St. Pete finetunes proposed community benefits agreement
May 28, 2021 - St. Petersburg development officials have updated a draft community benefits agreement, after getting feedback from City Council members and community leaders. The CBA applies to certain public-private partnership projects and generally requires additional investment by a developer in the community. Development officials outlined about a dozen updates to the City Council's Health, Energy, Resiliency & Sustainability Committee Thursday including an exemption for historic preservation projects and clarification that the Tropicana Field site redevelopment cannot receive exemptions. There's also a financial hardship waiver for projects in some low-income areas and revised langaug regarding an advisory council. The committee voted 3-to-1 to send the draft to the full City Council for consideration. Council Vice Chair Gina Driscoll and Council members Brandi Gabbard and Darden Rice voted to advance the plan, while Council Chairman Ed Montanari voted no.