The Sierra Club Suncoast hosted an Historic Gas Plant community conversation March 12 at Urban Drinkery in St. Petersburg with over 50 people present including local activists, elected officials and political candidates.

The event’s purpose was to discuss the next steps of the plan to develop 90 acres of the historic district where eminent domain laws displaced hundreds of families, business and churches to make way for what at the time was called the Florida Suncoast Dome now Tropicana Field.

As the contract stands now, taxpayers will foot the majority of the redevelopment deal which includes a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and other associated developments.

Since its inception, residents have raised concerns about the proposal’s impacts on taxpayers, attainable and affordable housing, energy efficiency standards, climate resiliency, natural disaster preparedness, stormwater management, access to open space and planning for future multimodal transportation.

James Scott and Erica Hall, Sierra Club Suncoast’s co-leaders, asked attendees to present their questions and concerns for the current proposal. Below is a compilation:

- The Rays/Hines deal does not dovetail with the City’s own 2021 Community Benefits Agreement. Why not?

- Why do the Rays have a right to reassign the land?

- How does this deal benefit the displaced Gas Plant families and businesses?

- The deal proposes 600 units of affordable housing. Affordable for whom? What standards are used to determine AMI? Local or federal?

- Why won’t the rays pay their fair share of property taxes until the property is finished?

- Why aren’t the Rays required to share revenue with the City?

- Why is the land undervalued for the Rays and how does this affect tax revenue to the City?

- What are the forces that extract wealth from things the City needs?

- Why aren’t the Rays required to pay rent to the City?

- Why are $1 billion in taxes siphoned off to subsidize a for-profit business. Trickle down does not work.

- If $700 million is diverted it creates a hole. What filles that hole? Higher taxes elsewhere or the City has less to work with. Either way residents suffer.

- Where is Mayor Welch? He’s not in the community addressing residents’ concerns.

- Will the Rays keep their promises on affordable housing?