BRADENTON BEACH – The city’s efforts to rezone and/or amend the future land use map designations for several residential properties in the Azure Shores subdivision may not be needed after all.
The Azure Shores subdivision includes 23 properties located north of Bridge Street, south of the Cortez Bridge and east of Gulf Drive South.
During the Nov. 16 Planning and Zoning Board meeting, Building Official Steve Gilbert shared some recent discoveries he made when reviewing past city commission actions from the 1980s and the 2000s.
Gilbert’s discoveries may impact how the commission proceeds with its efforts to make the Azure Shores zoning designations and future land use map designations consistent with one another.
The Azure Shores discussions are part of the city’s ongoing ef- forts to address numerous inconsistencies that exist between the various zoning designations and future land use map designations that apply to numerous properties throughout the city. If left unaddressed, the existing inconsistencies could potentially subject the city to permitting challenges and/ or legal action.
The zoning and future land use map designations determine what kind of development is allowed on a specific property. Changes to those designations could negatively or positively impact the ability to develop a property and/or the value of a property.
Past actions
On Oct. 20, the city commission rejected the proposed rezoning ordinance that contained Gilbert and City Planner Luis Serna’s recommendation to rezone the Azure Shores properties from their current Multiple Family Dwelling District (R-3) zoning designation to a Mixed-Use District (MXD) zoning designation, while maintaining the Retail/Office/Residential (ROR) future land use map designation adopted by a previous city commission in 2008.
City staff’s proposed rezoning would have allowed ground-level retail and office space with residential units above, but the commission has demonstrated its desire to protect that area’s exist- ing residential character.
The commission also rejected the Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendation to instead rezone those properties to R-2 (two-family dwelling) and change the future land use map designation to Medium Density Residential.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry advised the commission that downzoning those properties from R-3 to R-2 could negatively impact allowed uses and property values for those properties.
The commission directed Gilbert and Serna to continue working with the Planning and Zoning Board and the potentially impacted property owners to find a way to cure the existing inconsistencies.
During the Oct. 20 meeting, Chiles Hospitality Facilities Director Brooks O’Hara mentioned the BeachHouse restaurant ownership group’s desire to create a designated parking lot on the Chiles Hospitality-owned vacant lot at the corner of Third Street North and Highland Avenue.
Depending on how the existing zoning and land use designations are interpreted, the R-3 zoning designation may not allow for a standalone parking lot on a residentially zoned property that’s not physically contiguous to the other Chiles Hospitality-owned properties in that vicinity.
Recent discoveries
During the Nov. 16 Planning and Zoning Board meeting, Gilbert said he reviewed a copy of the city’s 1989 comprehensive plan. At that time, the Azure Shores sub-division had the ROR future land use map designation with the R-3 zoning designation that remains in effect today. Going back farther, Gilbert said the zoning code that existed in 1983 allowed hotels, motels, coffee shops and restaurants in R-3 zoned districts.
“Somebody, in 1989, intention- ally said ROR and R-3 high-density residential are consistent. At least from ‘83 to ‘89, the argument would be reasonably consistent,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said the ROR future land use designation does not have an assigned dwelling unit density limit, whereas the R-1, R-2 and R-3 zoning designations do have density limits.
“You could make the argument today that R-3 zoning on top of ROR land use could be considered consistent. At the end of the day, it comes down to what the city commission wants,” Gilbert said.
“It’s 2022. The 2020 comprehensive plan was adopted in 2008 and directed to run to 2020. The city’s different now than it was in 2008. Maybe there is no longer any intention to build up this area as mixed-use development. Realistically what we’re seeing is a single-family house with 10 bedrooms. It’s all about rental income. Maybe we don’t need mixed-use at all. Maybe we don’t need ROR land use at all,” Gilbert said.
“We’ll talk to the residents and find out what their feelings are. If that translates into a change to the future land use map and/or changing the zoning designation then so be it. The property belongs to the people that live here. If we’ve got stuff that was adopted 18 years ago that’s no longer relevant, then why are we still trying to do something?” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said he needs to confer with Perry as to how to move forward with the efforts that may require some revisions as to what is and isn’t allowed in an R-3 zone district or the ROR future land use designation.
Regarding the Chiles Hospitality group’s desired parking lot, Gilbert said it’s possible that an R-3 zoned property with a ROR future land use map designation could possibly be used as a parking lot.
Gilbert said he would ask the city commission to schedule some town hall meetings that provide potentially impacted property owners with additional opportunities to share their opinions on any potential zoning or future land use map revisions.
