If you've been lamenting how it's been quite a while since the city has undergone a bitter and divisive referendum process that all started with a petition drive, well, you're in luck.
Pissed off because they don't like it that the Pier Selection Committee doesn't seem to favor the most popular pier design proposal, Destination St. Pete Pier, the people over at voteonthepier.com have launched a petition drive that would basically stymie the entire process and any others relating to public land on the St. Pete waterfront. The voteonthepier.com petition, granted it gets on the ballot and then approved by voters, would require a city referendum every time the city wanted to sell, donate, lease, demolish or construct on waterfront property in the city.
Their outrage seems to stem from the Pier Selection Committee's not being impressed with the Destination St. Pete Pier design as the general public seems to be. To many, it's deja vu all over again. After all, it was only a few years ago that the city's embrace of the Lens design with little to no public input angered enough people that the design wound up getting axed by a citywide referendum in August of 2013.
The current process began with plenty of optimism and trust from even the most vehement critics of the city's handling of the Lens, but that optimism and trust now seems to be eroding.
On Friday, when it became apparent that the committee was poised to top its design shortlist with a relatively unpopular design proposal, Alma, which didn't do very well in a nonbinding public survey or two scientific polls conducted by St. Pete Polls, multiple people decried the potential move, resulting in the commission tabling its decision to rank the top three design proposals.
A vast majority of people want Destination St. Pete Pier, which renovates the inverted pyramid and adds a multi-tiered walking platform. The group that created the concept, St. Pete Design Group, comprises Harvard Jolly Architecture, which designed the original inverted pyramid, Yann Weymouth, who designed the Salvador Dali Museum, and Wannemacher Jensen Architects, which has designed a number of buildings throughout Pinellas County and beyond.
Alma, by contrast, demolishes the pyramid and creates an observation tower out on the water, with a destination restaurant at the base of the Pier as opposed to out on the water, something restaurateur Casey Gonzmart (of Columbia/Ulele fame) said makes logistical sense. The group behind it is Tampa-based Alfonso Architects.
In the most recent poll, which St. Pete Polls conducted Sunday evening, 45.4 percent of respondents said they dug Destination St. Pete Pier. About 23 percent favored Pier Park, and 22.8 percent said they were unsure. As for Alma, only 8.7 percent of the survey's 843 respondents came out in favor of it..
Most, 54.8 percent, said yes.
So, there you have it.
The Pier Selection Committee, which is composed of six people with architectural and engineering backgrounds, isn't necessarily beholden to the public's wishes as it makes its recommendations, and also needs to consider technical aspects of the proposals, economic feasibility and environmental impact, among many other characteristics.
But the elected officials who have final say on the design are ultimately beholden to the city's residents.
Members of the St. Pete City Council have definitely taken notice that the process, now stalled, might cause havoc if the city ignores the popular choice.
"I think we need to let the process continue to happen and let the committee's questions be answered, but the most direct path forward without significant delays is to build what people want, as long as it can be done by a qualified team, within budget and without any permitting concerns," St. Pete City Councilwoman Amy Foster told Tampa Bay Times reporter Waveney Ann Moore.
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2015.