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>> Good afternoon and welcome to the October 16th, 2025 meeting of the land use and sustainability committee. I'm Alex Fernandez, the chair of the committee joined uh by my vice chair, Commissioner Tanya Pon. Commissioner, thank you for joining us. Um before we proceed with the meeting, I'm going to
allow our city attorney to uh read a public notice. >> Sure. Thank you, Mr. chairman and good afternoon. Today's meeting of the land use and sustainability committee will be conducted in a hybrid format with the committee physically present in the commission chambers and staff members of
the public appearing either in person or virtually via Zoom. To participate virtually, the public may dial 1888-475-4499 and enter the webinar ID, which is 85599237 pound, or log into the Zoom app and enter the webinar ID, which again is
850599237. Anyone wishing to speak on an item must click the raise hand icon in Zoom app or dial star9 if you are participating by phone. >> Thank you, Mr. Attorney. Uh Tom, our planning director, are there any changes to today's agenda printed? >> Yes, Mr. Chair, a couple of things. Uh
the following items are being deferred to a future date. Item number four, the bimonthly update on code enforcement activities. Item number six, monthly updates on historic hotel redevelopment on Collins Avenue. Item number seven,
discuss and consider adopting a live better program. And item number 11, discuss changes in state law pertaining to telecommunications. >> Thank you. With that, is there a motion to set the agenda? >> Okay. >> As amended. Uh and seconded by the
chair, we can show that by acclamation. Mr. Director, let's call item number one. And item number one is consider potential incentives for the construction of living seaw walls on private property and as part of public capital improvement projects in the city
of Miami Beach which may include amendments to the city code. >> Good afternoon commissioners. John Norris, director of public works. So, >> thank you, John. Uh, this is an item we've placed on the agenda uh so that we can discuss potential incentives um for
the installation of living seaw walls on private property. We want we wanted to to discuss what incentives we could adopt as a commission as related to expedited per permitting uh permit fee waiverss or or abatements uh expediting
the process for the permit application. Um and we have our public works director Tom Norris who is here to present the item. Mr. Director, welcome. >> Thank you. Appreciate the introduction. We are definitely in support of
considering incentives and utilizing living seaw walls in city projects, CIP projects that uh we do to replace our seaw walls. Like you said, there are different options for incentivizing this. We definitely
support the route of permit fees if that is a legal way to do it. That would be an easy way to encourage the use of living seaw walls throughout the city. They will enhance the ecological habitat for marine life and provide more surface
area for barnacles, for oysters and all that to connect to and create that environment. So, >> so right now in our public seaw walls as we go in to replace them, we've been traditionally doing uh traditional seaw walls. Is that correct? >> Yes, sir.
>> So, now we see that there is opportunities. For example, we did a living shoreline, which is different than a living seaw wall, but we did a living shoreline at Britney Bay Park, uh, which really is not only incredible uh, for the water quality and for the
marine life, but it really is truly beautiful. Um, but the city is also at looking to advance uh, actual living seaw walls on two projects right now. >> Two projects right now. Uh, city has about 5 miles of seaw walls that we own.
So this could be a rather extensive uh use of the living seaw walls right now. The convention center seaw wall project which is a Collins canal the south side of the Collins canal and then west 60th street living seaw wall pilot project.
Okay. And with these two seaw walls what we have done so far like for example with the convention center we've hired a consultant for the design of that seaw wall along Collins Canal. >> Yes sir. >> All right. And with the other one, uh,
we're also for the one over on 60th Street, we are, uh, looking at the design as well, uh, as well as raising the elevation. Have we looked at, uh, 3D printed seaw walls? That's definitely one of the options. There is a local
company that does 3D printed living seaw walls and they create the contours using the concrete um, extruded from the 3D printing machine. So, that's an option. There are tile options, panels that can be applied. So many different options.
We will defer to our consultant to look at the um particular scenario and see what the best fit would be for that area. Because one of the things that I've that I've learned is that is that these 3D printed seaw walls oftentimes
come at a cost a significant cost savings and also at a time saving because they can be produced, brought in and installed relatively quickly uh and cheaper as opposed to the traditional SEO. >> Yeah, I'm not sure about the cheaper side. I we we really need to see what uh
the pricing comes in at after the design is completed, but we definitely think uh there is a value in having the living seaw walls, even if it's a little more expensive. But if it's less expensive, that's great. >> Great. Commissioner Bond, you're recognized. >> Yeah, thank you. Um so this is I I'm so excited about this and I always joke,
you know, it's only 5 miles, 5% of the city seaw wall. It doesn't, you know, it it it doesn't make a difference, but this actually will make a huge difference. Um there is a project that is I think just underway at the end of Bonita Drive up in North Beach and that
should definitely be a candidate for living seaw wall because currently it just it's actually a naturally occurring beach as it turns out. Didn't used to be but it is now because the seaw wall is so degraded and there's this beautiful mangrove and people um put their docks
their their kayaks in and not withstanding the water quality issue and this is the actual land mass itself. So, it lends itself beautifully to having a living um living seaw wall there as opposed to a traditional just straight up wall. Um it floods all the time. Um
all the time. I used to live directly across the water from it. So, I can tell you with great detail about it. It would look amazing. It would do a lot for that that part of the um of the city and it would be just a great fit. So, I would highly encourage you to look at that.
Um, is there any reason why all of our living seaw wall projects that are city-owned property aren't being done this way? >> No reason. We're just starting to look at this as we're going into design phase. And I think uh, you know, these are going to be pilot projects to see how it turns out both price-wise and
getting the project done, the timeline. So, we'll definitely look at uh, every seaw wall project based on the information we collect in these projects. So, if you could include the Bonita Drive um as part of the pilot program because of >> when you go see it, you'll see you'll be
like, "Oh, yeah. This makes this just makes sense." Um it's the one closest to Parkview Island, not the Bonita Drive across heading south. >> Okay. >> Um and you'll see there's a tree coming up. It it slopes down. People like teach their dogs how to swim and do all kinds
of or used to teach their dogs how to swim and do all kinds of things there. So, it just when you see it, you'll you'll be like, "Oh, yeah. Yeah. this would be a good candidate. The other thing is um as your consultant is looking at resources to tap into I I don't know what what their
portfolio is but there is so much work being done on this in Europe in particular and in parts of Southeast Asia that we should definitely be looking at those options as well as things that are just here in the United States. And even if it's um you know at
a pretty progressed um experimental phase from a university or an incubator or startup like this is the time when we could be um you know using our platform as a city to elevate technologies that will make a difference in the world. And so um there's a lot that's being done
that's already had proof of concept. Um, and this is not like 100 miles of seaw wall, right? Like the Bonita Drive one is, you know, I don't know, maybe 100 feet. It's tiny. So, it would be a great opportunity to take stuff and and really
try and see what works here. Um, because then as we have the opportunity to encourage people privately to in to incentivize them to do their stuff, we can say, "Hey, you can do the traditional thing or look at this gorgeous thing that works." And we know it works because we've done it and we've got 5 years of data in Southeast Asia
and another 10 in in Europe. So let's let's use this as the opportunity it is, please. >> And the good thing is that our commission has adopted policy on minimum seaw wall elevations and and compliance requirements to address issues of over
topping, issues of tidal flooding uh and issues to prevent erosion. And our ordinance that we adopted uh back in July specifically encourages approaches and uses that enhance the biological value of traditional seaw walls with the incorporation of living shoreline
features, the use of materials that encourage biodiversity and the use of biological forms were practical. Uh so we know that uh that that these living seaw walls not only are are they a great tool for flood resilience but they also
offer tremendous ecological benefits. Uh what I like to do is I like to bring this item back with policy that speaks specifically to the expedited permitting process uh for this type of seaw wall the permit fee waiverss or abatements
and the streamlined application process. I also want us to have uh policy that as it relates to our public seaw walls when we consider these seaw wall replacements that we cost out um to see uh if these
living seaw walls and specifically these 3D printed seaw walls that are becoming quite popular um offer a cost savings uh to our city as we go about these these projects. And also these projects are if a a private homeowner wanted to do this,
this is eligible for the uh I forget the name of the program, but we can get a $20,000 matching grant for >> Oh, the property pro the property adaptation private property adaptation >> with the elevation of the seaw wall. >> Yes. >> Does a PACE program the state PACE program does this does that include seaw
walls? >> I don't believe that does that. That's the windows, roof, all that. >> Yes. >> Yeah. I see our chief resiliency officer Amy Nullles approaching the podium who always has a wealth of information to share. >> I always welcome her to come to
>> always. Yes. >> Um so, uh yes, Amy Nullles, chief resilience officer. So, the PACE program does allow seaw walls now. Um that was a change and so that is something that people can utilize. That's my understanding. I can check and double check. Uh but we can bring that back in the in the the item back to you. It'll
be great to see if if those um seaw walls that are allowed to be financed through a PACE program if they include the living seaw walls. >> Um that'll be uh good to look into when when we bring this item back. >> Okay, we can look into that. And in addition, the private property
adaptation program um seaw walls are very popular as part of that. It's really about flood mitigation. So, I think if someone, you know, brought to us this opportunity um and it wasn't an increased cost, I don't see any reason why it couldn't be included. But again, that program is very narrow to flood
mitigation. So, we we might need to perhaps update it to uh if it's an increased cost to be able to pay help pay for that. Yeah, >> we can look into it. >> But it's great to to to be able to do flood prevention using approaches that that create habitats for the marine life
and that support the biodiversity. And that's the opportunity that we have. How do we couple the both uh as we go about uh advancing resilience strategies, you know, making sure uh that that um that we also take into account marine habitat
restoration as part of it. So >> absolutely >> great. With that, if there are members of the public wishing to speak on this item, you can raise your hand on Zoom or approach the podium. Uh if you're interested to speak on this item, I see gentlemen in the audience wishing to speak.
