Editorial: Updated city land use rules vital to its future

Editorial: Updated city land use rules vital to its future


From Staff
Publication Date: 01/06/08
The St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board was once again reminded on Wednesday that scenic vistas are an important part of our quality of life.
Lincolnville, the city's historically black community has been infused with new residents who are intent on turning it from an almost forgotten neighborhood to a vibrant community.
They came out in force on Wednesday to object to a 300 boat-slip dry storage proposal by Oasis Marina on the San Sebastian River, Lincolnville's western border.
The mass and scale was offensive enough to the residents, three or four 35-foot high buildings, but they harped again on a theme that the Zoning Board has heard many times in the past decade: loss of the scenic view, the vista.
A potentially spoiled vista comes up often.
It was the key element in a fight over a 1,000-foot dock at the proposed Fish Island development.
It came up again last month when the city proposed a 19-foot mound over a former city dump site on South Riberia Street in Lincolnville.
The city has suggested it be turned into a passive park for bird-watching, for example.
And now, the proposed 300-slip dry storage the board turned down on Wednesday.
The company can appeal the PZB decision to the City Commission. The code allows the business to build some kind of dry storage, even a wall-to-wall building, because the land is zoned industrial warehousing.
Whether the industrial warehousing zoning is still appropriate for Riberia Street is a source of community concern. The city is operating, as many cities and counties are, with zoning codes written 15-30 years ago. St. Augustine's code was adopted in 1975 and updated in 1992 when the city adopted its comprehensive plan for land use. That's still a 15-year-old code. Times and community attitudes have changed.
Zoning Board Vice Chairman John Valdes expressed a desire for a city workshop on the present zoning code in relation to today's community standards.
He said the city is dealing with issues that are "not what the code-writers thought we'd be dealing with."
We agree with Valdes.
Parts of the city's zoning code may be outdated and at the very least, incompatible with today's changing attitudes toward community development.
Following up on Valdes suggestion, Mark Knight, the city's planning director, said a workshop will be held Jan. 29 on the zoning code and the issues such as land use and protection of vistas. The meeting is at 3 p.m. in City Hall.
Knight encourages the public to speak about the city's future land use. This workshop will begin a year-long effort by the city to ensure compatibility between its state-mandated Comprehensive Plan for land use and its zoning code.
It's important for residents to participate in the effort so they can have a hand in discussions of potential zoning and land use changes.
A recent article on updating municipal codes on the Florida League of Cities Web site, www.flcities.com, puts the value of change in perspective.
Wendy Gray, League of Cities planning and land use consultant, said, "The codes serve as the blueprint for your city. By making sure the codes are sound, you are creating a solid foundation for your city for years to come."
Gray's view is right on target.
People come to St. Augustine for its heritage and its charm. Its overall quality of life converts some visitors to eventual residents.
The city's codes have to be compatible with the 21st century land use.
The fact that the city has already scheduled a workshop and is pledged to address concerns raised by Valdes and others is a sure sign city officials want the community to help direct the city's future.

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