On February 12, 2020, at the request of Commissioner Mark Samuelian, the City Commission referred the subject discussion to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (Item C4V). The item was placed on the March 17, 2020 agenda of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC).

The March 17, 2020 LUSC meeting was postponed and the item was moved to the May 26, 2020 LUSC agenda. 

BACKGROUND
The West Avenue Bayfront Overlay District is comprised of RM-1, residential multifamily low intensity and RM-2, residential multifamily medium intensity zoning districts. There are no historic districts or individually designated historic sites with the overlay district.

The City Commission adopted the Overlay District on June 19th, 2002, (Ord. No. 2002-3374). The primary reason for the creation of the overlay was to preserve the character and quality of the neighborhoods fronting West Avenue, which was being impacted by infill development that did not reflect the cohesive low scale character of the area. The subject overlay, by expanding the list of main permitted uses for existing low-scale buildings in the neighborhood to include suite hotels and bed and breakfast inns, created incentives to retain and adaptively re-use existing single family and/or multifamily buildings that are no more than three (3) stories in height. Additionally, the parking regulations were modified to include the allowance for a limited number of parking spaces within required front yards. Attachment “A” includes the current regulations for the subject overlay district.

On October 16, 2013, the City Commission adopted Ordinance No. 2013-3820, prohibiting hotel uses within the West Avenue area. This applies to the properties zoned RM-2 and RM-3. Elsewhere in the City, hotels are a main permitted use within RM-2 and RM-3 zoning districts, with the exception of the West Avenue and Palm View neighborhoods. The concern with hotel uses in the neighborhood initially arose after the introduction of the Mondrian Hotel at 1100 West Avenue. Attachment “B” identifies the prohibition of hotels in the West Avenue neighborhood as well as the restrictions for existing non-conforming hotels.

The attached map indicates the area of the West Avenue Bayfront Overlay District. The darker shading denotes the area zoned RM-2, and the lighter shading denotes the area zoned RM-1.

In order to address the concerns expressed by the hotels that were legally operating within the West Avenue Overlay, the amended code included the following provisions:

Section 142-212(b) - Main Permitted uses (RM-2):
“…A property that has a "legal conforming use" as used in this subsection prior to May 28, 2013, may retain all, and apply for new, expansions and modifications to, permitted, conditional and/or accessory uses permitted in the zoning category as of May 28, 2013, and apply for building permits to add, improve and/or expand existing structures, or construct new structures for permitted, conditional and/or accessory uses permitted in the zoning category, if FAR remains available.”

Section 142-245. Prohibited uses (RM-3):
“The prohibited uses in the RM-3 residential multifamily, high intensity district are…; for property located within the West Avenue corridor, hostels; for properties located within the West Avenue corridor, hotels and apartment hotels, except to the extent preempted by F.S. § 509.032(7), and unless a legal conforming use. Properties that voluntarily cease to operate as a hotel for a consecutive three-year period shall not be permitted to later resume such hotel operation. Without limitation, (a) involuntary hotel closures due to casualty, or (b) cessation of hotel use of individual units of a condo-hotel, shall not be deemed to be ceasing hotel operations pursuant to the preceding sentence.”

PLANNING ANALYSIS
Prior to the creation of the West Avenue Overlay District, hotels, apartment-hotels, and suite hotels were permitted uses in the RM-2 and RM-3 zoning districts in the neighborhood. In the RM-1 zoning district before the overlay, and within the subject area, only single family homes, townhomes, apartments and bed and breakfast inns were permitted. In 2002, the creation of the West Avenue Overlay District expanded the list of main permitted uses within the RM-1 zoning district to include suite hotels and offices consistent with the regulations for the RO, residential office zoning district.

Separate from the West Avenue Overlay District the City has citywide regulations pertaining to bed and breakfast inns (Section 142-1401, Attachment “D”), and Suite Hotels (Section 142-1105, Attachment “E”). When the West Avenue Overlay District was created in 2002, more specific regulations for Suite Hotels and Bed and Breakfast Inns were included, which were tailored for the neighborhood.

It is very likely that removing the incentives for the adaptive re-use of existing low-scale buildings in the neighborhood would result in more demolition of such structures and the replacement with larger buildings, up to the maximum allowed in the underlying zoning district. For the RM-1 zoned properties, a maximum FAR of 1.25 is permitted, with a maximum height of up to 55 feet, and for the RM-2 zoned properties, a maximum FAR of 2.0 is permitted with a maximum height of 65 feet.

It is also important to point out that the minimum room size for a suite hotel is 400 square feet, and only those uses that are also accessory to an apartment building are allowed. There are also occupancy limitations placed on such units in the neighborhood.