Pinellas LPA backs rezoning recommendation to allow third unit at 4500 40th Street North in Lealman

The Pinellas County Local Planning Agency on April voted 4–2 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve a future land‑use map amendment (FLU 25‑01) to change 4500 Fortieth Street North in Lealman from Residential Urban (RU) to Residential Medium (RM), a change that would permit up to three dwelling units on the 0.21‑acre parcel instead of two.

Planning staff recommended denial, saying the change would create an isolated RM designation inside a neighborhood otherwise designated RU and would make the county’s plan map inconsistent with the Forward Pinellas countywide plan map. “It would create an isolated 0.21‑acre RM designation that’s completely surrounded by RU,” said Scott Swearingen, long‑range planner with Pinellas County, who presented the staff report and cited the distance to the nearest RM designation and the 100% increase in allowed density from 7.5 to 15 dwelling units per acre.

The applicant, Mila Ortiz, who identified herself as sole owner of Mila Mania Properties, told the Local Planning Agency she wants to convert existing space to create a third long‑term rental unit. Ortiz said the building currently contains two permitted units but historically had been operated in multiple configurations; she argued the county’s current RU designation leaves several legally nonconforming properties in the surrounding area and said changing to RM would allow renovation that preserves existing housing stock. “My goal is to turn every square inch of this existing footprint into middle‑class, long‑term housing for the increasing density occurring in Pinellas County,” Ortiz said, adding that she plans to live in one of the units.

Neighbors who testified opposed the amendment, saying the site’s size and past unpermitted conversions created parking and safety concerns. Tony Clark, who identified himself as a resident at 4580 Fortieth Street North and a long‑time neighbor, said the property has been a neighborhood nuisance when it was previously occupied as multiple illegal units and warned additional units could increase curbside parking pressure. “If it changed from two living units … to three, it would drastically increase the number of vehicles to park,” Clark said. David Lee, a resident at 4425 40th Sixth Avenue North, said the parcel is too small for three three‑bedroom units and urged the agency to pursue neighborhood planning first.

Staff’s technical review noted the parcel is outside coastal high hazard and 500‑year floodplain areas (flood zone X), said a land‑use change would permit an additional dwelling unit on the 0.21‑acre parcel, and estimated an average increase of about 7.2 daily vehicle trips if the change were approved. Swearingen told the board there is no development application before the county and that zoning (R4) would remain unchanged by the FLU amendment; any site plan, permits or conditional overlays would be handled later through zoning and building permit review.

During discussion, LPA members debated tradeoffs among preserving small‑lot housing, neighborhood compatibility, and ways to give neighbors assurances about parking and unit occupancy. Several members suggested the applicant and neighbors could pursue additional tools — such as conditional overlays or development agreements tied to site plans — but staff and counsel said those tools would require separate zoning or application steps and additional review. Board member Don Hendricks, who moved the recommendation, said the county should support private reinvestment that brings long‑term housing. “We talk about affordable housing, and then the very people that are trying to do that, we’re throwing roadblocks in front of them,” Hendricks said.

The LPA vote was 4 in favor, 2 opposed. The board’s recommendation will go to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners for a final decision at a public hearing currently scheduled for May 20, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Palm Room at 333 Chestnut Street. If the Board of County Commissioners approves the change, the amendment would also be submitted to Forward Pinellas for a countywide plan consistency review, a required step staff noted in the hearing.

The Local Planning Agency hearing record shows the applicant provided neighborhood support letters and a proposed site plan illustrating five on‑site parking spaces and an impervious surface percentage of roughly 25.07 percent; staff noted parking minimums for a triplex under current rules amount to at least 4.5 spaces and the applicant’s proposed layout provides five spaces. Several speakers said building‑permit and site‑plan review would be important to ensure structural upgrades, code compliance and remediation of prior commercial uses before occupancy.

The LPA’s action on FLU 25‑01 is advisory; it does not change zoning or authorize construction. Any future permits for renovation, conversion or an increase in units will be subject to separate zoning, site‑plan and building‑code reviews and applicable inspections.