REZ2008-04002 - Staff Report - 1241, 1261 & 1281 Gulf Blvd
:
CDB Meeting Date June 17, 2008
Case Number: REZ2008-04002
Addresses: 1241, 1261 and 1281 Gulf Boulevard
Agenda Item: E-1
CITY OF CLEARWATER
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
OWNER:
D. A. Bennett Company
APPLICANT:
City of Clearwater
REPRESENTATIVE:
Michael Delk, Community Development Coordinator
LOCATION:
Approximately 2.94 acres located on the southeast side of
Gulf Boulevard approximately 2900 feet south of
Clearwater Pass Bridge
REQUEST:
Rezoning from the Business (B) District to the Commercial
(C) District.
SITE INFORMATION
PROPERTY SIZE:
127,920 sq ft or 2.94 acres mol
DIMENSIONS OF THE
PROPERTY:
656 feet wide by 195 feet deep mol
PROPERTY USES:
Current Uses: Restaurant, Retail Sales and Services and Offices
Proposed Uses:Restaurant, Retail Sales and Services and Offices
PLAN CATEGORY:
Current Category: Resort Facilities High (RFH)
Proposed Category: Resort Facilities High (RFH)
ZONING DISTRICT:
Current District: Business (B)
Proposed District: Commercial (C)
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EXISTING
SURROUNDING USES:
North: Overnight Accommodations
South: Attached dwellings
East: Intracoastal waterway
West: Attached dwellings
ANALYSIS:
This rezoning application involves one 2.94-acre property owned by the D. A. Bennett Company.
The subject property is located on the southeast side of Gulf Boulevard approximately 2,900 feet
south of Clearwater Pass Bridge. The property has a Future Land Use Plan (FLUP) category of
Resort Facilities High (RFH) and has been governed by a Settlement Stipulation. The City of
Clearwater is requesting to rezone the property from the Business (B) District to the Commercial
(C) District.
The City dissolved the B District in 1972. Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed against the City of
Clearwater by United States Steel Corporation, Cheezem Investment Program I and Cheezem
Land Corporation (originally styled United States Steel Corporation, Plaintiff vs. City of
Clearwater, a municipal corporation, Defendant (case no. 78-4765-7)) in the Circuit Court for
Pinellas County. The resulting Settlement Stipulation restored the dissolved B District for the
subject properties and three other locations on Sand Key for a period of twenty years.
The Settlement Stipulation governed the intensities and densities on the subject property. The
subject property is a portion of “Parcel III,” as listed in the Settlement Stipulation. Section 12 of
the Settlement Stipulation states:
“Plaintiffs shall be entitled to develop up to 85,000 square feet of non-residential
floor area on Parcel III. In addition, Plaintiffs shall be entitled to develop up to
one hundred ten (110) residential dwelling units on Parcel III, or up to two
hundred twenty (220) hotel units on Parcel III, or any combination thereof, with a
conversion ratio of one (1) residential dwelling unit or two (2) hotel units. No
structure on Parcel III shall be in excess of one hundred (100) feet above the
established flood plain level…”
The subject property is currently developed with approximately 36,000 square feet of non-
residential floor area. The development is comprised of three, one-story commercial buildings.
The two southerly buildings (Shoppes on Sand Key) have restaurant, retail sales and services, and
office uses totaling approximately 29,000 square feet. The third building has a restaurant use
(Columbia Restaurant) and is approximately 7,000 square feet.
Section 25 of the Settlement Stipulation states:
“The development rights agreed to herein shall remain in full force and effect for a
period of twenty (20) years, and thereafter the City of Clearwater shall be free to
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regulate the use of the four parcels without limitation as a result of the final
judgment entered in this cause in this Settlement Stipulation.”
The Final Judgment Settlement Stipulation was dated October 17, 1986; therefore it expired on
October 17, 2006. As indicated, the City has the right and obligation to provide land
development regulations consistent with the Countywide Rules, the City’s Comprehensive Plan
and the Community Development Code.
Under Chapter 163 of Florida State Statutes, the City’s land development code shall be consistent
with the City’s Future Land Use Map and Comprehensive Plan. The B District is not listed in the
City’s FLUP of the Comprehensive Plan; therefore the B District is inconsistent with any FLUP
category. The C District is listed in the Future Land Use Element of the City’s Comprehensive
Plan as consistent with the RFH Future Land Use Plan category.
