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TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. – Mark Hohe can see the Thunderbird Beach Resort from his Treasure Island home. 

“We understood that what was being proposed was going to affect the Thunderbird, the iconic Thunderbird Hotel,” he said. “You won’t find anybody that is against having that rebuilt.”

The backstory:

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The Thunderbird Beach Resort wants to build back taller, to four stories, compared to the current two and three-story buildings. 

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They hope to have 184 rooms compared to the previous 106. The owner and resort representatives submitted an application to Treasure Island officials asking for height and density changes for hotels and motels in certain spots of the city to allow them to do this.

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“We’re not looking to propose a high-rise,” GM Donna Jollimore said to city officials at a meeting in September. “We’re not looking to become Clearwater Beach.”

“We are not looking to become Miami Beach. We want to remain Treasure Island, coastal, charming and in harmony with the landscape that already exists,” she said.

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They’re asking for hotels and motels to be able to be built up to 80 feet tall. Right now, the limit is 60 feet. 

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Local perspective:

“Visitors are coming, and they’re going to come whether we’re ready for them or not,” Jollimore said. “When we don’t have enough hotel rooms, the visitors turn to the short-term rentals in our neighborhoods.”

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That means more noise, more traffic and less of the community character that we all value. Hotels, on the other hand, we’re designed to manage visitors,” she said.

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It would mean changing Treasure Island’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations for the Resort Facilities High zone (RFH-50), west of Gulf Boulevard, and the Resort Facilities Medium zone (RFM-30), east of Gulf Boulevard. That’s where Hohe lives.

What they’re saying:

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Hohe says he’s okay with the Thunderbird’s zone, but not the possible new rules for his.

“What will happen over time as property changes is the motivation will be there to build, you know, motel, short-term residences in place of full-time residences, and you would get a canyon effect. If you’ve driven through downtown Madeira Beach after the change that has happened there over the last five years, you have tall buildings on both sides of the street that give a tunnel effect. And that’s what Gulf Boulevard is going to end up with if this goes through,” Hohe said.

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Big picture view:

The possible chance wouldn’t apply to residential housing, condos or vacation rentals. Each project would be on a case-by-case basis, and would have to go through a Development Agreement with the city. This means mandatory public hearings before the Local Planning Agency and the City Commission. 

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Each project would have to address design considerations, infrastructure services, mobility and traffic management, operating restrictions and compliance with county and local hurricane evacuation plans.

The ordinance passed on its first reading in September, but still has to go through a second reading and a final vote.

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What’s next:

Tuesday night, commissioners held a workshop to discuss possibly amending the ordinance to exclude RFM-30 from the height and density changes at Commissioner Arden Dickey’s request. The agenda states it “preserves the transition between beach resorts and residential neighborhoods, protects infrastructure and reflects residential input.”

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Commissioner Dickey asked Thunderbird representatives at the September meeting why they included RFM-30 in their proposal. They told him city staff told them if they’re going to make changes for the resort facilities high area, they should do all at once. 

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The Source: This story was written with information provided by Treasure Island officials and representatives from the Thunderbird.

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