1668-25 Economic, Development, & Real Estate 1943-1993 I
WEEK OFTHURSDAY,DECEMBER 17,1992 TODAY'S NEWS MIAMI TODAY 3
High—rise showdown on Beach tabled into newyear
By HORTENSE LEON side. increase because I want to retain increased when a moratorium on
A special Miami Beach City Last July 22,in an effort to put 'Not one building on the causeway as it is,"he said."My building was put on the city. I am
Commission meeting billed as a the conflict to rest, the city hired the south side of Belle concern is that it would have to be opposed to any development which
showdown to settle property rights Robert K.Swarthout Inc.,a profes- widened. would increase the number of fami-
of would-be developers of the sional planning consultant based in Isle could be built "Also, as a realtor," he said, "I lies that live here."
north side of Belle Isle and the is- Boca Raton,to evaluate and update think that increased development That statement elicited applause.
land's residents wound up with a the Miami Beach Comprehensive StanleyPrice would have an effect on the tax "We don't have to go to Califor-
postponement rather than action. Plan. base.An increase in zoning dimin- nia," Mr. Kasdin added, "to see
The decision on whether to Several recommendations from said, "that (a large development) ishes the tax base because as devel- these results. Our own city shows
downsize the area on the north side community leaders were included would probably be a detriment to opment becomes too dense,there is that since 1990,when there was a
and several parcels on the south in the report, including the state- that neighborhood." a decline in the value of homes.Too 50-foot height limitation imposed
side to preserve low-density—and ment that "city zoning policy Mr.Rigg also expressed concern much density outweighs any in- on South Beach in the bulk of the
thwart some developers' plans— should discourage high-rise resi- about the effect on the causeway. crease in the tax base. local historic district,property val-
now must be hashed out early next dential towers, particularly in the "I don't want to see the density "In Berkeley, CA, the tax base ues have skyrocketed."
year. following locations: north side of
The meeting Dec. 9 was adver- Belle Isle, Indian Creek Drive
tised on banners along Venetian (26th to 41st Streets);Collins Ave-
Causeway as a high-rise show- nue (55th to 63rd Streets) and
down—a day when one side or the South Pointe."
other would prevail.But at the last Not surprisingly,the Swarthout
moment,when a vote on whether to report did little to put the contro- PLANNING
leave the area zoned RM-2—the versy over zoning to rest.In fact,it
second highest density multi-fam- may have added fuel to the tire. PROVIDING
ily category—downzone it to RM- While the report made no spe- MANAGING ��
1 or OK it for townhouses, Com- cific recommendations on Thomas I I . Ru
missioner Neisen Kasdin proposed townhouse designation for the
deferring a decision. north side of Belle Isle,it was inter-
Instead of having just these three preted as doing so by proponents of •
options to consider, he suggested lower density. announces its n e w
the planning department come up But Stanley Price, attorney for
with something in between the the Edelstein family, which owns • • , •
RM-1 and townhouse categories. property on the north side of Belle Healthcare Products Division.
"Townhouses belong on land Isle,said that in fact the report did
which is undeveloped or in areas not make a specific recommenda-
where there are single-family tion but was a compilation of opin-
homes,"Mr.Kasdin said."I prefer ions of community leaders. Later, Major expansion includes Healthcare Products
to see something like the five-story he asked Mr.Swarthout to testify,
Mediterranean Village arrange- under oath, as to what his state- At a time when most companies are reducing products and
ment on Williams Island rather ments really were. services, Thomas W. Ruff & Co. announces the formation of a
than either RM-1 zoning or Under cross-examination by Mr.
townhouses." Price,he said that in fact about two new division for the Healthcare professional. The Healthcare
The commission voted to defer. years ago, when he was asked to Products Division is an extension of the project management,
Mr. Kasdin said that while eve- testify on behalf of the Miami
ryone was talking about RM-1 Beach Comprehensive Plan, he design and distribution professionals at Thomas W. Ruff & Co.
zoning as low density, parking is said that RM-2 zoning was consis- We've expanded our team to include product specialists to help
not included in the floor-area ratio. tent with a reasonable kind of zon-
Thatwouldmean,hesaid,thateven ing for the area, although not the you meet all your Healthcare needs.
