| | | | | | | |  | New Business and Commission Requests - R9 A
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM |
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| | | | | | | | | TO: | Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission | | | FROM: | Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager | | | DATE: | December 5, 2016 | | | |
| | SUBJECT: | DISCUSSION REGARDING NORTH BEACH LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS BOUNDARIES AND CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. |
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| | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION
| 1. Discuss the proposed local historic district boundaries, and provide appropriate policy direction.
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| On July 13, 2016, the City Commission discussed the creation of local historic districts within the boundaries of the North Shore and Normandy Isles National Register Districts. The Administration was directed to begin the local designation process for the boundaries recommended in the draft North Beach Master Plan (MAP 1 & MAP 2 attached). For reference, attached are separate maps of the larger National Register Districts for North Shore and Normandy Isles (MAP 5 & MAP 6).
Pursuant to the direction of the City Commission on July 13, 2016, the Planning Department submitted two applications to the Historic Preservation Board for the possible local historic designation of the North Shore Local Historic District and the Normandy Isles Local Historic District. These applications were consistent with the boundaries recommended in the draft North Beach Master Plan.
On October 11, 2016, the Historic Preservation Board reviewed the preliminary evaluation report prepared by Planning staff and recommended that Historic Designation Reports be prepared in accordance with the following:
North Shore Local Historic District:
The boundaries for designation shall be consistent with the area identified in the draft North Beach Master Plan (MAP 1) and design guidelines specific to the Local Historic District shall be developed as part of the future historic designation report, to allow for more flexibility and encourage sustainable and resilient development.
Normandy Isles Local Historic District:
The boundaries for designation shall be consistent with the area identified in the draft North Beach Master Plan (MAP 2) and design guidelines specific to the Local Historic District shall be developed as part of the future historic designation report, to allow for more flexibility and encourage sustainable and resilient development.
Pursuant to Section 118-591 of the City Code, when the Historic Preservation Board directs staff to prepare a designation report for a proposed new historic district or site, the Mayor and City Commission are required to be notified of the board's decision and the initial boundaries proposed for designation. Within 60 days of the vote of the Historic Preservation Board to direct the Planning Department to prepare a designation report, the City Commission may, by a five-sevenths vote, deny or modify the proposed request for designation, as well as establish specific timeframes for the completion of the evaluation and recommendation and/or designation report. Within this 60 day period the City Commission may also, by a five-sevenths vote, deny or modify the proposed designation boundaries.
The City Commission was advised of the action of the Historic Preservation Board via LTC, and as part of a progress report on the demolition moratorium, presented at the October 19, 2016 City Commission meeting.
If the City Commission does not modify the proposed local historic district boundaries recommended by the historic preservation board on October 11, 2016, zoning in progress will remain in effect. Notwithstanding the moratorium currently in effect, zoning in progress requires that the demolition of any structure within the draft boundaries of the proposed local historic districts will require the review and approval of the historic preservation board.
The process of historic designation is delineated in Sections 118-591 through 118-593 in Subpart B of the Land Development Regulations of the City Code (Chapter 118, Article X, Division 4). The following is an outline of this process:
Step One: A request for designation is made either by the City Commission, the Historic Preservation Board, other agencies and organizations as listed in the Land Development Regulations of the City Code, or the property owners involved. Proposals for designation shall include a completed application form available from the Planning Department.
Step Two: The Planning Department prepares a preliminary evaluation report with recommendations for consideration by the Board.
Step Three: The Historic Preservation Board considers the preliminary evaluation to determine if proceeding with a designation report is warranted. The designation report is an historical and architectural analysis of the proposed district or site and addresses the following:
1) Describes the historic, architectural and/or archeological significance of the property or subject area proposed for Historical Site or District designation;
2) Recommends Evaluation Guidelines to be used by the Board to evaluate the appropriateness and compatibility of proposed Developments affecting the designated Site or District; and
3) Will serve as an attachment to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code.
Step Four: The City Commission is notified of the Board’s decision and the initial boundaries proposed for designation. Within 60 days of the vote of the Historic Preservation Board to direct the Planning Department to prepare a designation report, the City Commission may, by a five-sevenths vote, deny or modify the proposed request for designation.
Step Five: The designation report is presented to the Historic Preservation Board at a public hearing. If the Board determines that the proposed site or district satisfies the requirements for designation as set forth in the Land Development Regulations of the City Code, the Board transmits a recommendation in favor of designation to the Planning Board and City Commission.
Step Six: The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed designation, and shall consider the proposed historic designation as an amendment to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code and, subsequently, transmit its recommendation to the City Commission.
Step Seven: The City Commission may adopt an amendment to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code by a five-sevenths majority vote, which thereby designates the Historic Preservation Site or Historic District after one (1) public hearing for a parcel of land less than ten (10) contiguous acres or after two (2) public hearings for a parcel of land that is more than ten (10) contiguous acres.
PLANNNING DEPARTMENT REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION
The Planning Department presented a Preliminary Evaluation Report as required in the designation process with historical and architectural recommendations for the proposed North Shore and Normandy Isles Local Historic Districts at the October 11, 2016 meeting of the Historic Preservation Board (attached). The Planning Department recommendations included a proposed refinement and reduction of the boundaries identified in the draft North Beach Master Plan for the proposed North Shore and Normandy Isles Local Historic Districts, to include only the areas containing the greatest concentration of architecturally significant buildings and the areas that are less vulnerable to future flooding impacts (MAP 3 & MAP 4 attached). The Planning Department further recommended that design guidelines specific to the Local Historic Districts be developed as part of the future historic designation report, to allow for more flexibility and encourage sustainable and resilient development.
