Ground Campaign

Some Pass-a-Grille residents want to change rules on rebuilding older homes should disaster strike

By Gregory J. Gelpi, Staff Writer

Joan Walker is a real estate agent who believes in Pass-a-Grille, a community where she lives and works. She believes in it so much that she began a grass-roots effort to encourage city hall to protect herself and the other residents of her Pass-a-Grille community.

Walker and others say they are trapped in a nightmarish game of musical chairs with their homes and futures at stake.

Walker wants the city to consider adding a grandfather clause to the zoning regulations of St. Pete Beach. The clause would allow residences built before 1957 to be exempt from the newer ordinances. As things stand, those properties not in compliance with the current zoning code cannot be rebuilt to the same specifications if they are destroyed by an act of nature. The new ordinances would still apply if the building were intentionally demolished.

In 1957, the city of St. Pete Beach annexed Pass-a-Grille, and the zoning codes of St. Pete Beach became the zoning codes of Pass-a-Grille.
“An overwhelming percentage of Pass-a-Grille became nonconforming then,” Walker said.

The movement began more than 10 years ago when she published a story alerting residents to the problem in a local newspaper. The problem is still unresolved.

“When you own a property, you have the right to enjoy, sell, rent your property,” Walker said. “This is a constitutional issue.”
Walker, a real estate agent with Frank T. Hurley Associates, feels the financial pinch of the situation already. According to her, she has lost a few prospective sales as a direct result of this issue because clients are wary of purchasing a place that they may no longer have if disaster strikes.

She met recently with the other residents of her Pass-a-Grille condo complex. They discussed the issue and launched a letter-writing campaign to both call attention to and change the existing zoning policy.
Walker gathered the names and addresses of residents of Pass-a-Grille, collecting the information from several sources. She then wrote letters, asking them to respond by signing and returning a form letter in support of her proposal.
In less than two weeks, Walker received more than 100 responses from the 300 or so letters she originally sent out. Some responses represent multiple properties. She describes the responses as “representing a tremendous cross-section,” including a significant number of residents who live in houses that aren’t directly affected by the issue of zoning.
A few residents are impassioned by the issue, yet hesitant to speak openly. Privately, one said, the city has neglected them and failed to confront the looming problem in a timely fashion.

Under today’s zoning ordinances, some residents would be left without a place to return to in Pass-a-Grille. The resulting situation would be like the classic game of musical chairs-more people than chairs.
Walker has attempted to receive assistance from the city but feels brushed aside.
“It’s very frustrating because no one is returning my calls,” Walker said.
She has been in contact, though, with Lolly Kreider, the city commissioner for the Pass-a-Grille area.
Kreider voiced her support of Walker’s efforts to add a grandfather clause to the city’s zoning policy.
Kreider identified the “density” aspect as being her main concern with the nonconforming property. Density refers to the number of occupants allowed within a residence by zoning ordinances as compared with the actual number of occupants currently living in a residence.
Kreider points out that Pass-a-Grille is not alone in facing this problem. It is one faced by residents throughout St. Pete Beach.
“We have a specific proposal that deals with grandfathering,” Jerry Speece, senior designer for the city, said.
He explained that grandfathering houses that predate the present city ordinances would address the concern of residents as far as density goes while working around regulations set forth by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Both Kreider and Speece foresee the proposal passing, although Speece said that details still need to be worked.
“No one has come forward to express any negative comments,” Speece said.
Commissioners John Phillips, Jim Myers and Peter Blank were unable to be reached for comment.

FEMA established standards to protect residents in case of an emergency situation in which all new construction must comply. FEMA regulations also mandate that new construction on the barrier island of St. Pete Beach be no less than a particular height to combat the potential of rising floodwaters.
And according to city and FEMA guidelines, any residence that suffers more than 50 percent damage must be rebuilt to current standards.
Although Walker has been successful in prompting a response from her fellow residents in Pass-a-Grille, she will have to wait until a city workshop scheduled for July 18 to see if she was successful in prompting the city to respond.

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