Planning board rejects staff’s patchwork Live Local code changes, asks for separate Live Local chapter

On March 12, 2025 the Coral Gables Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously (7‑0) to reject staff’s proposed piecemeal amendments implementing the Florida Live Local Act and instead requested that staff prepare a single, separate zoning chapter that consolidates Live Local provisions and local restrictions.

Jennifer Garcia, Planning and Zoning Director, presented the staff analysis of the Live Local Act (state law enacted in 2023 and amended by later bills), summarizing the statute’s principal preemptions and the parts the city must adopt or consider. Garcia told the board the law provides developers eligibility for administrative approvals if projects meet statutory requirements (including providing a portion of units as affordable housing) and described the state maximums the statute references (height as the highest allowed within a one‑mile radius, density at the municipality’s maximum, and a state‑defined floor‑area ratio calculation). Garcia said the city had not received any Live Local applications to date.

Staff prop…