On March 18, 2020, at the request of Mayor Dan Gelber, the City Commission referred the item to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (Item C4 V). The item was simultaneously referred to the Planning Board.  The Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC) discussed the item on May 6, 2020 and continued it to the May 26, 2020 LUSC agenda.

The current lessee of the Miami Beach Marina is proposing a public private partnership with the City of Miami Beach to renegotiate the lease of the facility and make significant improvements to the property. The proposal includes an extension of the lease agreement, which requires a referendum. A comprehensive plan amendment is required for these negotiations to proceed.

The Public Facility (PF) Governmental Use land use designation in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan is intended to provide opportunities for existing and new governmental uses of City owned or controlled property. The lessee of the Miami Beach Marina is proposing substantial capital improvements to the Miami Beach Marina including significant enhancements to the marina facilities addressing resiliency, sea level rise, other needed capital improvements, and redevelopment of the upland portion of the marina. Additionally, the proposed extension of the marina lease would significantly improve the lease terms and deliver additional public benefits.

This initiative requires an amendment to the PF land use designation text, in order to allow for a public-private development agreement to govern and regulate upland development of the City-owned marina property. In this regard, the following text amendment is proposed:

POLICY RLU 1.1.17 PUBLIC FACILITY: GOVERNMENTAL USES (PF)

Purpose: To provide development opportunities for existing and new government uses, as well as public-private redevelopments.

Uses which may be permitted: Government uses, parking facilities, affordable or workforce housing, various types of commercial uses including business and professional offices, retail sales and service establishments, and eating and drinking establishments, and public-private marina redevelopments.

Public-private marina redevelopments shall include significant publicly accessible green open space and may permit the following uses: Retail sales and service establishments; commercial uses, including business and professional offices; eating and drinking establishments; apartment residential uses; and recreational uses.

The proposed amendment allows for public-private marina redevelopments as a main permitted use. This use allows for a variety of sub-uses which are expected to fund the resiliency improvements that must be made to such a site. Additionally, the amendment requires that significant amounts of open space be incorporated into public-private marina development.

Additionally, a the proposal will allow for resiliency enhancements to be built on the site, it is consistent with Principle 1 of the Resilient Land Use Element of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which states the following:

PRINCIPLE 1: DEVELOPING A RESILIENT FUTURE
The City shall encourage redevelopment that contributes to community resiliency by meeting all required peril of flood mitigation and storm hazard standards for on-site development and shall also prioritize energy efficient development that provides stormwater mitigation, and co-benefit features that contribute to the City’s resiliency as a whole.

The zoning designation of the site is GU, which requires City Commission approval for any development proposal. Additionally, for private or joint government/private, such as this, Planning Board review is required. A companion item is also on the LUSC agenda to consider a corresponding amendment to the Land Development Regulations (LDR's).