‘Are we trying to be an HOA?’ Belleair Beach zoning rewrite draws fire

BELLEAIR BEACH — A sweeping rewrite of the city’s zoning rules advanced Sept. 9, but not before residents questioned whether Belleair Beach was starting to look more like a homeowners association.

The 69-page ordinance covers a wide range of issues, including bamboo, landscaping rocks, hedges, pools, ham-radio antennas, home businesses and multifamily development.

It passed on first reading 4-2 and will come back next month for a final vote. But after getting an earful, council members said several provisions may be changed before then.

The zoning rewrite was part of a 565-page meeting packet posted just days before the meeting.

Homeowner Debbie Maul told the council she spent 5½ hours reviewing it.

“Saturday morning is not a good time to post it before a meeting,” she said. “No one can go through that.”

The complaints went beyond how much residents had to digest. Some questioned whether the city should be regulating so many things in the first place.

Much of the discussion centered on a proposal that would prohibit landscaping rocks larger than 8 inches within 4 feet of the edge of a street.

“What is the exact purpose of the extent of these ordinances?” resident Annette Hopper asked. “Are we trying to be an HOA? What is the purpose?”

Hopper said she moved to Belleair Beach to get away from an HOA. She said she only heard about the ordinance a week after spending $3,000 to install limestone rocks along her property line.

She and others said they use the rocks to stop cars and construction vehicles from driving onto their lawns, sometimes damaging sprinkler heads.

Martin Leventon said he drove through the city and counted 52 houses — about 3% of the city's homes — with rocks within four feet of the street, including on streets where council members live.

“There are things that you need to be cognizant about, not about whether a damn rock is within four feet of the street,” he told the council. “Belleair Beach should be a city that has our backs and is not always on our backs.”

Council member Frank Bankard later echoed some of those concerns.

“Do you not own your house? Do you not own your yard?” he asked. “Why does government always have to say what you can and cannot do with your own property?

“This is just government overreach at its best.”

City Manager Kyle Riefler said the restriction on rocks larger than 8 inches was “more of an afterthought.”

He said he could not remember where the idea came from and noted that the city itself uses large rocks in some areas. Riefler said the main goal of that part of the ordinance was to keep floating mulch from washing into storm drains.

Council members agreed that the rock rule should get another look. They also raised questions about hedge rules and a section dealing with amateur-radio antennas.

Ham-radio operator John Hyde told council that requiring antennas in backyards could create a safety problem because many homes have power lines along the rear property line. At his home, Hyde said, the safest place for an antenna would be beside the house.

The ordinance also would ban bamboo, but that provision may change, too.

During the meeting, Mayor Dave Gattis suggested limiting the ban to running bamboo, which can spread underground, instead of banning all types.

Another provision would stop owners of single-family homes from renting out individual features of their property, such as a pool.

“There’s trends that we're seeing that are beyond structure rentals, where people are renting individual amenities, specifically pools,” Riefler said. “So this is kind of to get ahead of that.”

The ordinance also changes rules for multifamily property. Riefler said the city’s planner found that some existing buildings already exceed the density and development limits now written into the code. The proposal would raise those limits to better match what is already built.

Not every change would add restrictions.

For example, the city now generally limits front-yard hedges to 3 feet. The proposal would allow them to grow as high as 6 feet, while still requiring clear sight lines near roads and intersections.

Vice Mayor Lloyd Roberts said the ordinance had been through several workshops and reviews by the city’s planner and Planning and Zoning Board.

“Is it perfect? Probably not,” he said.

But first reading gives the city time to make changes before a final vote, he said.

Roberts, Gattis, and council members Jody Shirley and Todd Harper voted for the ordinance. Bankard and council member Marv Behm voted against.