FRIENDS OF SALT CREEK

Salt Creek requires particular care and monitoring as a coastal waterway that flows through low-lying portions of south St. Petersburg. Economic development along this designated Waterway of Cultural and Environmental Importance must also take into account ecological realities.

The City of St. Petersburg has established sensible zoning that “ensure[s] appropriate compatibility with the waterfront and adjacent neighborhoods.” Friends of Salt Creek invites the public to join us in standing against plans that allow high-density development in the Coastal High Hazard Area (below the elevation for a Category One storm surge) of the Salt Creek Marina District. We advocate only construction that adheres to meaningful resiliency design standards, ensuring the protection of both private and public interests along this vulnerable basin.

We support community preservation principles that reflect the region’s historic and economic character and build connectivity across the entire city. We insist upon future-forward planning that benefits the common good and adheres to the spirit of St. Petersburg’s world-renowned waterfront park system and marine economy. Any future use of the area must consider the industrial past, including the release of industrial contaminants, and require mitigation. Public access heals the damage of long-term spatial divides. Our city’s long-term health and prosperity depend upon safe, inclusive, responsibly scaled development.

Read More

City of St. Petersburg, Vision 2020 Plan

Colleen Wright. “Who is buying up SaltCreek’s boatyards, and why?” Tampa Bay Times (May 30, 2024)

Thomas Hallock, “Draining Paradise: A Tour of Salt Creek in St. Petersburg, Florida.” Southern Spaces (April 12, 2023)

Josh Solomon and Zachary T. Sampson, “St. Petersburg Opens Door to More Development in Flood-Prone Areas” (TB Times, Oct. 9, 2020)

Frances Gatz, A Bigger Vision for the Coastal High Hazard Area (SP Catalyst, Oct. 6, 2020)

Roger Telschow, A Better Way to Develop the CHHA (SP Catalyst, Oct. 5, 2020)

Amy Baxter, The Choices We Face at Home on Climate Change (SP Catalyst, Oct. 5, 2020)

Margie Manning, Heated Debate Accompanies City Council Meeting on Development in Flood-Prone Areas (SP Catalyst, Aug. 21, 2020)

Gina Driscoll, Community Voices: Curating Higher Density in the City’s Coastal High Hazard Area (SP Catalyst Aug. 6, 2020)

Zachary T. Sampson and Josh Solomon, St. Petersburg’s Leaders Tee Up August Debate on Development in Areas at Risk to Storm Surge (TB Times July 30, 2020)

Zachary T. Sampson, Fight over Flooding in St. Pete’s Flood-Risk Neighborhoods Gets Delayed Again (TB Times, June 12, 2020)

James Scott and Karl Nurse, Don’t Loosen Restrictions on St. Petersburg’s Coastal High Hazard Area (TB Times June 8, 2020)

Margie Manning, St. Pete City Council Kicks off Hurricane Season with Renewed Focus on Building in Flood-Prone Areas (SP Catalyst June 8, 2020)

Margie Manning, St. Pete Planning Commission Rejects Development for Flood Prone Areas (SP Catalyst Dec. 11, 2019)

Margie Manning, Growth, Housing, Safety Debated as St. Pete Council Advances Development Plan for Flood Zones (SP Catalyst Oct. 25, 2019)

Susan Taylor Martin, Miami Developer Planning What Could Be $2 Billion Development South of Downtown St. Petersburg (TB Times, Aug. 19, 2019)

Miami Developer Dan Kodsi Plans Large St. Petersburg Project that Could Coast $2B (The Real Deal Aug. 4, 2019)

Michelle Sonnenberg, Hannah Gorski and Alison Hardage (eds.). Salt Creek Journal: Nature, Community, and Place in St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg, 2016).