| | | | | | | |  | Ordinances - R5 J
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM |
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| | | | | | | | | TO: | Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission | | | FROM: | Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager | | | DATE: | February 13, 2019 | | | | 1:45 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
| | SUBJECT: | CD-2 HEIGHT AND EXISTING NONCONFORMING BUILDINGS
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CITY
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, SUBPART B, ENTITLED,
"LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS," CHAPTER 142,
ENTITLED, "ZONING DISTRICTS AND REGULATIONS,"
ARTICLE II, ENTITLED, "DISTRICT REGULATIONS," DIVISION 5,
ENTITLED "CD-2 COMMERCIAL, MEDIUM-INTENSITY DISTRICT,"
AT SECTION 142-306, ENTITLED "DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS," BY AMENDING THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED
HEIGHT FOR SITES WITH PREVIOUSLY EXISTING
NONCONFORMING BUILDINGS; AND PROVIDING FOR
CODIFICATION, REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
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| | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION
| The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject Ordinance.
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| HISTORY
On November 14, 2018, at the request of Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman, the City Commission referred the item to the Land Use and Development Committee and the Planning Board (Item R5B).
On November 28, 2018 the Land Use Committee discussed the item and recommended that the Planning Board transmit the attached Ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation.
BACKGROUND
On October 26, 2016, the Land Use and Development Committee discussed this item under a separate referral and transmitted it to the City Commission with no recommendation. On December 20, 2016, the Planning Board transmitted a similar version of the proposed Ordinance Amendment to the City Commission, with a favorable recommendation. The ordinance transmitted by the Planning Board at that time included the following recommendations, which were proposed by the property owner at 600 Alton Road:
1. A physical limit (2.25 times the footprint of the existing building) on the footprint of any new building, as noted above; and
2. A requirement for the Planning Board to review and approve the proposed increase in height above the maximum permitted in the underlying zoning district.
This previous Ordinance was withdrawn by the sponsor in April of 2018 and was never adopted.
On November 28, 2018 the Land Use and Development Committee recommended that the proposed Ordinance move forward, allowing the retention of the existing nonconforming building height and footprint area anywhere on the site, and not including an expansion of the non-conforming building footprint.
PLANNING ANALYSIS
The proposed ordinance provides that CD-2 zoned sites outside of historic districts that contain existing buildings with nonconforming height as of January 1, 2019 may be redeveloped with new construction at the same nonconforming height as the existing nonconforming building. The proposal does not allow any new construction to exceed current FAR limitations.
Currently, the CD-2 district has a height limit 5 stories and 50 feet, or 60 feet on the west side of Alton Road from 6th Street to Collins Canal for mixed-use and commercial buildings that include structured parking. An analysis of existing building heights on CD-2 zoned sites that are not in historic districts, per data from the Property Appraiser, indicates that there is only one site containing a building that exceeds the current maximum number of stories. This analysis does not consider the actual height of buildings and the current height limit that is between 50 and 60 feet for the affected areas; however, it provides a good indicator of where non-conforming height exists. The site identified is that of the former South Shore Hospital (600 Alton Road), located on Alton Road and 6th Street, which is ten (10) stories, and approximately 125 feet in height.
The proposed Ordinance would not (and cannot) increase maximum FAR, and would only permit a redistribution of allowable FAR. Additionally, it would place a physical limit on the footprint of any new building that may be eligible for a building height in excess of 60 feet. The proposed limit, as recommended by the Planning Board, is for the footprint of any future reconstructed tower not to exceed 2.25 of the footprint of the existing building that already exceeds the maximum building height.
Footprint limits will play an important role in ensuring that any future development project does not negatively impact the surrounding area. In this regard, however, it will also be critical for the Design Review Board (DRB) to carefully review any future application, particularly as it pertains to the distribution of allowable scale, mass and height.
The owner of the South Shore Hospital building has indicated a willingness to demolish the existing non-conforming structure in advance of an approved development permit for the proposed unified site at 500-700 Alton Road, containing a residential tower and public park. In order to allow for a safety valve in the event that the development agreement for the unified site should come apart at a future date, the ability to reconstruct the non-conforming building at the same non-conforming height is not unreasonable.