with a small lot, RM-1 zoning only one. Products
could result in a relatively large More recently,however,he said
building,which may not be desir- townhouse zoning,as well as RM- As a resource,our products provide complete interior healthcare
able. 1 zoning,would be reasonable. environments for offices, exam rooms, and laboratories. Our
The floor-area ratio, or FAR, "These are statements predi-
refers to the volume allowed. For cated on general planning princi- . products include modular cabinetry by MIDMARK, a leader in
example,an FAR of 2.0 means that pals,rather than on studies of spe- the Healthcare field.
if a builder has a 50,000-square- cific parcels,"he added.
foot lot, he can put up a 100,000- At last Wednesday's meeting, Our Commitment
square-foot building, excluding Mr.Price tried to allay fears about Thomas W. Ruff & Co. will meet the needs of the Healthcare
parking.There are no specific lim- possible large developments as
its on the number of units. well as proclaim the rights of his professional using the same philosophy of planning, providing,
The conflict between residents clients. He said, for example, that
and developers along the Venetian the fear expressed by neighbors and managing which has made us successful in the office furniture
Causeway has been going on at that concrete canyons would rise environment for the past fifty-five years. Call us today.
least 20 years.But in the past four, on Belle Isle were baseless because
it has focused mostly on Sunset the county's shoreline review
Harbour and the north side of Belle committee would not allow the
Isle. developer to build over-bearing 305-625-6600 Miami
Sunset Harbour,a high-rise de- buildings.
velopment that received a building "Concrete canyons," Mr. Price 305-772-5511 Ft. Lauderdale
.ennit in June 1989 for 800 units, said,"are not permissible.Not one
F s yet to begin construction be- building on the south side of Belle
Ira,ase of a court challenge from the Isle could be built today. The
Sunset Island Homeowners Asso- higher the building,the greater the
ciation. set-back which is required."
Asettlement agreement between Furthermore, Mr. Price said,
the developers of Sunset Harbour, because of the parking require- xt
Yacht Club Southeastern and the ments of the city—1.5 spaces for -;
homeowners association is being each unit—in order to build a 30- ,, 4s ., i , , r4 c
worked on now, said Dean J. story building, you would need 4 Y„� .
Grandin Jr.,Miami Beach director eight or nine stones of parking. w x
of planning and zoning. "No one will build that building,
The latest controversy over the nor would anyone live in it," he
downzoning of Belle Isle began in said. - ^-�-
1988,when the city's zoning ordi- But many at the meeting were =4 '? ''
nance review committee recom- unconvinced. Mr. Kasdin said the -,mended that the north side be des- shoreline review committee alone
ignated TH or townhouse residen- would not prevent a building that ?° ~.
tial, and the south side, which is would not fit in with the neighbor-
largely developed, be designated hood from being built. h�
RM-2,multi-family,medium den- John Fletcher, an attorney who
sity. represents the Venetian Causeway µ ax 5 VP"'"
>;z e,; ..4,, { s
For 62 years, the north side has Coalition,said it is a myth that the `, ' " t' S
had some kind of multi-family shoreline review committee would MIDMARK Modular Cabinetry
zoning. safeguard against huge develop-
In September 1989, however, ments.The Sunset Harbour devel-
the city commission adopted a opment, originally conceived as
comprehensive plan and a zoning having three high-rise towers,was THOMAS W. CO.
ordinance designating the north approved by this committee, he j H 1' �/v RUFF &
side of Belle Isle as RM-2. said.
But the pendulum continues to Matt Rigg,vice president of the B 1 S I " E S S T F R ORS
swing. Last April, after another Venetian Isle Association and a
rancorous special hearing,the city realtor,said he was very concerned Showroom: 1160 N.W. 163rd Drive Miami, Florida 33169
commission instructed staff to about a large development lower- 6416 N.W. 5th Way Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33309
study amending the compre r: ing property values. Additional Showrooms: Orlando Florida Columba Ohio
sive plan to include a"down-plan- Mr. Price admitted that was a f •
ping' of nine acres on the north valid concern. "I'd surmise," he