Wednesday, December 26, 2007

City tests new zoning in Seminole Heights

TAMPA -- Elizabeth Graham, incoming president of the Business Guild of Seminole Heights, recalled that when she decided to open Forever Beautiful, a day spa and salon at 5135 N. Florida Ave., "my vision was to have a cute, quaint business district where you are supported and loved by your community."

So far, it's been a mixed bag.

New businesses in the three neighborhoods that comprise Seminole Heights -- Old Seminole Heights, South Seminole Heights and Southeast Seminole Heights -- tend to be cherished by the residents. But onerous building regulations and speeding cars have made it difficult to develop the kind of business district Graham envisions.

That might be changing as the city of Tampa tests out a new type of zoning, called form-based code, that relies on neighborhood input for decision making. Starting next year, the city will hold a series of meetings in Seminole Heights, asking, "What do you want your community to look like," said Cynthia Miller, director of growth management and development services.

More on this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/12/24/focus1.html?ana=from_rss

2 comments:

Shawn said...

Speeding cars will not be affected by the new type of zoning. In fact, much of the bothersome traffic corridors in our area belong to FDOT and not the city. FDOT doesn't seem terribly sensitive to the needs and safety of residents near their highways.

As an example, if you are walking along Nebraska Ave on the sidewalk North of Hillsborough and South of Publix and you happen to see a big rig truck barreling down the avenue in the right-hand lane, get *off* the sidewalk. You'll notice its side-mirrors will be traveling over part of the sidewalk itself. Nebraska Avenue isn't wide enough for four full lanes.

joe positive said...

great, but the link to TBBJ points to content that's for "paid print subscribers only." Could you summarize what the rest of the article says?