Item Coversheet

Ordinances - R5  D




COMMISSION MEMORANDUM

TO:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 
FROM:Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager 
DATE:October  30, 2019
 

5:05 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing

SUBJECT:

COMMON VARIANCES - ALLOWABLE ENCROACHMENTS

AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 130, ENTITLED "OFF-STREET PARKING," ARTICLE Ill, ENTITLED "DESIGN STANDARDS," AT SECTION 130-64, ENTITLED "DRIVES," TO MODIFY DRIVEWAY REQUIREMENTS FOR LOW-SCALE MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS; BY AMENDING CHAPTER 142, ENTITLED "ZONING DISTRICTS AND REGULATIONS," ARTICLE II, ENTITLED "DISTRICT REGULATIONS," DIVISION 2, ENTITLED "RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, RS-4 SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS," AT SECTION 142-106, ENTITLED "SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FOR A SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLING," TO INCORPORATE AND MODIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALLOWABLE ENCROACHMENTS AND SWIMMING POOLS RELATED TO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES CURRENTLY LOCATED IN SECTIONS 142-1132 AND 142-1133; BY AMENDING DIVISION 21, ENTITLED "TOWN CENTER-CENTRAL CORE (TC-C) DISTRICT," AT SECTION 142-744, ENTITLED "SETBACKS AND ENCROACHMENTS," AND SECTION 142-745, ENTITLED "STREET FRONTAGE, DESIGN, AND OPERATIONS REQUIREMENTS," TO CLARIFY AND REVISE REQUIREMENTS FOR HABITABLE ENCROACHMENTS, SHADE STRUCTURES, SETBACKS, AND OFF-STREET LOADING; AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE IV, ENTITLED "SUPPLEMENTARY DISTRICT REGULATIONS," DIVISION 4, ENTITLED "SUPPLEMENTARY YARD REGULATIONS," AT SECTION 142-1132, ENTITLED "ALLOWABLE ENCROACHMENTS WITHIN REQUIRED YARDS," TO REMOVE REQUIREMENTS FOR SINGLE FAMILY DISTRICTS AND MODIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALLOWABLE ENCROACHMENTS IN REQUIRED YARDS, AND AT SECTION 142-1133, ENTITLED "SWIMMING POOLS," TO REMOVE REQUIREMENTS FOR SWIMMING POOLS IN SINGLE FAMILY DISTRICTS AND AMEND REQUIREMENTS FOR SWIMMING POOLS IN OTHER DISTRICTS; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

RECOMMENDATION

The administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject ordinance.

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

On January 16, 2019, at the request of Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman, the City Commission referred the discussion item to the Land Use and Development Committee (Item R9 T – 2.b). On April 3, 2019, the Land Use and Development Committee (LUDC) discussed the item recommended that a comprehensive ordinance be drafted by the administration, pursuant to the recommendations in the LUDC report, to streamline the code and development processes, and that the City Commission refer the proposed ordinances to the Planning Board.

On May 8, 2019, the City Commission referred the proposed ordinance to the Planning Board (item C4 Q).

ANALYSIS

PLANNING ANALYSIS
This ordinance is a companion to two other items on the agenda related to common variances for “rooftop additions, setbacks (including mixed-use), and room sizes;” as well as “signage.” Per Section 118-353 (d) of the land development regulations of the city code, in order to authorize any variance from the terms of the land development regulations, the applicable land use board must determine that there are “special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure, or building involved and which are not applicable to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same zoning district.” There are certain variances which are regularly requested and granted by the board of adjustment, design review board (DRB), and historic preservation board. Rather than being the exception to the rule, variance requests accompany most development proposals that are presented before the aforementioned boards. Several of the requests are quite common and usually granted by the applicable board.

The attached ordinance addresses the following commonly issued variances:

1) Variance for minimum drive aisles widths. The land development regulations (LDR’s) require two-way drive isles to be a minimum of 22 feet. For smaller buildings such widths are not always necessary, as they don’t generate significant traffic. As a result, smaller buildings often seek variances to reduce the driveway width.

The proposed ordinance reduces the minimum two-way drive isle width for buildings with fewer than 25 units to 18 feet.

