The Bay seeks changes to city code

Although the City Commission has already offered preliminary endorsements of a vision for redeveloping more than 50 acres of public bayfront land surrounding Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, planning and development staff has encountered some problems as it reviews the formal site plan for the first phase of the project.

One of those problems centers on a key element of the 10-acre phase one park proposal, a circular boardwalk pier that extends over the water near the southern boundary of the site at the nexus of Boulevard of the Arts. The issue: There’s no definition of a “pier” in the city’s zoning code.

After an initial review, the city determined the plans would have to comply with the closest structural definition that does exist in the zoning code, for a “dock.” But after a series of meetings between city staff and The Bay Sarasota, the group working to build the public park on city-owned land, a number of issues became apparent.

The definition of a dock was written with residential properties in mind, and a limitation of 500 square feet was inadequate for what The Bay had envisioned. The code also focused on regulating the number of boats that could be docked at the structures, even though the boardwalk structure didn’t feature any boat docking at all because it isn’t a dock.

That’s why, later this month, city staff will go before the City Commission requesting approval to fast-track a series of proposed zoning text amendments related to The Bay project. Both The Bay representatives and city staff characterized the zoning code changes as procedural in nature, cleaning up oversights and incongruities in an aging regulatory document.

The city has been formally partnering with The Bay Sarasota on a park project since 2018, when the commission unanimously adopted a master plan the private group developed for the entire 52-acre site after years of public input. The city has since entered into an agreement that allows The Bay to serve as the lead group overseeing the development of the site and, ultimately, the management of the parkland.

Although the city has already approved the master plan and an implementation plan for phase one, it must complete additional technical reviews before construction can begin. The Bay has met four times with the city’s development review committee to discuss the site plan for phase one, and staff is awaiting input on the proposed zoning text amendments before the project advances to the Planning Board and City Commission for public hearings.

Gretchen Schneider, the city’s interim director of development services, noted the city embarked on a total rewrite of its zoning code seven years ago in hopes of producing something more efficient and modern. Although the city never ended up adopting a new code, she said it is evident staff was already aware of imperfections of the code. She said the proposed zoning text amendments shouldn’t be seen as an end-around to avoid regulatory scrutiny.

“This has been going on for many years,” Schneider said of the bayfront planning process. “This isn’t the first time the project has been out in front of the public. They’ve been doing multiyear outreach with the community; they have their master plan already approved. I don’t think any of this is something that’s being fast-tracked at all, given how long it’s been in the works.”

Bill Waddill, The Bay’s chief implementation officer, said the amendments provided an opportunity to clean up the code, more accurately reflecting the elements included in the site plan and some of the city’s existing regulations related to special events on public property. He, too, said the act of amending the code shouldn’t be seen as a red flag, especially given the public support that The Bay has documented for the phase one proposal.

“I would just argue zoning codes should be living, breathing documents that evolve and adapt based on evolving cities and technology,” Waddill said.

In addition to the boardwalk pier, plans for phase one include an open-space lawn, a mangrove-lined inlet, and a food and beverage pavilion. Waddill hoped The Bay could earn site plan approval before the end of the year. The Bay has previously targeted a 2021 opening for phase one, expected to cost up to $25 million.