Westminster Heights Neighborhood Plan - City of St. Petersburg

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WESTMINSTER HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN Westminster Heights Planning Process The Neighborhood Planning Program is a collaborative process between the City and the residents and businesses that live and work in the neighborhoods. The program helps to build stronger community relationships, define neighborhood goals, issues, and explore alternatives for achieving desired neighborhood and City priorities. The Neighborhood Planning Program provides a forum for residents to initiate rather than to react to change, in which the various interest groups within a neighborhood can work out mutually acceptable alternatives and solutions to area problems and define future goals. Further, the neighborhood planning process addresses issues and opportunities at a scale, which is more refined and responsive to neighborhood needs than the broad policies of the Comprehensive Plan. The end product of the neighborhood planning program is the approval of a neighborhood plan which serves as the guide for future enhancement of the neighborhood, and for directing and managing change. Therefore, the plan serves as an official guide for decision makers and facilities the coordination of public and private investments. The neighborhood planning program is a three-phase process. Phase I is the preparation of neighborhood profile which includes data gathering and analysis to define among other things the demographic, housing conditions, physical infrastructure, historic and economic characteristics of an area. The information is used with the results of neighborhood survey to identify neighborhood problems and issues. Phase II involves the development of the neighborhood plan which defines alternatives and solutions to the problems. Phase III is Plan implementation, which is the process of constructing projects, enacting regulations, providing incentives and programs. The Westminster Heights Neighborhood kicked off the development of their neighborhood plan on April 12, 2007. All residents and property owners were notified and invited to participate in the planning process. The kick off meeting was used as a brainstorming session where residents identified neighborhood assets to enhance as well as areas of the neighborhood needing improvements. These responses were categorized into major topics or elements. The residents prioritized the elements to determine the order of discussion. The elements identified include the following: Housing, Infrastructure, Public Safety, Traffic Calming, Business & Commercial, and Community Appearance. The residents held regular planning committee meetings to review data, verify inventory results, discuss issues and identify potential strategies. This input is vital to the neighborhood planning process and is a crucial component of this document. Input from the planning committee will also guide the development of the plan. December 2008 20
WESTMINSTER HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN Following input and discussion by the residents and property owners of all the elements, a draft plan was presented at a neighborhood wide meeting for approval. All residents and property owners were notified and invited to participate in the meeting. After neighborhood approval, city staff will present the plan to the Planning & Visioning Commission for review and approval. The final plan is presented to and approved by City Council. The implementation process begins with Operation Commitment, a six month effort where the City, the neighborhood and other appropriate agencies join in partnership to implement projects identified in the neighborhood plan. Adjacent Neighborhood Plan Childs Park The Childs Park Neighborhood (5th - 18th Ave. S/34th - 49th St. S.) lies southeast of Westminster Heights and shares 49 th Street South. In 1994, the Childs Park Neighborhood Plan was accepted by City Council. As a partial result of that effort, Childs Park has seen substantial improvements, such as: a new swimming pool, recreation center renovation, property enhancements, new tennis courts and basketball court relocation. Greater Childs Park Strategic Initiative The Greater Childs Park area bounded by 2nd Avenue North, on the north, 49th Street, on the west, 31st Avenue South, on the south and 34th Street on the west and is a 2.5 square mile area consisting of four neighborhood planning areas: 1) the southern portion of the Central Oak Park neighborhood; 2) the Childs Park neighborhood; 3) the Twin Brooks neighborhood; and 4) the Perry Bayview neighborhood. Of those four neighborhood associations, only the Childs Park neighborhood and the Twin Brooks neighborhood have approved neighborhood plans. The City Council accepted the Childs Park Neighborhood Plan in the early 1990s and since then several improvements and projects have been initiated to address the neighborhood concerns. However, the majority of improvements were developed in isolation without a community- wide vision. While many areas like the downtown and those neighborhoods adjacent to the revitalization areas have seen significant growth, the areas further away from that economic activity (west of Midtown) are in need of attention. December 2008 21
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ZONING CODE and NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS
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Westminster Heights Neighborhood Plan - City of St. Petersburg

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