ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — More than eight-and-a-half hours of discussion and public comment Monday in St. Pete Beach about the Tradewinds Resort expansion ended without a decision from city council.
The special meeting was called on April 15 to look at the multimillion-dollar project proposal and hear from both developers and community members. Starting at 4 p.m., people for and against the project packed St. Pete Beach City Hall commission chambers, overflowing into another room for viewers. However, as the clock ticked past 12:30 a.m., council members ended up agreeing to continue discussion on April 23.
Tradewinds Resort aims to add more than 600 hotel rooms along with thousands of square feet of meeting and retail space, including a rooftop deck.
If approved, this multimillion-dollar project will launch a huge transformation to Gulf Boulevard.
Developers are championing the expansion project as a boost to the local economy. Some neighbors and community members, however, aren't convinced and expressed worry over the environmental cost and overcrowding.
Joe Smith, CEO of 1754 Properties — one of the developers — said they have been working on this project for years.
“We're also going to have things like climbing walls, bowling alleys for the kids. It's really going to be a fantastic place to be,” Smith said.
He argues the project would be a win for the resort and the community.
“There's about $19 million of tax revenue directly to St. Pete Beach from this project,” Smith said.
Some neighbors in the community like Claudine Reece are excited about this development but said they still have some concerns that haven't been properly addressed.
“That's going to be a lot more cars on the road that's going to be potentially gridlock traffic which it is to some extent currently,” Reece said.
In addition to traffic, residents are voicing concerns about the potential impact on the health of the turtle community.
“Artificial lighting disorients nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings,” Lisa Reich with the Coastal Wildlife Advocacy Group said.
Reich works to ensure the survival of coastal wildlife like sea turtles.
“There's five rows of permanently installed cabanas and we have mommas that come up all the time and get stuck and confused,” she said.
Reich conducted a light test on Friday outside of the resort and filed a complaint with code enforcement ahead of Monday's meeting. A member of the city's legal team confirmed during the meeting that no code enforcement violation was found before the meeting.
Smith said he's aware of these concerns, but said they are going to be addressed in the expansion process.
“We're investing millions of dollars to protect the sea turtles with everything from adding tint to the windows to replacing all of our wooden loungers on the beach that we can stack at night so we can clear pathways for the migrating turtles,” Smith said.
If the project is approved, officials said it will be completed in four phases and will likely take 20 years to complete.