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Ordinance 2000-3275 ORDINANCE NO. 2000-3275 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,FLORIDA,CREATING SECTION 118-5 IN THE CITY'S LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ENTITLED: "UNITY OF TITLE; COVENANT IN LIEU THEREOF"; CLARIFYING THE REQUIREMENT OF A UNITY OF TITLE FOR CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS; AUTHORIZING THE PLANNING DIRECTOR TO ACCEPT COVENANTS IN LIEU OF UNITY OF TITLE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY; SPECIFYING THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH A COVENANT, AND ACCOMPANYING EASEMENT AND OPERATING AGREEMENT; PROVIDING FOR TREATMENT OF THE UNIFIED SITE AS ONE SITE UNDER THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS;PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI-BEACH, FLORIDA; PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS,the City sometimes requires or allows the development of parcels containing multiple lots or buildings to be treated as a single parcel for zoning purposes; and WHEREAS,the single parcel is sometimes enforced through the requirement of having the property owner and others holding interest in the property execute and record a unity of title,which binds the property together for zoning purposes; and WHEREAS, Miami Beach Code section 118-321 contains a prohibition against lot splitting, which could be interpreted as not allowing different owners or entities to develop, redevelop or finance portions of property previously maintained as a single parcel for zoning purposes; and WHEREAS,in recent months property owners have approached the Planning Department and City Attorney's Office proposing covenants in lieu of unity of title; and WHEREAS, the concept of such a covenant is acceptable to both the Planning Department and the City Attorney's Office, however it is unclear whether the City's development regulations permit the acceptance of such a covenant; and WHEREAS, the City desires to adopt an ordinance, based on Miami-Dade County Code section 33-257, clarifying the requirement of a unity of title for certain developments, and authorizing the use of covenants in lieu of unity of title in the City of Miami Beach. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: SECTION I. That Section 118-5, entitled "Unity of Title; Covenant in Lieu Thereof" of the Code of the City of Miami Beach, Florida is hereby created as follows: Section 118-5 Unity of Title; Covenant in Lieu Thereof. All applications for building permits where multiple buildings are proposed for a single lot, or where single or multiple buildings are proposed for a unified development site consisting of multiple lots, shall be accompanied by one of the following documents: (1) A unity of title,approved for legal form and sufficiency by the City Attorney,which shall run with the land and be binding upon the owner's heirs, successors,personal representatives and assigns, and upon all mortgagees or lessees and others presently or in the future having any interest in the property; or (2) A declaration of restrictive covenants,also called a covenant in lieu of unity of title, approved for legal form and sufficiency by the City Attorney, which shall run with the land and be binding upon the owner's heirs,successors,personal representatives and assigns,and upon all mortgagees and lessees and others presently or in the future having any interest in the property. The declaration shall contain the following necessary elements: That the subject site will be developed in substantial accordance with the approved site plan, after one has been submitted and approved under the City's land development regulations. That no modification shall be effectuated without the written consent of the then owner(s) of the phase or portion of the property for which modification is sought, all owners within the original unified development site,or their successors,whose consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, and the Director of the City's Planning Department; provided the Director finds that the modification would not generate excessive noise or traffic, tend to create a fire or other equally or greater dangerous hazard, or provoke excessive overcrowding of people, or tend to provoke a nuisance,or be incompatible with the area concerned,when considering the necessity and reasonableness of the modification in relation to the present and future development of the area concerned. Should the Director withhold such approval,the then owner(s)of the phase or portion of 2 the property for which modification is sought shall be permitted to seek such modification by application to modify the plan or covenant at public hearing before the appropriate City board or the City Commission of Miami Beach, Florida, (whichever by law has jurisdiction over such matters). Such application shall be in addition to all other required approvals necessary for the modification sought. Proposed modifications to the property's use, operation, physical condition or site plan shall also be required to return to the appropriate development review board or boards for consideration of the effect on