Item Coversheet


City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov

 Item 17.
COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

TO: Land Use and Sustainability Committee

FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager

DATE: April 8, 2022
TITLE:DISCUSS DEVELOPING DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CITY FACILITIES, IN RECOGNITION OF THE CITY’S COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN URBAN DESIGN AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION

HISTORY:

HISTORY
On January 20, 2022, at the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the City Commission referred the subject discussion item to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (C4 AB). On February 11, 2022, the LUSC discussed and continued the item to the April 8, 2022 LUSC meeting with direction to the Administration to bring back different options for all types of City projects.

BACKGROUND
On May 23, 2018, the Facilities and Fleet Management Department retained the architecture and engineering firm of Wolfberg Alvarez & Partners to assist with the preparation of a Citywide Design Guidelines Manual in order to standardize building fixtures and equipment and streamline maintenance and repair operations for City facilities. Similar to guidelines currently in use across the institutional, hospitality and retail sectors, a Citywide Design Guidelines Manual will help ensure the City’s interior spaces possess a consistent identity while optimizing maintenance operations and reducing capital renewal and replacement expenditures through standardization of select fixtures, furniture and equipment, citywide.

Beginning in the Summer of 2018, the Facilities and Fleet Management Department engaged colleagues from the City’s Capital Improvement Projects Department, Public Works Department, Planning Department, Transportation Department, Environment & Sustainability Department, Information Technology Department, Housing & Community Services Department and Parks and Recreation Department to contribute to the Design Guidelines Manual in their respective areas of expertise. Exhaustive amounts of feedback were collected and incorporated into the Design Guidelines Manual. Subsequently the Consultant prepared a draft document that was circulated for additional review and comment from the City’s internal stakeholder group. Thus, the Manual represents a holistic and consensus-based collection of standards that will aid in advancing the City’s commitment to innovation, resilience and sustainability.

ANALYSIS:

ANALYSIS
The Design Guidelines Manual incorporates a series of Office Space Standards developed by the architecture and interior design firm of TSAO Design Group. These interior design standards provide a guide for the development of new office spaces as well and the modification of existing offices and support spaces, Citywide. This component of the Design Guidelines Manual will aid the Facilities and Fleet Management Department in creating equitable, efficient, and consistent workspaces to meet the needs of an everchanging workforce.

Once adopted, the Design Guidelines Manual will be furnished to the City’s Architecture and Engineering Consultants to assist with the development of Construction Documents and Project Specifications for future capital projects and smaller customer requests. Furthermore, the Design Guidelines Manual will provide the Facilities and Fleet Management Department’s Operations and Maintenance Team with the needed guidance for the replacement of most any fixture or assembly, citywide. Thus, saving costs by allowing the Facilities and Fleet Management Department to implement economies of scale.

Developed as a dynamic document, future building technologies and innovations in building systems will be able to be incorporated into the Design Guidelines Manual through addendum. Similarly, stricter standards can be incorporated regarding carbon emissions, energy efficiency and water conservation, further advancing the City’s commitment to sustainability.

As it pertains to the exterior of new City Buildings, depending on the location, Design Review Board or Historic Preservation Board approval of all new City facilities is required. The DRB and HPB both have extensive criteria within the LDR’s for evaluating new construction.

UPDATE (April 8, 2022 LUSC):
At the direction of the LUSC, members of the Planning, Public Works, CIP, and Parks Departments convened a meeting to discuss different strategies for developing additional design criteria for future City projects. Currently, most above ground City projects, including new buildings, infrastructure and street improvements, require some form of review by the Design Review Board (DRB) or Historic Preservation Board (HPB). This process also includes a requirement for design Architects.

In order to further enhance the existing process, the following may be considered as it pertains to all future above ground City projects:

1. Creating additional criteria for all future Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) to further reinforce the importance of design and the caliber of the architectural and design professionals.

2. Creating revised standards for future selection committees to ensure that an individual with urban design experience is included to serve on selection committees that deal with above ground city projects.

CONCLUSION:

The Administration recommends that the Land Use and Sustainability Committee discuss the item and provide any applicable recommendations to the City Commission.

Applicable Area

Citywide
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 

Departments

Planning
ATTACHMENTS:
DescriptionType
Commission Memo C4 ABMemo