The property exceeds the minimum required lot area and lot width for the existing uses in the C
District. All existing uses of the property are permitted uses in the C District.
I. CONSISTENCY WITH CITY’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN [Section 4-602.F.1]
Recommended Findings of Fact
Applicable Goals, Objectives and Policies from the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan in support of
the proposed rezoning are as indicated below:
3.2.1 Policy – Land Uses on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Map shall generally be
interpreted as indicated in the following table. The intensity standards listed in the table
(FAR – floor area ratio; ISR – impervious surface ratio) are the maximum allowed for
each plan category, except where otherwise permitted by special area plans or
redevelopment plans approved by the City Commission. Consequently, individual
zoning districts, as established by the City’s Community Development Code, may have
more stringent intensity standards than those listed in the table but will not exceed the
maximum allowable intensity of the plan category, unless otherwise permitted by
approved special area plans or redevelopment plans.
The C District is consistent with the City’s FLUP category for RFH and is consistent with the
City’s Comprehensive Plan. The current designation of “Business District” no longer exists, and
therefore, cannot be consistent.
The proposed zoning atlas amendment is not in conflict with any Clearwater Comprehensive Plan
Goals, Objectives or Policies.
Recommended Conclusions of Law
As stated earlier, the property has a FLUP designation of RFH. The Clearwater Comprehensive
Plan and Community Development Code specifies that the proposed C zoning district is
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consistent with the RFH Plan category; therefore the proposed rezoning is consistent with the
Clearwater Comprehensive Plan.
II. COMPATIBILITY WITH SURROUNDING PROPERTY/CHARACTER OF THE
CITY & NEIGHBORHOOD [Sections 4-602.F.2, 4-602.F.3 & 4-602.F.4]
Recommended Findings of Fact
Gulf Boulevard Corridor
Gulf Boulevard is a three-lane roadway. The center lane is a turn lane with periodic landscape
islands surrounding pedestrian crossings. The surrounding area, located south of Clearwater Pass
Bridge, is characterized by high-rise attached dwelling buildings, overnight accommodation uses
and land devoted to City or County parks. The area has a mixture of residential plan categories
that allow for 15 (RM) to 30 dwelling units per acre (RH and RFH).
Immediately to the north of the subject property is the Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites on Sand
Key, an overnight accommodation use, zoned Tourist (T) District with an underlying FLUP
category of RFH. The RFH category permits 30 dwelling units per acre, 50 overnight
accommodation units per acre or a Floor Area Ratio of 1.0.
To the west, the Landmark Towers are attached dwellings with a zoning designation of High
Density Residential (HDR) and a FLUP category of Residential High (RH). The RH category
allows 30 dwelling units per acre. Also to the west are the Meridian on Sand Key and the Grande
Condominiums. Both are attached dwelling uses with a current zoning designation of B and a
FLUP category of RFH. (Please note that the City has initiated the rezoning of all B-zoned
parcels on Sand Key consistent with the Settlement Stipulation.) North of the Grande is the
Sheraton Sand Key Resort. The Sheraton is an overnight accommodations use with a zoning
designation of T and a FLUP category of RFH. North of the Sheraton is the Pinellas County-
owned Sand Key Park and the City of Clearwater Fire Station #44. These publicly owned parcels
have zoning designations of Open Space/Recreation (OS/R) with underlying FLUP categories of
Recreation/Open Space (R/OS) and Preservation (P). South of Landmark Towers are Harbour
Light Towers on Sand Key and Lighthouse Towers on Sand Key, both attached dwelling uses
with a zoning designation of HDR and a FLUP category of RH.
To the south, the property is adjacent to Bayside Gardens, which is an attached dwelling use,
which has a zoning designation of Medium Density Residential (MDR) and a FLUP category of
Residential Medium (RM). The RM FLUP allows 15 dwelling units per acre.
To the east is the Intracoastal Waterway.
Section 2-701 of the Community Development Code, titled “Intent and purpose” states:
“The intent and purpose of the Commercial District is to provide the citizens of the
City of Clearwater with convenient access to goods and services throughout the
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city without adversely impacting the integrity of residential neighborhoods,
diminishing the scenic quality of the city or negatively impacting the safe and
efficient movement of people and things within the City of Clearwater.”
Recommended Conclusions of Law
The proposed rezoning is compatible with the surrounding residential, park and tourist uses. The
proposed C District will be in character with existing and abutting uses and zoning designations.
