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01/31/2022 - SpecialMonday, January 31, 2022 8:00 AM City of Clearwater Main Library - Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 Main Library - Council Chambers Council Work Session Special Work Session Special Work Session January 31, 2022Council Work Session Special Work Session 1. Call to Order 2. Planning Provide direction regarding US 19.2.1 3. Adjourn Page 2 City of Clearwater Printed on 1/28/2022 Cover Memo City of Clearwater Main Library - Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 File Number: ID#22-0094 Agenda Date: 1/31/2022 Status: Agenda ReadyVersion: 1 File Type: Action ItemIn Control: Planning & Development Agenda Number: 2.1 SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION: Provide direction regarding US 19. SUMMARY: The Planning and Development Department in conjunction with Economic Development and Housing has prepared an overview, issues and recommendations report to provide information to guide a council discussion on the status of US 19 redevelopment. Page 1 City of Clearwater Printed on 1/28/2022 City Council Work Session January 31, 2022 US 19 Overview, Issues & Recommendations Planning & Development and Economic Development & Housing Departments City Council Work Session January 31, 2022 1 | Page Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Planning for US Highway 19 .......................................................................................................... 2 US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards ....................................................................... 3 Amendments to US 19 Zoning District & Development Standards ............................................... 4 New Construction Since Adoption of US 19 Zoning District ........................................................ 4 Concerns/Issues ............................................................................................................................... 5 Multi-Family Development ......................................................................................................... 5 Commercial Real Estate Market .................................................................................................. 6 Current Planning/Policy Efforts ...................................................................................................... 7 Clearwater 2045 ........................................................................................................................... 8 Economic Development Strategic Plan ....................................................................................... 8 Status of US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan Implementation .................................................... 9 Competitiveness........................................................................................................................... 9 Mobility & Connectivity ........................................................................................................... 11 Sustainability ............................................................................................................................. 12 Recommendations to Address Concerns About US 19 ................................................................ 12 Economic Development/Competitiveness ................................................................................. 13 Transportation ............................................................................................................................ 13 2 | Page Introduction The Planning and Development Department was asked to prepare material to assist City Council in a discussion about the potential of a development moratorium in the US 19 zoning district. Concerns have been raised about the amount of residential being constructed, the lack of mixed-use and employment generating development, and the decreasing supply of larger redevelopment sites for mixed-use destinations. Below please find information to help the City Council understand the history of planning efforts for the corridor, what is approved, permitted, and constructed, the state of the current market, the status of the implementation of the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan, and recommendations for City Council’s consideration. Planning for US Highway 19 The City of Clearwater has invested significant time and resources in planning for the redevelopment of the US 19 corridor. The goal of these efforts is to reposition the corridor to make Clearwater a more economically competitive, sustainable, and livable community. Efforts to advance this goal began as early as 2008 when the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan designated the areas around Countryside Mall and Clearwater Mall as activity centers through the Citywide Design Structure (Map A-14), which serves as the City’s guide to development and land use decisions. Additionally, the area along US 19 between these centers and the city limits was identified as a redevelopment corridor. In 2011, Clearwater Greenprint recognized the opportunity to create vibrant, mixed-use, transit-supportive activity centers on US 19 that link people with jobs and services and the need to incentivize such development. In that year, the city also completed the Economic Development Strategic Plan organized around the core goals of pursuing tax-base diversification, higher-paying jobs, and business vitality. The Strategic Plan identified the establishment of an employment center overlay district to encourage higher wage employment along US 19 due to its transportation access and strategic location in the region as a priority strategy. The Strategic Plan’s objective for the US 19 corridor is to facilitate development projects generating higher-wage jobs for the region by permitting higher density development and transitioning out incompatible uses. In 2012, the City Council approved the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan which is a guiding document that contains strategies to leverage the corridor’s