Planning staff concluded that the overriding purpose in the creation of both the North Shore and Normandy Isles Local Historic Districts is to protect, revitalize and preserve the exceptional and cohesive Post War Modern style architecture located within these unique neighborhoods. To this end, the recommendation of staff to refine and reduce the district boundaries was based on professional observations regarding the areas containing the greatest concentration of architecturally significant buildings and the areas that are less vulnerable to future flooding impacts. The October 11, 2016 recommendation of Planning staff is consistent with the modified boundaries recommended by both staff and the Historic Preservation Board on September 9, 2014.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION
On October 11, 2016, the Historic Preservation Board reviewed the preliminary evaluation report prepared by Planning staff and recommended that Historic Designation Reports be prepared in accordance with the following:
North Shore Local Historic District:
The boundaries for designation shall be consistent with the area identified in the draft North Beach Master Plan (MAP 1 ATTACHED) and design guidelines specific to the Local Historic District shall be developed as part of the future historic designation report, to allow for more flexibility and encourage sustainable and resilient development.
Normandy Isles Local Historic District:
The boundaries for designation shall be consistent with the area identified in the draft North Beach Master Plan (MAP 2 ATTACHED) and design guidelines specific to the Local Historic District shall be developed as part of the future historic designation report, to allow for more flexibility and encourage sustainable and resilient development.
CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
Neighborhood Conservation Districts or NCDs were first initiated in the United States in 1975 and have become increasingly utilized as an overlay district technique in cities throughout the country. NCDs are often proposed for neighborhoods that are experiencing redevelopment pressure or where some rehabilitation and new infill construction may have already taken place. NCD regulations are generally more flexible than those in local historic districts and their purpose is to protect an area from out of scale development by refining development regulations with regard to the form and massing of new construction. The design of additions and alterations to existing structures, as well as incentivizing the retention of existing structures identified as significant, may also be involved in an NCD designation.
On November 16, 2016, the Land Use and Development Committee discussed the proposal for creating Conservation Districts within the North Beach area. The Land Use Committee directed staff to begin drafting guidelines for the Neighborhood Conservation District, including adaption strategies for sea level rise, for the entire area of the North Shore and Normandy National Register Districts.
Attached is a map showing the proposed boundaries of the North Beach Conservation Districts, as recommended by the North Beach Master Plan, as well as ‘Draft Conservation District Guidelines’, which are intended to facilitate further discussion on this topic. These draft guidelines have been customized to address specific neighborhood and district goals and needs, and would be applicable to all areas of the National register District, include the boundaries of a future local historic district. For the North Beach area, the proposal includes the following:
• Modifications to overall building height and required setbacks;
• Limits on allowable lot aggregation;
• Modifications to minimum parking requirements based on lot size;
• Requirements / Standards for 'transitional areas' at the first floor, which can be adjusted when the street/sidewalks are raised.
The revisions to the development regulations proposed would be applicable to properties inside and outside of local historic district boundaries. Local historic designation does not modify, reduce or expand underlying zoning district development regulations, so a larger conservation / zoning overlay makes sense.
The City Commission can create a zoning overlay or an NCD by Ordinance. The framework for the overlay, including boundaries and development regulation standards, can be further fine-tuned through the normal legislative process (Staff drafts, LUDC and Planning Board reviews).
FLOOD MITIGATION EFFORTS
The City of Miami Beach has made increasing its resiliency due to the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels a top priority and adopted the unified sea level projections for planning purposes in April 2016.
The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact unified sea level rise ranges from 1992 to 2100. The projection highlights three planning horizons:
1. Short term, by 2030, sea level is projected to rise 6 to 10 inches above 1992 mean sea level,
2. Medium term, by 2060, sea level is projected to rise 14 to 34 inches above 1992 mean sea level,
3. Long term, by 2100, sea level is projected to rise 31 to 81 inches above 1992 mean sea level.
In the City’s ongoing efforts to address flooding, sea level rise and climate adaptation, the installation of pumping systems and the raising of streets and sidewalks is a critical part of this plan. Within the more vulnerable areas of the proposed local historic districts, the following are the anticipated timeframes for raising streets and sidewalks to 3.7’ NAVD and installing pump systems:
1. Tatum Waterway Drive / Byron Avenue from 77th Street to 87th Street: FY 2018 / 2019.
2. South Shore Drive from Ray Street (Rue Notre Dame) to North Shore Drive (Bay Drive): FY 2019 / 2020.
As noted in the attached color coded map of street elevations in North Beach, the above noted rights of way are scheduled to be raised within the next 2 – 3 years. With a higher street and sidewalk elevation, and potentially higher seawalls, it is critical that strategies be in place to address potential differentiations between private property yard elevations and increased street elevations.
Further, on May 11, 2016, the City adopted an amendment to Chapter 54, “Floods” of the City Code, by establishing a minimum and maximum freeboard above base flood elevation for all properties. Building heights are now measured from the base flood elevation plus the actual freeboard provided, which would be between the minimum (1’) and maximum (5’) freeboard.
This change in finish floor elevation requirements for new construction will provide additional levels of protection, potentially reduce insurance premiums and enhance the City’s current NFIP CRS (National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System) status, which can have benefits to all residents and business owners in the City.
The individual steps in the designation process are outlined above. The 60 day period from the vote of the Historic Preservation Board to prepare a designation report runs until December 10, 2016. During this 60 day period the City Commission may, by a five-sevenths vote, deny, or modify the proposed request for designation.
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION
| The Administration recommends the following:
1. Discuss the proposed local historic district boundaries, and provide appropriate policy direction.
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| | | | | | | | Legislative Tracking
Planning |
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| | | | | | | | Sponsor
Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman |
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