Point Pleasant residents concerned about overlay proposal in downtown Bradenton

BRADENTON -- It's an eclectic neighborhood west of Bradenton City Hall with white picket fences on some homes, multistory condominiums overlooking the Manatee River and a variety of architectural themes. Residents say they want to make sure the diverse character of Point Pleasant isn't harmed by the city's intention to establish an overlay district.

City officials have scheduled a Town Hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in the north lobby of City Hall for public input on the process.

The proposed conservation district encompasses about 14.5 acres from 12th and 15th streets west and in between the Manatee River and Manatee Avenue West. It's long been a peaceful neighborhood bordering the downtown area.

How that atmosphere will be affected by efforts to enhance the vibrancy of downtown while providing homes to match millennial and baby boomer desires to live, work and play downtown is at the heart of resident concerns.

"One of the biggest concerns in the Point Pleasant neighborhood is that they are having an influx of people wanting to live downtown and the neighborhood is being inundated with people wanting to do infill development," said Planning and Community Development Director Tim Polk.

An overlay district provides more development freedom outside standard form base codes, and gives the city more authority to determine what a development looks like. It's designed to give developers leeway to ensure the overlay district is protected, but residents say they aren't yet convinced despite successes in other overlay projects such as the Historic Ware's Creek area and the Village of the Arts.

In an email obtained by the Bradenton Herald, attorneys representing Westminster Communities, a downtown retirement complex, expressed concerns about lack of communication on how the overlay district would affect all of those who call Point Pleasant home.

Stephen Dye, attorney for Westminster, said the process is a self-described "fast-track" effort. He said the overlay activities "are a serious threat" to property now under contract for purchase.

Polk said such concerns are why a public meeting is needed.

"We are working with concerned citizens in regards to their concerns and thought it would be appropriate to make those concerns go away," by holding the meeting, said Polk. "We want a Point Pleasant Conservation District that would protect setbacks, live oaks, street trees, the view corridor to the river and the neighborhood's architectural features."

It's the not the first time Point Pleasant has been eyed as an overlay district. The city tried in 2007 and the effort was dismissed by residents.

The fear within the eclectic neighborhood is acknowledged by city officials.

"I'm not sure at this point whether this neighborhood is unified," said Mayor Wayne Poston. "There are still discussions going on, but I think (the meeting) will be structured in a way that there will be a conversation on what form base codes are and what you can and can't do. It will be an interesting meeting."

Polk said the meeting should be sufficient to alleviate concerns. It is the only Town Hall meeting scheduled before the overlay proposal goes before Planning Commission Jan. 20. It is scheduled to be heard Jan. 27 by Bradenton City Council. Polk said he is confident the benefits of becoming an overlay district will be adequately communicated and citizens will get more time to provide input at the upcoming city meetings.

"We will explain at the Town Hall meeting what the concerns are and how we can address them" said Polk. "There may be a need for further tweaking of the form base codes. We just had a private demo that tore down two homes and will build one, but that one will be done right, and people need to know that if you want to do a private demo for an infill project, you'll have to notify us."

Polk said developers could potentially do what they want under current codes on privately owned land in changing the landscape of the neighborhood. That is the primary reason for overlay protection.

Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff called the Point Pleasant neighborhood "prime walkable real estate and we do need to set some standards."

Polk said the goal is to ensure infill development doesn't adversely affect the neighborhood. Officials are so concerned about infill development the city considered declaring a building moratorium until an overlay district could be implemented, but City Clerk Carl Callahan said a building moratorium "would be a drastic process to take. We want to move forward quickly, but we don't want to mess with people's rights."

Polk said the overlay district would have little to no effect on existing residents.

"The focus is on infill," he said. "For example, you have multistory buildings that were built in the 1950s and 1970s. We aren't going to mess with that. This is all about infill."

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Point Pleasant residents concerned about overlay proposal in downtown Bradenton."