Resolution 2025-33679 2025-33679
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING FLORIDA
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS TO VETO SENATE BILL 1730
(2025), WHICH AMENDS THE LIVE LOCAL ACT, DUE TO
THREATS POSED BY THE BILL TO EXISTING NATURALLY
OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MIAMI BEACH, THE
POTENTIAL DISPLACEMENT OF CITY RESIDENTS, AND THE
PROSPECTIVE DEMOLITION OF THE CITY'S HISTORIC
BUILDINGS AND NEIGHBORHOODS; AND, FURTHER,
DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE GOVERNOR.
WHEREAS, during the 2025 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature adopted Senate
Bill 1730, which included a number of amendments to expand the development incentives in the
Live Local Act; and
WHEREAS, if signed into law, SB 1730 will allow developers to build Live Local projects
at the maximum height allowed as of July 1, 2023, within one(1) mile of the project; and
WHEREAS, on properties throughout South Beach, including in the Miami Beach
Architectural District, this amendment will allow Live Local projects to be built at heights ranging
from 300 to 519 feet(30 to 50 stories tall), leading to significantly out-of-scale development; and
WHEREAS, this amendment overrides the decisions the City Commission made in 2023
and 2024, within the City's home rule authority, to limit the height of all new development - not
just Live Local projects - in and around the National Register-listed Miami Beach Architectural
District in South Beach; and
WHEREAS, the Bill also provides that local governments must administratively approve
the demolition of existing buildings—including historic buildings—as part of Live Local
developments, preempting the authority of the City's Historic Preservation Board to review
development applications, and curtailing the public's right to appear before their government; and
WHEREAS, State Senator Shevrin Jones offered an amendment, which was incorporated
in the final bill, that attempts to mitigate impacts to historic neighborhoods by allowing for local
regulations relating to architectural design, such as façade replication, in order to better maintain
an area's architectural identity; and
WHEREAS, however, even with this amendment, SB 1730 poses significant threats to
both the availability of housing and the character of historic neighborhoods in Miami Beach; and
WHEREAS, by expressly requiring local governments to administratively approve the
demolition of existing buildings - including residential and historic buildings - in connection with
Live Local projects, the Bill endangers existing naturally occurring attainable housing and
facilitates the displacement of City residents; and
WHEREAS, on May 19, 2025, the Wall Street Journal published the attached article,
recognizing that SB 1730 "would allow developers to knock down hundreds of Miami Beach's
iconic art deco buildings and replace them with rows of taller apartment buildings," and that "the
art deco neighborhood near the Atlantic Ocean generates more tourism revenue than any other
part of the state but Disney World."
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission hereby urge
Florida Governor Ron Desantis to veto Senate Bill 1730(2025),which amends the Live Local Act.
due to the threats posed by the Bill to existing naturally occurring affordable housing in Miami
Beach, the potential displacement of City residents, and the prospective demolition of the City's
historic buildings and neighborhoods; direct the City Manager to authorize the City's state
legislative affairs staff and consultants to advocate, on behalf of the City's residents, for a veto;
and, further, direct the City Clerk to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Governor.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 21st day of May, 2025
v l
ATTEST:
Steven Meiner, Mayor
MAY 2 7 2025
Rafae E. ado, City Clerk
(Sponsored by Commissioner Alex J. Fernandez)
--014'4'+"y, APPROVED AS TO
k S % FORM AND LANGUAGE
9- "` ? [ & FOR EXECUTION
a i1X(OPPPORAIED;
I ce :L_ Siaofis
l_eity
Attorney 0� Date
Resolutions -C7 AJ
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: City Attorney Ricardo J. Dopico
DATE: May 21, 2025
TITLE: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS TO
VETO SENATE BILL 1730 (2025), WHICH AMENDS THE LIVE LOCAL ACT, DUE
TO THREATS POSED BY THE BILL TO EXISTING NATURALLY OCCURRING
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MIAMI BEACH, THE POTENTIAL DISPLACEMENT
OF CITY RESIDENTS, AND THE PROSPECTIVE DEMOLITION OF THE CITY'S
HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND NEIGHBORHOODS; AND, FURTHER, DIRECTING
THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE
GOVERNOR.
RECOMMENDATION
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
ANALYSIS
The attached Resolution was prepared at the request of Commissioner Alex J. Fernandez.
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
N/A
Does this Ordinance require a Business Impact Estimate?
