PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The availability of housing in St. Petersburg will increase after a vote by St. Pete City Council Thursday night.
After hearing from hundreds of voices — through both email and during the meeting’s lengthy public comment period — council members voted 7-to-1 to change the zoning for roughly 3,000 homes that are located in proximity to major roads. Most of the properties impacted are in the city’s core.
The council vote rezones those properties to NTM-1 or Neighborhood Traditional Mixed Residential. The new zoning will allow developers and homeowners the option of converting a traditional single-family home into a duplex, triplex, or quadplex.
The city pursued the change to address St. Pete’s shrinking supply of housing which has forced some longtime residents from city limits and has prevented some of the people who work in St. Pete from calling the city home.
According to the city, the plan to increase density in traditional neighborhoods — referred to as upzoning by some — will help create more “middle housing,” in other words, housing somewhere in the middle of large apartment complexes and single-family homes.
While supporters of the change acknowledge that it won’t be a silver bullet to the area’s lack of affordable and attainable housing, they think it will help in some regard.
“This is going to give more people an opportunity to rent or buy and maybe — just maybe — at some prices that a regular person can afford,” said Council Member Gina Driscoll.
Representatives from YIMBY St. Pete, a group that advocates for more affordable housing, echoed that sentiment and said the rezoning is necessary as the city's housing crisis forces people — including many who work in St. Pete — from their longtime homes.
“This zero-sum tragedy is pushing our recent graduates, our first responders, and our teachers to flee in search of cheaper housing," said Mack Feldman with YIMBY St. Pete.
Critics, however, argued that the change will do little to increase St. Pete’s affordable housing supply since the rezoning does not include an affordability requirement. As a result, new units created by the change would likely be sold at a market rate that is not attainable for much of the city’s workforce.
Other critics spoke against the change for different reasons. Some feel the change will diminish the character of the city’s historic neighborhoods. Others believe it will cause parking problems on narrow neighborhood streets and alleys — even though the city will require a minimum of one parking spot per housing unit.
“This was supposed to be a public hearing. You’re supposed to hear our concerns, and you’re not. You’ve made up your mind. This is the way it’s going to be and no if, ands, or buts about it," Stephanie Pitts, a neighbor, told council members.
Before the rezoning plan passed, council members considered a few tweaks.
An amendment to exempt homes located in historic districts failed in a tie vote. Council did pass an amendment that stipulates that any duplexes, triplexes, or quadplexes created by the rezoning plan must maintain a five-foot setback, or distance, from neighboring properties.
Council Member Ed Montanari was the lone vote against the rezoning ordinance. Council Member Brandi Gabbard, meanwhile, said she would like to eventually see the zoning change spread to other St. Pete neighborhoods, including her own.
