PARKING REDUCTIONS - HARDING TOWNSITE AND MXE

AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 130, ENTITLED "OFF-STREET PARKING," ARTICLE II, "DISTRICTS; REQUIREMENTS," AT SECTION 130-31, ENTITLED "PARKING DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED," TO MODIFY PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION WITHIN CD-2 OR MXE DISTRICTS LOCATED IN THE OCEAN DRIVE/COLLINS AVENUE OR HARDING TOWNSITE LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS; AND PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION, REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

PLANNING ANALYSIS
The attached map shows the North Beach areas of the City where parking reductions have been proposed.  Overlaid into this map are locations of existing parking facilities, as well as dedicated transit stops and ridership information for these stops. This map illustrates how transit stops and parking facilities are well within the established industry standard walking distance of ¼ mile, or 1,500 feet.

A Map of the Harding Townsite area is also attached. The commercial areas of the Harding Townsite historic district are much more limited, as the properties zoned CD-2 and MXE are bounded by 73rd Street on the south, 75th Street on the north, Ocean Terrace to the east and Harding Avenue to the west.

Attached is a revised Ordinance for Second Reading that only applies to the Harding Townsite area and would remove the minimum off-street parking requirements for new construction that meets certain minimum benchmarks, including the following:

1. Lots with a width of 100 feet or less.

2. Development sites of 6 units (hotel or residential) or fewer.

3. New buildings on development sites with existing buildings for which off-street parking is not currently provided, where the total number of new residential and/or hotel units does not exceed the number of existing residential and/or hotel units.

4. Properties located within 1,500 feet of a public transit stop, or within 1,500 feet of any public or private parking garage.

The proposal would only apply to new construction (existing buildings do not have a parking requirement). As such, the number of actual spaces required is limited to the square footage of new construction, which is typically in the form of a ground level or roof-top addition.

The elimination of minimum parking requirements in local historic districts is good policy and will be an incentive for existing buildings to be renovated and restored, as additions will be more economically feasible. All addition and renovation proposals within the Harding Townsite districts are subject to the review and approval of the Historic Preservation Board. This will ensure that any proposed additions are limited, as well as sensitive and contextually compatible with both the structure on site and the surrounding area.

Finally, with the recent adoption of the City-wide mobility fee, which replaced the concurrency management fee for traffic, a broader measurement for mobility, as opposed to solely vehicular traffic, has been put in place. The mobility fee considers all mobility aspects of a project and is not limited solely to vehicular congestion and off-site vehicular storage.

PLANNING BOARD REVIEW
On November 17, 2020 the Planning Board held a public hearing and transmitted the Ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation by a vote of 6-0.

UPDATE

On December 9, 2020 First Reading of the proposed Ordinance was deferred to January 13, 2021.  On January 13, 2021 the subject Ordinance was approved at First Reading for the Harding Townsite area only. The MXE area was bi-furcated and referred to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee for further discussion.  The Ordinance provided for Second Reading has been updated and only includes the Harding Townsite area.