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Commission backs zoning changes to ease post‑storm elevated homes, widen stair encroachments
Summary
The commission voted unanimously on first reading Oct. 28 to amend the city’s Land Development Code to clarify and ease permitting for elevated residences, while adding design and retention rules for accessory elements such as stairs, storage buildings and pools.
The St. Pete Beach City Commission on Oct. 28 approved first reading of ordinance 2025‑21, a package of amendments to the city’s Land Development Code aimed at recurring issues from post‑storm elevated residences and reconstruction.
Key changes under first reading include: allowing front‑yard stair encroachments by right for nonconforming residences that are elevated in place or reconstructed within the same footprint (subject to design standards such as unroofed stairs, an open base with at least 80% transparency and limits on projection); a maximum 7‑foot stair projection for stairs set closer than 17 feet to the front property line (10‑foot setback minimum for most districts; 5 feet in Pass‑a‑Grille where different setbacks already apply); clarified retention rules allowing certain nonconforming accessory structures (pools, deck covers, gazebos) to remain when the primary residence is elevated or reconstructed and the accessory structure itself is not substantially improved; an increase in allowed residential storage building size from 80 to 120 square feet with clarified prohibitions on mechanical equipment that would convert the structure into habitable space; and clearer rules for elevating or relocating mechanical equipment, including an in‑place lift option for existing equipment when the house is elevated.
The ordinance also offers an alternative front‑setback approach for cul‑de‑sac lots that measures a 15‑foot front yard from the tangent line of the curb arc (rather than from the arc itself) to make small, curved lots more buildable and reduce the need for variances.
The planning board, acting as the local planning agency, reviewed the draft and recommended several of the proposed changes but suggested limiting extended stair encroachment permissions for newly constructed residences (staff kept the draft discretionary permission in the version presented to the commission). Commissioners asked staff to consider historic neighborhoods and overlay options for other areas beyond Pass‑a‑Grille and to continue reviewing side‑setback and lot‑depth impacts during subsequent drafts.
Commissioners debated practical impacts — balancing faster re‑occupancy of elevated homes against potential visual and privacy impacts on neighboring lots — and asked staff to return with clarifications on several definitions (for example, “substantial improvement,” damage versus destruction thresholds for accessory structures, and exact equipment elevation heights). The ordinance passed first reading on a unanimous roll call; staff will return with final language, clarifications requested by the commission and any non‑substantive edits for second reading.
Votes at a glance: ordinance 2025‑21 (first reading) — approved, unanimous (Vice Mayor Marriott, Commissioner Robinson, Commissioner Reznicki, Commissioner Maldonado, Mayor Adrian Petrillo).
The measure is intended to reduce permitting uncertainty for homeowners seeking to elevate or reconstruct homes after recent storms while preserving the commission’s ability to address broader planning and historic‑character concerns through future overlay work or code refinements.