>> Left microphone. >> Either one. >> Either one. And welcome. You have two minutes to speak. >> Hello. Uh my name is Jack Khan. Is that distance okay? Is >> welcome. >> Um I was born on Miami Beach. Um I've spent a lot of time in the bay, offshore, the waterways, and uh I'm
really excited about this initiative. I think it is an opportunity to, you know, bring Miami Beach into the future as a leader in America with incorporating, you know, ecological restoration into the uh the development that very clearly will never stop. But um you know uh we
do have an opportunity to incorporate that. Uh my main objective as from my perspective as a resident and uh somewhat of a naturalist is to really give a little bit of agency. However, you guys as the government officials and the the city attorney deem appropriate
to uh perhaps the state or perhaps a private coalition of biologists and ecologists to really monitor uh the said biodiversity that will be um you know taking part of these living seaw walls. you know what actually makes a seaw wall a living seaw wall and uh how monitoring
the populations of these organisms can give us greater insight into where specifically issues in Biscane Bay be it you know out flooding from rain or specific spikes in temperature from areas that have low flow you can provide relatively simple mitigation strategies
for specific areas such as you know increased water flow with air pumps or um I forget what the other one was but there are opportunities to isolate you problematic areas and to uh see inspiration from areas that you know have much less problems. If you look in
government cut, you have just about every protected of uh every species of protected marine coral invertebrate uh making an appearance. And that, you know, does have to do with the increased water flow there. But no matter where you go in the bay and how dirty it is, if you look close enough, um really
interesting species are are providing. So, I would just want to emphasize the opportunity that the city has to be a leader in ecological restoration and perhaps, you know, whe with or without the county, with or without the state, give a little bit of agency to
biologists who can monitor the populations of these organisms that are going to be doing the work. >> Thank you. And just just to follow up on your question, what you're saying is depending of where and and I'm sorry because this is where I love the public feedback and the feedback from people
that know about this issue because I'm not a marine biologist. Uh I am only a public servants. And so what you're suggesting is that depending on the area where where a living seaw wall is placed, making sure that it has the right organisms uh there to address
whatever the environmental concern might be of the area because depending on what the environmental challenge might be in the area, you may want to promote different type of marine life growing on that living seaw wall. >> Yes, that's exactly correct. It's definitely something that's tiered. as
you go up north into the inter coastal you do see a reduction in water quality and you see a different balance of organisms and so being special you know monitoring that and you know encouraging desirable organisms for a given area would definitely speed things up. So
like certain areas that suffer from water quality, certain type of bacteria. So it might be better to promote sponges. Sponges which we know that you know grow very rapidly >> in our environment those can help clean water. >> And you know conversely if you were to do something with some of the seaw wall
that Miami Beach owns say around South Point Park you would be able to see much more uh complicated biodiversity of protected reef organisms. And so there's a flip on both sides. And I think that, you know, glamorizing some of the organisms that have been deemed bofoul
in the past and sort of presenting them in a more aesthetic way and educating the public as to what they're actually doing and why they remain and why they're being featured perhaps is something that we can use to segue the importance of the biodiversity and integrate it into the future developments that will be happening in
this city. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. And commissioner Bond, you had a follow-up question. >> Yeah. Are you um are you Tell me your name again. I'm sorry I didn't catch it. My name is Jack Khan. >> And do you live here in the beach? >> Uh, technically. >> Technically, do you spend I'm No, I'm not trying to put you on the spot. I I'm
very eager to to learn more. And Amy, who is right behind you over there, is our chief resilience officer and and she's brilliant and you should definitely be connecting with her. >> Absolutely. >> And um and as we move into this, because we've been talking about it as a city for a while, um and now we're finally
able to put our collective tax dollar money where our mouth is. And we're excited to be doing it. Some of it is proactive and some of it is reactive unfortunately. But um so I want to make sure that I mean Amy is great at this um and has a a team of people with her who
are Lindsay's in the back who are also super knowledgeable and passionate about it. But I think it would be a really good idea um to have a conversation as we start embarking on something that's newer to us as a as a municipality. I mean, Amy and Lindsay probably know far more about it than any of us up here
combined, all of us combined, but you know, bringing multiple minds to a topic, I think, always illuminates things differently. Um, and so I'm going to give you this really raggy looking card and and we'll facilitate that. >> If you could just um shoot me an email,
we'll make that happen. Thank you. >> No problem. >> All right. Thank you. With that, any other me? Welcome. You have two minutes to speak. >> Great. Thank you. Um, my name is Colin Ford. I'm a marine biologist. I'm the co-founder of the Reef Line, which is the artificial reef that will be deployed next week uh after many years
and very grateful for the support of the city. Also the co-founder of the Coral City camera, which is a live streaming camera at the Port of Miami where people from all around the world have had their eyes open to just the great biodiversity that we have here. It's such a, you know, we call it building civic pride
through biodiversity. And Miami Beach probably has some of the highest biodiversity in their waterways of almost any municipality, which is a huge flex. As I often say, you know, with Will Smith's song Miami, he says, $100,000 cars, everybody's got them. Water's so clear you can see to the
bottom. So clear water is the the backbone of our economy here. Um, and I'd like to echo some of the same comments that Jack made about um, you know, every different location is is is very different in terms of what organisms might live there. So having some type of definition of what
constitutes a living seaw wall is very important. And another thing that I would perhaps mention is when you need a seaw wall replaced, often times there's already marine life living on them. In particular stony corals, which are protected by the state, it's very costly for homeowners to have to deal with
them. they have to be relocated and and there's a really great opportunity here in Miami Beach to utilize the rip wrap at the Miami Beach Marina to sort of serve as like a a sanctuary where these organisms can be moved and then returned back to the seaw wall once it's been completed. And so, you know, there's a
lot of really great opportunity um to kind of be a leader in all of this, but having some definitions in terms of what a a living seaw wall is. If you're on Star Island, it's very different than if you're in Indian Creek. So, um, getting some some of those sort of more objectively defined might be helpful.
>> Thank you so much. And I want our staff to follow up on that when we bring this discussion back. The possibility of creating a sanctuary where we can salvage uh uh living organisms that are living on existing seaw walls. Um, because when people are doing seaw wall replacement, you might have a seaw wall
that's 100 years old. You may have a lot of biodiversity there. uh and making sure that there's an area to place that biodiversity so that we don't lose it all together uh when seaw walls are being replaced. And so if staff could
could look into that because perhaps we could have receiving sites uh that can you know be sanctuaries uh for that >> and I actually and I don't know if this has to be a separate item or not um but it's tangential to this uh it's not just replacing seaw walls it's docks um and
so you know even if you don't have a full dock you might have the posts in front of your home and somebody buys the home and you know you replace it and you've got occupy living there and you've got you know all kinds of shellfish and So, I would like to actually expand this so that if you are doing and I don't know if this is a
building code thing, but if you're doing a dock replacement, we need to um and maybe we need to flush this out. We have to figure it out. But is it that we must or you are incentivized to examine what's living there currently and if
it's something that is um salvageable where we can pull up a piling and replant it for a while um temporarily. I don't know enough about this to give concrete suggestions, but I would like this to be an item that we can because I I foresee new docks being installed in a
much higher at a much higher rate than new seaw walls being replaced. So, I'm not sure, Nick, what what the proper protocol is for that. >> I I think that if um if it's the will of the committee, I think you could expand this item to include right now it's it's it's seaw walls, right? But I think you
could um expand it to also incentivize um other similar improvements to other marine structures like um like like bulkheads or docks. >> Okay. >> I think that >> and then would you also add me as a co-sponsor please? >> Yeah, of course. >> Thank you.
