SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Continue to February 6, 2025: Provide direction on the proposed Development Agreement between AP Beach Properties, LLC (the property owner) and the City of Clearwater for property located at 405 Coronado Drive, providing for the allocation of 100 units from the Hotel Density Reserve under Beach by Design; and confirm a second public hearing in City Council Chambers before City Council on February 20, 2025 at 6:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as may be heard. (HDA2024-09001)
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SUMMARY:
Site Location and Existing Conditions:
The subject property is a 1.759-acre parcel operating as a surface parking lot with frontage along Coronado and Hamden Drives (420 feet and 370 feet, respectively) and Fifth Street (220 feet). It is located within the Tourist (T) District and the Small Motel District of Beach by Design with an underlying future land use designation of Resort Facilities High (RFH).
The surrounding area is characterized by a mix of uses including overnight accommodations (hotels), retail, outdoor recreation and entertainment, restaurant and attached dwellings with heights ranging from one to 15 stories. There are one- to two- story hotels adjacent to the site and a five-story attached dwelling located at the northeast corner of Bayside Drive and Hamden Drive. The City’s Beach Walk project, to the west, has been constructed transforming South Gulfview Boulevard to the north of this site into a winding beachside promenade with tropical landscaping with clear views to Clearwater Beach and the water beyond. Coronado Drive has largely been improved according to Beach by Design.
Site History:
A portion of the property (originally five parcels on the northern end) was previously subject to a Development Agreement approved by the City Council on October 2, 2014. An amended agreement was subsequently approved on February 4, 2022, that incorporated additional land (three parcels to the south) into the site design (HDA2013-08006/HDA2013-08006A). The original Development Agreement recently expired, and the applicant is proposing a new Development Agreement and conceptual design and is requesting 100 units from the Hotel Density Reserve. The development proposal is described in detail later in this memo.
The overall size of the proposed development site has not changed; the eight parcels referenced above have been consolidated into the single subject parcel. However, the various properties comprising the site have different histories which are provided below.
North portion of the site (previously 401/405/415/419 Coronado Drive and 406 Hamden Drive):
• On April 19, 2011, the Community Development Board (CDB) approved a Level Two Flexible Development application (FLD2011-02005) for a surface parking lot which has been constructed.
• On September 18, 2014, the City Council approved the allocation of up to 100 units from the Hotel Density Reserve under Beach by Design (HDA2013-08006) and adopted a resolution to the same effect (Resolution No. 14-25). The owners proposed to develop the site with a 166-unit overnight accommodation use with associated accessory/amenity uses including commercial space, restaurant, meeting rooms, and an exercise room. This Development Agreement, as amended on February 4, 2022 (HDA2013-08006A), expired on October 8, 2024.
• On July 21, 2015, the CDB approved a Level Two Flexible Development application (FLD2015-05016) for a 166-room overnight accommodation use in the Tourist (T) District. The CDB approved an amendment on May 17, 2022 (FLD2015-05016A), subsequent to the modifications to the Development Agreement referenced above. A series of extension requests have been approved extending the validity of the issued Development Order until March 14, 2027.
South portion of the site (previously 410/420 Hamden Drive):
• On December 28, 2018, the Community Development Coordinator approved a Level One Flexible Standard Development application (FLS2018-05024) for a surface parking lot for property including 410/420 Hamden Drive. The approval expired one year later.
• On November 17, 2020, the CDB approved a Level Two Transfer of Development Rights (TDR2020-07002) which transferred four hotel units from 410 Hamden Drive (Parcel ID 08-29-15-17622-000-0100) and seven hotel units from one of the two parcels comprising 420 Hamden Drive (Parcel ID 08-29-15-17622-000-0080), all to property located at 400/405/408/409/411 East Shore Drive.
• On October 19, 2021, the CDB approved a Level Two Transfer of Development Rights (TDR2021-08004) which transferred the remaining two dwelling units from 410/420 Hamden Drive (Parcel IDs 08-29-15-17622-000-0100, 08-29-15-17622-000-0090 and 08-29-15-17622-000-0080) to property located at 619/629/631/635 Mandalay Avenue.
• The two approved TDR applications removed all development potential from these three additional parcels.
Development Proposal:
The proposal is to remove all the existing site improvements on the 1.759-acre site and to construct a hotel with 135 overnight accommodation units as well as retail and restaurant spaces. The northern portion of the property that has remaining development potential is 1.32 acres, and as previously discussed, the 0.439-acre southern portion does not have remaining development potential. The underlying Resort Facilities High (RFH) future land use designation allows for 50 overnight accommodations units per acre or 1.2 FAR for nonresidential uses.
The proposal of 20,000 square feet of retail area and 6,825 square feet of restaurant area requires 0.613 acres of land, leaving 0.707 acres of land with development potential that can be used for overnight accommodations units. To achieve the proposed number of units, the project utilizes the 35 units possible from this remaining acreage, in addition to the requested 100-unit allocation from the Hotel Density Reserve (Reserve) through Beach by Design.
With the incorporation of the retail and restaurant area, and the reduction of the number of hotel units from 166 as approved in 2014 (HDA2013-08006) to 135 rooms, the subject site’s density (hotel units per acre) will decrease from 94.32 hotel units per acre to 77 units per acre. The reduction of the number of hotel units will enable the provision additional services to the hotel guests. The building will continue to be 100 feet in height as measured from the established design flood elevation to flat roof. The proposal continues to include a tropical modern architecture, which is consistent with and complements the tropical vernacular envisioned in Beach by Design. The request includes a conceptual site plan and accompanying building elevations (Exhibit B).
The site will be accessed via a two-way driveway from Hamden Drive at the southeast corner of the property which will provide access to the parking garage component of the development. A one-way ingress is provided centrally along the north side of the site along Fifth Street which also provides access to the parking garage as well as an underbuilding drop off area. The egress for the drop off area is also located along Fifth Street. A one-way egress from the parking garage is provided at the northeast side along Hamden Drive. The primary pedestrian entrance is located at the northwest corner of the site.
The northwest corner of the building on the ground floor contains a lobby, retail area and restaurant. The first five floors of the building will contain a parking garage as well as miscellaneous back-of-house components such as maintenance rooms and laundry facilities. The sixth floor will include a pool and pool deck and other amenities such as private balconies, exercise areas and related activities such as yoga. The seventh and eighth floors will be dedicated almost entirely to hotel rooms and the nineth floor with include rooms, outdoor amenities as well as an indoor/ outdoor bar and lounge.
Proposal’s Consistency with the Community Development Code (CDC):
Minimum Lot Area and Width:
Pursuant to CDC Table 2-802, the minimum required lot area and width for an overnight accommodations use is 20,000 square feet and between 100 and 150 feet in lot width, respectively. The subject property is 76,622 square feet in area and approximately 420 feet wide. The site is consistent with these Code provisions.
Minimum Setbacks:
The conceptual site plan depicts setbacks of 15 feet along the Fifth Street and Hamden Drive (north and east) frontages, and 10 feet along all remaining property lines of the site including the frontage along Coronado Drive. The proposed setbacks may be approved as part of a Level One (FLS) application, subject to meeting the applicable flexibility criteria of the Community Development Code; however, other elements such as height may require the project to be a Level Two (FLD) application.
Maximum Height:
Section B of the Design Guidelines within Beach by Design specifically addresses height. The proposal provides for a building 100 feet in height as measured from the design flood elevation where a height of up to 100 feet is permitted as prescribed by the CDC (subject to meeting the applicable flexibility criteria of the CDC and approved as part of a Level Two Flexible Development application) and as limited by any applicable Beach by Design requirements.
The height of the proposed building is consistent with the guidelines of Beach by Design.
Minimum Off-Street Parking:
The 135-room overnight accommodations use requires a minimum of 162 off-street parking spaces. A parking garage located on the first five levels of the building will provide 400 spaces, including 50 which are available for public use. This is consistent with the applicable Sections of the CDC.
Landscaping:
While a formal landscape plan is not required to be submitted for review at this time, the conceptual landscape areas depicted on the site plan show that adequate spaces for foundation landscaping will be provided along all street frontages. Since no perimeter landscape buffers are required in the Tourist (T) District, the proposed landscape areas meet or exceed what is required. It is noted, however, that flexibility may be requested/necessary as part of a Comprehensive Landscape Program which would be reviewed at time of formal site plan approval.
