EXCITING NEWS RE COREY LANDING DEVELOPMENT IN SPB: We are excited to report that last night’s City Commission meeting resulted in the unanimous approval of Corey Landings! After years of neglect, the entrance to St Pete Beach driving across Corey Causeway is going to be dramatically improved:
We were initially encouraged by the opening remarks given by the developer, Brian Van Slyke of Kolter Group:
https://www.youtube.com/live/MdAvmRfYCIs?si=Dr-sopwpI4ebUFda&t=3292
The Commission then reviewed the subsequent negotiations that led to the following impressive list of “public benefits” paid for by the developer: Seawall Repair: $350,000 Public Parking: $1,060,225 Promenade: $471,360 Additional Promenade Improvements; $8,450 Park: $452,680 Additional Park Improvements: $124,450 Plaza: $716,000 Additional Park Funds: $150,000 Docks: $1,866,000 Undergrounding: $100,000 Additional Transportation Funds: $100,000 Additional Sewer Funds: $250,000 Total of all Public Benefits is $5,649,565, with $632,900 of additional benefits negotiated in discussion since the last meeting.
These benefits include traffic calming improvements for residents south of the development, payment to fix manholes and line downstream sewers, and improvements such as a shade structure, kayak launch, and retaining 8 boat slips for public use to make the park more useful to residents.
These contributions reflect an appropriate exchange of value — we are granting the developer additional units beyond what base zoning for the property permits, and in exchange, the developer is making meaningful, proportional contributions to benefit our community. After years of fighting misguided over-expansion projects masquerading as “redevelopment” while taxing our infrastructure, it was rewarding and inspiring to watch the deliberations last night that resulted in the final unanimous vote. We encourage you to watch this brief clip of Mayor Petrila’s comments before Commissioner Maldonado made the first motion for passage:
https://www.youtube.com/live/MdAvmRfYCIs?si=OkcYTwU2YT-NAmHf&t=5634
As Mayor Petrila said, we hope other developers will look to the example of Corey Landings for how to bring high quality redevelopment to St. Pete Beach, creating a win-win that will be embraced by our community.
We thank our City Staff and City Manager Frances Robustelli for their tremendous effort throughout this process, and would especially like to commend Senior Planner Brandon Berry for his thoroughness and transparency. We have reviewed staff presentations from many proposals, and this one set a new bar for city and resident advocacy in achieving a positive long-term relationship in pursuit of high-quality redevelopment.
The winning did not stop there — the Commission then took action passing the First Reading of much-needed modifications to setback regulations to better accommodate stairs and secondary structures associated with elevating existing homes and rebuilding. We expect this ordinance will pass in the next meeting.
Finally, Mayor Petrila, Commissioners Maldonado, Robinson, and Rzewnicki reached consensus to support valuable work being done by District 4 resident Lauren Mones of Florida Coalition for Safe Technology. With our Commission’s much-appreciated support, Lauren’s coalition is bringing a model ordinance to our City Attorney that will help protect residents and our property values from unsightly and too-often unnecessary 5G cell towers. Have a great week, Protect St. Pete Beach Advocacy Group.
https://www.protectstpetebeach.com