>> Of course. And um yeah I so if if Amy right now when people are replacing seaw walls or docks um are they required to salvage uh that those living organisms that are that are there? >> Yes it's actually um it's a pretty
>> oh your microphone sorry >> it's a pretty highly regulated process. So when seaw walls are replaced and docks um a review of the environmental resources that are there is um done by uh the regulatory authorities and they have to be uh any harm to them has to be minimized. They have to be very
carefully handled and that's all highly regulated. Um so >> was that derm that was doing that? >> Derm um FWC. Yes. So it we can provide uh all the backup information to you like in a memo and we'll see what we can do.
>> Yeah. Um but it is it is already pretty regulated. You know they want to be protected and you have to move them in a way that they can survive. >> And does it get checked? Um you know it's one thing for it to be pro protected and permitted in the proper way but then when the contractor comes and he just yanks out the the piling
like who who manages that making sure that it actually gets executed the way you know because you hear with trees all the time, oh it's too too damaged to salvage. And to to the rest of us were like, "It looks perfectly healthy and fabulous and and um and their sketchy
operators are like rather condemn a tree to death than go through the heartache and hassle and added expense of trying to protect it." So like I I I can only imagine the same thing happens with with docks and marine life.
>> I mean, let's see. Let me invite Lindsay up because she, you know, did permitting when she was with um Durm, but it is highly regulated. >> Sure, Lindsay. >> Welcome, Lindsay. >> Good afternoon, everyone. Lindsay Pre, deputy resilience officer and assistant director of environment sustainability.
Um, as you noted, Commissioner Bot, there are some contractors who are unfortunately bad actors and will just do the easy thing and, you know, remove pilings or demolish something before ensuring that there are proper protections in place. At that point, the
regulatory agencies that have permit conditions that are specific to that protection would then issue violations or take mitigation payments as a result of those um, deaths or uh, damage to the organisms. Do we see repeat offenders? I mean, is
it are we permitted to say these people are not permitted to work in the city of Miami Beach? >> They bar people who have been >> Yeah. >> that >> they're habitual offenders. >> We can check with Durm on habitual offenders. There likely are habitual offenders. I'm not sure if there's a
process for removing them or barring them from from working within the the marine contracting community, but we can check. >> Okay. >> Yeah, that would be good to come back about. Thank you. Any other members of the public wishing to speak on this item? And anyone via Zoom wishing to speak,
feel free to to raise your hand on Zoom. Welcome, sir. You have two minutes to speak. >> Hi there. My name is Nicholas Bordon. Um, thank you again for the commission for pushing this. I'm a big supporter of living seaw walls. Reason being is I actually co-founded a company called
Reef Arches. We focus on making living seaw walls. We have tiles of our own. We've been in business for about three years. We also do Living Shorelines. So, big proponent of what you guys are doing. And as Colin had mentioned, I really do think it is important to look at the species because just as much as
we go fishing, you want to go for certain species are in different environments. The same applies with our canals and our waterways. If you have water that is dirty, you may want to put in oysters, maybe sponges. if it's more clarity, you could actually use corals that help um rejuvenate, help bring back
those populations. So, big supporter of this and I'm really excited to see what are some of the incentive programs. One of the things we pride ourselves at Reef Arches is we tell people there is a way to do this. We've already done projects in Palm Bay, Titusville, Cape Canaveral, and we show them, hey, we already you
can get permits. You can get permit exemptions if you apply for that. You can put these tiles onto the wall. And as a as a method of that, as the other gentleman mentioned, you can't stop development, but as the development continues, you can save these species if you're able to remove these tiles and
place them back on during construction. These are new, novel ideas, and I really think the city of Miami Beach can be one of those areas that could showcase this technology to say both infrastructure and habitat could coalesce together and in that collaboration, we could actually
help make our waterways cleaner. So, thank you again for everything that you're doing. I'm a big supporter of it and um I'm actually in support of anything that broadens this incentive program, including docs. So, >> thank you. Thank you so much. And from your experience, what is the cost
differential between um between a typical traditional seaw wall and let's say tiles? Tiles that are, you know, pre-manufactured offsite and then brought in. >> Well, I'm I'm not a contractor. I'm a I'm a product company, but from what
I've seen, it's much easier to apply tiles onto existing seaw walls than it is just to replace the whole thing. Now, obviously, it would be up to the engineer that says if a seaw wall is needed in to increase that height, for sure, but it's a way to say for those members and those private companies to
say, hey, we don't need to change our seaw wall right now, but is there an avenue for us to get involved? What is our incentive to participate? So, that's why I'm I'm a big supporter of the tile or topical applications. >> Great. Well, thank you so much. Thank you for participating in today's meeting. Any other members of the public
wishing to speak on this item? Seeing none and none on Zoom, we're going to close the public hearing on this item. Uh so we're going to bring back uh this item at our next uh land use meeting uh with recommendations on policy for the expedited permitting for
the permit fee waiver or baitavement and the streamlined application uh processes as well as policy for for as we explore seaw wall replacements that we you know see the feasibility of incorporating uh
these living shorelines and 3D printed seaw walls on on um on on our public seaw walls as we as we engage in these projects. So with that, let we can continue. When's our next meeting, Mr. Director? >> Uh it will be sometime in January 2026.
>> All right. So let's let's continue this item to January so we can work on these policies. >> Okay. I will show this as uh continued to the January 2026 meeting with that policy direction. >> Thank you. With that, let's uh call item number two.
>> Okay. Okay. Item number two is discuss existing city programs and requirements pertaining to the design and maintenance of retail storefronts, particularly along the city's primary retail business corridors, and consider new programs or amendments to existing guidelines to strengthen design standards, ensure
cleanliness, promote uniformity and cohesiveness, and enhance curb appeal. >> Thank you, Mr. Director. And this is an item that was referred to our committee by Mayor Miner uh back in March. Uh the mayor expressed concerns about the appearance of storefronts along key
corridors including Lincoln Road, Washington Avenue and Ocean Drive. And he asked for there to be outreach uh done to the stakeholders to provide feedback to this committees. And I see we have uh Heather Shaw from our economic development department here
joining us today. Welcome Heather. >> Good afternoon commissioner, chair and commissioner and my colleagues. I am joined on this item by my colleague Tom Mooney from planning as well. Um and also joining on the the workup of this uh this item is our our code enforcement
um department which unfortunately they couldn't be here today. But yes, Commissioner Heather Shaw, econom assistant director of economic development. Um today we're talking about how we can really clean up the corridors and specifically the storefront um the storefront covers and
the the entrances to the the storefront to beautify the the business corridors. So it came down to really three things that we were asked or directed to look into. One was to review the the code and and rules and regulations that the city has that cover um this uh the
storefronts and the and the fronts of the the businesses. Then two um to get feedback from stakeholders about the beautifification of the corridors and the concerns that they have and then three to make recommendations. So in and and I I will defer constantly to my
colleague Tom um the planning department really oversees the design of uh any um signage or covers for businesses. So they do that through um um citywide designs. They have the ocean drive designs and then we also have uh MIMO
designs and in the department of economic development we have storefront covers that were also approved by the planning department. Um and then also we and I again interrupt me Tom if if you want to uh inject there but also through the economic development department
through our designs. We have 10 designs for businesses or store owners who want to cover the um the storefronts as you know and these were some of the designs were done by students and some we've we've added to. We're also even looking into doing some specific designs for
certain corridors or like uh 41st Street or um for um the North Beach CRA area. Those are some the things that are coming up um with the code department. they are doing. So planning was doing re reviewing all the the um legislation and
and code and rules and regulations that we have and then code also did an evaluation of you know how they are going out and talking to these businesses and educating them and informing them and communicating with them on what they're supposed to do. So they have a number and you'll see in the
the memo they have a number of staff that is really dedicated to this. They have them during the day and even in the evenings. And what they do is they really work to talk with people so they understand what is what the rules are so they can adhere to them before they
actually site them. But if there are situations where they need to do that, they will definitely do that. Our recommendation um also coming off of the backs of our stakeholders, our stakeholders obviously suggested that there be additional incentives. they are definitely concerned about, you know,
some um property owners that are not adhering to what is going on. So, they would like to have better enforcement and that's something that code has um committed to do. Um they also thought about incentives and those are things that maybe the bids or some of the neighborhood associations and even with
the city that we can have a collaborative conversation about how we can encourage um some of the business owners to be more responsive to that. Um and then also just um they're looking for some consistency so everyone also
understands and and uh has all the information that is needed to to do that. So um taking in a review of our regulations which we believe are still consistent and and good and and do what we believe can continue to push the
needle to to get our property owners to be in compliance. um and in our compliance department doing what they need to do and stepping up, educating people and talking with our stakeholders. We believe that the recommendation is really about more communication, more collaboration. It's
really about getting the community together to say, "Let's do better. Um in terms of doing it, we have so many opportunities, especially with our covers, to beautify the community." And it and this is something that the city pays for. Um so this is not at a cost to
the uh the property owners to do the storefront covers to make it pretty. Um so just making sure that we are promoting that more. Um and we have committed to obviously work again with um planning and code and any other department that we need to to try to
come up with new and innovative ideas that we can still push the envelope but we believe that we're going in the right direction. I'll stop there. >> Thank you so much. Um and you know one of the things that that we see often times is
you see visual pollution. You see visual pollution and a lot of times is signs. A lot of times it's clutter in displays. A lot of times it's the lighting and and I think a lot of times people don't mean to be violating
the code. A lot of times they just don't know that the regulation exists. And that's one of the things we we speak about often when we adopt new policies. We know the policies when we adopt them. Do we remember our policy 6 months
later? And if us uh as government officials or as members of staff, you know, might not retain that uh much less will a member of the public or a small business know the intricacies of our codes. What type of
of manual design manual design toolkit do we have available uh for small businesses to understand to provide guidance to to disseminate clear accessible information on the requirements for storefronts?
