City considers Palm Avenue setback changes

A group of residents on a stretch of South Palm Avenue have treated new high-rise developments on the street with derision, calling the projects out of character with the buildings already in place.

Now, the neighbors’ agitation has prompted the consideration of design changes in the area.

On Monday, planning staff will ask the City Commission for approval to develop a proposal for adjusting the building regulations on the segment of Palm between Ringling Boulevard and Mound Street. Staff is also interested in prohibiting commercial development in the area.

Although staff members want to pursue new rules, they’re looking to the past for guidance. A memo included with the agenda for Monday’s meeting mentions implementing the land designations in place before 2004 while maintaining the existing density.

One of the biggest targets for criticism from residents in the area has been a provision in the zoning code that allows developers to build out to their property lines. Residents have said new projects clash with older buildings that are surrounded by more landscaping and have more space between neighboring structures.

They’ve also raised issues associated with the process of constructing those buildings with minimal or no setbacks. Residents have reported debris falling onto their properties from neighboring construction sites. Staging materials for new projects have blocked off segments of sidewalks.

Residents in the area have banded together, forming a group called SHOUT to lobby for regulatory changes including increased setbacks. To this point, they’ve criticized the city’s handling of the issues they’ve raised.

“Citizens must rely on the city and the city alone to protect them,” said Cindy Lang, SHOUT member and property manager of the Essex House condominium, at a 2018 event. “And in our case, the city surely failed.”

City staff members, however, say they share a similar philosophy about new construction on South Palm.

“One of the things, obviously, the citizens are looking for in that area — and I think we agree — is having something in place that would require greater setbacks,” city Planning Director Steve Cover said.

The zoning regulations on Palm Avenue changed in 2004 when the city adopted a downtown master plan. Rather than requiring large setbacks, planners recommended allowing zero-lot-line construction, which they said was a more urban design standard appropriate for the heart of the city.

Karin Murphy, a city planner when the master plan was adopted, said there was an issue with the rules in place on Palm Avenue. Murphy said planners originally recommended allowing taller buildings with large setbacks. When residents expressed concern about the height, planners went in the other direction — zero setbacks, but tied to a reduction in height.

When the commission approved the code, however, they also eliminated the height reduction. That change created building standards planners hadn’t endorsed, Murphy said in a previous interview with the Sarasota Observer.

Today, city planning staff is comfortable with moving away from the rules established in the downtown master plan.

“If you look at that area of the city, just from an urban design standpoint, we think the greater setbacks are justified,” Cover said.

If authorized, Cover said staff would work with stakeholders in the area to develop a more detailed plan for what any changes might look like.

Although that process cannot begin until the commission approves, Cover already believes staff and residents have the same outlook regarding the best path forward.

“I think what they’re looking for is ultimately what we’re looking for in this area too,” Cover said. “We are in sync.”