On Jan. 7, the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission approved by a 4-1 vote the Pelican residential tower, clearing the way for the 20-story, 200-plus-foot project at 5th Avenue North and 4th Street North despite opposition from Preserve the 'Burg and nearby residents.
Commissioners approved the project despite concerns about the tower’s height, massing and compatibility with its primarily low-rise surroundings.
Preserve the 'Burg has appealed the DRC’s decision to City Council. While a hearing date has not been scheduled, the summary below provides background on the project.
What is it?
The Pelican is a proposed residential high-rise (21 floors) with a six-story parking garage stretching nearly an entire city block along 5th Avenue North and 4th Street North, behind the Hollander & Avalon hotels. The parking garage alone would tower over the adjacent hotels. The Hollander, for example, is four stories.
The development site is within the Downtown National Register Historic District and across the street from the Historic Uptown neighborhood (another National Register historic district). The project would have the distinction of demolishing more contributing structures to a National Register historic district than any other St. Petersburg development. Today, those structures provide 74 affordable housing units (historic buildings with such housing are often referred to as naturally occurring affordable housing or “NOAH”).
Application Status
In January, the city’s Development Review Commission (DRC) approved the Pelican application, rejecting PTB’s argument that a 212-foot building with six levels of parking located across the street from a historic neighborhood comprised mostly of low-rise historic structures is incompatible with its surroundings.
PTB has appealed the DRC decision to City Council. Why? Because St. Petersburg’s neighborhood compatibility standards were adopted in part to ensure neighborhoods will not be overwhelmed by incompatible or out of scale neighboring developments, and we believe our elected officials should weigh in on this project.
Our appeal is rooted in both the City’s Comprehensive Plan and its Land Development Regulations. Indeed, it is worth noting that the City’s “Comp Plan” reflects the priorities, desires and concerns of St. Petersburg residents following a yearslong public input process.
The Pelican (or any proposed development) is required to address the following City-mandated provisions:
Comprehensive Plan Sections
LU3.4 The Land Use Plan shall provide for compatible land use transition through an orderly land use arrangement, proper buffering, and the use of physical and natural separators.
LU3.6 - Land use planning decisions shall weigh heavily the established character of predominately developed areas where changes of use or intensity of development are contemplated.
LU26 - The City’s LDRs shall continue to support the adaptive reuse of existing and historic buildings in order to maximize the use of existing infrastructure…”
CM15: The City shall protect, preserve or provide sensitive reuse of historic resources consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the Historic Preservation Element.
H7: - Properties listed in the National Register or in the St. Petersburg register of historic places shall be preserved and protected under the guidelines provided in the city’s historic and archaeological preservation overlay. The city shall undertake efforts to identify and preserve historically significant buildings.
H7.3 - To protect and to preserve the city’s historically significant housing stock, the city shall incorporate policies in the land development regulations which discourage the demolition of historic resources in districts which are listed, or eligible for listing, in the National Register. . . or the St. Petersburg register of historic places.
HP2.11 - The Development Review Commission site review criteria will continue to include criteria that ensure sensitivity and protection to adjacent historic resources related to scale and mass.
StPete 2050 policies
5.2.1 - Preserve existing and create new opportunities for attainable housing.
5.5.1 - Protect the character and viability of neighborhoods.
5.5.14 - Protect and preserve historically and culturally significant buildings, structures, and landscapes.
How You Can Help
In making their decision, Council will conduct a public hearing (likely in early March although the date has not yet been decided). This means your comments are important! You can help set the stage for a positive outcome by sending a message NOW to city council at: council@stpete.org, (use the subject line, Pelican appeal). Tell city council why you believe it is important to keep St. Petersburg special, to protect our neighborhoods, and to say no to incompatible development.
