Taxes go up, buildings do not.
Restless citizens are speaking out.
At the City Commission meeting on April 8, several development issues were discussed. During the public comments portion, people called for changes to city rules on everything from height limits to parking requirements.
The city reworked building codes in 2020-21. But it appears to be too little, too late.
“The only shovel in the ground I’ve seen on a major project was the Metropolitan [apartments] 12 years ago,” resident and executive director of Wilton Manors-based Our Fund Foundation David Jobin said.
The Metropolitan, like Wilton Station a few years earlier, are sprawling developments filled with low-rise buildings. The city doesn’t have room for similar projects.
A recent poll by The Gazette found one-third of residents support buildings of 10 stories or higher. The current limit is eight if the developer meets several benchmarks.
Also discussed at length was the size and amount of parking spaces. Wilton requires bigger parking spaces and more per housing unit than neighboring cities.
People say there needs to be more creativity, like making exceptions for compact cars, scooters, bikes, etc.
Mark Ellert, the man behind the upcoming Wilton Hotel, said parking is often a dealbreaker.
“As construction costs escalate, I [hope] the commission will consider all creative solutions that come before you. There were many days I was not quite confident the parking was going to be our undoing.”
Jobin summed up the sentiment in the commission chamber, saying, “I really hope [commissioners] think about what is your individual role that you play in the lack of progress we’ve seen in this city. I don’t think your job is continuity. I think your job is improvement.”