unique locational advantages, capitalize on market opportunities, and maximize benefits of planned transit and transportation improvements. A major component of the Plan is organizing the corridor into three revitalization area types – Regional Center, Neighborhood Center, and Corridor – each with different objectives based on locational characteristics. The Plan also includes general guidance on design standards to ensure that development projects within the corridor contribute to the creation of more compact, accessible, and attractive pedestrian- and transit-friendly destinations. Revitalization and redevelopment strategies provide more details on how to achieve this vision. During the same timeframe, the Pinellas Planning Council, now known as Forward Pinellas, prepared a significant update to the Countywide Plan which created the framework for the city to designate US 19 with the Activity Center and Multimodal Corridor designations on the Countywide Plan Map and on the City’s adopted Future Land Use Map. These amendments resulted in significant increases in development potential within the US Highway 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan area to ensure critical mass for transit-supportive development. 3 | Page US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards The culmination of the above planning work was the adoption of the US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards in 2017 and the rezoning of a seven-mile corridor along US 19. Three future land use categories and zoning subdistricts govern development potential, uses and parking: Regional Center, Neighborhood Center, and Corridor. According to the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan, Regional Centers are appropriate for mixed-use development with an emphasis on employment-intensive and transit supportive uses. The two areas previously designated as Activity Centers in the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan are now the two Regional Center Subdistricts - the Countryside Mall and Clearwater Mall areas. The Neighborhood Center Subdistricts are applied to areas planned to serve as local shopping and employment destinations and are generally located between Nursery and Belleair Roads, Northeast Coachman and Sunset Point Roads, and in the area southeast of Curlew Road. The remainder of US 19 is designated Corridor where a wide range of employment-intensive office uses is favored over small-scale retail uses, greater flexibility is provided for site design, and larger front landscaped areas are required. To facilitate the goals and objectives of the City’s planning efforts, allowable uses and development potential of each Subdistrict reflect the stated objectives, and design standards to ensure the uses, development pattern, and desired activity are consistent with the vision. Development potential and maximum height for the three Subdistricts are depicted in Table 1. The US 19 District provides greater certainty to both residents and the development community regarding form of development (e.g., the location of buildings primarily along the street frontage; front parking prohibited in certain areas, limited in others) with limited flexibility to maintain that degree of certainty. Table 1 Permitted Intensities and Heights Clearwater Future Land Use Category US 19 Subdistrict Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Maximum Height US 19 Regional Center Regional Center 2.5 150 feet US 19 Neighborhood Center Neighborhood Center 1.5 70 feet US 19 Corridor Corridor 1.5 100 feet Prior to the rezoning, 10 different zoning districts comprised the area now designated as US 19 District. The maximum FAR allowed by those underlying future land use categories was 0.65 (for those properties designated Industrial Limited), although most parcels were limited to lower FARs. The maximum development potential and height in the US 19 District exceeds what the market will likely deliver but was established so that neither limitation would hinder the City’s competitiveness with Tampa and St. Petersburg. The consolidation of zoning districts led to a wide range of uses being permitted. All uses were evaluated to determine their appropriateness to each Subdistrict. Certain uses are limited to the Corridor Subdistrict if the use was determined to not be transit- and pedestrian-supportive, or if it was less reliant on direct access to the highway and thus were appropriate to be located outside of the Regional or Neighborhood Center Subdistricts. To facilitate changes of use and use of transit, off-street parking requirements were standardized. In addition, certain exemptions were 4 | Page established to clarify which of the new design standards applied when existing buildings were being reused. Amendments to US 19 Zoning District & Development Standards Since its approval in February 2017, the US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards has been amended four times. City Council approved two applicant-initiated amendments to the District to allow self-storage warehouses in the Regional Center Subdistrict. Originally, this use was limited to the Corridor Subdistrict based on the lack of transit- and pedestrian-supportive characteristics. After the approval of these amendments, three parcels in the Regional Center Subdistrict are entitled for this use, two of which are under construction and one having recently withdrawn an application. The other two amendments to the District were city-initiated. Shortly after the District was adopted, amendments to the Community Development Code were required to address legislation governing medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities, which are retail uses. In 2020, amendments were approved which created additional flexibility for parking, enabled the use of the Comprehensive Landscaping Program, and made certain terminology and organizational changes to bring consistency with the Downtown District, the second form-based zoning district adopted by the City. New Construction Since Adoption of US 19 Zoning District The US 19 District is over 1,600 acres in size, comprised