>> Well, well, we we don't have any toolkits so far. We that just are specific to that issue. We have toolkits that talk about like the we have the business u resource guide which talks about it's within that it but it talks about a number of other things. Sure.
>> What I do believe that what we can do to kind of push the envelope on this is to you know make concerted efforts that don't have any cost behind them to as you just mentioned commissioner is to educate and communicate. Sometimes you have to not just as you mentioned not to
say it once but to say it over and over again. And that's what I was saying initially is that it's really about making sure that we're collaborating and we're communicating um and educating to make sure that the community, not just the business owners, but their tenants and even people in the community
understand what is required and how to do better than the day before. And I think it would be great um you know and as as as you pointed out um to better communicate it um we could even recognize them you know identify an
establishment or those establishments that you know they're not complying and rather than approaching them from a punitive perspective. Challenge them. >> Challenge them to okay these are the issues here are the requirements. You
know, the goal is you need to meet these requirements and maybe even then recognize them. Recognize them with an award. Um, you know, have them compete, made it make it a competitive thing. You know, uh, this this business, you know,
their their storefront wasn't meeting our requirements uh, as it as it related to signage and wasn't meeting our requirements as it related to, you know, their merchandising. and they were placing there they were stacking their merchandise and their stock uh on their
front storefront which obviously is is is now allowed. They went in, they fixed it up, they fixed the lighting, they fixed the signage, they cleaned up the space. um and they're the top, you know, storefronts that we're recognizing this month or this quarter and give them
these incentives uh so that so that not only are they meeting the code, we're doing it through non-punitive ways that doesn't hurt the small business and we also give them the ability then to be celebrated and be promoted uh for for
for addressing these issues. And I think it's a way that we create excitement. >> We create compliance and the improvements we're looking for without without being punitive to businesses at a time when a lot of businesses are suffering. Making it an opportunity for
them to actually market themselves and get the word out about their business. >> We could showcase them in the economic development newsletter and also the business improvement districts are they have their newsletter. It's a way of saying look what is what we're doing. That's great. look at this business as a way to promote them, promote them as
doing great in the community and also promote their business and we can definitely do that as well. I agree with you. Thank you. That's a great idea. >> Commissioner B. >> Yeah, I have a couple things. So, we're talking both about existing operating businesses as well as empty retail spaces, right? So, there I want to
bifrocate the conversation a little bit. First of all, um do we track So, we offer the window coverings to vacant businesses at no cost to them so that they look better. Is that correct? Have we tracked um how long these these
storefronts have been vacant? >> We are in the process of doing that because the program initially was intended to just be for a year so they would have you know that time so they could get tenants. So we are tracking those. >> Yeah. And I I would like that to come back and I think that needs needs some
serious discussion because you know we know for a fact you talk to landlords, you talk to real estate investors, you talk to retail operators that people are, you know, um sitting on their on their land hoping to get a better offer, waiting for the the zoning laws to change, whatever. And meanwhile, our
neighborhoods are suffering. We don't have the right kinds of stores. We don't have um activated storefronts that keep blocks safe. you know, if people are walking in and out of stores and doing errands, that's a better thing than hustling past something that's covered, even though the coverings might be cute. So, I definitely think that's a thing
that needs to happen. And then once we have that data, I I would like there to be, you know, a real heart-to-heart and like us go out and whether it's commissioners or staff or a combination or we have a round table, we can figure that out. But have those property owners come talk to us and say, you know, why
is it a problem? because we're going through probate and we don't know yet and it's taking four years instead of four months. is it um I'm waiting for to be upsell so I can sell it for four times the amount of money like there's no wrong answer but we need to understand because we can't make it better until we do so that I would very
much like to stay on top of that >> and and that's spot on commissioner I mean that's one of the reasons why we are starting to track so we can understand why is it taking so long um and if there's something else that we can do I mean the the storefront is just you know the facade of it but there there's a business behind it >> issue and so what's the deal if you're
just waiting and waiting to you know increase your return on investment from a piece of land you were given as a child for a bar mitzvah or something or you know for you when you got married your parents gave you something and now all of a sudden it's worth millions of dollars like you know come on let's
let's move the need a little bit um so that's one thing the second thing is um we I think you actually commissioner uh Fernandez just um put into action these beautiful um forever proud banners in
certain parts of the city and I would love if there's interest to see a storefront covering that that replicates that artwork. I think that would be amazing. Um, and I think there would be uh lots of folks would be interested in in using them and I think
so I'd like to see that happen. So, so that's the storefront uh covering thing. The next part of it is um I know code acts proactively. I know we could quadruple the number of code enforcement officers we have and still keep them running from day to from dawn
till dusk. I will tell you that I've done a number of these walkthroughs in, you know, along the Collins corridor in North Beach, North and South and East and West, um, in Flamingo Park, uh, around the city. And the number of code violations written up on just those
walks is staggering. and that's with two officers writing as quickly as they can to keep up with us as we go along. Um, there needs to be somehow, and I don't know if it's repetition or, you know,
like a door by door by door crawl with a punch list of if your storefront doesn't hit these 10 things, >> right? we've got a problem and call us because we can help you fix it, but we got a problem. If we come back again,
you'll be there'll be a violation and it gets complicated and expensive. But peeling simple things that are inexpensive to fix, peeling paint, rusted, you know, metal signage, um light bulbs that were out, missing light fixtures, uh various I don't even know
the names for half these things, but like wire and metal mesh as part of the overhangs. It just looks ridiculous. We are one of the richest cities in the world and one of the most photographed cities in the world and you get off of one inch off
the beaten track that gets all of the attention and it looks like hell and that's not that's not good enough. And so it's not for lack of trying, but I think because there's so much that's going on that people are pulled in multiple different directions. And I know in working with the police department on initiatives, sometimes
there just has to be a week-l long focus sweep and that's what everybody is doing that week all across the city. Whatever your shift, that's what everybody is doing. And maybe do that twice a year. And and the way people have um the DMV has these ticket abatement weeks like if
you come in and and and pay a quarter of them, we'll dismiss all of them or whatever whatever the thing is. like we can work with you, but let us help you because it looks like crap now. Um, and I think that needs to be a a very focused effort and and you know, I'd
like you guys to come back and prioritize this is where we're going first, this is where we're going second, this is where we're going third, and then what's the schedule and how often are we doing it? Because then we can also amplify it throughout the city on our own social media stuff and on the cities and people will will understand
what's what's going on. Um, >> I think a lot of times, and I'm sorry to to to interrupt, but, you know, I think with code enforcement, what happens a lot of times is that, you know, the the problems get pointed out with a storefront or a property issue and there
might be a violation issued, but then there's no followup. Um, and and I think that that's that that's the challenge. I think I think it's like when you go to the doctor, the doctor might tell you, "Okay, you have this issue." But the doctor is not just going
to say, "Okay, you have this issue now. Go figure it out on your own, >> right?" >> The doctor's going to tell you how to treat the issue. The doctor will bring you in for a follow-up consultation. We'll stay in touch with you. We'll tell you how to solve your issue. Usually won't instill fear in you. And I think
that that's kind of like we need to I think a lot of times people don't mean to be violating the code, but we have a very intricate code, a very difficult code because we are in a historic district and we are in a very unique community where we have very high standards. We need to help people walk
and get them to those high standards and that might not be overnight. we we might need to put them on a plan on an improvement plan, right? Where okay, you might not be able to change your signage and your lighting and and uh and the wires that you have up there and all
that overnight, but you know, within the first month, you know, try to get it paint. Within the second month, try to address the, you know, the clutter that you have on the window. Within the third month, address reach goals that they can reach. goals
that they can reach so that they can feel the success and you keep the progress going be that's better than nothing. >> And I think also it's it's um there are two two other things that play into this. I think one is that you go in on
any given day and the person who's working there is not the manager um and not certainly not the owner and at the end of the day it's it's the responsibility of the owner to make the changes and so somehow there's a break in that communication or it doesn't get um communicated correctly. Right? So that's one issue. The other issue is
that it does get communicated to the right person and then that person either waits till the last minute to comply or challenges it. and you know we have 30 60 90 days for compliance and then you go to the special magistrate and then so even if code is doing their part of
saying hey this is something that needs to be addressed it might take a year for it to get addressed when all is said and done and and maybe that's something we that we look at um Nick maybe that's something that we look at with our what our time frames are of what we allow people to do and depending on the
severity if it's it's just a quick paint job or trimming of wires maybe you've got two weeks to comply if it's you have to replace the entire facade or overhang. You know, that's you have two months to comply. I don't know what that is, but maybe that's something that we need to re-evaluate holistically as well.
