GENERAL SUMMARY
• The current Land Development Regulations (LDRs) were adopted on October 1, 1989. As a result of over 32 years of updates, the Code has become cumbersome to read and comprehend.

• The updated Code includes graphics and diagrams that detail how the written text is to be interpreted, providing graphical standards as to the expected form of a building, and including tables to describe requirements as opposed to paragraphs.

• Responding to a better understanding of climate change and sea level rise, the regulations in the LDRs are designed to mitigate against these impacts and ensure that new buildings are resilient well into the future.

• The Resiliency Code does not propose any FAR increase and will not noticeably alter current development regulations (e.g., height and setbacks), allowable uses, parking requirements, or development patterns.

• The revised code will better describe to architects, property owners, and residents the intent and standards within the Code, and will better facilitate the review of building permits when they are submitted to the City, as the expectations will be clear to architects, contractors, developers, and City staff.

• The proposed Code maintains all existing land use boards and maintains their jurisdiction of review.

• The proposed Code will be incorporated into the Gridics online code platform that will give property owners the ability to quickly obtain zoning information about each property in a visual, user-friendly format, providing increased transparency to residents.

PROPOSED CHANGES BY CHAPTER
The proposed Code has been re-organized into seven (7) chapters, including the reordering of content for readability and the removal of redundant regulations. The following provides a general summary of the changes proposed for each chapter of the Code. The Administration will be providing a more detailed summary as part of the presentation at the October 12, 2022, City Commission Workshop.

Chapter 1: General Provisions (formerly Chapter 114: General Provisions)
• All definitions currently distributed throughout the Code have been consolidated into a single section (Article II: Definitions) and have been categorized for easier reference.

• Use definitions have been categorized to correspond to new use tables introduced in Chapter 7: Zoning Districts and Regulations.

• A new section has been added to clarify the role of the Planning Director to interpret the LDR’s, the standards for administrative interpretation and the appeal process for administrative determinations.

Chapter 2: Administration and Review Procedures (formerly Chapter 118: Administration and Review Procedures)
• All provisions for the appointment and conduct of Land Use Boards, including application and hearing procedures, have been consolidated for clarity and ease of reading.

• Provided for the ability of the City Commission to grant a waiver of applicable fees for Code Amendments based upon a finding of the Commission that the amendment is based on unique circumstances has been incorporated. Currently the City Commission has no ability to grant a fee waiver for Code amendments unless such waiver is recommended by the City Manager.

• A standardized cycle for future LDR amendments has been introduced.

• A City Commission warrant process is proposed, which can allow modifications up to 25% from design parameters for specific projects, to minimize the need for future code amendments and provide better control of development proposals.

• No changes are proposed to historic preservation regulations.

Chapter 3: Concurrency Management and Mobility Fees (formerly Chapter 122 Concurrency Management and Mobility Fees)
• No major changes proposed.

Chapter 4: Landscape Requirements (formerly Chapter 126: Landscape Requirements)
• Enhancements to promote drought tolerant and salt tolerant species suitable for Miami Beach.

• Minimum soil volume requirements added for street trees.

• New requirements to further promote permeability for stormwater management.

Chapter 5: Off-Street Parking (formerly Chapter 130: Off-Street Parking)
• Organized parking districts 1-9 into parking tiers 1-3, with sub-districts to maintain the existing boundaries and requirements associated with parking districts 1-9.

• Parking requirements are provided in tables organized by use, like use tables in Chapter 7.

• Citywide short term and long-term bicycle parking requirements have been established.

• New regulations for the repair and/or rehabilitation of nonconforming surface parking lots.

• All parking regulations previously contained in other Chapters of the Code have been consolidated into Chapter 5.

Chapter 6 Signs (formerly Chapter 138: Signs)
• Clarified design review and maximum size requirements for building signage. Requirements.

• Standardized terminology for different types of signs, added definitions and updated graphic exhibits.

Chapter 7: Zoning Districts and Regulations (formerly Chapter 142: Zoning Districts and Regulations and Chapter 133 Sustainability and Resiliency)

• Comprehensive Resilience and Adaptation Standards have been placed in the first section and combined with ‘Exterior building and lot standards’, which regulate yard height, an adaptation response.

• All vertical measurements have been clarified and streamlined (tied to Base Flood Elevation) and allows the code to remain up to date as minimum flood elevations migrate upwards over time.

• The minimum floor-to-ceiling height for new, non-residential buildings, has been increased from 12 feet to 14 feet in the new ‘First Habitable Level Standards’ section, to create a longer lifespan/looser fit which will ease the building retrofit process.

• Updated elevation of minimum required yards from 5 feet NAVD to Future Adjusted Grade (if Future Crown of the Road is known), and BFE minus 1 foot (if Future Crown of the Road is not known) in order to keep up with current SLR projections.

• Removed ‘Average Unit Sizes’ from all zoning districts in order to simplify calculations and enforcement of the code, as well as make projects less exclusionary. This change does not increase maximum allowable density requirements in each district.

• In all zoning districts, a consistent and clear section structure has been created that includes a purpose, use tables, development regulations (with corresponding tables and exhibits) and supplemental regulations, as applicable.

• All zoning districts remain except for a few that were removed because they had not been deployed in the zoning map. Districts removed were RO-2 and RO-3.

• Zoning districts were reorganized as a gradient from less intense (such as Single Family Residential and Townhome Districts) to more intense (such as Mixed-Use Entertainment and Town Center Districts).

• Allowable intensity (FAR) and density (units per acre) from the Comprehensive Plan, as well as minimum unit size and density bonus for workforce and affordable housing, has been included in all development regulation tables in all zoning districts, allowing the code to be more user friendly and clear.

• In single family districts, homes with an understory are allowed with administrative approval and would no longer require mandatory DRB review. Additionally, single-family homes utilizing an understory may be increased in height by up to 3 feet, to allow for increases in yard elevation, while ensuring livable and climate responsive ceiling heights.

• In the RS Districts, all regulations regarding the demolition of pre-1942 homes have been modified to be consistent with current State Law and the pre-1942 retention incentives have been updated to include up to pre-1966 homes.

• Clarifying text regarding the percentage of allowable accessory uses in relation to the main permitted use has been included. Under a decades old interpretation, the maximum percentage of an accessory use in relation to the main permitted use was 49%. The Code has been modified to clarify that the enclosed floor area of an allowable accessory use(s) shall not exceed 35% of the floor area of the main permitted use(s). This will apply primarily to RM districts.

• Clarified that the landing of or storage areas for helicopter, or other aircraft pads are only allowed in the HD District.

• Regulations pertaining to height exceptions and roof top additions clarified to make it clear that unless otherwise noted roof top additions are limited to the maximum height of the underlying zoning district.