Ordinance 2019-4244 CD-2 HEIGHT AND EXISTING NONCONFORMING BUILDINGS
ORDINANCE NO. 2019-4244
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CITY
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, SUBPART B, ENTITLED,
"LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS," CHAPTER 142,
ENTITLED, "ZONING DISTRICTS AND REGULATIONS,"
ARTICLE II, ENTITLED, "DISTRICT REGULATIONS," DIVISION 5,
ENTITLED "CD-2 COMMERCIAL, MEDIUM-INTENSITY DISTRICT,"
AT SECTION 142-306, ENTITLED "DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS," BY AMENDING THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED
HEIGHT FOR SITES WITH PREVIOUSLY EXISTING
NONCONFORMING BUILDINGS; AND PROVIDING FOR
CODIFICATION, REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach recognizes the unique issues created by the difficulty
of renovating nonconforming commercial buildings outside of the City's historic districts; and
WHEREAS, while nonconforming buildings may be prohibitively expensive to renovate, they
are often developed at heights exceeding current Code requirements, making their replacement often
economically impossible; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission seeks to encourage the redevelopment of sites with
nonconforming buildings outside of historic districts by permitting property owners to retain existing
nonconforming heights in new construction; and
WHEREAS, at its meeting on December 18, 2018, the Planning Board recommended in favor
of this Ordinance by a unanimous vote; and
WHEREAS, the amendments set forth below are necessary to accomplish all of the
above objectives.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA.
SECTION 1. Chapter 142 of the City Code, entitled "Zoning Districts and Regulations,"
Article II, "District Regulations," Division 5, "CD-2 Commercial, Medium-Intensity District," is hereby
amended as follows:
CHAPTER 142
ZONING DISTRICTS AND REGULATIONS
* * *
ARTICLE II. DISTRICT REGULATIONS
* * *
DIVISION 5. CD-2 COMMERCIAL, MEDIUM-INTENSITY DISTRICT
* * *
Sec. 142-306. - Development regulations.
The development regulations in the CD-2 commercial, medium intensity district are as follows:
Maximum Minimum Minimum Minimum Average Maximum Maximum
Floor Lot Area Lot Width Apartment Apartment Building Number
Area (Square (Feet) Unit Size Unit Size Height of Stories
Ratio Feet) (Square (Square Feet) (Feet)
Feet)
1.5 Commerci Commercial Commercial Commercial— 50 (except as 5 (except
al—None —None —N/A N/A provided as
Residentia Residential New New in section 142- provided
1-7,000 —50 construction construction— 1161). in section
—550 800 Self-storage 142-1161)
Rehabilitate Rehabilitated warehouse - Self-
d buildings— buildings-550 40 feet, except storage
400 Non-elderly that the warehouse
Non-elderly and elderly building height : 4
and elderly low and shall be
low and moderate limited to 25
moderate income feet within 50
income housing: feet from the
housing: See section rear property
See section 142-1183 line for lots
142-1183 Hotel units— abutting an
Hotel unit: N/A alley; and
15%: 300— within 60 feet
335 from a
85%: 335+ residential
For district for
contributing blocks with no
hotel alley; Mixed-
structures, Use Buildings
located that include
within a local structured
historic parking for
district or a properties
national located on the
register west side of
district, Alton Road
which are from 6th Street
being to Collins
renovated in Canal –60
accordance feet.
with the
Secretary of
the Interior
Standards
2
and
Guidelines .
for the
Rehabilitatio
n of Historic
Structures
as amended,
retaining the
existing
room
configuration
shall'be
permitted,
provided all
rooms are.a
minimum of
200 square
feet.
Additionally,
existing
room
configuration
s for the
above
described
hotel
structures
modified to
address
applicable
life-safety
.and
accessibility
regulations,
provided the
200 square
feet
minimum
unit size is
maintained.
.Notwithstanding the above regulations, the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) for self-storage
warehouses shall be 1..5. The floor area ratio provision for mixed use buildings in: section 142-
307(d)(2) shall not apply to self-storage warehouse development.
(c) Subiect to conditional use approval from the planning board, as.of January 1, 2019,,sites which (i)
are located outside of historic districts, (ii) are greater than 50,000 square feet in area, and
(iii) that contain an existing building that is nonconforming as to height (hereinafter"existing buiildinq"),:
3
may be redeveloped with a new building, which new buildingshall not exceed the existing building's.
height. The portion of any new building exceeding 60.feet in height may be placed on a pedestal and.
shall not exceed 2.25 times of the footprint area for the existing building, and may be located on any
portion of the site. Additionally, open space not less than the 25% of the square feet of the non-
conforming building footprint (i.e. the form-Hy existi • buildi ) shall be provided a •round
level. and shall be directly accessible fr•m a public sidewalk. Such open space may be located
in different areas on the site. Under no circumstance shall the redevelopment of the site exceed the
maximum floor area ratio permitted under the zoning district regulations.