2) Variance of minimum side setbacks for mechanical equipment for existing buildings with non-conforming side setbacks. Variances are often sought to allow for the encroachment of mechanical equipment into side yards for existing buildings. The City Commission recently adopted code amendments to allow encroachments into side-yards for mechanical equipment in the RS, TH, and RM-1 districts. Such allowances are currently not permitted in the RPS, RM-2 and RM-3 districts, which require side setbacks.

The proposed ordinance extends the allowances for the limited encroachment of mechanical equipment in side setbacks currently permitted in the RS, TH, and RM-1 districts to the RPS, RM-2 and RM-3 districts.

3) Variance of side and rear pool setbacks for existing pre-1942 architecturally significant homes. The LDR’s provide for reduced setbacks for architecturally significant pre-1942 homes and projections. The placement of the home may require that variances be obtained for pools and pool decks to be built, as the rear yards may not be sufficiently large to accommodate currently required setbacks.

The proposed ordinance incorporates a setback reduction to five feet for pools and pool decks into the incentives for the retention and preservation for pre-1942 architecturally significant homes.

4) Variance of fence heights. Currently interior side fences are measured from grade in in RS-3 and RS-4 residential districts. Only the RS-1 and RS-2 residential districts allow such fences to be measured from adjusted grade if the lot is raised to adjusted grade. Due to the need and requirements to raise lots in many areas of the City due to sea level rise, variances are often sought to allow the height of a fence to be measured from adjusted grade.

The proposed amendment allows the maximum height of interior side yard fences to be measured from the adjusted grade on sites that have approval for adjusted grade in all single-family districts .

5) Variance of accessory structure height. The maximum height for accessory structures is currently measured from adjusted grade. Often accessory structures contain guest/servant quarters, which may be habitable. Per the requirements of the Florida building code and the city code, the minimum elevation of a habitable floor in any structure must be located at an elevation of base flood elevation plus a one foot of freeboard (BFE +1). As a result of current limitations, it is difficult for accessory structures to be built with the same resilience of the primary structure, even if a three-foot height variance is granted.

The proposed amendment modifies the basis for the measurement of the the maximum height of accessory structures from adjusted grade to BFE+1.

6) Variance of allowable encroachments to allow for planters. The LDR’s list specific items which are permitted as an allowable encroachment. Planters are currently not listed as an allowable encroachment.

The proposed ordinance adds planters to the list of allowable encroachments in Section 142-1132, along with a height limit of four feet from the finished floor elevation.

7) Variance for installation of fences where the finished side is required to face neighbors. The LDR’s require the finished side of a fence to face neighbors. There are numerous occasions where a neighbor has their own fence or significant landscaping and they are comfortable with the unfinished side facing their property. Miami-Dade County allows for such exceptions with a signed affidavit from the affected neighbor.

The proposed ordinance provides an exception to not require a fence to not have a highly finished material facing a neighbor with an affidavit from an affected neighbor accepting the condition.

8) Variance for exceeding the maximum allowable height of porches and terraces. Chapter 142-1132 (o)(6) allows for porches, platforms, and terraces up to 30 inches above grade elevation to encroach up to 25 percent into a required setback. Recent amendments regarding the City of Miami Beach Freeboard requirements, which provide for a higher elevation of ground floors, creates a need for porches, platforms, and terraces which exceed 30 inches in order to be able to provide access and ADA accessibility into buildings. As a result, variances are sought to raise the height of porches, platforms, or terraces beyond 30 inches.

The proposed ordinance modifies the requirements for the maximum height of porches, platforms, and terraces to be measured from adjusted grade, as opposed to grade.

The proposed ordinance also provides clarifications for improved usability. Chapter 142, Article IV, Division 4, entitled “Supplementary Yard Regulations” contains provisions that apply only to single-family districts, others to non-single-family districts, and others to all districts. The ordinance relocates all requirements that are applicable to single-family homes, inclusive of the modifications described above, to Chapter 142, Article II, Division 2, related to “RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, and RS-4 Single Family districts” to facilitate usability of the code. Other clarifications are incorporated to improve the internal consistency of the LDR’s.

