New Design Guidelines for Waterfront Redevelopment District

New Design Guidelines for Waterfront Redevelopment District

By Jim McConville

Gulfport City Council approved modifications for all development in the Waterfront Redevelopment District, which runs parallel to Beach Boulevard, from Shore Boulevard to 28th Ave. S., one-half block east of 56th St. S. and one-half block west of 54th St. S. These modifications deal with design standards. Council first approved the modifications in October, as did Gulfport’s planning and zoning board; this was council’s second and final vote.

“This (zoning change) is to incentivize, and offer options for people to build smaller when they develop,” Mayor Sam Henderson said. “That’s pretty much the full intent of this change – and it took a lot of maneuvering to get us here.”

Gulfport resident Greg Semick, of 31st Ave. S., said the change “may be putting the cart before the horse,” by promoting expanded building growth in Gulfport as its population shrinks.

“The underlying implication is that the zoning change is going to stir massive, by relative standards, economic growth,” Semick said. He said the US Census data shows Gulfport’s population declining over the past 20 years.

“We are lagging in population,” Semick said. “There’s been a six percent decline, while the state itself has increased 35% and St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have increased between 5% and 15%, while at the same time, our median income in Gulfport is 11% below the state level.

“So, I ask, where are the customers and the labor going to be coming from that’s going to enable this development project to be a success?” Semick said. “The jobs that this new retail is going to create are going to be low-paying retail jobs.”