>> The other thing I just want to mention, um, code works very collaboratively with economic development. So, when they they come across a business that's struggling or, you know, they, you know, have given them kind of a warning, you know, to help out and they'll call us and we will work with them. It's funny that people
think we have a concierge program and people really look at it as how we attract new businesses, but we also use a concier program for existing businesses who is is exactly what what both of you were saying. If they're having some issues um we work to help them navigate through the system of
getting it done >> um and try to work with them. Yes, there are timelines, but we do try to, you know, again, help them go through the weeds of getting it done if if that's what they want to do. But I agree with you. There are other challenges. Not everybody is going to be, you know,
working toward making it better. But we are there to make sure that if they need someone to hold their hand through the system, then we're there. And code works with us to help, >> not just to, you know, >> push them through with, you know, violations, but to try to help them as well. And so we definitely work with
them and and planning works with us enormously to try to make that happen as well. >> So, so, so there's a there's a few good takeaways from here. I think the education component um not only is it uh you know doing doing uh an audit of
these storefronts but if we identify storefronts that have these serious issues well then you know making sure that we educate them that we give them the information on how they can come into compliance. Um so so I think there's a few things we can move forward
from here. number one, you know, doing every so often, and I don't know how often staff would recommend, but doing visual audits of storefronts, uh, and then, uh, engaging with that property owner to educate them of what are the requirements of the code, what
are they not meeting, and how do they get there? Uh number three is create a reward program uh leveraging our partnerships with the bids uh with the chamber of commerce so that we can
celebrate these establishments that show improvement and I think that that's perhaps the best you know sometimes you you attract more with honey you know and so and so you know rather than going the punitive approach okay you're improving
we're going um you know the moment you you excel so much you know we're going to recognize you we're going to give you an award you know we're going to promote you that type of stuff which I think uh will help uh these these these um these
businesses I think that those are three things uh that we can move forward from this discussion as recommendations as part of this uh item >> well and also doing the the additional design >> yes and the additional design >> and um looking at the timelines that we
um allow for people to rectify situations so that perhaps we can tighten some things up and you know make sure that they get taken care of in a timely manner. >> Right. Right. There's some things that you may want to address more quickly and then others that with the goal of
getting them to compliance and you say, "Okay, we're not going to give you a violation on this right now. Uh but you need to within a certain amount of time." >> And I think code um for a lot of violations where you have x number of days to during which to
comply and if not then it becomes a violation. But what I'm saying is looking at what those time frames are on some of the lowhanging fruit. >> Yeah. >> It looks like you're >> No, I was just going to I was going to say just that code works with uh property owners on property maintenance violations. I think flexibility is
really just based on what I've heard from code in the past. Flexibility is important to be able to give it really depends on what the violation is, how much time a property owner should have. >> Okay. >> And this is all important because, you know, one of the things that staff has
has educated and and impressed on is is that, you know, storefront uses often impact appearances more than the design of the building itself. It's how it's how the interior of the space is being used. Um and you can have a beautiful
building but if the interior is being used in u in an improper way uh that can have a greater impact uh on on the appearances of the building and the feel of the of the area. So while we cannot
necessarily always uh regulate the tenant mix, we can certainly be enforcing existing standards. Um, and I think that that's part of of of the point of this whole discussion. Yeah. So, with that, are there any members of
the public wishing to speak on on this item? I see none in person. I see no one on Zoom with their hand raised. Uh, Commissioner Bod, you have any other comments on this item? >> No, I cover them. >> All right. So, I think we can move this item along with a positive
recommendation uh byation >> with the additions. Yeah. Made this meeting. >> Mr. Mr. Chair, just to confirm, we're going to move this to the city commission with the recommendations that are in the land use memo. >> Um, and I think there were three that
you wanted to recommend in addition to Commissioner Bot's recommendation about more flexibility with regard to compliance. Correct. >> And and the banner, the Forever Proud banner artwork. >> Okay. And then commissioner, >> I mentioned the uh visual audits, the
educational uh piece to inform uh people of of of the codes and the and the and our design standards. Uh and then separately the third issue that I mentioned was the partnerships partnering with bids uh and the business
organiz organizations and the chamber to reward uh those those businesses that not only we need to start off by rewarding and recognizing those businesses that are excelling today, you know, but as time goes by and we see improvements of other businesses
recognize those award. create that type of recognition program to encourage through hunting the type of outcomes we want >> catching more flies. >> And then Commissioner Ba had the uh code compliance exploring providing more flexibility to comply and then the
forever banners. >> Okay. By the way, to our staff, to our city administration, to our city manager, our parks department, and to everyone who was involved, uh our our tourism uh department, uh our communications department and e economic development, everyone that played a role
in getting those uh forever proud banners out there so quickly. Thank you so much on behalf of our community. That is also an important part of our economic development, that we are a welcoming community. Uh there's so much tourism dollars that are spent here
because we are a welcoming and inclusive community and those banners do mean has meant a lot to so many people in our community. And the fact that they were placed there so quickly uh does send a very strong message that has been very well received by so many in our
community. And I'd be remissed not to thank the city administration, our parks department, our public works department, uh economic development, communications, tourism, everyone that played a role uh for their incredible response and hard
work. I mean, I was obviously you were out there that day and I was out there that evening um and they were still ripping up the pavers and the amount of um heartbreak I heard from passers by both
residents and tourists from out of the country um was, you know, to to a lot of people they don't get it. They don't understand what's the big deal. We'll make another memorial. We'll make another this. It's it's just pavers. But people were
shattered by it. Shattered. And I remember talking to a couple um lovely gentlemen from England and they're like, "We come here every year and we might not come back." And I said, "This is not the city. This is the state
and the city will always be a safe place. Don't hold us. Don't hold the state against us. Come back. It's going to be bigger, bolder, brighter next time you come." And so it is really important. People say it's performative or it doesn't matter. It does matter. Um
it's not performative. It is it's literally and figuratively a flag of what we stand for. So it's it's very important. And the fact that it was done so quickly and so well and such a beautiful simple right on the money design.
