PANAMA CITY BEACH — A third Calypso tower building will be built on the north side of Front Beach Road after the City Council on Thursday upheld the Planning Board’s decision to allow construction to move forward.
The Panama City Beach City Council, in a 4-1 vote with Councilwoman Josie Strange dissenting, denied an appeal made by some tower residents of a Planning Board decision on Dec. 8. The Planning Board on that date voted to uphold staff’s decision to allow the development order to be issued for the 22-story, 250-unit building to proceed.
Several residents who live in Calypso Tower I and Calypso Tower II told the council they were concerned Calypso III at 15928 Front Beach Road would generate too much traffic both on and off the beach. They also expressed concerns about parking, saying a third tower would make the situation worse. Several asked for updated traffic studies, saying it is almost impossible to pull out of the towers now onto Front Beach Road during the busy season.
“I’m concerned about what is happening in Panama City Beach,” said Dave Evras. “You have developers that come in and build properties and they are gone in a matter of a couple of years or less, and they don’t care what happens after the fact. I’m pleading with you to look into the situation and help us.”
The third tower would be on the north side of the busy road. The other two are on the south side.
The Calypso Resort & Towers are located just east of Pier Park on Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach.
The third tower was approved as part of the overall project on Feb. 7, 2003. Part of the foundation for the third tower was built. But the tower was never built in the down economy, and the building permit expired on Sept. 24, 2005. The project was bought back to life on June 27, 2013, when the council approved of an ordinance allowing some development orders to be extended. Calypso Tower III fell in that category because it was part of a phased development.
If the tower were built today on the north side of the road, it would only be allowed to be 15 stories. But because it was part of a previous phased development, it is allowed to be at 22 stories, the same height as those on the south side of the road.
Strange expressed concerns about the amount of time it took the city to give final approval to the developer’s application, but City Attorney Doug Sale said the developers followed the rules. The third tower developers initially asked to build the tower within four years, which would have reduced the height of the building under the city’s ordinance, only to change their plans after the building was sold to new developers a year later.
Two tower residents, Toni Traina and Mae Meyer, qualified as those who could appeal the Planning Board’s ruling. Meyer sent an email on Monday to city staff stating that she has withdrawn her appeal, but Traina showed up to the hearing.
In a letter to the council Traina, who lives in Calypso Tower I, pointed out that during the season Front Beach Road backs up for miles due to Pier Park.
She told the council that the third tower at its proposed height would cause serious traffic concerns and overcrowd the beach.
“I believe I will be adversely affected from the traffic impact (of a third tower), not only the traffic impact, but the environmental impact,” she said. “I believe by continuing to permit large areas of cement without any future
responsibly to the environment we’re going to have even more runoff.”