On December 13, 2023, at the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the City Commission referred a discussion item pertaining to co-living unit regulations (C4 T) to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC) and the Planning Board. Commissioners Tanya K. Bhatt and Joseph Magazine were co-sponsors of the proposal.

On February 26, 2024, the LUSC discussed the item and recommended the Planning Board transmit an ordinance removing co-living units on Washington Avenue and reducing the co-living unit cap in North Beach to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation. On April 25, 2024, the Planning Board transmitted this ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation.

At the February 26, 2024 meeting, the LUSC, at the request of Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Tanya K. Bhatt, also recommended that the City Commission refer a separate discussion item to the LUSC to discuss potential incentives to convert existing co-living and transient units to apartments in the North Beach TC-C District.

On March 13, 2024, at the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the City Commission referred the subject discussion item (C4 K) to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC). Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt is the co-sponsor of the item.

Co-living units, which were introduced pursuant to the creation of the North Beach Town Center Central Core District (TC-C) in 2018, are defined as follows:

Co-living shall mean a small multi-family residential dwelling unit that includes sanitary facilities and provides access to kitchen facilities; however, such facilities may be shared by multiple units. Additionally, co-living buildings shall contain amenities that are shared by all users.

The following is a summary of co-living units in the North Beach TC-C district that have obtained a building permit process number as of October 1, 2023:

Project Address                  Co-Living Units
7118-7114 Collins Avenue 168

7125-7145 Carlyle Avenue 121

6970 Collins Avenue           20

409 71st Street                   139

6973 Indian Creek Drive     81

Total Units Proposed           529

Co-living units in the TC-C district are only permitted for projects that obtained a building permit process number by October 1, 2023. As such no additional co-living units, beyond the 529 units noted above, can be authorized and if any of the permits for the above noted projects become inactive or expire, the associated co-living units would expire and could not be re-activated.

Although no additional co-living units beyond the 529 units currently permitted would be allowed in the TC-C district, the LUSC recommended that a separate discussion take place regarding potential incentives to convert these units, as well as other types of transient units, to permanent residential units.

Because co-living units are unique in terms of square footage and function, converting them to traditional residential apartments could be challenging. In this regard, since this housing type is still under construction and in permitting, the Administration believes that a more long-term evaluation of their success would be in order. Also, since the short-term rental of apartment units is permitted in the TC-C district, the conversion of such units to residential apartment may not address concerns with transient rentals.

Co-living units were introduced to provide more attainable housing options, particularly in the North Beach area, as more residential units are needed to activate the town center. One option the LUSC may want to consider is allowing additional co-living units in the district, provided such units are not rented on a transient basis. Another option would be to consider allowing any of the 529 currently permitted co-living units that may become inactive or expire, to be reactivated if the owner voluntarily proffers to prohibit the short-term rental of the reactivated units. This would also provide for a long-term residential use.