The City of Indian Rocks Beach is a vibrant coastal community known for its charm and appeal to both residents and visitors. In recent years, community conversations have increasingly focused on how the city should grow and evolve, particularly in response to aging infrastructure and shifting development pressures. There is a shared interest in fostering redevelopment that aligns with the community’s vision while preserving its unique character.

As a follow-up to the 2021 Gulf Boulevard Visioning Study, Forward Pinellas partnered with the City of Indian Rocks Beach to explore potential updates to the City’s land development regulations. A key objective was to support context-sensitive, mixed-use redevelopment along Gulf Boulevard, the City’s primary corridor. Notably, only three parcels within the City are currently zoned for mixed-use—and all of them are already built out. As such, implementing new density and intensity bonus provisions became a central strategy to incentivize appropriate mixed-use redevelopment and infill

Urbe Studio was engaged to provide planning, technical, and graphics support to help Forward Pinellas evaluate, communicate, and advance these regulatory concepts. Our role was to translate planning policy into clear graphics that could inform decision-making and foster public understanding. This effort aimed to create an incentive-based framework that allows mixed-use development within the office and business districts.

As part of this effort, our team:

• Reviewed existing land development regulations and relevant visioning studies.

• Developed illustrative graphics showing how mixed-use development could be applied in a context-sensitive manner.

• Coordinated closely with City staff and Forward Pinellas to align the work with policy goals.

• Prepared visual materials and supported public presentations before the Planning & Zoning Board and City Commission

At a Commission meeting in April 2025, Forward Pinellas presented options for elected officials to consider.  While community feedback reflected a mix of support and concern, the Commission ultimately agreed to move the process forward, allowing the planning and zoning board to review Forward Pinellas’ findings and recommendations.

Urbe Studio supports Forward Pinellas through a General Planning Contract (GPC) as a member of the Artemis Consultant team.