Clearwater is advancing a plan to apply a redevelopment overlay across most of the North Greenwood CRA.
The proposal, now moving through the city’s review process, changes land use rules and adds incentives to make new housing and mixed-use projects viable in an area the city has struggled to attract investment.
At the center of the effort is the introduction of a Planned Redevelopment District overlay within the city’s 2045 comprehensive plan. The overlay would apply broadly across North Greenwood, allowing larger and denser projects while establishing a more consistent process for project approvals.
The measure is scheduled for City Council consideration March 30, the next step in a multi-stage approval process that includes state review and additional zoning updates.
City officials said the changes are intended to better align planning with actual development.
The changes are intended to support “missing middle” housing such as townhomes, small multifamily buildings and mixed-use projects that fall between single-family homes and larger apartment complexes. The plan also creates room for more neighborhood-scale commercial activity along established corridors.
For developers, the question is whether projects will be financially viable.
The overlay allows more housing and commercial space on each site, opening properties that previously supported low-density residential use to multifamily or mixed-use development.
The city is also addressing rules that have made redevelopment difficult. Proposed changes would allow existing homes on nonconforming lots to remain viable and create a clearer path for properties to transition into compliant redevelopment over time.
The overlay would cover a broad area generally bounded by Sunset Point Road to the north, Kings Highway to the east, Jones Street to the south and the waterfront to the west. The scale positions North Greenwood for investment across an entire neighborhood that has seen limited private development in recent decades.
The move reflects a broader pattern in how cities are directing growth by increasing development capacity and making the approval process more predictable within targeted areas.
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North Greenwood includes a mix of residential blocks, commercial corridors and institutional uses. With updated standards in place, city leaders are aiming to make it easier to build new housing and small-scale commercial projects.
Additional zoning standards tied to the overlay are still being developed and are expected to return for further public review as the process moves forward.
Development is likely to concentrate first along corridors such as North Myrtle Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, where commercial zoning and parcel size create fewer barriers to new projects. Over time, smaller infill projects could begin to reshape interior residential blocks.
No specific developments are tied to the proposal, and no construction timeline has been set. The current action creates the conditions for future development.
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