North Greenwood Land Use and Zoning Implementation
- Project typeLong Range Plan
- Project scheduleOngoing
After extensive community input, the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) Plan was approved in 2023. The CRA Plan identifies priorities, strategies and projects to achieve the community’s vision. Several city departments work together to implement the CRA Plan including the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), Economic Development and Housing Department, and Planning and Development Department.
In 2024, the Planning and Development Department held meetings with the community regarding land use and zoning implementation including stakeholder listening sessions, a community kick off meeting, and a “Game of Zones” workshop. Due to the impacts from hurricanes, the Department's focus temporarily shifted towards post-storm permitting.
Work resumed on land use and zoning implementation in the spring of 2026.
Based on the CRA Plan and community input, a Planned Redevelopment District (PRD) overlay is proposed for most of the North Greenwood CRA. An overlay is an extra layer of land use rules that sits on top of the Future Land Use Map and Zoning Atlas. It does not change a property’s existing Future Land Use or zoning. The overlay creates the option for owners who choose to redevelop and who meet the qualifying criteria to opt in and build at higher densities or intensities than the existing Future Land Use designation and zoning district would allow. Participation in the overlay is voluntary.
The overlay recognizes areas suitable for residential, commercial, and mixed-use redevelopment in close walking or biking distance of activity centers and transit supportive areas. It is designed to support the North Greenwood CRA Plan vision, including:
- Expanding housing choices
- Increasing housing affordability
- Revitalizing North Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue as a walkable historic main street, and
- Improving the area’s infrastructure over time.
As an administrative action, the PRD overlay is being established through the following coordinated actions:
- Clearwater 2045 (Comprehensive Plan) amendments to create the overlay and associated bonuses
- Future Land Use Map amendments to apply the overlay to most* of the North Greenwood CRA
- Zoning Atlas amendment to implement the overlay
- Community Development Code amendments to establish detailed development and design standards
*The overlay will apply to about 75% of the CRA, excluding the following areas:
- Central Business District (CBD)/Downtown
- Areas designated Industrial Limited, Water, Recreation/Open Space, Preservation, and Transportation/Utility
Approval Process
On March 30, 2026, the Clearwater City Council gave preliminary approval to the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use amendments (Actions 1 and 2). The applications were sent to the state and Forward Pinellas for review. Upcoming public hearings include:
- July 8, 2026 at 1 p.m. - Forward Pinellas Public Hearing
- Aug. 11, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. - Countywide Planning Authority Public Hearing
- Oct. 1, 2026 at 6 p.m. - City Council Adoption Hearing
The Forward Pinellas and Countywide Planning Authority hearings are held in the Pinellas County Communications Building, Palm Room, 333 Chestnut Street, in Clearwater. The City Council hearing is held in Council Chambers at the Main Library at 100 N. Osceola Avenue, in Clearwater.
Work is beginning on the preparation of Community Development Code and Zoning Atlas amendments (Actions 3 and 4). The overlay will be called the “North Greenwood Overlay” in the Community Development Code.
Community meetings will be scheduled at the North Greenwood Recreation Center starting in September to review the draft code amendments.