Miami Gardens council restricts pedicabs near stadium, approves storage-site variance and backs continued lobbying on water-utility bill

Miami Gardens City Council on April 23 amended and adopted an ordinance that creates a restricted stadium zone and prohibits pedicabs, golf carts and low-speed vehicles in that zone during stadium events; approved a zoning variance for an existing self-storage facility; and authorized the city manager to continue lobbying on a statewide water-utility bill.

The actions, taken during the council’s regular meeting, were taken by voice or roll-call and drew limited public comment. Councilman Reggie Leon sponsored the stadium-vending ordinance. Vice Mayor Stevens made the motion giving the city manager authority to continue lobbying on the water-utility measure.

The ordinance amends Chapter 6, Article 5, Section 6-195 of the City of Miami Gardens Code of Ordinances to adjust the city’s “clean zone” times during stadium events and to establish a restricted stadium zone that bars operation of pedicabs, golf carts and low-speed vehicles within the designated area. Councilman Reggie Leon moved the ordinance and proposed a small amendment removing the word “imprisonment” from section 2.16 while retaining the fine; the amendment passed and the ordinance was adopted on second reading by a 7-0 roll call (Councilwoman Baskin, Councilman Leon, Councilwoman Powell, Councilwoman Julian, Councilwoman Wilson, Vice Mayor Stevens and Mayor Rodney Harris voted yes).

On a quasi-judicial item, the council approved a variance requested by Extra Space Properties to raise the floor-area ratio (FAR) for an existing self-storage site at 20240 NW Second Avenue from roughly 0.50 to 0.83, where the city’s single-use commercial limit is listed as 0.75 under City Code Section 34-47. Staff told the council the facility has been on that site for decades and that the proposal demolishes two structures and replaces them with a new, air-conditioned building while the remainder of the site would remain unchanged. Staff recommended approval and the council voted to grant the variance after a public hearing with no speakers.

Council also approved a motion, made by Vice Mayor Stevens, giving the city manager authority to continue all necessary steps to assist with lobbying on the state water-utility bill. The vice mayor said the bill had passed the Senate floor that morning and required further action in the House because of an amendment; the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

The consent agenda passed as amended (item 12.2 was withdrawn), and no additional public-comments items altered the formal outcomes.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance (10.1) — Amend Chapter 6, Article 5, Sec. 6-195 (restricted stadium zone; prohibit pedicabs/golf carts/low-speed vehicles); amendment to remove “imprisonment” from §2.16; sponsor: Councilman Reggie Leon; amendment passed; ordinance adopted on second reading; roll call 7-0 (Baskin, Leon, Powell, Julian, Wilson, Vice Mayor Stevens, Mayor Rodney Harris) — outcome: approved.

- Resolution / Variance (14.3.1) — Extra Space Properties, 20240 NW Second Ave: increase FAR to 0.83 (existing FAR ≈ 0.50); staff recommended approval; public hearing held with no speakers; sponsor: City Manager; outcome: approved (motion moved and seconded during quasi-judicial hearing).

- Motion — Authorize city manager to continue lobbying for state water-utility bill; mover: Vice Mayor Stevens; second: (not specified on record); adopted by unanimous voice vote — outcome: approved.

- Consent agenda (as amended; item 12.2 withdrawn) — outcome: approved by voice vote.

Why this matters

The stadium-zone ordinance changes local rules that affect event-day traffic and vendors near large venues, a topic the council tied to public-safety and traffic-flow considerations. The storage-site variance permits redevelopment of a long-standing commercial site along a major corridor, representing the city’s continued corridor redevelopment efforts. The lobbying authorization signals municipal support for state-level relief measures affecting local water utilities and potentially city residents.

Speakers

- Rodney Harris, Mayor (first referenced 353.095–354.955) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - Vice Mayor Stevens, Vice Mayor (first referenced 384.535–386.875) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - Reggie Leon, Councilman (first referenced 376–379.79498 and active during ordinance discussion) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - Councilwoman Baskin (first referenced 374.72–375.94) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - Councilwoman Michelle Powell (first referenced 379.895–380.29498) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - Councilwoman Julie Julian (first referenced 380.29498–381.435) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - Councilwoman Katrina Wilson (first referenced 383.895–384.535) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - City Manager (role; referenced during water-bill discussion and administrative reports) — government, City of Miami Gardens. - City Clerk / Mister Clerk (role; read items and public-comment rules) — government, City of Miami Gardens.

