Council approves ordinances, referrals and appointments in unanimous January session

At its January meeting the St. Petersburg City Council voted unanimously on a slate of routine items including land-development code amendments, intergovernmental appointments, committee referrals and a first-reading ordinance vacating a small alley.

Key items the council approved without opposition:

- Ordinance 6 31 h (E1): LDR text amendment to Chapter 16 to identify the planning department as the administrative authority and the planning director as the administrative official; staff recommended approval to conform local code with state statute. The motion passed unanimously.

- Ordinance 6 30 h (E2): Creation of Section 16.50.055 (certified recovery residents) and related zoning and reasonable-accommodation adjustments; second reading and second public hearing scheduled for 01/22/2026. The first-reading motion passed unanimously.

- Ordinance 11 77 v (G1): First reading of a vacation of a 10-foot dead-end alley abutting lots in the 700 block of Burlington Avenue North; public hearing set for 01/22/2026 and the initial motion passed unanimously.

- F2: Intergovernmental appointments (items A and B) — approved unanimously.

- H1–H3: Referrals approved unanimously, including a referral for a port master plan update to the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee, a request to refer consideration of increasing the Economic Stability Fund interfund loan from $5 million to $10 million to the Budget, Finance and Taxation Committee, and a referral to discuss the municipal annexation legal process.

Nearly all of these items were presented by staff, carried motions from councilmembers and were approved by machine/voice vote. Where second readings or additional hearings were required, the council scheduled them for 01/22/2026.

The meeting adjourned after brief announcements and New Year remarks.