Beach committee defers Clarion rezoning request

Beach committee defers Clarion rezoning request ¦ Committee upholds building cap pending vision plan BY JULIE B. CONNERLEY Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com



The Santa Rosa Island Authority's Committee to Redefine Pensacola Beach met August 1, reviewing a number of issues discussed while com-mittee chair Monsignor Luke Hunt had been on Sabbatical. Members absent included Joe Endry, Kirk Newkirk, and Stan Potts. Jeff Townsend has been accepted as Julian MacQueen's designated appointee while he is out of town for several weeks.
Driving the original intent of the formation of the committee was, of course, Hurricane Ivan. The SRIA learned from previ-ous experience what would hap-pen when staff processed hun-dreds of rebuilding variance requests after Hurricane Opal in 1995. Then in 2002, the state reestablished the erosion control line. Ivan made significant physical changes to the barrier island in addition massive island-wide structural damage and compromised infrastruc-ture.
Even the storm's timing dur-ing the construction of the $22 million bond funded roads improvement project all fac-tored into the need for an ad hoc group to help design the Island's future.
However, it was the Sunray Village Owner's Association (doing business as The Clarion Suites) request in May for a zoning change that directly set the gears in motion for the Committee to Redefine Pensacola Beach.
The Clarion Suites, situated at 20 Via de Luna Drive, occu-pies approximately 4.31 acres and is zoned Medium Density Residential/Commercial. The association is asking the SRIA to allow them to rebuild using a High Density Residen-tial/ Commercial formula that would require rezoning the property. The association wants to change the zoning from 20 units per acre to 50 units per acre, along with some discus-sions about a possible sale of the property.
After reviewing documents, maps, reports and statistics pro-vided to them, the committee developed a summary of issues facing the SRIA "on which the committee might provide advice." Most issues whether residential or hotels include key words such as building cap or concurrency, variance requests, rezoning, and density.
The Clarion Suites’ request is complex because it is a mix of residential and commercial. Presently the building cap applies only to residences. Compound that with the process to have property rezoned and the matter becomes an unten-able situation for an ad hoc committee -at least for now.
That point was illustrated by the committee's efforts to address the issue with a vote.
The first motion, made by Jim Cox, failed for a lack of a second. Cox suggested allow-ing the Clarion's request, but denying any other hotel-rezon-ing request until a visioning plan is formally adopted.
The committee unanimously agreed that Pensacola Beach should have a visioning plan following the 2004 report com-piled by the University of West Florida's Whitman Center enti-tled Visioning Process for Pensacola Beach. That report was a beginning committee members agreed, but not a plan to meet the future needs and wishes of Island residents. All expressed a desire to involve the entire Island community in a visioning plan for Pensacola Beach.
Member Jim Reeves made a second motion on The Clarion Suites, suggesting the commit-tee vote to recommend to the SRIA board that they approve the request for zoning change to 50 units per acre without a height change. That motion failed with a tie vote and one member, Jeff Townsend, abstained from voting.
"I don't believe the reasoning is correct," Townsend said. “I don't think the group can create a scenario that can create rezon-ing. That's where I'm uncom-fortable." Member Robert Rinke agreed.
Referring to an earlier vote the committee took, Rinke con-tinued, "Since we are advising the SRIA to keep the building cap until a visioning plan is in place, we should adopt the same position on requests for changes in zoning."
Ultimately the committee deferred the issue to their next meeting scheduled for August 15 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Authority offices.