Another 22 stories approved downtown
Serenity Garden's last high tea is Sunday, and the Planning Board meets tonight at 6.
One long-running South Dixie institution is packing up while another downtown tower gets its approval. Between the two, a lot of people have opinions about how fast this city is moving.
Another tower is coming to downtown. Developers won approval for a 22-story residential project at Hibiscus Street and South Dixie Highway. Stet News reported the decision on Friday. It is one more approval on a corridor that has been filling in fast. An approval is not a crane, and a crane is not neighbors. Still, the height is settled and the use is settled. If you drive that stretch of Dixie in the morning, this is the one to watch. It also lands right in the middle of a bigger argument about how quickly the city says yes.
Serenity Garden's last high tea is Sunday
Serenity Garden Tea House & Cafe is losing its home. After 28 years on South Dixie, the tea house faces eviction. Owner Audrey Farrelly, who has run it for 13 years, says she will find a new location. The last high tea at the current spot is Sunday, August 23. If you have ever been dragged there for a birthday, a baby shower or a Mother's Day sitting, you know the room. Small tables, a lot of teapots, and people dressed slightly better than the occasion required. If you want a seat, plan it this week.
The city will hand you a rain barrel
The city will give you a rain barrel. Its water conservation program offers a free 55-gallon barrel that catches runoff coming off your roof. You use that water later on the lawn, the garden or the houseplants. It also cuts how much stormwater leaves your property, which matters a lot on a street that puddles by the second afternoon storm. Free water for landscaping during a Florida August is not a small thing. The program details and how to get one are on the city's water conservation page.
Business tax renewals are due before September 30
If you hold a business tax license, the clock is running. The city says renewals are due before September 30. You can handle it through the eGov portal, and the city's business tax page has the specifics. This is the kind of paperwork that costs you ten quiet minutes in August and becomes a genuine headache in October. Freelancers, one-person shops and side operations count here too, not just storefronts. Stack it with the rest of your September admin and be done with it.
Residents want the city to hit pause
Some residents want the growth to slow down. A group is pushing for a pause on major development, an infrastructure study, and community listening sessions. The ask underneath it is simple. Figure out what the roads, pipes and drainage can actually carry before approving more of this. WPTV covered the push last week. Nothing has been paused, and no vote has been scheduled. But this is the argument sitting behind every tower approval you read about, and it is getting louder. If you have thoughts about traffic on your own street, this is the thread to follow.
The Planning Board meets tonight at 6
The Planning Board meets tonight. The city lists its monthly meeting for Tuesday, August 18 at 6 p.m., in the City Hall Commission Chambers at 401 Clematis Street. This is the board that handles the projects everybody argues about a year later. If you want to speak, the city requires a comment card for each agenda item, or one for general public comment. Fill it out before things get started. Showing up in a mostly empty room is still the cheapest way to influence a decision that eventually lands on your block.
Soul line dancing at the Mandel every Monday
Monday nights at the Mandel Public Library come with a soundtrack. Soul Line Dancing runs weekly, with choreographed routines set to R&B, hip-hop and soul. All skill levels are invited, which is library-speak for nobody is going to judge your footwork. It is indoors, it is downtown, and it happens every week, so missing one is not a crisis. If your August plan has been air conditioning and a screen, this is a reasonable upgrade. Wear shoes you can actually pivot in. Sandals will betray you about four counts into the first song.