SECTION 2. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all section and parts of sections in conflict herewith
are hereby repealed..
SECTION 3. CODIFICATION.
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 . sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered toaccomplish such
intention; and that the word "ordinance" may be changed to"section"or otherappropriate word.
SECTION.4. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision- of this Ordinance isheld 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 /3 day of :l-ebrua+'y 2019.
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ATTEST: :
D- •. -;;^er, Ma
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Rafael . Granado, City Jerk: r� `"� TO
� APPROVED AS
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1NCO - A 0 & FOR EXECUTION
First Reading: January 16, 2019 RPS
Second Reading: February 13,.2019 =.. SRA�E�.
(Sponsored by C•mmissi• erJ+;n Elizabeth 1611. 4)--4)••=••••• ; A 0J " City Attornr_y 'Date
Verified by: V, . Ad - \
Tomas R. Moon-!, AICP
Planning Director
T:\AGENDA\2019\02 February\Planning\CD-2 Nonconforming Building Heights-Second.Reading ORD:docx
4
Ordinances - R5 J
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: February 13, 2019
1:45 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
SUBJECT: CD-2 HEIGHTAND EXISTING NONCONFORMING BUILDINGS
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, SUBPART B, ENTITLED, "LAND DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS," CHAPTER 142, ENTITLED, "ZONING DISTRICTS AND
REGULATIONS," ARTICLE II, ENTITLED, "DISTRICT REGULATIONS,"
DIVISION 5, ENTITLED "CD-2 COMMERCIAL, MEDIUM-INTENSITY
DISTRICT," AT SECTION 142-306, ENTITLED "DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS," BY AMENDING THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED HEIGHT
FOR SITES WITH PREVIOUSLY EXISTING NONCONFORMING
BUILDINGS; AND PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION, REPEALER,
SEVERABILITY,AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject Ordinance.
ANALYSIS
HISTORY
On November 14, 2018, at the request of Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman, the City
Commission referred the item to the Land Use and Development Committee and the Planning
Board (Item R5B).
On November 28, 2018 the Land Use Committee discussed the item and recommended that
the Planning Board transmit the attached Ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable
recommendation.
BACKGROUND
On October 26, 2016, the Land Use and Development Committee discussed this item under a
separate referral and transmitted it to the City Commission with no recommendation. On
December 20, 2016, the Planning Board transmitted a similar version of the proposed
Ordinance Amendment to the City Commission, with a favorable recommendation. The
ordinance transmitted by the Planning Board at that time included the following
recommendations, which were proposed by the property owner at 600 Alton Road:
Page 492 of 911
1. A physical limit (2.25 times the footprint of the existing building) on the footprint of any new
building, as noted above; and
2. A requirement for the Planning Board to review and approve the proposed increase in height
above the maximum permitted in the underlying zoning district.
This previous Ordinance was withdrawn by the sponsor in April of 2018 and was never adopted.
On November 28, 2018 the Land Use and Development Committee recommended that the
proposed Ordinance move forward, allowing the retention of the existing nonconforming building
height and footprint area anywhere on the site, and not including an expansion of the non-
conforming building footprint.
PLANNING ANALYSIS
The proposed ordinance provides that CD-2 zoned sites outside of historic districts that contain
existing buildings with nonconforming height as of January 1, 2019 may be redeveloped with
new construction at the same nonconforming height as the existing nonconforming building. The
proposal does not allow any new construction to exceed current FAR limitations.
Currently, the CD-2 district has a height limit 5 stories and 50 feet, or 60 feet on the west side of
Alton Road from 6th Street to Collins Canal for mixed-use and commercial buildings that
include structured parking. An analysis of existing building heights on CD-2 zoned sites that are
not in historic districts, per data from the Property Appraiser, indicates that there is only one site
containing a building that exceeds the current maximum number of stories. This analysis does
not consider the actual height of buildings and the current height limit that is between 50 and 60
feet for the affected areas; however, it provides a good indicator of where non-conforming
height exists. The site identified is that of the former South Shore Hospital (600 Alton Road),
located on Alton Road and 6th Street, which is ten (10) stories, and approximately 125 feet in
height.
The proposed Ordinance would not (and cannot) increase maximum FAR, and would only
permit a redistribution of allowable FAR. Additionally, it would place a physical limit on the
footprint of any new building that may be eligible for a building height in excess of 60 feet. The
proposed limit, as recommended by the Planning Board, is for the footprint of any future
reconstructed tower not to exceed 2.25 of the footprint of the existing building that already
exceeds the maximum building height.
