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12/27/1956 .. .' , ': .~, . . - : ".. .:, '. "I . ,., . '., .'. ,'~ " . ' ' ..'.... , ' ," . ~ " . ' . ," J). ;,: ..... ~' .~'" Minutes of meeting Thursdav December 27, 1956 in Planninr; Hoara Office Present were members Kruse, Homer, Levison, Norton, Harries and Reade, and Nick Rompon of the Eneinoering Department, Chuck Albury and Howard Hartley. The meeting opened at ):00 P.M. and the minutes of the December 6 and 13 meetings were approved. The Chairman announced that the Zoning Board had approved "M R 1" as modified and sent it to the City Commission with the recommendation " that the setbacks necessary for the required pavemen t widths on nM R 1" streets be adopted. ,4.... .. , ,~,. -. ' . ~, . " --... . ) ..-.... r.. . . , .' '" " .. \ , ~"-.f.' Discussion of a system of titles and designations for master road- way plans as they are revised from time to time was resumed. It was pointed out that there had already been several revisions with no changes in the title of the map. It was al~ pointed out that the title tfM R 1" has become so well established in the mind of officials and the public that it should be retained. It was finally moved, seconded and passed that "M R 1" shall be the permanent designation of the master roadway ,plan and that each year's revisions which are made shall be accumulated and entered on the map and the revised map shall be design- a-ted. "M R lJ! - 1956 and "M R 1" -, 1957 ete. Certified approved copies shall be placed in the Planning Board files and given to the City Clerk, and other interested City departments and recorded in the public records of Pinellas County. Mayor-elect Homer requested that the chairman submit to him a letter requesting that vacencies on the Plannihg Board be filled and suggestin~ candidates for appointment. . The Mayor-elect requested that the Planning Board submit an outline of the subjects which should be covered in a m<'\ster plan for' the City together with the names of firms of profe~;sional planners that are ~~ . ~,. , I ~ . " ' ... , 0 ~ , .. , ~ ," , .. '. ~ ' , ,.~ '. 'If ' ~, ' _ .. . ' :, ,', ~.', .' '. " I, . i,', ........ j..,:~ 1 \: :~r , V:.', ~;>: ~ t:", . J:: ~\ I::' .L 0' , . .h ;,.. :~~.:'.c, , ' '~: c' ' ;;'. c <:\. . ;:':, : .':C .' ~I ,-' > ' ,'" . .it .'. ;{ .'1 . (-'.~:. < . U:'.) ",' .~!. ~ .~~ :... ':-........, ',' . '~, ' ,~~: ' C~.'.: .... , .... 0 's ' , '~, ~ I....... .. I . ~\: .:~,: i'}.~'~ 'I. ' '" ' -:/". '. ".:. - .. .'; ',' ' :':'~, '. I' ',r. c' ~ :- /: >.;. \ .'. ::~'~;.~ ;\., ';~ ' " , j ~':. ;..\ . i~)' ' .;;: ' .~ ,0 ~~~'l '. Docember 27, 1956 Page 2 capable of doing the work~ Mr. Homer discussed the organization of the PlanninB Board in its relation to the Zoning Board, the establishment of a Zoning Board of Appeals and the necessary authorization through state legislation that would be required. Mr. Homer requested the views of the Board on the employement or a firm of professional City planners to prepare a Master Plan. It was moved, seconded and passed unanimously that the Board ravors the preparation of a Master Plan for the City. This resolution is to be presented to the City Commission. Mr. Levison, Mr~ Harries and Mr. Reade were appointed by the chairman as a committee to prepare an outline for the City'Commission of ~he scope of the master plan~ This is to be ready within two weeks_ Mr. Kruse is to communicate with firms of City planners to learn from them the conditions and probable cost for preliminary interviews that will be necessary be~ore engaging such a firm. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted Ralph W. B. Reade, Secretary .\ . ,,' ",,' '., , .. .' i.",....;.. : ". ,. : '.' L\~ '. ,~ .,' " I ......" .. -t..,. ~I. IIo III'~. , , ;,.......