April 6, 2022 Development Review Commission Meeting
We had an excellent showing of neighborhood support at the April 6 DRC meeting. Approximately 20-25 people from the neighborhood showed up (in the morning during the work week). About 10 people stood at the podium and addressed commission members. Mike Barnette and Rick Carr spoke for the neighborhood as registered opponents. The good news is arguments from our speakers swayed enough of the commission members to make a difference!
The DRC split their vote 3-3. Because there was no majority, the site plan for the middle school was denied. This of course, does not mean the end of the project. An appeal has already been made and will be brought before the St. Petersburg City Council on May 12, at 5:00 pm. It is really important that we have an even larger crowd at the upcoming Council meeting.
Unfortunately, within the last week, a change.org internet campaign has been staged to shower support on the project. This campaign is an easy-to-sign petition that can be forwarded from one person to the next - like a social media story. That means this petition has been signed by many who have no stake in the fight. They may not have any idea where this school is and may not even live in Florida. The person creating this campaign has mislead the pubic by making untrue statements. Under the heading "Why Do We Need a Petition" he stated, the following: "There are a few residents neighboring the school district’s property that do not want this site to be built.” As you all know, this is absolutely untrue! Several of us spent days walking door to door, talking to residents. Not one person raised any opposition to the school or the YMCA. It can be safely said that we all recognize the need for new schools. And we also realize the YMCA offers many benefits to our neighborhood, as well as surrounding neighborhoods. However, the 110 people living in Mangrove Bay that signed our petition were universally opposed to having the entrance to that school/YMCA on a residential street. This would unnecessarily introduce heavy traffic and bring hundreds of cars into our neighborhood - not just on school days, but weekends and evenings, seven days a week.
The sponsor of the change.org campaign goes on to say, “The loud voices a (sic) very few people that live long (sic) one street caused the Development Review Commission to not approve the build on a 3-3 vote. An appeal will likely go to the city council and we need to come out in force to show our support.” This statement also harbors mistruths. Two thirds of a 100 home neighborhood signed the petition. That is certainly is more than just a “few loud voices.” And unlike his internet campaign, every person who signed our petition has a huge stake in this battle.
This change.org petition is spreading like wild fire with over 1000 signees. Why? Because on the surface, it makes good sense. This plan offers a bright new middle school, a new facility for after school care and exercising, as well as a beautiful new field for sporting events. What isn't made clear is that if the original design is approved, the five homes on Pershing will see property values plummet. These folks, some of which have lived in their homes more than four decades will see their quality of life perish. Who would want to buy a home across from a busy, commercial property? After all, while it may be non-profit, the YMCA is still a commercial property. That entrance will draw hundreds of automobiles into our neighborhood a day. What is now a quiet, safe place to walk will become a quick shortcut to the YMCA and the school. People will be parking on our streets as well to avoid the congestion at the school.
Rest assured, there will be plenty of loud voices in support of the YMCA and middle school. So it's imperative that we show up at the City Council meeting on May 12 to let them know our needs must be addressed in this plan. It has also been recently announced that a neighborhood meeting, sponsored by the architect team, will be held Tuesday, May 3, 5:30 p.m. at the Faith Covenant Church on the corner of 62nd Ave. NE and 1st Street. Please come out in force for that meeting as well. We only get one chance with this. Please be there and support our Mangrove Bay neighborhood!
A new plan is being proposed
Because they were registered as opponents during the April 6 DRC meeting (for site plan approval) Mike Barnette and Rick Carr were invited to a zoom meeting on April 13. During this meeting, the architectural team attempted to address some of the concerns raised by residents of the neighborhood and also expressed by some of the DRC members. They proposed a plan that was very similar to one of the alternative solutions we offered on this website. This plan turned Pershing into a dead end street which would be blocked off from 62nd Ave NE. The entrance to the middle school and YMCA would no longer be routed onto Pershing. Rather, a new entrance would be made just to the east on the School Board property. If approved, this could offer a great relief to those living on Pershing. It is important to note, this will also significantly reduce traffic into our neighborhood. It won't eliminate traffic from the school or the YMCA, but it will greatly reduce it.
Mike and Rick were quick to mention that a sidewalk drawn into the original plan (next to Pershing and leading to the school's parking lot) had been left in place. With no fence surrounding the parking lot, Pershing Street, Tennessee, Pine and other streets would become a de-facto "fast" parking lot for those trying to avoid the traffic jam near the school/YMCA entrance. Architect Jason Jensen gave several reasons why the fence could not be installed, starting with a $300,000 price tag. He also mentioned the sidewalk was a requirement of the city. However, plans were provided on April 27 that show the sidewalk has been removed and the fencing installed. If this all comes to pass, we can believe that our efforts over the past few months have been fruitful. These plans are to be presented to the public May 3, 5:30 p.m. at the Faith Covenant Church.
Below is a copy of the revised site plan we received from the architects:
Mike and Rick were quick to mention that a sidewalk drawn into the original plan (next to Pershing and leading to the school's parking lot) had been left in place. With no fence surrounding the parking lot, Pershing Street, Tennessee, Pine and other streets would become a de-facto "fast" parking lot for those trying to avoid the traffic jam near the school/YMCA entrance. Architect Jason Jensen gave several reasons why the fence could not be installed, starting with a $300,000 price tag. He also mentioned the sidewalk was a requirement of the city. However, plans were provided on April 27 that show the sidewalk has been removed and the fencing installed. If this all comes to pass, we can believe that our efforts over the past few months have been fruitful. These plans are to be presented to the public May 3, 5:30 p.m. at the Faith Covenant Church.
Below is a copy of the revised site plan we received from the architects:
REVISED SITE PLAN
Bay News 9 interview
Rick Carr was interviewed by Fallon Silcox of Bay News 9 on April 28. She had first spoken with David Delrahim, a local attorney who created a change.org petition. This plea for support, was chock full of inaccurate information about why individuals in the neighborhood were fighting against the original site plan. We were fortunate to have representation in this story. Rick was able to make a few points, but Fallon's paraphrasing in the story (limited by time constraints) did not give the full picture of our struggle with the design group.