Props to everybody. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner. So, and just just to make it clear because I got a comment from someone saying you're going to give them an award for not following the law. No, the idea is to we're not going to award them for not following the law. We're going to award them for
the improvement and this has been a model. It's similar to the main street uh main streets program. This has been done in so many other places as a way to achieve compliance. We're not looking to reward uh those that are not complying. We're looking to reward those that
comply and excel. Uh that are the models that we want others to emulate. All right. Thank you. With that, Mr. Director, let's call item number three. >> Okay. Item number three is discuss setting parameters for property owners
to present creative development proposals to the city administration and city commission as an alternative to invoking the preeemptions in the live local act to encourage long-term non-transient residential development including workforce housing that is more compatible with the surrounding
neighborhood. So, this was an item that was uh placed on the agenda referred to our committee by our colleague, Commissioner Joseph Magazine uh who really has been taking tremendous leadership uh to discuss possible parameters for property owners to
present creative development proposals uh to the city as an alternative to invoking the preeemptions in live local that do threaten our quality of life. I don't know if Commissioner Magazine is on the Zoom. If Commissioner Magazine wishes to to to to participate and present on this item and if he wishes to
to participate, if he wants to raise his hand, I'll be happy to recognize the the commissioner. Uh but Tom, if you'd like to guide us through the recommendations uh in this memo so that we can take some action on this item. >> Sure. As the u members of the kid
committee may recall, the last time this was discussed um was uh in June and um the at the at that meeting the um land use committee asked us and the public works department
to take a look at some parcels that are on Fifth Street and Alton Road that could potentially be developed um under the preeemptions of the Live Local Act, which allows for a substantial increase in overall intensity and density for
these sites. Attached to the memo is an analysis prepared by the public works department uh regarding uh four separate projects um at uh 663 Alton Road, 740 Alton Road, 824 Alton Road, and 1575
Alton Road. Um and also the um analysis includes a uh sewer capacity analysis um where three projects were referenced at 500 Alton Road, 1634 Alton Road, and 1100 Fth Street. Um and with regard to
the sewer infrastructure analysis, um the three sites that were referenced have all been built. Uh one is the uh park the five park project at 500 Alton Road. The second was the Citizen M hotel at 1634
and um the uh development project at 11130 uh Fifth Street. Um the analysis included um the um available capacity and sewer pump stations. Um and
basically the the the conclusion was that um the existing sewer system does not have existing capacity to reliably accommodate uh significant future demands. And so, >> so let me let me just stop you right there because that is that is an
important conclusion that I want to make sure that everyone who's listening to this meeting, every member of the public who is concerned about live local to understand. The conclusion of this of this um of this study is that based on the information reviewed at the
hydraulic evaluations completed the city's existing sewer system along Alton Road particularly between fifth fifth street and fifth street 15th street does not have sufficient capacity to reliably accommodate an increase in demands. So
let's just understand this for a moment. When we're talking about, let's say, some of the projects that have been approved, uh, let's say on West Avenue, 1250 West, does that increase demand or
does that project reduce demand? Um the public works department would have to analyze the total number of units but based upon the number of units that have been proposed and the relatively low density
um the sewer capacity may be able to be accommodated but when they come in for >> because it's a reduction in the amount of units. >> Correct. >> So it's a reduction in the demand. >> Correct. >> Okay. Now, when we talk about a live local project, are there any live local
projects that are being proposed along this corridor of Alton Road between Fifth and 15th Street? >> Yes. >> Okay. And what are some of the projects that are being proposed along this corridor? >> There's um a project being proposed at
824 Alton Road, at 16 at 663 Alton Road, and at 1575 Alton Road. And where I'm sorry >> 1575 Alton Road >> and about how many units do you anticipate you know these projects bringing on
>> it would all those three alone are probably going to be well over 500 units >> over 500 units. Okay. And live local units um along Alton Road. And in order for the city to administratively approve
these projects, they would have to meet our water and sewer capacity needs. >> That's correct. >> And based on this study, the city's existing sewer system along Alton Road does not have sufficient capacity
to reliably accommodate an increase in demand. >> Correct. So, what does that mean for the approval of these live these live local applications? >> All of the live local act applications, not just along Alton Road, but any that
have been in the city, must submit uh information to the public works department that would analyze what the impact on the current sewer capacity would be. And if the demand associated with that project could not be
accommodated by our existing infrastructure, then they would have to find a way to make the necessary public improvements so that capacity is increased and their demand can be met. But otherwise, they don't qualify. if
there if if the sewer system does not have the capacity uh to accommodate the increase in demand that their projects are going to be generating then they don't qualify to as a live local project. Is that correct Mr. Attorney?
>> If um for administrative approval, right? They would not qualify for administrative approval. And that's the concern because the preeemption in live local is that it strips it strips our historic preservation board of of certain review and approvals. It strips
the planning board of certain reviews and and approval and it places them into an administrative review process where now the public is completely removed from the process and it gives them certain entitlements for administrative
approval as it relates to height and F. But if they don't, if there's not a sufficient sewer capacity to meet the increased demands, they no longer qualify to benefit from the preeemption
of an an administrative approval and for the height and the F that the state preeemption entitles them to. Is that correct, Mr. Attorney? >> It's it's the administrative approval specifically. That's correct. Yes. And so then they would have to go back then to the planning board, back to the
historic preservation board, back to a public hearing process. The public would have a right to participate. And the city has then the authority then to say we can't approve that F, we can't approve that height, we can't approve
the that density of units. improvements would would at that point need to be made um to our infrastructure to to uh to meet our our adopted levels of service
for the development to move forward. >> Commissioner Bond, >> um who in the state of Florida, is it the state, the county, or the municipality sets the concurrency standards >> for municipalities? It's the local
government. So, is there a possibility, God forbid, that the state would preempt our ability to set those standards? >> We haven't seen that to date. And that's something that I think would be likely problematic under the building code
because um local governments can't approve a project that can't accommodate the discharge of waste water and flushing a toilet. that >> no well clearly I mean but the same logic would apply in theory to failing
roads and you know that is no longer something that we're able to make um a useful tool for us. So um the building code is a state state building code >> correct? >> Okay. So it that seems like it's unlikely. Um and there would be a real
fight ahead of because you know if a developer wanted to put an 80s story building in um obviously that would be cataclysmic for multiple reasons but unless they also replplumbed a third of the city. It's not just a couple of
blocks. It's you know it it has massive implications. So um so that's something we need to hold fast to like be very serious about um well you know I did the studies and my planners say from the developer side it
won't be a problem and it's only going to be used by people you know a third of the year and it won't be like none of that. I don't want to hear from developers that it's going to be a part-time home and it it will lessen the impact because what if everyone decides to live there? And then along those
lines, somebody um gets approval for a building that doesn't have that big of an impact. So, it does get approval. Let's say it's not, you know, enormous, but um and and so they get something that we can that
that gets approved and then they start building something that's much denser that we would never have approved, but they're already building it. What stops along the process do we have to put the brakes on it and to make them take it down or undo it if if we see what's
happening? I I don't think that's I don't know if that's ever happened. I would hope not, but you know, we're in crazy times. >> Any any development project, and just using non-live non-live local act projects as an example, um must obtain a
building permit to do any work. And we've had instances where larger development projects approved under the current code, the current land development regulations of the code were not able to um meet their their project
exceeded the capacity of sewer that was available. And they were forced to make significant improvements. And some of these involved improvements to um public sewer infrastructure so that the demand
of their project could be met. If during the course of construction they began to exceed what they were permitted for, they would not pass their final inspection and they would not be issued a final CO and they would never be able
to occupy that building until they made the corrections that were needed uh to be able to meet all of the infrastructure requirements. If what they built exceeded what is permitted by the LDRs in terms of say setbacks or building height then they would need to
correct that or disassemble anything that is not permitted under the code. >> And what is the process for checking on that? I mean I there's an example up in North Beach. It's not that dramatic, but where a sidewalk and a bike lane were removed and the the builder never put it
back and had no intentions of putting it back until the city said at the very last minute, "My dude, where's where's the bike lane?" Um, and so is there are there checkpoints along the way before getting to the last two stops? There's
um first you have the the issue permit and anything built on the site has to be consistent with the issue permit. Um and then there are inspections of that permitted site along the way by all of the different disciplines. And if there's inconsistencies with those
plans, then those are flagged. If the uh inconsistencies are so extreme, the building official could potentially issue a stop work order until the plans are either corrected or they come up with a mitigation measure to address the
inconsistencies with the approved plan. So I I just worry slightly that if if the building site is being um inspected on an ongoing regular basis by different disciplines, who is then the 30,000 ft
oversight of wait a minute, this isn't adding up. Like it might be on paper this is right and that's right, but when you put them all together there's something wrong here. Is there is there a process for that? the current >> there's multiple disciplines that have to do inspections. So for instance um
the uh plumbing inspector is going to ensure that all the plumbing has been built in accordance with the approved plans. Similar the fire inspector is going to make sure that all the the life safety systems meet the requirements of the life safety code. The structural plans examiner inspector is going to
make sure that how they're constructing the piles and the beams um are consistent with the approved plans. The zoning inspector is going to look at the setback, the design to make sure that the design is consistent with what was approved by the DRB or the HPB, the
overall height of the building, the location of the curb cuts. So there's multiple inspectors that have multiple roles to ensure compliance with what was approved and permitted for construction. >> So there are for those who are listening