of approximately 4,600 parcels (inclusive of condominiums which are assigned individual parcel identification numbers by the Property Appraiser’s Office). As shown in Table 2 on the following page, the two Regional Centers make up the largest of the Subdistricts with almost 900 acres between the two, whereas the Neighborhood Centers are only approximately 250 acres in size. Although the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan anticipates future annexation of property into the City which would be designated with one of the three US 19 future land use categories, for the purpose of this analysis only properties within the City are considered. Many properties north of SR 580 along US 19 are within the City’s Planning Area but are currently located in unincorporated Pinellas County. Most building permits issued in the US 19 District have been for changes of use, interior remodels, and additions to existing development which utilize the exemption provisions as intended. In addition, 13 new construction projects have been approved since the adoption of the zoning district, with two others currently in review for building permits (see Table 3). Of those approved, seven projects have been constructed and six are currently under construction. Over 1,700 residential units have been or will soon be approved (674 constructed to date) within five projects, and 90 overnight accommodation units are under construction as part of a new hotel. The remaining nine projects are commercial uses: three restaurants, one retail use, two self-storage warehouse uses, two gas stations, and an office (Creative Contractors). To date, 96.428 acres or 6% of the total US 19 District acreage has been approved for new construction. Table 2 Summary of US 19 District Development Activity (New Construction, by Subdistrict) [as of January 19, 2022] Table 3 New Construction Projects in US 19 District [as of January 19, 2022] US 19 Future Land Use & Zoning Subdistrict Projects Approved Subdistrict Size (# Parcels)1 Subdistrict Size (± Acres) Total Project Acreage % of Acreage Approved for New Construction Average Parcel Size (Acres) Average Commercial Project FAR Average Residential Project FAR Average Self- Storage Project FAR Dwelling Units Approved Dwelling Units Constructed Hotel Units Approved Regional Center 11 587 894.114 34.796 4%3.163 0.05 1.57 2.58 682 0 90 Neighborhood Center 0 718 248.351 0 0%N/A 0 N/A 0 0 0 0 Corridor 4 3,307 493.283 61.632 12%15.408 0.24 0.54 0 1,070 674 0 US 19 District (All)15 4,612 1,635.748 96.428 6%N/A N/A N/A N/A 1,752 674 90 1. Total number of parcels includes condominium ownership (individual parcel identification numbers assigned by PCPAO). US 19 Future Land Use & Zoning Subdistrict Project Name Project Address Parcel Size (Acres) Max. FAR Project FAR Total # Units Project Density1 Status Regional Center Aussie Grill 2540 Gulf to Bay Blvd 1.667 2.5 0.03 0 0 Constructed Regional Center Bainbridge Bayview2 2981 Gulf to Bay Blvd 4.341 2.5 1.89 283 65 Under Construction Regional Center BJs Gas Station/Liner Building 26996 US Highway 19 8.785 2.5 0.01 0 0 Constructed Regional Center Broome Self Storage3,4 26489 US Highway 19 0.813 2.5 2.77 0 0 Under Construction Regional Center Chevron/On the Fly 3009 Gulf to Bay Blvd 0.973 2.5 0.08 0 0 Constructed Regional Center Chick-Fil-A 2525 Countryside Blvd 1.285 2.5 0.08 0 0 Constructed Regional Center Creative Contractors 101 Creative Way 5.676 2.5 0.05 0 0 Under Construction Regional Center Davis Gulf to Bay2 2975 Gulf to Bay Blvd 7.586 2.5 1.25 399 53 In Review; Site Work in Progress Regional Center Seville Storage3 2611 Seville Blvd 1.128 2.5 2.39 0 0 Under Construction Regional Center Starbucks 2833 Gulf to Bay Blvd 0.938 2.5 0.06 0 0 Constructed Regional Center Townplace Suites5 21090 US Highway 19 1.604 2.5 0.87 90 56 Under Construction Corridor Alta Clearwater 19400 US Highway 19 16.933 1.5 0.53 314 19 Constructed Corridor Aventon6 24479 US Highway 19 22.846 1.5 0.53 396 17 Under Construction Corridor Bainbridge Arbor Shoreline 19329 US Highway 19 17.144 1.5 0.56 360 21 Constructed Corridor Rooms 2 Go 25400 US Highway 19 4.709 1.5 0.24 0 0 In Review 2. Submerged lands excluded from parcel size (acres). 5. Hotel project, overnight accommodation units excluded from total dwelling unit counts. 1. Calculated for analysis purposes only. 3. Text Amendment to allow self-storage warehouse in Regional Center required prior to project being permitted. 6. Former mobile home park and commercial parcels replatted to create three parcels: future commercial outparcel (2.583 ac), existing commercial (0.887 ac) and new residential (22.846 ac). 4. Project utilized 10,000 square feet of transferred development rights (TDR), resulting in FAR that exceeds the subdistrict maximum. 5 | Page Concerns/Issues Concerns have been raised that US 19 is not gaining the type of development envisioned (e.g. mixed-use and employment generating uses). As noted in the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan, the US 19 corridor’s location and access create good market opportunities, but time would be needed to fully realize those opportunities due to the major reconstruction and reconfiguration of the roadway and the economic climate at the time. Additionally, US 19 is viewed as a retail core and, at the time of the Plan’s market analysis, 70% of the commercial land use was dedicated to retail, 25% for office, and 5% for industrial/flex. It was also noted that many properties facing redevelopment are challenged due to transportation access, particularly weak pedestrian access and vehicular cross connections. While the economic downturn in place at the time of Plan approval is much improved, new challenges have emerged due to the pandemic. Shifts that were beginning to be seen in retail were likely accelerated by COVID-19 and the ultimate impact on demand for office space is still unclear. A challenge not anticipated by the Plan is the recent significant increases in both for-sale and for-rent housing prices. The City will need to consider how to best address housing affordability issues for the next 10 to 20 