The City of North Miami Planning Commission on Thursday deferred action on PC17‑112, a request for a conditional‑use permit for a two‑building, two‑story townhouse development totaling 10 units at 1330 Northeast 10th Avenue, after neighbors and several commissioners raised concerns about the removal of large oak trees, parking and lack of pre‑application community outreach.

Commissioners voted 6–1 to defer the application, with Commissioner Seyfried the lone vote against deferral. The applicant’s legal counsel, Joseph Geller of Greenspoon Marder LLP, said the developer will hold at least two community meetings and return with any revisions before the commission or city council review.

The staff report, presented by Debbie Hunt, development services director, describes the proposal as two 2‑story buildings with five units per building, 24.6 feet in height, 16 off‑street spaces, native landscaping commitments and a 100% Florida native vegetation requirement. Staff noted the development satisfies the city’s code provisions for conditional use under the former Neighborhood Redevelopment Overlay (NRO) rules that vest certain projects submitted prior to changes in the land‑use plan. The staff report included projected construction impacts including direct and indirect jobs during construction and estimated annual ad valorem tax revenue.

Neighbors at the meeting objected to removal of three large, century‑plus oak trees and said the revised plan posted two days earlier did not include required community meetings staff and the commission had previously asked for. Multiple residents said the acreage and tree canopy have ecological and neighborhood‑character value that mitigation plantings cannot replicate. Petitioner representatives replied that the developer had reduced the scope from past proposals, changed the design to avoid stacked parking, and was offering 24 new trees on site and, during the hearing, committed to add six more (for a total of 30 new trees) as additional mitigation.

Commission discussion focused on two themes: (1) community engagement and process and (2) site‑specific impacts — particularly trees, drainage and parking. Commissioners and residents recounted a prior planning commission action on a related submittal about a year earlier that included a unanimous recommendation tied to conditions: two community meetings and retention of the three specimen oaks. Several commissioners said that condition had not been met for the current submittal and called the applicant’s timing premature; others pressed staff and the petitioner for clarity about how tree mitigation and any paid mitigation would be applied at the Development Review Committee (DRC) stage.

At the vote the commission approved a motion to defer the item and placed clear direction on the applicant: hold at least two community meetings, provide follow‑up materials addressing tree mitigation and canopy replacement, and coordinate detailed landscaping and stormwater proposals with staff at DRC. The applicant publicly committed to those meetings and to working with staff on mitigation, including the possibility of off‑site mitigation or payment to the city tree fund if required.

The commission did not make a final finding on the conditional use standard, and no site plan approvals were granted; the deferment keeps the application alive but requires further community outreach and DRC level refinements before it can be scheduled again.

Votes at a glance
- Motion to defer PC17‑112 until the applicant holds at least two community meetings and provides further tree mitigation and landscaping details: Passed, 6–1 (Seyfried dissenting).