Christmas Party

Yep, it's that time of year again and we will all be busy for the next few weeks getting ready for the Holidays.
Don't forget to add the Sanders Beach Christmas party to your busy schedules!
We will be holding the party at the Joe Patti Restaurant on South B st. Sunday Dec 7th Starting at 4:oo pm. Lots of good food and fun with the Dirty Santa game and raffle.
If you are planning to bring a dish, please let Laura (469.9042) or Deloris (438-1861) know. (so we don't end up with fifteen apple pies)
Also, the Suchys are sponsoring a family with two girls ages 7 and 8. If anyone would like to contribute, bring a toy, or non-perishable Christmas dinner-type food item to the party.
We also need to get a rough head-count, please let us know if you plan to attend!

Nov Meeting... Christmas is nigh!

Well, it's almost that time again.... Christmas is fast approaching and plans need to be discussed and made. Our next meeting will be held the SECOND Tuesday of November, which is the 11th. Please remember to bring a stuffed toy or canned goods to donate to Grotto Hall. They have been very kind to let us use their building, so let's return that kindness!
Also, in preparation for next summer's grand opening of the community center, please hold on to any used books you might have. It would be great to have a nicely stocked library right off the bat!
Hope everyone is enjoying this great weather! See you soon.

Community meeting summary

Hi All, for those of you who couldn't attend last weeks meeting, here's a quick rundown. David Flaherty for the City's Parks and Recreation dep. spoke about the new community center. The center will have a ballroom, two meeting rooms, exercise room, weight room, library/computer room and a crafts room. We have a copy of the plans if anyone would like to see them, just email Blake and we can send you a copy.
David also talked about the Sanders Beach Park. He is planning to put in a wheelchair accessible play ground and bathrooms/ concession stand. The concessions area would sell simple things like ice and chips. He added that as they got closer to building the playground he would come back to get community input on the area.
Also, he announced that all boat launches in the city will begin charging a $5.00 fee.

The new community center should be open in about a year. (July-Sept of '09) It was suggested that some time between now and then, the community should do a book donation drive so the library can be well stocked! So everyone save your extra books!

Also, be thinking about what activities you would like to see at the center! Dance classes? Art classes? Computer skills? Gardening workshops? Be thinking about what we can do to enliven the community and bring neighbors together. Do we want to do a fall festival? An Easter egg hunt? Do any of you have a skill and would like to donate your time to help or put on a workshop?
Think about it, the next meeting we have with Mr. Flaherty will address these issues.

Yesterday's Re-zoning Meeting

To update everyone as to yesterday’s events:

The City’s planning board voted unanimously to approve the Bay Shore Boyz rezoning request. One person spoke against the rezoning and several people spoke supporting the rezoning. I spoke as the Chairman of the Sanders Beach Community Association relaying the feedback I received from each of you that supplied it to me. I reported your input which was basically a split of about 50/50 with several people reporting to me to be neutral. I then spoke as the property owner directly across the street from the property, separating my representation of the neighborhood from my personal opinion. My decision came down to some simple facts about the property and how it would affect my property. R-2B was custom tailored and invented specifically for Sanders Beach South of Sonia Street between “I” street and the property formally know as “Pelican Bay Apartments” (refer to the Sanders Beach Waterfront Study on the City’s web site for more information). Obviously this property falls within this area and would surely, in the long run, be granted the R-2B zoning. The fact that the proposed zoning also had provisions for a 50 foot “Conservation” area on the east end of the property directly in front of my house insuring no structure will be built in front of me was very attractive. I also thought of R-2B not being granted and the property being developed as is R-1A. The result of R-1A development would be 35’ high structures directly across the street from me. So Conservation looked very attractive and as the property owner across the street I voted in favor of the zoning. Please also know that with the conservation area in place the property due east, owned by Dr. Ferretti, can not be rezoned R-2B unless all properties eastward starting at the east end of the R-2B zone, then consecutively rezoned westward until reaching Dr. Ferretti’s property are rezoned. This is a highly unlikely scenario effectively blocking R-2B from moving eastward.

