St. Petersburg Rezoned: New Land Development Regulations (LDRs)
Copyright 2007 by Erica K. Smith, Esq.
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On September 10, 2007, new Land Development Regulations (LDRs) became effective in St. Petersburg. The LDRs guide the development and redevelopment of our city by regulating such things as parking standards, occupancy loads, building size, design and architectural standards, permitting, and zoning. In fact, unbeknownst to many residents, the new LDRs changed zoning classifications throughout St. Petersburg. At the November luncheon meeting of the Real Property Section, Mark Winn, Chief Assistant City Attorney for the City of St. Petersburg, gave an insightful presentation on the effect of the new LDRs. The following are some of the highlights of that presentation:
1. ORIGINS OF THE LDRs. The new LDRs are a product of community discussion and input started while developing St. Petersburg’s Vision 2020 Plan. They incorporate ideas gained from public meetings and televised public forums, correspondence from St. Petersburg residents, ideas from committees formed for different topics and districts, and input from a Chamber of Commerce oversight group and a developers’ oversight group.
2. COMMISSION CHANGES. Under the former LDRs, land development issues were the domain of four commissions: the Environmental Development Commission (EDC), the Planning Commission (PC), the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), and the Board of Adjustment (BOA). The new LDRs replace these former commissions with three new commissions: the Development Review Commission (formerly the Environmental Development Commission), the Planning and Visioning Commission (formerly the Planning Commission), and the Community Preservation Commission (a combination of the former Board of Adjustment and former Historic Preservation Commission). Each commission consists of seven regular members and two alternate members. All Board and Commission members are now required to take an educational component before voting on any matter.
- Development Review Commission (DRC). The DRC reviews site plans for larger projects, special exceptions, variances, and certain appeals. It also reviews and makes recommendations to the City Council concerning amendments to the LDRs. The City Council serves as the appellate body for most DRC decisions.
- Planning and Visioning Commission (PVC). The PVC makes recommendations to the City Council concerning amendments to the Comprehensive Plan. It recommends and oversees land use plan changes and re-zonings. The Visioning component has been added to the former Planning Commission to ensure that the ideas of Vision 2020 are implemented and that new ideas from all members of the community continue to be explored.
- Community Preservation Commission (CPC). The CPC reviews variance requests, redevelopment plans, and reinstatement of grandfathered abandoned uses. It also performs the duties of the former Historic Preservation Commission and hears appeals to the design guidelines in the LDRs. The City Council hears all appeals from CPC decisions involving historic preservation and design guidelines. The Circuit Court hears appeals from CPC decisions concerning variances, grandfathered and non-conforming uses, and Redevelopment Plan issues.
3. ZONING FRAMEWORK AND ZONING CHANGES. The zoning framework under the new LDRs divides the City into Traditional and Suburban districts. The Traditional and Suburban districts are then further classified into Neighborhoods, Corridors, and Centers. Within each zoning district there are specified permitted uses, accessory uses, special exceptions, grandfathered uses, and nonconforming uses. The LDRs also specify the minimum number of parking spaces required for each type of use, as determined by the location of the use in either a Traditional or Suburban zoning district or in the Downtown Center.
- Neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Districts include Neighborhood Traditional Districts, the Neighborhood Suburban Districts, and Neighborhood Planned Unit Development. One of the major zoning changes in the Neighborhood districts is that residents will no longer be allowed to use existing setbacks for porches and garages to enable them to construct larger buildings without such features.
Neighborhood Traditional (NT) districts. There are four Neighborhood Traditional districts: Neighborhood Traditional Single Family – 1 (NT-1), Neighborhood Traditional Single Family – 2 (NT-2), Neighborhood Traditional Single Family -3 (NT-3) and Neighborhood Traditional Mixed Use – 4 (NT-4). As the names of these districts demonstrate, traditional neighborhoods are typically comprised of single-family residences. These districts comprise neighborhoods that were platted between the time of the City’s incorporation and the mid-1920s. They are distinguished by relatively narrow lots, vertically oriented architecture, front porches or stoops, minimal side and rear yard setbacks, low building heights, alleyways, and an absence of front yard driveways and garages. Garage apartments are permissible in NT-1 and NT-2 districts and are even considered beneficial as a way to provide “lifecycle housing.”
Neighborhood Suburban (NS) Districts. The Neighborhood Suburban Districts include Neighborhood Suburban Single Family, Neighborhood Suburban Multi-Family, and Neighborhood Suburban Mobile Home. Residences in the Neighborhood Suburban Single Family Districts were generally constructed following World War II. The properties in these districts are characterized by wider lots with spacious front yards and horizontally oriented architecture. The residences are generally found on wide residential streets that are conducive to automobile traffic. The Neighborhood Suburban Multi-Family Districts are comprised of single-family homes, condos, and apartments. The new LDRs promote landscaped parking areas and adequate access and safety for automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians. The Suburban Mobile Home Districts permit mobile home parks and mobile homes. Garage apartments are not permitted in any of the Neighborhood Suburban districts.
- Corridors. The Corridor Districts include Corridor Residential Traditional, Corridor Residential Suburban, Corridor Commercial Traditional, and Corridor Commercial Suburban. The past Code resulted in Corridors in which buildings are located to the rear of the properties. Parking lots with high parking ratios are located at the front of the properties, along the street. The buildings themselves have no relationship with the street, and the properties have low floor area ratios (FAR). The new LDRs promote better site layout by requiring buildings in the Corridor districts to be placed along the street, with organized landscaping and rear parking.
- Industrial Districts. St. Petersburg’s industrial areas are found in two types of districts: Industrial Traditional and Industrial Suburban. The regulations under the new LDRs seek to create buffers between the industrial areas and abutting neighborhoods, provide minimum design standards for better site and architectural design, and create a more aesthetic environment by shielding storage areas, walls and fences.
- Retail Centers. Retail Center Districts are mixed use districts that may include retail, service, employment and residential uses. The new LDRs create minimum design standards for retail centers, promote better pedestrian access and safety, and encourage more realistic parking requirements to prevent the development of overly large parking lots with large numbers of spaces that remain unused the majority of the time.
- Downtown Centers. The Downtown Center districts include Downtown Center-Core (DC-C), Downtown Center-1 (DC-1), Downtown Center-2 (DC-2), Downtown Center-3 (DC-3), and Downtown Center-Park (DC-P). The new LDRs promote realistic parking requirements through minimum parking standards. They also provide bonuses to Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for development that supports historic preservation, public art, affordable housing, and public transit.
For those interested in learning more, a copy of the LDRs may be ordered for a small fee from the City Clerk’s office at 727-893-7448. You can also view the LDRs online at http://www.stpete.org/development/LDRproposed2.htm.
If you have any questions or comments about the Real Property Section, please contact Jim Martin, 2007-2008 Chair, at 727-821-0904 or jim@jamesmartinpa.com.
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Erica K. Smith is a graduate of The College of William and Mary and Stetson University College of Law. She is an associate with James W. Martin, P.A. and has more information on the
Web site, www.jamesmartinpa.com.
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