|
Largo nixes West Bay Drive plan
By TOM GERMOND
| Article published on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 |
|
 |
LARGO – City commissioners told numerous residents June 16 what they wanted to hear about a proposal to expand the boundaries of the West Bay Drive Community Redevelopment District plan – it’s dead
The city proposed to expand the boundaries of the district by adding about 18.6 acres of area along the north side of East Bay Drive between Fourth Street Northeast and Highland Avenue.
A dozen or more residents living in the affected area expressed concerns it is not naturally part of the downtown redevelopment area and that expansion would cause more traffic congestion. Others raised questions about existing uses in their area becoming nonconforming and about increased densities, building heights and setbacks.
Iris Merryweather said she has lived in Largo for more than 50 years and wants to keep the small-town atmosphere where she lives. She said she likes the trees, the drainage and the schools in her neighborhood.
“Largo is not Tampa. It’s not St. Petersburg. Largo is a small town with all the close feeling that it entails,” Merriweather said.
Commissioner Robert Murray said one of the concerns he has on East Bay Drive is the height of the buildings.
He thought that the city was going to taper off the neighborhood residential areas “in lieu of having high development.” He said looking at a six-story building from a resident’s backyard could be intimidating.
Though commissioners rejected the proposal for the expansion of the West Bay Redevelopment District, they will consider the overall plan for the district at the July 21 meeting.
The plan “addresses special assets, character and identity that make Largo unique while seeking to creating a mixed-use urban environment. This document reflects the community’s desire to regenerate the traditional downtown and make it the center and heart of the city.”
City commissioners raised several questions about certain elements in the plan and decided to have their staff clarify some issues before voting on it. Mayor Pat Gerard said she wanted time to go over the document more carefully.
“In the meantime how about if we give them that feedback so they can have it. It wasn’t that long of time to be looking at the final product,” she said.
Redevelopment proposals are expected to increase the scale of buildings and multiple stories – as high as eight stories – to increase the amount of mixed-used development.
Commissioner Mary Gray Black said she cannot support “50 units per acre and eight story buildings in downtown Largo.” Gerard replied that she supports those elements of the plan.
Largo Mid-Pinellas Chamber of Commerce President Tom Morrissette said he has attended many city and county meetings in the past four to five years on the plan. Morrissette encouraged the commission to support it.
“We need to increase our tax base,” he said. “We need to develop an area; I don’t see a lot of residents here from the West Bay Drive District talking about this. I think we have educated them. They understand what this is all about ... We need to see this go forward. We have to get the message out that we are ready to go.”
George Glover, representing the BayStar Hotel group, which operates the Holiday Inn Express and Suites and Hampton Inn and Suites in the downtown area, said new construction creates tax revenue and other benefits for the city.
During construction of the Holiday Inn, the developers paid over $300,000 in impact fees. The hotel also contributes $600,000 annually in sales taxes to various governments.
“We create jobs during construction. We create jobs after construction,” Glover said.
He said he hopes to see more enhancements in the district “to create a real community in Largo with the medical arts community as part of it and the business community downtown as part of it.”
The West Bay Drive Community Redevelopment plan also requires review by the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners.
The district was established in 1990 after a finding of slum and blighted conditions were detrimental to economic, environmental and social well-being of the community. Among conditions singled out were a declining tax base, inadequate lot sizes and a lack of identity.
|
Article published on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
