Downtown Redevelopment

TENTATIVE NEXT STEPS Forward Pinellas Planners Advisory Committee October 4 130pm_Forward Pinellas B
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DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT - CURRENT EFFORTS

Text Amendments to the City of Oldsmar's Town Center Redevelopment Code 

and Comprehensive Plan


For many years, the City of Oldsmar has initiated efforts to enhance the Community Redevelopment Area by creating an identifiable, vibrant, and walkable downtown.  Currently, the City Council is considering changes to both the Town Center Code and the Comprehensive Plan to provide a density/intensity incentive to facilitate the construction of mixed-use vertically integrated development, provide clarifying language, and correct an existing inconsistency between the Comprehensive Plan and the Town Center Code in the TCCR (Town Center Commercial Residential) and the CRD (Community Redevelopment District).

The City's regulatory documents presently do not provide an incentive for vertically integrated mixed-use developments.  To encourage these kinds of developments, this incentive will allow a higher number of residential units that could be built on the higher floors, but only with a Development Agreement (see FAQs).  By offering an increase in the number of residential units per acre allowed in this type of development, these changes will offer an incentive to build residential rather than the higher density commercial currently allowed in the zoning district. 

To amend these regulatory documents,  two different ordinances are required. During the August 3, 2021 City Council Meeting, the City Council authorized the City Attorney to prepare the subject ordinances.  Each ordinance requires two public hearings before being officially adopted.  The first reading of the ordinances with their respective public hearings was held, and approved on August 17, 2021.  

The text amendment to the Comprehensive Plan requires additional approvals from Forward Pinellas, the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners, and the State of Florida.  We are tentatively planning for the item to be considered at the October 4, 2021 Planners Advisory Committee meeting of Forward Pinellas. This meeting is a public meeting.  After the Planner Advisory Board meeting reviews, the item proceeds to the Forward Pinellas Board with a public hearing on October 13, 2021. These dates are tentative.    

If you are unable to attend, you can email the Council members at CouncilMembers@myoldsmar.com or submit a comment below.  

Please take a moment to learn more about the City's efforts. We will continue to update this page, so be sure to come back.  If you have any questions, please feel free to submit below, and we'll add it to the FAQ section.

Community Input
Frequently Asked Questions
Text Amendment Council Actions
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Over the years, there have been several downtown plan iterations, with public input, which included:

  • Olds Square
  • REO Station
  • Park Plaza
  • Market Square
  • USF CRA Master Plan
  • Oldsmar Town Center Sketch

Since 2001, there have been 81 public agenda Items to discuss development of downtown, 26 of those occurred since 2019.

  1. EXISTING CONDITIONS - STATE STREET TODAY
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  1. HOW TO ACTIVATE A DOWNTOWN
  2. What is missing? A CATALYST PROJECT

How do we activate some of the existing spaces that have been developed over the years and ensure that new development is successful?

  • Create a sense of place
  • Encourage a mix of uses
  • Identify catalyst projects
  • Investment in the streetscape
    • Encourages longer stays
    • Supports and attracts businesses
    • Enhances a vital public amenity
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  1. BENEFITS OF VERTICALLY INTEGRATED MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT
  • Mixed-use development is also referred to as sustainable development, or a smart growth, new urbanism, infill development
  • Originated as a new national growth management technique as a counteracting measure to sprawl in the late 1990s to early 2000s
  • “Patterns utilizing integrated mass transit with greater emphasis on protecting natural resources, preserving open space, and revitalizing existing urban cores,” – Barren, 2006, pp 24
  • Vertically integrated mixed-use development includes compact residential and commercial development within the same building
  1. INCREASED RESIDENTIAL DENSITY WITHIN VERTICALLY INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT
  • Creates additional housing options for residents
  • Attracts young affluent population
  • Everyone walking by the shops or living nearby becomes a potential customer
  • Reduces cost to maintain public infrastructure
  • Helps to attract new employers
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  1. CA21-03 – TEXT AMENDMENT TO SECTION 3.7 – TCCR DISTRICT
  2. CA21-04 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT FOR DENSITY/INTENSITY STANDARDS IN THE CRD

REQUEST FOR A PROPOSED CODE AMENDMENT:

To revise the TCCR zoning district to allow a density bonus for vertically integrated mixed-use development within the same multi-story building, secured with a Development Agreement to provide clarifying language regarding density/intensity averaging and mixed-use development within the TCCR District.

Correct an inconsistency between the maximum floor area ration in the TCCR District and the CRD Land Use Category of the Comprehensive Plan.

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  1. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS

Staff recommended approval of the TCCR zoning district and CRD as presented:

  • To permit a density bonus for vertically integrated mixed-use development.
  • Correct an inconsistency between the maximum flood area ratio in the TCCR district and the CRD Land Use Category of the Comprehensive Plan.
  • Provide clarifying language regarding density/intensity averaging.