SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve a Future Land Use Map Amendment from the Residential Urban (RU), Residential Medium (RM), Residential High (RH), Residential/Office General (R/OG), Institutional (I), Commercial General (CG), and Recreation/Open Space (R/OS) categories to the Central Business District (CBD) category for 968 parcels located in the Prospect Lake and Downtown Gateway Character Districts of the Clearwater Downtown Redevelopment Plan, and pass Ordinance 9143-18 on first reading. (LUP2017-09004)
Body
SUMMARY:
In 2004, the City updated the Clearwater Downtown Redevelopment Plan (Downtown Plan) to incorporate the “Gateway Expansion Area” [expanded Community Redevelopment Area (CRA)] into the East Gateway, Town Lake Residential, and Town Lake Business Park Character Districts. However, due to certain requirements for Special Area Plans at the time, the City decided not to pursue amendments to the future land use designations or zoning districts for many of the properties in the expanded CRA, so they remained a mix of categories although they were governed by the Downtown Plan. More recently, the City has completed another update to the Downtown Plan, adopted by City Council March 1, 2018 (Ordinance 9103-18). This update addressed the need to unify areas of the now Downtown Gateway and Prospect Lake Character Districts with the rest of Downtown by amending the properties’ land use and zoning to Central Business District (CBD) future land use and Downtown (D) District zoning.
This Future Land Use Map amendment involves 968 parcels totaling 172.488 acres which are generally located south of Drew Street, east of Prospect Avenue, north of Court Street, and west of Highland Avenue. The properties are comprised of a mix of uses, including single and multi-family residential, office and commercial, among others, and 33 of the parcels are vacant. The area is largely built out and has an older housing stock, although some intermittent redevelopment has occurred, including the Country Club Townhomes on Drew Street. Commercial uses are found mostly along the Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay Boulevard corridors.
The request is to amend the Future Land Use Map designations of this area from Residential Urban (RU), Residential Medium (RM), Residential High (RH), Residential/Office General (R/OG), Institutional (I), Commercial General (CG), and Recreation/Open Space (R/OS) to Central Business District (CBD). The City is initiating this amendment to establish a uniform land use designation across the Downtown Gateway and Prospect Lake Character Districts consistent with the Downtown Plan. A companion rezoning application proposes to amend the properties’ zoning to the Downtown (D) District (REZ2017-09005, Ordinance 9144-18).
The proposed Central Business District (CBD) category allows a mix of uses; however, new Downtown Zoning District and Development Standards will dictate where specific uses can be located. The densities and intensities are established within the adopted Downtown Plan. The density in the proposed amendment area is 35 dwelling units per acre in the Downtown Gateway Character District and 50 dwelling units per acre in the Prospect Lake Character District. Additionally, the intensity, or floor area ratio (FAR) also varies from 1.5 for properties in the Prospect Lake Character District and those primarily along the Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay Boulevard corridors to 0.55 for the remaining properties located in the Downtown Gateway District.
The Planning and Development Department determined that the proposed Future Land Use Map amendment is consistent with the provisions of the Clearwater Community Development Code as specified below:
• The proposed amendment is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Countywide Plan Rules.
• The proposed amendment is compatible with the surrounding property and character of the neighborhood.
• Sufficient public facilities are available to serve the property.
• The proposed amendment will not have an adverse impact on the natural environment.
• The proposed amendment will not have an adverse impact on the use of property in the immediate area.
In accordance with the Countywide Plan Rules, this land use plan amendment is subject to the approval of Forward Pinellas, in its role as the Pinellas Planning Council, and the Board of County Commissioners acting as the Countywide Planning Authority. The application is a large-scale amendment so review and approval by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and other state agencies is required.
The Community Development Board reviewed this application at its May 15, 2018 public hearing and made a unanimous recommendation of approval to the Council.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT: N/A
USE OF RESERVE FUNDS: N/A