St. Pete Beach is governed by a City Commission. This recap covers the regular meeting of Tue., April 28, 2026, 6:00 PM. Present: Mayor Scott Tate, Vice Mayor Lisa Robinson (D2), Commissioners Karen Marriott (D1), Al Causey (D3), Jon Maldonado (D4). Source: official approved minutes (approved May 12, 2026).
NBCA area: St. Pete Beach from 75th Ave north to the Treasure Island line (Blind Pass). Citywide items are still covered.
⏱️ At A Glance (The 60-Second Version)
Blind Pass Marina (9555 Blind Pass Rd) approved: Conditional use permit for outdoor music and marina reconstruction (Res. 2026-10) and companion Variance 26046 both passed 5-0.
Beach-sign ban near the water: Emergency Ordinance 2026-10 prohibits most signs/posts within 50 ft landward of the mean high water line, effective immediately — passed 4-1 (Causey no). Permanent version (Ord. 2026-11) passed first reading 4-1.
Coming up (at the time): City Commission May 12; a June 3 community meeting on the beach-sign rules was later scheduled.
📌 Key Decisions & Impact on North Beach
1. Blind Pass Marina Redevelopment — Res. 2026-10 (CUP 25127) & Variance 26046
What happened: Applicant Ping Pong Partners (rep. Brian Aungst) requested approval to turn the storm-damaged restaurant into an open-air eating/drinking establishment with outdoor music, and to rebuild the commercial dock with liveaboards and transient slips, requiring four dock width/length/setback variances. Staff recommended conditions including limited music hours and location, decibel limits with a sound governor, speaker orientation, and enforcement/review provisions. Five Blind Pass Rd residents spoke, raising traffic, parking, noise, navigation, osprey-nest and notice concerns; two expressed conditional support. Staff said traffic and stormwater analyses come at site-plan/permitting.
The Vote: Res. 2026-10 passed 5-0 (Marriott moved, Maldonado seconded). Variance 26046 passed 5-0 (Marriott/Maldonado).
North Beach Impact: Inside the NBCA area. 9555 Blind Pass Rd is on Boca Ciega Bay just inside Blind Pass. Neighbors should watch for site-plan permitting, traffic/stormwater review, and how the outdoor-music conditions are enforced.
2. Beach Signs Within 50 ft of the Water — Emergency Ord. 2026-10 & First Reading Ord. 2026-11
What happened: City Manager Frances Robustelli presented an emergency ordinance aimed at safety hazards from posts and rebar near the waterline. Exceptions cover government signs, marine turtle/shorebird permit holders and partners, and one portable A-frame sign for existing beachfront watercraft operators. Public speakers were split: some supported it, while others (including an attorney) raised constitutional, enforceability, and property-boundary concerns about using the mean high water line. Non-complying signs had to be removed within 7 calendar days; the emergency ordinance runs for a 60-day window while a permanent ordinance proceeds.
The Vote: Emergency Ord. 2026-10 passed 4-1 (Marriott moved, Maldonado seconded; Causey no). Ord. 2026-11 first reading passed 4-1 (Maldonado moved, Robinson seconded; Causey no).
North Beach Impact: Applies to all Gulf-front beach, including the north-end beach from Blind Pass south (Upham Beach); affects beachfront owners who post private-property signs and beach vendors.
3. Other Actions
Res. 2026-11 — EV charging fees, passed 5-0 (Robinson/Marriott): city’s four public EV chargers move from free to $0.47/kWh for the first 4 hours, $0.94/kWh after; non-EVs or non-charging EVs in those spaces may be ticketed/towed.
WSP USA engineering contract, up to $800,000, passed 5-0 (Robinson/Causey) for the Don CeSar & Boca Ciega Area Resiliency Adaptation project (first phase of a 2021-study effort estimated at ~$123M overall).
Ord. 2026-08 (Police pension share plan), final reading, passed 5-0 (Robinson/Marriott).
Agenda 5-0 (Marriott/Robinson); consent agenda 5-0 (Robinson/Maldonado), incl. BeKlear Solutions financial consultant up to $60,000.
Meeting extension to 10:15 PM passed 4-1 (Marriott no).
Presentation: New public Capital Improvement Plan dashboard — 53 CIP projects, 11 in construction; stormwater inspection progress up from ~23% to ~38%.
💬 Public Comment & Open Discussion
Two Pass-a-Grille residents raised complaints about law-enforcement contacts and city leadership; one Bahia Honda Way resident asked for more public workshops on proposed beach ordinance changes.
