Open Letter to the City: Historic Gas Plant District Redevelopment must be people-centered, equitable, and sustainable

Attn: The Mayor and City Staff:

On behalf of Connect Pinellas and the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area (LWVSPA), we urge you to embrace a people-centric redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. We stand ready to advocate alongside the St. Petersburg community for the following:

A Sustainably Funded Multimodal Transit Hub

  • Integrated Infrastructure: Construct a centralized multimodal transit hub serving PSTA buses, SunRunner BRT, and future light rail, with secure park-and-ride options, sheltered bicycle storage, and dedicated zones for rideshare and micromobility services.
  • TOD Funding Agreements: Grant developers Transit Oriented Development (TOD) density bonuses in exchange for equity contributions to fund the transit hub.
  • Impact Fees: Implement development impact fees or assessments in exchange for higher-density variances to directly fund pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit infrastructure.

A Community that is Safe and Usable by Design

  • Shaded Walkability: Establish a network of expansive, shaded walkways for pedestrians, utilizing tree canopies and retail storefront awnings to ensure continuous coverage.
  • Safe and Connected Infrastructure: Create pedestrian-first intersections with safeguarded signal timing to seamlessly link SunRunner platforms, the Pinellas Trail, and Booker Creek, while prioritizing projects that eliminate wide arterials and large surface parking lots to safely reconnect communities divided by I-175.

Ensure Housing Accessibility and Maintain Affordable Local Storefront Space 

  • Income-Based Housing: In addition to critical workforce housing, dedicate a significant portion of development units to households at or below 60–80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
  • Comprehensive Anti-Displacement Strategy: Leverage mechanisms like Community Land Trusts to ensure long-term affordability over time-limited covenants and secure stable, below-market commercial leases for BIPOC- and locally-owned enterprises, while invigorating street-level retail through development incentives that penalize extended vacancies.

Integrate the Pinellas Trail and Revitalize Booker Creek

  • Safe and Connected: Create a direct, protected, and well-lit connection through the district, Booker Creek, the Pinellas Trail, and into the transit hub that avoids at-grade crossings with high-speed vehicle traffic, and provide secure, covered bicycle parking and repair stations at key nodes.
  • Ecological Restoration: Execute the daylighting and ecological restoration of Booker Creek, transforming it into a natural blue-green corridor through the strategic use of native plantings and bioswales.

Connect Pinellas and LWVSPA urge city leaders and developers to uphold these principles. We remain dedicated to community engagement, ensuring all residents have a voice in shaping the district. 

The enclosed comprehensive letter further details these priorities and considerations.

Sincerely,

Connect Pinellas and the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area (LWVSPA)