years. Multi-Family Development While the new regulatory framework created by the US 19 District was designed to facilitate mixed use and transit- and pedestrian-supportive development, the market has primarily responded to the for-rent residential market. Most of the constructed/approved development has been stand-alone, multi-family development. As indicated above, a total of five housing developments with over 1,700 units have been approved, permitted, and/or constructed. Two of those projects are more indicative of the desired intensity of development - Bainbridge Bayview (FAR 1.89/65 units per acre) and Davis Gulf to Bay (FAR 1.25/53 units per acre). Both are waterfront properties on Old Tampa Bay and are in a Regional Center where higher density/intensity is anticipated and supported. Location attractiveness (transportation access and water access/views) is likely responsible for making the economics of higher intensity development with structured parking feasible. While all other approved/constructed residential projects comply with the form-based development standards, their location and economic model, including the use of surface parking, are only supporting lower density projects (17 to 21 units per acre). The US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan highlighted the fact that no new for-rent residential projects had been built since 2001, and there was opportunity for 459 to 1,209 units to be constructed by 2030. It was anticipated that walk-up, garden style apartments would be constructed but projected higher-density projects with structured parking would be feasible on parcels that provided both “site and situational advantages.” While the Plan also states that apartments would be a good use in a mixed-use project and would likely be integrated into a project with good walking connections, it would unlikely be in the form of vertical mixed-use. Although the US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards regulate by FAR only, the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan includes a maximum FAR and density in the Framework Plan Place Types. A density of 50 units per acre was included for the Regional Centers and Neighborhood Centers and 30 units per acre in the Corridor areas in between. The Plan did not contemplate a minimum density or FAR, and a minimum was not established within the zoning district. 6 | Page The number of units currently permitted exceeds the Plan’s 2030 projection by several hundred, which may be of concern to some because land that might have been available for employment uses is possibly being purchased for for-rent residential development. The market study likely did not anticipate the continued decline in interest rates, which have been at record lows, nor anticipated the large influx of population into Florida or the transition to different work models, all of which started before but increased more due to COVID-19. The 2020 Census established that Clearwater’s population is 117,292. According to the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, by 2040 the City’s population is projected to increase by 10,666 persons to a total of 127,958. Based on this data and Clearwater’s average household size of 2.3 persons, Clearwater’s estimated need for new housing is over 4,600 units by 2040. As shown in Tables 2 and 3, the 15 new construction projects utilize approximately 96 acres or 6% of all land currently in the US 19 District, of which 68.85 acres is allocated to the five new residential projects. The 1,752 new units will add approximately 38% of the units needed to meet the 2040 projected housing demand. While the need for new housing units should not fundamentally affect the policy direction for the US 19 corridor, the persisting housing affordability crisis may require additional tools to expand, diversify, and/or accelerate the production of new housing, including affordably priced housing for cost-burdened city residents. One in four households residing in owner-occupied units in the Clearwater Planning Area are cost-burdened, spending greater than 30% of household income on housing costs. For renter-occupied units, over half of households (56%) are cost-burdened. Commercial Real Estate Market Even though there have been significant increases in rental housing, the US 19 corridor is still predominantly a retail corridor. The US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan noted that there was an oversupply of retail in the area, and the core strategy would be to consolidate the existing supply into nodes at key intersections. This strategy would “allow the strongest retail locations to flourish and command higher rents, while allowing marginal retail locations to transition into more appropriate land uses” and would provide the opportunity to create better destinations and mixed-use projects within the corridor. Regarding the office market, the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan identified multiple issues impacting the corridor such as high vacancy rates, outdated space, small buildings, and the perception of US 19 as a retail location. It also identified the corridor’s strengths such as increasing employment across key industries and regional access to potential employees and business, a high level of services and retail space to increase desirability, and great proximity and connectivity of existing office cores. The Plan indicated the main challenges for office development would be the vacancy rate, land prices and achievable rents in submarket, parking, and competition with new office cores in greenfield locations. The Plan projected an office demand of 300,000 to 450,000 square feet by 2030 supported in six to nine 50,000 square foot projects. Property acquisition and redevelopment challenges for employment-based uses persist today. According to the City’s Economic Development and Housing Department, sites containing critical mass for redevelopment along US 19 are generally and historically viewed as retail sites and are usually the costliest land in a given market. Sites which may be available at a lower cost are often 7 | Page