| | | | | | | |  | Resolutions - R7 O
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM |
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| | | | | | | | | TO: | Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission | | | FROM: | Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager | | | DATE: | July 17, 2019 | | | |
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A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CALLING FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 5, 2019, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, A BALLOT QUESTION ASKING WHETHER THE CITY COMMISSION SHALL ADOPT AN ORDINANCE PERMITTING THE CONVERSION OR ADAPTIVE REUSE OF SURPLUS OR NON-REQUIRED PARKING SPACES IN BUILDINGS WITH NO AVAILABLE FLOOR AREA.
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| | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION
| | The administration recommends that the City Commission place a question on the November 5, 2019 ballot pertaining to an increase in FAR within existing parking garages. |
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| HISTORY
On May 8, 2019, at the request of the City Manager, the City Commission referred the subject discussion item to the Land Use and Development Committee (Item C4 L). On June 12, 2019, the Land Use Committee discussed the proposed ballot question, but did not make a formal recommendation. Instead, the LUDC continued the discussion regarding the merits of the policy change to the July 24, 2019 meeting.
Subsequent to the June 12, 2019 LUDC meeting, Vice Mayor Ricky Arriola became the sponsor the proposed ballot question.
BACKGROUND
Under the current City code, required parking that is enclosed within a structure is exempt from floor area ratio (FAR) calculations. The Administration has observed increasing instances where required parking, or portions of required parking, is no longer needed due to changes in use or intensity within a particular building. As such, if existing parking spaces within an enclosed structure are no longer ‘required parking’, these spaces could, potentially, be converted to other uses, provided the building site on which the spaces are located has available FAR. However, should the existing building site meet or exceed the maximum zoned FAR, the now excess (non-required) parking spaces would become legal non-conforming FAR.
Under Chapter 118, Article IX of the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) of the City Code, governing nonconformances, a nonconforming building or use cannot be expanded. Accordingly, when enclosed parking spaces within a structure become nonconforming FAR, because they are no longer needed but still per code ‘required’ parking spaces, those spaces cannot be converted, modified or expanded. This creates a situation where the building then has essentially abandoned underutilized space.
In order to allow enclosed parking spaces that are legal nonconforming as to FAR to be converted to another use, an amendment to Chapter 118, Article IX of the LDRs would be required. Pursuant to City Charter Section 1.03(c), such amendment would require the approval of the City’s voters:
The floor area ratio of any property or street end within the City of Miami Beach shall not be increased by zoning, transfer, or any other means from its current zoned floor area ratio . . . unless any such increase in zoned floor area ratio for any such property shall first be approved by a vote of the electors of the City of Miami Beach.
The amendment proposed would allow a property to convert, modify, or expand nonconforming FAR, which would result in an increase in zoned FAR “by zoning, transfer, or any other means” pursuant to City Charter Section 1.03(c).
PLANNING ANALYSIS
Over the last five years, the data has shown that the demand for off-street parking in the City has steadily declined, both within public and private parking facilities. There are myriad reasons for this decline, including the proliferation of ride share services, such as Uber and Lyft, as well as an increase in the use of alternative modes of transportation, including busses, trolleys, bicycles and now electric scooters. Additionally, within urban areas such as Miami Beach, car ownership and usage has also declined, particularly among millennials.
In order to better utilize and adaptively re-use the increasing amount of vacant parking spaces within existing structures, the conversion of nonconforming FAR associated with non-required parking spaces is highly practical and desirous. This will allow more flexibility for existing buildings, particularly with regard to accessory uses.
Pursuant to the direction of the City Commission at the time of referral to the LUDC on May 8, 2019, planning staff has researched the number of garages that would be affected by the proposed ballot question. Specifically, it is estimated that there are approximately 236 accessory garages attached to residential and hotel properties citywide. The following is a breakdown of the location of such accessory garages, which was presented to the LUDC on June 12, 2019:
AREA Number of buildings with garages (Hotel/Residential)
South of 5th: 29
5th Street to 17th Street: 40
17th Street to 26th Street: 30
26th to 41sht Street: 22
41st to 71Street: 70
Normandy Isle: 11
71st Street up: 34
Total: 236
Additionally, in order to limit the scope of the proposal to those structures with surplus parking, the following additional qualifiers may be considered, as part of any enabling legislation:
• The regulations shall only apply to garages existing as of the effective date of the enabling ordinance, or the approval of the ballot question, whichever comes first.
• The regulations for adaptively re-using surplus spaces shall only apply to existing garages that are attached to or on the same property as a residential or hotel use.
• Establishing a maximum number of spaces that can be converted to enclosed FAR. A typical parking space, including the abutting drive aisle, is approximately 400 square feet; converting 10 surplus spaces into enclosed FAR would result in an increase of 4,000 square feet.
• Establishing criteria to ensure that parking spaces converted to enclosed FAR will not result in the removal of existing parking for residents, employees, valet storage and guests. This could include a review of the parking distribution within a building, whether there is a single owner or a condominium, and what the existing mixes of uses are within the building.
SUMMARY
The City Attorney’s Office has drafted the following ballot question, which is part of the attached Resolution:
Conversion I adaptive reuse of existing parking spaces in buildings with no available floor area
Floor area ratio ("FAR") is the measure the City utilizes to regulate the overall size of a building.
Currently, surplus or non-required parking spaces in buildings with no available floor area cannot be converted to another use, unless the City's voters approve an FAR increase, pursuant to Charter Section 1.03(c).
Shall City Commission adopt an Ordinance permitting the conversion or adaptive reuse of such parking spaces in buildings with no available floor area?
From a policy standpoint, the administration is supportive of this proposal, as it will provide much needed flexibility for existing properties to adaptively re-use surplus and un-used parking spaces within buildings.
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION
| | The administration recommends that the City Commission place a question on the November 5, 2019 ballot pertaining to an increase in FAR within existing parking garages. |
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| | | | | | | | Legislative Tracking
Planning |
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| | | | | | | | Sponsor
Vice-Mayor Ricky Arriola |
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