West Miami board defers request to split 5735 SW 12th Street lot after neighbors cite parking, character concerns

The City of West Miami Planning and Zoning Board on March 26 deferred two related variance applications from CAR Property Investments, care of the Cohen Law Firm, for 5735 Southwest Twelfth Street.

The applications sought (1) a frontage variance to subdivide a 10,500-square-foot lot into two 5,250-square-foot parcels with a new frontage of 50 linear feet where a minimum of 60 feet is required by the city code (agenda item 5b), and (2) a variance for lot coverage because each proposed lot would be 5,250 square feet where the minimum lot size in the applicable zoning is 6,000 square feet (agenda item 5c). Planning staff read those requests into the record at the start of the item.

Applicant representative Carlos Corral said the existing parcel is a double-wide lot with a single house on half and a vacant side that the applicant proposed to split and, down the line, build a second single-family house. Corral said the owner plans to remove an existing 1920s-era carport that currently encroaches on the property line, which he said would create roughly 14 feet of side clearance and make on-site parking possible.

Board members questioned whether the applicant had demonstrated the legal standard for a variance. Chairman Gustavo Ceballos and other members said they did not see an obvious hardship that would justify creating two substandard lots. “I just don’t see where the hardship is,” Ceballos said. Several members raised concerns that subdividing the lot would increase density and could permit larger new construction incompatible with surrounding homes.

Residents who live near the site urged the board to deny or postpone the split because of parking and neighborhood-character concerns. Marissa Rivera, who lives across the street at 5760 Southwest Twelfth Street, said the neighborhood already has severe parking pressure and that adding a second dwelling would worsen the problem: “By splitting this lot, we’re bringing an entirely, you know, another family, a second family, visitors, anyone else who wants to come and taking even more parking away… I am against having a second property there.”

Leticia Vega, a neighbor at 5731 Southwest Thirteenth Street, said the swales and available curb space are small near the businesses and that splitting lots in the corridor would increase density and reduce green space. “Splitting the lot is gonna be a problem. It’s gonna increase the density,” she said.

Another nearby resident, identified as Jose (5739 Southwest Twelfth Street), asked how many homes in the block meet current front-setback rules and said parking enforcement has not resolved the issue.

Applicant Corral told the board he intends to build modest, starter-family houses if the split is approved, and said the remodeled existing house would be roughly 1,900 square feet; he suggested the second new home could be about 2,000–2,500 square feet and said he would be willing to consider proffers limiting size or building as-of-right to address neighbors’ concerns.

Staff and board members advised the applicant to consult neighbors and study the ordinance provisions before returning. Staff noted the R-1 lot-coverage guidance in ordinance 9901 and said typical principal-building footprints on a 5,250-square-foot lot would be roughly in the 1,800–1,900-square-foot range at a 35% coverage assumption.

The applicant requested a deferral and the board voted to defer both items to the board’s next regular meeting, scheduled for April 30. The chair asked the applicant to meet with neighbors before returning.

No variance was approved at this meeting; the items were continued to April 30 so the applicant can supply additional information and consult neighbors.