Gulfport officials walk residents through rezoning, site-plan rules as Stetson explores student housing

Ward 4 residents gathered at a neighborhood town hall to hear city staff explain how a request to change residential land to institutional — and separate work on student housing — would proceed through Gulfport’s planning process.

"We received an email ... saying that they're not interested in rezoning this circled block at this time," Ward representative Jennifer Webb told the meeting, describing communication from Stetson University’s dean. City Manager Jim O’Reilly, Planning and Development interim director Mark Griffin and consultant Linda Fischer (AICP) joined the panel to outline requirements and timelines.

The nut of the matter, officials said, is that changing a future land-use designation in the city comprehensive plan is a different and earlier step than changing the zoning map. "You would have to amend two maps," Griffin explained: a future land-use amendment reviewed under the comprehensive plan and, separately, a zoning-code change that establishes the institutional district.

Both the land-use amendment and the zoning change carry public-notice and review requirements. Griffin and O’Reilly said proposals typically go first to the Planning & Zoning Board for a recommendation, then to City Council for public hearings and readings; because this city process ties into county and state review, additional hearings at Pinellas County and state review bodies would occur concurrently.

Officials emphasized notice measures: mailed notices to properties within 500 feet, signage on the property and legal advertising in a newspaper of general circulation. "You'll have the opportunity to weigh in at the planning board, at the city council first reading and again at final adoption," Griffin said.

If Stetson or another developer were to build on land already zoned institutional (for example, the soccer and basketball fields), the project would generally go through an administrative site-plan review for permitted uses. That could still trigger city council review, the panel said, if a developer sought changes that require text amendments or development agreements — for example, a formal definition of dormitories or adjustments to parking standards. Such text amendments would require two ordinance readings by council.

Staff also outlined technical constraints: institutional zoning currently limits building height (about 45 feet) and applies a planning equivalency for bed density (cited at roughly 30 beds per acre in the discussion). Stormwater requirements would need permits from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and traffic and sanitary impacts are reviewed for concurrency with the comprehensive plan.

Residents expressed concern that administrative site-plan approvals could proceed without broad neighborhood awareness. Officials responded that development agreements and text amendments — the items that tend to change standards or grant deviations — would come before council with public hearings.

Looking ahead, the city said it will keep an email list for updates and that a further community conversation with Stetson is planned for Nov. 20. Residents were urged to track Planning & Zoning and City Council agendas and to submit comments during the formal notice periods.

The meeting concluded with a reminder that, while the university had explored options, the city had no active rezoning application for the circled residential block at the time of the town hall.