HomeMy WebLinkAboutLTC 040-2026 E-mail from SOBESafe Board of Directors Regarding Support for Alton VenturesMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
LTC #040-2026
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
LETTER TO COMMISSION
Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Eric Carpenter, City Manager
Ricardo J. Dopico, City Attorney Joseph M. Centorino, Inspector General
Deborah Tackett, Historic Preser�chitecture Officer
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk / � /
February 10, 2026
E-mail from SOBESafe Board of Directors Regarding: Support for Alton
Ventures
I am sharing with yoll an email from the SOBESafe Board of Directors regarding the AltonVentures proposal.
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SOUTHBECHSOBESAFE.ORG
To:Mayor,Commissioners,City Manager,Planning Board Chair
February 9,2026
City of Miami Beach
Office of Mayor Steven Meiner
City Commission
Planning Board
Alton Ventures Development LLC ("Alton Ventures")is proposing an amendment to the
Miami Beach Land Development Regulations and Comprehensive Plan ("The Plan")to
create the "Alton City Center Overlay"within the CD-2 zoning district,west of Alton Road
between Lincoln Road and 17"Street.
The principal effect of this zoning change would be to increase missing middle market
housing in Miami Beach -housing for workers that work in Miami Beach such as teachers,
hospitality workers,and healthcare workers.
SOBESAFE strongly supports the proposed amendment.
Our rationale is that the benefits to the City -increased availability of rental housing for
Miami Beach residents and workforce --would far outweigh the concessions that the
applicant is seeking in areas of height and parking.
Housing is a pressing municipal need:Unlike those development proposal amendments
sought to enable construction of luxury condos,this project aims to "facilitate accretive
mixed-use redevelopment containing a substantial non-transient rental residential
component."
SOBESAFE has long advocated for steps to increase the numbers of Miami Beach
residents,particularly in this middle missing housing economic sector.
Three major benefits will accrue to the City if these goals are achieved:
•Major employers --such as Miami Beach itself,Mt.Sinai,and the many hotels and
restaurants large and small --struggle to hire and retain skilled employees.These
employees must commute from the mainland because they cannot afford our rents.
•Our city's traffic problems are no secret,as anyone observing the Julia Tuttle any
weekday morning can attest,Westbound traffic flies while Eastbound is stalled for
miles.Meanwhile our residential population is actually lower now than it was
in 2000.The inescapable conclusion is that the masses of commuting workers,
not residential growth,is a major contributor to our gridlock morning and
evening.Enabling more of those who work here to live here is progress.
•The flattening,indeed decline,in fulltime residential population is a major factor in
the struggles of our many businesses.Resident workers,spending here what they
earn here,can only help deserving businesses.
In assessing the developer's plan and meeting with them we of course looked for negatives.
What would the City and the neighborhood be giving up for these benefits?We found no
compelling negative arguments.We don't see any substantial impacts from the height and
parking variances sought.Moreover,we see additional benefits from the properly scaled
office and retail elements of the plan and included public facilities.
Perhaps not least in importance,this plan is an alternative to a Live Local project on
the site,which would add much more height and FAR than would this proposal.Far
better to permit some height in an area where it would not significantly change the
neighborhood's character.
We have two additional reasons for urging a speedy approval of this proposal and the
attendant permitting processes:
1.City agencies have been urging the rapid demolition of the current vacant "Epicure
Site,"which they cite as troublesome,Any plan to build must be approved before
demolition can proceed.
2.We have seen the price of delay in the recent Fire Station debacle:increased costs
and the possibility that a private developer will walk away to concentrate on more
profitable alternatives.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
The Board of SOBESAFE