Firmenich Proposal Goes Before Pinellas Planning Council Today

It’s been nearly two months since the Safety Harbor City Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the Richman Group’s proposal to build a 246-unit apartment complex with office space on the land formerly occupied by the Firmenich Citrus Center. 

Fifty days after that polarizing decision, the proposal is now in the hands of county officials, beginning with the Pinellas Planning Council this afternoon. 

According to Safety Harbor Community Development Director Matt McLachlan, the function of the PPC is to coordinate land use planning within Pinellas County.

The 13-member board, comprised of county, school board and local government representatives, acts as an advisory council for the Countywide Planning Authority, which is carried out by the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners.

McLachlan said the recommendations and decisions made by the PPC and CPA are instrumental in deciding whether projects such as the Richman Group’s can happen in the county. 

“The City's Future Land Use Plan Map and the Countywide Future Land Use Plan Map must be consistent,” McLachlan wrote via email. 

“The PPC will be hearing the City's request to amend the Countywide Future Land Use Plan Map to coincide with the land use categories that are being proposed for adoption by the City.” 

McLachlan said the PPC on Wednesday will make a recommendation to the Countywide Planning Authority on whether to approve — with or without conditions — or deny the City's Countywide Future Land Use Plan Map Amendment application regarding the Richman Group's proposal. 

Those recommendations will be taken into consideration when the issue is brought before the CPA; the board’s next meeting is scheduled for May 7.

Related: 

• Complete Firmenich Property Coverage

The Pinellas Planning Council meeting takes place on Wednesday, April 10 at 3:00 p.m. The council meets in the Board of County Commissioners Assembly Room on the 5^th floor of the Pinellas County Courthouse, located at 315 Court St. in downtown Clearwater.

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