City rejects boat facility request
By PETER GUINTA
Staff Writer
Publication Date: 02/13/01
After listening to Lincolnville residents, St. Augustine city commissioners Monday night voted 3-2 to deny St. Augustine Marine's request for a 50-foot boat storage facility on its Riberia Street property.
The decision means the company probably will erect a shorter, but much longer, boat storage building at a height of 35 feet.
After the vote, St. Augustine Marine's attorney, George McClure, said he didn't know what the company would do next, but hinted the longer building might be built.
''I'll have to ask my client,'' he said.
The company's initial application to rezone the property into a planned unit development on 24 acres on South Riberia Street was turned down by the city's planning and zoning department on Nov. 7.
Monday's hearing was an appeal for the City Commission to overturn that decision.
McClure, with project architect Jerry Dixon of Dixon and Associates, and land planner Karen Taylor, showed commissioners aerial maps and color drawings of the site, and a computer simulation contrasting the 35- and 50-foot building heights and illustrating the shadows they would cast over the neighborhood.
He said the property's use will not change. ''It's going to be an industrial site, no matter what anyone says.''
St. Augustine Marine's only alternative, he said, is a 35-foot-high building, 400 feet long and 50 yards wide.
It will sit close to the lot line, contain less landscaping around it and block much more of the river view than the taller one would have done.
The company can build the shorter building now under existing zoning laws.
''On balance, that will be substantially worse,'' McClure said.
Apparently not caring about that aspect of the decision, Lincolnville residents turned out in force to protest.
Architect Don Crichlow, a Lin-colnville resident, said the taller building would be visible from King Street, U.S. 1, the Bridge of Lions and the State Road 312 bridge.
''You can't put anything out of site in this little town. Anything taller was put up before the 35-foot (building height) ordinance, and was more than likely the reason the ordinance was passed,'' he said.
He said this would be the first 50-foot industrial building ap-proved.
Wilton Rooks said St. Augustine was getting ''skyline creep,'' in that taller and taller buildings were being built.
''No area should be sacrified on the altar of commercial expansion at the expense of the neighbors who live there. Everybody likes St. Augustine like it is. That's why people live here,'' he said.
Mary L. Lee, 69 M.L. King Ave., said the city is a small peninsula.
''We're a community of small homeowners and have a place for our children to enjoy. We will not be able to see out. We are a good little neighborhood. Don't fence us in,'' she said.
About an equal number of speakers thought the height increase was a good idea. Most are St. Augustine Marine employees, but Lincolnville resident Margo Geer, 30 Sanford St., said she also supported the application.
She said neighborhood concerns were valid, but the higher, better landscaped building would ''contribute to the visual improvement to the south end of Riberia Street.''
As commissioners began to describe their feelings about the issue, it was easy to count and see it would fail.
Commissioner Raymond Con-nor, who lives on South Street, said McClure and St. Augustine Marine worked hard to get the neighborhood on board, but he wasn't for changing the limit.
''Lincolnville has come a long way in 10 years,'' he said, adding that his private walking poll of residents showed them 83 percent against the idea of a higher building.
''A 50-foot building will really block off the sun in the afternoon,'' he said. ''It would be like night for them. The residents understand that. I'm going with the residents.''
Commissioner Susan Burk agreed, and made the motion to deny.
''It will set a precedent, and I don't like it. It would change the character of the city,'' she said.
Commissioner Alex Christine said that when he was on the planning and zoning board, an issue like this came up and was denied. The owners then built something much worse, he said.
''History generally triumphs over industry in St. Augustine,'' he said. ''(But) in one way, the marine industry is part of our history as well.''
Mayor Mark Alexander said the commission always is concerned about the city's history.
''I have a hard time going against the neighborhood, if this is what they want,'' he said.
The 3-2 vote against finally killed the appeal for St. Augustine Marine.
Commissioners Christine and Bill Lennon voted for it.
McClure said he hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to the Riberia Street property as the case that Christine described.
''I'm really sorry for that,'' he said.
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