PANAMA CITY BEACH — Bid-A-Wee residents say they appreciate the ambiance of their neighborhood, with numerous single-family homes that foster a community feel.
They are trying to keep it that way and have convinced Panama City Beach City staff to include a proposed change in the Land Development Code that would allow the construction of three-story buildings only after certain conditions are met.
The Beach City Council is scheduled Thursday to take a first vote on the proposal, which states that in blocks B-F of the Bid-A-Wee subdivision, no permit shall be issued for a three-story dwelling or a dwelling exceeding 20 feet tall until at least 30 percent of the lots in the subdivision have been developed with two-story dwellings.
The proposal seems to please residents.
“We have a ‘Little Mayberry,’ ” said Charles Stephenson, who lives on Anemone Street and Millcole Avenue. “We get out in the streets and talk, sit on the porch and drink cocktails and have a nice community. We don’t want to see that change by some developers coming in and changing the complexion of our neighborhood. That was our concern.”
Stephenson said Bid-A-Wee residents became concerned about their community character changing when a three-story structure on Anemone Street was built recently, towering over the single-family homes next door.
“They poured the grade and brought in fill dirt,” he said. “It sits way above the two houses beside it, so it was a major water drainage problem. They had to come out and address it. On the one side they had to put up a retaining wall.”
He said the three-story buildings are not compatible with the current Bid-A-Wee neighborhood of one- and two-story homes.
“It’s not that we are against these buildings by any means,” he said. “New buildings done properly enhances our neighborhood and property values. What we do not want to see happen is for things to get out of control and our neighborhood complexion changes totally. We don’t want to become a Seaside type of community with two houses on one lot jammed close together, then go to three stories, a shotgun cracker house.”
Long-time Bid-A-Wee resident Jeannie Krohn said she also is pleased with the proposed change in the Land Development Code. She said she and her husband recently counted 15 cars parked outside the three-story Anemone Street structure.
“The first story is a garage, then two stories of living area, and then another story that is a rooftop observation area,” she said. “But it dwarfs the one-story house that is next to it.”
Krohn said she realizes nothing can be done about the home now.
“As a homeowner, we can try to keep others like that from coming into our specific area” of the community, she said. “If it’s a new block being built, and everything is consistent in that block, then no problem; it is fine. But when you get a block of one-story, block cottages, and then you put up a three-story [structure] next to it and rent it out to 15 people, you are changing the nature of the neighborhood.”
The council also is slated to consider a request from Dellwood Properties Inc. to rezone 0.69 acres of property at 17561 Front Beach Road, near Shalimar Street, that would allow higher building heights than is currently allowed. The company has requested the property be rezoned from Front Beach Overlay 2 to Front Beach Overlay 4. The current zoning allows building heights between 45 feet and 65 feet. The new zoning would allow building heights of between 150 and 220 feet.
Emerald Isle condominiums, a 23-story building, is next door to the property. Mark Caron, the general manager for the 200-unit condo building, said residents on the west end of the building are concerned the higher building heights will ruin their Gulf view.
He said if code is followed, the first four or five floors of the building next door would have to be dedicated to parking.
“There isn’t enough land to support the parking that would be required for the number of units if they went that high,” he said. “I don’t know if the property can support a 23-story structure with that many units.”
The council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the council chambers at 101 Arnold Road.