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Our Village, Our Voice

Village residents have overwhelmingly expressed opposition to the proposed comprehensive plan amendment, yet council members continue to push unsubstantiated changes through, despite resident concerns.

 

We are calling on the Miami Shores Village Council to hear its residents as we ask for a pro-planning approach to the comprehensive plan:

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Simply "fix" the errors in the Comprehensive Plan at this time, and ensure the data is in place to plan strategically for the village's future.

Why are we here?

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Last year, in consideration of an application to construct a gas station at 10500 Biscayne Boulevard, Village Staff discovered that the Village's Comprehensive Plan, which was passed by a former council in 2018, contained several discrepancies which needed to be fixed in the Plan’s Future Land Use Element (“FLUE”) and Future Land Use Map (“FLUM”).

 

As a result, in early 2022 the Village hired the consultant Calvin, Giordano and Associates to advise on the best course of action for fixing the errors. The process, however, has far exceeded the original scope of “fixing” the identified errors and has instead become a complete re-writing of the FLUE and FLUM. The Village also instituted a moratorium on the consideration of applications for rezoning and FLUM amendments during the pendency of the amendment process.

 

Additionally, Florida Statute section 163.3191 requires the Village to review its entire Comprehensive Plan every 7 years to determine if any amendments are necessary to reflect changes in state requirements. Municipalities are also encouraged to update the plan to reflect changes in local conditions. This is known as the Evaluation and Appraisal Review process, or “EAR.” The Village’s EAR deadline is July 2023.

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What does the proposed amendment add & change?

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The proposed amendment originally created four new mixed-use designations throughout the community:

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Amended FLUM.png

1. "Downtown Mixed Use District"

covering several parcels along NE Second Avenue, considered Miami Shores’ downtown.

  • 359 max new dwelling units plus commercial uses

  • +1,077 new residents

  • +1865 car trips per day

  • 4 stories in height

  • 25 units per acre/35 units per acre bonus

  • 1.5 FAR/2.5 FAR bonus

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2. "Neighborhood Mixed Use" - Barry

west of Barry University: covering two large parcels on either side of NW Fifth Avenue to the west of Barry University

  • 859 max new dwelling units plus commercial units

  • +2,577 new residents

  • +2,975 car trips per day

  • 5 stories in height

  • 30 units per acre/ 35 units per acre bonus

  • 1.5 FAR/2.5 FAR bonus

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3. "Neighborhood Mixed Use" - Biscayne

at 10500 Biscayne Blvd: the former intended site of the once-proposed gas station.

  • 37 residential units

  • +111 new residents

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4. "Corridor Mixed Use"

along Biscayne Boulevard: the commercial area along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor from 91st to 87th Streets

  • 1579 max new dwelling units plus commercial uses

  • +4,721 new residents

  • +1865 car trips per day

  • 40 units per acre/65 units per acre bonus

  • 2.0 FAR/3.0 FAR bonus

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The Biscayne corridor component area was removed from the proposed amendment but could be reintroduced at any time in the future.

The proposed amendment also makes significant text changes to our Future Land Use Element. The text of the Future Land Use Element is very important because it is the legal framework that provides goals, objectives and policies that guide property owners, developers, and decision makers as to how land are to be preserved and developed in the Village. It is a legally controlling document and its contents are the standards that our Planning and Zoning Board and Village Council apply when considering applications for development. The amendment includes text changes which could impact the parking buffers along 2nd Avenue, the barriers that block many local residential streets from through traffic, potential development on our park land, to name a few.

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THE CONCERNS

 

Today, Miami Shores is primarily a bedroom community of approximately 11,000 residents. There are a total of 3,864 residential units in Miami Shores, 83% of which are single family (3,207 units) and 85% of which are owner occupied.

 

The amendment as currently proposed would allow for the introduction of 1,255 new multifamily units (originally 2,834 units). This equates to a 32% increase in overall residential dwelling units (originally proposed as 58% increase) and  a 291% increase in multifamily residential dwelling units (originally proposed as 432% increase). The resulting 34% population increase would likely be mostly comprised of residents who are renters.  

 

The current plan is heavily opposed by MSV residents for several reasons. First and foremost, the proposal far exceeds the scope of fixing the existing errors in the plan. With respect to the changes that go beyond “fixing” errors, residents are concerned about the impacts of the proposed designations on the village's population, residential character and the quality of life within the community. Many feel that insufficient analysis has been undertaken to understand how these density increases, and the related population increase, would impact:

  • School enrollment

  • traffic

  • crime

  • noise

  • public recreation land

  • public works

  • property values.

 

Although MSV has hired consultants to assist in the process, many members of our community feel we do not have the information we need to make changes that allow for such dramatic growth at this time. Instead of assuaging the public’s concerns by analyzing these potential impacts, the Consultants and some members of council have repeatedly dismissed residents’ fears and maintained that no further analysis is required by law.

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WHY VOTE NO

 

At this time, the Village merely needs to fix the errors in the Comprehensive Plan. Adding residential density and introducing mixed use development into the plan is not necessary or warranted. There has been no demonstration of need for this massive increase in housing to accommodate thousands of new residents. In fact, the population data only shows a potential increase in 1200-1600 new residents to Miami Shores over the next 20 years. This amount of population growth would requires only 400-523 new residential units, far less than the originally proposed 2,872 units. In order to ensure measured and logical growth that our infrastructure and resources can realistically support, it is critical for the community to insist that MSV Council members to vote "NO" on the changes AS PROPOSED , to conduct the studies that investigate impacts on the community before density is added and stick to the task of fixing the errors in the current plan.

 

A "NO" vote on the current proposed comp plan means:

  • The opportunity to make changes to the comp plan that bring properties into compliance without making broader changes that can impair the character of the village and the quality of life of MSV residents.

  • Time to have the necessary studies done so that both the community and the village understand the long-term impacts of growth

  • Strategic planning that takes into consideration what the residents of MSV want for the Village.

 

It's clear that changes to the comprehensive plan are necessary, and Miami Shores Village could potentially benefit from controlled, carefully planned growth, but this must be done in a way that doesn't cause problems for our community and in a way that includes the community's vision for our neighborhood's future.

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