Condo residents sue over tall museum

The view of Tampa Bay looking east from a third floor condo in the Cloisters Condominium building is blocked by new construction at the Museum of Fine Arts. [Scott Keeler | Times]

Now that the new addition to the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts is nearing completion, some neighbors want to see part of it torn down.

Residents of the Cloisters condominiums across Beach Drive filed suit Friday claiming that before construction, the museum showed them a smaller model of its addition. They say this two-story display was to fend off opposition before having the city approve a three-story structure that blocks their views of Tampa Bay. The suit asks that the top-most portion of the building be removed.

"The bottom line is our folks were misled," said attorney Charlie Gerdes, who represents condo owners who said museum staff promised the addition would be the same height as the original museum. "If you can't believe the Museum of Fine Arts, who can you believe?"

Museum staff made presentations to Cloisters residents in February 2006 and reassured them the addition would match the museum in height, all agree. Where the two sides differ is in plans to cover mechanical equipment on the roof. Residents say the museum could have hidden the equipment in other ways, while museum staff say the city asked that they hide it with a wall.

The museum's attorney, Jim Dickson, said there was no promise made. He said the residents were invited to other presentations and had the opportunity to review final plans before city approval but those residents did not do so.

In any case, Dickson said, the zoning allowed an even taller building by right, so residents could not have prevented the plan on the basis of number of stories. He also said that, while he and the museum board are sympathetic to the residents' circumstances, no one has a legal right to a view. He said even now there are trees taller than the new addition and they block views as well.