The C District will allow mixed use, overnight accommodations, restaurants, retail sales and
services and offices which are compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.
III. SUFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC FACILITIES [4-602.F.5]
Recommended Findings of Fact
As stated earlier, the subject property is 2.94 acres in area and is presently developed with
restaurants, retail sales and services and office uses. The RFH category allows 50 overnight
accommodations per acre for a total of 147 units. AT present, no overnight accommodation units
occupy the property. Also, the RFH category allows a Floor Area Ratio of 1.0 for a maximum
gross floor area of 127,920 square feet of nonresidential floor area. The subject property is
currently developed with approximately 36,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area. Please
note that by Countywide Rules, a mixed use development “Shall not exceed, in combination, the
respective number of units per acre and floor area ratio permitted, when allocated in their
respective proportion to the gross land area of the property.” This Countywide Rule will not
allow a site to be developed to the maximum of each density and intensity allowance. Only a
proportionate share, based on land area devoted to each use, of each density and intensity can be
developed.
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Roadways
Specific uses in the current and proposed zoning districts have been analyzed for the number of
vehicle trips that could be generated based on the Institute of Transportation Engineer’s (ITE)
th
Trip Generation 7 Edition.
Net Change of PM Net Change
Hotel Rooms/ Daily Average Daily PM Trips Peak of PM Peak
Uses Square Footage Trips Trips Average Rate Trips Trips
As Currently
Existing B District - Developed
Approximately
1
Shopping Center
36,000 sf 1,546 N/A 3.75 135 N/A
(42.94/1,000 sf gfa)
Maximum
Development
Existing B District - Potential
2
Hotel Rooms
0 rooms 0 N/A 0.59 0 N/A
(8.17 trips/unit)
1
Shopping Center
3
85,000 sf 3,650 N/A 3.75 319 184
(42.94/1,000 sf gfa)
Office Park
3
85,000 sf 139 -1,407 1.50 128 -7
4
(1.64 trips/1,000 sf gfa)
Proposed C
District/Existing RFH
FLUP (compared to Maximum
current B Development
development) Potential
2
Hotel Rooms
5
147 rooms 1,201 -345 0.59 87 -48
(8.17 trips/unit)
1
Shopping Center
6
127,920 sf 5,493 3,947 3.75 480 345
(42.94/1,000 sf gfa)
Office Park
6
127,920 sf 210 -1,336 1.50 192 57
4
(1.64 trips/1,000 sf gfa)
th
1 = Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Trip Generation 7 Edition Land Use 820
th
2 = Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Trip Generation 7 Edition Land Use 310
3 = Parcel III, as listed in the Settlement Stipulation, was permitted 85,000 square feet of non-residential floor
area.
th
4 = Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Trip Generation 7 Edition Land Use 750
5 = Total number of hotel rooms permitted by the underlying RFH FLUP category is 50 units per acre.
6 = Total gross floor area ratio permitted by the underlying RFH FLUP category is 1.0.
The 2007 Transportation Level of Service (LOS) manual from the Pinellas County Metropolitan
Planning Organization assigned the Gulf Boulevard segment from the Belleair Causeway to South
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Gulfview Boulevard a LOS of A. The traffic analysis above compares the uses permitted by the
Settlement Stipulation, the existing uses of the subject property, and the maximum development
potential allowed by the proposed C District and RFH category. Based on the ITE Trip
Generation Manual, a shopping center developed at the absolute maximum intensity in the C
District (127,920 square foot shopping center) would result in an increase in the PM Peak trips to
Gulf Boulevard. It should be noted that it is highly unlikely that a shopping center of this
magnitude would be built, due to locational characteristics, and lack of population density
required to support a retail development of such scale. The City’s Traffic Operations Division
shall require from the developer a traffic impact study if proposed future redevelopment results in
increases in expected trip volumes that meets or exceeds 100 vehicle trips per hour in the PM
peak hour and/or 1,000 vehicle trips per day.
The Engineering Department has concluded that the traffic generation associated with the most
intense use (127,920 square foot shopping center) is expected increase the Average Daily Trips by
3,947 trips and the PM Peak Trips by 345. The City’s Comprehensive Plan does not permit
roadways within the City to operate below an LOS of D at PM peak hour; therefore, during the
site approval process the applicant would be required to mitigate the traffic impacts and/or reduce
the intensity proposed for the subject property.
