The Mayor and Commission referred this item to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWPC) at its May 8, 2019 meeting. Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman is the sponsor. The item was briefly discussed at the September 20, 2019 meeting of the FCPWC but the Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach did not get to present.

BACKGROUND

The Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach (HACMB) has several lots in North Beach that it plans to develop to create workforce and affordable housing units. These properties are located at:

• 1144 Marseille Drive (22 units projects)

• 165 - 185 South Shore Drive (40 units projected)

• 280 – 330 South Shore Drive (50 units projected)

   

  On June 10, 2019, HACMB issued Request For Qualifications (RFQ) #1-2019 for co-developer for new construction in Miami Beach to seek a development partner for these undeveloped North Beach properties.  On August 20, 2019, the HACMB’s Board of Commissioners selected the Housing Trust Group, LLC to provide the necessary development services for the HACMB’s North Beach properties.

  On August 26, 2019, HACMB submitted a funding application to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) for the development of 22 units of workforce housing at 1144 Marseille Drive.  The funding was made available by FHFC through the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program.  The city provided several affidavits in support of the Housing Authority’s application. Miami Beach is located within a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) designated Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) area and qualifies for the funding.  This is specially allocated, one-time funding made available to support long-term recovery efforts following Hurricane Irma. 

  The demographic commitment for the CDBG-DR funding is for workforce households earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) serving general occupancy (no age restrictions).  The proposed development includes studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.  The total estimated development cost of the project is $5.7 million.  HACMB will serve as the owner and developer of the development.  The FHFC anticipates making final funding recommendations in December 2019.

  The HACMB and the Housing Trust Group expect to submit funding applications to the FHFC for the development of its other vacant land properties in the coming months. The chart below indicates the Area Median Income for our area:

  

  One of the funding opportunities being sought by the Housing Authority has the following unit mix:

Increasing affordable housing options is a key element of the 2019 Strategic Plan: Through the Lens of Resilience and its importance is echoed in the Greater Miami and the Beaches Resilient 305 strategy as Objective 5, Action 18. The Housing Authority will build the projects to be LEED Gold and will include the resilience features required by the city.

While HACMB expects to secure funding to develop these properties, the agency has asked if the City could explore the reduction of City-related fees for affordable housing including building permit fees, concurrency fees, and impact fees. The Building Department has advised it cannot waive certain fees.

In addition, the Housing Authority has requested that the parking requirement, which currently stands at .5 spaces per unit, be further reduced to zero or .25 spaces per unit to allow for the development of additional units. Below are the projected parking spaces required by project:

The Planning Department is supportive of a request to eliminate the parking requirements for these lots as the creation of parking spaces could potentially dissuade the use of mass transit for households. From a long-term basis, the expectation would be that building amenities would influence the tenants of the building, i.e. a building without parking would discourage people owning cars. However, given the uncertainty as to the eventual tenant make-up, supports a reduction from the current 0.5 parking space per unit parking space to a 0.25 per unit parking. Under the current code, the minimum parking requirements can be reduced by up to 50 percent provided that all thresholds for alternative parking (such as dedicated ride share drop off/pick up, bike storage, etc.) are met. The Housing Authority’s modeling for the site suggests that 0.25 will be adequate to meet tenant needs.

In addition, the Planning Department is supportive of the reduction or waiver of impact fees. The reduction of concurrency fees (soon to be mobility fees) would require legislative action by the City Commission.

Furthermore, the administration will support HACMB’s applications for funding to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (and other funders as they are identified) by providing the municipal certifications required during the funding application process. These affidavits typically involve the Planning Department to certify zoning appropriateness and the Public Works Department to certify water, sewer and road capacity.