A view of the approved Tierra Verde Marina redevelopment from 1st Avenue North | Greenleaf Capital

St. Petersburg’s Development Review Commission (DRC) voted Wednesday night to approve a controversial redevelopment of the Tierra Verde Marina after hours of public comment and debate over traffic, hurricane safety, environmental impacts, and compatibility with the surrounding island community.

The approval narrowly passed with a 4-3 vote. Commissioners Charles Flynt, Sam Blatt, and Sarah Jane Vatelot voted against the project. Kevin Reali, Joseph Griner, Will Conroy, and David Hugglestone voted in favor.

Along with the approval, the DRC passed two conditions of approval. Commissioners unanimously voted to require a thorough noise study and limit noise levels to 60 decibels. They also approved operating hours for the marina and pool from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

Today, the marina features 64 wet slips, 314 high-and-dry racks within a 58,000-square-foot indoor storage complex, a 24,000-square-foot shopping center, and a gas station.

The approved proposal would demolish the existing shopping center and gas station and redevelop the seven-acre marina property at 100 Pinellas Bayway South with two additional 72-foot dry-storage rack buildings, a public restaurant and rooftop bar, retail space, marina offices, and a private pool area for marina members.

The seven-acre Tierra Verde Marina is located at 100 Pinellas Bayway South at the entrance to Tierra Verde | Google Maps

The redevelopment would also include upgraded fueling infrastructure, expanded landscaping buffers, and stormwater improvements.

The new boat storage buildings would bring the total marina capacity to 500 dry spaces.

The project would be constructed in a single phase while maintaining continuous operation of the existing boat storage and marina.

Tampa-based Greenleaf Capital, which acquired the site in 2011 for $5 million, has revised the proposal multiple times following community opposition to earlier versions that featured taller structures and greater storage capacity.

City staff recommended approval ahead of the hearing, noting that the proposal complies with applicable Pinellas County land development regulations, which still govern the annexed property.

Staff also highlighted a roughly 70% increase in stormwater retention capacity intended to reduce runoff and improve post-storm drainage.

The approved site plan for the redevelopment of the Tierra Verde Marina | Greenleaf Capital

Wednesday’s hearing drew a huge crowd, most in opposition of the project, in addition to more than 200 emails submitted to the city prior to the meeting, according to the staff report.

Concerns raised by residents included evacuation safety, hurricane vulnerability, environmental degradation, traffic congestion, and noise.

Captain Sebastian Fahn, owner of Island Ferry of St. Pete and a Tierra Verde resident, warned commissioners about evacuation concerns tied to additional boat storage.

“Florida statutes have designated Tierra Verde as a coastal high hazard area,” Fahn said during the hearing. “So any development that adds even a minute of friction to our only exit… it’s going to violate that statutory cap.”

Environmental concerns also dominated much of the testimony.

Tierra Verde resident Tammy Parker argued that increased boat capacity would place additional strain on nearby seagrass beds and estuarine habitats.

A view of the approved Tierra Verde Marina plans from the corner of Madonna Boulevard and Pinellas Bayway | Greenleaf Capital

Commissioners themselves voiced mixed opinions during deliberations, with several questioning whether the project was compatible with Tierra Verde’s scale and residential character despite acknowledging the application met the governing code requirements.

“I do think it's a compatibility question,” said Commissioner Reali. “A lot of the concerns of the public are very valid, but some of them are not really in our purview and some of them, while they feel really bad to the public, I think that they're actually answered in the affirmative in the application.”

Another commissioner raised questions over the visual impact of the proposed dry-storage structures.

“You’ve got a 300-foot-long, 72-foot-tall building,” said Commissioner Flynt. “That mass is really concerning to me.”

Commissioner Hugglestone also voiced concerns about the open-air design of the dry-storage rack buildings.

“I think the one thing that's stuck with me was the concern over the openness of these towers and the comparison between the safety of those and in comparison to an enclosed structure in a storm event,” he said.

The entrance to the approved Tierra Verde Marina redevelopment | Greenleaf Capital

Supporters of the redevelopment argued the project modernizes an aging marina while improving infrastructure at the entrance to Tierra Verde.

One marina employee and nearby resident told commissioners he welcomed the investment.

“I am the closest house to the proposed pool I would consider it an honor to wake up every morning to see a beautiful pool out there,” he said during public comment.

The overall tone from commissioners was less enthusiastic support and more reluctant acknowledgment that the project, despite concerns over height and massing, largely complied with the governing land use regulations.

Despite receiving approval from the Development Review Commission, the approval can still be appealed.