Coral Gables planning board reviews request to revert church‑owned parcel to MF‑3 for eight townhomes

The Planning and Zoning Board of Coral Gables on July 1 heard a conceptual request to revert a property’s zoning from a special‑use designation tied to a church to MF‑3 (multifamily‑3) and to change the future‑land‑use designation from religious/institutional to multifamily low density, enabling a proposed eight‑unit townhome development near the Coral Gables youth center.

The applicant (identified in the meeting as Mr. Jimenez) told board members the two existing postwar buildings date to 1949, that the proposal would consolidate two lots into a 20,000‑square‑foot parcel with eight townhome units and two‑car garages, and that the developer does not expect an increase in unit count from the current configuration. “This has been multifamily used since at least then,” the applicant said, arguing the proposal is consistent…