Community Preservation Commission

The City of St. Petersburg Community Preservation Commission (CPC) is comprised of nine persons appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The CPC meets the third Friday of every month to consider the following types of requests:

1. Reinstatement of abandoned grandfathered uses;

2. Appeals to interpretations made by the City’s Zoning Official;

3. Variances to the City’s Zoning Ordinance; and

4. Historic Preservation Cases

Actions of the Community Preservation Commission concerning reinstatement, appeals and variances are final and are only appealable to the Clerk of Circuit Court.

Current Agenda 06/20/08 Preliminary Public Hearing Agenda (Note: there was no meeting in April and none scheduled for May 2008)

Past Agendas w/Action Taken

Persons interested in serving on the Community Preservation Commission are encouraged to submit a cover letter and resume to:

Director of Development Services

City of St. Petersburg

P.O. Box 2842

St. Petersburg, Florida 33731-2842

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Persons who think they may need a variance are encouraged to contact the Department of Development Services prior to filing an application. Our staff of professionals is available to discuss your particular needs and can advise if a variance is necessary and whether other options exist. Please call (727) 893-7232 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday or e-mail Community Preservation Commission staff to set up a pre-application conference.

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Applications must be filed by the submittal deadline for the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Community Preservation Commission. The Board meets at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, located at 175 5^th Street North, St. Petersburg. All hearings are quasi-judicial and persons wishing to speak regarding any matter on the Commission’s agenda are required to take an oath.

- Single-Family Residential Variances:  $125 for the first variance, $10 for each additional variance

- Multifamily and Nonresidential Variances: $200 for the 1st variance, $50 for each additional variance

- Dwelling Unit / Nonconforming Use Reinstatements: $200

- Appeals to Interpretations or Decisions of the POD = $30 

  (must be filed with the City Clerk within 30 days of the interpretation / decision)

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Certain uses which were allowed under previous zoning ordinances are not permitted today. However, these uses, called "grandfathered uses," have a degree of compatibility that allows for them to be re-established or reinstated with certain safeguards and conditions. The Community Preservation Commission is permitted to reinstate grandfathered uses under the City’s current zoning ordinance. Persons seeking to reinstate abandoned grandfathered uses are required to submit an application and the required fee.  Additional information on these procedures is located in Section 16.70.040.1.14 of the City Code.

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The City’s Zoning Official is afforded latitude in the application of the zoning ordinance. Persons who believe that actions of the Zoning Official are incorrect have the ability to appeal these actions to the Community Preservation Commission. The Community Preservation Commission can either uphold the actions of the Zoning Official or overturn them and rule in favor of the applicant. Appeals must be filed in writing with the City Clerk’s Office within ten (10) days from the day that the interpretation is made. A $30 filing fee is required.

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Variances to the City’s Zoning Ordinance may be approved by the City’s Zoning Official acting on behalf of the Mayor. Typical variances include variances from the required setbacks associated with single-family homes and small businesses. These variances are generally associated with sheds, pools, building additions, carports, garages, and other home and building improvements.

Variances approved by the Zoning Official are called "streamlined" variances. If the Zoning Official does not feel that he/she can approve a variance, he/she may refer the case to the Community Preservation Commission for final action. Four positive votes of the Board are required to secure the requested variance. If an applicant does not get four supporting votes, the variance request is not approved.

The filing fee and application are the same for both streamlined applications and those requiring full review by the Board.

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Applications for a COA request must be completed and submitted to the Urban Planning, Design, and Historic Preservation Division 60 days prior to the scheduled CPC meeting.

      COA Application

      Design Guidelines

      Application Deadlines

Past Agendas w/Action Taken

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Please call 893-7153 for additional information on Urban Planning, Design and Historic Preservation activities or e-mail Urban Planning, Design and Historic Preservation.

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