Charles E. Schuh: Former Mayor and Environmental Champion
One of our city’s leading environmentalists and preservationists was Mayor Charlie Schuh. Charles E. Schuh served on the city council from 1971 to 1974, and then as mayor from 1975 to 1977. At that time, the city had what is known as the “weak mayor” form of government. While the mayor held the title, he really served as a “first among equals” on the council, and true executive power was invested in a paid city manager. The mayor’s salary in 1975 was $5,000 per year, about $30,000 adjusted for inflation. As Schuh said later about the job: “You preside over council meetings, and you have a couple of other ceremonial functions and that’s it.” But that was by no means “it” for Charlie Schuh. While the mayor’s power was “weak,” Schuh was not a weak mayor.
Schuh was a St. Pete native who attended St. Petersburg High School, St. Petersburg Junior College, and the University of Florida where he was awarded his undergraduate and law degrees. No doubt his interest in the law and a political career was heavily influenced by his parents. His father, Charles J. Schuh, Jr., was also an attorney and a successful member of the Florida House of Representatives. It was even speculated that he would someday become governor. Tragically, his life was cut short in 1950 when he was assassinated in his St. Petersburg office by the mentally ill husband of a woman he was representing in a divorce case. The younger Schuh was also influenced by his mother, herself a political activist, who once ran for county tax collector.
As a junior college student, Schuh circulated petitions door to door to stop dredge-and-fill projects like Bayway Isles. As reported in a St. Petersburg Times article his wife, Jean, remembered one early date when Charlie took her to a Pinellas County Commission meeting and spoke against a dredging project at Tierra Verde. “I thought it was thrilling,” she recalled. “I loved him since high school. I thought he was absolutely marvelous.”
Schuh left a strong legacy of environmental and managed-growth achievement. Rapid city population increase was a major issue in the 1970s. Between 1950 and 1960 the city’s population had increased 87%, with a further 19% increase between 1960 and 1970. At one point some members of council went so far as to propose to cap population at a level that would have forced 30,000 people already living in the city to leave. While Schuh was not one of them, he did believe population growth needed to be moderated, especially in view of the economic recession at the time. Schuh stated the city must “strike a balance between total preservation and total development.” A prime goal of managing growth was preservation of the natural beauty of the city. Journalist Charles Patrick of the Times called him the council’s “strongest voice for the environment.”
In his 1975 campaign for mayor, Schuh billed himself as the “common sense candidate.” He successfully advocated for bond issues (the first in 42 years) to increase the number of waterfront parks throughout the city (not just downtown); advocated suing the Public Service Commission for allowing an increase in the franchise tax on Florida Power bills; called for environmental impact studies for I-275 and objected to an early plan to route the highway through much of Maximo Park; and advocated for water recycling and tougher enforcement of housing codes. During his tenure, St. Petersburg created one of the nation’s most progressive wastewater treatment systems at the time.
Schuh was a major advocate of the 1974 City Conceptual Plan. While the plan was initiated by Mayor Randy Wedding, Schuh was the leading voice on council to advocate for it, calling it “a very fine blueprint for the future of the city.” The goal of the plan was to redirect development from environmentally sensitive areas and outlaying suburbs to the depressed downtown. However, three additional high-density centers or “activity centers” were identified including Central Avenue, Tyrone, and the emerging Gateway area in the far northeast section of the city. The plan included a system of landscaped boulevards that would allow safe and shaded access for pedestrians, bicycles, and cars. The boulevards would serve as a buffer to adjacent neighborhoods, an aspect of the plan never realized. The plan updated and scaled back a World War II-era land-use plan that allowed for so much multifamily housing that the city could have grown to 600,000 residents. By contrast, the 1974 plan envisioned a city population of 350,000. (Current population is approximately 266,000.) Preservationist Peter Belmont notes that Schuh’s efforts “helped to ensure a major ‘redo’ of the city’s land-use plan that reduced excessive zoning/land-use entitlements over strong opposition from development interests, something that could never happen in today’s environment.”
Much of Schuh’s civic legacy came after he left the council. In 1984, council, business interests, and the Times favored an extensive retail development called Pier Park, designed to revitalize the city’s aging downtown. It would have extended from Beach Drive down to the pier head. The proposal included an amphitheater in North Straub Park, an IMAX Theatre, Festival Market Place, Children’s Museum at the pier head, and 900-space parking garage. Some of the features reappeared in the current pier, such as a World’s First Airline Pavilion and marine science element. The proposal had the backing of city council and many noted city leaders including Bob Stewart, Martha Maddox, Dean Staples, David Fischer, Corinne Freeman, and Watson Haynes. The advocacy group Preserve Our Waterfront (POW) organized against the project and Schuh became its spokesman. He was widely credited with derailing the project when voters turned it down.
While Schuh agreed that the downtown needed to be revitalized, he disagreed with the Pier Park proposal. He characterized it as “an oversized shopping center” that had no business being built on the downtown waterfront (he suggested that it be relocated) and argued that if such a project were to be done it should be paid for with private funds. A central objection was that the pier segment of the downtown waterfront parks would be overbuilt and obstruct views of the bay.
Also in 1984, Schuh, along with preservationist Peter Belmont and others, played an important part in the renovation of the boarded-up historic Vinoy Hotel. Part of the development package to accomplish the renovation included acquisition of Baywood Park, which was adjacent to the hotel. Baywood was commonly considered a part of the downtown waterfront parks that received special protection in the city charter. According to the charter, the sale or long-term lease of any waterfront parkland required approval through a public referendum. Council initiated an ordinance declaring Baywood not a part of the waterfront park system to avoid a referendum; Schuh and Belmont cried foul and filed an action with the courts. A compromise was reached wherein Baywood was swapped for land owned by the Vinoy that is presently Vinoy Park. Also, language in the city charter was strengthened to more clearly define the waterfront parks.
Another issue was the addition of a marina to the project. The developers originally included a 92-slip boat marina as a part of the restoration proposal. Preservationists opposed it, initially including Schuh. But as the year progressed Schuh changed his mind. He became concerned that without a marina of some dimension the Vinoy restoration would fall through and the historic hotel demolished. Shuttling between the interested parties, Schuh persuaded the developer to accept 74 slips. “Yes, the city is allowing the marina,” he said, “and that isn’t the greatest thing, and yes, maybe the land swap could be structured a little better, but there’s no way to start over from ground zero. Considering we’ll get the Vinoy redeveloped, I think the benefits far outweigh the cost.” For his support for the scaled-down marina, Schuh was asked to resign from Preserve Our Waterfront.
Restoration of the historic Vinoy Hotel, however, along with the building of Tropicana Field, and the establishment of the previous International Museum with its blockbuster exhibits on the Treasures of the Czars and The Titanic, sparked the revitalization of St. Petersburg’s downtown.
Peter Belmont remembers Charlie Schuh fondly: “My perspective on Charlie was that he loved his city overall, deeply cared for the waterfront, and gave short shrift to those who pursued ideas that would take away from the public waterfront. He was an inspiration to me, and I always felt welcome walking into his office seeking advice. I was lucky as I started practicing law and becoming civically engaged to have had the opportunity to spend time with such a unique and selfless attorney.”
Mark Schuh, Charlie’s nephew, observes, “My uncle’s legacy is a selfless public servant who tirelessly fought for the citizens of St. Petersburg.” John Schuh, Charlie’s brother, says his legacy to our city is that of an “environmental champion” who “looked out for all people.”
Will Michaels is the former director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History and the author of The Making of St. Petersburg and the Hidden History of St. Petersburg. Reach him at 727-420-9195 or wmichaels2222@gmail.com.