at home or watching this in the future, there are multiple checks along the way to make sure that something doesn't get snuck in when they think we're not looking. And I think um you know it's
incumbent on us and our colleagues who are doing the inspections that better better safe than sorry and if anything seems not quite right, let's check it out before signing off on things. And for residents who are, you know, rightly
very concerned about what this means for th this very particular city that we love, there are things in place to make sure that we don't get completely run over by things outside of our control. And I think one of one of the key
things, you know, as noted in this analysis is that there are deficiencies in our sewer capacity along Alton Road and that a separate infrastructure project for any future live local application
will be required. Once a project has met all the application requirements, they're going to have to go um through their own infrastructure analysis. And if and if they don't meet the sewer capacity, then you know there's there's
a uh there's a protection mechanism there for for our city. >> Yeah. And it's you know it it is clearly not just Alton Road. I mean we have this hot topic in in North Beach where we for the first time ever are doing an aqua infrastructure >> comprehensive study to see what's going
on because everyone thinks it's fine but it's not fine. and we have, you know, more new development up in a tiny little area of North Beach than we've ever had before. And so this is not just about something happening in South Beach or North Beach or Mid Beach. This is a citywide concern and we are all taking
it very seriously and within the levers that we still have left to us. We are making sure that nobody's trying to sneak something in. And um we're, you know, as as soon as we're able to do things differently and and protect ourselves in a different way, we'll
we'll be able to do that. But right now, we have some significant protections. >> So, uh the administration, I see Commissioner Magazine is on the Zoom. Uh I don't know, Commissioner Magazine, if you want to speak on this item. uh this is your item and you're always very welcome to uh to to chime in to to to
participate or give us any feedback on the direction you want to take this item in. >> Well well thank you Mr. Chair very much appreciated. Uh thank you to our planning director for going through that. Um that is a a new development to
me. uh obviously raises concerns that um we have a lot that is proposed that essentially exceeds the existing capacity for uh what our city can handle. Uh that being said, um I think
all the more point proven where we have unfortunately been preempted and circumvented by the state and we are under threat and we will remain under threat uh to get projects where there's little that we can do about it uh that
are not in tune with the uh characteristics of our city. So, this ordinance uh or proposal and I think Commissioner Fernandez, you you had almost a similar one traveling uh under a similar path where it's okay. If we
don't want this, we provided an alternative for something that would be uh more digestible or more palatable for what is within the characteristics of our city while still achieving some of the goals that uh our community and the
state want to. such as providing uh residential attainable housing. Um so I had no kind of predefined view on what that alternative would be but very simplistically it's if the state is presenting an option that we don't think is in line with the characteristics of
our city presenting a more viable option uh that essentially would be. So thank you. Uh I'll turn it back over to you. >> Thank you commissioner. Uh so this is great feedback that we have received uh and the study is is very important. I think let's keep this item on the on the
agenda because I think whenever we need um this is part of the live better discussion as well. Uh and I think uh in January we'll be ready to have a conversation about that and I would love uh Commissioner Magazine if you could join us for for that meeting because
your knowledge your insights on this your leadership on this has been instrumental uh and I want to keep on working with you making sure that we find the right balance the right alternatives um for for our city. >> All right so by acclamation we'll show
this being continued to a future date for additional updates. Thank you. Um, with that, let's call item number five, and we're going to end the meeting today with item number five. >> Okay, Mr. Chair, item number five is discuss potential incentives for the installation of green roofs on new and
existing buildings, including possible amendments to the city code and land development regulations. >> Commissioner Bond, this is your item. You're welcome to introduce. >> Thank you. Um, so this is something actually we heard the flip side of this at the finance committee yesterday and
um saw a really cool rendering of what a pilot program would look like at one of the facilities that we own. Um, I think this is something that we as a city want to embrace and encourage and incentivize. Um we see that cities
around the world even in developing nations are able to uh to make this happen and I wanted to see how we can um encourage developers who are looking to do something here or retrofit something here to to do the same. So Tom, I guess
that's you, right? Yeah, we um the environment and sustainability uh department gave us some really good information on this and as you can see in the memo, we've summarized how our city's uh urban heat island ordinance has um provided really good benefits in
terms of roofing materials that reduce the urban heat island effect. Some of the cost considerations um and structural considerations associated with green roofs have also been identified. Um, it can be challenging both from a structural standpoint as
well as when you're competing for limited rooftop areas for other things such as uh decks and and locating mechanical equipment. Um, and just for the purposes of brevity, we have come up with some initial recommendations that
are in the memo that could uh serve to incentivize future green roofs. One would be uh potentially implementing uh building height and F incentives for green roofs that would require amendments to the LDRs. Uh the second would be developing waiver provisions
for city fees that are tied to green roofs or or living walls. Um the third would be that um when feasible uh the city could recommend green roofs as an option to manage storm water and reduce flooding through the private property
adaptation program. Uh, in this program, participants may receive up to $17,500 in matching reimbursement grants for completing a green roof. And then number four would be to develop outreach and education programs um by creating
information pages on the city website and potentially producing infomercials for Miami Beach TV. This would require additional input from the marketing and communications department because of the um budgetary uh implementa uh imple
budgetary implications. >> Say that 10 times fast, huh? >> So, thank you for that. Um so you know this is something that I see in developing nations and in countries um that are not nearly as rich as we are and they are able to do this and am I to
presume that they don't have the same building requirements and that's why they're able to to make this happen or are they thinking outside the box in ways that are different from what we are used to? It probably depends on the codes that they have, the size of the
buildings that they have. Um, without seeing examples, I couldn't tell you for sure why they're able to do it there, but it's not as prevalent perhaps in like the US. >> So, here's what I'm thinking. I I'm not a fan of incentivizing with additional
height and far incentives. I think that's not a direction we want to go in. But I do think um I that it would be useful and money well spent and maybe we partner with the botanical garden or maybe we partner with um architects or
AIA and and do something that we can do as a seminar and also record and have materials about that we can distribute on a website page or something like that because a green roof doesn't need to mean a manicured lawn. A green roof can
mean um you know planters that can be moved inside and outside as needed so that you're not you don't need to co cover the entirety of um a roof with decking, right? You don't need to add additional weight. You don't need to install a sprinklerless system because
part of the maintenance building program by the maintenance crew would be just to water the plants during the dry season. I mean we it rains every day here for six months. So you know like I think there are ways to think about it there. It doesn't need to be um you know an English garden that is manicured within
an inch of its life. It can be very flexible. It can be a community garden for the building where you can have a little garden plot and grow lettuce and tomatoes and things. And that's what I want people to understand that there are so many different ways of doing green roofs that are not um necessarily a huge
expense or added weight which I know becomes an expense for the building. um and they can become creative and they can become gathering points for the community so they become an amenity. Um and so I do like um ideas two, three, and four. And I'd like to come back and
and really hash that out. um eliminating number one and also encouraging us between now and when it comes to the commission to um reach out to AIA um to reach out to the botanical garden to reach out to people in the community
who are doing this maybe in their professional lives or have learned about it. I mean there are plenty of people who have incredible talents and resources here in our community that we only learn about when we start a new initiative. like I'm thinking about the blue zones and the number of people have come out of the um out of the left field
saying, "Oh, you know, I have a whole bunch of expertise on this matter. I'd love to be able to to participate." So, I think we put that out into the community to say, "Hey, we're starting this initiative. We'd love to hear from you if you have any experience. Let's hear what we have to say." Amy and and Lindsay and the crew will do what
they're doing. I'm sure um you know, Alan Schulman, folks at the Wilsonian, um Debbie Tacket, everybody has connections who can start working the network. Let's pull it together. Let's do a thing that we can invite people to and and record and televise and create
materials out of and then see where it goes from there. Okay? You know, I love this idea and I want us to take it a step further because we know that in in urban environments, you
know, we know that in urban environments, you look at data from the EPA, um urban environments tend to be much warmer. Uh they say up to 5 degrees warmer, probably even even more. And this is why this type of technology is
incentivized and and promoted. I'm a big fan and I like that you're looking at the non uh zoning incentives. I do I do think that height and F should not be used to to to incentivize this. But if you can look at um you know the waiver
provisions uh the private property adaptation uh and other and other ways of educating people on the benefits of these green go roofs and living and living walls. Um, I think that's that's the approach to go. But I think it also
we need to lead by example. We have mature tree canopies in our city. And there's times that I've seen, you know, places around our city where we've where we've lost, you know, mature tree canopy. And then and then we go in
and we we replace them with these twigs that don't that will take 10 to 20 years to to you to to reach their maturity and to provide the level of canopy and the level of cooling that a mature tree is
already providing. Even the root system of of a mature tree will help helps us absorb more water than a young tree that is being that is being planted. And so as as part of this, I would love to work with you, commissioner, and any
colleague that wants to work with us on this if you're open to it. body mature tree protection ordinance. Uh at least as it relates to to our public pro to our public property, we need to make sure that our mature trees, those that
have not only canopy, that provide shade, that provide a cooling effect, but also have the established deep root system to help us with our flooding and our resiliency. We need to protect those those trees. And I want to move away
from seeing these trees replaced with two or three smaller trees that don't have the canopy and don't have the root system to protect us the way that we need us that that that we need. And so I would really like to as we work on this
policy on private properties to incentivize uh these green roofs to combat the heat island effect, let's also work on our public property uh to protect those mature trees that we already have.
