St. Pete City Council votes to pause picking developer for Historic Gas Plant District

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Pete City Council approved pausing choosing a developer for the Historic Gas Plant site Thursday.

Councilmember Brandi Gabbard introduced the resolution that asks for a "planning-first framework" that will serve as a "strategic roadmap" for the Historic Gas Plant District prior to advancing any developer selection.

Gabbard, who has said she plans to run for mayor against Mayor Ken Welch, wrote in the resolution a request that the comprehensive planning framework be done by "independent, professionally qualified planners and guided by City residents, City-based businesses and employees, and organizations that represent City residents, so that redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District reflects community perspectives and advances long-term public benefits."

During Thursday’s Council meeting, City Councilmembers talked about it for nearly an hour.

"I hope that you appreciate the thoughtful intent that came behind this and specifically the words right in the middle of the title of the resolution to be very, very clear what the terminology of a pause is directly in relation to and it is a pause from administration of any action to select, negotiate, or advance a developer ahead of a plan," Gabbard said. "That wording was very intentional, because it is my fear that without Council having any sort of guidance, any sort of conversation, that a selection will be made, and then we will have to just respond again to what is being brought to us."

"This is not to pause any conversation moving forward. There are a lot of other things that can and should happen, one of which is an appraisal that we have been told needs to happen and is supposed to happen on the property. The list goes on. This is not pause everything. This is not to pause individual meetings that administration can have with these developers. This is not to pause any of the discovery. This is to pause the selection, the negotiation, and the advancement of a specific developer choice on this site before city council gets an opportunity to create a plan in concert with the administration," Gabbard said.

Dig deeper:

The vote comes after groups submitted nine proposals for the site before Tuesday’s deadline. Mayor Welch, who grew up in the Historic Gas Plant District, wants to move forward with evaluating the proposals and choosing one.

"We have planned for over a decade," he said Wednesday when asked about the resolution before the meeting. "It's time to move forward with action and act on what the community has told us and I call it the J-hop principle. J-Hop's right across the street. Jobs, housing, economic opportunity based on our strengths and honoring those promises. Time and time again the community tells us that what they want to see and we've got some proposals. Now let's take a look at do they meet that that criteria and move forward after 40 years of waiting."

What they're saying:

Gabbard said Thursday plans from the Rays Hines deal for the property, that the Rays backed out of last spring, and some previous planning that’s been done on the site are outdated.

"Using old plans and agreements that were walked away from cannot be our game plan now towards progress," Gabbard said. "Just last week, we discussed in numerous committees reduced budgets that have been impacted by declining real estate values and threats from Tallahassee that would take away our main source of revenue, potentially crippling city services. We are undoubtedly walking into uncharted territory, and while we strive for St. Petersburg to maintain its special character and vibrancy, we cannot rush hastily into the most important asset we have left, which is our land."

"I just want a better roadmap," Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz, said. "It’s a disservice to the public if government does not plan," she said. "I don't want to hear in the future, ‘we don't have a plan for this.’ We have been talking about so many things at City Hall for so long without an answer, without money, without this, without that … whether it's the senior center. Whether it's the Mahaffey, whether it is the Marina," she said.

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"I mean, you can pick whatever subject, and here, we have an opportunity to kind of provide services to our public that matter and this includes the descendants and everyone else because the stronger we are as a city, when the government by the way, the state government, is trying to limit the resources we have, it is important to figure out the right path with this land," Hanewicz said.

Councilmembers on both sides said they want to make sure the descendants of the Gas Plant District who were displaced to build the Interstate and Tropicana Field are heard from regarding the  redevelopment of the 86 acres.

"I want some of the descendants that took their time to have these conversations with us to be here to see something done," Councilmember Deborah Figgs Sanders said. "When I actually heard about this study before, realizing that a lot of the people doing the study have no vested interest, and when I listen to some of the same African-Americans who say they have a vested interest in this Gas Plant acquiesce to what the voices are saying not pertinent to bringing to fruition what our descendants have asked for, that makes me really sad," she said.

The resolution was approved in a six to two vote with Figgs-Sanders and Copley Gerdes voting no.

"I'm real nostalgic when it comes down to the Gas Plant. Where the circle driveway is [in Tropicana Field’s lot], I was baptized at eight-years-old. That's where I was. That is who I am. And every time I hear, someone wants to tell us what's best for us, as though the words of the descendants did not mean anything, I quiver. When I hear the people at the table, who are those people? Because we've had those voices … ‘Sell it parcel by parcel.’ That's gentrification by block by block to me. So, it's easy to say, ‘let's pause this.’ It's easy say, ‘let's not move forward’ if you've had no vested interest. I see the opportunities. I see possibilities that go with this. But again, I say stop playing with my people. Stop playing with the history that that Gas Plant means to the city of St. Petersburg," she said.

They also expressed that they don’t want the redevelopment process to be delayed.

"I don't want this to cause us to get hiccups and not be able to accomplish things over the timeframe that we want to," Councilmember Richie Floyd said. "If it meant that we just gathered all the information that we've done to study the site already and then put something together, wrapped a neat bow on it for it to be applicable to this, I think that that would be fine," he said.

"I don't want to put a halt to discussions around that because I would hate to hinder the process in a way that might hurt us in the long run if we hit the pause button completely right now," Councilmember Gina Driscoll said. "I do think we should take our time. I do think that the administration would be wise to include City Council in discussions as we move forward. I really believe that we can do both here," she said.

"As mentioned earlier, the administration has had almost a year to get up to speed on this and to catch up with what is wanted. It's really unfortunate that this hasn't been done already. In my opinion, this is something that should have been an administration discussion that started in March, the day after the Rays canceled the deal, but here we are," Driscoll said.

Members of the public shared their thoughts on both sides of the issue at Thursday’s meeting too. Some said there have been enough studies done and the city has waited long enough to develop the site. Others, however, want the city to create a master plan and vision for the site and not hand it directly over to developers.

What's next:

The vote doesn’t stop Mayor Welch from moving forward since St. Pete operates in a strong mayor government, meaning he has executive power.

"I have struggled with this more so than anything in my year tenure, and I struggle with, at the biggest picture, I wonder if the elected that took us to a strong mayor form of government really envisioned something this big when they set up the rules or the ways that we were going to govern ourselves, because this is much bigger than what a city normally deals with," Councilmember Mike Harting said.

Responding to Council’s vote, Mayor Welch sent the following statement Thursday evening:

"My position in regards to the Historic Gas Plant District remains the same - now is the time to move forward to fulfill the decades-long promise of equitable and beneficial development of the site. The current request for alternative proposals has been underway for months, beginning with the receipt of an unsolicited proposal in October of last year. Furthermore, I have been clear since the termination of the Rays agreement last March that our focus would be not start over, but to build on the extensive community dialogue and planning to date. Therefore, my administration is moving forward in the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment process. In response to the request for an additional planning framework in the Council resolution, I will ask my team to explore a process that clarifies what that additional planning would entail, and how that could inform our assessment of the proposals received this week.

City Council and I share the same goal. We both want to deliver lasting, shared benefits to our residents and I appreciate their thoughtful discussion today. I also understand the concerns they expressed during their discussion and want to reiterate that moving forward does not mean rushing or making binding decisions without oversight. No final development agreement will be approved without transparency, public engagement, and City Council action. We will continue to have open dialogue with City Council during this process and always encourage their input and participation. 

This redevelopment process is ultimately about people and progress. When I was elected Mayor, I made a commitment to honor the history and fulfill the promises of the Historic Gas Plant District; and I intend to keep my word."

St. Petersburg