Miami residents cry foul over expansion of transit-oriented zoning

Miami residents spoke against a citywide expansion of transit-oriented zoning incentives at Thursday’s commission meeting, with one member of the public calling it an example of “another money-motivated manipulation at Miami City Hall.” 

Commissioners voted on first reading to approve the ordinance, which the city said will help it compete with Miami-Dade County’s rapid transit zoning and the state’s Live Local Act. Under the ordinance, projects within the city of Miami can bypass the city if they are in one of the county’s rapid transit zones, and the city is required to administratively approve Live Local projects that comply with the state’s workforce housing law. 

The ordinance will create Transit Station Neighborhood Districts applicable to properties within 1 mile of an existing or approved future transit station, if the projects include improved mobility options. Developers would still have to go through a layered approval process, and the city’s neighborhood conservation districts, which include parts of Coconut Grove, would be exempt. Properties within 1 mile cannot exceed height provided by the city’s T6-8 zoning, which means eight stories tall with the option to go higher with bonuses. 

Many residents weren’t convinced. 

“This is an opportunity to show that you care about the people who voted for you more than you care about the developers who gave you campaign money, and are constantly behind the scenes and on this stage trying to manipulate you and the city for their profit at the expense of our quality of life,” said Elvis Cruz, who referred to it as a “money-motivated manipulation” of the city. 

Debbie Dolson, a Coconut Grove resident, said during public comment that the ordinance “threatens our neighborhoods with out of scale and out of character development.” 

Residents also opposed other real estate-related items on Thursday’s agenda. Commissioners deferred an item related to the potential sale of the historic Olympia Theater in downtown Miami to rapper Pitbull’s nonprofit charter school. 

“We keep hearing these new buzzwords, ‘affordable housing,’ ‘workforce housing,’ ‘transit corridor,’” Dolson said. “These are attached to every single new development that comes through, which gives them approval. The result is fewer low priced units, largely high priced units, and many with ocean views, towering over the single-family neighbors across the street.” 

Coconut Grove resident Mel Meinhardt, chair of Friends of the Commodore Trail, urged commissioners to defer the transit-oriented zoning item. Meinhardt said the ordinance, as presented to the Planning Zoning and Appeals Board last week, would turn Coral Way into a “complete canyon.” 

Meinhardt also was concerned that the presentation made to the planning board on the item was “radically different” than the presentation commissioners received. 

“Give your staffs the time to really understand this thing,”he said. “It’s big, it’s bad, and it could really hurt us.”