HISTORY

On January 17, 2016, the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Sea Level Rise discussed the attached Ordinance amendments and recommended that the City Commission refer them to the Land Use and Development Committee and Planning Board.  Commissioners John Elizabeth Alemán and Joy Malakoff are the sponsors of the item. 

PLANNING ANALYSIS

There are two ordinance amendments attached.  The following is a summary of the existing regulations along with the proposed modifications.

1. Yard elevations

Recently, the City Commission amended the requirements for raising yards within Single Family Districts as an adaptation measure to address the effects of sea level rise.  Currently there are no minimum yard elevation requirements for RM-1 and RM-2 properties, and the maximum elevation is 30 inches above grade. The proposed modifications would implement a minimum elevation and raise the maximum elevation for RM-1 and RM-2 zoned properties in a similar manner to the single family districts, as outlined below:

In order to accommodate the raising of the roadways and public sidewalks, the proposed ordinance would require that all required yards be raised to a minimum elevation of 5 feet NAVD (6.56 feet NGVD), with the exception of driveways, private walkways, grade transition areas, surface Stormwater shallow conveyance and LID features and areas where landscaping is to be preserved. 

2. Lot coverage

Currently there are no lot coverage requirements for RM-1 and RM-2 zoned properties. Currently, subject to the approval of the HPB or DRB, an RM-1 or RM-2 zoned site can be developed with a 20 foot front setback, and as little as 5 feet of side and rear setback for parking spaces, resulting in very little pervious landscape area on site. Such landscaped areas are very beneficial for stormwater retention, result in attractive living environments, and help buffer the impacts of new in-fill construction on neighboring properties. Under the existing regulations, constructing a building with parking extending beyond the building walls results in a lot coverage of 64-72% of the total lot area.  As proposed, the maximum lot coverage for RM-1 lots would be 45%. This lot coverage takes into consideration the proposed increase in building and parking setbacks, as outlined in #4 and #5 below, as well as the decrease in parking requirements as outlined in #6.

Due to the increased floor area ratio (FAR) allowances for RM-2 properties (2.0 vs. 1.25 generally for RM-1 properties), it is difficult to institute a lot coverage limitation for RM-2 properties while also accommodating the required parking. The referenced increased building and parking setbacks, along with the reduced parking requirements will together result in a reduced lot coverage compared to today’s requirements, without actually putting in place a requirement.

3. Maximum building height

Currently, the maximum building height is generally 50 feet/5-stories for RM-1 properties, and 60 feet/6-stories for RM-2 properties. The proposed ordinance increases the maximum height to 55 feet for RM-1 districts and 75 feet for RM-2 districts. This increase will allow more flexibility in providing specifically higher first floor clearances, such as for parking areas or amenity areas under the building. Elevating the first floor will aid in allowing light and air at the ground level, and assist in the future repurposing of parking areas for other more recreational or passive landscaped areas. 

The ordinance would also require, that when parking is provided under a building, that the minimum clearance between the ground level and the underside of the first floor slab is at least 12 feet measured from BFE (base flood elevation) + 1 foot. The DRB or HPB could waive this requirement by up to two (2) feet, as recommended by the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Flooding and Sea Level Rise.

It is important to note that the proposed amendments do not modify the more specific regulations for the RM-1 portion of the Flamingo Park area, where the maximum height will remain at 35 feet. It also does modify the heights of other more specific RM-1 and RM-2 properties.

4. Parking setbacks

Currently in the RM-1 and RM-2 districts, parking can be constructed at a 5 foot setback along the sides and rear of a property. This allowance results in parking areas extending into the side and rear yards, leaving only very minimal areas available for landscaping. As proposed, parking would have to following the building setbacks, which would allow more pervious landscaped areas and retention of more storm water on site.

5. Building setbacks

The required building side setbacks in the RM-1 and RM-2 districts is 7.5 feet or 8% of the lot width. The proposed ordinance increases this to 10 feet or 8% of the lot width, in order to get slightly more landscaped areas within the side yards on smaller lots.

6. Parking requirements

Currently the City code requires between 1.5 to 2.0 parking spaces per residential unit as outlined below. As proposed, no parking would be required on lots that are less than 65 feet in width, and the range of parking spaces required for larger properties is outlined below. On small lots it can be difficult to provide parking, and may overly restrict the redevelopment of small single lots. Development on small lots allows strategic infill rather than more extensive demolition and larger new construction. Such smaller scale construction is often more pedestrian oriented for the neighborhood.

Recently the City of Miami adopted code modifications to the Little Havana area to eliminate the parking requirements for buildings that are under 10,000 SF and located near public transit.

7. Mechanical parking

Lastly, for small residential buildings of less than 20 units, the proposed ordinance would allow the DRB or HPB to review and approve mechanical parking. Currently, any mechanical parking, regardless of the size of development, requires the review and the approval of the Planning Board.