Guest Column: Time is right for city zoning code review

Guest Column: Time is right for city zoning code review



JOHN VALDES
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 01/18/09


Who needs zoning regulation review? We do. Due to the present economic down turn, we now have the time and the opportunity to review and modify our city of St. Augustine zoning codes without the pressure of new projects in the works.

In recent years, our city has had a host of developments proposed (and some built) which would have never been considered as a possibility back in 1975 when our current codes were adopted. One example being the Riberia Street corridor, which could under present zoning see very massive buildings constructed, that would dominate the adjacent residential neighborhoods.

We should also bring "form based" zoning back into the discussion. Now is the time to further explore putting form (how a building looks and will fit in) on par with, if not ahead of, the more traditional zoning concerns.

Under our present zoning code, if your neighborhood is outside of the Historic Preservation District and not on an Entrance Corridor, anyone can build any architectural style they choose, if it satisfies present height, lot coverage, setback and use requirements.

The city, through its Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB), has for decades regulated the form that buildings take in our Historic Preservation classifications. A few years ago, St. Augustine enacted the "Entrance Corridor Guidelines" in which the form and appearance of buildings are subject to review and to some degree of regulation.

Unfortunately, the Entrance Corridor Guidelines only apply to those buildings facing King Street, San Marco avenue and portions of Anastasia Boulevard.

We have had years of experience and a wonderful degree of success in protecting the architectural integrity of those old neighborhoods fortunate enough to fall under Historic Preservation zoning protection, in particular.

If we allow our city and its historic neighborhoods to become compromised when the market returns by an influx of "modern style" or out-of-scale buildings and other structures, its uniqueness and charm will suffer, as will its economic value.

Implementing an entirely new, city-wide, form-based zoning plan may be unrealistic at this time. I do believe, however, as an interim solution, we carefully review our present zoning regulations making the needed adjustments to better deal with tomorrow's challenges. And we get our citizens involved.

Citizen committees could be appointed by the City Commission made up of past Planning and Zoning Board members and others interested and familiar with our present zoning regulations. The committees would review each zoning classification and make modification recommendations to the PZB and City Commission. The city has committees in place, such as the parking committee, to explore many issues important to our city. This issue is important -- it needs a committee of its own.

We have been given a temporary respite from the development that threatens to forever change our city's character and fabric. We need to use this slow time at a minimum to seriously review and modernize our existing zoning codes. In addition it is my opinion that we need to also consider some form of city-wide architectural guidelines to help cope with the demands that will be placed on our "Old City" as the market and new developmental pressure returns.

We only have a little time.

The St. Augustine City Planning and Zoning Board is having a workshop meeting on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at City Hall, 75 King St., in the City Commission meeting room to discuss modifications and the updating of the city's zoning regulations.

A recommendation to the City Commission for the appointment by the commission of citizen committees to revue all city zoning categories.

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John Valdes, owner of John Valdes and Associates, Inc., is chair of the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board. He is a past chair of St. Augustine's Board of Adjustment & Appeals and of the City Code Enforcement Board. He is also a Florida state certified building contractor and Florida state registered master plumber and roofing contractor. He has served the St. Augustine area since 1989. He was raised in a family construction company and has worked in the building industry since 1958, within the United States and abroad.


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