File Ref. #060
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C~j'd:tLE5 H. IItATNER
CHalsrOPHER H. SAIA
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ApriI2~, 1991j
loA" &0 ^ """~U..H i,Jf NEw '{ORK ~"'ill
..AL:iO A I'4&!:."'.C"t 0' ~u; ."'R
"he H()nol'ablt: Neist:n Kagdin
Mayor
City lIt Miami Heaeh
11110 ( 'nil vent inn ( 'entt!r I )riv~
Miami Hea(~h, HOrJ{tl'l ,n I W
ke: C laritlcation of! lesign BMlI~ Isstlt's
Dear Mayor Ka!ldln:
rh~ plUpose ut'[his It:uer is (() ask tile City Commission to clarity the City's position in regard
ltllh~ uppliUthllllY ur the Cltarrt:r Am~ndm~lIt to pmjl~r.rs lUilizing design honuses. As everyone i~
aware, un Junt: J, 191.)7. It Charrer Amendmc:m WH."l I'ass~d. This Charter Amendment provided a.~
lulluws:
"[I)I1~ l1uor urea ratio of any planed prnperty....adjflcent [0 the
[WIJLCr 1....~h~J1l1o( be: inc.rtast:d hy zoning. transfer or any other means
tium ils L:urrCIlL luned floor ttrt:a ratio that exists on the date of the
aduption urthi:l Charter Amendment..."
F/Um JW1~ l. '997 \lulil FcbruiifY 4, 19Y8. the CitY. through its administration, consistently
allll dcarly JclellllilletllltaL Iht: \11>(: ufdc::sign honuses wen: a part of the "zoned FAR" arplicable to
it picl",c uf I'IUI1C!ty ulllj then:tillc JiJ l1ul n:ph::sent an il1rreus~ in th~ "zoned FAR," As you are
aWMe, at tlit: tilllc [Ildl [he:; JUlie 3uJ rdbeuJulIl WiJ:-i pas~d. t:iKh of the zoning districts in the City
uf Miami Ot:adl c~tal ,lillla;d <I IllaxillllJlIl ~CHlljllcd FAR and i:1 base:: fAR. AI>plicanrs were 1l0l only
p~l1llittcd, but cm;o\l(~gc;d lu illl",Ul JJlJ1I1Lc Jc~i~lllc~lun;:l c:!ltthlishal in [hI;: d~::iigll bonus schedule into
their projeCl:i, 11Idl,;I.:J, till; enlire;: pllfpU~ \11' 1.1Ie de~ign bl.lllus\::) was W t:m;oLlrag<: better design
lhrough the utilh:c.lion of Jl::)igll !JOllu.s<::). Bctwccll JlUU;), 19iY7 ami FdJluwy uf 1998, tht: City has
continued to correctly i:;:>\Ic builJin~ p~rlllil;j tin plt)ic\:t~ iuduJillg ut:sigulJuJluscs.
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81LZIN ~UMBF."AG DUNN P"UClt So Axrn.ROC L.LP
'nl': Ilonorablc Nd:i~1l K41:,uiu
April 24, t 998
I'agt: ;2
In Decell1her, 1997 aJl(1 January, I Y98, the City Commission, uncI' extensive hearing:> und
wurk~hllps. adllpl~d "rdi Ilanee lJK.] I (rJ el1ntiUll(ing the design bonuses from the Miami Beach
ZUIlUtg Cud~ in its tlllircry ([he" f)ownzol1lng ()rc1inl1nce"). l)uring the hearings and workshops on
(hltl uJdinafll':t, th\;w was eXI~t1sivtJ lestimony (h,H viltllally every pr~iect in Miami Beach utilized
dc:-,igll bUllullc~ ami that vinually every pro.le~l was ahle [0 adlieve the maxi ilium FAR through the
\Itilization of uc~igJl b\)J1u~c:;. A:i a rlC:sult. tht Commission took :lction to l~l1nttnate the de~ign
IxIIlUb\:5, but allhe :'UlIlC lilll\,: Ih~,y ilJ\;u:ascd <1l1owablt: FAR ahove the previously stated base FAR.
Atkr D"embel\ 1 ')lj7 lIew prujC:!;I:i huve been prohibil~d from utilizing d~sign bonuses; however,
a!i you arc all too awUlC, tll\;l'= w~n: many proj~cls that had previously been granted ORB approvals,
permits or which 11l1d ~ul'lIJilll:d D/{B applkaLiun~ relying on the design bonus provisions of the
ordinance,
In February of thb yew, the: City COlllIllitlsion heard an appeal of a project lo(~ated at 20
V cuctiun Way. Aftt:r dB dlmost duee hour hearing, the City Cummission moved to uphold the appeal
uno overturn the DRD approval of thilt pm;ecl emu illlh~ IU:Sl [tW sl;:conds of the hearing, a somewhat
contilsing amendment to the motion was onen:d Ly COUHllissiom::r D~rmer which was accepted and
approved unanimously lIS part <.Iflh" Conuuisi'Jiuu's urJ~[ U!l the VCflt'lian project.
