Why a dock proposal in Clearwater is causing a stir with residents

A decade ago, you couldn't see through the murky water of Stevenson Creek, even at low tide. Now the sun highlights clusters of oysters and schools of young fish as they dart through the water.

Mike Foley wants to keep it that way.

Since the 1970s, Foley has lived on the creek in Clearwater. He's witnessed a 50-year-long arc of development, dredging and debate over the creek, which empties into Clearwater Harbor. Over the past five years, he's seen the wildlife begin to return after efforts to clean up the water — but now he thinks it's in danger again, he said.

Valor Capital chief executive officer Moises Agami is seeking to obtain permits to build a multi-use dock to serve Serena by the Sea, a condo completed earlier this year near the mouth of the creek with townhomes that are still under construction. The dock slips are meant to serve the townhomes, but it's unclear whether condo residents might also have access, according to Agami's attorney Brian Aungst Jr. Clearwater's Community Development Board gave an initial approval to the dock addition in February after reviewing its proposed size. Obtaining a permit from Pinellas County is the next step, with the review process still ongoing, according to Pinellas Environmental Program Manager Julee Sims.

"Nobody's ever opposed single docks that I know of," Foley said. "But this 10-dock deal has us concerned. We're mostly interested because it's an estuary — it's a special place."

Foley is firmly against a large dock in Stevenson Creek, he said, because of the precedent it will set. The Edgewater neighborhood by the prospective development only has single boat docks that Foley's neighbors primarily use to fish.

He doesn't mind a few more boats on the creek with one multi-use dock, he said. But if developers plan to build more and make Stevenson Creek's ecosystem a popular waterway, that will become an issue not just for him, but for the flora and fauna that inhabit it.

After years of sediment buildup due to runoff from the former Glen Oaks golf course and wastewater dumping from the Marshall sewage treatment plant up the road, the creek is fragile, Foley said. In 2002, it made the state's list for "impaired" waterways that needed restoration due to bacteria counts 25 times the amount state standards recommended

Dredging efforts endeavored to clean up the sludge after boats struggled to maneuver through it at low tide in the early 2010s. Though the dredging was successful, the disturbance drove the few remaining species of wildlife out, Foley said. The area is just now beginning to recover.

Several residents, including Foley and Alexandra Nixon, founder of a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting the creek, spoke against the dock project at the Community Development Board meeting. Board member Michael Boutzoukas said the board's duty was to review whether the dock's plan was up to building code, and according to the documentation, it was.

Sims declined to comment on the county's ongoing review but confirmed it had received the application. The Southwest Florida Water Management District also will handle permitting for portions of the submerged land due to some of it being state-owned, Florida Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Brian Humphrey wrote in an email.

After hearing about the lack of environmental supervision on a local level, Nixon decided to step in and start the Stevenson Creek Advocacy Group, whose members now organize creek cleanup events and document the wildlife they see on the creek through photos. Nixon had already founded a similar group for her own neighborhood in Spring Branch. When she heard about the dock proposal, she knew local advocacy was needed, she said.

She believes the mangroves on the waterline where the dock will be built may be disrupted, she said. The development will need a mangrove trimming permit, according to state documentation. More boats mean more opportunities for shore erosion and manatee injuries. And the taxpayer money that had been poured into dredging the creek in the 2010s shouldn't be forgotten when thinking about developments like this one, she said.

As she sees it, the dock development isn't in line with Clearwater's goals for coastal management outlined in its environmental plans, Nixon said.

"How can you ignore Stevenson Creek, which is a core element of all of that?" she said. "And grant a permit without even thinking about the consequences?"

Nixon contacted Mike MacDonald, Clearwater director of marine and aviation operations. MacDonald is pursuing a study to see if sections of Stevenson Creek can be designated as a no-wake zone. However, MacDonald doesn't anticipate significant disruptions from the boats that would dock at Serena by the Sea, he said. They're meant to be smaller, like skiffs.

The study will take about eight months, with a section set aside to determine Stevenson Creek's shoreline stability. Overall, though, Clearwater city staff has recommended approval of the dock, MacDonald said — the study is not directly related to the proposal. The future of the development will be decided by the county and the state as both review separate permit applications.

In the meantime, Foley watches for roseate spoonbills and redfish, blue crabs and osprey. The telltale signs that the creek might return to what he knew it as decades ago.

"It just gets a little better all the time," Foley said. "That's why we want it to stay as low-key as possible. It's not for me, it's for the critters. They require that."