observations from the meeting also included requests for staff to consider the following:
• Developing graphic depictions of the density and intensity alternatives being proposed;
• Potential commensurate reductions in permanent residential units as a trade-off for additional temporary lodging units; • Economic considerations associated with the costs for permanent residential development versus temporary; • Developing a public educational effort; and • Other incentives, including infrastructure improvements and private/public partnerships. In September, the PPC authorized staff to join the City of St. Pete Beach in funding a study by planning firm Glatting Jackson, examining the economic and design issues associated with temporary lodging. The PPC will review the draft ordinance and report at their November meeting, in preparation for a public hearing.
Study of Industrial Land Begun
A major goal of the Pinellas by Design effort is to encourage the attraction and retention of primary employers that provide high-wage jobs. The effort has targeted a number of industries, including those in the computer, biomedical, and financial services fields, based on their compatibility with the Pinellas County workforce and redevelopment environment.
The Pinellas by Design effort seeks to expand
clean, high-wage industries that can be
accommodated through redevelopment.Although the target industries are high-tech and office uses that typically do not create the negative impacts associated with traditional industrial uses, these employers tend to locate on industrial land, due to its lower cost, access to transportation facilities, regulations that require them to locate there, and other factors. A supply of industrial land is, therefore, essential to the long-term health of the local economy.
At the same time, market forces have made residential and commercial development more lucrative than industrial uses. This has created pressure for local governments to convert industrial land to nonindustrial uses, which has eroded the supply of land suitable for high-wage employers.
To counter this trend, in March 2006, the Board of County Commissioners adopted interim criteria to provide guidance for future land use plan amendments that propose to convert industrially-designated land to other uses. The criteria state that such amendments should be denied unless they would provide other benefits, such as increasing public access to waterways or support for community redevelopment plans.
The interim guidelines will remain in place while a comprehensive study of the Pinellas County industrial land market is undertaken and a set of permanent criteria is proposed. The PPC has partnered with the Pinellas County Economic Development Department to conduct this study, which will complete several tasks:
• Inventory the existing countywide supply of industrial land, classified according to parcel size, location, development readiness, and other factors.
• More precisely identify the demand for industrial land by the various target industries according to the factors listed above. • Establish criteria for assessing which parcels are viable for primary employers and should be protected from conversion to other uses. • Identify potential incentives, regulatory reform, or other governmental actions, including amendments to the Countywide Plan or Rules, that can help target industries develop or redevelop land in Pinellas County. Consultant firm WilsonMiller has been selected to provide technical assistance with the study. A report on the findings is anticipated to be completed by June 2007, with proposed Countywide Plan or Rule amendments to be drafted by December 2007.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Largo Holds Downtown Summit
Ulmer Park, shown here framed by West Bay
Village townhomes, provides a focal point for
redevelopment efforts in downtown Largo.On July 21st, the City of Largo held its first-ever Downtown Economic Summit to ask citizens for their feedback on redevelopment efforts along West Bay Drive. Approximately 60 residents, business professionals, and property owners attended the event.
The West Bay Drive Community Redevelopment Plan, encompassing about 300 acres in the historic downtown area, was originally adopted in 1997. Municipal efforts have generated some redevelopment successes, including construction of West Bay Village, which includes more than 50 townhomes and a number of commercial storefronts surrounding a public park. A new Hampton Inn hotel has also opened on the eastern edge of the district. But overall, the area has yet to evolve into the vibrant mixed-use center envisioned by city leaders.
Three speakers presented different perspectives on the redevelopment challenges and opportunities faced by the district. Michael Staffopoulos, Community Development Director for the city, spoke about the progress made thus far and outlined alternative approaches for the future. Developer Steve Kurcan, Vice-President of Grady Pridgen, Inc., displayed examples of successful mixed-use redevelopments from other areas of the county. David Healey, Executive Director of the PPC, demonstrated how the project is complementary to, and can benefit from, the countywide Pinellas by Design effort.
All three speakers addressed the need for higher densities and intensities, taller building heights, affordable housing bonuses, and other regulatory measures that must be implemented before the type of redevelopment sought by the city can become economically feasible.
A majority of the citizen participants voiced support for these strategies, citing potential benefits such as the ability for downtown residents to walk from home to shops and restaurants, and convenient housing options for medical service providers who work in the district. Additional measures were suggested to aid struggling downtown businesses, including increased parking alternatives, improved signage, and fewer restrictions on liquor licensing. City staff agreed to consider these ideas.
Building on the results of the summit, at a September 12th work session, the City Commission approved changes to the downtown plan that will allow additional residential density and building height, provide for affordable housing density bonuses, and establish an expanded transition area to adjoining residential uses.
Pinellas by Design Wins Two Statewide Awards
Recognition for the Pinellas by Design initiative continues to expand, as it was recently honored with statewide planning awards from the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (FAPA) and the Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA). The PPC, Pinellas County Economic Development Department (PCED), and Board of County Commissioners were recognized jointly for their contributions.
Left to right: PPC representative Mayor
Dick Holmes, PPC staff member Linda
Fisher, FAPA President Val Hubbard, and
PPC executive director David Healey at
the FAPA awards ceremony.On September 28th, FAPA presented the redevelopment planning effort with an Award of Merit at its annual conference in Marco Island. Each year, the organization recognizes outstanding planning projects in Florida that demonstrate innovation, quality, and the potential to serve as an example for other communities. Pinellas by Design was one of only four projects to be recognized this year. Mayor Dick Holmes of South Pasadena represented the PPC at the ceremony.
The five-year effort has been recognized before for its accomplishments. The Redevelopment Opportunities Summit, a public education event held in 2002, was awarded the Roy F. Kenzie Award for Marketing and Communications. In March 2006, the initiative as a whole received the Charles A. McIntosh, Jr. Award of Distinction from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (see PPC News, Spring 2006).
On October 18th, the Roy F. Kenzie Award for Planning Studies was presented at the annual FRA conference in Miami. This award is given every year to the redevelopment plan, study, or regulatory document judged to best demonstrate positive impacts on the community, cost-effectiveness, and potential for use by other jurisdictions. PPC and PCED staff received the award on behalf of their agencies.
Upcoming Public Hearing and Meeting Schedule
Planners Advisory
CommitteePinellas Planning
CouncilCountywide Planning
Authority
• November 6, 2006 • December 11, 2006 • January 8, 2007 • February 12, 2007
• November 15, 2006 • December 20, 2006 • January 17, 2007 • February 21, 2007
• December 5, 2006 • January 9, 2007 • February 6, 2007 • March 13, 2007
The Pinellas Planning Council
• Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton, Chairman (Clearwater) • Mayor Jerry Beverland, Vice-Chairman (Oldsmar) • Councilmember Sandra Bradbury, Treasurer (Pinellas Park) • Mayor Robert Hackworth, Secretary (Dunedin) • Mayor Beverley Billiris (Tarpon Springs) • Councilmember Bill Foster (St. Petersburg) • Mayor Patricia Gerard (Largo) • Mayor Dick Holmes (Group C Communities: Belleair, Belleair Bluffs, Gulfport, Kenneth City, Seminole, South Pasadena*) • Vice-Mayor Jerry Knight (Group B Communities: Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, North Redington Beach*, Redington Beach, Redington Shores) • School Board Member Linda Lerner (Pinellas County School District) • Mayor Mary Maloof (Group A Communities: Madeira Beach, St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island*) • Commissioner John Morroni (Pinellas County) • Mayor Andy Steingold (Safety Harbor) * Councilmember serves on this governing body
The Countywide Planning Authority
- Commissioner Kenneth T. Welch, Chairman
- Commissioner Ronnie E. Duncan, Vice-Chairman
- Commissioner Calvin D. Harris, Ed.D
- Commissioner Susan Latvala
- Commissioner John Morroni
- Commissioner Karen Williams Seel
- Commissioner Robert B. Stewart
The Pinellas Planning Council Staff
- David P. Healey, Executive Director
- Ryan A. Brinson, Planner
- Michael C. Crawford, Planning Manager
- Dolly Eylward, Office Manager
- Linda Fisher, Program Planner
- Katherine Holt, Office Assistant
- Chris Mettler, Program Planner
- Larry S. Pflueger, Principal Planner
- Michael Schoderbock, Planner
- Carolyn Shoemaker, Administrative Secretary
If you have any questions or comments about this newsletter, please feel free to email us, call us at 727-464-8250, or write to us at:
Pinellas Planning Council
600 Cleveland Street, Suite 850
Clearwater, FL 33755-4160
