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Council denies rezoning request for 801 E. Saint Claire St. after neighbor opposition and code-enforcement history
Summary
Tampa City Council denied a request to rezone 801 East Saint Claire Street from RS-50 (single-family) to RM-18 (multifamily) after neighbors and council members said the property had a history of code violations and attempts to legalize existing nonconforming units.
The Tampa City Council voted unanimously to deny a rezoning request for 801 East Saint Claire Street after extensive public comment and council discussion about repeated code violations and prior council review.
The applicant asked the council to rezone the parcel from RS-50 (residential single-family) to RM-18 (residential multifamily) so that three existing rental units operating on the lot could be made lawful without demolition or a longer permitting process. Development Coordination staff described the site and reported the property is located between North Mitchell Avenue and North Nebraska Avenue in the East Tampa overlay district; staff found the rezoning request consistent with land-development regulations as a Euclidean rezoning but noted that if the applicant intended to vest existing structures they would need design exceptions for existing reduced setbacks.
Neighbors and neighborhood association representatives urged denial. Kim Hedlund, president of the V.M.I. Born Neighborhood Association, told council the association had voted to oppose the rezoning and that the property had a “long, storied history” of noncompliance, including prior findings the property was used as an unpermitted rooming house. Hedlund said approving the rezoning would allow four units on the lot (the RM-18 district permits up to four units) and would require more off-street parking than the lot can reasonably accommodate.
Resident Kelly Grenzdale described repeated code and use problems at the site and said a special magistrate had previously found zoning violations and ordered daily fines. City legal staff, Kate Wells of the City Legal Department, confirmed there had been a code-enforcement action taken to a special magistrate in May 2024 that found property-maintenance and zoning violations and that a $500 daily fine had been assessed since that hearing. Wells said the rezoning itself would not automatically erase fines already accumulated and that the applicant would need to show compliance to code-enforcement staff to stop further fines.
The applicant and owner said they purchased the property with the units already in place and that their intent was to legalize the existing units and pursue repairs. Council members questioned what had changed since a prior council consideration in 2020 when a similar rezoning request was denied; staff indicated the property had been before council in 2020 and previously denied when the prior owner sought vesting of existing units.
After public comment and discussion, Councilman Maniscalco moved to deny REZ25-80, citing the predominantly single-family character of the block and the property's history of noncompliance; Councilman Miranda seconded. The motion to deny carried unanimously (voice vote).
Because the property has outstanding enforcement orders, council members and staff noted that denial leaves the code-enforcement process in place: the owner may pursue corrections and then, if desired, return with a different application after addressing violations and code requirements. The council's denial does not negate fines accumulated to date; staff advised the applicant to work with code-enforcement staff on compliance and pursue any design exceptions or formal vesting steps only after the property is brought into compliance.
