Top News from Snell Isle

4th of July Parade

Snell Isle families participated in a festive July 4th parade around the Old Northeast. Fife and drum, along with local sports team mascots and fire trucks added to the fun. Read more in the upcoming August Panther.

Thanks to Bonnie Hargratt for capturing the event!

St. Pete 2050 Plan Impacts Snell Isle: Call To Action

Over 100 people attended the last Snell Isle Property Owners Association (SIPOA) meeting on May 17th. Elizabeth Abernethy from the City's' Development Review Commission (DRC) and Derek Kilborn from the City's Urban Planning and Historic Preservation Division presented the St. Pete 2050 plan. There were many questions from the meeting attendees relative to the impact Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) could have on Snell Isle. ADUs are incremental living spaces (attached or unattached) to a primary dwelling. No additional parking requirements are mandated along with the extra living spaces proposed in the plan.

To date, Snell Isle has not been zoned for ADUs as they have not been approved for Coastal High Hazard Areas (CHHA), of which Snell Isle is a part of. ADUs are being proposed for CHHAs in an effort to create more affordable house for St. Pete. With 1,000 people a day moving to Florida, the next 30 years are projected to bring 90,000 more people to St. Pete.

There was concern about additional building in a CHHA given it could increase the impervious surface ratio (more concrete, less water absorbtion) and could exacerbate the water run-off issues Snell Isle faces during heavy rains and storms.

We have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposed 2050 plan as it is headed to City Council on June 9th for a first reading, then again on July 14th for final review and approval. You can count on representatives from your Snell Isle Board to be present and voicing concerns about the plan. We welcome all neighbors to attend. Not only is it fascinating to see how our city goverment works, but a full gallery of people will have an impact at the meeting.

Now would be the time to write to our Mayor and City Council members, as well as weigh in with Liz Abernethy and Derek Kilborn as they are the authors of the plan. For your consideration, following are a few points of concern that have been voiced by Snell Isle residents:

maintaining the character and desirability of our neighborhood

infrastructure impact of additional residents

the additional flooding component

pattern and compatibility of our neighborhood

rentals vs ownership

reduction of permeable surface

For ease of reference, see email addresses for the city council and mayor:

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Please consider blind copying Bonnie Hargrett (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) if you decide to send an email. She will print those out and use them to show neighborhood support when she speaks at the City Council meetings.

For all interested in reading the 2050 plan, you can go to www.stpete2050.com or see the link below for a version on sharepoint.

https://stpete1-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/dskilbor_stpete_org/ETsfFii3kDJMlwFc1MhQG7EBPy5R14dEMJ6ymNbo8UChgA?e=S0sfJ8

Panther Statue Destroyed by a Hit and Run

The SIPOA panther statue at the corner of Cordova & Lido Way was severely damaged by a HIT & RUN driver Saturday night (4-23-22) around 11:45PM. Footage was captured on a resident’s RING camera that was provided to St Pete Police when they took the report this morning. Because it was near midnight, the camera footage is not clear and absolute but it has been suggested it was done by a Camry or similar type vehicle. Based on how hard the panther and pedestal was hit, the driver had to be speeding as this statue weighs about 1200 pounds and the panther atop the base was totally destroyed. The driver was heading north on Cordova towards Eden Isle Blvd and should have substantial damage on their right front grill and headlight area. They did not stop after the accident.

If you see a vehicle, probably dark in color, missing the lamp cover shown below and pretty severe damage to their right front grill and side, please let us hear from you. We recently filed charges against a Commercial Company driving an 18-wheeler who destroyed a SIPOA planter at the corner of Snell Isle Blvd & Nina. We were quick to file charges against the Company and with the excellent and prompt work from our SIPOA Vice President, Michael Labbee, he was able to recover damages from that company within a month. We will press charges against the party who destroyed this panther but we need to find them first.

If you think you see a vehicle that might have this type of damage, do not approach it, but do get a description - make and model, along with the license tag, the most important part. Call Bonnie Hargrett at 727-821-1048 with the information. The Police are working the case and we want to be of assistance in any way possible so SIPOA can file an insurance claim. THANK YOU for your help!

Coffee Pot Bayou Clean Up

Coffee Pot Bayou Water Alliance At Work

Mark your calendar for our next Coffee Pot Bayou Water Alliance Clean Up scheduled for Saturday, May 7th. Our meet-up location is the corner of Coffee Pot Drive and Oak Street and we’ll work from 9 - noon. We’ll clean the fringe of the bayou (pictured above) in front of Coffee Pot Drive plus the Masonic Home’s fringe on over to Coffee Pot Park, down Coffee Pot Blvd to the tennis courts. We’ll also clean the Brightwaters to Maron 2-block stretch which accumulates lots of palm fronds, behind the Woman’s Club, too. We hope to have both boats and kayaks in the water cleaning debris from the water side.

An exciting addition to our clean up is a new group called the SCUBI JEWS which is a Jewish organization (Hillels of the Florida Suncoast) whose work is done exclusively underwater, something we’ve never done before. We look forward to all making a huge difference to our environment once again and will have a City provided dumpster for all the debris we collect.

If you have not volunteered at this event before, please drop a note to Bonnie Hargrett so she can plan for supplies; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We hope to see you on May 7th!

Join The Snell Isle Property Owner's Association

About Snell Isle

image Snell Isle is home to the historic The Vinoy® Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club, one of the Nation's premier golf courses.
image Our tropical surroundings provide waterfront vistas for most residents. Over 80% of the homes on Snell Isle enjoy waterfront views.
image In 1920, local developer C. Perry Snell began construction on what was originally, a muddy mangrove island.

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