A storm-damaged, repeatedly flooded mobile home park near Derby Lane will become a multifamily housing complex, despite environmental concerns.
Plans to permanently evacuate the Twin City Mobile Home Park began after Hurricane Idalia in 2023. Hurricanes Helene and Milton exacerbate ongoing issues; however, a handful of households have remained throughout the recently launched demolition process.
Pinellas County Commissioners unanimously approved a zoning change Tuesday at 10636 Gandy Boulevard to facilitate the property’s redevelopment. The 8.94-acre parcel was home to Twin City for 71 years.
Former resident Erin Roth urged commissioners to deny the property owner’s latest request. Lakeshore Management previously applied for a density increase to build a 133-unit housing development.
“Hundreds of families lost their homes – everything – not just once, it was multiple times,” Roth said. “I raised my child there, and it’s torn down now. I don’t think they should have another chance with that property.”
Twin City lies within an isolated section of unincorporated Pinellas, surrounded by the City of St. Petersburg. Current land-use regulations allow up to 64 residential units at the site.
The grandfathered-in community, which once had 103 mobile homes and three apartments, was non-compliant. Zoning consultant Todd Pressman, representing Lakeshore, said in October that more than doubling the currently allowable density would ensure the redevelopment is economically viable.
Pressman and some commissioners frequently mentioned the contrasting land-use regulations surrounding the property. “When you look at virtually all sides of this site, the densities can be, at a maximum, almost double” of what Pinellas permits, he said.
However, County Attorney Jewel White said it “doesn’t matter what St. Pete did right across the street.” Commissioners unanimously denied the requested density increase after extensive debate over their comprehensive plan’s directions and allowances.
Pressman asked to defer the rezoning vote, and Lakeshore decided to make 64 units work. That is still above the maximum five units per acre typically allowed in a Coastal Storm Area (CSA) under the county’s comprehensive plan, as stated in a staff report.
Commissioner Kathleen Peters asked how often the park has flooded. “Every time,” replied County Administrator Barry Burton. “For years.”
Peters noted that many state-designated Coastal High Hazard Areas avoid flooding “every time it rains.” Burton said the Twin Cities site is “absolutely ” an area that floods.
Peters sympathized with the lone public speaker, who watched their home “get washed away many, many times, and nothing was ever done to mitigate … and then you get to a point where we have devastation, like last year, and then it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s rezone it.’”
Earlier this year, Pinellas began offering up to $40,000 in relocation assistance to residents displaced from Twin City. Staff reported that 51 have applied, 42 were approved and 34 have received payments.
Nine applicants are in “budgeting, waitlist, or application review.” According to Lakeshore, “squatters and unauthorized persons” occupy several remaining homes.
“Per the (owners), a combination of evictions and condemnation proceedings will likely be used to remove any remaining residents due to the condition of the homes and unpaid rents,” states the report.
Commissioner Renee Flowers asked if the nine households awaiting assistance are “still on hold.” Burton said staff have taken “a number of steps to try and relocate and help families, as much as could be done.”
He added that “we’re down to just a few units, and they ‘ll continue to work with them.” Flowers said she would reluctantly support the staff’s recommendation to approve the project, but Lakeshore “may have some issues getting through the next step” when flooding issues persist.
The staff report states that area stormwater infrastructure “has a documented history of failing during small and larger rainfall events.” The comprehensive plan prohibits officials from subsidizing expenditures related to projects in a CSA.
Pressman said in October that redeveloping the park would eliminate the county’s need to repeatedly rescue residents from flooding and associated financial challenges for everyone involved. The project must meet new elevation, building strength and wind speed requirements; Lakeshore previously pledged to add an expansive stormwater pond that would benefit the area.
“This site will be tremendously, light-years improved from what it is today,” Pressman said at the time.
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