} , .'1 'rUE URBAN RENlli\1AL PHOGHAM * IN'fEN'rrONS OF' FBDBt{AL AID A" 'ra help the city holp itsolf by: 1. "Provention of the spread of blight, lnto good., areas of the community through s:brict. enfoI'l':ement of housing and neighbor- hood standar'ds unci :31;rict Occupulley controls ~ rt * 2~ "Rehabilitat.ion of salvable areas" turning 1jhem into sound, healthy neighborhoods by replanning~ removing cOllgestion~ p)~oviding parks and playgroundsf roorganizi.ng streets and traffic, and by facilitating physical rehabilitation or detoriorated structures. If * 3 [> nClearance and redevelopment of nonr-lalvablc ol\uns" n * REQUIREI"lENTS }I~OH FEDZliJ\1 AID ' . Au The City shall presont to the Administrator of tho Housing and Home J'inancc Agency 1 and official "rorlfahle program consistins of: 1. Codes and Ordinances The objective is to assure adequate minimum standards of hoalth, sanitati(;l'n, and sa~'ety through Cl 2omP.l:':~hensiv~ system of codes and ord~nances m1~ch state the minimum conditions . under l-.h:Lch d\.;ellings may be lal'l.fully occupied" .2Q Comprehensive Cownunity Plan The objective is the formulation and of~icia1. recognition of a comprehensive general plan :fOT' tho' communitiY as a whole ~ ). Neighborhood analys~s The objective j.s the identification of the extent and in'tensity of blight and logical patterns of ne:lghborhoods for purposes of developing a basis .for planning o.f hoalthy neighborhoods of decent homes and suitable living environment to' 4'0 Adminiatratiive Organization The objec'tive i.s a firmly established administrative respoIlS- ibilit}7 and capacity for enforcement of cildes and ordinances, and for carrying out renewal programs and projectsti' 5~, F'inancing 'l'he objective is the development of meDns for meet.ing the financial obligation involvod in carrying out urban rene\ml acti vi tie s" 6!. Housing for Displaced Families 'rhe objecti va is to facilitate the rehousing ~ in decellt, safe) and sanitary acco:nmodations ~ of fiJrnili"tl:ls displaced by govern- mental act.ion. 7 ~ Citizen Participation The objecti VB is comnnmitY-lttid.e ps.rt1.r.:ipa tio2i. on the part of individuals and representat ive c i ti 1,ens f org3nJ.1.ations which will help to provi.de, both in the community generally a.nd in solected areas, 'the understanding and support which it~ necoBsa:;;"y to insure succeS8. Bo:: On the basis of his review of such progrnm~ tlH~ Adnlil1istl"ator has to determine that such program meetu 'the requircr.1ontn for Federal Aido . , Sillr1ro1ARY The Housing Act of 1951" offer:.:i us advi ee <.lnd .f:.tna.nclal rpwistance in a variety of HaysQ All of this'i hO\....0vm~, is pr~~d1.cated u.pon the development by our City of a workablo progi~~1!1 foX" denling adequately witih the entire problem of our slums and hI i.ght" HHF'A can adyJ_~. us on the aev'e1:opme nt of our l'rorkablc ,pro grnm w This can be (lone \'tithout chargo and. without any obligat.:i.on on Oll\' pllrt t.o accept, Federal AidQ by President EiuAnhm-leI' ~ August 2! 195Lh ~ ',..) 12/31/56 Page 2 HHFl;\ can also nSflist us in the development 0.1' urban ronewal projoct8. If "fa meet 'the busic requirements and roquest f'innnctal a.'Joia tance J we can receive up to ~2.00 of Federal aid for each local dollar of net C05 t. This means that \'0. th the same expenditure on our part "Ie can do three times as much on t.trban reno~al as we could if our municipal ity paid the entire cost.. Thi.s might mean that we could clean up our slums and blight. much more qu1.ckly and W1der- take three times as many conservation programs, Experience throughout the United States to date indicates that in most cities increased real estate taxes from the rebuilt areas will offset the cost of renewal in from 15 to /,.5 years 0 About 200 localities at present a~e planning or carrying out 2sn clum clearance and urban redevelopmGnt projects undor Title I of the Housing Act of 1949, involving as much as ~400,OOOtOOO of . Federal cap~tal grants. The 1954 Act expands the program, authoriz~ ing Federal' aid for the rehabilita~ion of areas as well a3 their clearanceQ It also fits tho program better to tho needs o~ smaller cqrnmunities. Moreover, a reno~al project can deal \nth areas a great deal larger than those under the 19h9 program t'lhich were restricted to clearance, and Federal aid has become available for providing the inlprovedpublic facilities needed for the upgrading of such larger areas. 