As St. Petersburg City Council members move forward with plans to rebuild the waterfront pier, more opposition may be on the horizon.

At least one group that opposes the new pier design, Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg, is gathering signatures for a petition to still have a say in the future of the pier. St. Petersburg City Council voted in May to approve the Pier Park concept to replace the existing pier.

This week, City Council  members are discussing $5 million in contracts with Pier Park designers ASD of Tampa and partners Rogers Partners Architects.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the petition would give voters a say on any demolition or construction on the waterfront.

The last pier process was scuttled in 2013 after the groups, including Vote on the Pier, collected 20,000 signatures aimed at saving the inverted pyramid structure.

A contract to tear down the pyramid is still in the works. Construction on the new Pier Park is scheduled to start in 2017.

The Pier Park design

Pier Park will use only the supporting caissons and elevator shaft.

Created by ASD of Tampa and partners Rogers Partners Architects and Ken Smith Landscaping Architect, Pier Park re-imagines the site with an approach that focuses on public experience. There would be a new four-level structure with a fabric roof made of material similar to that of Tropicana Field. Within that would be a 7,600-square-foot, air conditioned bar and grill with panoramic views.

At the pier head, a "tilted lawn" could serve as a concert venue for as many as 4,000 people.

The design also calls for a wet classroom, an air-conditioned education center and a "coastal thicket" of native plants that will offer shade. There's a welcome center with a covered tram stop, a splash pad for kids, cultural gardens and expansion and a renovation of Spa Beach.

Floating docks are a key running the length of the pier are a key part of the design, but there are questions about the permitting they'd require, the cost of maintaining them and how they would hold up in a major storm.