Chick-fil-A sought more room. St. Pete leaders said no

A plan to expand a Chick-fil-A on 4th Street North was rejected by a St. Petersburg advisory board Tuesday after commissioners raised concerns about seven apartments and a row of small businesses that would be demolished to make way for a larger restaurant.

The Community Planning and Preservation Commission voted 4-3 against the proposal at 4201 4th Street N. Chick-fil-A sought city approval to redevelop its existing restaurant and expand onto neighboring property.

That property includes a seven-unit apartment building and the Village Shoppes, a seven-bay commercial strip along 4th Street. Both would be torn down under the plan.

The apartments and businesses quickly became the focus of commissioners’ discussion.

“I am concerned about the loss of residential units and particularly small-scale residential structures in our city that we are actively losing,” Commissioner Shannon Nelson said.

Commissioner Treva Davis questioned what would happen to people currently living in the apartments.

Megan Smith, an attorney representing the applicant, said some are occupied by longer-term tenants, while at least one resident was staying there temporarily after being displaced by a hurricane. She said the property owner had been working with residents to help them find other places to live.

Smith disputed describing the apartments as affordable housing, saying rents were around market rate or potentially higher when measured by square footage. But commissioners remained concerned about displacing residents.

“My concern is losing affordable housing when we’re already in a crisis,” Davis said. “If those residents need to move, what assistance will they have with moving and what assistance will they have with finding another comparable place to live?”

The discussion then turned to the businesses facing 4th Street.

Commissioner Ashley Nuccio asked Smith whether tenants in the Village Shoppes had been told they would have to relocate. Smith said the landlord had been communicating with them.

Commissioner Domenico Pontoriero pointed to Aquatic Galleria, an aquarium shop in the plaza.

Pontoriero said the business had been growing for about six years and expressed surprise that its owners were not at the hearing. He praised the development team for meeting with nearby residents, but said losing the businesses and allowing commercial development to push farther toward the neighborhood ultimately led him to oppose the plan.

“I want 4th Street, the character of 4th Street, to grow in a different way for our city,” Pontoriero said. “I don’t want it to become like every major thoroughfare that we’ve seen across the country. I don’t want it to become another Tyrone. I like the small businesses there.”

City planning staff recommended approval, finding the expansion consistent with the commercial development already lining 4th Street.

The proposal also had support from the homeowner directly east of the property. Chick-fil-A franchisee David Neely met with Anna Gentry in April, according to documents submitted with the application. Gentry requested a concrete wall between her home and the development, which Neely agreed to provide; she submitted a letter saying she did not object to the project.

Commissioners also acknowledged that the redesigned restaurant could keep more drive-thru traffic on the property and off surrounding streets. But for the majority, those improvements did not outweigh the loss of the apartments and businesses.

The commission rejected the requested changes 4-3. The board makes recommendations on zoning and land-use changes to the St. Petersburg City Council, which has final authority over the request.

For Pontoriero, the decision came down to what would replace the buildings already there.

“I understand that some of those buildings are older and I can see the willingness to want to see something new there, but I don’t think this is the solution,” Pontoriero said. “I also do not want to have that commercialization creeping into the neighborhoods.”