I thought I owed everyone an explanation of my personal vote vs. my representation of the neighborhood.

You will still have a chance to give me your input at the neighborhood meeting next week and at the City Counsel meetings that will follow this decision.

Highest Regards,
Blake Jochum

SBCA-Chair

More on the re-zoning

This is a new drawing from the City showing the conservation area the property owners are requesting as part of their rezoning. With 70’ high buildings in the requested R-2B the first building would be 70’ from the east end of the property. From what I am being told from the City it is extremely difficult to get conservation area’s rezoned later to anything else.

Here also is a definition of Conservation.
CONSERVATION LAND USE DISTRICT.

Sec. 12-2-2.

The regulations in this section shall be applicable to the conservation zoning district: CO.

(A) Purpose of district. The conservation Land Use District is established to preserve open space as necessary for protecting water resources, preserving scenic areas, preserving historic sites, providing parklands and wilderness reserves, conserving endemic vegetation, preventing flood damage and soil erosion.

(B) Generalized uses permitted.

(a) Wildlife and vegetation conservation:

Wildlife refuge, nature trails and related facilities.

(b) Recreational facilities:

Passive recreation.

Bike trails.

Jogging trails.

(c) Other similar and compatible conservation and recreational uses:

Boat moorings, fishing piers, drainage areas, etc.

(C) Specific plans for each district. For each conservation district site plan review shall be subject to the procedure described in section 12-2-81. In addition, site plans shall include the following provisions:

• Location and characteristics of all environmental features such as wetlands, trees, bluffs and wildlife areas;

• Location of all transportation and utility rights-of-way and easements;

• Location and characteristics of allowable types of development, and;

• Any other factors deemed relevant to the health, safety, preservation and protection, or welfare of lands within or surrounding the designated areas

Re-zoning request.

Most of you are aware that earlier this year, the property formally known as the Vista Bay apartments owned by the “Bayshore Boys llc.”,-- Bobby Switzer and Jim Veal-- was rezoned R-2B high density with a height limit of approx. 70’.
Some of you may have received a blue card from the City notifying you that the Bayshore Boyz llc are Appling for some the adjacent properties on the north west side of their property (not owned by them now) on the same block and the adjacent eastward property formally owned by George Black to also be rezoned R-2b. If all this land is rezoned they would have approx. 2.3 acres of land with a total capacity of approx. 115 units. This is assuming they can acquire the adjacent property on the north west side of their block.

To veiw the zoning request, please click here.

I have had two meetings with Mr. Veal and Mr. Switzer and they will also be including in their request approx. 21% of the property to be zone conservation telling me that the result would limit their project to 80-84 units if the current property they own is rezoned. They could have a higher capacity if they acquire the adjacent property to the northwest. That would result only in the project being expanded to the north, if would not affect the view of the water to the east and west.

With that being said, I need input from the neighborhood so that I can attend the planning board meeting on Tuesday at 3;00pm and give some feedback from the neighborhood. Please respond to my e-mail address blakeandlaura@home.gccoxmail.com and tell me how you feel with a definite for or against and a brief description of why.

I need your help so that I can represent the neighborhood on Tuesday.

Thank you for your input,

Blake Jochum SBCA chair

Getting through Gustav... next meeting

Well, we made it (mostly) unscathed through Gustav. I hope everyone is doing well and has their power back on! I know that the workers who are building the community center were busy working the day after the storm.

Speaking of the new community center, our next neighborhood meeting is set for Tuesday the 16th of this month at 6:30. We are going to have Dave Flaherty of the City Parks and Recreation department coming in to give us an update on the construction and talk about the final design and functions of the building.

Back to Gustav... I took a video the day of the storm of the SB park. check it out!

Sanders Beach Park

As most of you probably know, the City Parks and Recreation Department received a grant to make improvements to a couple of parks in the city.
Our little bay side park will be getting a playground set, new trash bins, irrigation, and restrooms!
Though when I spoke to Mr. Flaherty, the head of Parks and Recreation, he was not sure when the restrooms would be complete, due to the fact that they had to be designed and engineered to be elevated well above the flood line.
But at least they are in the works!

