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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: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
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| DATE: September 14, 2021
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| | | | | | | | | TITLE: | ORDINANCE PROHIBITING APARTMENT HOTEL USES IN THE R-PS1 AND R-PS2 DISTRICTS |
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| | | | | | | | HISTORY:
| On July 28, 2021, at the request of Commissioner Mark Samuelian, Commissioner Steven Meiner, Commissioner Michael Gongora and Mayor Dan Gelber, the City Commission referred the proposed Ordinance to the Planning Board and the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (item R9 M). The Planning Board reviewed the proposed Ordinance on August 18, 2021 and transmitted the item to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation by a vote of 5-0.
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS:
| BACKGROUND
The R-PS1 and R-PS2 (Residential Performance Standard 1 and 2) districts are located in the South of Fifth neighborhood. As noted on the attached zoning map, these 2 districts are bounded by Michigan Avenue on the west, 4th Street on the north, Washington Avenue on the east and 2nd Street on the south. Most of the R-PS2 district, and a small portion of the R-PS1 district, also fall within the boundaries of the Ocean Beach Local Historic District; see attached map showing the historic district boundaries.
In the RPS-1 and RPS-2 districts, Hotels, Suite Hotels, Hostels and the Short Term Rental of Apartment Units (STR’s) are all currently prohibited. However, ‘Apartment-hotels’ are currently permitted in both districts. Pursuant to Sec. 114-1 of the Land Development Regulations (LDR’s) of the City Code, Apartment hotel is defined as follows:
Apartment hotel means a building containing a combination of suite hotel unit, apartment units and hotel units, under resident supervision, and having an inner lobby through which all tenants must pass to gain access. An apartment hotel must contain at least one unit apartment.
The following is a summary of existing and proposed apartment hotels in the RPS-1 and RPS-2 districts:
Existing / Licensed Apartment-Hotels:
1. 727-735 2nd Street
• Approved by the Historic Preservation Board on January 9, 2018 (HPB17-0154)
• Building permit approved and finaled (BC1807748)
• Final Certificate of Occupancy Issued (CO20-1712)
• Active BTR (BTR009085-06-2020)
2. 350 Washington Avenue
• Building permit approved and finaled (B1505404)
• Final Certificate of Occupancy Issued (CO16-0024)
• Active BTR BTR000013-04-2016
3. 350 Euclid Avenue
• Active BTR (RL-10006415)
4. 334 Euclid Avenue
• Active BTR (BTR002021-02-2017)
5. 338 Euclid Avenue
• Active BTR (BTR005129-10-2018)
• Active BTR (BTR008995-05-2020)
• Active BTR (BTR001406-11-2016)
• Active BTR (BTR0007846-10-2019)
6. 344 Euclid Avenue
• Active BTR (BTR009587-12-2020)
Active Building Permits for the Conversion of Existing Buildings to Apartment-Hotels:
1. 310 Meridian Avenue
• Building Permit Issued on December 16, 2019 and is currently active (BC1704920).
2. 333 Jefferson Avenue
• Building Permit Issued on September 30, 2020 and is currently active (BC1704595).
3. 226 Jefferson Avenue
• Building Permit Issued on June 8, 2021 and is currently active (BC1910387).
PLANNING ANALYSIS
Under the current requirements of the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) of the City Code, hotels, suite hotels, and the short-term rental of residential apartment units are prohibited in the R-PS1 and R-PS2 districts. As such, these districts consist largely of residential apartment buildings and have maintained a strong residential character.
Apartment hotels were included as a definition in the LDR’s some time ago in order to better identify buildings that had a balanced mix of apartment and hotel units. When areas of the City were more seasonal, these types of buildings were popular as some of the units would be occupied during the late fall, winter and early spring months, for seasonal visitors. Now, however, this use is being exploited in primarily residential districts by only including a single residential unit, thus circumventing prohibitions on hotel and short-term rental uses.
Apartment hotel uses have provided options for older, historically significant buildings to be renovated, preserved and restored. However, the number of apartment hotel conversions over the last couple of years within the RPS-2 district has negatively impacted existing residential apartment uses, as well as the residential character of the RPS-1 and RPS-2 districts. In this regard, the transient nature of apartment hotels is incompatible with a low-scale area composed primarily of residential apartments as the apartment hotel use has become a defacto hotel. Specifically, by having only a single residential unit within a building, an apartment hotel has the potential to change the character of the neighborhood as most of the units are hotels, which can be leased daily. Additionally, given the scale of the neighborhood, apartment hotels have begun to negatively impact the quality of life for residents who reside in these districts on a non-transient basis.
There are a number of other districts within the South of Fifth Neighborhood that permit apartment hotel uses, including the R-PS3, R-PS4 and C-PS2 districts; these districts also permit hotels and the short-term rental of apartment units. As such, the removal of apartment hotels as an allowable use in the R-PS1 and R-PS2 districts will not have any negative repercussions in terms of a balance of uses in the larger area.
In order to preserve the character of these residential areas, the proposed Ordinance amends section 142-693 of the LDRs to prohibit “apartment hotels” in the RPS-1 and RPS-2 districts. This change is consistent with the existing prohibitions of other types of transient uses within the neighborhood.
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION:
| | The Administration recommends that the Land Use and Sustainability Committee endorse the proposal and recommend that the City Commission approve the Ordinance. |
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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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