Footprint limits will play an important role in ensuring that any future development project does
not negatively impact the surrounding area. In this regard, however, it will also be critical for the
Design Review Board (DRB) to carefully review any future application, particularly as it pertains
to the distribution of allowable scale, mass and height.
The owner of the South Shore Hospital building has indicated a willingness to demolish the
existing non-conforming structure in advance of an approved development permit for the
proposed unified site at 500-700 Alton Road, containing a residential tower and public park. In
order to allow for a safety valve in the event that the development agreement for the unified site
should come apart at a future date, the ability to reconstruct the non-conforming building at the
Page 493 of 911
same non-conforming height is not unreasonable.
PLANNING BOARD REVIEW
On December 18, 2018, the Planning Board held a public hearing regarding the proposed LDR
Amendment and transmitted the Ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable
recommendation by a vote of seven to zero (7-0). The Planning Board recommended that the
Ordinance be modified to allow for the physical limit of the footprint of any new building that may
be eligible for a building height in excess of 60 feet be increased from 1.0 to 2.25. This
recommendation was made to be consistent with the terms set forth in the Development
Agreement for the 500-700 Alton Road project.
SUMMARY
The subject Ordinance pertains to one of the terms of the recently approved Development
Agreement for the 500-700 Alton Road project. In this regard, the developer requested that
some assurance be provided that the existing South Shore Tower could be reconstructed in the
future, if the Development Agreement should be terminated after the tower is demolished.
At the time the item was discussed at the Land Use and Development Committee (LUDC) on
November 28, 2018, staff expressed concerns with the proposal to expand the allowable
footprint of a future, reconstructed building with nonconforming height. The LUDC also shared
those concerns and recommended that the footprint of any new tower be limited to the existing
footprint, but that it could be located anywhere on the site. The version of the Ordinance that was
reviewed by the Planning Board on December 18, 2018, as well as the accompanying staff
report and recommendation, reflected the direction of the LUDC.
When the City Commission approved the Development Agreement for the 500-700 Alton Road
project on December 12, 2018, one of the terms of the agreement pertained to the Demolition
of the exiting South Shore building. Specifically, under the terms of the Development
Agreement the developer is required to demolish the existing South Shore building on the
earlier of the following:
1. Within six months from the date of all required Land Use Board Approvals, including all
applicable appeal periods; or
2. Within 60 days from the date of adoption of the replacement ordinance, including the
applicable appeal period, if such ordinance allows a new tower to be constructed with a footprint
of 2.25 the size of the existing tower footprint.
If the subject Ordinance is adopted on February 13, 2019, with a 2.25 footprint limitation as specified
in the Development Agreement, the demolition of the South Shore building would need to occur
within 90 days of the February 13, 2019. This would be a much faster timeframe for the demolition of
the structure than waiting until six months after all required Land Use Board approvals are obtained.
For reference, the developer is not expected to obtain all required Land Use Board approvals until
May 2019 at the earliest, which would push the required timeframe for the demolition of the structure
to the tail end of 2019, and possibly into early 2020, if this option was used.
UPDATE
Page 494 of 911
The subject Ordinance was approved at First Reading on January 16, 2019. Prior to Second
Reading, the Commission requested that the Administration explore additional significant safeguards
for the legislation, in the event that the Development Agreement for the 500 Alton Road project does
not move forward, and a new project is proposed in the future that could utilize the proposed increase
in foot print of 2.25.
In order to address this request, the Administration has explored modifications to require a
corresponding amount of open space on the site, in relation to the increase in building foot print. In
this regard, based on internal sketches of the 600 block of Alton Road, the Administration would
suggest that a fixed percentage of the footprint of the building provided, regardless of whether a
larger footprint is proposed. The following revised language is proposed, and is included in the draft
Ordinance for Second Reading:
Additionally, open space not less than the 25% of the square feet of the non-conforming
building footprint shall be provided at ground level and shall be directly accessible from a
public sidewalk Such open space may be located in different areas on the site subject.
Based upon an approximate foot print of the South Shore Building of +/-10,500 square feet, the
following range of open space would be required, depending upon the size of the reconstructed
footprint:
Building Footprint(sq ft) 25% Minimum Open Space (sq ft)
Exact Replacement: +/- 10,500 2,625
1.50 x Existing Footprint: 15,750 3,938
2.25 x Existing Footprint: 23,625 5,906
As indicated previously, in order to be consistent with the terms of the Development Agreement, the
Administration recommends that the Ordinance be approved, with the footprint allowance of 2.25. If
there is not consensus on allowing for a footprint of 2.25, in some manner, the Administration
recommends the ordinance be denied, as it would be inconsistent with the terms of the Development
Agreement.
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject Ordinance.
Legislative Tracking
Planning
Sponsor
Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
o Ordinance
Page 495 of 911