PLANNING BOARD REVIEW
On December 18, 2018, the Planning Board held a public hearing regarding the proposed LDR Amendment and transmitted the Ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation by a vote of seven to zero (7-0). The Planning Board recommended that the Ordinance be modified to allow for the physical limit of the footprint of any new building that may be eligible for a building height in excess of 60 feet be increased from 1.0 to 2.25. This recommendation was made to be consistent with the terms set forth in the Development Agreement for the 500-700 Alton Road project.
SUMMARY
The subject Ordinance pertains to one of the terms of the recently approved Development Agreement for the 500-700 Alton Road project. In this regard, the developer requested that some assurance be provided that the existing South Shore Tower could be reconstructed in the future, if the Development Agreement should be terminated after the tower is demolished.
At the time the item was discussed at the Land Use and Development Committee (LUDC) on November 28, 2018, staff expressed concerns with the proposal to expand the allowable footprint of a future, reconstructed building with nonconforming height. The LUDC also shared those concerns and recommended that the footprint of any new tower be limited to the existing footprint, but that it could be located anywhere on the site. The version of the Ordinance that was reviewed by the Planning Board on December 18, 2018, as well as the accompanying staff report and recommendation, reflected the direction of the LUDC.
When the City Commission approved the Development Agreement for the 500-700 Alton Road project on December 12, 2018, one of the terms of the agreement pertained to the Demolition of the exiting South Shore building. Specifically, under the terms of the Development Agreement the developer is required to demolish the existing South Shore building on the earlier of the following:
1. Within six months from the date of all required Land Use Board Approvals, including all applicable appeal periods; or
2. Within 60 days from the date of adoption of the replacement ordinance, including the applicable appeal period, if such ordinance allows a new tower to be constructed with a footprint of 2.25 the size of the existing tower footprint.
If the subject Ordinance is adopted on February 13, 2019, with a 2.25 footprint limitation as specified in the Development Agreement, the demolition of the South Shore building would need to occur within 90 days of the February 13, 2019. This would be a much faster timeframe for the demolition of the structure than waiting until six months after all required Land Use Board approvals are obtained.
For reference, the developer is not expected to obtain all required Land Use Board approvals until May 2019 at the earliest, which would push the required timeframe for the demolition of the structure to the tail end of 2019, and possibly into early 2020, if this option was used.
UPDATE
The subject Ordinance was approved at First Reading on January 16, 2019. Prior to Second Reading, the Commission requested that the Administration explore additional significant safeguards for the legislation, in the event that the Development Agreement for the 500 Alton Road project does not move forward, and a new project is proposed in the future that could utilize the proposed increase in foot print of 2.25.
In order to address this request, the Administration has explored modifications to require a corresponding amount of open space on the site, in relation to the increase in building foot print. In this regard, based on internal sketches of the 600 block of Alton Road, the Administration would suggest that a fixed percentage of the footprint of the building provided, regardless of whether a larger footprint is proposed. The following revised language is proposed, and is included in the draft Ordinance for Second Reading:
Additionally, open space not less than the 25% of the square feet of the non-conforming building footprint shall be provided at ground level and shall be directly accessible from a public sidewalk. Such open space may be located in different areas on the site subject.
Based upon an approximate foot print of the South Shore Building of +/-10,500 square feet, the following range of open space would be required, depending upon the size of the reconstructed footprint:
Building Footprint (sq ft) ______ 25% Minimum Open Space (sq ft)
Exact Replacement: +/- 10,500 2,625
1.50 x Existing Footprint: 15,750 3,938
2.25 x Existing Footprint: 23,625 5,906
As indicated previously, in order to be consistent with the terms of the Development Agreement, the Administration recommends that the Ordinance be approved, with the footprint allowance of 2.25. If there is not consensus on allowing for a footprint of 2.25, in some manner, the Administration recommends the ordinance be denied, as it would be inconsistent with the terms of the Development Agreement. |
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION
| | The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject Ordinance. |
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| | | | | | | | Legislative Tracking
Planning |
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| | | | | | | | Sponsor
Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman |
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