I hope everyone understands that one of the main reasons for our rezoning our existing properties is to allow us to interject a broader diversity of design including a new “affordable” design, which we call the MoMed, which will fit on our 25 foot lots. While our Bungalows were successful, they are too big to fit on these lots and we have sold all of them but one.
We presented these designs to the Overlay committee twice, including last night. Despite providing ample evidence that our news designs were consistent with the precedent established in the community, and despite the attendance by over a dozen new homeowners supporting our rezoning application, the committee summarily shot us down. The committee seemed wholly uninterested that we were bringing forth a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath design that would be priced under $210,000 and that would have energy savings of at least 40%. This is a reasonably affordable, energy efficient, urban home. Monthly PITI with downpayment assistance from the City of Tampa would be around $1300. Utility bills would be significantly lower. It is astounding to us that after so many people, including many committee members, have talked about the need for more affordable housing, that designs intended to be affordable and to save people huge amounts on their utility bills would be opposed. Besides these considerations, our new designs are even greener than our first models.
Members of the committee stated that the new designs were “ugly” and that “they would not buy one.” Except for Harriet McCray, none of the members offered
any constructive recommendations. It is ironic that some of these were WTCDC members and they were being critical of the designs of the team that won the most outstanding urban infill product (Intown Homes) and of the architect that designed the WTCDC’s award winning Palmetto homes, namely, Franklin Sebastian.
So you understand the issue, the Overlay District Standard governs roof pitch. It states:
Minimum roof pitch for new residential structures shall be a minimum for porches of 4:12 or houses 6:12. Flat roofs with parapet walls shall be permitted when precedent on the subject and immediately adjacent blocks.
We showed the committee example after example of major and minor buildings that were adjacent to or within a hundred feet of our lots. I am attaching one slide that summarizes a few of these. Please note that a very early draft of the MoMed is in the left hand corner. You will note a striking similarity between it and the Alessi Bakery Building on Howard and the Cusmano Plumbing building on Albany and Chestnut, although the scales are a bit different. Further, our model will be a little shorted compared to the one in the illustration. There is no question that we met the requirements of the ordinance. We took strong exception to the characterization of our proposed models. We would stack our track record and commitment to quality and design against any person on the committee and most people in the development community in general. Further, some of the very same people on the committee who now rave about our project and our designs were critics of them two years ago. Apart from that, whether someone likes or dislikes a design is not material. It, like art, is wholly subjective. Further, in a rich urban community like West Tampa, it is not any one design that matters, it is the fabric that is woven that counts.
We don’t know what weight the Overlay Committee’s decision will have on City Council. We do know that the Overlay Committee is not the only stake holder in West Tampa. We do know that the Tampa City Council will hear our rezoning petition this Thursday, April 26, 2007 at 6 p.m. We encourage you to weigh in on this issue and attend the Council meeting or contact your city council members, regardless of which position you favor. At the end of the day, West Tampa is not controlled or governed by the Overlay Committee, the Chamber, the WTCDC, InTown Homes or anybody else. This is a wonderful, diverse and energetic community that deserves your support and active participation. We do, however, believe that its architectural diversity should reflect the diversity of its people while respecting its traditions. We hope to honor this principle by building a diversity of homes, so that West Tampa does not become a traditional version of suburban subdivisions and master planned communities.
We welcome your comments and hope this discussion will further enhance and enrich the developing social and political capital that is being formed each day in West Tampa.
Ed Turanchik and Teresa Caddick
Managing Members
InTown Homes |