(FOR ORDINANCES ONLY)
If applicable, the Business Impact Estimate (BIE)was published on:
See BIE at: hops://www.miamibeachfl.goy/city-hall/cityclerldmeetinq-notices/
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
CONCLUSION
Applicable Area
Citywide
Is this a"Residents Right to Know" item Is this item related to a G.O. Bond
pursuant to City Code Section 2-17? Project?
No No
Was this Agenda Item initially requested by a lobbyist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-481
includes a principal engaged in lobbying? No
If so, specify the name of lobbyist(s)and principal(s):
Department
City Attorney
Sponsor(sl
Commissioner Alex Fernandez
Co-sponsor(s1
Condensed Title
Urge Governor Veto the Live Local Act Senate Bill 1730. (Fernandez)CA
Previous Action (For City Clerk Use Only)
5/2025,10'19 AM Miami Beach's Historic Art Deco District Collides With Push for More I lousing-WSJ
This copy is for your personal,non-commercial use only.Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law.For
non-personal use or to order multiple copies,please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-600-843-0008 or visit www.djreprintscom.
https//www.ws6com/real-estate/miami-beachs-historic-art-deco-district-collides-with-push-for-more-housing-alea6afif
REAL ESTATE
Miami Beach's Historic Art Deco District Collides With
Push for More Housing
Florida law revisions could enable developers to demolish art deco buildings in favor of
high-rise towers
By Deborah Acosta Fliow
May 19,20255:30 am ET
Key Points What's This?
• Florida's housing crisis clashes with Miami Beach's art deco history.
• Revisions to the state's Live Local Act could allow the demolition of historic buildings.
• Developers say changes are needed to ease traffic and create affordable housing.
MIAMI BEACH,Fla.—Florida's effort to tackle its affordable-housing crisis is crashing into this
city's famous art deco history.
Proposed changes to a state law would allow developers to knock down hundreds of Miami Beach's
iconic art deco buildings and replace them with rows of taller apartment buildings.
The city boasts the world's largest concentration of this early-20th-century architectural style,
including the famous Raleigh Hotel and the Tides Hotel.
Now,a revised version of the 2023 housing law could lead to demolition of many of these low-rise
buildings,a number of which have five stories or fewer.Towers rising as high as 50 stories could
replace them and dominate South Beach,critics of the law's changes say.
"Our art deco architecture, it's our Leaning Tower of Pisa, our Eiffel Tower,our pyramids," said City
Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez at a gathering of lawmakers on Miami Beach's Ocean Drive
last week.The art deco neighborhood near the Atlantic Ocean generates more tourism revenue than
any other part of the state but Disney World,she said.
httpsI/sww vsjcom,coal-crate/miamibcachs.histnne at_dcco-district-collides-"ith-push-for-more-hou ing-a I e88a6f 1/6
5/20/25,IR 19 AM Mami Beach s f umnc Art Deco District Collides With Push for More Housing-WSJ
Developers,however, say it is necessary to create more housing for the city's lower-and middle-
income residents and to ease the city's chronic traffic congestion, particularly along urban
corridors.
"I can tell you,generally, that traffic and affordability on Miami Beach is the worst it's ever been,"
said Russell Galbut, a real-estate developer who has eight proposed workforce-housing projects in
Miami Beach. "You cannot save every single building that you want to save. Some of them are not
salvageable."
The legislature approved these revisions earlier this year, and it now awaits the governor's
signature.
-_
7-
Aft deco buildings are seen along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach,Fla.PHOTO:REBECCA BLACKWELL/ASSOCIAI ED PRESS
Florida's severe lack of affordable housing reflects a population boom that exceeded most every
other part of the U.S.since the beginning of the pandemic,according to the U.S. Census Bureau.The
state in 2023 had the highest rate of cost-burdened renters in the country,or renters who spend
more than 30%of their income on housing costs,according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies
at Harvard.Fifty-nine percent of Florida's rental population were cost-burdened.
Florida lawmakers enacted the Live Local Act two years ago to address the housing shortage.It is
one of the most powerful tools in the U.S.,offering developers tax breaks and allowing them to
bypass certain local-zoning rules if enough workforce housing is built.Middle-income renters who
earn between 80%and 120%of an area's median income are eligible.
