WILLIAM L. LEARY Wrote in 2008 on Amending Our Awful Comprehensive Plan -- MAYOR JOSEPH LESTER BOLES, JR. Frustrated Reforms That Would Have Prevented 7-Eleven in Historic Area

Opinion: Help PZB plan for the future of St. Augustine
Bill Leary
Published Sunday, January 27, 2008
It's been said that planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now. Two weeks ago a St. Augustine Record editorial endorsed the suggestion of my colleague on the City Planning and Zoning Board, John Valdes, that we take a fresh look at our zoning code and comprehensive plan. He said that we need to see if updates are in order in light of changes in views of many of our citizens since these documents were last examined, in some cases, a decade ago.
Several of us agreed with him on the spot, suggesting that the upcoming Evaluation and Appraisal Report process to review our Comprehensive Plan would provide an ideal opportunity for a community dialogue about any needed changes. Since the zoning code must adhere to the Comprehensive Plan, changes in the plan will likely necessitate changes in the code.
The EAR process, routinely scheduled every seven years to encourage needed updates to the plan, is set to begin on Tuesday with a public meeting before the PZB beginning at 3 p.m. in the Alcazar Room at City Hall. This job begins with the development of a preliminary list of major issues and an assessment of the existing plan. Next we will gather information needed to evaluate the issues and analyze that data. We will also review past actions of the city in implementing the plan since the last EAR. We will review the success or failure of the city to meet plan objectives and identify changes that may be needed.
I expect us to meet with officials from neighboring jurisdictions. Finally, the PZB will prepare a report to document its findings and recommendations. The results of our review will then be presented to the City Commission and ultimately to the state.
Tuesday not only provides you the opportunity to exercise your right to vote in the upcoming special election, but also to help us discuss the future of St. Augustine. On behalf of my PZB colleagues, I urge you to attend and participate. We need to hear from a broad cross-section of our community, including business owners, homeowners, neighborhood associations, developers, realtors, artists, environmentalists, fishermen, boaters and history buffs. Those who seek change, as well as those who think things are just fine the way they are, should share their views.
Examples of issues that seem to me to be fodder for discussion include:
1. Protection of our natural and environmental resources, including dock proliferation and size, boat access and moorings, and development of waterfronts and wetlands in conservation overlay zones.
2. Traffic congestion, public parking and road repair.
3. Stormwater and other infrastructure maintenance.
4. Management and restoration of historic properties and resources.
5. Homelessness and other housing issues.
6. Location of residential zones versus those for commercial and industrial development and open lands.
7. Development in coastal high hazard areas that, among other things, can impact hurricane evacuation needs.
8. Enhancement of our entry corridors.
9. Changes in zoning regulations to reflect current community desires for development on conforming and non-conforming lots. This could include review of the 1970s era decision to make more than 90 percent of residential lots non-conforming.
10. Improvement of our economic and tax base.
Please keep in mind that any changes we recommend will require an identification of how we will pay for their cost. This will serve to help us prioritize change and to distinguish the realistic from the utopian.
Nonetheless, we should not think too small. There's a proverb about the frog at the bottom of the well who thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view. I urge you to surface Tuesday and share your view.
Bill Leary is a member of the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board.