MADEIRA BEACH — A major redevelopment plan for the heart of John’s Pass Village cleared a key hurdle, winning unanimous approval from the Board of Commissioners on the first of two required rezoning votes.
Commissioners voted 5-0 to rezone the 1.457-acre site from John’s Pass Village Activity Center to Planned Development. The change clears the way for JPV Hotel Property LLC to build a five-story project with an 87-room hotel, 7,550 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a rooftop venue and a dedicated public park.
Senior planner Kathryn Younkin presented the staff review, which found the project within the city’s density limits for activity centers. Those rules allow 60 temporary lodging units per acre, capping the 1.457-acre site at 87 units. The proposed 126,968 square feet of floor area meets the maximum 2.0 floor-area ratio, and impervious surfaces cover 84.6% of the site, just under the city’s 85% limit.
To reach five stories, the developer requested several design exceptions. They include raising the main roofline to 73 feet and an eastern stair tower to 79 feet, above the standard 55-foot limit. The plan also uses a zero-foot front setback and a 6-foot balcony encroachment over the public right of way.
In exchange, the developer agreed to legally bind the project to a slate of public benefits. The agreement guarantees 92 covered garage spaces for public use, with hourly rates no more than $1 above the city’s standard rate. The developer will also finance a private extension of Pelican Lane with a permanent public access easement, build a new green space with public restrooms, mill and resurface Boardwalk Place, and install 10-foot-wide sidewalks.
Architect Tim Clemens addressed how the large building would fit visually with the historic tourist district.
“Even though it’s a single building, it is designed to appear to give a village-like concept with compatible architecture to the village,” Clemens said.
Clemens said the building’s bulk is broken up with separate bays, varied paint colors and standing-seam metal roofs.
The proposed closure of a 3,360-square-foot section of Fisherman’s Alley sparked debate over the city’s privilege fee, which requires developers to pay fair market value for vacated public land unless they provide an equal or greater public benefit. Brian Aungst, an attorney representing the development group, asked the city to waive the fee, citing the property being offered for public use.
“What we’re proposing here is dedicating 16,000 square feet or four parcels of total property for the extension of Pelican Lane from 129th to Boardwalk Place and for the development of that public open space with the public restrooms,” Aungst said. “The benefit to the city is that this easement is perpetual, so it will always be available to the public, but is maintained by the developer and it’s also the liability of the developer.”
Local business owners backed the closure during public comment, calling that stretch of the alley a confusing traffic hazard. Stephanie Berry, owner of Woody’s Water Sports on Boardwalk Place East, said her business draws tens of thousands of customers who avoid the alley.
“I was trying to go through some of the math of how many customers we probably see in a year and it is north of 30,000,” Berry said. “They don’t use Fisherman’s Alley. I assure you they don’t come through that way. Pelican Lane, bringing that all the way through, will be all that we need.”
Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina agreed, saying the alley confuses visitors.
“No one really utilizes Fisherman’s Alley unless they’re lost or they take the wrong turn and try to go down the wrong way down a one-way trying to exit that parking lot,” Hubbard said. “I don’t feel this vacation would in any way harm John’s Pass.”
During board questioning, Commissioner Housh Ghovaee pressed the team on storm safety and ground-floor engineering. Clemens confirmed the retail and lobby spaces would be dry floodproofed to withstand lateral and buoyancy forces. Ghovaee also asked whether emergency vehicles could reach a 79-foot structure. Fire Chief Clint Belk said nearby coastal high-rises set a precedent.
“Ocean Sands is 13 stories tall and they’re duplicate buildings right next to each other,” Belk said. “Obviously, the aerial is not going to be able to get to that point to the highest floor, but there’s interior stairwells and there’s plans according to that. There’s high-rise stipulations from the NFPA regulations.”
Belk said a full review of water flow and safety plans would be required before permits are issued.
Clemens said the project will use enclosed vertical mini-compactors and a ventilation system that vents odors through the roof to limit effects on the adjacent park. To prevent ride-hailing gridlock, Pelican Lane will widen to two lanes near the hotel entrance, with room for four staging vehicles.
At the planning commission’s recent recommendation, the developer agreed to shorten its timeline for applying for a building permit to 24 months from three years.
With no further public comment, commissioners approved the rezoning on first reading, 5-0. The team said that if the project clears its remaining approvals, engineering and construction would take about two years, targeting a 2028 opening.
The second reading, final vote and required public hearing are set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, in the commission chambers.