CLEARWATER -- About 350 residents jammed City Hall tonight, urging local leaders to reject a zoning request that could potentially lead to the replacement of a small Sand Key strip mall with a 100-foot-tall hotel.
In a 4-1 vote, the City Council sided with opponents, but hinted to the cheering crowd that the vote was potentially taking away the land owner's property rights and acknowledging that a lawsuit against the city is possible. At issue was a request to assign a zoning designation to the Shoppes on Sand Key, a popular 3-acre shopping center about a half-mile south of the Clearwater Pass Bridge.
Attorneys for the Shoppes say the owner has no plans to redevelop the property now, but for months rumors have flown that the stores would be torn down and replaced with a hotel.
In February, the land owner, a Clearwater real estate group called D.A. Bennett Co. wanted the zoning changed to "tourist," which would allow at least a 100-foot-tall hotel. The land was previously zoned "business," but the designation expired last year.
Throughout the more than three-hour-meeting, residents pleaded with the council, saying the “tourist” zoning would destroy their quality of life, increase traffic and take away the one place on the barrier island where they can shop and grab a bite to eat.
They said they live in a residential area -– not a tourist district -– and the council should keep the island’s character the way it is.
Council members said they struggled over the decision because the tourist designation is the only applicable zoning designation that can be assigned to the property under current city development code. In the end, though, most agreed with the residents that the tourist zoning conflicted with the area’s character. “They came in with an open mind and were able to apply common sense to the situation and we’re very pleased,” said Jo Ellen Farnham, a Sand Key resident who helped lead and coordinate the opposition.
After the meeting, the two attorneys for D.A. Bennett Co said they’d know more in the next day or so about whether they would pursue legal action.
The city violated its own statues and every council member admitted it,” Clearwater attorney Paul Raymond said. “Right now we’re not sure what we’ll do about it.”
Carlen Petersen, the lone dissenting vote on the council, said she was "uncomfortable with knowingly voting against something not supported by current code."
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