The City’s Engineering Department has concluded that if the property was to be redeveloped as
overnight accommodations only, the PM Peak Trips could decrease by 48 trips and the Daily
Trips would decrease by 345 trips. Should this redevelopment take place, the LOS for Gulf
Boulevard will remain an A.
The City’s Engineering Department also anticipates, based upon the ITE data, that should
redevelopment of the property be an office park, the PM Peak Trips could increase by 57,
whereas the Daily Trips would decrease by 1,336.
In summary, redevelopment of the property to the maximum number of overnight accommodation
units would result in fewer total Daily Trips and PM Peak Hour trips than the current uses.
Redevelopment of the site to its maximum intensity of shopping center or office square footage
would increase the number of PM Peak Trips, while office development would decrease the Daily
Trips.
Mass Transit
The Citywide LOS for mass transit will not be negatively affected by the proposed zoning atlas
amendment. The total miles of fixed route service will not change; the subject site is located
along an existing transit route and headways are less than or equal to one hour. Pinellas Suncoast
Transit Authority’s Suncoast Beach Trolley service is available along Gulf Boulevard.
Water
As no change is proposed to the underlying future land use designation, the proposed rezoning
will not degrade the City’s current LOS for water. Although redevelopment may result in a
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greater demand for water, the City has adequate capacity to serve the maximum potential
development of the property.
Wastewater
As no change is proposed to the underlying future land use designation, the proposed rezoning
will not degrade the City’s current LOS for wastewater. Although redevelopment may result in a
less or the same generation of wastewater, the City has adequate capacity to handle the maximum
potential increase in wastewater from the property.
Solid Waste
As no change is proposed to the underlying future land use designation, the proposed rezoning
will not degrade the City’s current LOS for solid waste disposal since there is excess capacity.
Recreation and Open Space
As currently developed, the Settlement Stipulation governed all Recreation and Open Space
impact fees. If any overnight accommodation units and/or dwelling units are added and/or
nonresidential floor area is increased, additional impact fees may be required. This fee is
addressed through the site plan process and any required payment will be due prior to the issuance
of building permits.
Recommended Conclusions of Law
Based upon the findings of fact, it has been determined that the maximum possible traffic increase
generated by development on the property is consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Further, there is minimal to no impact to water, wastewater and solid waste service. The
proposed C District will affect neither open space and recreation facilities nor mass transit.
IV. LOCATION OF DISTRICT BOUNDARIES [Section 4-602.F.6.]
Recommended Findings of Fact
The location of the proposed C District boundaries is logical and consolidates this property into
the appropriate zoning district. The C zoning district is a compatible district with the adjacent
zoning districts. The district boundaries are appropriately drawn in regard to location and
classifications of streets, ownership lines, existing improvements and the natural environment.
Approval of this zoning atlas amendment does not guarantee the right to develop on the
subject property.
Transportation concurrency must be met, and the property owner will have to
comply with all laws and ordinances in effect at the time development permits are requested.
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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION:
An amendment of the zoning atlas from the B District to the C District for the subject property is
requested. The property exceeds the minimum lot area and lot width requirements for restaurant,
retail sales and services and office uses. Surrounding uses include overnight accommodations to
the north, attached dwellings to the west, attached dwellings to the south and the Intracoastal
Waterway to the east. The proposed rezoning will be compatible with the existing neighborhood
and is compatible with the existing future land use category and reflects the current mix of uses on
the property.
The proposed C District is consistent with the City Comprehensive Plan, is compatible with the
surrounding area, does not conflict with the needs and character of the neighborhood and City,
does not require nor affect the provision of public services and the boundaries are appropriately
drawn.
APPROVAL
Based on the above analysis, the Planning Department recommends of the
following action on the request:
Amend the zoning atlas designation of 1241, 1261 and 1281 Gulf Boulevard from the
Business (B) District to the Commercial (C) District.
Prepared by Planning Department staff: __________________________________
Michael L. Delk, AICP, Planning Director
Attachments:
Application
Location Map
Aerial Photograph
Future Land Use Map
Zoning Map
Existing Surrounding Uses Map
Site Photographs
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S:\Planning Department\C D B\Zoning Atlas Amendments\REZ 2008\REZ2008-04002 - 1241, 1261 and 1281 Gulf Boulevard - City of
Clearwater\REZ2008-04002 Staff Report.doc
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