The Pinellas Current

Time Catches Up With Belleair Beach's Seawalls

Backroom Talk

Halloween event, senior trips among proposed Largo budget cuts

LARGO — The annual Halloween celebration, senior trips and other city programs could be on the chopping block as commissioners begin weighing a proposed $317 million budget amid slowing revenue growth. The budget proposed by City Manager John Curp would maintain the city's current property tax rate while trimming about $1.03 million in recurring and one-time spending. The recommended reductions include eliminating the city's Halloween event, senior trips program, energy management program and

Inside Belleair Shore's Beach Boundary Fight

BELLEAIR SHORE — Months before petitioning the state to vacate a decades-old beach boundary, a commissioner was already pressing the town attorney about how Belleair Shore would enforce its trespassing and other ordinances if the request were granted, records show. Internal emails, obtained through a public records request, offer a behind-the-scenes look at how town officials prepared for their effort to remove the erosion control line (ECL). The ECL is established as part of beach renourishment

Safety Harbor 'failure' under the lights

Emergency declarations end, but Seminole's FEMA wait goes on

SEMINOLE — After months of extensions, the city has officially ended its emergency declarations for hurricanes Helene and Milton — although nearly two years later it is still waiting for more than $1.2 million in federal disaster reimbursements. The city council unanimously approved resolutions July 14 terminating the local states of emergency after completing repairs to the storm-damaged municipal building. Seminole expects to receive $1.586 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agenc

Study proposes safety upgrades after crash increase on East Bay Drive in Largo

LARGO — After crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists climbed in recent years, a study is recommending a series of safety and transportation improvements along the East Bay Drive/Roosevelt Boulevard corridor, one of the city’s busiest and most congested roadways. The East Bay Drive/Roosevelt Boulevard Multimodal Corridor Study recommends separated bicycle lanes, safer pedestrian crossings, redesigned intersections and bus pull-off bays along the 7-mile artery — also known as S.R.

They can raise the house. But where do the stairs go?

REDINGTON SHORES — Nearly two years after hurricanes Helene and Milton, property owners trying to elevate storm-damaged homes are coming up against an unexpected obstacle: Where do the stairs go when there's no room for them? That question has surfaced in this coastal beach town of 2,000, where two property owners preparing to raise their homes above the floodplain found they couldn't legally build the exterior stairways needed to reach them without zoning variances. In one case, owner Danny P

Belleair Beach may allow hooting, singing after dark. Basketball hoops? Still up in the air.

BELLEAIR BEACH — It soon may be legal to hoot, whistle or sing on city streets after 10 p.m. But can you leave a portable basketball hoop in your driveway overnight? It’s complicated. Such unusual and rarely enforced rules are among the quirks that remain on the city’s code books, legal tomes that govern life in this beachside community of about 1,600 residents. The city council on July 6 tried to add some clarity and common sense to some of these outdated and lesser-known ordinances, approving

Largo officials eye fire assessment if tax amendment passes

South Pasadena only Pinellas city to see taxable values decline, eyes higher tax rate

SOUTH PASADENA — Among Pinellas County’s 24 municipalities, this city of retirees holds an unwanted distinction: It was the only one that saw a decline in taxable property values last year. That unusual dip — less than 1% — nonetheless led city commissioners to set a tentative maximum property tax rate for next year that is 10% above the rollback rate, leaving open the possibility of a major tax increase. The commission voted unanimously July 1 to certify a maximum tax rate, or millage, of 5.81

Two developers pitch competing visions for Largo’s former City Hall campus

LARGO — Two development groups have proposed sharply different visions for transforming the city’s former 14-acre municipal campus, with project costs ranging from tens of millions to more than $300 million, documents show. The submittals — from Gotham Property Acquisitions LLC of New York and Stanbery Development Group of Ohio — were in response to a request for proposals the city and brokerage CBRE issued in January to redevelop the former city hall site. City Hall personnel relocated last mon

State rejects Belleair Shore bid to remove public-private beach boundary

BELLEAIR SHORE — Siding with Pinellas County and Belleair Beach, the state has rejected this town’s controversial bid to remove a long-standing coastal boundary, a move that opponents feared could privatize public beach areas. In a final order issued June 23, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) denied Belleair Shore's petition to cancel the erosion control line, or ECL. The DEP ruled that the town failed to meet the conditions required under state law for removing the bound

Will public drinking help revive downtown Largo?

LARGO — Will promoting public drinking help bring more foot traffic, vibrancy and commerce to downtown? Or will it create unintended challenges such as crime, litter, disorder and other alcohol-related problems? City leaders are betting the former will outweigh the latter. The Largo City Commission on June 2 voted 7-0 to create the West Bay Drive Downtown Entertainment District, allowing patrons to legally carry alcoholic beverages in designated public areas as they move between restaurants, b