LTC 212-2002
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 2/R.21t'Z
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To:
Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission
Date: September 11, 2002
From:
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ .. ~
City Manager 0 ,.., - 0
Joint Resolution from the Historic Preservation and Design Review Boards
Subject:
Attached, please find a copy of a Joint Resolution adopted by the Historic Preservation and Design Review
Boards at their August 20, 2002 meeting. The Boards are urging the City of Miami Beach to consider the
following:
1. Recommending revisions to the Florida Building Code relative to flood elevation and structural
requirements so that architecturally significant homes will not be required to be demolished under the 50%
Rule and the authority of the Single Family Residential Review Board (SFRRB) will not be circumvented.
2. Revising the City Code pertaining to the protection of single-family homes to include homes built prior to
1965.
3. Revising the City Code to allow the SFRRB to offer binding alternatives to demolition for architecturally
significant homes.
The Administration would recommend that the Commission refer the matter to the Land Use Committee for
formal consi~n.
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c: Christina Cuervo, Assistant City Manager
Bob Parcher, City Clerk
Jorge G. Gomez, Planning Director
Thomas R. Mooney, Design and Preservation Manager
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
DESIGN REVIEW BOARDI
HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD
JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach Design Review Board and Historic
Preservation Board are charged by Ordinance as serving in an advisory capacity to the
City Commission and other City Boards on issues affecting architecture, design and
planning within the City; and
WHEREAS, the Design Review Board and Historic Preservation Board strongly
support the efforts of the City to preserve and protect architecturally significant single-
family homes located outside of designated historic districts; and
WHEREAS, an Ordinance was recently passed which created the Single-Family
Residential Review Board (SFRRB) to review applications to demolish architecturally
significant homes built prior to 1942; and
WHEREAS, several significant homes in the North Bay Road area built after
1942 have been demolished in recent months, constituting a serious threat to the
cohesive character of the neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, the Building Code provides a procedure to circumvent the authority
of the SFFRB by allowing the demolition of any single-family home whose finished
floor is located below the minimum flood elevation and when improvements exceed
50% of the value of the structure; and
WHEREAS, full Code Compliance can be extremely difficult for many older
structures to meet, largely due to the fact that many such structures were built below
current flood elevation requirements; and
WHEREAS, waivers from the Flood Plain Management Board from flood
elevation requirements may only be granted to designated historic sites or properties
within designated historic districts; and
WHEREAS, the SFRRB has been unable to persuade the owner of an
architecturally significant L. Murray Dixon-designed home on North Bay Road to seek
such a waiver by requesting historic designation of the property; and
WHEREAS, the demolition of this distinctive Art Deco home will result in the
loss of another significant architectural resource and the further erosion of the
character of the North Bay Road waterfront neighborhood.
THEREFORE, it is hereby resolved that the Design Review Board and the Historic
Preservation Board urge the City Commission of the City of Miami Beach to:
1 . Recommend revisions to the Florida Building Code relative to flood
elevation and structural requirements so that architecturally significant
homes will not be required to be demolished under the 50% Rule and the
authority of the SFRRB will not be circumvented.
2. Revise the Ordinance pertaining to the protection of single-family homes
to include homes built prior to 1965.
3. Revise the Ordinance to allow the SFRRB to offer binding alternatives to
demolition for architecturally significant homes.
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 20th DAY OF AUGUST, 2002.
~::~
Chair, Design Review Board
~M. ~N .k~-
ItCII OVIC
Chair, Historic Preservation Board
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