'rhus, whatever the city' 6 size or the extent of' its blighted areas, it can tackle its problems of urban decay ~rlth an increased variety of Federal aid and far greater flexibility in both planning and cln.rying out its projects.. . . 1"'V" MEANS OF li'EDERAL AID FOR THE I'IlASTER. PLAN Aa The lic S~ Goverlurent will match dollars for a State' Planning Agency to Accomplish a 1.13.st'er Plan :for communities with a 1950 popu population of 25s000 or less1 or the U" S.. Government '1-rill mat.ch funds with the city. Bo I~ the city can produce a plan that can be used to demonstrate to the 'Nation, thehffects of planning in their communit.y~ the Government will finance 2/3 of the plan.. Note: Our Legal.Dapartm~ntmust be consulted and give us an opinion as to the logal~ty of our applying for Federal Aid to plan and redovelop1 ',' '. . ., ' '. . .. . ,'" , . , " ,. I . ,.,.. , " , ,.' ' . . . " .. ,.' : '. .' - " ~ :'. ~. ",;. : . . : " '. , ~'. . .' . . 1 . . ",., 'fo: The Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commi3:;ionel'z City of Clearwater Subject: Annual Report of Planning Board - 1956 Gentlemen: Herewith is submitted the report of the Planning Board for the calendar year 1956, the second year of the Board's existence. I." Personnel At the beginning of the year, the memb8rship of the Board Has as follows, together with the dates of expiration. of terms of the members: , . , Arthur_ M. Kruse, Chairman Lewis Homer, Vice Chairman Ralph \-1. B. Reade, Secretary vJilliam E. Harries Robert H. Levison Frank Muscarella Ross B. Norton Term expires Term expired Term expires Term expires Term expires Term expired Term expires i',lay 9, 1958 Januar;T 3, 1957 Mc..y 9, 1957 May 9, 1959 1\1ay 9 t 1960 May 9, 1956 I"'lay <)) 1958 . -T , .1. The City Manager and City Engineer are ex officio members. The vacancy created by the expiration of Mr. Muscarellats term was not filled by a new appointment until after December 31~ 1956~ The professions and busine'ss activities represented by members and ex officio members on the Board were as follows: .onG city planning engineer, one landscape architect, one attorney, one industrial engineer, one realtor, one architectJ one railroad agent, one civil engineer, and one city manager. The Board had the services of Miss Shirley Dobson as secretary and the~ part-time services of Mr. Nick Rompon as draftsman, both of whom-are employees of the Engineering Department. II. Policy and Responsibilities The Board' continued as an advisory body to the City Commissione It undertakes studies and endeavors to find solutions ror problems related to the City's growth, which are referred to it by the; City Commission. It initiates other studies and makes recommendations theroon to the City Commission. At the request of the City ~;Ianager and City Engineer, it. has occasionally examined subdivision plats, which presented um..wual con- ditions, and made recOlnmendaU.ons the reon to the City Com:ni:] sian. . ~ '" III. Budg;et The Board re quested an appro pria tion of ,;~15 ~ 250. on to cover proposed expenditures, shown in detail in its request, for the fiscal yeo.r beginning lJuly 1, 1956 and endinp.: June 30, 1957. 'rile City COlUrniscion approved an appropriation of ,;~2, 83 5.00 f()r the Board. r:- ...J .. : ""P.! , .., . .' ... .', , ,0.., ' ...' , . ',. ' . .. ','. . '.' '.' .. : . , . L ' - ~ ' ' I ' ' . ' , . . ~ Report of Planning Board - 1956 P {1 e 0 2 IV . Pro.) acts The activities of the Boarci and the projects in which it participatod nre summarized below. '. A ~ lvleetings In 1956, forty-two (42) regular meetings were held in the office of the Board. Joint meetings were held with tho City 'Commission, with State Road Board representatives, with the Zoning Board, and with other governmental agencies as described below and under individual