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Planners question Jabour's blueprint
Proposed building exceeds city height restrictions of 35
feet
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY WEST —
Residents will get their first look at a project that has pitted Old
Town neighbors against developers who want to turn the Jabour's trailer
and RV court into posh condominiums for tourists.
Caroline
Street Partners will go before the Historic Architectural Review
Commission today to ask for design-plan approval of four 42-feet
buildings that house 32 short-term rental units at 223 Elizabeth St.
City height restrictions limit buildings to 35 feet with five extra feet
for a pitched roof, City Planner Ty Symroski said.
The proposed
buildings would be 3 1/2 stories over a parking level. The city limits
maximum height to 2 1/2 stories over parking, Symroski said. However,
Caroline Street Partners' attorney Jim Hendrick said the height rule is
a guideline and that HARC has allowed 3 1/2 stories over parking on
previous projects, including the neighboring Calleja property.
The HARC board
reviews new projects and expansion and remodeling of existing buildings
to make sure the structures are consistent with the neighborhood and are
not out of scale or poorly designed, HARC chairman George Born said. The
board can say no to a project, and an appeal can be granted only by a
hearing judge acting as a special master, Born said.
Last week, the
city commission approved a settlement agreement that calls for
two-bedroom, three-bath condominiums at the site of the Jabour's trailer
park. The agreement calls for the 32 short-term rentals on Elizabeth
Street and the transfer of building rights for an additional 48 units,
of the same size, elsewhere.
At the
meeting, several residents voiced their objections to the spacious
condominiums with living rooms that neighbors' fear will be used as
third bedrooms. They and Symroski also questioned the size and number of
units to be transferred.
In August, the
city commission agreed to allow the owners to build 101 units on the
site. The state Department of Community Affairs and two groups of
downtown residents challenged the decision.
The current
settlement was given to the city Planning Department the day before the
vote and staff did not have time to review it and write an executive
summary, which is common on big projects, Symroski said.
Commissioners
Merili McCoy and Carmen Turner and Mayor Jimmy Weekley opposed the
settlement.
tohara@keysnews.com
If you go:
What:
HARC meeting
When:
3 p.m. today
Where:
City Planning Department
conference room, 604 Simonton St. |
