On October 16, 2019, at the request of Commissioner Ricky Arriola, the City Commission referred the discussion item to the Land Use and Development Committee (Item R5E). The item was approved at first reading on October 16, 2019, in accordance with the following:

1.      The applicable area for non-residential accessory uses shall be limited to properties along the Tatum Waterway.

1. Hotel uses must include compliance with minimum seawall requirements and a specific timeline for allowing hotel uses shall be included.

1. The uses not requiring conditional use approval shall be clearly delineated. Permit paradigm list to know what is bypassed by Planning Board.

Second reading of the ordinance was set for December 11, 2019 and the item was referred to the October 30, 2019 Land Use and Development Committee meeting to discuss the expanded areas beyond Tatum Waterway, including conditional use for hotels.

On October 30, 2019, the item was discussed and continued to the December 2, 2019 LUDC, with the following direction:

1.      Include a map of eligible buildings for hotels along the Tatum Waterway.

2.      Further modify the benchmarks and timeframes for required seawalls on eligible hotel sites.

3.      Provide available data on the number of residential to hotel conversions that have taken place over the last 10 years.

4.      Provide available data on the number of new hotel units over the last 10 years.

The December 21, 2019 LUDC meeting was cancelled, and all agenda items were moved to January 2020.  The item was placed on the January 21, 2020 agenda of the newly created Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC).

On January 21, 2020 the item was discussed and continued to the February 18, 2020 LUSC, with the following direction:

1.      Establish a cap of no more than 100 hotel units, with periodic status reviews.

2.      Develop additional criteria for hotel restoration, including resiliency and restoration benchmarks, as well as criteria for locking in a hotel unit reservation.

3.      Work with the Communications Department to provide additional outreach to the neighborhood.

4.      Recommend that the 2nd Reading of the ordinance pending before City Commission be deferred to March.

On October 30, 2019, a revised ordinance, which reflected the action of the City Commission at first reading on October 16, 2019, was presented to the LUDC for discussion. The revised ordinance included the following:

·        The applicable area for the legislation has now been limited to properties along the Tatum Waterway.

·        Hotel uses are required to meet minimum seawall standards, and must be operational within a two year timeframe, with the ability of the planning board to allow for up to an addiitonal year. This two year window (up to three years with an extension) is a resonable amount of time for a property owner to receive conditional use approval, as well as sustnatially complete any required seawall upgrades.

With regard to the listing of specific uses that do not require a CUP, these are included under section 142-902, Specifically, the following accessory uses may be permitted without a CUP, subject to all applicable regualtions:

1.      Café.

2.      Retail.

3.      Office.

4.      Personal service uses.

Additionally, the following uses are prohibited:

1.      Tobacco and vape dealers.

2.      Package liquor stores.

3.      Check cashing stores.

4.      Occult science establishments.

5.      Tattoo studios.

On January 21, 2020, a revised ordinance was presented to the LUSC. The following is a summary of the responses to the direction provided at the October 30, 2019 LUDC meeting:

1.      A map of buildings along the Tatum Waterway that would be eligible for hotels was provided. There are 66 contributing buildings along Tatum Waterway and, according to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser, 555 units within these buildings.

2.      The subject ordinance was modified with regard to the benchmarks and timeframes for seawalls on hotel sites. Specifically,  for existing buildings on lots fronting the Tatum Waterway and classified as ‘contributing’ within the North Shore Local Historic District, hotels may be permitted as a conditional use, in accordance with the following provisions:

(1)   The entire property shall be required to make all necessary improvements to comply with minimum applicable seawall standards, as specified in this Code or in the public works manual, prior to the issuance of a business tax receipt (BTR) for a hotel. At a minimum, seawalls shall be raised to a minimum elevation of 4.0 feet NAVD with the ability to raise it to 5.7 feet NAVD.

(2)   A completed application to comply with the minimum applicable seawall standards, as specified in this Code or in the public works manual, shall be filed no later than June 30, 2020, and prior to a request for conditional use approval from the planning board. Such application shall include, but not be limited to, all seawall permit documents required by the City and all outside agencies, as well as proof of submittal of such documents to all outside agencies. Failure to meet this deadline shall result in the subject property not being eligible to make application for conditional use approval.

(3)   A BTR for the hotel use shall be issued no later than June 30, 2022.

(4)   In the event that the permit for seawall improvements is issued by June 30, 2022, but construction of the seawall improvements encounters unforeseen delays, the planning board may grant an extension of the June 30, 2022 deadline to complete the construction of the seawall and obtain a BTR for a hotel use. In no instance shall such extension of time exceed one year, or June 30, 2023.

3.      There was no readily available data on the number of residential to hotel conversions that have taken place over the last 10 years. Neither the GMCVB nor their consultant, STR, track or have any data on such conversions.  City staff checked with Costar and they don’t track this information either.

4.      Per the GMCVB there have been a total of 7,742 new hotel rooms in Miami Beach since 2008.

UPDATE

In accordance with the direction of the LUSC on January 21, 2020, the subject ordinance has been modified as follows:

1.      The ordinance has been clarified and only the portion of the existing building that is retained may contain hotel units. Additionally, the entire building must be substantially renovated, rehabilitated and restored.

2.      A completed application to comply with the minimum applicable seawall standards must be filed no later than June 30, 2021.  Additionally, the previous outside dates for seawall permit issuance and completion have been removed, as there is a cap proposed on the number of hotel units that would be permitted in the area.

3.      Language has been added to address potential unforeseen delays in the completion of permitted seawalls that would allow for the issuance of a BTR for a hotel use prior to the completion of the seawall improvements. In this regard, the planning board would have the authority to allow for BTR issuance, as part of a modification to the CUP and provided the property owner can show good cause. However, if the property owner fails to diligently complete the seawall, the City reserves the right to not renew the hotel BTR.

4.      The maximum number of hotel units on lots fronting Tatum Waterway within the North Shore Local Historic District shall not exceed 100; the hotel units shall be applied for and allocated on a first-come, first serve basis concurrent with a completed application for planning board approval. Additionally, specific criteria have been developed to manage the allocation of hotel units, including placing priority on properties with a building that contains legally established hotel units and properties that have already obtained a seawall permit.

5.      In order to address an instance where an eligible building proposes hotel units and the available pool is less than 100 units, the planning director may permit an increase above the limit of 100 hotel units, in order to allow that particular building to avoid having a mix of hotel and apartment units. However, no additional increase in the limit on hotel units shall be permitted after an eligible building exceeds the limit of 100 hotel units.