As finally reduced to writing, that Order, among oLherthings, lilates Lhat the DRB failed to
comply with the e~sclltud requirements of law in part tor its "HliluftJ tu appruvt: th~ project subject
to a cityvJide reter~I1dllm rogarding the approval uf dn iJlcr~as~ ill FAR thfOUgl1 tJlt utiliation of
design bonl1s~~ and hOIlWl FAit" This ,,"ction by the: Cornmi:ssion lla:! L;<1u::;c:d confusion in the
application, or pottlntial application, Qfthl,: Chwter Amendment to design bOll11tit::s. Having witm:ssed
lhe hetU'il1g and hotving nl)W laud further time t~) rc1lc:ct Qll the meaning and implications of the
Commission uction, I bl;!li~"e that it wlluld be upproprilltc, and I am hereby lcquesting (bat the;
C.'ollunission fuJJy address lhis ;:;suc:.
Prim 10 the r'ollll\lission's al~tion in February. the City had consistently detenl.li.l1cu tiull the
de!lIgn hllOlIses wer~ part ot'the "L.ullt!d FAR" allU dutt the maximum FAR, as Set forth ill the zoning
llrdinflllc~. WHS th~ "LlIUt:d FAR." 'I'hl: City COlllluission and the City administration clearly
inlerpreted the ( :haJ1l:'r this way, as Iht!J'e would hav~ ~en littlt: or no rCO:;lon to eliminate the uC:lign
hUllllses in January hHd Ihose same bllnusl:s already b~n effectively eliminated by the Charter
Amendment.
Pc~rhitpS mosl lIT1pClrtanlly <lnd most tdlingly, if one a~cepts the p01iition, espoused by John
Shuhill, Ihill ,my IIlCI'I:':ise ahow lht' Buse FAR rl:quirl:s a n:ttmmdu1l1, then the City Commission's
a~lI(lI1 approving fh~ I }()WlllOtllng Ordimml'e will not become tlflective until such time us that
ol'dinanc~ is apprllved My reterendlllll I S<lY this because that ordinance increased the allowable FAR
II!JUYI:: [lte ba~r.: FA R ill \iirtlllilly t':\'ery 4" 'IIIn!! cfj')lrkt, I ct:'rtainly do not believe that the Commission
inlelll.kd Ihrough its 3l.:liulI ul [lie end 1I1lhe Vcnelian hem"ing, to in any way invalidate or effect the
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8IL"-'N 5UMSERG DUNN PRICE & AXE:l ROC LLP
Th~ Ifonornblc Nci~c.:1I Kasdiu
April 14, 1998
Page 3
l)uwnwlIing Ordillance. Yet, if it hM.; h.t'f:Qme the offici,,1 position ofth~ City that <tIl il1l;r~(jse in FAR
ah,)Ye the: btJ~<<= t,'AI{ It'quires a rd'erendllnl, rhat would I.H: th~ 31most inc::lcapdblc result oflhat policy.
1 Alllllu;II:IIJle It':spccllltlly relflJ~Slillg that Iht: ('ily Commission place an item on its May 6th
agenda 10 di.scuslS Illj;) j.'lMII.: illl(J to rt:slllv.: thtl is~ul: In whichever direction that the City Commis~iol1
f~ds i<l nlOst Ilpprvpril1lc. (bdiC:Yt: dUll tht City's interl'rl:!tation of'tlle Charter Amendment trom
.J llll~, 101)7 unlil h;;l,cuilry, 11198 Wt1~. in filet. Ihe I~tlally correct interpretation of the Charter
AIlI~lHlmCllt, I would ask Ihdt yuu durj[y Ihis bSlIe so that all parties will understand the City's
position un this isslIe.
y ";JftPYO./ .u7rs 1 I II
<:~:t~44
Carter N, McDowell
.;;c: Viet: Muyor David Dernlt:r
Commissioner ~illlon Cruz.
Corrunissioncr StI:lan Gottlieb
Cornmil:i~i0ncr Murlln Shapiro
Commi!:lsion~r Jose Smith
S~r~io Rodriguez, City Manager
Murray Dubbin, c:;g,
D~an Grandin, Jr.
"NM/at!/llll1080
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