projects. . A meeting was held with the City Commission for the pur[Jom,~ of improving co-ordination and co-operation bet\\"C0Tl the two bodie!3 and to enable the Board to pursue policies which would better serve the Commission. The Board believes that the objectives of this meeting have been largely achieved. February 9th, a meeting was held with the City f/ianager for a discussion of \'-later supply and distribution. Three members of the Board attended a meeting in St. PctGrsbt~rg on March 29th for a discussion of a planning program undertaken by the University of Florida. The Board met wit h lvlr. Al Hoge ro, member of the State Road Board, and three City Commissioners on July 26, to discuss State Road Board plans for Clearwater and-the proposed Eelleair Beach Clearwater Beach Causeway. , (,.: ' ;,.'.', On August 23rd, the Board met "dth the City Commission to prepare' for the State Road Board meeting in Clearwater and. the follm'ling . day.the members of the Board attended this mectin.:; at the Ft~ Harrison Hotel. -\ On November 21st, a meeting W<1 S he Id in the City Hall J~ucii torium attended by the City Commission, Nr. Rogaro, the Planning Board.. the County Zoning Director, and the chairman of the C10c1r\Jnte:r. Zoning Board, to learn from Mr. Rogero of Road Board plans for this area. At this meeting, it was concluded to have a traffic survey of Pincllas County made by a firm of professionals. I~ ' B. Master Rgadway Plan , "J The master roadwa y plan, des ign:J ted dI"l II Ill, 'I!l.! S comple tOll ea i'I y in 1956 by the Board, and \'lUS approved b~r tha Cit-y COI-:1illission on March 26th. At the request of the City Commission, the pl:1l1 '.\',:~.J later presented by members of the doard to meetings of thQ city commissions of Bolleair , Dunedin, Largo, andSfli':Jty HiOlrbtn', t~') tho planning board of Largo, and to the County ~ngineGr. , . . . . ., ... 'I .' ,. ., .' . i '.. . ~ +' .. , ,.. + . , : " . . , . tl. " :' . , , ~, " ~ Report of Plnnnin~ Uoard - 1956 P .1.[;0 J The plan rocoivod full approval in Bomo instances and limited approval in othors. Some revisions were made to the plan following discussions \'/ith tho County TI;ngineer. In November, the Board re commended to the' City Commission tha tit. request the County Commission to adopt "M 'R 1,1 and that. it request the Zoning BOHrd to adopt J vri thin the City limits, sotback;;; to building lines t.hat are needed to make i'M R 1'1 effective. In December, the Plannin~ Board and the Zoning Board held a joint .meeting at ~1ich the matter was discussed and shortly thereafter the Zoning ljoard approvGd thG proposa.l nnd recommended it to the City Commission. Subsequently J prints of "M R 111 \"rJr0 distributed to the several City departments concerned with this problem. Early in the Year, the Board discussed the need for revJ..s~ng Ordinance 632 to implement 11M R 1\1 and concluded. that some , , " modificat ions to the ordinance \^,QuId be advisable. However, the matter was dropped after discussions with important City officials brought to light difficulties that would be. encountered and indicated lack of support to the undertaking. cl Howa~d Johnson Resta~rant , · In January 1956~ the City Commission requested the Board, to study the proposed location plan for the HOHard Johnson restaurant on Clearwater Beach. The Board recommended certain changes to the original plan presented by the Howard Johnson organization. ' These' were approved by th13 City Commission and finally accepted by Howard Johnson. D. Subdivision Plats , ,} 1. 2. I 3. 4. --J 5. 6. 7. ~" I' ,I.. , .. .<li,,' At the request of the City Commission or the City engineer, tho Board examined seven subdivision plats Qnd one application for vacating a street during the year. O\mers of tha properties ap peared before the Board in most instancos and in several cases agreed to changes in platting \'lhich \'-!erc sUGgested by the Board. The following applications W8re considered by the Soard: Applicntion of Frank Hancock for annexation of 5th, 6th, and 7th Additions to Highland Pines Subdivision. Application of Frank Hancock for nnnaxation of Gulf-to-Bay Acres. Plat of Druid Heights Subdivision. Rogers-Jackson Tract nOl~th of Sunset Point Jto.:.ld. Pliit of Moore's Subdivision south of Drui.d I(O;,ld. Two, plats for subdi v is ions in the vicinity of Druid [{arid and Hercules Avenue submittod by M. ~. Sevc!'