City draws the line
Halts painting, landscaping and building in city's core area
BY VICI PAPAJOHN Gulf Breeze News vici@gulfbreezenews.com

Changes like Andrews Institute and the renovated Exxon station reflect the CRA architectural standards

In the past ten days, the Gulf Breeze City Council has drawn the line on standards in its core area, calling a moratorium on all building, painting and landscaping in the Community Redevelopment District (CRA), and voted to put into writing its final demand that Sea Green Center property owner Chris Green must comply with the city's sign ordinance or pay fines up to $500 per day.

Though City Manager Edwin "Buz" Eddy advised the council that he had invited Green to Monday's meeting, the council allowed Green an extension until its June 14 regular meeting to address the center's animated sign.

"We have had this ordinance on the books and we have gone back and forth with him," Eddy said at the council's executive session last week. 'After exhausting all measures we need to employ the civil penalty."

Though Mayor Lane Gilchrist qualified the treatment of the situation by council as "lenient" the council voted 4-1 to enforce the ordinance.

"I personally don't mind an animated sign," said dissenting councilman J.B. Schluter. "I have more problems with windmills and pink flamingoes and a temporary flashing sign that has long outlived its temporary status at Bait and Tackle."

"The ordinance and regulations match the requirements of the Federal Highway Safety recommendations," Gilchrist clarified, and Council man Carl T. Hoffman agreed, saying, "We need to enforce the code."

Extended-stay hotel at

Soundview Trail

Thecouncildidnotactonarequestfora a Non-binding Conceptual Review of "The Village," an extended-stay hotel at the corner of Soundview Trail and Pensacola Beach Road. Members asked developer Joe Campus, dba Abracadabra of Gulf Breeze, to provide more information about creating adequate parking while preserving required buffers between zones.

The hotel would require 65 parking spaces for the guests and employees, and would be three stories high.

"We had to jockey a lot of stuff, the parking, the access and the wetlands area," said Pamela Mauldwin of Soundview Trail. "This is the best we could do, working with staff to get it all to fit."

The developers also own the waterfront property across the street and the adjoining property to the west. They are expected to present their revised proposal at the June 14 meeting.

Bank could replace Benson

Building

The council also waived Non-binding Conceptual Review of the proposed layout of a bank on the site of the Benson Building bordering Live Oak Street, U.S. Highway 98 and North Cliff Drive.

"Though a Walgreens or a bank was considered, once we reviewed the CRA rules and we matched them with a site plan, this looked best," explained William Merrill, representing Merrill Parker Shaw, Inc. Engineering firm.

The council will see the revised plans at its June 14 meeting.

City revises parks plan

In an attempt to save money and to remove fewer trees from Shoreline Park, council approved ammending the parks plan to remove a drive way between the Gulf Breeze Library and the park. Though staff originally suggested removing a turn lane from the plan, council decided at its regular meeting to leave the lane in the plan.

"The traffic sometimes comes over that hill a little faster than it should," Gilchrist said. "Turns out we will need that lane to offer safe turns into the park."

"The city also approved the formation of an architectural review board to provide a filter between the CRA rules and the Development Review Board to ensure the intent of the standards is followed," Hoffman said.

Cats receive reprieve

Mayor Gilchrist and the council also heard from numerous concerned citizens at the meeting about the feral cat round up scheduled for area parks.

"We are going to be very lenient with the timing of this," Gilchrist said during the public forum. "These cats could be adopted. We do not want a colony of feral cats in our park, but we are willing to go beyond the 30 days."