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THROUGH THICK AND THIN, AND VIRUS TOO, THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS PLAN KEEPS CHUGGING ON
Last December - December 10th to be exact - I wrote about a major zoning change that Neil Shriver, the current Executive Director of the SEOPW CRA wanted for a collection of lots in the West Grove, including the property that the house he lives in is situated.
The request would not have been an issue were it not for the fact that one of his partners in this deal owned the 2 pieces of property facing US-1, and that when combined, the 5 pieces of property would become a sizable and very valuable assemblage that if approved by the city commission in the way they were seeking approval could result in a 5 story mixed use building instead of the 3 story apartment building that they claimed they wanted.
In short, this is one of those deals that could literally result in a sizable increase in value of the property by a simple vote of 3 city commissioners.
To appreciate the full impact of how the Family and Friends Plan works, you only have to wonder why this item - a PZAB item - would find itself on the agenda of the first meeting in April, in an agenda that includes 38 pages of items that includes any number of items that don't constitute an emergency, or a tie-in with dealing with the COVID 19 virus.
NUMBER 93 - APRIL 8, 2020
Copyrighted: 2011,2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Staff Analysis
e-plan ID PZ-19-3868
Applicants: Roble One, LLC, 3010 Carter, LLC, (also known as 3510, LLC), and Cornelius Shriver
Location: 3040 Carter St, 3065, 3069, 3091 and 3095 Plaza St
Commission District 2 - Commissioner Ken Russell
NET District: Coconut Grove
Size: Approximately 35,998 square feet (0.826 acre)
Planner: Darren Murphy, Planner I
This appears to be an end run around the “one step up at a time” required for transect changes (upzoning). Miami 21 specifically states that IF you have either 40,000 sq. ft. or 200 linear ft of frontage in one contiguous parcel, then you can apply to up-zone, in this case from T-3 O Duplex residential to T-4 Medium Density Multi-Family Residential (Apartment). Then you are required to wait for 18 months to apply again to up-zone to the next transect, in this case T-5 Mixed Use Commercial.
Miami 21 Article 7 states as follows:
5. Limitation on further consideration after rezoning. Whenever the City Commission has rezoned property, the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board shall not thereafter consider any petition for rezoning of all or any part of the same property for a period of eighteen (18) months from the date of such action
At the PZAB meeting where both the zoning and accompanying FLUM change were approved 8-1, with overwhelming community support for West Grove born owner/resident Neil Shiver, the two dissenting Board members inquired if the applicant would promise not to ask the Commission to waive the 18 month required waiting period. No definitive answer could be pried from Mr. Shiver's attorney. It was unclear whether many of the community supporters understood that the applicant could go almost immediately from T-3 to T-5.
In the Staff report, we find this:
The proposed amendment contains approximately 35,998 square feet (0.826 acres). Therefore, this application is subject to small-scale procedures as established in Section 163.3187, Florida Statutes. The current FLU designation and proposed FLU designation are presented in Maps 2 and 3.
Concurrently, the Applicant is requesting a change to the Miami 21 Zoning Atlas as a companion item (ePlan ID PZ-19-3658). The companion application seeks to change the zoning of properties located at 3069, 3091 and 3095 Plaza St, Miami, Florida from 'T3-O" to "T4-R" (General Urban - Restricted) and the a portion of the property located at 3065 Plaza St and a portion of the property located at 3040 Carter St, Miami, Florida from"T3-O" (Sub-Urban - Open) to "T4-O" (General Urban - Open). In addition, the applicant is seeking a waiver from the City Commission of the 18-month time limit set forth in Section 7.1.2.8(g)(5) of Miami 21 to permit the Planning, Zoning, and Appeals Board to consider a second change to the Zoning Atlas to the next successional Transect for the Subject Parcels. In anticipation that the waiver will be granted by City Commission, the Applicant's request to amend the FLUM changes the designation on four parcels from Duplex Residential to FLUM designations that surpass the immediate designation following in density and intensity so that, in the event the 18-month waiver is granted, the Applicant will only have to amend the Zoning Atlas through a second hearing process.
Since this assemblage has more than 200 ft of street frontage, this means that instead of the 3 story apartment building that would otherwise be allowed, the community may quickly end up getting a 5 story mixed use building that backs up immediately on the 2 story T-3 Duplex residential homes behind it. This is exactly what Miami 21 purports to avoid: T-5 adjacent to T-3 with no intervening T-4 as buffer. This T5-T3 situation is what has held the West Grove back for decades, and is a left-over uncorrected anomaly of the prior Miami 11000 zoning code.
SUMMARY: It appears that Planning Staff is recommending a way of getting around the restriction requiring an 18 month waiting period between up-zonings that would violate Miami 21' s successional zoning requirement. By waiving the required waiting period at the same Commission Meeting approving both the zoning and the FLUM change to FLUM designations that surpass the immediate designation following in density and intensity, then the Commission can simuntaneously approve a 2nd up-zoning change while only sending the Zoning Atlas change back to PZAB for the required public hearing to “correct” an inconsistency between the newly approved T-5 zoning and the Zoning Atlas.
Appllicant:
seopw-cra-staff-spotlight-cornelius-shiver-...