prior approvals and the affirmation, modification or release of previously issued approvals or imposed conditions. tb,) That if the subject property will be developed in phases,that each phase will be developed in substantial accordance with the approved site plan. cs) That in the event of multiple ownerships subsequent to site plan approval, that each of the subsequent owners shall be bound by the terms, provisions and conditions of the declaration of restrictive covenants. The owner shall further agree that he or she will not convey portions of the subject property to such other parties unless and until the owner and such other party or parties shall have executed and mutually delivered,in recordable form,an instrument to be known as an"easement and operating agreement" which shall contain, among other things: (i), Easements in the common area of each parcel for ingress to and egress from the other parcels; (ii) Easements in the common area of each parcel for the passage and parking of vehicles: (iii) Easements in the common area of each parcel for the passage and accommodation of pedestrians; (iv) Easements for access roads across the common area of each parcel to public and private roadways; (v) Easements for the installation, use, operation, maintenance, repair,replacement,relocation and removal of utility facilities in appropriate areas in each such parcel; 3 (vi) Easements on each such parcel for construction of buildings and improvements in favor of each such other parcel; (vii) Easements upon each such parcel in favor of each adjoining parcel for the installation, use, maintenance, repair, replacement and removal of common construction improvements such as footings, supports and foundations; (viii) Easements on each parcel for attachment of buildings; fix) Easements on each parcel for building overhangs and other overhangs and projections encroaching upon such parcel from the adjoining parcels such as, by way of example,marquees, canopies,lights,lighting devices,awnings,wing walls and the like; (x) Appropriate reservation of rights to grant easements to utility companies; (xi) Appropriate reservation of rights to road right-of-ways and curb cuts; (xii) Easements in favor of each such parcel for pedestrian and vehicular traffic over dedicated private ring roads and access roads; and (xiii) Appropriate agreements between the owners of the several parcels as to the obligation to maintain and repair all private roadways, parking facilities, common areas and common facilities and the like. These provisions or portions thereof may be waived by the Director if they are not applicable to the subject property (such as for conveyances to purchasers of individual condominium units). These provisions of the easement and operating agreement shall not be amended without prior written approval of the City Attorney. In addition, such easement and operating agreement shall contain such other provisions with respect to the operation, maintenance and development of the property as to 'which the parties thereto may 4 agree, or the Director may require, all to the end that although the property may have several owners, it will be constructed, conveyed, maintained and operated in accordance with the approved site plan. The Department shall treat the unified site as one site under these land development regulations, regardless of separate ownerships. (d) The declaration of restrictive covenants shall be in effect for a period of thirty years from the date the documents are recorded in the public records of Miami-Dade County, Florida, after which time they shall be extended automatically for successive periods of ten years unless released in writing by the then owners and the Director,acting for and on behalf of Miami Beach, Florida, upon the demonstration and affirmative finding that the same is no longer necessary to preserve and protect the property for the purposes herein intended. f_ej Enforcement of the declaration of restrictive covenants shall be by action at law or in equity with costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party. SECTION 2. INCLUSION IN CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,FLORIDA. It is the intention of the City Commission,and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made part of the Code of the City of Miami Beach as amended;that the section of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention;and that the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section" or other appropriate word. SECTION 3. REPEALER. All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all sections and parts of sections in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY. If any section,subsection,clause or provision ofthis Ordinance is held invalid,the remainder shall not be affected by such invalidity. SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect ten days following adoption. PASSED and ADOPTED this 18th day of October , 2000. 5 ATTEST: 1111AYOR 41(iGti 2aAida&_ CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE & FOR EXECUTION 4/1/( , - /6/-2"( City Attorney Date (Ordinance No. 2000-3275) F:\ATTO\HELG\Planning\CovUT\COVORDNE.WPD-September 28,2000 6 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139 http:\\ci.miami-beach.fl.us COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO.-1 62-00 • TO: Mayor Neisen O. Kasdin and DATE: October 18, 2000 Members of the City Commission FROM Jorge M. Gonzalez City Manager SECOND READING PUBLIC HEARING SUBJECT: Ordinance - Unity of tle; Covenant in Lieu Thereof AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,FLORIDA, CREATING SECTION 118-5 IN THE CITY'S LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ENTITLED: "UNITY OF TITLE; COVENANT IN LIEU THEREOF"; CLARIFYING THE REQUIREMENT OF A UNITY OF TITLE FOR CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS; AUTHORIZING THE PLANNING DIRECTOR TO ACCEPT COVENANTS IN LIEU OF UNITY OF TITLE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY; SPECIFYING THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH A COVENANT, AND ACCOMPANYING EASEMENT AND OPERATING AGREEMENT; PROVIDING FOR TREATMENT OF THE UNIFIED SITE AS ONE SITE UNDER THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI-BEACH, FLORIDA; PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION The Administration recommends that the City Commission, upon second reading public hearing, adopt the proposed amending Ordinance. ANALYSIS The Commission referred this item to the Land Use and Development Committee on December 1, 1999, at the request of the City Attorney's Office. The Land Use and Development Committee referred it to the Planning Board, without a recommendation, on March 13, 2000. At its May 23, 2000 meeting, the Planning Board voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance. The City Commission approved the proposed ordinance on first reading at its June 7,2000 meeting. The Historic Preservation Board reviewed and approved the proposed ordinance at its July 11,2000 meeting. On July 12,2000,the City Commission held a second reading public hearing,took public comment and directed staff to consider amendments to the ordinance based on the public comment, and return for second reading in October, 2000. AGENDA ITEM e_5D DATE (D-1E-00 Commission Memorandum October 18, 2000 Ordinance-Covenants in Lieu of Unity of Title • Page 2 Numerous requests have been made to the Planning Director to allow the submission of a Covenant in Lieu of Unity of Title. A Unity of Title is required by the Planning Department where multiple buildings or multiple lots are proposed to be combined or provided in one development site. The Unity of Title ensures that development will remain unified and not split up into separate developments. The Covenant in Lieu of Unity of Title accomplishes the same result,but also allows that portions of the development site, or separate buildings on a development site, can be owned by separate interests. The proposed draft ordinance generally tracks the Miami-Dade County ordinance on unities of title and covenants in lieu of unity of title(Miami-Dade County code section 33-257). The ordinance will codify the unity of title requirement and the Planning Director's authority to accept covenants in lieu of the unity of title. The differences between the County ordinance and the proposed City ordinance primarily relate to the differences in jurisdiction, boards, and the Planning Director's title. The differences also allow for the differences in procedure, as in the City an approved site plan is not required in the initial stages of development review. The City ordinance confirms that modification of the covenant by board or the Commission at hearing does not relieve the property owner from obtaining other required development approvals, and also specifically allows the sale of individual condominium units without the need for an easement and operating agreement (used to ensure the operation of the development site in the event of multiple ownership). Further,the City Commission requested that modifications also be subject to the approval of"all owners within the original unified development site." Additional public comment at the July 12, 2000 Commission meeting and incorporated into the ordinance related to imposing a requirement that consent to modifications not be unreasonably withheld,and modifications as to the property's use, operation,physical condition or site plan be required to return to the appropriate development review board to review such modifications in light of its original approval. The City ordinance codifies the requirement of a unity of title in certain circumstances, confirms the Planning Director's authority to use covenants in lieu of unity of title, provides for stricter control over the use of and language of such covenants, and provides for treatment of the unified site as one site under the Land Development Regulations, regardless of separate ownerships. Based on the foregoing analysis,the Administration recommends that the Commission adopt,upon second reading public hearing, the proposed amending ordinance. JMG\,,4%\RGL\1-1\r 1 g � T:\AGENDA\2000\OCT1100\REGULAR\1455CMM3.WPD : • - tICIc e. m j : § « ! o § 0 ° 0 r © � .§ ° O c m a) / S • & kkr) .§ g. U3 cl o 2 2 _ \ ¢ c.) « c © u o D © r _ �/ Uo k : Ci) m .E O m k § j o 0 - W o = § ._ a) ® / U •