By Brendan McLaughlin

Living on the inner fringe of downtown Tampa gives one a close-up view of a very confused city. Unfortunately, that closer view doesn't make the situation much clearer. Gleaming condo towers continue to go up in defiance of the housing slump, but at night, just a smattering of windows are lit.  The businesses at the street level fret and wait for the trendy new urbanites who will move in and shop and dine and spend, while the army of the homeless seems to expand daily.

I have no regrets about fleeing the suburbs last year. Living 3 1/2 miles from work is priceless and my new neighbors are more pleasant and interesting than I could have hoped. What astonishes me is to see prime lots on quiet shady streets within walking distance of the Performing Arts Center and Ybor City covered with trash and weeds.  I walk past beautifully tiled Art-Deco store fronts on North Franklin street  that sit empty and decaying. Tampa has precious little architectural history left to protect. Are we so bereft of capital and imagination that we can't put these few small  buildings to some use?

The question of why valuable real estate sits fallow and businesses struggle  is complicated, but the complaints about the City's impenetrable bureaucracy are getting louder. I hear it from small builders in my neighborhood trying to conform to the Architectural Review Committee requirements. I hear it from investors who would love to build on a vacant lot, but know the City will hold them up for months to protect a tree. On the business front, read this comment in Creative Loafing  by  one of  Tampa's most successful restaurateurs, Gordon Davis:

There are horrible obstructionists here. I'd rather build a new business in any community other than Tampa. I've been 12 months trying to open the smokehouse [Smoke on Platt] because of permitting issues, and it shouldn't be ... I've seen other administrations here that are more cooperative and helpful, but it doesn't exist right now. It needs to change.

The reference is clearly aimed at Mayor Pam. I hope she's listening.  The problem I suspect is that the Mayor and City Council tend to see big programs and big projects as the key to Tampa's revitalization.

From the Mayor's March 12th State of the City: "Last year I spoke of accomplishing two goals - approval of The Heights Project and of designating Central Park a Community Redevelopment Area. We have accomplished both."

The truth is, approving of  The Heights Project isn't an accomplishment at all. What I see everyday is a huge tract of land stripped of all trees patrolled by homeless men. The 60 acre multi-use development along the bend of the Hillsborough River may  be completed some day and that would be swell. But the City has no guarantee that it won't  turn out to be Trump Tower writ large.

Did I forget to mention the parking meters? Lately it seems half of the downtown and Ybor meters are either broken or covered with yellow bags, which takes a badly needed spot out of commission. That's the kind of thing that makes me wonder if Tampa would know what to do with a real city even if it had one. Grrrr.