Code enforcement/noise (Vice Mayor Robinson’s added item): Concerns that outdoor-music complaints aren’t consistently documented with decibel readings. Staff explained Sheriff’s deputies use city sound meters and prioritize compliance. Consensus to review enforcement data further, possibly in the budget process. No vote.
Reports: Sea turtle nesting season begins May 1, with proactive lighting/beach-item compliance outreach; Clerk seeking applicants for the Board of Adjustment and Police Pension Board.
📅 Upcoming Community Events & NBCA Meetups
Note: these dates were upcoming at the time of this meeting and are now past. - Sea turtle nesting season begins: May 1, 2026 — remove beach furniture nightly and use turtle-safe lighting. - Library 75th Anniversary was recognized by proclamation (event details [unverified - check]). - [NBCA: North Beach Civic Association meetup, date/location TBD] - [NBCA: North Beach beach cleanup, date/meeting spot TBD]
🏗️ Around North Beach
Items inside or on the edge of the NBCA area (75th Ave north to the Treasure Island line at Blind Pass), dated on or before this meeting. - Upham Beach renourished (Pinellas County emergency project): Sand was placed at Upham Beach in Oct.–Nov. 2025, as part of a $125.7M countywide project completed Feb. 2026 and paid for with Tourist Development Tax and state grants. Upham Beach runs south from the Blind Pass jetty; the park entrance at 6850 Beach Plaza is just south of 75th Ave. (Pinellas County; FOX 13, Feb. 9, 2026)
🗳️ What’s Next & How to Get Involved
Note: dates below are past. - Next City Commission meeting: Tue., May 12, 2026, 6:00 PM, City Hall, 155 Corey Ave. - Ord. 2026-11 (permanent sign rule) required a second reading within the 60-day emergency window (adopted June 23 — see that recap). - [NBCA: next North Beach Civic Association gathering, date/location TBD] - 📬 Subscribe to the North Beachcomber on Substack for non-partisan recaps of every meeting that matters to North Beach.
Sources: Meeting video · Official minutes (CivicClerk file 7823) via Agendas & Minutes. Minutes were OCR’d from a scanned PDF; names/figures as printed.
📊 Presentations & Documents
Blind Pass Marina (9555 Blind Pass Rd) – staff report, site plans, dock overlay — Apr 28 Commission agenda packet (packet p. 380-465) - The replacement dock facility is shown against the existing docks in the staff report graphics (packet p. 391). - Draft Resolution 2026-10 Exhibit A sets outdoor-music conditions, e.g. artists/bands limited to the deck-cover footprint (packet p. 384).
EV charging fees (Res. 2026-11) — Apr 28 Commission agenda packet (packet p. 466-478) - Proposed EV charging fee: $0.47 per kWh for the first four hours of use (agenda report, p. 466). - Revenue is meant to offset EV charger operating and maintenance costs; impacts will be tracked once data accrues (p. 467).
🖼️ Plans & Renderings
Rendering: Blind Pass Marina (9555 Blind Pass Rd), aerial dock site plan — Source: Apr 28, 2026 Commission agenda packet, p. 431
Rendering: Blind Pass Marina, replacement dock vs. existing (staff report) — Source: Apr 28, 2026 Commission agenda packet, p. 391
🎙️ From the Meeting Video (unofficial)
Source: City YouTube video, auto-generated captions via YouTube’s public transcript. Captions are machine-made and may mis-hear words. Official minutes remain the authority for votes and motions.**
Audience comments start around 36 min. See the video for full remarks.
36 min: “…that same route, we would go through the Yach Club Estates up to um that I believe it’s 75th Avenue. Okay. Or 79th Avenue there. Um if we were to go a different route, you know, that that would look a little…”
125 min: “…we have a resolution 2026-10 conditional use permit 25127 at 955 Blind Pass Road and adjacent submerged land. There’s also a companion uh agenda item which is a variance 26046 which Brandon I think we wanted to hear…”
131 min: “…The variances are under the cover of 26046. Property address is 9555 Blind Pass Road and includes the adjacent submerged land where the dock facilities are proposed. Brian Junks Jr. and Clay Gilman of…”
📍 North Beach Locations
9555 Blind Pass Rd — Image: Google Street View (© Google, captured Jan 2026) Open in Google Maps Street View (coordinates: OpenStreetMap Nominatim)