(March 8, 2023) The proposed buyer of the two parcels that Pasadena Community Church offered for sale has, as expected, filed an application to change the zoning of the two parcels. The zoning application is one more predictable step in the plans that the church announced in January. The process is unfolding as such a construction project normally unfolds; a step at a time.
As we have communicated, Onyx+East’s proposal was to build 20 free-standing homes on the soccer field property and 40 on the property currently home to the preschool and thrift mall. We checked with the developer, and Jacob Egan Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for Onyx+East affirmed that nothing in their plans has changed. They are still planning 60 units. He explained, that the zoning change would allow more units, but that is not their plan.
Onyx+East’s purchase is not restricted in the purchase agreement to that number (60 total units) but the church included a stipulation in the sale offer that if the builder includes more than the number of residences that it proposed, it would have to pay more for the property with each additional unit. It was a sort of disincentive to add more residences to the plans.
The zoning change application was requested and filed by the developer, but because PCC is the land owner, and so the “applicant” is listed as the church. That is routine because only a landowner can request a zoning change. Such changes are routine since a buyer would not purchase a property if they were unsure the property could be zoned for their building plans.
The application is to allow the property to be zoned as NSM1. That is an abbreviation for Neighborhood Suburban Multifamily-1. This designation allows low-density multifamily structures including townhomes. The current zoning is NT3, which is “Neighborhood Traditional Single-family District.”
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Under the zoning rules, the size of the properties (5.77 acres) could accommodate 86 units, which is mentioned in the zoning change application. Under a NSM1 zoning might allow the builder to build that many, but that was not in their original presentation to the church as they relayed a desire to fit in with the neighboring community.
But, let’s emphasize that with any construction more than a year away, the builder is not bound to the number “60.” But it is also true that major zoning changes, for example, a change from residential to, say, commercial, typically require much longer timeframes for the city to move through approval. Builders typically avoid radical zoning changes because the waiting period to accomplish such changes drives up the cost of construction not to mention that major zoning changes, predictably, stir community angst. those are among the reasons the Building Oversight Committee favored the proposals that would be the least disruptive to current zoning; being sensitive to community concerns and avoiding delays.
So, to be clear, Onyx East is not proposing, and never has proposed multi-story condos or high-rises for the PCC property, as some are speculating on social media.
Bottom line: it is accurate to say that for Onyx+East to develop the properties and for Pasadena Community Church to complete its plans to renovate our oldest building, and provide a new, safe, and updated preschool, the two parcels would have to be rezoned. The rezoning that the developers are seeking is a low-density multifamily designation allowed by St Petersburg city rules. We have always known and communicated that anything other than free-standing single residences would require a zoning change and have sought to sell the property with the developer who would seek the least disruptive zoning change for the community. That is what this application would do.
Below, you can read the applications that Onyx+East filed with PCC’s permission.
pccforward.org 