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Condo tower design guidelines upheld

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By KATHY STEELE

ksteele@tampatrib.com

Published: July 1, 2009

BAYSHORE - Citivest won another battle before Tampa City Council in its six-year effort to win approval for a Bayshore Boulevard condominium tower. But it will be another month before developers know whether they are finally cleared to build.

Attorney James de Furio, who represents residents of Bayshore Royal condominium, said he would consult with his clients before deciding to file an appeal to circuit court. Residents say the 346-foot-tall building at Bayshore and Desoto Avenue would harm the character of their adjacent condominium and bring noise and traffic to their doorstep.

Council members, in a 5-1 vote at an appeal hearing on Thursday, upheld the city Architectural Review Commission's unanimous decision last year to approve design guidelines for the tower at 2101 Bayshore Boulevard. Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena voted against the measure; Councilman John Dingfelder was absent.

The city's attorneys told council members their vote was limited to deciding whether the architectural board did its job correctly. De Furio and Citivest's attorney, Scott McLaren, argued legal issues regarding the timeliness of Bayshore Royal's appeal and whether development guidelines for South Howard Avenue's commercial district should have been applied to one part of the project's site.

"This is a classic example of what I said over a year ago," Councilman Charlie Miranda said. "These things belong in a court of law. There are arguments on both sides."

Legal issues have stalled construction for about six years as first the city council rejected the project, then Citivest won a reversal in the 2nd District Court of Appeal, and council in 2007 reluctantly approved the condo tower based on the court's ruling.

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