REDINGTON SHORES – Town officials voted 4-1 Dec. 10 to approve two variance requests by the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary that will allow the nonprofit facility to build a new aviary.
Final approval of the site plan will go before the full Redington Shores town commission Jan. 13.
For the project to continue, the Sanctuary needed to receive a nonconforming use variance and a building setback variance from 20 feet to 7 feet from the east property line, which borders the San Remo condominiums parking lot.
Sanctuary officials argued their property at 18328 Gulf Blvd. should be grandfathered in and the aviary should be allowed as an accessory structure, which is permitted under the town’s land development zoning regulations.
The proposed aviary would be 40 feet long by 20 feet wide in an L-shaped structure. It would have no electricity, plumbing or floor and would consist of a lot of screening.
To meet U.S. Fish and Wildlife mandates for birds-of-prey rehabilitation, the aviary needs to be a minimum 40 feet by 16 feet.
In recent years, the Sanctuary has received record numbers of injured birds of prey, such as eagles, hawks, ospreys and owls. It is the only such rehab center in Pinellas County and needs the aviary to keep up with the demand.
