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Condo approval process prompts development concerns
By ALEX PICKETT
Article published on Thursday, May 4, 2006 |
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – Three new condominium developments surged ahead in the city’s planning and zoning process after Tuesday’s sometimes-contentious City Commission meeting.
A divided City Commission approved community impact statements for three condo projects along Gulf Boulevard. Community impact statements include a 30-item checklist developers must meet before moving ahead with a project.
Mayor Bill Ockunzzi and Commissioner Jose Coppen voted to deny the approval of the statements.
“We’ve got to get a grip on this or we’re going to end up losing the whole place,” Ockunzzi said.
The meeting highlighted challenges the city faces in controlling development along the city’s main thoroughfare: Should the city focus on tax-generating retail or residential? How much density is too much? Should developers pay for impacts like added beachgoers and sewer use?
The latest projects will offer condos to residents and investors at prices upwards of $1 million:
• The Bella Capri condominiums would replace five motel buildings at 604 Gulf Blvd. with a 24-unit building.
• The 21-unit DaVinci condominiums would be an $8 million upgrade of an existing 22-room motel at 940 Gulf Blvd.
• The Bella Vista East project would create a seven-unit condominium at 2205 Gulf Boulevard.
Though almost all the commissioners expressed some concern over approving the projects, the majority pointed to the city’s planning staff’s report that the developers’ plans followed city codes.
“Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I can say you can’t build it,” Commissioner Ed Piniero said, adding he had to “stick to the facts” in his decision.
Vice Mayor R.B. Johnson echoed Piniero’s comments, while urging commissioners to hold a workshop to update codes and put more stringent standards on projects.
Ockunzzi said he objected to the lack of detail on projects concerning impacts to the beach and sewer lines. He said developers should research community impacts instead of “marking a checklist.”
He then called for a moratorium on new development.
“The issues before us tonight are a microcosm of changes all along Gulf Boulevard,” Ockunzzi said, describing the spate of condo projects as “lining up like trains.”
“If you don’t like development in this community, you better start packing,” countered Commissioner Jim Palamara, decrying the commission’s “micromanagement” of developer’s projects.
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Article published on Thursday, May 4, 2006
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