Authorities

- ordinance: City of Miami Gardens Code of Ordinances, Chapter 6, Article 5, Section 6-195 (selling, serving, vending in public right-of-ways) — referenced by ordinance 10.1 — referenced_by: ["10.1 ordinance discussion 3770.4648–3806.17"]. - zoning: City of Miami Gardens Code of Ordinances, Section 34-47 (standards for granting variances/waivers) — referenced_by: ["14.3.1 variance staff report 4138.265–4375.4004"].

Actions

- {"kind":"ordinance_second_reading","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"10.1"},"motion":"Amend Chapter 6, Article 5, Section 6-195 to establish a restricted stadium zone and prohibit pedicabs, golf carts and low-speed vehicles during stadium events; remove 'imprisonment' from §2.16 and retain fine.","mover":"Councilman Reggie Leon","second":"not specified","vote_record":[{"member":"Councilwoman Baskin","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Councilman Reggie Leon","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Councilwoman Powell","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Councilwoman Julian","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Councilwoman Wilson","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Vice Mayor Stevens","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Mayor Rodney Harris","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":7,"no":0,"abstain":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":true},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Amendment removing 'imprisonment' adopted prior to ordinance vote."}

- {"kind":"land_use","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"14.3.1","project_slug":"extra-space-20240-nw-2nd-ave"},"motion":"Approve variance to increase floor-area-ratio to 0.83 for existing self-storage at 20240 NW Second Ave.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":null,"no":null},"legal_threshold":{"met":true},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Staff recommended approval; public hearing held with no public speakers."}

- {"kind":"other","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"manager-lobbying-water-bill"},"motion":"Authorize the city manager to take all necessary steps to assist with lobbying for the state water-utility bill (including extended session if necessary).","mover":"Vice Mayor Stevens","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":null,"no":null},"legal_threshold":{"met":true},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Motion passed by unanimous voice vote."}

- {"kind":"other","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"consent-agenda"},"motion":"Approve consent agenda as amended (item 12.2 withdrawn).","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":null,"no":null},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Consent agenda passed by voice vote."}

Clarifying details

- {"category":"ordinance_amendment","detail":"Amendment removed the word 'imprisonment' from §2.16 but retained the fine.","value":"not specified","units":"","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Councilman Reggie Leon"} - {"category":"variance_detail","detail":"Requested FAR increase to 0.83 from ≈0.50; corridor FAR ceiling is 3.0 but single-use commercial limit is 0.75 per code.","value":"FAR 0.83","units":"ratio","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"staff"} - {"category":"property","detail":"Project site: Extra Space storage, 20240 NW Second Avenue; demolition of two structures to build new air-conditioned building; other site elements unchanged.","value":"20240 NW Second Avenue","units":"address","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"staff"}

Proper_names

[{"name":"Miami Gardens","type":"location"},{"name":"Extra Space","type":"business"},{"name":"City of Miami Gardens Code of Ordinances","type":"statute"},{"name":"Rodney Harris","type":"person"},{"name":"Reggie Leon","type":"person"},{"name":"Domino L. Pratt","type":"person"}]

Provenance

{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"block_3770.4648","local_start":0,"local_end":360,"evidence_excerpt":"We're now to Ordinance's office second reading public hearing item 10.1...amending chapter 6 businesses article 5 sales of merchandise...sponsored by councilman Reggie Leon.","tc_start":"3770.4648","tc_end":"3806.17","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_3987.645","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"That vote, yes. Motion passes 7 0. Alright. We are now on there are no resolutions for public hearing. We're now on a consent agenda as amended as item 12.2 was withdrawn.","tc_start":"3987.645","tc_end":"3997.885","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]},

searchable_tags:["stadium zone","pedicab","vending ordinance","floor-area-ratio","zoning variance","water utility","lobbying","consent agenda"],

salience:{"overall":0.65,"overall_justification":"Includes formal adopted ordinance affecting event-day operations, a land-use variance on a major corridor, and an authorization for state lobbying — all actionable municipal policy items.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Changes affect event operations, local land-use and potential future utility costs for city residents.","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Relevant to residents near stadium corridor and those following city redevelopment and utility policy."}