HISTORY
On November 9, 2016, at the request of Commissioner Joy Malakoff, the City Commission referred this item (item C4J) to the Land Use and Development Committee (LUDC). On November 16, 2016, the item was continued by the LUDC to a date certain of December 12, 2016.
On December 12, 2016, the LUDC discussed the item and directed staff to prepare a draft Ordinance for the January 18, 2017 Land Use Committee meeting. On January 18, 2017, the Land Use Committee recommended that the attached ordinance be referred to the Planning Board for consideration.
BACKGROUND
In 2002, the West Avenue Bay Front Overlay was created, which includes properties lying within the RM-1, RM-2 and RM-3 zoning districts generally bounded by the Collins Canal on the north, the south side of 11th Street on the south, and between the centerline of Alton Court on the east and the Biscayne Bay on the west; this overlay also includes the boundaries of the Gilbert Fein Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD).
At the time the overlay was established, hotels were a permitted use in the RM-2 and RM-3 districts within the overlay, but were not permitted in the RM-1 district. In order to incentivize the retention and adaptive re-use of the lower scale structures in the RM-1 district, the overlay allows for Suite Hotels and Bed and Breakfast Inns for existing structures in the area. Additionally, stand-alone residential offices were allowed within existing structures in the overlay.
In 2013, the City Code was amended to prohibit hotels in the RM-2 and RM-3 areas of the West Avenue corridor. However, Sec 142-845 of the City Code was not amended, and Suite Hotels and bed and Breakfast Inns remained as an allowable uses in existing buildings in all districts within the West Avenue Bay Front Overlay.
Recently, residents within the West Avenue Bay Front Overlay area have expressed concerns with the conversions of existing apartment buildings into Suite Hotels, particularly in light of the prohibition on hotels adopted in 2013. Most of these concerns center on the possible abuses of the allowable accessory uses and the volume of guests when the suite hotels are used as ‘hostels,’ which the residents find to be incompatible with the low scale residential nature of the West Avenue Corridor.
PLANNING ANALYSIS
The following is the current ordinance text regarding Suite Hotels and Bed & Breakfast Inns within the West Avenue Bay Front Overlay:
Sec. 142-845. - Suites Hotel and Bed and Breakfast Inn Overlay Area.
(a) The Suites Hotel and Bed and Breakfast Inn Overlay Area is designed to accommodate the adaptive reuse of existing single-family and multi-family residential structures as of (the effective date of this ordinance) to allow for lodging and guest amenities as main permitted uses.
(1) Suites hotels and bed breakfast inns in the Overlay Area shall not be permitted to have dance halls, entertainment establishments, neighborhood impact establishments, outdoor entertainment establishments or open air entertainment establishments.
(2) The building identification sign for a suites hotel or bed and breakfast inn shall be the same as allowed for an apartment building in the underlying zoning district in which it is located.
(3) The building(s) shall have central air conditioning or flush-mounted wall units; however no air conditioning equipment may face a street or the Bay.
(4) The maximum amount of time that any person other than the owner may stay in a suites hotel or bed and breakfast inn during a one-year period shall not exceed six months.
(b) Suites hotels are permitted in existing multi-family structures and in single-family structures, including those that have been combined with adjacent multi-family or single-family structures through unity of title, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Suites hotels may have full cooking facilities in units with a minimum of 400 square feet.
(2) The building shall be maintained and operated as a hotel, with a registration desk and a lobby.
(3) Should the facility convert from a suites hotel to a multifamily/single-family residential building, the minimum average unit size and all other zoning requirements for the underlying district shall be met.
(4) Suites hotels located in the subject district may have accessory uses based upon the below criteria:
- A dining room operated solely for registered hotel guests and their visitors, located inside the building, with no exterior signs, entrances or exits except as required by the South Florida Building Code.
- Other accessory uses customarily associated with the operation of an apartment building, as referenced in subsection 142-902(2), for the use of registered hotel guests and their visitors only.
(c) Bed and breakfast inns are permitted only in existing single-family structures as of (the effective date of this section) and shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) The owner/operator of the bed and breakfast inn shall permanently reside in the structure.
(2) The structure shall have originally been constructed as a single-family residence. The structure may have original auxiliary structures such as a detached garage or servant's residence that may or may not be used as part of the inn.
(3) The structure shall maintain main public rooms (living room/dining room) for use of the guests.
(4) Original auxiliary structures, such as detached garages and servants' residences, may be converted to guestrooms or other appropriate use. New bedrooms constructed shall have a minimum size of 200 square feet and shall have a private bathroom.
(5) There shall be no cooking facilities/equipment in guestrooms. One small refrigerator with maximum capacity of five cubic feet shall be permitted in each guestroom. All cooking equipment, which may exist, shall be removed from the structure with the exception of the single main kitchen of the house.
(6) The bed and breakfast inn may serve meals to registered guests and their visitors only. Permitted meals may be served in common rooms, guestrooms or on outside terraces (see subsection 142-1401(9)). The meal service is not considered an accessory use and is not entitled to an outside sign.
(7) Permitted meals may be served in areas outside of the building under the following conditions:
a. The area shall be landscaped and reviewed under the design review process. Landscape design shall effectively buffer the outdoor area used for meals from adjacent properties and the street.
b. All meals served outdoors shall be prepared for service from inside facilities. Except for the use of a barbecue, all outdoor preparation, cooking as well as outdoor refrigeration and storage of food and beverages shall be prohibited.
Also for clarification, the following are the current definitions of ‘dining room’ and ‘restaurant’ from the city code, section 114.1 (the bold underlined text is to emphasis the differences between the two):
- Dining room, accessory means a portion of a building devoted exclusively to the serving of food and refreshment for consumption on the premises by occupants.
- Restaurant means a commercial establishment where refreshments or meals may be purchased by the public and which conducts the business of serving of food to be consumed on or off the premises.
Currently, the City Code does not have a definition for ‘hostel’ and therefore they are treated the same as a hotel as far as zoning regulations. However, since hotels do not have a maximum occupancy, a request was made to create a definition for ‘hostel’ so that they can be better regulated.
SUMMARY
Pursuant to the direction of the Land Use Committee on December 12, 2016 and January 18, 2017, the attached ordinance, amending parts of the West Avenue overlay and the definitions section of the code, is being recommended for referral to the Planning Board. The following is a summary of the proposed legislation:
- Creating a definition for ‘hostel’;
- Establishing maximum occupancies in hostel and suite hotel rooms based on the square footage of a unit;
- Tightening up the provisions for allowable ‘dining rooms’ in the West Avenue overlay, in order to ensure they do not operate as commercial restaurants.
- Further clarifying the distinction between a ‘restaurant’ and a ‘dining room’, by revising the definition of ‘restaurant’ in the definition section of the City Code.