TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tour Targets New Heights

Tribune photo by Kathy Steele

Residents Greg Barnhill and Claude Maggi talk about Seminole Heights' future growth during a walking tour of the neighborhood.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 9, 2008

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - With water bottles, early morning coffee, clipboards and notebooks in hand, about a dozen residents boarded a tour van this morning to roll along busy corridors and tree-shaded streets.

Walking tours at three designated stops gave them an up-close look at the good, bad and in-between of Seminole Heights.

"Take notes. Take notes," city zoning administrator Cathy Coyle said.

She organized the tour to gather more input on an evolving plan to redesign three neighborhoods in Seminole Heights over the next decade or so.

Since February, city land planners have held several public workshops and a four-day open house to find consensus on the neighborhood's growth. It is part of a 2-year-pilot project to redo city codes in a way to make the community's vision a reality.

The new codes are expected to create a more pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use environment where homes, shops and public spaces blend together.

Coyle wants tour members to e-mail suggestions and comments about what they saw. Ideas or criticisms will prompt tweaks to the plan.

As the group set off from Giddens Park, Coyle noted one tweak already made. The Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association wants the bungalows on Shadowlawn Avenue untouched. So the pink shading on the proposed land-use map goes and along with it the potential for town homes to replace the bungalows.

"A lot of people have really fixed these up," Coyle said as the group walked down Shadowlawn.

Another possible tweak came up at Frierson and 10th streets, where the future could bring town homes instead of single-family homes. But instead of allowing town homes on one side of 10th, maybe they should be permitted on both sides, the group suggested.

In some cases, the best thing might be to leave neighborhoods as they are, city Councilwoman Mary Mulhern said. New isn't always best.

"We'll see the good and the bad," she said. "We do have to listen to the people who live here."

Progress is inevitable, said property owner T.J. Tompkins. But he has concerns about increased taxes as the plan boosts property values.

Near Henry Avenue and Osceola Place traffic zipped past on Interstate 275. Someone suggested sound barriers might help.

A linear park along I-275 was an idea tossed out at one of the public workshops.
One familiar discussion popped up as the van moved down Nebraska Avenue – better public transportation.

"No one seems to want to tackle the transportation piece of the puzzle," said Gary Ellsworth, president of the South Seminole Heights Civic Association.

City planners anticipate presenting a final plan to the council in the fall. They will begin writing new codes for Seminole Heights in early 2009 with the goal of bringing those to the council by summer 2009.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, a public meeting is scheduled with architects, planners and city staff in The Tampa Tribune auditorium, 202 S. Parker St.

For information, call Tampa's land development office at (813) 274-8405.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT