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City of Miami Beach

Meeting

Friday, April 28, 2023

What happened

Statura summary

The real action was money and land use, not the speechmaking. The biggest binding item on the board was Tranche 1 of the Arts and Culture General Obligation Bonds, which would steer up to $101.7 million to named cultural projects including the New World Symphony, Holocaust Memorial, and Miami Beach projects. That is not just arts patronage. It is a capital allocation decision that locks in which institutions get first access to bond proceeds and which applicants wait for later tranches. Paired with the companion items revising the grant agreement form and approving added public benefit commitments, the city was setting the terms of who gets paid and what they owe back in public value. The other cluster that matters was regulatory. The Washington Avenue overlay co living amendments, the co owned housing unit manager ordinance, the Alton Gateway FAR, parking, and height package, the Sunset Harbour outdoor seating amendment, and the alcohol hours items show the commission still using zoning and operating rules as its main economic development tool. The second order read is simple: hospitality and mixed use operators are being sorted block by block, while adjacent residents are being offered earlier closing times and tighter controls as the price of that flexibility. Waste hauling was the other quiet structural move. Between the ordinance rewriting private waste contractor rules and the resolutions to launch an exclusive franchise RFP and require termination for convenience clauses in non exclusive contracts, the city is positioning itself to reset leverage over haulers and, by extension, over multifamily and commercial customers. The rest was mostly referrals, studies, and message items.

Statura-generated summary of the official agenda and minutes. Verbatim per-item votes and dollar figures are in the Agenda & votes tab.

Key decisions

  1. Arts and Culture General Obligation Bonds, Tranche 1
    Pending

    Accepts recommendations for the first bond tranche, up to $101.7 million, and channels early capital to named cultural institutions, which effectively determines who gets first access to bond proceeds.

  2. Washington Avenue Overlay, co living amendments
    Pending

    Amends land development regulations in the Washington Avenue overlay for co living, signaling a targeted rewrite of what housing and lodging formats are allowed in that corridor.

  3. Purchase of a multifamily property from Gerardo E Ferrer Hernandez
    Pending

    Approves, in substantial form, an as is residential contract for the city to buy a multifamily property, which is a direct public acquisition rather than a regulatory incentive.

  4. Exclusive franchise waste contractor RFP
    Pending

    Authorizes an RFP for a single contractor to handle residential multifamily, commercial, and recycling collection and disposal, a market structure change that consolidates service under one franchise.

  5. Private waste contractor ordinance
    Pending

    Rewrites parts of the solid waste code governing private waste contractors, laying the regulatory groundwork for tighter city control over hauling arrangements.

  6. Spring Break 2024 city activated events suspension
    Pending

    Would suspend city activated special events during March 2024 Spring Break and redirect the $3.2 million previously spent in 2023 toward a different response strategy.

  7. Alton Gateway development regulations, FAR, parking, and height amendments
    Pending

    Changes core development metrics at the Alton Gateway, which is where the city decides in hard numbers how much project intensity it will permit at that entry corridor.

  8. Sunset Harbour outdoor restaurant seating amendment
    Pending

    Adjusts land development rules for outdoor restaurant seating in Sunset Harbour, a direct operating issue for restaurant revenue and neighborhood tolerance.

  9. Alcohol hours of sale in the Art Deco Cultural District
    Pending

    Amends alcohol sales hours in the Art Deco Cultural District, putting nightlife operating hours and enforcement exposure back on the table in the city core.