in financial distress and have issues which can add to the acquisition cost and the length of time to close. Examples include involuntary leasehold terminations which can be costly due to leverage a tenant possesses and the possibility that any given tenant will refuse to terminate a lease which can delay a project or require an alternative development approach. Another disadvantage is that site work associated with redevelopment has costs that greenfield sites do not including demolition of existing structures and redevelopment of site infrastructure. In addition to the challenges above, multi-family and self-storage developers will pay higher acquisition costs because of the visibility afforded along US 19, access along frontage roads, current high demand, and high return on investment, all of which reduce risk. Sellers, therefore, are willing to hold out for higher offers than what other users are willing to pay for acquisition. Regarding office developers, there are both opportunities and challenges. Current methods of analyzing market viability include analysis by submarkets. Within each submarket, office product is graded by quality and amenities and is categorized as either Class A, Class B, or Class C. While this method is a reasonable approach within the submarket, it provides no context for the larger metropolitan statistical area (MSA). In other words, what is considered in the data as Class A space in Clearwater does not equate to Class A space in Tampa and St. Petersburg. A more useful approach is to compare the entire MSA by the actual quality and amenities of the product within. Comparing similar submarkets using MSA-wide standards provides a more appropriate comparison. Staff identified the Tampa Westshore submarket as an appropriate comparator to the potential afforded by the US 19 Zoning District. Office lease rate data reveals Class A (“best in class”) within Westshore averages $39.11 per square foot (PSF) whereas the US 19 corridor average lease rate for its “best in class” is $24.83 PSF. When quality of product is analyzed, staff finds the US 19 product is roughly equivalent to Westshore’s Class B product. This gap in office lease rates and quality shows an opportunity to bring true Class A office space, perhaps coupled with mixed-use development, into the US 19 Zoning District’s Regional Subdistrict. A similar analysis was conducted comparing the US 19 corridor to Pinellas’ Gateway submarket. While the Gateway market’s “best in class” average office lease rates of $25.01 were substantially lower than Westshore, staff noted that Gateway’s limited nearby amenities and single-occupier office tenants (e.g. Raymond James, Franklin Templeton, Mercury Insurance) were generally suburban in form and most similar to the development potential of the Corridor Subdistrict. As demand for office in the Tampa Bay MSA continues to rebound, and as projects such as Midtown Tampa continue to push office development further from downtown Tampa, US 19 is poised to benefit. Although there is always reticence to be the first at anything, done properly, the first project will likely become catalytic to further development on US 19 and likely will be the precursor of an office building boom centered along US 19 from Gulf to Bay to SR 580. Current Planning/Policy Efforts While various City planning initiatives are underway or scoped for future work programs, including a major update to the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan (active project) and a new Economic Development Strategic Plan (future project), it is unlikely that any major changes in direction for US 19 will come out of those efforts. The Planning and Development and Economic 8 | Page Development and Housing Departments believe the adopted policy for US 19 remains valid, current market trends generally track with those identified in the previous planning efforts, and additional time is needed to shift the market. Below is a summary of each effort. Clearwater 2045 An update of the adopted comprehensive plan, Clearwater 2045, is currently underway. Clearwater 2045 will build on the placed-based strategies established in the Citywide Design Structure (Map A-14) that was adopted during the last substantive plan update in 2009. Place-based strategies examine the complexity of the city by viewing it as a mosaic of different places, each with unique potential and characteristics. Neighborhoods differ from the mixed-use Centers along US 19, which in turn have different characteristics from neighborhood-serving Centers and the multi-modal corridors which connect them. Through this place-based approach, Clearwater 2045 will focus attention on the design character, quality, and sustainability of these different places across the city. As previously stated, the Citywide Design Structure identifies US 19 as a series of Activity Centers, as well as a corridor to redevelop, that is appropriate for intensive growth and an integrated development pattern. Policy changes directly affecting the US 19 corridor redevelopment strategy are not anticipated at this time. The Clearwater 2045 team includes HDR and SB Friedman who have also completed studies for Pinellas County including a land use and economic study of US 19 north of Clearwater, Penny IV Policy Guidelines and Implementation Support, and a review of a proposed workforce housing project potentially receiving Penny funds. The team’s in-depth knowledge of the local market and the Countywide efforts to address housing affordability issues will be key in developing new future land use, housing and transportation related policies for Clearwater 2045. Work Sessions with the Community Development Board and City Council on proposed policies are anticipated to be held in Summer 2022, and the project would move into the public hearing process in late Fall / early Winter 2022. Economic Development Strategic Plan The scope of work for the City’s new Economic Development Strategic Plan includes three phases: Discovery, Opportunity, and Implementation. During the Discovery phase, the selected consultant will review available materials, visit with