City Commission and CRA meeting 10/14:

Chris Roog of the CRA mentioned two primary motivations: 1) to exert more city control over that land, since it is premiere waterfront property, and 2) the cash flow will eventually help the city coffers.  There was concern about who would take Navarro's place as landlord, since Navarro's management of that property has been very successful and a credit to the city.  Navarro offered to remain as landlord for 3 years---or maybe 5, to help smooth the transition.  But commercial landlords of Navarro's acumen don't come along often or cheaply, and let's hope the city doesn't think that they can suddenly do without serious, professional help.  That parcel is one of the crown jewels of the downtown waterfront, and a bad landlord can screw it up in a hurry.  

During the CRA's presentation, it became clear that some commissioners were not aware of some salient facts about the deal, and they (Fox, Peduzzi, and Ward) expressed frustration at being asked to vote on such an important, expensive item without having all the information well in advance.  But the motion still passed unanimously.

By the way: Related / Ross is the new owner of The Ben Hotel.

Mark your calendar: after considerable delay, the mayor has finally scheduled a commission work session to examine the results of the "Your Waterfront, Your Way" survey.  It will be held at City Hall, 10 a.m. on November 17.  The public is invited to attend, but will not be allowed to ask questions or make comments.

Bernard Zyscovich & crew gave the mayor and commissioners a preliminary presentation of their ideas to revise the Downtown Master Plan 10/20.  A video of this presentation is available at the city's website.  It was a long meeting---2 hours--, and nothing was voted on or approved, but here are the salient points:

1) Zyscovich believes, long term, the skyline of downtown WPB will change tremendously, whether the DMP is revised or not.  Buildings will get taller and thinner, because commissioners will likely approve them---one way or another---as seen by recent new buildings.  He believes that it's important to balance that new height with more open space / green space---which is what he recommends as part of his revised DMP.

2) One green space he'd like to expand is the park along the waterfront, specifically by moving west and/or eliminating the two lanes of Flagler Drive that are closest to the intracoastal.   This would also entail removing N. Clematis & S. Clematis so that car traffic will be barred from the north & south edges of the great lawn. Zyscovich envisions more of a "Central Park" feel to the greenspace that would be created.

3) He wants to leave Howard Park alone.

4) He wants to lure commuters to park at the convention center and take a bus / cab / scooter, etc. into downtown.

5) He wants to preserve the appearance and character of Clematis Street and the "downtown core" (i.e., the 300 block between Olive & Dixie, and between Okeechobee & Quadrille).  Part of this is maintaining the 10-12 story limit on buildings in that area.

6) Zyscovich is especially keen to beautifully develop the area between the two railroad stations, which he thinks will be very attractive to new residents due to the easy walking access to both stations.  There, Zyscovich envisions taller, 25-story buildings.  However, he wants to keep in place the current 5-story limit on parking garage height, which he believes will automatically limit the height of whatever building the garage is built to serve.  I.e., the limit on parking spaces will de facto limit the number of residents and the height of new buildings.  The goal here is to avoid a "wall of buildings" and avoid huge, ugly, monolithic parking garages.  The height of the parking garage may rise to 8 stories as long as nobody has to look at it: the parking garage must be surrounded and hidden by active use stores / offices / residences.

7)  No "wall of buildings" anywhere, especially along the waterfront.  Zyscovich instead wants open space between tall, thin buildings along the intracoastal in order to protect views.  He also wants substantial setback requirements along Flagler to improve everyone's view.  The east side of any new buildings along Flagler must contain 100% active uses---i.e., no parking garages, or bare walls along the east side.

8) encourage more density and multi-family, mixed use buildings in the Northwest, north of Banyan. 

9) easy biking / jogging connectivity between Clear Lake and the intracoastal via Banyan and Fern.  As part of this he'd like to see an "anchor park" (i.e., a sizeable park on the north side of Banyan across from the Social Security building.   Speaking of which: Ziscovich dislikes the single-story government buildings in the 700-800 block of Banyan, and thinks the U.S. Marshalls' office, the Social Security office, and their inefficient surface parking lots should be condensed into a multi-story facility that opens up new space for greenspace or development.

Lambert, Peduzzi, and Ward indicated that they would not be opposed to allowing 30-stories downtown and along the waterfront, since that's what's happening in Northwood.  The mayor indicated that he would support 30 stories in the area described in #6 above.  Ziscovich pushed back slightly, saying that increased heights would begin to interfere with views, light, and affordability.  Overall, the mayor and commission (Warren absent) indicated approval of Ziscovich's plans so far.  The next step is to present them to the public and the DAC in January.

City Commission Meeting 10/27:

The meeting began with a "state of education" report from PB county school board members Erica Whitfield and Edwin Ferguson.  They mentioned assorted improvements to schools close to downtown, such as Roosevelt Elementary which the state deemed an "F" two years ago, now elevated to a "C".  Bear Lakes Elementary retains its "B" rating.  One challenge has been a noticeable decline in enrollment this fall: 5,500 fewer students countywide.  Whitfield speculated that the decline is partly due to tougher immigration policies, combined with the popularity of vouchers used by parents to enroll their kids in private schools.  Despite the enrollment drop, Whitfield said the board has no plans to lay off teachers or close schools.

Commissioners approved the rezoning and waivers necessary to begin construction of 5400 N. Flagler Drive, a condo tower.

However, commissioners unanimously denied the proposal to build "Deco Northwood" at 2900 Broadway: an 8-story, 167-unit apartment building certified as "workforce housing" on a mere .72 acres.  Many Northwood residents voiced their disapproval of the proposal at the podium.  Both residents and commissioners praised the appearance of the building, but objected to the numerous waivers requested to reduce the parking spaces, landscaping, and setbacks demanded by city code.  As one resident aptly summarized: "It seems that the developer is trying to stuff a 10-pound turkey in a 5-pound bag."