Members of Miami’s Planning Advisory Board met Wednesday night to vote on whether to approve new zoning rules that would govern most of the city.
Policies regulating the city’s east side were approved in April 2007, with approval of the other three quadrants, plus the entire zoning rewrite dubbed Miami 21, remaining – or so some board members thought.
Imagine their surprise when a handful of members learned they had inadvertently approved the entire new zoning code, known as Miami 21, in April 2007.
The rewrite has caused controversy among residents and some of the building community, who argue, in part, that it’s too complex. To make it easier to digest, city planners broke up review of the new zoning rules into four quadrants – north, south, east and west.
Even members who knew they had voted for the code were surprised when city officials said they would not get to vote again on the code with the changes that had been made since April 2007, despite the fact that it had grown by more than 100 pages.
Board member Janice Tarbert insisted they had not voted on the entire plan last year.
“We voted on the east quadrant only,” she told the South Florida Business Journal.
Board member Maria Sardina Mann said she understood she was voting for the Miami 21 code in April 2007, but thought the entire code, with its voluminous changes, would come back for another vote.
In the end, board members postponed their vote on the remaining three quadrants until Dec. 17.
Current zoning regulations are based on use – what types of projects can be built where – and density – the number of housing units per acre.
Critics say current zoning regulations are riddled with amendments that create confusion and unpredictability, creating a hodgepodge city. Those who favor Miami 21 say it will result in more pedestrian-friendly communities that preserve open space and have a consistent look from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Those who oppose Miami 21 argue it is too complex and will stifle design and creativity. Tuesday’s meeting did not make them any happier.
Board members directed city Planning Director Ana Gelabert-Sanchez to provide them with a “red-lined” version of the entire Miami 21 code, showing the changes made from the plan they approved in April 2007. She promised it by next Monday.
By choosing a continuance instead of a deferral of the vote, city officials are not required to advertise next month’s meeting.
Board members, led by Donna E. Milo, argued that interested parties had a big enough network to ensure that news of the new review date for the remaining three quadrants would travel fast to those who are interested.
Vicky Garcia-Toledo, a partner at law firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, said the fact that some board members did not know they had voted for the Miami 21 code as a whole could make the city vulnerable to lawsuits.
Architect Bernard Zyscovich, Miami 21’s most vocal opponent, said the flawed vote in April 2007 meant there was a “violation of due process.”
“The board members knew because we had told them,” Gelabert-Sanchez insisted after the meeting. “Most of the board members knew that.”
She said that, despite moving the review of the remaining three quadrants to December, she would push to get the entire Miami 21 code and all four quadrant maps to Miami commissioners before the end of the year, as the city commission mandated.