St. Pete Beach planners review proposal to allow standalone multifamily in Coquina West

City planning staff on Feb. 26 presented the St. Pete Beach Planning Board with a package of proposed changes to the Town Center 2 (Coquina West) zoning code that would allow standalone multifamily development, permit certain existing lodging to redevelop as standalone uses, and lower the land consolidation threshold for mixed‑use projects.

Brandon Berry, who led the presentation, said the changes are intended to help property owners recover and rebuild after recent storms while preserving the area’s scale and preventing an increase in overall district intensity. “We have three major use modifications that are being proposed under this cover,” Berry said, outlining proposals that focus on height, density and living‑area standards.

Under staff’s draft concepts, standalone multifamily would be allowed as a use category limited to multifamily buildings (duplexes and single‑family would remain prohibited). Staff proposed a base right of 18 units per acre for standalone multifamily on single parcels; the city’s existing residential redevelopment entitlement is 24…