While developers have proposed hundreds of new projects under the act, local communities are
pushing back and tying up a number of the projects in court.Many local politicians and residents
htlps'Nisi is iv St coralreal-esalelmiami-heachs-hisionc-art-deco-dis ri elavll i des-si Iih.pucx-for-more-hontlng.al e8Na61 2l6
5/20/25,10'19 AM Miami Reach's Historic Art Deco District Colliers With Push for Mare Housing-WSJ
object to giving up control over their neighborhood's zoning rules,or don't want more density in
their communities.
But the recent revisions to the Live Local Act threaten to stoke the biggest controversy yet by
putting Miami Beach's architectural identity on the line.
1v-
w
J itii
I
MI
�r
The Raleigh Hotel complex is planned as a Rosewood Hotel&Residences and preserves the facades of
the three original buildings.PHOTO.DEBORAH ACOSTA/WSJ
r4 `
3:
♦Av:.is'Sii.
The pool at the historic Raleigh Hotel in Miami.PHOTO.GOTTSCHO-SCHLEISNER COL LECTION;JBRARY OF
CONGRESS
Before the new changes,developers met with multiple boards and presented their cases for
demolishing a historic structure at hearings.Now,those hearings have been eliminated from the
process, and the municipality must administratively approve these demolitions.
Mips/Mtn%wtt come realtestateemiami•heac hs historic art deco-district collides 0 ith•push for more housing al c88a6f
5/20/25.10-19 AM Miami Reach's historic Art Deco District Collides With Push for More Housing-WSJ
Other historic Florida municipalities,including St.Augustine,the oldest continuously inhabited
city of European origin in the U.S.,are also concerned.
"Once a historic building is demolished,there's no putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.It's
gone," said Isabelle Lopez, the city attorney of St.Augustine.
One recent weekday on Miami Beach,tourists aimed their cameras at the art deco architecture on
Ocean Drive that lines the famed boulevard.
"This is the biggest art deco district in the world," said a guide,gesturing at the pastel-colored
hotels built nearly a century ago.Patrons ate lunch below matching umbrellas,and tourists rode
past in bicycles while turning their heads to admire the geometric structures.
Art deco got its start a century ago at the World Fair in Paris and quickly became popular in the U.S.
After a major hurricane devastated Miami Beach in 1926,the city rebuilt by embracing the art deco
style and now has the world's largest concentration of this architecture.
Kobi Karp, an architect known for renovating Miami's historic buildings while adding modern
towers,believes there is room for change while still preserving the area's history.Karp oversaw the
renovation of the Four Seasons Hotel at Miami Beach's Surf Club, adding tall glass towers while
preserving the main clubhouse built in the 1930s.
He also is working on the historic Raleigh Hotel complex in the center of South Beach,which is
planned as a Rosewood Hotel&Residences and preserves the facades of the three original buildings.
"The solutions we've been using in the historic district in Miami Beach have continuously proven
themselves as successful,architecturally and economically," said Karp."Maybe freedom will create
more creativity."
httpstav"-vsj.com/realcstatdmiami-beachshistoricart-dccodistrict-colltdes-oith-push-for-morc-housing-aI 88a6f 4/6
5/20/25,10 19 AM Miami Reach's Historic Art Deco District Collides With Push for More Housing-WSJ
•
Ocean Drive in Miami Beach,Fla.PHOTO:GIORGIO VIERA/AFP/GETTV IMAGES
Write to Deborah Acosta at deborah.acosta@wsj.com
Miry./6.namsi com/rcalcstatnmiami-hcachs-hism6cart.eeco.eistrict-collides-vim-push-for-more-housing al eS a6f 5/6
MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach. 1700 Convention Center Drive,Miami Beach,Florida 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov
Office of the City Clerk
Tel:305-673-7411
May 28, 2025
Honorable Governor Ron DeSantis
The Capitol
400 S Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Dear Honorable Governor DeSantis,
Attached please find a copy of City of Miami Beach Resolution No. 2025-33679:
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS TO
VETO SENATE BILL 1730(2025),WHICH AMENDS THE LIVE LOCAL ACT, DUE
TO THREATS POSED BY THE BILL TO EXISTING NATURALLY OCCURRING
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MIAMI BEACH,THE POTENTIAL DISPLACEMENT
OF CITY RESIDENTS, AND THE PROSPECTIVE DEMOLITION OF THE CITY'S
HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND NEIGHBORHOODS; AND, FURTHER, DIRECTING
THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE
GOVERNOR. (Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez)
This Resolution was passed and adopted by the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami
Beach on May 21, 2025.
Respectfully,
Rafael E. Granado
City Clerk
c: Commissioner Alex J. Fernandez