knowledgeable sources, and conduct a targeted analysis of relevant trends to create a common foundation for the planning process. The Opportunity phase will build upon the Discovery phase findings and includes a review of best practices and identification of which opportunities are likely to have the greatest potential for success. In the Implementation phase, a transparent, actionable plan for achieving the identified goals and objectives will be developed. Components of the new Economic Development Strategic Plan that will likely have a direct correlation to desired outcomes for US 19 include: 1) prioritizing catalytic projects for redevelopment; 2) identifying opportunities to expand the City’s tax base; 3) enhancing Clearwater’s quality of place; 4) recommending tools to effectively implement the strategies (e.g., incentives, land use/zoning investments, technical resources and marketing); 5) establishing timelines and priorities including budget estimates; and 6) identifying potential funding sources necessary to achieve outcomes and priorities. Unless otherwise directed by City Council, it is not anticipated the updated Plan will result in a major shift in vision for US 19 corridor redevelopment. 9 | Page Status of US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan Implementation The US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan provides guidance to leverage the corridor’s unique locational advantages, capitalize on market opportunities, and maximize benefits of planned transit and transportation improvements. Plan redevelopment strategies are organized around four major categories: • Revitalization & Redevelopment • Competitiveness • Mobility & Connectivity • Sustainability A review of City actions to date implementing the various strategies follows, organized by the four main categories. Revitalization & Redevelopment Implementation of the Plan thus far has mostly focused on the regulatory strategies within this category. Strategies call for land use intensification, a new zoning overlay district, design standards addressing the form of development, and promoting a broader range of employment-intensive and transit-supportive uses. The Comprehensive Plan text, Future Land Use Map, and Zoning Atlas amendments and the US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards have been adopted which provide the tools to transition the corridor to a mixed-use, employment-intensive, and transit and pedestrian supportive environment. By amending the City’s maps instead of adopting an overlay district, the City reduced development review/permitting time for future developments by eliminating the need for map amendments and public hearings for each parcel. It also provided certainty that all properties would be held to the same design standards, which address the various subjects in the Plan. Additionally, employment uses such as research and technology and office are allowed by right throughout the District. Competitiveness The competitiveness category includes strategies focused on expanding development incentives, facilitating review processes, creating a corridor improvement organization, wayfinding, strengthening brand identity, and enhancing gateways and streetscapes. In 2017, City Council adopted and incorporated into Council Policies an Economic Development Incentive Policy. The Policy establishes the general purpose and objectives of economic development incentives; names the Economic Development and Housing Department as the lead department for the development, evaluation, negotiation, measurement and reporting of incentives; provides for the types of financial and non-financial incentives which may be established and how such incentives programs or tools may be created; and identifies potential funding sources for incentives provided to qualifying projects. Currently, the City may provide an ad valorem tax exemption for qualifying projects under the voter-approved Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption (ED AVTE) program. The ED AVTE provides up to 75% exemption on increased value of real and tangible taxes (excluding land value) resulting from investments made by a qualifying project for a period of up to 10 years. Qualifying projects must meet certain job-creation and wage-qualifying criteria. Pinellas County provides a similar exemption, though up to 100% 10 | Page for qualifying projects. Additionally, the County may consider investment in the form of grants, forgivable loans or other forms through its Penny for Pinellas IV Employment Sites Program (ESP). ESP funds may be used for site preparation, infrastructure development, vertical construction, and/or site acquisition. To date, no project in the US 19 District has utilized either of these incentives. With the adoption of the US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards, certain changes were made in how new development projects would be reviewed and permitted. Generally, most uses can be approved without a separate planning application if the building and site design meet all of the standards. Should a project need flexibility, which is limited to certain standards, oftentimes it could be approved by staff without a public hearing process. Uses that would not further the goals of the Plan were either prohibited in the District or limited to the Corridor Subdistrict. To address two plan recommendations regarding wayfinding and district branding, the city hired MERJE, an environmental graphics design firm, in early 2016 to develop a wayfinding and signage master plan for the US 19 corridor. The plan, completed in July 2016, identified priorities centered around naming the District, creating subzones, establishing a public/private partnership with US 19 businesses to create a strategic marketing plan, finalizing a graphic design of a District orientation map, implementing city gateway signage on the Duke Energy Trail bridge, coordinating with appropriate government entities to add a gateway sign on the proposed pedestrian bridge on the southern end of the city, and implementing a comprehensive wayfinding sign program for the District. This