PALM HARBOR — A long-vacant former mobile home park on the shore of Lake Tarpon could become a two-story restaurant and bar after Pinellas County commissioners unanimously approved land use and zoning changes for the property off U.S. 19 at Timberlane Road.
Commissioners on Oct. 27 approved a request from Trent Road LLC to change the Future Land Use Map designation of about 3.2 acres on the east side of U.S. 19 from Residential Low Medium to Residential/Office/Retail. They also rezoned the property from Residential Mobile/Manufactured Home to Commercial Parkway. A development agreement limits the site to a restaurant, a bar and accessory uses.
The developer plans a 10,250-square-foot, two-story restaurant building with a 4,750-square-foot observation deck bar on the second floor, Michael Schoderbock, the county’s zoning and project management division manager, told commissioners.
Under the agreement, the building will be capped at 40 feet, well below the 75 feet allowed. Occupancy will be limited to 465 people, including staff, rather than the more than 700 that could otherwise be permitted. Amplified music is prohibited, and the observation deck will be open only to restaurant patrons, not the general public.
The agreement also bars any residential use of the site. Staff recommended approval in part because the agreement eliminates the potential for future homes in the coastal high hazard area, Schoderbock said.
The Local Planning Agency required the developer to remove an existing boat ramp before the county issues a certificate of occupancy, and it prohibited a dock on the north side of the property. At the urging of Commission Chairman Dave Eggers, the developer also agreed not to build a dock on the south side. Any dock facilities must meet Florida Department of Environmental Protection criteria for Lake Tarpon, which the state lists as an impaired waterway.
The property sits where U.S. 19 runs closest to Lake Tarpon, bounded roughly by Alderman Road to the south, Klosterman Road to the north, the lake to the east and U.S. 19 to the west. Access is from Timberlane Road. A hotel and restaurant sit directly to the west.
“It’s kind of unusual to find a parcel that’s not developed with residential along Lake Tarpon,” Schoderbock said.
The site was originally an RV park and later a mobile home park but has been vacant for years, he said.
Brian Aungst, the developer’s attorney, said the property is currently entitled for 32 mobile homes and “it’s basically impervious.” The development agreement will bring the site up to code for stormwater quality, drainage and retention, reducing impervious surface and helping to mitigate flooding, he said.
A traffic impact study estimated the project could generate 826 additional vehicle trips per day. Eggers called traffic on U.S. 19 his biggest concern and asked whether access could be limited to right turns only.
Schoderbock said any changes would be up to the Florida Department of Transportation, which controls U.S. 19, but agreed the county would submit traffic control options to the state for review.
“We include them in the conversation and the site plan,” he said.
Aungst disputed the traffic projection.
“You’re not going to have 826 additional trips when you have a 465 occupancy limitation,” he said. “That just doesn’t make any mathematical sense.”
Two residents raised concerns during the hearing.
Andrew Moranville said he has seen eagles tending nests on the property and showed commissioners video of two eagles circling and landing in trees there.
“Living on Lake Tarpon and having these eagles around has been a blessing,” he said.
Valerie Spear said she lives on Trent Road, a private road with four houses that branches off Timberlane Road and is maintained by its residents. She worried that restaurant traffic could spill onto Trent Road, which has no turnaround, and that the restaurant’s lights could disturb the unlit street and keep neighbors awake.
Aungst said Timberlane Road will provide two-lane access to the restaurant and that the project will have no access from Trent Road.
He also said state and county officials have confirmed there is no active eagle nest on the site, though there are nests in the area. Any eagle issue would be handled through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permitting process, he said.
The project will return to the County Commission for site plan approval, when the development agreement will be finalized.