Thanks for Your Support
Members are important to us and we think being an SPP member can be rewarding with free walking tours and reduced fees to many special SPP events.
If you are not a member but would like to become one, just
click here to join and you too can say you are a card carrying SPP member!
Click here
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Movies in the Park Return in October
Movies in the Park, our favorite fun event, celebrating 107 years of downtown waterfront parks, returns each Thursday in October! NOW is the time to send us the movie titles you would like to see on the big screen.
C
lick here to email us your recommendations.
Big business, small business, individual or family, there is a sponsorship package we would be happy to put together for you. Click here to review the SPP Movies in the Park Sponsor package or email SPP's executive director, Allison Stribling, for more information.
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Cade Allen Home
City's Newest Landmark
On June 15, city council approved the landmark designation of the 1931 Broadfield Home at 956 39th Ave. N. in the Allendale neighborhood. The home's most distinguishing characteristic, like many of the homes constructed by Cade Allen, is the stone exterior. It's clad with Alabama sandstone set in a random pattern with buff colored mortar. Allen had advertised the home as a place of enduring beauty.
The application was submitted by the home's new owners who purchased the property in 2016. By becoming a landmark property, the owners will be able to apply for the Ad Valorem Tax exemption when they renovate, a financial benefit to owners of designated properties.
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City Adopts Design Guidelines
On July 13, city council adopted design guidelines for historic properties, replacing a 1994 guidance document. City council directed staff to undertake the project nearly two years ago, when they adopted the present historic district designation requirements.
The purpose of the guidelines are to help owners of historic properties understand how they can best maintain, repair or make an addition to their home. The guidelines include general descriptions of architectural styles and the elements associated with each style as well as photos & images to help show what elements are appropriate for the style.
The guidelines offer valuable assistance to the historic home owner on how to keep his or her home special and how to most easily comply with the city's landmark guidelines. Click here to view the guidelines document.
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Keep St. Petersburg Special Celebration Join in for the Fun - August 3!
 It's been a long, hot summer! With June and soon July under our belt we thought it's time for some fun and to celebrate what a great place the 'Burg has become! And we have picked out the perfect spot for a fun celebration that is very much a part of what keeps St. Petersburg special - the
Shuffleboard Club at Mirror Lake! Join
St. Petersburg Preservation, the
St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and
Keep Saint Petersburg Local for a fun evening with music by DJ Sugar Bear and local art, food & beer. And, of course, shuffleboard and all while celebrating what makes St. Petersburg special.
Video stations will be set up so you can record what makes the 'Burg special to you. It's going to be a great night but don't forget the city is about to elect a mayor and four council members - your attendance will help show those running for office, those already elected and our other community leaders that the answer is not just yes but yes to what it takes to keep St. Petersburg Special!
Tell your FB friends about the Keep St. Petersburg Special Celebration, you can share the event using this link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1698574130447502/
When: Thursday, August 3rd, 6 pm - 9pm or so
Where: St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club - 559 Mirror Lake Dr. N., St Petersburg, FL 33701
Cost: Free!!!
RSVP - reservations not necessary but if you would like to give us a heads about coming, just click here to tell us you are in for an evening of fun!
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Keep Our Neighborhoods Special Your Action Needed
A growing problem to many of the 'Burg's special and historic neighborhoods is new, out-of-scale construction. Homes that blended with the neighborhood are being torn down, sometimes replaced by two new homes, but more times than not replaced by a large structure that seems to cover the lot.
City council will decide this Thursday, July 20, how to address the issue of building scale in neighborhoods. A public hearing will start at 6 pm. Your voice is needed because some development interests are urging city council to allow bigger not better!
One way to address building scale is to establish a residential Floor Area Ratio (FAR) standard that will make new construction proportionate to the size of the lot (FAR is the gross square footage of a house, including all floors and the garage, divided by the lot's square footage). Citywide, the average FAR historically was 0.30. For homes built since 2008, that number has ballooned to 0.44 (an average living space of 2660 square feet).
The Neighborhood Review Committee, a coalition of neighborhoods and homeowners, is urging city council to adopt a FAR standard to keep our neighborhoods special (base FAR 0.4 & possible bonus of 0.2 for maximum FAR of 0.6).
Click here to read their one page position paper.
You can help by attending the July 20, 6 pm public hearing in the council chambers at City Hall or by
sending a message to city council
saying keep our neighborhoods special, adopt the Neighborhood Review Committee's recommended FAR standard.
Preservation Ordinance Updates
 The Community Preservation & Planning Commission (CPPC) conducted a workshop at their July meeting to review a variety of "updates" to the city's preservation ordinance. The matters will return to the CPPC for public comment at their August 8 meeting and ultimately to city council this fall.
The most important of the changes, supported by SPP, clarifies that city council approval for neighborhood historic district designation is by simple majority (not super majority) vote. The preservation ordinance erroneously has conflicting language on the point. Council directed staff this past fall to draft an amendment so that their original intent of simple majority approval for historic districts would be clear.
More info on the preservation ordinance updates will be in our next enewsletter.
Thank You For Helping to
Keep St. Pete Special!
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Twilight on the Town Summer Walking Tours
SPP still has more summer evening walking tours on the schedule! These tours are a fun way to spend a summer evening while learning a few new things about the 'Burg. The tours last about an hour so you can easily grab a drink or bite to eat at a local business before or after the tour. Don't forget, walking tours are free to SPP members, another great reason to
join! For non-members, tours are $10.
Upcoming tours include
Historic Kenwood on July 19;
Funky Gulfport on July 20;
Gulfport with a Literary Twist
on August 17 where SPP teams with
Keep St. Pete Lit as local writers join the tour to offer creative comments on our city! We are still working on a few more summer evening tours so be sure to check out the
SPP Calendar or our
Facebook page from time to time!
Reservations are encouraged as some tours fill. Tour starting locations and times can be found on the SPP website calendar. SPP is happy to schedule a private tour for your group, just send us a message and we will arrange a special tour for your group or family.
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Thumbs Up to Movies in the Park
Oscar Level Sponsor AARP Tampa Bay!
 We were excited this past May to have
AARP Tampa Bay join the family of Movies in the Park Oscar level sponsors and we think they deserve a special thanks!
Experiences are so much more rewarding when you have someone to share them with. That's why AARP is committed to helping people connect with others to share interests and passions - like Movies in the Park! Whether you want to learn something new, volunteer, mentor or just have fun with new people, AARP has the resources to help you tap into a community of people like you. If you don't think Real Possibilities when you think AARP, then you don't know "aarp." And don't forget, give
AARP Tampa Bay a thanks for helping make Movies in the Park happen!
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