Little Havana and the Miami River District are targeted for a sweeping overhaul of development regulations that would allow bigger buildings, potentially adding nearly 20,000 residents.
The pair of proposals for zoning and land use changes are primarily targeting properties in Little Havana, though some of the lots are closer to the Miami River.
The measures are backed by the city of Miami, marking a continuation of the city’s yearslong push for taller buildings with more units across its neighborhoods.
But under the latest items, the city’s proposed zoning and land-use changes come with zero guarantees for affordable housing, even though Miami planners cited mixed-income housing as an impetus for the changes, according to Coconut Grove Spotlight.
The Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board will vote on the proposals at its meeting on Wednesday evening. Typically, the board’s power is merely to send a recommendation to the full city commission.
The proposed rezoning targets a massive swath of real estate, spanning 661 lots on 136 acres across 11 thoroughfares. The separate item for changes to the city’s comprehensive neighborhood plan, or a blueprint for an area’s growth, takes aim at 349 properties on 72 acres, proposing to designate 47 of the properties as “medium density multifamily residential” and the remaining 302 as “restricted commercial.”
That means developers would be able to build out some properties now in the city’s lower-rise zoning districts under the T6-8 zoning, which usually allows for up to eight stories. If the measures are approved, developers also would be able to build up to 150 units per acre on lots where the baseline now ranges from 36 units per acre to 65 units an acre.
The area is primarily home to single-family homes, duplexes, small apartment buildings and retail plazas.
City planning staff, who recommended approval of the proposed changes, wrote in their analysis that more intensive development regulations could bring 19,500 new residents, increasing the area’s population to more than 36,200.
But that could put pressure on Miami’s biggest infrastructure problems: roads and schools.
If the parcels are fully built out per the proposed changes, it could add more than 124,100 car trips a day. In its preliminary review, Miami-Dade County Public Schools flagged that six of the nine public schools in the area don’t have the available seats to serve that level of development.
As for workforce housing, city records indicate that the changes “may facilitate” affordable and workforce housing simply on the merit of expanding unit supply. The items create no mandate for homes priced at below-market rates.
Miamians have aired their frustration with the proposals on Facebook and Reddit. Many received mailed flyers alerting them to a community meeting held last Tuesday, but some claimed they received the notice the day before.
“That gave affected residents effectively one business day to learn about the proposal, understand the impacts, and make arrangements to attend the meeting,” one Reddit user wrote, adding that the flyer, including its Spanish translation, was “vague” and didn’t make it clear this is a proposal for a “widespread upzoning.”
“People don’t need to oppose this project, but they DO need to DEMAND that politician(s) can’t just shove massive changes down their throat with little to no warning,” another Redditor wrote.
In city documents, Miami planners framed the changes as aligned with the city’s growth policies and allowing for mixed-use development.
––– Lidia Dinkova
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