Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
St. Pete Beach debates how ‘height’ is measured in 8th Avenue CRD; city attorney warns legal limits until SB 180 expires
Summary
Commissioners and the public debated whether the 8th Avenue community redevelopment district’s 35‑foot limit was intended to be measured from grade or from base/design flood elevation; staff cited code history and FEMA map changes while the city attorney said Senate Bill 180 and the Bert Harris Act constrain written amendments until at least Oct. 1, 2027.
Commissioners spent substantial time Jan. 13 addressing whether the 35‑foot height reference for the CRD 8th Avenue district was meant to be measured from ground level (grade) or from base/design flood elevation.
Brandon, the city planner, summarized decades of code history and amendments and said the citywide definition of height has evolved. He noted that changes adopted in 2015 and 2021 shifted measurement language and that updated FEMA flood maps in 2021 lowered base flood elevations in parts of the city, which in practical terms reduced allowable buildable height in some locations. Brandon used a local example: the Berkeley Beach…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
