No Decision Yet On Changes to Land Dedication Ordinance

Carl Krave said he paid the city $64,000 in impact fees to develop Glencairn Cottages, a certified green, modular-home neighborhood near downtown Dunedin.

It was a steep price, especially after the real estate bubble burst, but he's largely OK with it since the fees went back to purchasing parklands for the people of Dunedin.

Some critics blame the high ordinance fees for deterring development in challenging economic times.

Despite those criticisms, Krave, a Dunedin resident, urged city leaders to continue the more than  as they move forward on plans to revitalize Dunedin's struggling cooridors. 

“It’s a good public policy; it's an important tool for you,” he told commissioners at a March 15 meeting. “But [let’s] put this in a little different perspective.”

Under the Land Dedication Ordinance, developers must either allocate space in the neighborhood for recreational use, or pay an impact fee that city officials can then use to purchase public parklands elsewhere. It was enacted as a measure to ensure that green space was preserved as Dunedin's population grew.

"Let's make it easier to conduct business in Dunedin," said Commissioner Dave Carson, who cited some fees as high as $1 million, calling them "a horrible albatross around peoples' necks."

Greg Rice, planning and development director, said some "percolating" properties —  downtown, some parcels near the Island Outpost, and a developing  on the Causeway — are having trouble finding financing because of the ordinance fees.

Early studies indicate a preference for more residential use in reviving Dunedin's struggling cooridors — Patricia Avenue, State Road 580, the Dunedin Causeway and Douglas Avenue, according to Rice.

Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski said doing away with the impact fees would be "short-sighted," especially with planned development in the up-and-coming cooridors.

"I can very much see that we may need another Pioneer Park of sorts in some of those other areas," she said. "Where does that [money] come from?"

While those corridor plans are being discussed, Krave challenged commissioners and other developers to think outside the box, much as he did when designing Glencairn.

He scaled back his orginal 16-townhome plan for added yard and green space in what became the 14-home Glencairn Cottages neighborhood.

"Privately-owned space can provide, perhaps, even more appropriate green space that can be better shared by the adjacent neighbors than a new park across the city that we have to drive to," Krave said.

Continue that ordinance, Krave urged commissioners, it is a way "to encourage better development," but also consider, "how can we make it better?"

Commissioners made no decision on the issue at its March 15 meeting, rather they indicated a wish to see the anticipated needs of the parks and recreation department, planned development in the corridor studies, and the 2025 Comprehensive Plan, which provides leaders a longterm road map for Dunedin's development. That plan is still in the conceptual stages, but will begin being discussed in commission workshops this summer.