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City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
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| | | | | | | | | | Item 1
COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM | | | |
| | | | | | | | TO: Land Use and Sustainability Committee
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| FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
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| DATE: May 6, 2020
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| | | | | | | | | TITLE: | DISCUSSION: LIMITING BIG BOX FORMULA RETAIL AND FORMULA RESTAURANTS IN SUNSET HARBOUR
ACTION REQUESTED:
Discuss the item and provide a favorable recommendation on the proposed ordinance to the Planning Board.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION:
Conclude the item and recommend that the Planning Board transmit the ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation. |
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| | | | | | | | HISTORY:
| On June 5, 2019, at the request of Commissioner Ricky Arriola, the City Commission referred the discussion item to the Land Use and Development Committee (Item C4 Q). The item was discussed at the September 18, 2019 LUDC meeting, and continued to the October 30, 2019 meeting with direction to include copies of existing formula establishment regulations for reference.
On October 30, 2019, the item was discussed and continued to the December 2, 2019 LUDC, with the following direction:
1. The City Attorney will draft an ordinance for review by the LUDC.
2. The Administration will place a C4 referral item on the December 11, 2019 City Commission agenda, as a place holder, in anticipation of a recommendation for referral to the Planning Board.
The December 2, 2019 LUDC meeting was cancelled, and the item was moved to the January 2020 agenda of the newly created Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC). On December 11, 2019, the City Commission referred the proposed ordinance to the Planning Board (Item C4I).
On January 21, 2019 the LUSC deferred the item to the February 18, 2020 meeting. On February 18, 2020 the item was discussed and continued to March 17, 2020. The March 17, 2020 LUSC meeting was postponed and the item was placed on the May 6, 2020 LUSC agenda.
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS:
| On October 28, 2019, a town hall meeting was held in Sunset Harbour to discuss the above proposal. The discussion, led by Commissioner Arriola, focused on (i) the current mix of restaurants and retailers that primarily serve residents in the Sunset Harbour neighborhood, and (ii) the appropriateness of adopting regulations on formula commercial establishments. Sixteen residents attended the meeting, and a consensus of the residents present expressed support for placing restrictions on formula commercial establishments in the neighborhood, in order to ensure that restaurants and retailers in Sunset Harbour continue to serve the needs of local residents.
The following is a summary of additional issues raised at the meeting:
• The need to achieve a balance between zoning restrictions vs incentives to businesses and property owners;
• The need for a diversity of uses;
• The high rents in the area; and
• The need to ensure a proper mix of retail and restaurant uses around a vision for the area.
The following additional suggestions were proposed:
• Consider hosting a focus group with restauranteurs;
• Consider additional activation of the area through special events; and
• Conduct a survey of residents on what they would like to see in their community;
The Administration and the City Attorney’s Office have retained a land use consultant to study the appropriateness of regulations on formula restaurants and formula commercial establishments in the Sunset Harbour Neighborhood. The consultants report, attached, substantiates the planning and legal basis for the proposed ordinance.
The attached draft Ordinance establishes the “Sunset Harbour Mixed-Use Neighborhood” Overlay District. The overlay prohibits formula restaurants and formula commercial establishments. Similar prohibitions exist in portions of the Art Deco/MiMo Commercial Character Overlay District that front Ocean Drive and Ocean Terrace. As it may be difficult to establish whether a business is a formula restaurant/formula commercial establishment from floor plans, the Ordinance would be primarily enforced through the requirement that an applicant provide a signed affidavit affirming that the applicant’s business operation is not a formula retail or formula restaurant establishment.
On a separate note, but pertinent to the discussion, the Art Deco/MiMo Commercial Character Overlay District also contains restrictions on Pawnshops, Tobacco/Vape Dealers, Check Cashing Stores, Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores, Occult Science Establishments, Souvenir and T-Shirt Shops, and Tattoo Studios. Accordingly, the Administration recommends that the LUSC also consider recommending a separate referral to the Planning Board regarding the prohibition of the aforementioned uses in the Sunset Harbour Neighborhood.
The Administration also recommends that the boundaries of the proposed overlay district be further discussed in order to address the planning goal of preserving and promoting the Sunset Harbour Neighborhood’s unique ‘small-town’ character. The businesses within Sunset Harbour that promote the neighborhood’s unique identity (namely, its vibrant, neighborhood-serving restaurants and retailers) are primarily concentrated in the interior of the neighborhood. Planning staff therefore recommends that the proposed overlay exclude properties fronting Alton Road, which currently contain businesses that have a greater tendency to draw customers from outside of the neighborhood, as opposed to the businesses in the interior. The Alton Road Corridor, which is a major arterial road, is a more appropriate location for non-neighborhood-oriented retail uses. However, the LUSC may wish to consider size restrictions for the Alton Road corridor to ensure greater compatibility between the businesses along the corridor and the interior of the neighborhood.
The proposed Ordinance and a companion Comprehensive Plan Amendment are scheduled to be reviewed by the Planning Board on May 19, 2020.
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION:
| The Administration recommends that the Land Use and Sustainability Committee:
1) Recommend that the Planning Board transmit the proposed amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation;
2) Recommend that the Planning Board transmit the proposed amendment to the Land Development Regulations to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation;
3) Recommend that the City Commission refer a separate ordinance to Planning Board and LUSC to prohibit Pawnshops, Tobacco/Vape Dealers, Check Cashing Stores, Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores, Occult Science Establishments, Souvenir and T-Shirt Shops, and Tattoo Studios within the Sunset Harbour Neighborhood; and
4) Recommend that the City Commission refer a separate ordinance to the Planning Board and LUSC to limit nuisance uses and provide size restrictions for retail uses for properties fronting Alton Road within the Sunset Harbour neighborhood. |
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| | | | | | | | Applicable Area
| | South Beach |
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| | | | | | | | | Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? | | Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds? | | | Yes | | No | |
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| | | | | | | | Departments
| | Planning / City Attorney |
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