project also identified gateway elements and other placemaking opportunities such as murals, painted crosswalks, lighting underpasses, etc. Throughout the US 19 Master Wayfinding and Signage Plan project, it became apparent a citywide effort would provide even greater benefits to residents and visitors, so City Council authorized a Citywide Wayfinding project to help brand other areas of the city and connect US 19 with Downtown and Clearwater Beach. During the development of these plans, MERJE met with FDOT and the agency denied several requests for wayfinding elements within their right-of-way. MERJE identified other options for FDOT’s consideration including the extension of highway addressing signs along the frontage road, exit numbers, community wayfinding on the US 19 frontage roads, and even logo signs for gas/food/lodging for businesses. City staff and MERJE met with FDOT District 7 and were unable to move forward key elements. Staff, MERJE and the City Manager met again with key FDOT staff and the District 7 Secretary in October 2017, presented similar wayfinding programs implemented in several other Florida communities, including one funded by another FDOT District, but no progress was made. In 2018 FDOT reached out to City staff to discuss the potential for a pilot exit numbering program but that option required Clearwater to get buy-in from other Pinellas local governments. Presentations were made to those potential partners but ultimately did not garner the required support. The Clearwater identification signage proposed for the Duke Energy Trail bridge and the Harn Boulevard pedestrian bridge has been designed. The required agreement with FDOT to incorporate a sign as part of the Harn Boulevard bridge construction has been executed and will be erected as part of that project. The necessary maintenance agreement for the Duke Energy Trail bridge with 11 | Page Pinellas County has been prepared and will move forward upon resolution of FDOT permitting comments. It is anticipated this will not occur until much later in the year. Mobility & Connectivity The mobility and connectivity strategies include the creation of more interconnected street networks, improving conditions for pedestrians and cyclists, advocating for enhanced transit service, and planning for a circulator service. The Plan acknowledges that there is limited ability to add to or better connect the street network. The US 19 Zoning District and Development Standards require cross-parcel connections and projects on larger parcels (10 acres or more) to be organized in a grid system of drives but does not require new rights-of-way be established. Resulting changes will be incremental and dependent on new projects or more substantial improvements to existing properties, but a gradual connection of properties would improve inter-parcel circulation and provide additional options for users of the network. While the zoning district requires walkways and bike racks as part of private development, the Plan focuses on the public realm and identifies actions the City should take to make the corridor safer and more transit-supportive. Implementation has been very limited. FDOT initiated its US 19 Frontage Roads Safety Action Plan in July 2019, and Planning and Development and Engineering staff have served on the Project Advisory Group (PAG) to provide local input. The Safety Plan focuses on the frontage roads which begin north of 49th Street and end just north of SR 580, evaluating changes to improve multimodal safety, operations, and connectivity. This study purposely builds upon the City’s planning efforts and regulatory changes, as well as the US 19 Pedestrian and Bicycle Safe Access to Transit Corridor Study completed in 2016 by FDOT in conjunction with Forward Pinellas and PSTA. Preliminary cross-sections were presented to the Forward Pinellas board in May 2021, and modifications discussed with the PAG in September 2021. The project has been delayed slightly as the team turned its focus to an upcoming resurfacing project along US 19 between Drew Street and Sunset Point Road (funded for construction in FY24), seeking to identify multimodal changes that could be integrated into the Clearwater area as part of that project. The remaining two strategies relate to transit, by supporting enhanced transit service and coordinating with PSTA to provide a circulator route between Clearwater and Countryside Malls. During the years following the approval of the Plan, PSTA and partners were focusing on the Greenlight Pinellas plan, seeking to change the funding mechanism for transit in the County which is necessary to raise the operational funding to support a proposed network of high-frequency transit options. If Greenlight Pinellas had been approved, US 19, a designated premium transit route (Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)), would have benefited from major capital investments in vehicles and infrastructure designed to improve service reliability. Examples include stations, transit signal priority, and other improvements associated with either a BRT or BRT-light system, plus additional local service to feed into the BRT service. The city had limited conversations with PSTA regarding a local circulator route, but initial concerns included the lack of destination clusters needed to support circulator service as well as limited available funding. One key challenge, however, that continues to be identified when discussing the success of future transit in this area is the difficulty crossing between the east to the west sides of the highway since the segment in 12 | Page Clearwater is primarily elevated with limited overpasses, and those that exist are dangerous for people walking and biking. Other agencies have completed additional studies related to enhanced transit options along US 19, although the city has had limited involvement in those projects. In 2018, Forward Pinellas completed its US 19 Corridor Express Bus Preferred Concepts and Strategies Report, which in the north county section looked at possible routes to connect northern Pinellas County / west Pasco County to the