Community Development Board approves Wyndham Grand beach amenity with boundary, bans outdoor cooking

The Clearwater Community Development Board voted June 16 to approve FLD 2008-05013A, allowing the Wyndham Grand at 100 Coronado Drive to add an outdoor amenity area and mobile vending carts on a narrow strip of city-owned land adjacent to the Beachwalk.

Planner Melissa Haught Baker told the board the proposed amenity would sit between the hotel and South Gulf View Boulevard, be operated by the hotel, and ‘‘consist of outdoor seating area’’ with food prepared inside the hotel and brought out for service. She said the proposal relies on the Beach by Design character district and cited code sections 2-803(D) and 2-1404(A) that govern comprehensive infill redevelopment procedures and flexibility criteria. ‘‘The amenity area is going to be conducted [and] operated by the hotel,’’ Baker said during the staff presentation.

The applicant’s representatives said vending carts will be movable for storm safety and that no on-site outdoor food preparation is planned. ‘‘We feel like this is going to be a great addition to the beach,’’ said Seth McDaniels, general manager of the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach, describing the plan as an extension of the hotel’s restaurant operations that would be managed for safety and compliance.

The board approved the project with several conditions. Members added a specific boundary condition tying the licensed area to the inside perimeter of the existing Beachwalk sidewalk so the licensed space does not extend into the public right-of-way. Staff also confirmed Condition of Approval No. 14, included with the approval, states explicitly that ‘‘no food preparation shall be prepared outside’’ in the amenity area, a point staff cited to address plan pages that showed a smoker or cooking device described elsewhere in the application.

During the hearing, staff and counsel clarified a legal point raised by public commenters about the city charter: because the city plans to grant a revocable license rather than convey an interest in real property, the charter provision that restricts sale or lease of municipally owned open-space property does not, in staff counsel’s view, require a referendum for this license structure. That explanation appeared to resolve concerns raised during public comment about whether a charter referendum would be required for this specific license approach.

A public commenter raised broader concerns about public access and policing of alcohol consumption on the Beachwalk; the applicant said alcohol service would be confined to the licensed premises and be managed under standard licensing and server training protocols. Staff noted the existing 20-foot promenade easement that already authorizes some retail and restaurant uses east of a green line shown in the plans and said the new approval would authorize a limited, revocable license for a small additional area beyond that easement.

The board motion carried with one recorded nay and one abstention. Staff and the applicant said the license agreement that governs day-to-day use and enforcement will continue to be negotiated separately and may require additional administrative or council-level approvals depending on final terms. The approval on June 16 covers the development entitlement and the attached conditions; implementation of the license will be a later step.