Council Approval for Hotel Building DelayedBy Anne McKay GarrisThursday night, the City Council voted to postpone allocating 72 units from the city's Hotel Density Reserve to a proposed Holiday Inn Express, at the entrance to 101 Coronado, on Clearwater Beach. The postponement was necessitated by a failure to adequately advertise a public hearing on the development approval of a 89-foot high, 108 unit building at the entrance to Devon Drive. Although the development plan has already been approved by Clearwater's Community Development Board, only the City Council, our duly elected officials, can allot the additional units. According to one building official, the total number of units available in the Hotel Density Reserve is 1,385. These units were approved in order to encourage more motel buildings on Clearwater Beach to replace those lost when the city began to strongly encourage rebuilding instead of renovation for the lower density motels, built in the sixties and seventies. It was not clear when the issue would be back before the Council for consideration, however, the date, and a notice to the community, will be posted on the 101 Coronado property.
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