Council Passed the First Reading of the Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA)

With a vote of 7-1, City Council voted to continue to make progress with the Coastal High Hazard discussion, requiring higher building standards and hurricane mitigation efforts while leaving the door open to increased density in multi-family projects in targeted areas of the city. The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership supports this thoughtful and measured approach to smart development and applaud the Council for their actions last night. We believe there are four key reasons to support this plan. 

1. Excluding additional multi-family housing density in more than 40 percent of our city is not sustainable. There will be significant unintended consequences to funneling all future multi-family developments to the 59 percent pf the city that is not in the Coastal High Hazard Area.  
2. This plan is measured and balanced.  It directs new development to employment centers and commercial corridors including Gateway and Carillon, the Skyway Marina District, Coquina Shopping District, Innovation District and other employment centers that are important for our continued growth as a community.  
3. The plan provides an appropriate amount of protections for environmental stewardship, hurricane mitigation and infrastructure improvements that will help us weather future storms.
4. This is not the final word on this issue. Your vote tonight allows the conversation to move forward – but any future development will still be subject to significant oversight to ensure that this land will be developed in ways that are consistent with other public policy goals.  

We are also grateful to City Staff and to engaged citizens who have been working on this proposal for five years and who have improved it over time to create a thoughtful and balanced approach based on national best practices. It is good public policy and will encourage smart neighborhood development and smart economic growth.  

The Coastal High Hazard discussion is still a work in progress and we will continue to keep our members appraised about opportunities to participate in the conversation. 

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