Business Impact Estimate
This Business Impact Estimate is provided in accordance with section 166.041(4), Florida Statutes. If one or more boxes are checked below, this means the city of Clearwater is of the view that a business impact estimate is not required by state law for the proposed ordinance. This Business Impact Estimate may be revised following its initial posting.
☐ The proposed ordinance is required for compliance with Federal or State law or regulation;
☐ The proposed ordinance relates to the issuance or refinancing of debt;
☐ The proposed ordinance relates to the adoption of budgets or budget amendments, including revenue sources necessary to fund the budget;
☐ The proposed ordinance is required to implement a contract or an agreement, including, but not limited to, any Federal, State, local, or private grant or other financial assistance accepted by the municipal government;
☐ The proposed ordinance is an emergency ordinance;
☐ The ordinance relates to procurement; or
☐ The proposed ordinance is enacted to implement the following:
- Development orders and development permits, as those terms are defined in s. 163.3164, and development agreements, as authorized by the Florida Local Government Development Agreement Act under ss. 163.3220-163.3243;
- Comprehensive plan amendments and land development regulation amendments initiated by an application by a private party other than the municipality;
- Sections 190.005 and 190.046;
- Section 553.73, relating to the Florida Building Code; or
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Proposed ordinance’s title: Ordinance No. 9907-26 – Vacating City Right-of-Way More Particularly Described as the Southern Portion of Garden Avenue Abutting Lots 6-11 Together with that Portion of the Abutting Vacated 15-Foot Alley Lying Between Lots 10 and 11 of the Court Square Subdivision.
Section 633.202, relating to the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
In accordance with the provisions of controlling law, even notwithstanding the fact that an exemption noted above may apply, the city of Clearwater hereby publishes the following information:
1. Summary of the proposed ordinance (must include a statement of the public purpose, such as serving the public health, safety, morals and welfare):
The proposed ordinance vacates approximately 0.65 acres of City-owned right-of-way consisting of the southern portion of South Garden Avenue between Court Street and Franklin Street in Downtown Clearwater. The vacation is requested in connection with a proposed redevelopment project consisting of an Entry Plaza and Performance Hall.
The ordinance includes conditions requiring the applicant to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy for the primary structure of the development within five years, provide utility easements as necessary, relocate utilities at the applicant's expense, comply with applicable City Code requirements regarding removal of public parking spaces, and satisfy other conditions prior to the vacation becoming effective.
The public purpose of the ordinance is to facilitate redevelopment and private investment within Downtown Clearwater while protecting public utility infrastructure, preserving the City's financial interests related to public parking assets, and ensuring that conditions necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare are satisfied prior to the vacation becoming effective.
2. An estimate of the direct economic impact of the proposed ordinance on private, for-profit businesses in the city of Clearwater, if any:
(a) An estimate of direct compliance costs that businesses may reasonably incur;
No direct compliance costs are anticipated for the vast majority of private businesses operating within the City of Clearwater. The ordinance does not impose new licensing requirements, permitting requirements, reporting requirements, operational standards, or regulatory obligations on the broader business community.
The applicant may incur costs associated with utility relocations, utility easements, site modifications, parking mitigation requirements, engineering activities, and other conditions associated with development of the property.
(b) Any new charge or fee imposed by the proposed ordinance or for which businesses will be financially responsible; and
No new citywide charge or fee is imposed upon private businesses by the proposed ordinance.
The applicant is required to comply with City Code Section 30.095(4), including payment of approximately $114,450 associated with the permanent removal of twenty-two public parking spaces located within the vacated right-of-way.
(c) An estimate of the city of Clearwater’s regulatory costs, including estimated revenues from any new charges or fees to cover such costs.
The applicant pays a $500 vacation application fee to cover administrative costs associated with review and processing of the right-of-way vacation.
The City anticipates receiving approximately $114,450 in parking replacement fees pursuant to City Code requirements.
The City has not identified measurable direct economic impacts to the broader Clearwater business community arising from the proposed ordinance. Transportation, parking, accessibility, and redevelopment considerations identified during staff review may influence future travel patterns and access conditions within Downtown Clearwater; however, any resulting economic impacts to individual businesses cannot be reliably quantified based upon currently available information.
3. Good faith estimate of the number of businesses likely to be impacted by the proposed ordinance:
The ordinance directly affects a single redevelopment site and associated property ownership interests.
Businesses located within the Downtown Redevelopment Area and surrounding downtown transportation network may experience limited indirect changes in accessibility, parking availability, travel routing, customer circulation patterns, delivery access, event-related traffic conditions, and overall transportation network connectivity.
The City has not identified a measurable number of businesses that will incur direct compliance costs as a result of the ordinance. Any potential business impacts are expected to be indirect, location-specific, and dependent upon future development activity, traffic conditions, transportation patterns, and market conditions.
4. Additional information the governing body deems useful (if any):
The proposed vacation removes twenty-two public parking spaces from the downtown transportation network. Pursuant to City Code requirements, the applicant is required to pay approximately $114,450 associated with the permanent removal of those spaces.
Parking citations are primarily intended as an enforcement mechanism to promote parking turnover, compliance with parking regulations, and availability of parking resources for the public. Citations are not intended to serve as a primary source of City revenue. Accordingly, the City included the parking payback period analysis below with and without citation revenues.
Below is a recap of parking revenue and citation revenue for the last 3 years:
|
FY24 |
FY25 |
FY26 (Partial Year - 8 Months) |
| Measure |
Revenue |
Citations |
Revenue |
Citations |
Revenue |
Citations |
| Amount |
$24,021.00 |
$5,434.05 |
$23,679.44 |
$25,318.00 |
$26,320.12 |
$12,163.00 |
| Payback Period (Revenue Only) |
4.8 |
|
4.8 |
|
4.3 |
|
| Payback Period (Revenue + Citation) |
3.9 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
*Fiscal Year 26 above is prorated due to partial year.
The City is constructing additional public parking facilities within the downtown area, including a new seven-story public parking garage located within approximately two blocks of the affected area and a City Hall support parking facility located within approximately one block of the affected area. These facilities are expected to increase the supply of public parking available within the downtown core.
The City has not estimated future parking meter or citation revenues because future parking utilization, parking rates, redevelopment activity, enforcement practices, and travel patterns may change over time. Garden Avenue is one of five north-south roadway corridors serving Downtown Clearwater and functions as the central north-south roadway within this portion of downtown.
The proposed vacation would remove one of five north-south roadway connections from the public street network. Key consideration is Garden Avenue is not a direct route making it less desirable as a connector.
Downtown Clearwater currently contains significant public and private investment, including Coachman Park, The Sound Amphitheater, a hotel development under construction, and a 27-story residential development under construction. Additional redevelopment activity has been proposed, approved, or is anticipated on publicly and privately owned properties within portions of the downtown area.
The City's internal review identified items related to roadway connectivity, parking supply, utility infrastructure, pedestrian circulation, transit routing, traffic operations, future transportation demand, and future redevelopment activity. Staff comments also noted that the applicant's transportation analysis did not include evaluation of certain vested or approved developments, midday peak traffic conditions, or future-year traffic growth scenarios.
The ordinance includes conditions requiring utility easements, utility relocation at the applicant's expense, payment for removal of public parking spaces, and completion of the proposed development within five years. The ordinance is site-specific in nature and does not impose new regulatory requirements on the broader Clearwater business community.