Gateway Area. And in 2021, TBARTA initiated a Regional Rapid Transit feasibility study to evaluate BRT along US 19, also seeking to connect Pasco County to the Gateway Area. Sustainability There are three main sustainability strategies outlined in the Plan: expanding green streets program and initiatives; promoting low impact development (LID) for sites and buildings; and improving energy and water efficiency. These strategies were included within the Plan in an effort to take actions to implement Clearwater Greenprint, which had been adopted a couple of years before this Plan was approved. At the time, the sustainability strategies were ambitious, as nothing similar was in place for anywhere else in the city. To date, the main implementation action taken has been the addition of code provisions requiring the use of LID for landscaping islands and any stormwater facilities located in front of buildings. Further to reduce the amount of pavement used on a site, required parking for many uses was reduced. Additionally, any project constructing more than 125% of the required parking is required to use pervious pavement for those additional spaces. Recommendations to Address Concerns About US 19 New development entitlements and zoning provisions supporting the vision of the US 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan have only been in place since 2017. Since that time the market has been interrupted by the COVID pandemic which has lingered for almost two years. Transforming US 19 from a retail core to an employment intensive district with mixed-use destinations cannot occur within such a short timeframe (5 years) even in the best of times. It is understandable there is concern with the amount of land being used for stand-alone residential development. However, in the cycle of development, residential development usually occurs ahead of other development. When the housing component is working in a district, it becomes the main driver of transformation. Take for example a restaurant that needs a lunch-time crowd to be successful but needs an evening crowd to be sustained. When residential is introduced into a district where residential had been missing, it stimulates business activity and the whole environment gets better. An office component is typically the final piece to completing an urban district, following apartment and condominium communities and retailers and eateries that recognize increasingly consumer demand to shop where they live and work. As such, resolving imbalances to completing the development vision for US 19 will take time to play out. What is uncertain at this time is the impact a moratorium might have on the overall US 19 market. It is unclear to Staff if regulatory changes could be implemented to short circuit the typical redevelopment cycle described above and change current market forces impacting US 19 redevelopment. Any regulatory changes and/or new thresholds or limitations would need to be fully vetted to ensure compliance with Bert Harris provisions. Equally important to consider is 13 | Page the impact a moratorium would have on the development community’s perception of Clearwater as a place to do business. The Planning and Development and Economic Development and Housing Departments believe the most prudent action would be to focus on implementation of the competitiveness and mobility strategies in the current plan and, in particular, provide financial incentives that can facilitate a catalytic project that can begin to shift the market. City staff is recommending the following actions. Economic Development/Competitiveness • Support placement on the November 2022 ballot for voter referendum the renewal of the city’s Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program, increasing the allowable exemption to 100% of the increment for up to 10 years. Once placed on the ballot, advocate for its passage. • Establish a dedicated funding source for incentives that are consistent with the Economic Development Incentive Policy. • Explore the establishment of a tax increment financing (TIF) district that encompasses the entire US 19 District. • Establish a goal for rate of return and payback period for financial incentives. • Market Pinellas County’s Employment Sites Program to existing and new businesses and to developers. • Continue the Economic Development and Housing Department’s targeted marketing activities. • Encourage the creation of Penny for Pinellas IV’s Site-Readiness and Public Infrastructure programs as identified in the Pinellas County Penny IV Affordable Housing and Economic Development Program Guidelines (effective December 10, 2019). • Encourage property/business owners to develop a business organization or establish organizations around geographic areas. • Revisit the wayfinding proposal with FDOT. Determine how much of the program could be effective without wayfinding within the US 19 right-of-way. Transportation • Support FDOT’s plans to improve safety and mobility along the US 19 frontage roads and US 19 crossings (e.g., slowing drivers to target speed limits, adding/improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities, using targeted lane-repurposing). • Identify and fund improvements to neighborhood bicycle and pedestrian facilities linking to new and existing pedestrian bridges that provide safe US 19 crossings (e.g., Harn Road, Enterprise Road, Northside Drive). • Work with Pinellas County and Forward Pinellas to ensure that the final design of Drew Street, implementing the City’s 2018 Complete Drew Street Concept Plan, reflects the US 19 District vision for a walkable, mixed-use activity center, including enhancements to the Duke Energy Trail running north/south along Old Coachman Road and the stadium. • Partner with PSTA to identify short- and long-term transit investments based on current and future housing and business market needs (e.g., bus stop improvements to improve current users’ experience, new/future stop needs). 14 | Page • Advocate for the inclusion of BRT stations in Clearwater as part of TBARTA’s US 19 Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study.