The meetings are designed to let residents see proposed zoning changes along the U.S. 19 corridor that’s in the city limits and how those changes will affect development.

CLEARWATER – Learn how Clearwater hopes to create vibrant and viable opportunities for the city’s U.S. 19 corridor.

The city of Clearwater is hosting four open house forums to discuss proposed zoning updates and explain how the transition will guide the future development of properties along Clearwater’s seven-mile stretch of the U.S. 19 corridor and its major cross streets.

The public forums:

• 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday (May 23) at Bright House Field Media Room, 601 Old Coachman Road (presentation at 6 p.m.)

• 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday (May 24) at Countryside Library, 2642 Sabal Springs Drive (presentation at 6 p.m.)

• 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday (May 25) at Holiday Inn Express, 2580 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd. (P\presentation at 10 a.m.)

• 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday (May 25) at Holiday Inn Express, 2580 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd. (presentation at 6 p.m.)

The city’s Planning and Development Department and Economic Development and Housing staff will be available to answer questions before and after the presentation. City officials will also discuss proposed map amendments, which will impact future land use and zoning along Clearwater’s U.S. 19 corridor.

The goal of revising the zoning standards along U.S. 19 is to create a thriving and prosperous corridor through future development. The proposal is designed to expand the types of land uses allowed, grow employment opportunities through a single zoning district throughout the corridor, streamline the approval process by permitting most uses at the staff level, make the transit system more viable through select site design changes, connect businesses to customers and increase accessibility for employees.

New development patterns in key locations along the U.S. 19 corridor will improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians walking to and between businesses. It will also improve vehicular circulation between properties.

U.S. 19 has gone through significant changes in recent years. The Florida Department of Transportation’s work on the U.S. 19 corridor in Clearwater transformed the traffic pattern, changed the road configurations and impacted businesses.

City planners also see the updated zoning standards as an opportunity to attract high-quality, mixed-use centers designed to stimulate the area with business and residential development.

The plan identifies three types of zoning subdistricts along the U.S. 19 corridor: regional centers, neighborhood centers andcCorridor (the in-between areas).

• Regional centers would have a more urban character with taller, mixed-use buildings aligned along pedestrian-friendly streets.
• Neighborhood centers would function as employment and local shopping destinations that would evolve into an area that is more connected to the surrounding residential neighborhoods through pedestrian-friendly streets and building frontages.
• Corridor areas lack interchange access along the U.S. 19 corridor. The goal is to transition these areas into employment-intensive office, technology and research uses along with higher-density residential development.

The proposed zoning standards implement other plans approved by the city of Clearwater in recent years, including the Economic Development Strategic Plan, Clearwater Greenprint and the U.S. 19 Corridor Redevelopment Plan.

Learn more about the U.S. 19 zoning update at myclearwater.com.

For information, contact Lauren Matzke, the city’s long range planning manager, at (727) 562-4547 or lauren.matzke@myclearwater.com.

Clearwater | U.S. 19 | U.S. 19  Zoning | Tampa Bay Reporter

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