City Council Tentatively OKs Rezoning Stovall-Lee House

TAMPA, FL – A packed city council chambers, hours of testimony and petitions bearing the signatures of more than 1,000 residents failed to convince the Tampa City Council to vote down a controversial rezoning on Bayshore Boulevard.

During a hearing Thursday, Aug. 28, that went on past midnight, the council tentatively approved a rezoning and special use permit for alcohol for the historic Stovall-Lee House at 4621 Bayshore Blvd.

Blake Casper and his wife, Tate, who own the largest number of McDonald’s restaurant franchises in the state, want to convert the stately 1909 home on Bayshore Boulevard into a private social club and a five-unit bed and breakfast for guests of the club.

Residents of the surrounding Bayshore Beautiful neighborhood, however, say a club that serves alcohol doesn’t belong in a single-family neighborhood.

Despite their pleas, the council gave a preliminary nod to Casper’s request 4-2, with councilmen Mike Suarez and Charlie Miranda casting the dissenting votes. Councilwoman Yvonne Yolie Capin was absent.

The project, however, isn’t a done deal. This was the first reading of the ordinances for a special use permit to allow alcohol sales and to rezone the property from single-family residential to a planned development. The second readings are set for Sept. 20.

Zhenya Nichols, who lives next door to the Stovall-Lee House, said the cards were stacked against the residents before the hearing began.

Casper recruited a Who’s Who of Tampa’s movers and shakers to speak in favor of the project. Many pointed to Casper’s Tampa Oxford Exchange redevelopment project as an example of his dedication to preservation.

Casper also presented a slick video explaining his vision for the 2.59-acre property on the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and Coachman Avenue. The video featured an endorsement by former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.

“Loosely defined, it’s a social club, health and wellness center and cultural center with world-class authors and speakers and guest suites to accommodate the speakers,” said Casper’s attorney, Truett Gardner, comparing it to the social clubs that are popular in London. “It’s a place to meet, dine and exchange ideas.”

Residents, however, had a different take on the project.

Resident Lisa Shasteen pleaded with the council not to be influenced by the Casper reputation.

“Consider all citizens, not just an influential few,” she said. “Why should we tolerate this intrusion? This is essentially a commercial development in the center of residential neighborhood.”

She accused city planning staff of using technicalities to ensure that Casper’s proposal was consistent with city rezoning regulations.

Instead of going through the required commercial rezoning for a bed and breakfast, for example, Shasteen said city staff designated the five-unit bed and breakfast at the Lee-Stovall House “an accessory use.” As a result, the project doesn't have to meet the same strict standard as normal commercial development.

“A bed and breakfast is a commercial use but with the magic stroke of a pen, staff made it an accessory use,” she said.

She said the fact that the proposal calls from the 5,060-square-foot home to be expanded to 18,000 square feet with 80 parking spaces, a commercial kitchen, commercial Dumpsters and a delivery entrance proves it is a commercial enterprise.

“It’s a great project. It’s just in the wrong place,” said Coachman Avenue resident Dennis LeVine, whose property abuts the Lee-Stovall House.

He envisioned his family getting woken at all hours of the night by the noise of 80 social club patrons starting their cars at the same time at the end of an event.

“There could be hundreds of people on the property at any one time,” he said.

The project poses other concerns as well, LeVine said, including odor from the commercial Dumpsters situated 100 feet from his property, increasing the impervious surfaces in an area already prone to drainage problems and commercial service and delivery trucks forced to access to the club from the residential Coachman Avenue because trucks aren’t allowed on Bayshore Boulevard.

Resident John McLaughlin, who lives about 70 feet from the Stovall-Lee House, said Casper’s proposal has nothing to do with lofty preservation goals.

“This isn’t about saving the Stovall,” he said. “It’s about creating a private club to serve alcohol on the Stovall property.”

Tampa preservationists, however, commended Casper’s proposal that keeps the home, which is on National Register of Historic Places, intact.

They pointed out that, under city zoning regulations, the home could be demolished and the property developed into seven to 10 home sites.

With only three bedrooms, the Stovall-Lee House doesn’t suit the needs of modern families and is no longer viable for a single-family home, they argued.

They said Casper’s plan is a chance to preserve the house while making the property economically sustainable.

Casper, himself, warned residents that they wouldn’t like the alternative.

The Caspers paid $9.5 million for the home in March, the most ever paid for a home in Tampa.

“If this is not approved, we will put the house back on the market,” he said.

He reminded residents of their outrage when the 22-story high-rise condominium complex, Bellamy on Bayshore, was constructed.

“The Bellamy tower stands today as a reminder of what could happen to the Stovall property,” he said.

Despite the council’s vote, Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful President Kirk Kumagai, urged residents not to get discouraged.

“I know we are all disappointed with the council's rulings. It was obvious the fix was in from the start,” he said. "It is not within my DNA to give up. We convinced two council members that we are on the right side of the law. We can try to sway two more."

Image via Realtor.com and Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful

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