Downtown Miami

This February, Miami become the first major American city to adopt a “New Urbanist,” pedestrian-friendly zoning code, Miami 21, according to a review by Architecture Newspaper. The new code makes parked cars less visible — by hiding them behind retail and residential buildings – and limits the driveways of single-family homes to the width of one car.

As The Real Deal previously reported, the new code affects a major over-haul of Miami’s Arsht District, which in true New Urbanist spirit features mixed-use developments and public parks. [more]

The Miami City Commission’s consideration of a new, pedestrian-friendly zoning code in Miami has been delayed for several months as its proponents make changes to the proposal. With the support of Mayor Tomas Regalado, Miami Neighborhoods United has proposed even amendments to the Miami 21 code, among which are measures which would lower allowable building rights in some medium-density districts, along with giving residents the right to challenge developer approvals. One provision that has attracted controversy would cut back the effective life of development permits on which no construction has taken place. [Miami Herald]
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The Miami city commission’s decision last week to put on hold a major overhaul of the city’s zoning code called Miami 21 has some in the development community scratching their heads.

It’s unclear what the extra 90 days called for to review a plan that was in the making for years could achieve. But most agree it adds another level of uncertainty to an already distressed building market.

Even so, Ashley Bosch, a developer and managing director of the Blok Group, thinks delaying the implementation of the new code to ensure it works in the “real world” makes sense. He owns a parcel he’s waiting to develop, in part, because of the uncertainty with Miami 21.

“We need to merge the practical and reasonable while trying to keep the integrity of what they’re trying to do,” Bosch said.

At last week’s city commission meeting, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado requested the delay for implementing Miami 21 to get added public input. The rezoning plan was set to go into effect Feb. 19. He said publicly he doesn’t plan to scrap the new code that he opposed as a Miami commissioner before he was elected mayor in November.

But some proponents of the plan, which was approved in October, fear the mayor is behind the delay. [more]

City commissioners have delayed the implementation of the massive zoning code revision known as Miami 21 for three months, opening the door to alterations and major changes to the plan. New Mayor Tomás Regalado sought the delay, continuing his opposition to former Mayor Manny Diaz’s pro-development stance. Regalado’s delay is mainly aimed at increasing public input for specific projects, a goal of the activist group Miami Neighborhoods United. The organization sought amendments to Miami 21 to allow this provision when the plan was being shepherded through the political process. The code now becomes effective May 20, 90 days later than its original Feb. 19 date. [Miami Herald]

Miami commissioner Tomás Regalado, now the front-runner in the race to succeed Mayor Manny Diaz, thinks the city needs a break from rapid development. Regalado recently criticized the Mayor’s plans for parking garages at the new baseball stadium in Little Havana, and Miami 21, the overhaul of the city’s zoning code, though both passed. Critics say the candidate, a 13-year veteran of city politics, has little in the way of constructive plans, despite his critiques of major projects over the last eight years. [Miami Herald]

Marina Khoury, a project director for Miami 21

Proponents of the ambitious Miami 21 plan to rezone the city to a more pedestrian-friendly, less car-dependent metropolis now have a few thousand more reasons to make their case.
Walkability, it seems, pays. That might bode well for the plan, which last month was passed by the Miami City Commission. A study of 15 cities around the country concluded that homes located in neighborhoods that consist of a mix of common daily shopping and social destinations within a short distance command price premiums of $4,000 to $34,000 more than similar homes in areas less friendly to folks on foot. The study, titled “Walking the Walk,” was conducted by CEOs for Cities, a national bipartisan alliance of mayors, corporate executives, university presidents and non-profit executives dedicated to guiding urban development in sustainable directions.
The vision of Miami 21 evokes side-street driveways, skylines that transition from tall towers to smaller homes and hide condo garages with storefront facades. These and other elements in the redrawn zoning code aim to localize neighborhood designs that get people out of cars and onto sidewalks. Its concepts are similar to those seen in Mary Brickell Village, a development south of the Miami River. [more]

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz will try once again to pass Miami 21, the huge
zoning overhaul that would transform future development in the city.
The plan was defeated in a 2-2 city commission vote earlier this month.
Backers of Miami 21 said it makes zoning more efficient and would give
parts of the city a more pedestrian-friendly character. Critics say it
offers too many constraints and drives up costs for property owners. [more]

The massive zoning overhaul plan known as Miami 21 claimed headlines as
it was dealt a political defeat earlier this month, obscuring the
possible transformation of the Miami River waterfront. Miami 21 was voted down in an August 6 vote, and state-level planners
have left unfinished a city plan to turn 25 riverfront acres between
18th and 24th avenues into mixed-use residential space. The Florida
Department of Community Affairs, which enforces the state’s
growth management laws, needs to approve the measure, which could push
property values up and spur residential development. Besides the battling state and municipal bureaucracies, the Miami River revamp has fierce critics and ardent advocates. [more]

Miami commissioners voted to discard the comprehensive zoning revamp
that would have transformed future development and been a keystone of
Mayor Manny Diaz’s political legacy. Commission Chairman Joe Sanchez
cast the deciding vote, citing a series of amendments he feared would
open Miami to litigation. He and Commissioner Tomás Regalado are seen
as the leading contenders for the outgoing Diaz’s seat. The plan was
intended to cultivate localized, pedestrian neighborhood development in
the city. [more]

The revival of Biscayne Boulevard is being touted as a small scale
example of how the Miami 21 rezoning plan could transform the city. The
neighborhood, once empty and forbidding, is now a 12-block swath of
pedestrian activity, with foot traffic from residents and shoppers, all
drawn by reasonable rents and support for a local focus. Planners say
the density of residential and small-scale commercial use mirrors the
goals of the larger rezoning program, said land-use lawyer and Miami 21
supporter Neisen Kasdin, a former Miami Beach mayor and vice chairman
of Miami’s downtown Development Authority. The plan remains under
debate. [more]