Proposal’s Consistency with Beach by Design:
Design Guidelines:
A review of the provided architectural elevations and massing study was conducted and the proposed building does appear to be generally consistent with the applicable Design Guidelines established in Beach by Design. However, a more formal review of these Guidelines will need to be conducted as part of the final site plan approval process.
Hotel Density Reserve:
The project has been reviewed for compliance with those criteria established within Beach by Design concerning the allocation of hotel rooms from the Reserve. The project appears to be generally consistent with those criteria, including that the development complies with the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) countywide approach to the application of traffic concurrency management for transportation facilities. The submitted Traffic Impact Study concludes that traffic operations at nearby intersections and on adjacent roadways would continue at acceptable levels of service.
It is important to note that the south portion of the site has had all development potential transferred to other properties within the Beach by Design planning area. Beach by Design Section V.B.2 provides that “Those properties and/or developments that have had density transferred off to another property and/or development(s) through an approved Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) application by the City after December 31, 2007, are not eligible to have rooms allocated from the Reserve.” Staff believes that the intent of this provision is to prevent a property owner from selling off development potential and then requesting units from the Reserve thereby profiting from the Reserve. This portion of the site was not in common ownership at the time the 100 units were allocated to the original proposal, and the inclusion of the parcels will result in the overall site density (units per acre) decreasing; therefore, the project does not utilize these lots for development potential at all. The primary purpose of adding these parcels is to provide the opportunity to provide a more efficient parking garage layout which will allow for the provision of all required parking spaces as well as a minimum of 50 spaces for use by the public. In short, the proposal provides for a scenario that Staff believes was not considered at the time that Beach by Design was written. Staff believes that the proposal meets the intent of Beach by Design and approval of the request.
Standards for Development Agreements:
CDC Section 4-606 sets forth the procedures and criteria for reviewing development agreements. Specifically, development agreements shall be consistent with Clearwater 2045, the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The proposal furthers the goals, objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan as provided below.
Goal QP 3: Support the on-going transformation of the Downtown and Clearwater Beach Activity Centers as high intensity, walkable, and attractive regional centers for living, working, shopping, and entertainment.
Objective QP 3.3: Continue to use Beach by Design: A Preliminary Design for Clearwater Beach and Design Guidelines (Beach by Design) to guide development, redevelopment, and placemaking on Clearwater Beach.
Policy QP 3.3.4: Continue to utilize the Hotel Density Reserve allocation as established in Beach by Design to facilitate hotel development on Clearwater Beach.
The proposal is in compliance with the standards for development agreements, is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and furthers the vision of beach redevelopment set forth in Beach by Design. The proposed Development Agreement will be in effect for a period not to exceed ten years, meets the criteria for the allocation of rooms from the Hotel Density Reserve under Beach by Design and includes the following main provisions:
• Provides for no change in the number of units (100 units) allocated from the Hotel Density Reserve (previously approved as part of HDA2013-08006/Resolution No. 14-25 and HDA2013-08006A/ Resolution No. 22-01);
• Includes conceptual site plans, architectural drawings, elevations and perspectives in Exhibit B that appear to be generally consistent with the applicable Design Guidelines established in Beach by Design;
• Requires the developer to obtain site plan approval within one year of approval, commence vertical construction within four years from the date of site plan approval, and obtain a certificate of occupancy within six years from the date of site plan approval;
• Requires the return of any hotel unit obtained from the Hotel Density Reserve that is not constructed;
• Prohibits the conversion of any hotel unit allocated from the Hotel Density Reserve to a residential use and requires the recording of a covenant restricting use of such hotel units to overnight accommodations usage; and
• Requires a legally enforceable mandatory evacuation/closure covenant that the hotel will be closed as soon as practicable after a hurricane watch that includes Clearwater Beach is posted by the National Hurricane Center.
Changes to Development Agreements:
Pursuant to Section 4-606.I, CDC, a Development Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of the parties, provided the notice and public hearing requirements of Section 4-206 are followed. Revisions to conceptual site plans and/or architectural elevations attached as exhibits to this Development Agreement shall be governed by the provisions of the CDC, Section 4-406. Minor revisions to such plans may be approved by the Community Development Coordinator. Other revisions not specified as minor shall require an amendment to this Development Agreement.
Summary and Recommendation:
The proposal appears to be generally consistent with applicable components of the Community Development Code and Beach by Design and the city’s Comprehensive Plan. Staff is supportive of the request.