Protect them from being the uh removed and replaced with young trees that are going to take 20 years to to mature and give us their full effect. >> Yeah. And I, you know, Amy and Lindsay, I'm I'm guessing there's something already in there in the code suggesting
that, but how do we strengthen it? Or maybe there isn't anything in the code. >> I don't know about anything on our public property, but maybe. >> Um, yes, uh, Commissioner. So, we do have a a tree preservation ordinance and, uh, it protects trees of certain size. Um it does try to protect them
from development overall and then if they have to be removed then there's a mitigation a planting back if you will as the commissioner mentioned. Um but definitely we want them to be minimized. You want to minimize the removal. You know sometimes we do see large trees removed because they're really not
healthy and they have a lot of structural problems and that's always really sad as well to see. But we do have a pretty strong tree preservation ordinance. It's stronger than you know Miami date counties. um we do apply that to public properties as well as private. The question is you know do you do you
stop development and that's always um you know kind of the challenge. >> So um it might it might just be a good exercise to take a fresh look you know who knows what's in there that we didn't see the first time or an opportunity that we've learned just in case there's
something that isn't there. Um, but I also think, you know, we've got people coming into our city to take advantage of the property because they're going to make a lot of money, a lot of money, right? They're not building 40tory
towers in Poria. Poria is lovely. It's just what comes out. Um, this is a very special place. And so, if I would actually I thought you were going to take this in a different direction, but I like that direction. So, I'm going to take that direction. I'll build on that.
>> Sure. Um, I want us to think about, and I'm not sure what the right path is yet, but I'm thinking about how do we require a portion of a new building's roof to be green?
Because if you don't require it, it ain't going to happen. Unless somebody's trying to build something where they need to get the community to buy in and and be supportive and that in that case, yes, a good developer will work with the community and try to do something. But,
you know, Coral Gables says this is what you are permitted to build in our city and that's the end of that conversation. And people spend a lot of money building things in Coral Gables. And I think it's time for us to say as best we can, if you want to build something that is
going to make you and your family rich for generations to come, we want a green roof. So I'd like to actually go further than what we had talked about educating and like I still want to do all that stuff because that's the foundation. And then when we have that, you know, internally,
I want to see what we can do and say minimum 50% of your roof has to be a green roof or whatever the right number is. Um, and as we look at municipal projects, 72nd Street complex, the fire station,
and the Byron Carile, I think we should hold ourselves to the same standard, knowing that it is a cost that wasn't originally planned for, but also knowing that it doesn't have to be an entirety of a green roof. we can use them as test programs and
pilot studies and how does this work and what are the things you have to plan for and you know I think I think if we don't actually do it ourselves and require it of others we can have all the laws on on the books as we want and all the the incentives that we're trying to offer
but it's not going to happen so that's where I'd like to go with >> yeah and Amy just going back just to a moment on the on the issue of of the trees. You said we we currently have protections based on the size of the
tree, >> but not based on the age of the tree. >> Well, the size of the tree um indicates the age of the tree. >> Not always. >> Not I mean, yes. I mean, but not not all mature trees have the biggest canopy,
but the root system might still be very deep and help with with the filtration of of the water. >> Um, absolutely. But the the actual um the the size of the tree, the diameter is is really what we use. And we have
much more stringent requirements, for example, than like Miami date county, >> right? So, yeah. I would just like I would just I would like us to look at looking at preserving not only uh those those trees with a you know broad canopy
but looking at preserving also those mature trees uh that uh that that are already established here and not have to remove a living organism. I mean, these these trees, they're living organisms in our community. And I and my heart just
tears apart whenever I see us remove, you know, an older palm tree, you know, uh, an older, you know, there's the desert kas, and there's, you know, just older trees that they might not have the
biggest canopy, but they're old, they're established, they're beautiful. And then we replace them with these other trees that just take decades for them to to reach their full maturity uh the way that the ones were removing have. And I
I like the idea that Commissioner Bond has. Sometimes uh you need to push things in order for things to be adopted. And it'll be great to see a draft of a policy that of what would a requirement look like? and maybe and maybe uh it's not across the entire
property, but maybe on a portion of of the roof. It'll be great to to bring back the item with that type of >> and let's see what other municipalities are doing around the country and what other countries are doing around the world. I mean, we are certainly not the only people trying to tackle this issue.
Um, of course, they're not in the state of Florida, which makes their lives a little bit easier, but let's see. Let's learn from what other people are doing successfully. It's time to get out that book in Eric's office again. David, >> the the green book. >> Are there members of the public wishing
to speak on this item? I see none in person. I see Mitch Novik uh with his hand raised on Zoom. Mitch, welcome. You have two minutes to speak. Mitch, we cannot hear you. Mitch, we've lost Oh, wait. I see Mitch is
still on the Zoom. Is there any other member of the public wishing to speak on this item? Oh, I Okay, Mitch, you need to unmute yourself. >> Hey, thank you. Can you hear Can you hear me now? >> We can hear you now. >> All right, that's good. I have a an an
IT problem here uh I need to remedy. Uh Mitch Novik, 901 Collins Avenue. I think I have may have one of the greenest roofs uh on Miami Beach. Currently, I have 58 solar panels and I am in
permitting to expand that system. I tuned in late so I didn't get the entire gist of your discussion, but I will say if you're talking about putting uh foliage, soil, trees uh on top of the
roof as a building owner for uh uh or as a person who's owned buildings for three decades, I will say uh roof leaks can be uh very stressful. and uh you know when
I've had them in the past, it's it's always good when you're able to resolve them quickly. Uh uh so provisions need to be made. So any uh greening of the roof in terms of uh
foliage and trees uh the the roof below needs to be protected and accessible for repair uh for and that's it. Uh, I appreciate the discussion I heard and thank you for take uh being patient and letting me speak.
>> Thank you, Mitch. It's always a pleasure to have your participation and your feedback and thank you for for for being such a good citizen uh with your solar panels that you are expanding. Um, any other members of the public wishing to
speak on this item? Seeing none, uh, staff, should we continue this item to January? That gives you sufficient time to look at policies and bring back recommendations. >> Sure. January is fine. >> Okay. With that, we're going to continue this item to January. And uh we with
that we're going to conclude today's meeting. Commissioner B, thank you for joining us and to the members of the public that participated in staff, thank you for your participation. This meeting is adjourned.