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Deal on St. Pete Beach development rules may be finalized on Monday

 
Published March 4, 2015

ST. PETE BEACH — The long and expensive wars over development rules here may end Monday when the commission takes a final vote on changes to the city's comprehensive plan.

Over the past decade, the city has spent more than $2 million in legal fees defending various versions of its comprehensive plan, challenged in court by varying groups of citizens.

A new majority on the commission, elected last year, decided to fire its longtime city manager and legal team and work to end that spending. The city's new manager and attorney recently met with the latest group of litigants over a series of weeks to arrive at the settlement agreement.

The agreement terms slightly reduce height and density of hotel redevelopment among other changes.

The lawsuit remains pending before the State Department of Administrative Hearings. The agreement is expected to be approved by the hearing judge but the lawsuit itself will not be dismissed until all provisions of the agreement are met. Those provisions include a series of studies that will determine the amount of redevelopment the city's infrastructure can support. Some of those studies are already in progress.

The agreement was approved unanimously by the commission on Feb. 24 and signed by all parties.

The commission will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday.