Published: Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2009

Officials talk about what Palmetto will look like

PALMETTO — Without knowing what the future holds, several city commissioners were reluctant to change current land use designations.

The panel held a workshop Monday to discuss comprehensive plan changes proposed by the city planning and zoning commission.

The Florida Department of Community Affairs requires local governments to submit revised planning documents that cover possible land use changes through 2030.

Commissioner Tambra Varnadore voiced concern with allowing up to 45 residential units per acre in the commercial corridors along Eighth and 10th avenues west and 10th Street West.

City planning consultant Tom McCollum said the comprehensive plan already allows a maximum of 45 units in the planned development designations, but the proposal to allow it in the business district was to encourage mixed uses of retail stores, restaurants and other commercial enterprises on the street level with residences above them.

The change led to a philosophical discussion of what the individual commissioners wanted the commercial core to look like in the future.

The planning commission’s thinking was if Palmetto was going to sustain a viable downtown community, then going to 45 units was not that drastic, McCollum said.

“I would be uncomfortable with a higher density,” Varnadore said.

Planning commission member Charlie Ugarte, a Palmetto architect, tried to explain how the panel developed its proposals.

The city has to have a comprehensive plan that will provide a way to allow a high-rise to be built downtown in the future if the commission wants such a structure, Ugarte said.

He said the Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority has plans for rapid transit through the area and Palmetto has to be ready for such changes.

But Commissioner Tamara Cornwell said she was not ready to move forward so fast.

“The issue is the city can’t handle the transportation for this type of density,” Cornwell said.

Ugarte said the planned rapid transit will handle the transportation issues, but the higher density would be needed to make that possible.

“We’ve always talked about wanting to make Palmetto a more pedestrian-friendly city,” he said. “You can’t do that planning around the car.”

Commissioner Brian Williams said he is not sure the people of Palmetto want higher density.

Williams said he felt residents want a community somewhere between the density of Dunedin and Fort Myers.

“We don’t want to be part of a megalopolis,” he said.

Commissioner Alan Zirkelbach suggested the commission set a lower maximum units-per-acre figure, then require any development to come before them for approval of a higher density project.

The commission then came to a consensus that 14 would be the maximum number of units per acre permitted before a builder would have to seek special permission to have up to 45.