EPA presentation files available

Here is the link to the presentation by Shea, from the EPA.
The Black and Veatch presentation can been seen Here.
Hope this helps all of you who were not able to attend the meeting.

EPA meeting summery

Thanks to everyone for coming to the meeting last night, and thanks to Shea, and everyone else from the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Black and Veatch for an informative presentation.
I’d hoped to summarize for those of you who where not able to attend, however, I think it would be easier to post a copy of her bullet point presentation as soon as it’s available.

All in all, the issues and questions posed after the presentation were concerned with neighborhood cleanup-- how it will be accomplished and when. There were also questions pertaining to Dioxin as a probable carcinogen; its effects, and dangers currently present in the soil and ground water. Containment of contamination during the cleanup, and concerns over property values.

Though she couldn't comment on certain issues such as property values, Shea did recommend that no wells for irrigation be dug or used. A representative from Black and Veatch, the firm handling the cleanup, stated that the neighborhood will most likely be cleaned by scraping the contaminated soil (from yards/ ditches etc..) and disposing of it. There is also a pump already in place, sucking out the goop (referred to as DNAPLs) that’s in the groundwater at the ACW site.
The timeline for completion (after further studies, discussions, planning and other rigmarole) is sometime in… 2012!

Somewhat sad, seeing as the EPA designated ACW a Superfund site in 1982, hey that’s only 30 years! But I digress….
The good news is-- at least now the ball seems to be rolling, and with involvement from our local and state representatives, hopefully the momentum can continue, possibly even increase.

For information on the city's proposed plans for the ACW site once it's cleaned click here
For more info on the ACW click here

EPA meeting Tomorrow!

Most of you know that Shea, from the EPA, is coming to town Wednesday ( Grotto Hall 6:00) to fill us in on the latest from the EPA. Hopefully, she will also be answering the questions we gave Debbie last week. Of course, we'd love to see as much as the community there as possible and hope to have our city/ county representatives in attendance. There will be a posted summery of the meeting (on this blog) for those who cannot attend.

Meeting summery

First, thanks to everyone for attending! And thanks to Debbie for working to help us get our questions in line so we're ready for the meeting next week with the EPA. For all you out there that did not attend; the discussion was mostly educational and geared toward trying to understand/ glean information regarding the soil tests that the EPA preformed last year. We are all hoping that the EPA will have a timeline for cleanup soon so we can move past this MESS and work on making Sanders Beach, not only a great neighborhood, but a environmentally safe, shining gateway into Pensacola.
We know that the city has plans for the American Creosote Works site. But it won't even be on the back, back , back burner until the EPA finishes their cleanup.
We will continue to work with city, county and state officials...bringing attention to our little area and hopefully pushing the EPA to (finally) get going!
We hope to see everyone next week on the 23rd at grotto hall for the "big" meeting with the EPA.

Other Issues

Although the meeting tomorrow will mainly cover the EPA and American creosote works, we are also working with the city on a few other issues. Blake has made a map of missing/ damaged sidewalks that need to be repaired or replaced. Hopefully, our neighborhood will soon be reaching the top of the list to have them repaired. If for some reason anyone does NOT want their sidewalk repaired, please let us know.
Also, Blake has met with the city's parks director about the community center and the adjacent park. We know that there has been a problem with the trash containers being emptied and are working on resolving the issue.
These are just a few of the things we've been working on, along with getting press and attention from our local and regional representatives regarding the lack of progress with American Creosote Works. Our hope is to get the EPA moving and get the area cleaned up!

Community Meeting

Our next community meeting is scheduled for Tuesday July 15 at 6:30 at the Grotto Hall. On the agenda: aside from introducing myself to many of you as the new chair of the SBCA we will also have a discussion of the upcoming EPA meeting, which is set for the 23th at 6:00.
Looking forward to seeing all of you!
Blake Jochum

Welcome

Hi everyone!
We decided to start a blog in order to keep our members posted on upcoming events, meetings and news. In the days to follow, there will be more info added. If you have direct questions for Blake, send him an email at blakeandlaura@home.gccoxmail.com.