In addition, there have been three proposals for new development within the North Beach Town Center – Central Core (TC-C) district that are expected to be considered by the DRB this year. These developments have requested variances which staff is supportive of as they achieve a better urban form and improve pedestrian facilities. Since these variances lead to a better result, modifications have been incorporated into the proposed ordinance to remove the need for such variances. Additionally, the ordinance provides for some clarifications of other requirements. The modifications proposed to the TC-C district are as follows:

1) Variance to allow for the shade structure to be located at a lower elevation. The North Beach TC-C ordinance currently requires non-residential ground floor uses to provide a shade structure. The structure is required to be located at an elevation of 15 feet above a 5-foot City of Miami Beach Freeboard. The elevation was intended to allow for greater flexibility in the raising of streets in the future due to sea level rise. However, this requirement will also result in the shade structure being located very high above the sidewalk, limiting its effectiveness to provide shade for pedestrians. As a result, all applications have sought a variance to allow them to lower the shade structure.

The proposed ordinance allows for the shade structure to be located at a lower elevation, provided that it is not an integral structural component of the building. This allows for a more useful shade structure, while still allowing for it to be modified in the future, should changes in elevation be necessary for the adjacent right-of-way.

2) Variance for interior side setbacks for small lots. The requirements for interior side setbacks are tailored for larger development sites. The requirements make development of narrow lots (100 feet or less) difficult. The TC-C area contains many small lots which due to their location are unlikely to be incorporated into larger unified development sites. These sites provide opportunities to for small infill development which could be of great benefit to the town center.

The proposed ordinance modifies the upper-level interior side setbacks for small lots (110 feet wide or less). If the lot is 110 feet wide or less, an upper-level setback would be required at 75 feet in height, as opposed to at 55 feet.

3) Variance for setbacks of decks consistent with requirements for habitable encroachments. The TC-C regulations allow for encroachments of habitable spaces, such as balconies into setbacks above a certain height. The ordinance needs clarifications as to what structures qualify as a habitable encroachment. As a result, variances have been sought to allow for pool decks and other structures to qualify for the same setbacks as habitable encroachments.

The proposed ordinance provides additional clarifications as to what is considered a habitable encroachment, including pool decks, roof top decks, amenity decks, bay windows, trellises, and pergolas.

4) Variance for parking access and loading requirements on lots that only have access from Class A frontages. The TC-C regulations establish 71st Street, 72nd Street, Collins Avenue, and Indian Creek Drive as Class A streets. These are the most prominent streets in the area, and they are intended to provide the best pedestrian environment. As such, driveways are prohibited on Class A streets unless there are no other access points to the site. Only those lots located along Collins Avenue, which is a major state road have the potential for not having access to other street classes. Currently, no driveways exist on this portion of Collins Avenue, and introducing driveways would not be desirable. The corridor is also primarily made up of small lots which are likely to develop independently. If these small lots were required to incorporate driveways for loading and parking, the result would be an unfriendly pedestrian environment on a street that currently has a high volume of pedestrians. Since those lots are small, it is expected that they will have minimal parking and loading impacts, so the high number of driveways would service a very limited amount of parking and loading. As a result, a proposed development that only has access from Collins Avenue has sought variances from loading requirements.

The proposed ordinance provides the DRB with the ability to waive parking and loading requirements on lots that only have access from Class A frontages. Additionally, it clarifies that drive-through commercial uses are prohibited in order to reduce the potential for unnecessary drive-ways.

PLANNING BOARD REVIEW
On September 24, 2019, the Planning Board held a public hearing and transmitted the ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation by a vote of 6-0.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD REVIEW
On October 8, 2019 the Historic Preservation Board (HPB) reviewed the subject ordinance and recommended approval by a vote of 6-0. The HPB also recommended that the reduced pool and deck setback requirements for pre-1942 architecturally significant homes be extended to individually designated historic homes and contributing single family homes located in a local historic district.

UPDATE
The subject ordinance was approved at first reading on October 16, 2019, with the following changes:

1. Section 142-1132, pertaining to allowable encroachments within required yards for mechanical equipment, has been modified to remove the RPS, RM-2 and RM-3 districts. These encroachments are currently permitted within TH and RM-1 districts.

2. Section 142-108, pertaining to allowable encroachments in single family districts, has been modified. Specifically, the pool and deck allowable projection requirements for pre-1942 architecturally significant homes have been extended to individually designated historic homes and contributing single family homes located in a local historic district, as recommended by the HPB.

These modifications have been incorporated into the revised draft ordinance for adoption.

CONCLUSION

The administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject ordinance.

Applicable Area

Citywide
Is this a Resident Right to Know item? Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds?
Yes No 
Legislative Tracking
Planning
Sponsor
Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman

ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Ordinance