. PInt of Grove Circle Subdivision. Request of adjo inin3 pro perty QVm0rS to h,::\. Vel t.h(:! City vacate Shore Road to Lake Belleviow. ,..,.. Report of Pl~nning 80ard - 1956 Pago h . E. ivIy,rtle !\vonuc Improvement ~arly, in 1956 after scvQI'al weaks of discussion llnd a field trip to nakc an cxaminati.on of conditionsJ the Board concluded that Myrtle AvenUl~ should be 0xt(wded northward to D. junction with Ft. Harrison and Garden Avenuos and southward to a junction \;"ith the Clearh'ater-LBrgo Road, for the purpose of by-passing through- traffic around the business district nnd relieving congostion on Ft. Harrison Avenue; it so recommended to the City Commission. In April, the City' j"Janaacr instructed the' Buildin,z Inspector to issue no permits for buildings that would obstruct the needed right-or-way on north 1\~yrtl0 Avonue and subsequently the City Commission instructed itn Right-of-\Juy ,\gent to negotiate W~.t:1 property owners for this right-or-way. F. Ft. Harrison ^ven~ Pierce Street Intersection In March, the Board started discussion of ways to eliminate the obstruction to smooth traffic-flow at this intersection. In ivlay, a joint meetil).g WiJ.S he Id with the Cit y Commission at "lhich the Board submitted a drawing. shol'V'ing how the present sharp offset could be eliminated by acquiring and paving portions of the land on the north side of Pierce Street on both sides of Ft. Harrison Avenue. One of the mGmbers of the Board later discu3sed the matter with 1-1r. Horace Hnmlin, Q\.mer of several of the lots on the north side of Pierce Street between Ft. Harrison Avenue and Garden Avenue. 1~1r. Hamlin ve'ry generously offered to donate to the City without charge that portion of his property that would,be n0eded for the improvement. rhe City Commission recently comm:l.ssioned its Right-of-~~ay Agont to negotiate for the necessary property on the northeast corner of the interaection~ G. Other Roadway Improvements nnd Parking Facilities A meeting was held last January td th l','ir. Crook of the 1-1E.:rchimts Association to discuss one-way streets and off-street pDrkin~ in the downto~m business district. In March, the Goard recommended to the City Commission that right-of-way be acquir0d and Drct'J ~tr0et b~ exti~n,tcd v:cst to Clear",atcr. Bay and th ence south ward to J"lemol'in 1 Cau 3G't:aj' . A plan for the COLlchman Park parking lot, submitted by th~: Cit~1[ Engineer was studied by the l3oard; somo chc:wC<.;s \'IOra rccomm0ndcd for t.he purpose of beauti.fication and \1Cre incorporated in an amended plan under t'lhich the parking lot. Wl.3 constructed. '.: ) . ~\ .., It member of the Boord propar8d n drttHing shov:i.ng :,111 improved arrangement of roa d'ltays ,~.nd n mn.j tr~d' [,ic p~l t turn and beautifi- cation at t.ho west terminwJ of i,lc,l1orL:ll, C 'IUS(nn,y. 'rhe plnn \'i:J.::'1 discus sed with the City Commi~3::d.on :md In t~.~ r ','!i th ('[1'. Rogl)ro 0 l' the St<1tc Road Board. It. ir~ v(~ry desi r:lblo t.h:lt. t.\ is pl.-m. be adopted when improvements :,~ro m:lrh: :'It the.' l';(':"jt. 0110 0'::- tho Co.U::'F~\-,r3Y~ , . : _ . '. . .' ' '..; . ...' .' . I ~ ,'. ~ + . , . ...., '4 ,'. ., . , . , .. .~ ,., Report of PlanninB Board ~ 1956 Pnc;o 5 H. Parks and Playgrounds At the l"8qU!3st of tho City Commission, the Board considered the improvoment of era st Luke Park. Muctings \'lOre held \'lith, tho park" committee of the City Commission and rupr(~scntativ~~s of the Crest Lake Association and the akycrost School 1'. T. A ~ FollO\'l- ing these, a plan for th~ beautification and bott8r utilization of Crest LakG Park was prepared and submitted to the City Com- mission. > 1 Early in the year, thd City Commission tequestcd the Board to study and recolllmend n. plan for utilizing thf~ ~;tcven:Jon Creck fill for park und playground purposes. Tht3 Board was instruct,.. r.'