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City of Miami Beach

Meeting

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

What happened

Statura summary

The real action was land use, not the ceremonial noise. The commission had a stacked zoning and housing docket led by the citywide Resiliency Code and LDR rewrite, plus a cluster of targeted ordinances on workforce housing fee waivers, apartment hotel conversion incentives in R PS1 and R PS2, Alton Gateway development rules, the 4th Street overlay, and rooftop additions in the Museum Historic District. Read together, that is the city reorganizing the rulebook for what gets built, converted, and approved, with the biggest practical effect on owners, developers, and operators trying to reposition older properties or pencil workforce housing deals. The key procedural point is that these are ordinance items, so the fight is about code language and entitlement leverage, not ribbon cutting. The other binding center of gravity was the FY 2023 budget package. The commission set the tentative general operating millage at 5.8155 mills and adopted tentative budgets and the tentative five year capital plan, while also moving labor cost items including AFSCME and firefighter agreements, salary ordinance changes, leave codification, a living wage increase, and employee bonus planning. That combination tells you where the pressure is: higher operating commitments, higher wage floors, and a capital pipeline that businesses selling to the city should track closely. Housing policy also kept advancing through smaller but meaningful steps, including allocation of $505,842 in SHIP funds, a New Hope C.O.R.P.S. services agreement, a feasibility study on inclusionary zoning, and a commitment to cease the sale of Barclay Plaza for affordable and workforce housing. Everything else, from noise, beachwalk, and tunnel studies to school and nightlife referrals, was mostly positioning.

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. Resiliency Code and LDR update
    Pending

    Would establish a comprehensive new zoning ordinance for Miami Beach, effectively resetting the baseline rules that govern development, approvals, and redevelopment citywide.

  2. Workforce housing fee waivers
    Pending

    Would amend the land development regulations to waive certain fees for workforce housing, lowering upfront project costs and making those deals easier to structure.

  3. R PS1 and R PS2 apartment hotel conversion incentives, LDR
    Pending

    Would create zoning incentives for apartment hotel conversions in R PS1 and R PS2 districts, giving owners of qualifying properties a clearer path to reposition older assets.

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

    Would revise FAR, parking, and height rules for the Alton Gateway area, changing the economics and design envelope for projects in that corridor.

  5. Tentative FY 2023 budgets
    Pending

    Sets the tentative budgets for general, debt service, enterprise, internal service, and special revenue funds, which is the citys main operating blueprint before final adoption.

  6. Tentative ad valorem millage for FY 2023
    Pending

    Sets the tentative general operating tax rate at 5.8155 mills, 13.2 percent above the rolled back rate, locking in the revenue framework that will support the FY 2023 budget.

  7. FY 22 23 SHIP housing fund allocation
    Pending

    Allocates $505,842 in state housing funds across first time homebuyer, rehabilitation, and a specific apartment rehabilitation activity, putting real money behind the citys housing agenda.

  8. Inclusionary zoning feasibility study
    Pending

    Directs the administration to study inclusionary zoning and identify a consultant, signaling that mandatory affordability requirements are being seriously evaluated rather than just discussed.

  9. Barclay Plaza apartments sale halted for affordable and workforce housing use
    Pending

    Commits the city to stop selling the city owned Barclay Plaza Apartments and instead use the property for affordable and workforce housing, preserving a public asset for housing policy rather than disposition.