BACKGROUND
The applicant, Miami Beach Port, LLC., submitted applications for amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations pursuant to Article III of Chapter 118, of the City Code (See attached Letter of Intent).
PLANNING ANALYSIS
The Proposal
The proposal is a private application filed by Miami Beach Port, LLC for the attached amendments to the Land Development Regulations and the Comprehensive Plan, which would allow for the development of residential uses on light industrial waterfront parcels. Currently the only light industrial waterfront parcels within the City are located on Terminal Island and accessible via the MacArthur Causeway. The proposal is for a large-scale amendment to the City’s Comprehensive Plan and amendments to the Land Development Regulations.
The proposed Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulation Amendments were prepared by the applicant. The following is a summary of the modifications proposed by the applicant:
- Amend the “Urban Light Industrial (I-1)” future land use category to allow for multi-family residential uses as a conditional use for waterfront parcels at a maximum density of 25 dwelling units per acre.
- Amend Policy 6.19, related to MacArthur Causeway to remove a requirement that the cargo terminal be protected from encroachment of incompatible land uses.
- Conservation/Coastal Zone Management Element
- Amend Objective 9, allow for an exemption to Terminal Island for the requirement that the city direct population concentrations away from city-wide coastal high hazard area by prohibiting residential density increases.
- Land Development Regulations:
- Amend the I-1 Urban Light Industrial District to allow for multi-family residential uses as a Conditional Use for waterfront parcels at a maximum density of 25 dwelling units per acre.
- Amend the I-1 Urban Light Industrial District to allow for restaurants associated with residential uses, and limited to residents and guests with no more than 1.25 seats per unit as an Accessory Use.
- Allow for a maximum height limit of 300 feet / 25 stories for multi-family residential uses.
While not being considered as part of this application, the applicant is proposing to partner with the City by combining their parcel (currently a cargo shipping facility) with the abutting City parcel (existing vehicle maintenance facility) to form a unified development site (See Attached Aerial Map). In this regard, the applicant has proposed to construct a new and expanded vehicle maintenance facility for the City in the same location as the current facility, as well as a new residential tower on the southeastern tip of Terminal Island. Currently, neither the Land Development Regulations of the City Code, nor the Comprehensive Plan, permit residential uses on Terminal Island.
The proposed amendments to the Land Development Regulations and the Comprehensive Plan would allow for the construction of the residential uses, as well as the increased height and proposed accessory uses. Planning Staff has identified some concerns with portions of the proposed text, and modifications are being recommended to address these concerns.
Comprehensive Planning Issues
Staff has concerns with the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan proposed by the applicant. As the Comprehensive Plan is intended to guide the growth and development of the entire City, a more holistic approach should be taken when making modifications. In this regard, although current policies in the Comprehensive Plan restrict residential density increases, the evolving needs of the City may justify increases in density under certain circumstances. These evolving needs include improved infrastructure and government services in light of rising costs of providing such services, climate change and sea level rise, as well as ongoing deficiencies in affordable and workforce housing throughout the City.
In order for the proposed amendments to the Comprehensive plan to be more holisitic, it is recommended that the proposed amendment to Objective 9 of the Conservation/Coastal Zone Management Element be modified as follows:
OBJECTIVE 9: DENSITY LIMITS
Direct population concentrations away from city-wide coastal high hazard area by prohibiting residential density increases, except for properties on Terminal Island to incentivize workforce or affordable housing, or to provide improved government operations and infrastructure.
Additionally, it is recommended that related Policy 9.2 of the Conservation/Coastal Zone Management Element be amended as follows:
Policy 9.2
The City shall approve no future land use plan map amendments that cumulatively increase residential densities, except to incentivize workforce or affordable housing, or to provide improved government operations and infrastructure and risk reduction to the threat of sea level rise. Furthermore, the City shall continue to evaluate ways to further modify the Future Land Use Map to reduce densities and intensities.
Land Development Regulations Issues
It is important to ensure that the addition of residential units on waterfront light industrial properties results in improved government operations or infrastructure. Based on an assessment of the infrastructure within the area affected by the ordinance, in order to ensure that there is improved government operations and infrastructure and allow for the development of residential uses in a combined area, a minimum lot area of 250,000 SF would be necessary. As a result, it is recommended that the following requirement be added to section 142-486:
(4) Multi-family residential uses on waterfront parcels shall only be permitted on lots or unified development sites with a minimum area of 250,000 square feet.