. to give, sympathetic consideration to the request of the Gurden Club for space in this area. In May at a joint moeting of tho . City Commission and the Bou.rd, the dayor explained certain po+icies which the Commission \-fished to follO\'l. l'<1cetings ~lere .held with officers of the Garden Club to learn the Clubts views~ In June, the Board submittGd a drawing to the City Com~ission showing a Little League ball diamond on the east end 01' the fill and a park on the remainder. V. Miscellaneous .. Through the' efforts of u Board member, thG Florida Planning and Zoning Association held its annualmaeting in Clearwater R.t the' Ft. Harrison Hotel. It brought approximataly' t\ro hundred people to Clearwater for three days of meetinEs and pleasure. Employees of the Chamber of Commerce and meI11bers of the Planning and Zoning Boards and their \-lives administered the affair. The City Commission held a reception for the visitors in the evening of the first day of the Conference Qnd it proved to be a, very enjoyable function. In April, at the request of the llfiayor, tho Board considered and for\"l:.lrdod recommendations to the.City Commission regarding the location of a new fire station in east Clearwater. <:' , , . " ~ . >.; The Board discussed d~ed restrictions for sale of property in t,he Indus- trial Park, with a representative of th~ Inclu5tri31 Committee, and endorsed the restric tions proposed by the Committ.e(). In Jun'3, the Board met with the County .'i:nginccr ami 1~0pr'J:30ntntivcs of Belleair, Tarpon Springs, Indian Rocks and 3t. Petersburg for ~ discussion of the Pincllas County road network. The Board re que sted tha t j.lI'.' Nick Hompon of the C it Y 811'~ incer' s stnff, attend thG University of li'lorid::l short course on urb.:::i,n pl.~mninG. A standard scale fo r nIl PL:ihning BOG.rd r.1UPS was adopted so that trans p:Jr- encies of maps shm-ling school locations, parks, rO<ldh'.'}jS, 0tC. can b'J superimposed for study purpOS83. ,', . 1 \ -..../ . . . ~ ' , " . " ,". I' .. ,0 .,' , ' , .' .,' .' . ~~:','., . ~ ", ' .., '. > . . ~ Roport of'Planning Doard - 1956 Pi:t.(~C 6 r.'. Following the City election in Dacernbar) thu Ooard recommended to tho City Commission thn t a mastor plan for thu City bo prcp.1!'rJd under '''JJ-:ich 0.11 phases of planning fOl~ future l:,;rowth of the City \'wuld bo co-ordin~t.9.~~.:" VI. 1957 Projects 'rhG City Commissj,on instructed th8 Board to investigate methods of pre- paring a master plan and present recommendations to the City Commission. The City Commission requested the Board to make a study for the provision of adequate fClcilitias for present and future Little League baseball activities and submi.t recommendations to the City Commission. Both or the above projects are receiving the active attention of the Board~ The'master road plan, '1M H 1'1 will require revisions . and additions to .meet changing unforeseoabl~ conditions. Thu Board proposes to record the se changes and is sue revised annual edi ti.ons of 11[\'1 R 1 il which will be designated .I)'.t R I" ,- 1957, \11111 R I'll - 1958, ete. These will be rBcorn- mended to the City Commission for approval and v31idation by' the City Clerki " .:./ . ',. .' The Board wishes to emphasize the fact thQt it will be necessary to establish a permanent planning department to participate in the prepar- ation of a master plan and to maintain it under, changing conditions as a continuing function. This will involve the permanent employment of a competent, experience~ man to head this departm~nt and of other employe3s to assist him. . , . ,(t I . .' . , .' .' , . , "'-' . " R0spectfully submitted, ~u.. L.n .~ . -c.Q.,. . Clearw.::lter Planning Board >) Arthu~ M. Kruse, Chairman ~. . " . <~ ,~ , , .' '. ~" ) , '......,/ .I:. [ .., :~ . ,'J.'t . .. .~ . J