227 7th Ave NE- BEFORE RE: The Proposed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Land Development Regulations Amendment 227 7th Ave NE- AFTER

2nd Ave N Historic Kenwood St. Petersburg is blessed with a number of historic neighborhoods, each with their unique appeal and charm…Historic Old Northeast, Historic Kenwood, Woodlawn, Snell Isle, Pinellas Point Pink Streets, Crescent Lake, Allendale Terrace and more…shown here are oversized homes built in Historic Kenwood amongst small bungalows. We oppose the proposed changes as they will not reduce the number of homes demolished and replaced with huge, often ugly houses but rather will ENCOURAGE such development.

201 9th Ave NE- BEFORE 201 9th Ave NE- AFTER St. Petersburg needs to adopt an amendment to the Land Development Regulations which includes an appropriate Floor Area Ratio (FAR). We urge you to adopt a FAR to preserve the wonderful and individual characteristics of our historic neighborhoods We are not against new building; but we oppose the demolition of homes only to be replaced with massive homes built on small lots The neighbors of lots where oversized houses are being built should have their rights valued as well We oppose the proposed changes as they will not reduce the number of homes demolished and replaced with huge, often ugly houses but rather will ENCOURAGE such development.

121 20th Ave NE- BEFORE The house pictured below has a computed FAR of 0.61 - making it allowable under the City's proposed 0.7 and almost fitting under the Neighborhood Review Committee's 0.6. Its bulk and inconsistency with the surrounding homes is alarming. Total gross of just over 5,000 SF. A proposed total FAR of 0.45 (0.35 plus 0.1 bonus) would provide for a home of 3700 SF, and perhaps the bonus concept would help provide a less imposing street side presentation. We oppose the proposed changes as they will not reduce the number of homes demolished and replaced with huge, often ugly houses but rather will ENCOURAGE such development. The proposed amendment to the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Land Development Regulations will negatively impact the character of these neighborhoods. 121 20th Ave NE- AFTER

Comparing the Three Proposals: City staff: a base FAR of 0.5 + 0.2 bonus points Neighborhood Review Committee: base FAR of 0.4+ 0.2 bonus points Our group, Historic Old Northeast Forever, with deep concern for the loss of historic integrity in our and other neighborhoods, proposes a base FAR of 0.35 with up to 0.1 additional bonus points 3,372 SF + a 720 SF garage "developer bonus exempted from the FAR" = 4,092 total SF) on a 5,079 SF lot 305 12th Ave NE- BEFORE 305 12th Ave NE- AFTER

Basis for Our Proposed FAR Using Old Northeast as an example, of the 1,237 properties reviewed in the Pinellas County Tax Assessor records: Average FAR for all residences is 0.33 – less than ½ the staff’s proposed FAR Approximately 84% of these homes have a FAR of 0.45 or less Of the 40 new homes built since 2000, NONE would have been impacted by a 0.7 FAR and only 5 if the FAR had been 0.6 Impact of the FAR Proposals: City’s or Neighborhood Review Committee’s “proposed” FAR limitations would have allowed what has already been built and “will allow” the continued trend of historic home demolition and the construction of new over-sized houses.

St. Petersburg is Blessed Our City is in demand right now. Part of the reason for that is the character of the City’s neighborhoods. Without your vision and leadership, we risk losing much of the charm that makes St. Pete special. We believe that the lower FAR we have proposed strikes the best balance between existing homes and new home construction. We ask you to take action to protect the unique history of our City’s neighborhoods before they are irreversibly altered. We oppose the proposed changes as they will not reduce the number of homes demolished and replaced with huge, often ugly houses but rather will ENCOURAGE such development.