City Charter Issues
The request for modifications to the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations are consistent with City Charter Section 1.03 (c), related to FAR, which partially states the following:
The floor area ratio of any property or street end within the City of Miami Beach shall not be increased by zoning, transfer, or any other means from its current zone floor area ratio as it exists on the date of adoption of this Charter Amendment (November 7, 2001), including any limitations on floor area ratios which are in effect by virtue of development agreements through the full term of such agreements, unless such increase in zone floor area ratio for any such property shall first be approved by a vote of the electors of the City of Miami Beach.
While the proposed ordinances would increase the allowable density on Terminal Island, increased density does not equate to increased FAR. While FAR results in the amount of square footage that can be constructed, density relates to the number of units per acre that can be constructed. Density, therefore relates to the size of units within the allowable square footage.
Comprehensive Planning Process
This application includes a text amendment to the Policy 1.2 of the Future Land Use element of the Compressive Plan. Under Section 163.3184(2), F.S., this amendment shall follow the expedited state review process for adoption of comprehensive plan amendments. This process requires a public hearing by the local planning agency (Planning Board), a public transmittal hearing before the City Commission, after which the amendment must be transmitted to several state agencies for a 30-day review period, and a final adoption public hearing before the City Commission. The amendment is effective 31 days after it is adopted if there are no appeals.
Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning
The 2005 Florida Legislature adopted laws which are incorporated in the Florida Statutes, requiring each local government to adopt an intergovernmental coordination element as part of their comprehensive plan, as well as a statutory mandate to implement public school concurrency. The overlay district as proposed does increase the maximum residential density, therefore a preliminary school concurrency determination is not necessary.
Final site plan approval of any proposed development on the site is contingent upon meeting Public School Concurrency requirements and the applicant will be required to obtain a valid School Concurrency Determination Certificate (Certificate) issued by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Such Certificate will state the number of seats reserved at each school level. In the event sufficient seats are not available, a proportionate share mitigation plan shall be incorporated into a tri-party development agreement and duly executed prior to the issuance of a Building Permit.
PLANNING BOARD REVIEW
The Planning Board is scheduled to review the proposed amendments on February 28, 2017. Assuming the Planning Board transmits the amendments to the City Commission, the Administration will provide an update on the Planning Board’s recommendations at the March 1, 2017 City Commission meeting.
SUMMARY
When looked at from a land use compatibility standpoint, the applicant’s proposal raises some concerns as it pertains to introducing residential as an allowable use within an established light industrial zone. In order to mitigate any conflicts that may arise due to land use compatibility issues, it will be critical that any future development agreements for a unified site contain provisions acknowledging the light industrial uses and operational requirements of adjacent parcels.
Additionally, the applicant has proposed a substantial increase in maximum allowable building height for residential structures. In this regard, while increasing the allowable height for residential structures makes sense given the waterfront location and the ability to mass a residential tower in a narrower fashion, the proposed increase from the current 40 feet to 300 feet will have a significant impact on the existing low scale context of Terminal Island. Additionally, a future structure built at 300 feet will be visible from afar and will create a new visual beacon when Miami Beach is viewed from a distance. In order to mitigate the impact of such an increase in height for a future residential project, the role of the Design Review Board will be critical in ensuring that the overall bulk and mass of the structure does not create a negative impact on the established view corridors.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned issues related to land use compatibility and building height, the applicant has provided a traffic study which concludes that the residential use proposed would have a significantly lesser impact on traffic and circulation than the current industrial shipping facility. This is important as Terminal Island has very limited access from MacArthur Causeway, and reductions in traffic volume from adjacent uses will help address ongoing and increasing congestion on the MacArthur Causeway. The City’s Transportation Department is reviewing the findings of the applicant’s traffic study for accuracy and the Administration will update the Commission on the Transportation Department’s conclusions on the floor of the City Commission meeting.
In conclusion, while the compatibility of uses and proposed height increase in this application pose concerns, the Administration believes that with an appropriate design approach, the building height and land use compatibility issues can be mitigated. Further, the potential positive impacts on traffic circulation and congestion on the MacArthur Causeway would have a citywide benefit.
As a housekeeping matter, the applicant appears to have used a slightly dated version of the City Code when drafting the Land Development Regulations Ordinance. In this regard, the version used by the applicant includes “outdoor entertainment establishment,” “neighborhood impact establishment,” and “open air entertainment establishment” as allowable conditional uses. However, these uses were removed from allowable conditional uses in the I-1 District in 2016. The administration does not believe that it is the intent of the applicant to introduce these types of uses back into the code and would recommend that the ordinance text be modified in a manner consistent with the current, updated code, prior to approval at First Reading.