BACKGROUND
The original ordinance proposed to reduce the parking requirements for hotel and residential uses in the following, limited areas of the City:

1. CD-2 zoning districts within the Normandy Isles national register conservation district.

2. MXE zoning districts south of 16th Street.

As noted above, the ordinance adopted by the City Commission on June 24, 2020 only applied to the CD-2 district on Normandy Island. The MXE portion was removed and referred to the LUSC for further discussion. Additionally, the Harding Townsite area of North Beach was referred to the LUSC for consideration.

PLANNING ANALYSIS
The attached maps show the MXE and North Beach areas of the City that parking reductions are intended to apply. Overlaid into these maps are locations of existing parking facilities, as well as dedicated transit stops and ridership information for these stops. These maps illustrate how transit stops and parking facilities are well within the established industry standard walking distance of ¼ mile, or 1,500 feet. Of note are the publicly accessible parking structures have been built in and abutting the MXE district in South Beach since 1991.

A Map of the Harding Townsite area is also attached. The commercial areas of the Harding Townsite historic district are much more limited, as the properties zoned CD-2 and MXE are bounded by 73rd Street on the south, 75th Street on the north, Ocean Terrace to the east and Harding Avenue to the west.

The following is draft text for a new ordinance that would apply to the MXE and Harding Townsite areas:

Sec. 130-31. - Parking districts established.

(d) The off-street parking requirements associated with

new construction

OR

the new construction of residential or hotel units, including all allowable accessory uses, within areas zoned CD-2 or MXE and located in the Ocean Drive/Collins Avenue or Harding Townsite local historic districts, shall be as follows:

(1) One space per residential unit and 0.5 space per hotel unit.

(2) There shall be no parking requirement for the following:

a. Lots with a width of 100 feet or less.

b. Development sites of 6 units (hotel or residential) or fewer.

c. New buildings on development sites with existing buildings for which off-street parking is not currently provided, where the total number of new residential and/or hotel units does not exceed the number of existing residential and/or hotel units.

d. Properties located within 1,500 feet of a public transit stop, or within 1,500 feet of any public or private parking garage.

(3) Additions to existing buildings. For existing buildings, which are classified as "contributing" and of which at least 75 percent of the front and street side elevations, and 25 percent of interior side elevations, are substantially retained, preserved, and/or restored, there shall be no parking requirement for the existing building, or for any new residential or hotel units, whether attached or detached, regardless of lot width or number of units. Any proposed addition to the existing building shall be subject to the certificate of appropriateness criteria set forth in chapter 118, as applicable, and shall include a renovation plan for the existing building that is fully consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines and Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings.

(4) Waiver. The off-street parking requirements set forth in subsection (c)(1) may be waived by the historic preservation board, pursuant to the design review or certificate of appropriateness criteria, as may be applicable, upon a finding that off-street parking is not necessary to support the construction of new residential or hotel units within a local historic district or conservation district.

(5) Minimum bicycle parking requirements. Secure off-site storage for bicycles shall be required as follows:

a. Short-term bicycle parking: Four (4) spaces per building or one (1) space per ten units, whichever is greater.

b. Long-term bicycle parking: One (1) space per unit.

(e) Any building or structure erected in within a local historic district, historic site, or conservation district may provide required parking on-site as specified in the regulations applicable to parking district no. 1. Such required parking, if provided, shall be exempt from the definition of “floor area,” in accordance with the regulations specified in chapter 114 of these land development regulations.

The proposal to eliminate parking requirements for certain uses in the MXE and Harding Townsite areas would only apply to new construction (existing buildings do not have a parking requirement). As such, the number of actual spaces required is limited to the square footage of new construction, which is typically in the form of a ground level or roof-top addition. Attached are illustrations of recent projects, approved or contemplated, within the MXE area south of 16th Street. As the LUSC will note, the impact of these projects, from a size standpoint is minimal.

The administration believes that the elimination of minimum parking requirements in local historic districts is good policy and will be an incentive for existing buildings to be renovated and restored, as additions will be more economically feasible. All addition and renovation proposals within the MXE and Harding Townsite districts are subject to the review and approval of the Historic Preservation Board. This will ensure that any proposed additions are limited, as well as sensitive and contextually compatible with both the structure on site and the surrounding area.

Finally, with the recent adoption of the City-wide mobility fee, which replaced the concurrency management fee for traffic, a broader measurement for mobility, as opposed to solely vehicular traffic, has been put in place. The mobility fee considers all mobility aspects of a project and is not limited solely to vehicular congestion and off-site vehicular storage.