No, they haven't always been residential - Nightcap Street/30A has Pickets, Gardenia Street/30A had Yellowfin (now moved), Seagrove Cottages, and the Wheelhouse.
I'm not saying I want all current residential lots to be developed as commercial, but well done and properly scaled commercial along 30-A is not a death knell for those neighborhoods IMO.
My concern is more giant or inappropriate projects - like the gigantic beach club proposed at the Wheelhouse that thankfully fizzled.
I think not allowing any lots to be combined for commercial use would help keep that from happening.
The problem, Scooterbug44, is that the current proposed language will allow ALL (not just some) of these current residential lots to convert to commercial. It will not even be a case-by-case basis on location. If this language passes, and you apply to change your lot from residential to commercial on these intersections, it is a done deal. You will de-facto get your change (because you fit within the location criteria). Only later, when you start to develop as commercial will there be ANY consideration of whether it will be "well done" or "properly scaled." And sadly, the standards that are in the text amendment to the Comp. Plan are essentially no standards at all. No maximum allowed square footage, no limitation on outdoor music, no restriction of operating hours, no restrictions on merging lots. That's the 2nd part of my concerns, but I feel the location criteria is the most important at this time.
My point is .... do we need or want even "well done and properly scaled" commercial activity at EVERY intersection? I say NO! That kind of commercial intensity will destroy our neighborhoods and devalue our property, create unprecedented traffic and parking issues, and negatively impact safety.
I don't know where you live, Scooterbug44, but if you owned a house that was one lot off 30A behind one of the currently existing homes on the intersections I listed, you would probably be concerned. I imagine you would have bought and developed your residential property with the understanding that your neighbors could also build homes on the adjacent property.... and now, instead of your neighbor's home, you may have a small restaurant/eatery adjacent to your lovely house, with all the attendant noise, parking, and garbage issues. We do not need to be creating these conflicts within our well-established residential communities!
What we should be doing is defining the proper locations for Neighborhood Commercial "up front" and we should define the proper size and other restrictions of this so-called Neighborhood Commercial activity up front. Otherwise, we are just being lazy .... and not being neighborly at all.